The Two Princesses of Bamarre by Gail Carson Levine

     The two princesses of Bamarre were very different: Meryl was brave and eager for adventure, while timid Addie shrieked at spiders and longed for things to stay the same always. She made Meryl promise to wait for her adventures and stay with her at the castle until she was married. However, she regrets this decision when Meryl comes down with the Gray Death, a fatal disease. With only weeks to live, Meryl will never get to slay dragons or rescue Bamarre from the curse of the Gray Death. It is up to fearful Princess Addie to save her sister by going on a quest to find the cure- a quest where she will have to face ogres, specters, and  dragons!
     I love fairy tales, and this original tale by Gail Carson Levine, the author of Ella Enchanted and Princess Academy, is sure to please other fairy tale and fantasy lovers.

A Week in the Woods by Andrew Clements

Each year on the third week of April, the whole fifth grade of Hardy Elementary School piles into three buses and heads off for a week in the woods with Mr. Maxwell and the other fifth grade teachers. This year, a new student joins the fifth grade and is expected to come along on the trip: Mark Robert Chelmsley, son of millionaire parents who have just bought an estate in New Hampshire. Mark's parents are often gone away on business and he is left with caretakers Leon and Anya. Mark hates leaving his New York home and friends and at first has a bad attitude toward his new home and school, but gradually things begin to change. He loves the woods surrounding his new home, and Leon teaches him to snowshoe and camp in the woods. He begins to look forward to his school's camping trip, but things don't turn out quite like he expects.
I liked this book; Andrew Clements, author of Frindle, understands fifth graders and school life, and he writes with a sense of humor that kids really enjoy. I loved the emphasis on nature, and how Mark changes from a spoiled rich kid to a boy who can't wait to spend the afternoon exploring the woods surrounding his house.