The Family Under the Bridge
by Natalie Savage Carlson, Garth Williams (Illustrator)

4 out of 5 stars

Armand is happy to live the free life of a hobo in Paris. He has no ties, takes odd jobs and begs for a few coins to buy food, and he sleeps under a bridge. But when a homeless mother with three young children takes up a corner of his bridge, Armand is worried that he will get tangled up in their problems. The children start to call him “grandpa”, and before long Armand is entertaining the children and teaching them to sing for coins on street corners while their mother is working during the day. The children are sure that Father Christmas will give them a house for their Christmas present, so Armand decides to find some way to get the family a true home.

Thomas and the Dragon Queen
by Shutta Crum (Goodreads Author), Lee Wildish (Illustrator)

3 out of 5 stars

Thomas dreams of someday becoming a knight, and when he is sent on a quest to rescue the princess from a dragon, he thinks he has finally found his chance to prove his knightly courage and worth. But everything seems to go wrong along the way. Thomas is the youngest and smallest of all the king’s squires. He doesn’t have a huge warhorse, or a mighty sword, or shining armor. But he does have courtesy and resourcefulness that will prove to be more useful than any sword.