The Inquisitor's Tale: Or, the Three Magical Children and Their Holy Dog, by Adam Gidwitz

This fantasy book is a great pick as a Newberry Honor.  It is the tale of three children who each has a special gift and a revered hero ghost dog.  They are on the run individually but eventually come together for the purpose to thwart the queen's attempt to burn all books that teach anything but Christianity. 

Along the way, the children use their gifts to protect themselves, and in some cases, the very people that are trying to capture them. There are many short stories embedded in this one epic tale.  Stories of killer farting dragons, overzealous monks, a child with brute strength, horseless knights and visions of the future, to name a few, fill this book with humor and imagination.

While this is a chapter book, which normally would not include illustrations, this book does include "illuminations" in the style of an authentic medieval text.  The pictures that fill the borders of some of the pages exactly depict what the author is communicating through text, but, faithful to authentic illuminations, include pictures that question or contradict the text as well. 

Students will love the engaging stories and the humor.  I mean, do you know a kid that is NOT going to laugh uncontrollably at a story about a dragon that farts deadly gas?  One disappointment is that it does use the word "ass" several times to describe a donkey.  While it is used to directly talk about the donkey, the context it is used makes the other characters laugh and you will likely have students "tattle" on the author for putting that word in there.  For that reason, I would definitely classify this book in my YA collection that requires parental permission to check out.  The stories are great, but I want the parents of my students to be able to make an informed decision when helping their children choose books.