"P.T. and Gloria try to save the Wonderland again by getting a teen singing sensation to shoot a movie at the motel"-- (Jennifer 3/18)
This fun book celebrates the influence of author Virginia Lee Burton who wrote some of my favorite childhood stories and that she wrote them to honor he sons, Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel, Katy and the Big Snow, The Little House, and Maybelle the Cable Car. Just plain fun and celebratory! (Amy 10/17)
Fifth-grader Jess befriends the new girl, Leslie, after the two face off in a running match at school. They take to the forest behind Leslie's home and play in the pretend land of Terabithia. One day, though, Leslie goes to the woods by herself and doesn't return. (Melissa N. 10/17)
In the wake of her aunt's death, 13 year-old Zinny Taylor discovers an unkempt and overgrown path in the woods behind her home. As she uncovers the trail, she learns the truth about her family's secrets and comes of age in this moving story. (Melissa N. 10/17)
It could be coincidence or fate, but it seems that the universe has designs on eleven-year-olds Petra and Calder. They are the only ones poised to solve the mystery of the stolen painting. They forge a new friendship, while responding to this international danger. Well written, and FUN - work out the clues and codes yourself before the book reveals the answer! I HIGHLY recommend this read.
Bonnie (6/17)
Crenshaw is a large, out-spoken, imaginary cat that appears to 10-year-old Jackson and helps him cope with life's ups and downs. He first met Crenshaw when his family was in a crisis: Jackson was in the first grade; his dad lost his job after he was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, and his mother loses her job a bit later. Their family slowly starts selling off their possessions to make rent, but soon Jackson, his parents, and 5-year-old sister are looking at the prospect of living in their car. Crenshaw helps Jackson through advice and counsel. This book is a good choice to educate children about how disease and poverty can happen to people they know, but that family love and the goodwill of friends, neighbors, and even strangers will see them through the rough spots. (Karen 10/17)
"A group of kids discovers they were cloned from the DNA of some of the greatest criminal masterminds in history for a sociological experiment, and they must find a way to prove it to the rest of the world"--
Jennifer (6/17)
When a steamboat arrives heralding the news that Iowa has been called up to represent the Union, Ike is beside himself with excitement. For months, the promise of war has enveloped small-town Keokuk like a grand game that everyone's in on - everyone but Ike, his swaybacked pony, and his best friend and checkers partner, Albirdie. Left behind with Mother and the aunts and girl cousins while the Button men march forth toward glory, Ike makes a plan to meet up with the Iowa First. But, as Ike learns, some opportunites are meant to be missed. And some arrive when you least expect them. (Amy 11/17)
"When the British Royal Navy grew desperate to protect their ship from German U-Boat attacks, they created Dazzle ships in order to confuse the enemy of their location and destination."--Provided by publisher. (Marian 10/17)
Two cousins, one in Mexico and one in New York City, write to each other and learn that even though their daily lives differ, at heart the boys are very similar.
From the Stories of Immigration booklist from the Association of Library Services to Children.
Recommended by Amy (1/18)
Provides a fictionalized account of how local children took it upon themselves to save three dolphins trapped in the ice in Newfoundland. Based on actual events and beautiful illustrations.
Recommended by Amy (1/18)
When Chico starts the third grade after his migrant worker family moves to begin harvesting California grapes, he finds that self confidence and math skills help him cope with the first day of school.
From the Stories of Immigration booklist from the Association of Library Services to Children.
Recommended by Amy (1/18)
A quarrel between the first man and the first woman is reconciled when the Sun causes strawberries to grow out of the earth. (Amy 1/18)
"When scientist-in-the-making Madeline Little starts sixth grade, she soon learns that middle school is nothing like a perfect lab experiment--and that she now has to find the cure for her newly messed-up life"-- (Jennifer 3/17)
Claudia Kincaid is growing up and wants more from life. She decides to run away from home to secretly live in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She takes her younger brother, Jamie, along to help out with her plan. While at the museum, they find themselves in the middle of a big mystery that adults can't even solve. Melissa N. (7/17)
This well written book gave me hope that all can be well if we can just come together with accepting hearts. In North Carolina's Great Smoky Mountains, a troubled boy and his mother, a happy family seeking adventure, a man and his lonely daughter, and the widow who must sell the run-down motel that has been her home for decades, meet and are transformed by their shared experiences.
Marian (6/17)
A biography of Cesar Chavez, from age ten when he and his family lived happily on their Arizona ranch, to age thirty-eight when he led a peaceful protest against California migrant workers' miserable working conditions. (Amy 11/17)
"P.T. and his friend Gloria must solve a mystery at the world's wackiest motel: The Wonderland"
Suggested by Jennifer (6/17)
"A picture book based on a true story about a young First Nations girl who was sent to a residential school. When eight-year-old Irene is removed from her First Nations family to live in a residential school she is confused, frightened, and terribly homesick. She tries to remember who she is and where she came from despite the efforts of the nuns to force her to do otherwise. Based on the life of Jenny Kay Dupuis' own grandmother, I Am Not a Number brings a terrible part of Canada's history to light in a way that children can learn from and relate to"--
Recommended by Amy 91/18)
Twelve-year-old Isobel is unhappy about spending the summer of 1918 at her aunt's home in Hollywood with her mother and sister until her cousin, Ranger, involves the girls in creating the perfect film and, when her father returns from the war, his serious injury becomes their inspiration. (Jennifer 7/17)
Julie is a young Eskimo girl who runs away to the tundra to escape the current perils in her life. Out in the wilderness, she must rely on her own skills and knowledge to survive. She befriends a pack of wolves in the process and must decide who she really is and what choices to make regarding her future.
Melissa N (6/17)
Jack is a young boy who hates poetry until his teacher assigns them one poem after another. In time, Jack finds himself writing poems about things that really matter to him, things that are good, bad, sad, and meaningful. Melissa N. (7/17)
"Paloma Marquez is traveling to Mexico City, birthplace of her deceased father, for the very first time. She's hoping that spending time in Mexico will help her unlock memories of the too-brief time they spent together. While in Mexico, Paloma meets Lizzie and Gael, who present her with an irresistible challenge: the siblings want her to help them find a valuable ring that once belonged to beloved Mexican artist Frida Kahlo"--Amazon.com. (Jennifer 4/18)
When I was a kid, how many times did I lie awake at night terrified of all the creepy sounds our house made. If only a book like this existed back then! It takes the mystery out of all those sounds by explaining to readers the basic scientific concepts involving energy, structures, and matter that explain all those things that go bump, bang, and creak in the night. (Karen 3/17)
Have you ever gotten tripped up trying to say a silly succession of similar syllables? Try out these hilarious tongue twisters for lots of fun! (Amy 5/18)
“Shane’s voice rings true, and the writing is straightforward and accessible...t’s refreshing to read a story with a young trans character already living life as his true gender and never questioning his identity...The book...has wide appeal.” (School Library Journal)
Kristen (6/17)
When Papa Rabbit does not return home as expected from many seasons of working in the great carrot and lettuce fields of El Norte, his son Pancho sets out on a dangerous trek to find him, guided by a coyote. (Amy 11/17)
Grades 3 and up. The first in the "Park Pals" series and super cute. PeeWee, the guinea pig who learns to love being a city park critter with new friends and adventures plus some danger! Great read in similar fashion of Flora and Ulysses by Kate DiCamillo and Guinea Dog series by Patrick Jennings. (Amy 7/17)
A long-tailed rabbit who wants a nibble of the highest, tastiest leaves uses his special snow song in the summertime, despite the protests of the other animals. (Amy 1/18)
"Years before the landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling Brown v. Board of Education, Sylvia Mendez, an eight-year-old girl of Mexican and Puerto Rican heritage, played an instrumental role in Mendez v. Westminster, the landmark desegregation case of 1946 in California"--
From the Stories of Immigration booklist from the Association of Library Services to Children.
Recommended by Amy (1/18)
Picture book style nonfiction brings to life the inspiring true story of Reckless, the brave little mare that became a marine. This is the first picture book from award-winning novelist Patricia McCormick, sumptuously illustrated by acclaimed artist Iacopo Bruno.
When a group of US Marines fighting in the Korean War found a bedraggled little mare, they wondered if she could be trained to as a packhorse. They had no idea that the skinny, underfed horse had one of the biggest and bravest hearts they'd ever known. And one of the biggest appetites!
Soon Reckless showed herself more than willing to carry ammunition too heavy for the soldiers to haul. As cannons thundered and shells flew through the air, she marched into battle-again and again-becoming the only animal ever to officially hold military rank and receive two Purple Hearts. (Marian 10/17)
"Unsure of how to get her family's attention, Charlie comes across the surprise of her life one day while ice-fishing...in the form of a floppy, scaly fish offering to grant her a wish in exchange for its freedom"--
As only the Far Side author can do, this story is a parable on the natural world and how connected we all are. As told through the eyes of a young worm...funny, educational, and a great intro for kids to the science behind nature and our environment. Erin (7/17)
Three billy goats must outwit the big, ugly troll that lives under the bridge they have to cross on their way up the mountain. Has a twist at the end!
Recommended by Amy (1/18)
Fun! Jump aboard the White Feather Flier, a magical plane that can go wherever you want. Just press a button printed on the page, and point the plane up in the air to fly, or down to land it. The Flier's mission is to transport readers around the world, to engage them in helping to save the environment, and to teach one and all to love our planet. Fly to the top of a mountain. Send clean water to thirsty people. Dive deep into the ocean (the Flier turns into a submarine!) to pick up pollution and bring back the fish. Explore the planet, meet new people, and help make the world a better place. An inspiring, lyrical story, rooted in Lennon's life and work, with beautiful illustrations that bring the faraway world closer to young children. Marian (6/17)
When Beaver challenges Turtle to a swimming race for ownership of the pond, Turtle outsmarts Beaver, and Beaver learns to share. (Amy 1/18)
"When a young boy is discovered in Washington, DC's National Gallery of Art without any recollection of who he is, he must piece together the disjointed clues of his origins while using his limited knowledge to stop one of the greatest art frauds ever attempted"-- (Jennifer 2/18)
This book chronicles the unbreakable spirit of an Inuit girl while attending an Arctic residential school. (Amy 11/17)
"When a young girl helps tend to her grandmother's garden, she begins to notice things that make her curious. Why does her grandmother have long, braided hair and beautifully colored clothing? Why does she speak another language and spend so much time with her family? As she asks her grandmother about these things, she is told about life in a residential school a long time ago, where all of these things were taken away. When We Were Alone is a story about a difficult time in history, and, ultimately, one of empowerment and strength." (Amy 11/17)
Grades 4-8. A dragon with a giant pearl on his head, a talking goldfish, a girl on a journey to find the "Old Man of the Moon" and all kinds of fantastical stories makes this a wonderful and adventurous read. A Newbery Honor book. (Amy 4/18)
Middle school can be rough and sometimes moreso when you are see the world much differently than others. Ben and Charlotte have never met except through an online Scrabble game. They learn to help each other see their strengths amidst both personal and school challenges. Strength lies within and amongst good friends who understand! (Amy 5/18)
