Mrs. Malecha Reads!

by Holly Goldberg Sloan Lexile:  810 Genre:  Realistic Fiction Julia hates the word short.  She hears it a lot, because she is short.  Very short.  In fact, she is so short that she is the perfect person to play the part of a Munchkin in her city's summer production of The Wizard of Oz.   Julia's mother made her tryout and she is convinced that this will be the worst summer ever.  But Julia meets some new people who give her a different perspective on how to look at life and what seems like a sure disaster, actually ends up turning into something that is pretty cool.

by Nicholas Blechman Lexile:  400 Genre:  Informational How many lights do you see?  Count the lights and guess which vehicle they belong to.  How many lights does a school bus have?  How many lights does a taxicab have?  Get ready to count and you will find out.

by Kimberly and James Dean Lexile:  190 Genre:  Fantasy Pete and his friends have made 10 cupcakes.  But wait!  What has happened?  There are no longer ten freshly baked and decorated cupcakes in Pete's kitchen!  Pete and his friends will have to get to the bottom of this mystery!

by Laura Numeroff Illustrated by Felicia Bond Lexile:  480 Genre:  Fantasy If you give a mouse a brownie, what do you suppose he will want with it?  This mouse is ready for an adventure so get ready to see where he takes you!

by Martine Murray Lexile:  780 Genre:  Fantasy Molly just wants to be seen as normal.  She doesn't want to stand out and have people think she is different or weird.  But that is hard to do when your mother gathers plants and makes mysterious potions.  Her mother becomes convinced that she can solve their problems if she can use a special acorn to brew up a magic potion.  Just as the potion is complete, Molly's mother makes a mistake, that is going to force Molly to confide in someone.  Instead of her best friend, Ellen, Molly chooses Pim, a strange yet interesting boy that she has never spoken to him.  Why would Molly trust him with the biggest secret of her life?

by Adam Gidwitz Illumintated by Hatem Aly Genre:  Fantasy Three children and a magical dog have turned France upside down.  The king is ready to fight a war and he has prepared an army to fight these 4 seemingly undefeatable beings.  For these are no ordinary children...the girl and see the future, one boy is a healer, and one is so strong he can defeat whoever crosses his path.  And their dog...Gwenforte...was once dead, but has no come alive again. How will the king defeat this foursome and why is it so important that he does?

by Anne Nesbet Lexile:  850 Genre:  Historical Fiction Noah is leading a normal life as a 5th grader in Virginia, until one day when his parents pick him up at school and tell him that they are on their way to the airport.  He learns that his name is no longer Noah (it's Jonah) and that his birthday is actually in November and not March.  And if that wasn't bad enough, he is now on his way to East Germany where he and his parents will be living for the next 6 months.  All the way there, his parents quiz him on the role (of Jonah) that he is supposed to play. They show him fake pictures of his childhood.  Noah (Jonah) doesn't know what to make of all this and he becomes even more suspicious once they arrive at their new home.  What secrets are his parents keeping from him?

by Kimberly and James Dean Lexile: 650 Genre:  Fantasy Pete the Cat doesn't think that Valentine's Day is a very cool holiday. Until...he realizes how many really special cats he has in his life.  Pete's going to be busy making special Valentines for all of his friends.

by Karma Wilson Illustrated by Jane Chapman Lexile:  140 Genre:  Fantasy Bear is taking a walk through the woods. And what does he see?  Color!  He sees blues and reds, and yellows, and greens, and finally, the best color of all:  brown!  Bear has lots of friends in join him on his walk through the colorful woods.

by Susan Vaught Genre:  Realistic Fiction, Historical Fiction Dani's grandmother has moved in with them and is in the final stages of Alzheimer's. Dani is struggling with watching the grandmother she knew and loved, disappear before her eyes.  But every once in awhile, her grandmother will talk in a way that kind of makes sense.  Dani is getting the feeling that her grandmother is trying to tell her something important.  There seems to be something that her grandmother wants her to do.  Will Dani and her friends be able to figure out the mystery before it is too late?

by Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich and Audrey Vernick Lexile:  700 Genre:  Realistic Fiction Naomi Marie and Naomi Edith have no idea that the other exists until their parents start dating and introduce them to each other.  Their parents think it is adorable that they have daughters with the same name.  The Naomis do not agree.  Their parents want them to get to know each other so they force them to attend a coding club at the YMCA.  Each Naomi has other things she would rather be doing and other friends she would rather be spending time with.  But as their parents get closer, the Naomis realize that they are going to have to figure out a way to get along.