Mrs. Malecha Reads!

by Jessica Lawson Lexile:  830 Genre:  Historical Fiction, Fantasy When Benjamin Putter's dad died, he got a golfball in his throat.  No one believes that it is there, but Ben can feel it.  Every day.  All the time.  And now he is hearing a voice...coming out of the urn that contains his father's ashes.  The voice is telling him that his father won't rest peacefully until he is scattered on the 18th hole of the Augusta National Golf Course.  So Ben feels he has no choice but to leave home with his father and fulfill his wishes.  Just as he is about to leave, he runs into Noni, a runaway, who is also searching for a sign that her father is okay.  Noni and Ben set out on an adventure that will be life changing for both of them.

by Brandon Mull Lexile:  700 Genre:  Fantasy Kendra and Seth are not looking forward to spending a few weeks of their summer vacation with grandparents that they barely know.  Their parents insist that they will be fine staying in the old house that is in the middle of nowhere.  Kendra and Seth start to notice odd things and their grandfather has strict rules about what they can and cannot do.  Kendra and Seth begin to get suspicious that things are not all that they seem.  When Seth breaks the "no going into the woods" rule, they are convinced that there grandfather is not telling them the truth.  What is he hiding?

by Ben Clanton Lexile:  510 Genre:  Fantasy, Graphic Novel Narwhal and Jelly and back in their third adventure.  Jelly is shocked when he learns that Narwhal has never tried peanut butter.  In fact, the only thing that Narwhal has ever eaten is waffles!  Once Jelly convinces Narwhal to try peanut butter, there is no turning back.  Narwhal likes peanut butter so much he decides to change his name.  Read all about the adventures of Peanut Butter and Jelly in this book!

by Jewell Parker Rhodes Lexile:  360 Genre:  Realistic Fiction/Fantasy Jerome was tired of being bullied so his friend Carlos brings a toy gun to school and scares them away.  Jerome is in awe of how powerful that toy gun made Carlos so when Carlos offers to loan it to him, Jerome accepts the offer.  Jerome decides to play with the toy gun in the vacant lot near his home.  He was just a boy, playing with a toy gun, until a police officer arrives on the scene and sees his interpretation of the scene - a young black man waving a real gun in the air.  In a matter of seconds, Jerome's life as he knew it is over because now he has become one of the ghost boys.

by Svetlana Chmakova Lexile:  360 Genre:  Realistic Fiction, Graphic Novel Jensen is struggling with the daily challenges of being a middle schooler.  He wants the bullies to stop bothering him and his friends to be nicer.  He thought he was part of the art club, but lately he is questioning whether or not the people in that club are treating him the way friends should.  He is thrilled when the newspaper club asks him to help out, but they seem to be giving him tasks that no one else wants to do.  Where does Jensen belong in the crazy world of Berrybrook Middle School?

by Kate DiCamillo Genre:  Fantasy One day Eugenia Lincoln gets a package.  Inside that package is an accordion.  Eugenia Lincoln is not one who is fond of unexpected surprises; especially when the unexpected surprise is something like an accordion.  She wants nothing to do with this unexpected and noisy surprise so Eugenia decides to return the accordion.  However, returning an accordion is harder than it seems....

by Deron Hicks Lexile:  750 Genre:  Mystery The boy was found sitting in the middle of an art gallery.  He has no idea who he is or how he got there.  He is placed in temporary foster care until he is able to regain his memory.  He knows the art museum is a familiar place and he feels as if he has seen the artwork before.  But with who? And when? And where?  Unexpectedly it becomes obvious that his memories are tied to some secrets that others want discovered.  The boy realizes that people think he knows something that they are desperate to know.  Will his memory come back in time to protect himself from the people who want to figure out the secret he holds?

by Mark Parisi Genre:  Humor Marty Pants is convinced that he is becoming a werewolf.  Why does he think this?  Because he found a page from his sister's diary with the words "There's no doubt.  My brother is a we..."  Now Marty is watching for signs that he is changing all the while trying to figure out how to get his hands on his sister's diary so that he can find out for sure why she thinks he is a werewolf.  A full moon is coming...what will happen to Marty?

by Henry Cole Lexile:  720 Genre:  Fantasy Celeste went out for dinner one night and winds up hundreds of miles from home after accidentally traveling north on a Mississippi steamboat.  She meets Rosebud the dog, who helps her navigate steamboat life until there is an accident and the steamboat sinks.  Celeste is lucky enough to escape, but now she is lost in a forest that looks very different from her safe home in the attic.  Will Celeste be able to survive in the wilderness and figure out a way to get back home?