Mrs. Malecha Reads!

by Brian Selznik and David Serlin Pictures by Brian Sleznick Lexile:  210 Genre:  Mystery Have you lost your jewels?  Your pizza? Your spaceship?  No need to worry because Baby Monkey is on the case...as long as he can figure out how to put on his pants.  Read this book to find out all about Baby Monkey and his adventures as a private eye.

by Marilyn Hilton Lexile:  790 Genre:  Historical Fiction, Novel in Verse It is 1969 and Mimi Oliver is moving across the country from California to Vermont.  Mimi is half-black, half-Japanese and is worried about how she will be accepted in the mostly white Vermont town she is moving too.  Almost immediately, she finds herself having to explain who she is and where she comes from to almost everyone she encounters.  Mimi dreams of becoming an astronaut which many people think is a joke, not only because of her race, but also because of her gender.  But Mimi is determined and when she finds some friends who aren't afraid to stand up for what they believe in, she begins to think that maybe her dreams can come true.

by Dorian Cirrone Lexile:  620 Genre:  Fantasy Haleigh is stuck in a time loop.  It was supposed to be the last day of summer vacation and she was not looking forward to having to say goodbye to her friend Kevin.  But now she is reliving the same day over and over again!  It is great to get to spend more time with Kevin, but what he doesn't know is that something happens to his grandmother at the very end of the day.  Haleigh is afraid to figure out how to break the time loop because she isn't sure what that will mean for Kevin's grandmother.  Is reliving the last day of summer over and over again better than moving forward into the future?

by Lauren Baratz-Logsted Lexile:  800 Genre:  Historical Fiction It is an exciting time for Buster and Mamie as they are getting ready to watch Buzz Aldrin and Neal Armstrong walk on the moon.  But it is the 3rd astronaut, Michael Collins, with whom they are most interested in.  He is the one who will not get to walk on the moon as his job is to stay with the ship.  As Mamie prepares for this historic event, her family falls apart and she is left home alone to "keep the ship going." Mamie hopes that she can do just as good of a job as her hero, Michael Collins, does.

by Alan Gratz Lexile:  690 Genre:  Realistic Fiction Amy Anne can't wait to get to the school library and check out a copy of her favorite book.  But when she gets there, the book isn't on the shelf!  Amy Anne learns that the reason the book is missing is because it has been banned!  One parent lodged a complaint with the school board and they voted to have it removed from the shelves.  Amy Anne doesn't think this is right and the school librarian agrees with her.  Unfortunately, the school board has made their decision.  It will be up to Amy Anne and her friends to prove that this book belongs on the shelves of their school library.

by Sarah Dooley Lexile:  740 Genre:  Realistic Fiction If Sasha has learned one thing in her 14 years, it is that the people she loves, always end up leaving.  First her mother, then her father, and now her older brother.  Sasha is truly alone when she is placed with her foster mother, Phyllis.  Sasha is struggling with accepting the home that Phyllis is offering her because Sasha really has no idea how long it might be until Phyllis leaves her too.  Sasha's brother had one goal for her and that was that she somehow manage to escape their small town of Caboose and get out and see the world.  But then Sasha learns that she isn't alone...she has a cousin, who lives next door to Phyllis and he has a son who is just as troubled as Sasha.  This could be another chance for Sasha to be part of a family, if she is willing to take the risk of letting them know the amazing person that she is.

by Hena Khan Lexile:  800 Genre:  Realistic Fiction 2019-20 MHL Nominee Amina and her best friend, Soojin, have always enjoyed hanging out together.  But now they are in middle school and everything seems like it is changing.  Soojin wants to include Emily into their circle of friends and starts to talk about changing her name to something that sounds "more American."  Amina likes Soojin just the way she is, and doesn't know how to feel about all these changes.  Things are different at home too with her uncle visiting the family from Pakistan.  He seems determined to scrutinize the decisions her family has made since coming to live in the United States.  And then a tragedy strikes Amina's community and she will have to figure out the best way to respond to the violence that others have shown.

by Alex Gino Lexile:  790 Genre:  Realistic Fiction When people look at George, they see a boy.  George's mother thinks she has two sons.  George's brother thinks he has a younger brother.  George's best friend Kelly thinks her best friend is a boy.  But George knows she is not a boy.  She knows that she is a girl.  And she wants nothing more than to be able to share her true self with her family and friends.  But George isn't sure what she should say and isn't sure how people will react.  Once she opens up to Kelly, they form a plan that will help George become the person she wants to be.

by Katherine Applegate Lexile:  690 Genre:  Fantasy Byx is used to being the youngest and smallest in his family, but he never thought that he would be the last of the dairnes.  The kingdom is set to celebrate the end of his species, but Byx is determined to find out whether or not the legends that he has heard about other packs of dairnes exisiting in a far off land are true or not.  It will take bravery, skill, courage, and help from some unlikely allies if Byx is going to ever know whether or not he is truly the last, the endling, of his species.

by Emma Carroll Lexile:  590 Genre:  Historical Fiction Once upon a time, a group of people gathered in the darkness to tell ghost stories...and Felix got to listen.  But just as things were getting started, there was a knock on the door.  When he opened it, he found a girl who was barely alive.  And this girl had her own ghost story to tell.  Felix can't believe what he is hearing...is it all true?  It will now be up to Felix to figure out who is telling the truth and whose life needs to be saved.

by Wendy Mass Lexile:  590 Genre:  Fantasy It has been 5 years since Livy visited her grandmother in Australia and she can't seem to remember much about the time she spent there.  But when she opens the door to the closet in her room, out pops Bob, a short green creature who says he has been waiting in the closet for her to come back for 5 long years!  Livy can hardly believe it...she really has no idea who he is, but Bob tells her that 5 years ago, she promised to help him find his way home.  Bob and Livy will have to work together to help recreate her memories of 5 years ago, if she has any chance of fulfilling her promise to Bob.