Mrs. Malecha Reads!

Written and Illustrated by Kevin Henkes Yeah!  The elephants are here!  They march and march and march.  They yawn and stretch.  Can you count the parade of elephants?

by Thyra Heder Nia got Alfie when they were both 6.  At first, Nia thought Alfie was the greatest pet ever.  But then she kind of lost interest in him.  Alfie loved Nia and never lost interest in her.  So when Alfie hears that it is going to be their 7th birthday, he decides he must find Nia the perfect present.  One day Nia notices that Alfie is gone!  She looks, but can't find him anywhere.  Meanwhile, Alfie continues to search for that perfect present.  Will he find it and find his way back to Nia?

by Ian Boothby Lexile:  GN 200 Genre:  Fantasy, Graphic Novel Sparks the super dog is rescuing babies from wells and saving school buses from tornadoes.  But who is Sparks really?  Beneath his metallic exterior, lies the answer...Sparks is actually a cat?  Two cats to be exact who are always at the ready to rescue those in need and save the day. The princess (who is disguised as a baby!) has launched a foolproof plan to conquer the Earth, but she didn't count on having to deal with Sparks.  Can the Earth be saved?

by Drew Brockington Genre:  Fantasy, Graphic Novel The world is facing an energy crisis and go no longer operate at full power.  There is only one possible way to avoid a national crisis and that is to go to the moon and fire up a solar power plant.  Who could make that happen?  It's time to call the CatStronauts!  They have been preparing for just such a mission and they are ready to blast off into space and save the world.  Will their mission to the moon achieve everything they hope?

by Gordon Korman Lexile:  Realistic Fiction The Unteachables are a group of 8th grade misfits that the school has given up on.  Mr. Kermit is a teacher who has given up on students and is biding his time until his retirement in June.  But when he is transferred to the unteachable classroom, the year doesn't go as expected.  Instead of counting down the days, he is realizes that he has been given a chance to help a group of misfits turn their lives around.  With a little help of some enemies of the past, Mr. Kermit turns his outlook on life and teaching in a whole new direction.

by Constance Lombardo Genre:  Fantasy, Humor Mr. Puffball wants to be famous.  He gets his first chance when he participates in the Celebrity Birthday Cake Wars, which he won, but at the time was disguised as his sort of best friend, El Gato.  So nobody really knows that he is the big winner.  Now Mr. Puffball has another chance as a star on the reality tv show, Castaway Island.  Will Mr. Puffball finally get the fame and fortune he deserves?

by David Bowles Genre:  Poetry Guero is Mexican American and lives on both sides of the border.  He struggles with how to navigate life on both sides of the river.  He is starting 7th grade and wants to do well in school, but some people call him names and make fun of the fact that he thinks school is exciting.  His 7th grade teacher introduces him to poetry and Guero is hooked.  Will poetry be the thing that will help him navigate the two sides to his life?

by Carl Hiaasen Lexile:  740 Genre:  Adventure Billy has recently learned that his father lives in Montana.  He and his sister are growing up in Florida with their mother who likes to move frequently.  Now that Billy knows where is father is, he is curious.  So he borrows his mother's credit card and buys a plane ticket to Montana.  Once he arrives there, he meets his father's new family, but his father is mysteriously absent.  His wife, Lil, tells Billy that he works for the government doing top secret work and she isn't sure when he will be back.  Lil and her daughter, Summer, set out to show Billy a good time in Montana when he gets a secret message from his father warning him to leave.  Billy is now even more curious.  Just what exactly is his father up to and why does he want him to stay away?