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Showing posts from April, 2019

Effie Starr Zook has One More Question

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by Martha Freeman Lexile:  710 Genre:  Realistic Fiction Effie Starr Zook learns by asking questions.  Her mother and father have set off on an around the world flight to test out their new solar powered airplane and Effie has been left in the tiny town of Penn Creek with her aunt and uncle who have no experience with children.  Once there, Effie sets out to explore the town and as she asks questions of the people she meets, the more questions she has about her family and the past.  Effie is determined to get the answers to her many, many questions, but will those answers be what she wants to hear?

Blooming at the Texas Sunrise Hotel

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by Kimberly Willis Holt Genre:  Realistic Fiction Stevie has a great life.  She is growing up on a farm in New Mexico with her parents who sell fruits and vegetables at a stand.  It is a simple life, but Stevie knows that she is loved .  But when a drunk driver crashes into the stand where her parents are working, Stevie's life changes forever.  Her neighbor tracks down her grandfather, an old man whom she has never met.  She is sent to Little Esther, Texas to live with him at the hotel he runs.  Her parents never told her about her grandparents and now her grandfather won't talk about them either, so Stevie is left to try to piece together her past while trying to build a new future.

A Good Kind of Trouble

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by Lisa Moore Ramee Genre:  Realistic Fiction Shayla feels most comfortable when there is a clear set of rules to follow.  Now that she is starting middle school, the rules seem less clear.  Her friends are changing, she might be interested in boys, she might like to run track, and maybe she wants to be part of Black Lives Matter?  All she knows for sure is that nothing seems to be quite as simple as it used to be.  It will take time and courage for Shayla to figure out who she is and who she wants to be.

Cyclone

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by Doreen Cronin Lexile:  600 Genre:  Realistic Fiction Nora is so excited to ride the Cyclone roller coaster with her cousin Riley.  But Riley really doesn't want to ride it because she is afraid.  Nora has already written her "what I did over the summer" essay and it includes riding the Cyclone so Riley HAS to do it with her.  Nora and Riley ride the coaster, but when Riley gets off she passes out and falls to the ground.  Riley is taken to the hospital by ambulance where they learn that Riley has had a stroke.  Nora feels terrible and now has to live with the knowledge that Riley's stroke was all her fault.

Inkling

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by Kenneth Oppel Lexile:  650 Genre:  Fantasy Ethan wants to be able to draw like his dad.  Well, at least the way he used to be able to draw.  Ever since Ethan's mom died, his dad has been blocked and Ethan has been left to take care of himself and his sister most of the time.  The money is running out and his dad is under pressure to produce a new graphic novel.  Ethan also has a deadline for a class project in which he also has to draw the art for his group's project.  Everyone assumes that because his dad is an artist, then Ethan should be able to draw too.  Ethan is sure he is going to fail until he meets Inkling, a magical blob of ink that escaped from his father's sketch book.  Inkling is a magnificent artist and agrees to help Ethan and his dad out.  But when word spreads that Ethan has a magical ink blob, people start to get curious and greedy.  What will happen to Inkling? To Ethan? To Ethan's dad???

How to Knit a Monster

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Written and Illustrated by Annemarie Van Haeringen Greta the goat is an amazing knitter.  Regular knitters can knit socks or mittens or hats...but Greta is an amazing knitter.  She can knit creatures that come to life which can be good and bad.  Luckily, Greta is even able to knit her way out of danger if it becomes necessary!

To Night Owl From Dogfish

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by Holly Goldberg Sloan and Meg Wolitzer Lexile:  770 Genre:  Realistic Fiction Avery Bloom lives in New York City and is afraid of lots of things, especially deep water.  Bett Devlin lives in Los Angeles and she is afraid of nothing.  The only thing these two have in common is that they are 12 year olds being raised by single gay dads.  Now their dads have met at a conference in Chicago and have fallen in love and have hatched a plan:  they will send Avery and Bett to a summer camp in Michigan so that they can become friends because if their relationship goes the way they think it will, Avery and Bett could one day become sisters!  But Bett hacks into her dad's email and figures out the plan and alerts Avery to it so the two have agreed that if they are forced to go to the same camp they will never speak to each other and they certainly won't become friends!  This is going to be a summer that Avery and Bett will never forget.

Best Babysitters Ever

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by Caroline Cala Lexile:  780 Genre:  Realistic Fiction Twelve year old Malia just read The Babysitters Club book and she has a great idea!  She and her two friends, Dot and Bree, need to raise some serious cash to throw the best party ever.  So Malia pitches the idea of starting their own babysitters club.  None of them has ever babysat or ran a business before, but how hard can it be?  Malia, Dot and Bree are about to find out!

The Missing Piece of Charlie O'Reilly

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by Rebecca K.S. Ansari Genre: Fantasy, Magical Realism Charlie O'Reilly is not an only child.  He remembers his younger brother Liam.  The problem is that no one else does.  Liam vanished one night and suddenly everyone except Charlie has forgotten that he ever existed.  Charlie's father works all the time and his mother seems to be lost in her thoughts inside her head.  The only one who believes him is his best friend, Ana.  The two of them are determined to figure out what happened to Liam and to bring him back home where he belongs.

Right as Rain

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by Lindsey Stoddard Genre:  Realistic Fiction Rain loved being part of her fun family of 4.  She and her parents and her older brother enjoy playing games and hanging out in their garden.  But then everything changes when Guthrie dies, and now her mom wants to act like everything is fine and her dad barely comes out of their bedroom.  Rain has a big secret about Guthrie's death that is weighing on her heart, but she isn't ready to share it yet.  Her parents decide that a fresh start for all of them would be the best so they decide to leave their life in Vermont behind and move to New York City.  Will this change help Rain and her family get back on track?

Peter and Ernesto: A Tale of Two Sloths

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by Graham Annable Lexile:  GN390 Genre:  Fantasy, Graphic Novel Peter and Ernesto are both sloths and both friends, but they are nothing alike!  Peter likes to hang out in the trees and Ernesto wants to look at the sky and imagine where it could take him.  Peter wants to stay and Ernesto wants to go...if these friends go their separate ways will they ever be together again?

Meet Yasmin!

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by Saadia Faruqi Illustrated by Hatem Aly Lexile:  530 Genre:  Realistic Fiction Yasmin is a second grader who is curious about everything and not afraid to try new things.  She lives in the city with her parents and her grandparents and she is up for all kinds of adventures.  She has a wild imagination and a creative energy to go along with it.  Read this book and you will join Yasmin on all kinds of adventures!

Mia Mayhem is a Superhero!

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by Kara West Illustrated by Leeza Hernandez Lexile:  550 Genre:  Fantasy Meet Mia Mayhem!  She thinks she is an ordinary girl who just happens to get into trouble.  But them one day she gets a letter that tells her she is actually a superhero!  When she shows the letter to her parents, she learns that they are superheroes too!  So now Mia will be going to a special training school where she will learn more about her super powers.  Watch out world - here comes Mia!

It's An Orange Aardvark!

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Written and illustrated by Michael Hall Wrrr....Thunk!  Did you hear that?  The ants have made a hole in their stump and when they peak out of it they see something orange.  What could it be?  They think that most likely it is an orange aardvark ready to eat them up!  The ants keep drilling holes and with each hole they discover another color.  Will one of them be brave enough to go outside and investigate?

Giant Pumpkin Suites

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by Melanie Heuiser Hill Lexile:  700 Genre:  Realistic Fiction Rose and Thomas are 12 year old twins, but they look and act nothing alike.  Rose is tall and Thomas is short.  Rose is taking advanced math courses, while Thomas has been kept behind in a grade.  Rose is an extremely talented cello player and Thomas is still trying to figure out what he is good at.  This summer, their neighbor, Mr. Pickering, needs their help.  He was gifted a special pumpkin seed that if given the right growing conditions, could produce an enormous pumpkin.  Thomas decides to help him out, but Rose is too busy getting ready for a cello competition, that if she wins, would change her life forever.  Rose thinks she is too busy to play in the dirt and take care of a pumpkin, until an accident happens that changes her summer plans and forces her to work with her brother on the great pumpkin project.  Will this summer be the worst summer of her life or the start of something amazing?