Mrs. Malecha Reads!

by Lauren Tarshis Art by Haus Studio Lexile:  GN390 Genre:  Historical Fiction, Graphic Novel George Calder is very excited about his voyage on the Titanic and can't wait to explore all over the ship.  His sister would rather read a book in the library, but George doesn't have time for that!  As the voyage gets underway, George is excited to explore and learn more about how the unsinkable ship was built.  But during one of his exploring expeditions, George hears a loud "BOOM" and suddenly everything is quiet.  The mighty Titanic's engines have shut off.  George has no idea what is going on, but he knows he needs to get back to his family as quickly as possible.

by Annie Barrows Genre:  Humor Iggy isn't trying to be bad...really, he has the best of intentions, but somehow things always seem to get twisted up or be taken in the wrong direction.  Like the time he pushed his friend off the roof.  See?  It sounds worse than it actually is, because Iggy had no intention of pushing him off the roof, it's just that the grownups came outside at the exact wrong moment.  Poor Iggy...really, he isn't trying to be a troublemaker...

by Zanib Mian Genre:  Humor Omar is not excited about staring at a new school. He is sandwiched between an annoying older sister and an annoying younger brother and his parents are both scientists who expect him to do well in school.  Trouble and misunderstandings just seem to find Omar as if he was a magnet for them.  Will his sense of humor and imagination be enough to get him through?  This book is perfect for any fans of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series!

by Rena Finder with Joshua M. Greene Genre:  Memoir Rena was only 13 years old when the Nazis invaded Poland and forced her family into the Krakow ghetto.  From there, she and her mother worked as slave laborers at a factory where food was scarce.  But there situation was not as dire as that of many others because they were working in a factory owned by Oskar Schindler who did what he could to make sure his prisoners were fed and healthy.  He had to do this under the watchful eyes of Nazi guards so when he learned that his factory was to be closed and his prisoners were about to be sent to concentration camps, he came up with a plan to transport his prisoners to a new location in Czechoslovakia.  This group of people became known as "Schlindler's List."  For Rena and her mother though, there was a nearly life ending mistake, that sent them to Auschwitz instead of Czechoslovakia.  But Schlindler again came through for them and was able to get them out just in time.

by Rebecca Roanhorse Lexile:  680 Genre:  Fantasy Nizhoni has an unusual talent:  she can detect monsters.  So when a monster shows up at her basketball game, she is the only one who notices.  Later that same day, the monster shows up at her house in the form of her dad's new boss and Nizhoni then realizes that her family is in danger.  Her mother disappeared many years ago under mysterious circumstances, and it seems to Nizhoni that somehow what is happening to her now, must be related.  Nizhoni and her brother, Mac, don't know much about their Navaho heritage, but they are going to have to get up to speed quickly if they are going to be able to save their family.

by Aimee Lucido Genre:  Realistic Fiction, Novel in Verse Emmy's parents are both professional musicians so everyone expects that she should be musically gifted as well, but so far, that has not proven to be the case.  Her dad has recently taken a new job in San Francisco so Emmy is having to start over at a brand new school.  When Emmy has to choose an elective, music is one of the options.  Emmy knows that is what she should choose, but for some reason she can bring herself to check that box.  Emmy submits her elective form blank which then places her in the Computer Science elective.  Emmy has no idea what computer science or coding is all about, but once she meets the teacher, Ms. Delaney, Emmy is excited about trying something new. And maybe, just maybe, this new elective will help her feel at home in her new community.

by Hena Khan Lexile:  710 Genre:  Realistic Fiction Jameela wants to be an award winning journalist and is active with her school newspaper.  She wants to write stories that matter and call people to action.  Not everyone is quite as enthusiastic as she is about the ideas that she comes up with.  At the same time, Jameela is navigating big changes at home.  Her father has recently accepted a job that will take him overseas for an extended time leaving her with her mother and three sisters.  Jameela loves her sisters, but they can each annoy her in their own unique ways.  When one of them gets sick, Jameela's whole world collapses and she has to figure out how to keep their family together.