Mrs. Malecha Reads!

by Kimberely Brubaker Bradley Lexile:  580 Genre:  Historical Fiction Ada has never left the one bedroom apartment that she shares with her mother and brother Jamie. Her mother is humiliated by the fact that Ada was born with a club foot and believes that no one who is a cripple should be allowed in the outside world.  But Ada is determined to make a life for herself, no matter what the cost. When the threat of war comes to London, parents begin to send their children to the countryside where they think they will be safer.  Ada's mom decides to send Jamie away.  Ada can't imagine a life without taking care of her brother, so she teaches herself to walk and sneaks out with him and boards a train that will change her life forever.

by Kirkpatrick Hill Illustrated by LeUyen Pham Lexile:  840 Genre:  Historical Fiction Bo has had an unusual childhood.  She was headed to an orphanage in Alaska when 2 gold miners decided to keep her and raise her and become an unusual family.  The miners live near an Eskimo village so Bo learns to speak Eskimo as well as English.  She also learns how to cook, dance, and ride along with dog teams.  It is an exciting life in the wilderness for a young girl and as more miners come to Alaska in search of gold and riches, there is just one adventure after another.

by Naomi Shihab Nye Lexile:  700 Genre:  Realistic Fiction Aref loves his life with his parents, grandfather, friends, and his cat Mish-Mish.  He has lived in Muscat all of his life, but his now having to say goodbye to it all because his parents want to attend graduate school in the United States.  He is moving to Michigan with them for 3 years and he has one suitcase to pack everything he wants to bring with him.  Aref is not excited about this new adventure and can't possibly imagine how he can fit his life into one suitcase and say goodbye to everything else.  What will his new life in Michigan be like?

by Cynthia Lord Lexile:  690 Genre:  Realistic Fiction Lucy's family has just moved to a remote part of New Hampshire.  Now she is living in a cabin on a lake and her dad is leaving their family for 2 months to go take pictures of an endangered bug in Arizona!  Lucy is hoping to make some new friends that might help her adjust to what she thinks is going to be a long and lonely summer.  Right away, Lucy meets Nate, the boy next door.  Nate is there for the summer with his large extended family.  He introduces her to kayaking and the loons. Going out on Loon Patrol in a kayak with her camera, is not something Lucy expected to enjoy.  Lucy begins to use her camera to capture the moments from her summer and as it turns out, it is neither long nor lonely.

by Cynthia DeFelice Lexile:  700 Genre:  Realistic Fiction Wyatt and Augie are having a fantastic summer together.  Their days are filled with fun adventures, as long as they don't run into J.R. and Morrie, the meanest kids in town.  Wyatt and Augie decide to build an amazing fort and even convince the adults in their lives that they should be allowed to sleep over night in their fort.  But when J.R. and Morrie attack their space, and threaten another boy in town, Wyatt and Augie decide that they have had enough and that it is time to stand up to the bullies. They come up with a plan that they think will be foolproof.  Will the boys get their happily ever after ending?

by Sarah Weeks Lexile:  830 Genre:  Realistic Fiction Melody is enjoying her summer.  She's having fun hanging out with her friend Nick and life with her dad is good.  Melody's mom died when she was born, so for as long as she can remember, it has just been her and her dad.  But one day, she overhears her father say "honey" on the phone. This leads her to believe that her father has a girlfriend...someone in her small town of Royal, IN...but who could it be?  Nick and Melody are on the quest to find "honey"!

By Eileen Beha Lexile:  720 Genre:  Fantasy Throckmorton S. Monkey is not your average sock monkey.  He lives a special life with his keeper Annaliese in a large estate known as Eastcliff-by-the- Sea.  Annaliese is growing older and has less time for her sock monkey, until the day that a mysterious invitation arrives for Throckmorton and the other sock monkeys that live in her home.  It seems that Annaliese's great grandmama, the created of all of the family's sock monkeys, is inviting all of the sock monkeys and their keepers to a grand party in honor of her 90th birthday.  The race is on for all of the sock monkeys to be located and suddenly Throckmorton is back into a part of Annaliese's life.  He could not be happier!  He has a feeling that big things are going to happen at this grand event....

by Cory Putman Oakes Lexile:  730 Genre:  Fantasy The infamous dinosaur gene skips a generation.  So if your grandfather has it and your dad doesn't, than you probably have it.  Sawyer is an average kid until the end of the summer just as he is ready to start 5th grade.  He wakes up one morning and realizes that he is sprouting spikes and a tail! Now he is going to have to face 5th grade as a partly formed stegosaurus.  He thinks he is prepared for the teasing and weird looks that are sure to come his way, but he is not prepared for all that happens as he and his friends uncover the many secrets that are being kept at their school!

by Kate Egan with Magician Mike Lane Illustrated by Eric Wright Lexile:  560 Genre:  Realistic Fiction Mike is hoping that fourth grade is going to finally be the year when he can sit still and follow directions in school.  But here it is, the first week of the new school year and he is already sitting in the principal's office!  Mike feels like he can't do anything right and this year looks even worse because there is a new girl, Nora, who has just moved in across the street, and his parents are going to share child care responsibilities with her family.  One day while Nora's mom is at the dentist, they stumble upon The White Rabbit which is an odd shop - part antiques and part magic store.  Mike is excited to work with the magician and learn some new magic tricks.  Could magic be what is missing from Mike's ability to feel like he is good at anything?

by Holly Goldberg Sloan Illustrated by Gary A. Rosen Lexile:  720 Genre:  Fantasy Possums are the most theatrical animals on the planet.  They can play dead at a moment's notice. Appleblossum is the youngest possum in her family and she is having to figure out what role in the family she was born to play.  Her mother is teaching her how to be a good possum and has warned her about the evil monsters - dogs and people.  But when Appleblossom meets one, she doesn't think that Izzy is evil or a monster. Appleblossom is curious and wants to know more about how evil monsters live despite her brother's warnings.  What will happen to Appleblossom?

by Lisa Bullard Lexile:  850 Genre:  Realistic Fiction, Mystery Travis has hopped on a bus and traveled halfway across the country to Minnesota to find out more about his father.  He is tired of his mother ignoring his questions and now that she has remarried, Travis doesn't feel like he has a place in her life anymore.  When Travis gets to Minnesota, he doesn't get the warmest welcome.  As it turns out, his father was a bank robber and there are many in the town who think he buried the money that he stole as it has never been found.  Travis and his new friends, Iz and Kenny, decide to try to solve the mystery about what happened to his dad and the stolen money.  They have no idea what secret they are about to reveal.