Mrs. Malecha Reads!

 by Katherine Applegate Genre:  Animal Story Ivan is a silverback gorilla who has spent most of his life in captivity.  He has a good life with his wife and friends at the wildlife sanctuary.  Ivan has just learned that he is going to be a dad and is wondering how that will change his calm and easy existence.  He thinks that being a dad might be kind of fun, and when the big day arrives he is ready, until he learns that there will be twins!  Ivan is about to begin the biggest adventure of his lifetime.

 by Kate DiCamillo Genre:  Animal Story Mercy Watson, Mr. and Mrs. Watson's porcine wonder, is missing and all of Deckawoo Drive is searching for her.  Baby Lincoln comes up with the idea to hire a private investigator.  They hire Percival Smidgely, PI, who doesn't really seem to know how to lead an investigation so if may be that someone else will have to put the clues together to figure out where Mercy has gone.  For sure it will have something to do with the smell of butter...

 by Chrissie Krebs Genre:  Animal Story, Humor, Fantasy, Graphic Novel Bear was just an average old bear until the day a tornado hits the woods and causes a wizard's wand to fly into bears head.  He can't pull it out and now he looks like a giant unicorn. But the good news is that he can now grant wishes.  This works out okay at first until everyone in the forest starts lining up to have their wishes come true.  How will Bear manage his newfound popularity?

 by Dave Eggers Genre:  Fantasy, Animal Story Johannes is the fastest dog ever and he uses his speed to be the Eyes of the urban park by the sea.  Every day he runs throughout the park and then reports back to the ancient bison about what he sees.  But things in the park are changing and disrupting their way of life and Johannes isn't sure what to make of all the changes.  Her really likes looking at the mysterious rectangle pictures that are suddenly appearing and he is curious about the new building that is being constructed in the park.  Johannes must run faster to stay ahead of those who wish to capture him so that he can continue to be the Eyes of the park.

 by Katherine Applegate Genre:  Animal Story Ruby the elephant's favorite activities are rolling around in the mud and hanging out with her best friends. Ivan and Bob.  The 3 are an unlikely group, but have kind of become a family.  Ruby hasn't ever shared a lot about her past and Ivan and Bob haven't really asked.  But now Ruby is growing up, and her tusks are coming in.  Her growing tusks stir up some childhood memories that Ruby would rather forget.  With the help of her supportive friends, Ruby is able to tell her story and in the process starts to feel her courage grow which will help her embrace and celebrate the changes ahead.

 by Michele Assarasakorn Genre:  Animal Story, Realistic Fiction, Graphic Novel Gabby, Priya and Mindy are best friends who have lots of differences, but one thing they all have in common is their love for animals.  Unfortunately, none of them have their own pets, so they decide to start a dog walking business.  They get a lot of clients right away, but their busy schedules and interests don't always mean they have time to do their job together.  Are the girls and their dogs in over their heads?

 by Colleen AF Venable Illustrated by Stephanie Yue Genre:  Animal Story, Graphic Novel Katie wants to go to summer camp with her best friend, Bethany, but the cost is too expensive for her family to afford.  Katie decides to offer to do odd jobs for people in her apartment building to earn money to pay for camp.  She tries hauling groceries (the bags are too heavy), she tries plant sitting (the plants all die) and then finally she finds the perfect job - cat sitting!  However, these are not ordinary cats and there are 217 of them!  Has Katie found the perfect job to pay for camp or is this going to be just another disaster?

 by Hannah Gold Genre:  Animal Story April and her father have recently moved to Bear Island where they will be living alone for 6 months while her father conducts scientific research.  April wonders why it is called Bear Island as there are no bears there anymore.  One day while she is out exploring, she catches sight of a large shadow that looks suspiciously like a polar bear.  After further investigation, April discovers Bear, a malnourished and lonely polar bear who she befriends by feeding peanut butter.  April and Bear forge an unlikely friendship that just may save both of them.

 by Katherine Applegate Genre:  Animal Story, Novel in Verse Odder loves to dive and swim and hunt for food in the ocean off the coast of central California.  She is fearless and carefree and loves to swim with her friends.  But one day, she and her friend go a little too far and they cross paths with a shark who injures Odder.  She must then rely on humans to save her and help her relearn what it means to be a friend and an otter.

 by Margaret Finnegan Genre:  Realistic Fiction, Animal Story Hank Hudson has just been caught burning a book in the school bathroom.  But he claims he had a good reason...he hated the book and it made him very sad.  His stunt got the attention of Maisie, who decides that Hank is the perfect person to help her rescue a dog that she thinks is being mistreated.  Hank has autism and sees the world in only black and white so he isn't sure if what Maisie wants to do is the right thing or not.  All he knows is that for the first time ever, there is someone who wants to be is friend and someone who believes that if he can save Booler the dog, he will be a hero.

 by Emily Ecton Art by Dave Mottram Genre:  Animal Story, Fantasy The day that Mrs. Food fell, was the day that daily life changed for Butterbean, Oscar, Walt, Marco and Polo.  Mrs. Food was no longer there to feed an care for her beloved pets, and no one knew if she would be able to return.  So the resourceful pets decided that they must save themselves so that they wouldn't have to be split up and sent to separate homes.  Butterbean knows a man in the building who may have some loot that will get them the money they need to secure their lifelong happiness so the great pet heist is planned and executed.  Will things turn out the way they planned?

 by Celesta Rimington Genre:  Animal Story, Realistic Fiction, Paranormal Lex Willow doesn't remember her life before the tornado.  That night she lost her family, but gained a zoo.  The wild winds transported her into the elephant habitat where Nyah saved her life.  Now that Lex is older, she is curious about where she came from.  She and Nyah have always shared a special bond and lately Lex feels as though Nyah is trying to communicate something to her.  Lex is drawn to an abandoned trailer in the woods outside the zoo.  Lex and her friend Fisher decide to investigate and try to figure out what the mystery is surrounding the trailer and how it is connected to Lex and Nyah.  

 by Margi Preus Genre:  Animal Story Jean Pierre Petite Le Rouge is a little red squirrel who longs to join the exciting life of the voyageurs.  He wants to travel by canoe and see the world.  When a group passes by on their way to Montreal, he hops aboard and hopes that he will be accepted even if he can't contribute much.  His voyageur life has its ups and downs until the day he discovers what the voyageurs actually trade for when they arrive in Montreal.  He is horrified with what he sees at the trading post and must decide if he should give up his voyageur dreams.

 by Kathi Appelt Genre:  Fantasy, Animal Story Zada was probably the first camel to ever set foot in Texas.  She was a gift to the US Army from the Pasha for whom she won many races for.  She worked hard as for the US Army until they no longer needed camels and she was then set free to fend for herself in the desert, with her life long friend, Asiye at her side.  But as the two camels grew older, it has become harder and harder to navigate the desert.  When a massive dust storm hits, Zada is put in charge of saving two young kestrels.  Does Zada have the strength and courage to get them to safety?

 by Christian McKay Heidicker Genre:  Fantasy, Animal Story Seven little foxes think they are ready to hear a scary story...will they be able to last all the way though?  No fox kit is safe in spooky Antler Wood.  There is a teacher with dark, gooey eyes and a woman who peels foxes' skins and then there is the paw that keeps returning from the dead.  One by one, the seven little foxes slink away from the storyteller...will anyone stay to hear how the story ends?

 by Katherine Applegate Genre:  Animal Story, Fantasy Bob never thought he would want to live with humans because he considered himself to be an independent dog.  But that was before he met Julia and now he has it pretty good.  He has plenty of food, a warm place to sleep at night and he is able to visit his best friends, Ivan and Stella, whenever he wants.  The one thing that he still misses though, is the last memory he has of his sister.  He knows that she survived the night they were abandoned, but he has no idea where she is or if she is still alive.  When a tragedy strikes the animal sanctuary, Bob hears the sound of a bark that he hasn't heard for many years.  Is it possible that it isn't too late for him to find his sister?

 by Bruce Hale Genre:  Fantasy, Animal Story Fuzzy the Guinea Pig has big plans.  It is finally his year to be the president of the class pets until cute Cinnabun arrives on the scene and gets elected.  Now Fuzzy has to come up with something exciting to impress the group.  He decides that the class pets should go on a field trip. Everyone is in favor of an adventure, but Fuzzy is good with the big ideas, but not so much on the details.  How will this adventure turn out for the class pets??

by Lynne Kelly Lexile:  800 Genre:  Realistic Fiction, Animal Story Iris is the only deaf person in her school which can leave her feeling alone and isolated.  She loves to take a part radios and computers and fix them up for people.  One day, she hears the story about a whale who doesn't communicate the way other whales do.  Iris is fascinated by the research that a team of scientists in Alaska is doing to try to figure out why Blue-55 communicates the way he does.  Iris feels a special connection with this whale she has never met, because she knows all too well how hard it is to not be heard or understood.  Is there someway that Iris could help Blue-55 by learning his song?

by Sharon Creech Lexile:  690 Genre:  Realistic Fiction, Animal Story One day, Louie's father brings him a fragile, newborn donkey, that most people are sure isn't going to survive.  However, as soon as Louie sees the poor thing, he decides that he will do whatever he can to save it.  The name Winslow comes to him and so begins his quest to save a donkey.  Louie is especially lonely right now because his brother Gus is away in the army and his friends Mack is growing up.  Louie throws all of his energy and loneliness into saving Winslow and miraculously, Winslow starts to thrive.

by Dan Gemeinhart Lexile:  530 Genre:  Fantasy, Animal Story Brodie was the best dog ever and he loved his boy, Aiden, very much.  But now Brodie is dead and feeling unsettled.  There is this sense that Aiden is still in danger, but the memories of what happened aren't coming clearly to him.  Brodie learns that he isn't quite in heaven yet so there is still a chance for him to go back to help Aiden, but if he does, there is a chance that he will lose his soul and never get to the perfect place where dogs run free forever and ever.  Brodie knows he has to take the chance and is determined to do whatever he can to get his memory back and make sure that Aiden is safe.