Mrs. Malecha Reads!

by Diane Stanley Lexile:  670 Gener:  Magical Realism Joplin never knew her famous grandfather, but when he suddenly dies, the whole world is interested.  Joplin doesn't know why she never met him,  and her mother doesn't want to talk about it.  When they go to clean out his house, Joplin finds a tin full of fragments of an old Dutch platter.  Joplin fits the pieces together and falls in love with the beautiful landscape it depicts.  When Joplin takes it to an antique store to have it restored, the owner suspiciously tells her it is worth nothing, yet offers to buy it form her.  Joplin decides to have someone else restore it and then hangs it in her room.  One morning she notices that the little girl in the landscape has vanished and much to her surprise she finds her in the garden.  Joplin is thrilled to have a new friend, but how did Sophie get out of the platter?  The story Sophie tells is unbelievable, but yet...there she stands...

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.

by Anne Ursu Genre:  Realistic Fiction/Fantasy, Magical Realism Iris and Lark are identical twins and they have always done everything together.  That has included being in the same class at school.  But when the letter arrives just before the start of 5th grade, the girls are shocked to learn that they have been placed in separate classes and even more shocked that their parents seem to think it is a good idea!  They are also told that they will be doing separate after school activities.  Neither Lark nor Iris knows what life without the other close by will be like.  Their parents are insisting that they give it a try, but both girls are convinced it will be the worst situation ever.