Mrs. Malecha Reads!

by Dean Pitchford Lexile:  830 Genre:  Realistic Fiction Award:  2016-17 Maud Hart Lovelace Nominee Sam Brattle is having the worst Christmas ever.  His dad's business is nearly bankrupt, his mom has remarried and cancelled his Christmas visit, and because he damaged his neighbor's house, he has to spend the entire winter break working off his debt.  But working for his neighbor, Mr. Wells, turns out to not be the experience he expected. In fact, meeting Mr. Wells, just might be one of the best things that has ever happened to him.

by Matt Tavares Lexile: AD820 Genre:  Biography Award:  Orbis Pictus Honoree Pedro and Ramon Martinez grew up in the Dominican Republic, along way from where they eventually end up.  As children, they loved to play baseball.  When Pedro's brother Ramon turned 16, he was offered a contract by the Los Angeles Dodgers.  He used some of that money to buy Pedro his first real baseball glove.  Pedro tagged along after Ramon as often as he could and eventually he too caught the eye of the scouts from the Los Angeles Dodgers.  With a lot of hard work and the support of his brother, Pedro too got a chance to play in the major league.

John McLendon and the Secret Game by John Coy Illustrated by Randy DuBurke Genre:  Biography Award:  Orbis Pictus Honoree In North Carolina in 1944, basketball was segregated.  White and Black colleges did not play against each other.  White and Black players could not play on the same team as each other.  But Coach John McLendon believed that "...we all play basketball, that we all played it well, and that we should be playing it together."  He arranged for a secret game to take place between the North Carolina College Eagles and Duke University.  What happened next, surprised just about everyone who knew about it.

Robert Battle's Journey to Alvin Ailey by Lesa Cline-Ransome Illustrated by James E. Ransome Lexile:  1060 Genre:  Biography Award:  Orbis Pictus Honoree My Story, My Dance is the biography of Robert Battle's journey from a young child with a disability to a famous dancer.  Robert had many obstacles to overcome as he started dancing at the age of 13 when most of the other students were age 5.  He was determined to achieve his dream which led him all the way to becoming the director of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.