Mrs. Malecha Reads!

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.

by Benjamin Renner Genre:  Fantasy, Graphic Novel The Big Bad Fox wants to be the terror of the barnyard and scare all the animals, but nobody is afraid of him.  Mostly the animals just find him to be very annoying.  He turns to the wolf to help him become scarier.  The wolf suggests that he steal some eggs and that he can then raise as chicks so that he can get a decent meal.  The fox gets the eggs, but he is unprepared for how attached to the chicks he gets.  Now the chicks think that the fox is their mom, which makes them baby foxes.  This barnyard is getting more mixed up by the minute!

by Mary Downing Hahn Lexile:  690 Genre:  Ghost Story, Spooky Erica and Daniel and their parents have moved into the old Estes place.  Rumor has it that 50 years ago, a little girl named Selene lived in the house and one night she mysteriously disappeared and was never seen again.  Erica and Daniel try to ignore what the kids at school are telling them about their creepy old house, but they both know that something isn't right.  Their parents are fighting, neither of them like their new school, and now Erica is spending more and more time talking to her doll.  Daniel watches as she disappears into the woods each day after school and one time decided to follow her. They get in a fight and Erica runs off.  Daniel runs home, but Erica never returns.  Where is she?

by Kelly Jones Illustrated by Katie Kath Lexile:  880 Genre:  Realistic Fiction, Fantasy Sophie Brown has just moved to her great-uncle Jim's farm with her parents.  None of them have ever lived on a farm before, but when Jim died he left the farm to her parents so they have decided to give life a try there.  Apparently, her great-uncle Jim had some chickens, but these chickens were not your regular, ordinary kind of chickens.  No, these chickens are unusual chickens and now it is up to Sophie to find them and figure out how to take care of them.

by Ursula Vernon Lexile:  810 Genre:  Fantasy Harriet Hamsterbone is not an ordinary princess.  When she was born, the evil fairy Ratshade, put a curse on her that will cause her to fall into a deep sleep on her 12th birthday.  Harriet's parents are devastated, but Harriet has decided that this is the greatest thing every because it means that for her first twelve years, she is invincible.  Harriet sets off on all kinds of adventures, but as her 12th birthday nears, she realizes that she will have to come up with a plan to outsmart the evil Ratshade. Can Harriet save herself from a lifetime of deep sleep?

by Mac Barnett and Jory John Illustrated by Kevin Cornell Lexile:  620 Genre:  Realistic Fiction, Humor 2018-19 Maud Hart Lovelace Nominee Miles Murphy is the new kid at the Yawnee Valley Science and Letters Academy.  Miles does not want to be the new kid.  He was quite content at his old school where he was known as the biggest prankster of all time.  He plans to award himself that title at this new school so he designs the birthday party prank.  But someone is on to him and pulls off a suprise prank on him right at the end of the party.  Niles, the school helper, and the only one who has really spoken to Miles since he moved, is the culprit.  Niles wants to team up with Miles to create the biggest pranks of all time. Miles isn't sure he wants a partner so he and Niles launch the great prank war.  Who will win the battle?

by Watt Key Lexile:  650 Genre:  Realistic Fiction, Adventure Thirteen year old Cort is growing up along the Gulf Coast of Alabama where his father is an expert swamp and hunting guide.  Cort often times accompanies his father on his trips and has learned a lot about what it takes to survive in the wild world of the swamps.  But one night when a category 3 storm makes landfall while Cort is home alone, all of his survival training is going to need to kick in if he is going to save himself and his neighbors.  Cort's dad should never have left him alone...but he did.