Mrs. Malecha Reads!

by Jason Reynolds Lexile:  750 Genre:  Realistic Fiction This story is told in ten blocks after school is dismissed for the day.  Each story is a separate journey home, but in some way they are all connected.  Like all good stories, this was starts with a school bus falling from the sky.  But not everyone saw it because they were focused on other things.  They were all too busy just trying to get home.

by Jonathan Auxier Lexile:  630 Genre:  Fantasy It has been 5 years since Nan has seen Sweep and had to go to work for the evil chimney sweep, Wilkie Crudd.  The Sweep taught Nan all kinds of things about the hard life of a chimney sweep, but Crudd cares about nothing except making money.  Nan and the other sweeps don't have any control over their lives and just keep working as hard as they can.  When Nan gets caught in a chimney, people think that she has died, but in reality, her new life is just beginning.  With the help of a magical piece of char that the Sweep left her, Nan creates Charlie, a golem, whose sole purpose is to protect her.  Nan and Charlie are trying to make life better for all of the sweeps...but will they succeed?

by Ellen Oh Lexile:  680 Genre:  Paranormal, Fantasy From the moment Harper set foot in her new house, she has felt a sense of unease.  Certain rooms are colder than others and she feels the strangest sensation that she is not alone.  When her brother, Michael, makes a new friend, Billy, that nobody else can see, Harper is certain that their house is haunted.  Michael's behavior is changing, Harper has been mysteriously injured twice, and there are just too many strange occurrences to ignore that ghosts are somehow interfering with her family.  Harper's mother doesn't want to hear anything about ghosts, so Harper doesn't know who to turn to.  She does know that things are getting worse for Michael and that it will be up to her to find a way out.

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 Lesa Cline-Ransome Lexile:  760 Genre:  Historical Fiction Langston feels lost.  His mother died and his father moved them from rural Alabama to the heart of the city of Chicago.  The boys at school call him "Country Boy" and make fun of his accent and old clothes.  Langston wishes his mother were still alive and wishes that his dad would change his mind and move them back to Alabama.  The one bright spot in Langston's life is the discovery of a library that allows all residents of the city to check out up to five books at a time.  While at the library, Langston is introduced to many authors, including the poet, Langston Hughes.  Learning about Hughes' poems helps Langston learn more about his mother and gives him hope for the future.

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.