Mrs. Malecha Reads!

 by Christopher Paul Curtis Lexile:  750 Genre:  Historical Fiction Deza is the smartest girl in school and her older brother Jimmie is the best singer in all of Gary, Indiana.  Their parents are struggling to earn enough money to keep their home and food on the table. A boating accident causes their father to leave home and Deza, Jimmie, and their mother have no choice but to follow him.  They end up living in a homeless camp in Flint, MI.  Life is rough until Jimmie starts earning money singing and their mom is able to find work cleaning at the hotel.  But there is no word from their father.  Will their family ever be able to live all together again?

 by Carl Hiaasen Lexile:  830 Genre:  Mystery Noah's dad has a temper and it has gotten him in trouble this time.  He is trying to stop a casino boat's illegal dumping, but now that he's in jail, Noah and his sister, Abbey, have to pick up the mystery where their father left off, to prove that he is innocent.  Meanwhile, the casino boat is still dropping its crud into the ocean.  Noah and Abbey are determined to put a stop to the nasty pollution.

 by Katherine Applegate Genre: Realistic Fiction, Novel in Verse Kek arrives from Africa to the United States without his family. He knows his brother and father are dead and holds on to hope that his mother will be found in another refugee camp and join him later. With the help of his cousin, aunt, his ESL teacher, and a cow named Gol, he attempts to create a new life for himself in a country he doesn't always understand.

 by Stuart Gibbs Lexile: 820 Genre: Mystery Teddy lives with his parents at FunJungle, the world's largest zoo. One day Henry the Hippo is found belly up in his home at Hippo River. What caused the mascot to go die? Henry takes it upon himself to attend the autopsy and learns that Doc, FunJungle's crabby veterinarian, thinks that Henry was murdered. Teddy begins his quest to find out the real story behind Henry's death.

 by Kristin Mahoney Genre:  Realistic Fiction Augusta has started 6th grade.  Middle School.  And her younger sister, Lou, is full of questions about it.  But Gus doesn't feel like answering any of curious Lou's questions.  The reality is that middle school is not that great.  Gus is still adjusting to having her parents live in separate homes, her best friend from elementary school is going to a different middle school, and she seems to have become a target for a group of mean girls.  Will there be anything good about 6th grade?

 by Nikki Grimes Genre:  Realistic Fiction Dyamonde Daniel is new in town, but she is not letting anything stop her.  Her family secret is that she is super smart, according to her mom anyway.  But if she is so smart, how come she can't make any new friends?  Then one day, another new student, Free, shows up.  He is one of the grouchiest kids Dyamonde has ever met.  Now she has decided to get to the bottom of his attitude.  What will she discover about Free?

 by Whitney Stewart Genre:  Biography Who was Walt Disney?  He was a boy who loved to play practical jokes on just about anyone.  He was also an ambulance driver during World War 1.  But he is most famous for being the creator of a cartoon mouse named Mickey.  How did this class clown turnout to be one of the world's most famous people?  Read this biography to find out!