Hooray for Inventors
by Marca Williams


If you've always figured the great inventors of history came up with their ideas and succeeded right away, you're wrong.  Many of them struggled for years and only  perseverance and hard work allowed them to succeed.


Hooray for Inventors is a great introduction to numerous inventors throughout time.  It details the inventions of Edison, Bell, the Wright Brothers and more.  Their stories are told in two to three page cartoons. 


These short stories are great introductions and may inspire you to keep trying to accomplish your goals or simply inspire you to read more books about these famous inventors. 


Published: 2005

Genre: Non-fiction

Locations: School Library, Public Library

Short Picture Book Biographies

Short picture book biographies are a great way to introduce yourself to a historical figure.  They quickly allow you to learn the most important events in a historical figure's life and help you to determine if you want to invest more time reading a longer biography about that person.  



If a Bus Could Talk The Story of Rosa Parks
by Faith Ringgold



Read to find out how Rosa Parks' life influenced her brave actions on a public bus in Montgomery, Alabama helping to spark the Civil Rights Movement in the United States.


Published: 1999

Locations: School Library, Amazon

Houdini: World's Greatest Mystery Man and Escape Artist
written by Kathleen Krull
illustrated by Eric Velasquez


How do you become the greatest escape artist of all time? Read Houdini to find out how he used dedication, hard work, and practice to do the impossible? 


Published: 2005

Locations: School Library, Amazon

Roberto Clemente Pride of the Pittsburgh Pirates
written by Jonah Winter
illustrated by Raul Colon


When I was younger, my best friend and I played wiffle ball in my driveway throughout the summer.  We always pretended to be professional baseball players.  I choose someone new everyday, players like Steve Garvey or Pete Rose. But my friend always choose to be Roberto Clemente .  I often wondered why he picked a player who had died before we were born, but after reading this biography I can see why he did. Roberto Clemente was a hard hitting, hard running, hard throwing outfielder that was all around awesome. 


Published: 2005

Locations: School Library, Public Library, Amazon

Boys in Control

Boys in Control
by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor


This book has it all: brothers, sisters, baseball, teamwork, acting, and blackmail.


The Hatfords, 4 brothers, and the McCoys, 3 sisters, live on opposite sides of the Buckman River and have been feuding since the McCoys moved in.  


But eventually the Hatfords and McCoys need to work together.  Can 6th graders Jake Hatford and Eddie McCoy work together and lead their baseball team to the championship? Can 2nd grader Peter Hatford, and 4th graders Wally Hatford and Caroline McCoy perform a play together that Caroline has written for extra credit? 


Oh yeah, there is a little bit of blackmail too.  The McCoys have found a photo album filled with embarrassing photos of the Hatford boys.  Think diapers on big kids.  Can the Hatford boys work with the McCoy girls even though they are threatening to show the pictures at school?


Boys in Control is one book in a series of 11 books starring the Hatford boys and the McCoy girls.  It is neither the first (The Boys Start the War) nor the last (Who Won the War?) in the series.  This book provides enough background information to allow you to understand it without having read the previous books.

Published: 2003

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Reading Level: Fifth Grade

Locations: Class Library, School Library, Public Library, Amazon

Dork Diaries

Dork Diaries: Tales From a Not-So Fabulous Life
by Rachel Renee Russell


I hate Westchester Country Day. It's the worst middle school ever   I have no friends and I just don't fit in.  I want a new cell phone, a new wardrobe, some friends, and to get into the cool crowd.  


How am I going to do it.  I just don't know.  The only idea I have so far is to enter my school's art contest.  The grand prize is $500.  The money and the prestige would solve all of my problems.  I love art and I'm really good at it.  The only problem is MacKenzie is entering too.  She's an awful person but everyone knows she will win.  She's Miss Popularity and I'm a dork.  Should I even bother to try?


Published: 2009

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Locations: School Library, Public Library, Amazon

Big Nate on a Roll

Big Nate On a Roll

by Lincoln Peirce

In Big Nate on a Roll, Nate's Timber Scout troop is having a fundraiser where the scouts are asked to sell little posters called Warm Fuzzies.  Whoever sells the most wins a customized skateboard.  

If it were just a skateboard, Nate would want to win, but when Artur joins the Timber Scouts and partakes in the fundraiser, Nate has to win.  The problem for Nate is that Artur is really good at selling Warm Fuzzies.  Nate decides he must do anything to win.  Read Big Nate On a Roll to see if Nate can defeat Artur and win the skateboard.

This is the third Big Nate novel and I recommend that you read all three.  It doesn't matter which book you read first because all three contain stand alone stories that you can fully understand without having read the others. 

While the stories can stand alone, the characters remain the same. Nate is a nice kid who just does a lot of minor stuff to get in trouble. Francis and Teddy are his best friends.  Jenny is his dream girl. Gina is his arch enemy and he can't stand super nice guy Artur. (Yes, Artur is the correct spelling.)

Published: 2011

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Reading Level: Below Fifth Grade

Locations: School Library, Public Library, Amazon

Esio Trot

Esio Trot 
by Roald Dahl


Esio Trot is a humorous romance novel.  Mr. Hoppy loves his neighbor Mrs. Silver.  But instead of loving Mr. Hoppy, Mrs. Silver loves her pet tortoise Alfie.  When Mr. Hoppy discovers that Mrs. Silver would reward anyone whom could get her dear little Alfie to grow, he goes into action. Dishonest action.


Mr. Hoppy devises a devious plan to convince Mrs. Silver that Alfie is growing.  His plan is ingenious, a fake chant and a slight of hand, but will he be able to pull it off without getting caught?  If he is successful, will Mrs. Silver reward Mr. Hoppy with what he truly desires, her love?  And what will become of little Alife?  Esio Trot is filled with moments that entice you to predict what will happen next.


First published in 1990

Reading Level: Slightly below fifth grade

Genre: Romance/realistic fiction (everything could technically happen)

Locations: classroom library, school library, Grace A. Dow, Amazon

Toad Rage

Toad Rage
by Morris Gleitzman


Limpy has a quest he must embark on no matter the dangers.  He must save mankind, wait, rewind, Limpy must save Australian Cane Toads from mankind. 


In Limpy's neck of the world, humans hate cane toads and they go out of their way to run them over on the highway.  After seeing his dear sister, Charm, nearly run over, Limpy sets off to convince humans to stop hating and killing cane toads.


His plan, become an Olympic mascot, because how could humans deliberately kill an Olympic mascot. Enlisting the help of his cousin Goliath, random animals, and an Olympic pole vaulter, he attempts tries to gain the love of mankind.  Is it possible for humans to love cane toads?  Limpy hopes so.  


Published: 2001

Genre: Fantasy

Reading Level: Fifth Grade

Locations: School Library, Public Library, Amazon

Guts Our Digestive System

Guts Our Digestive System
by Seymour Simon


Have you ever wondered how your body turns food into energy? Then you need to read Guts by Seymour Simon.  Using descriptive details, great word choices, and color photographs, Guts tells the energy making journey food takes through our body starting from the moment it enters your mouth. 


Published: 2005

Genre: Non-fiction Human Body

Locations: School Library, Public Library, Amazon

Ruby Lu, Brave and True

Ruby Lu, Brave and True
by Lenore Look



In Ruby Lu, Brave and True, eight year old aspiring magician Ruby Lu partakes in numerous two chapter adventures. She and her good friend Emma compete to see who has the most advanced baby brother,  she is forced to start attending Chinese school, deals with the new neighborhood bully, learns how to drive a car, really a real car, and prepares to share her room with her cousin from China. I've summarized Ruby's adventures, but if you want the details, you need to read Ruby Lu, Brave and True.  

Published: 2004

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Reading Level: Below Fifth Grade

Locations: School Library, Public Library, Amazon

The Thing About Georgie

The Thing About Georgie
by Lisa Graff

Do you know what a dwarf is?


According to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, a dwarf is a person of unusually small stature.


The main character of The Thing About Georgie is fourth grader Georgie Bishop, who also happens to be a dwarf.


You might not think that a fourth grade dwarf could be just like you, but he is.  Listen to his problems and tell me they don't sound familiar.


First off, Georgie has been an only child for the first ten years of his life, but  now his parents have decided to have another baby.  Georgie isn't sure how he will fit into this new family scenario. 


Second, Georgie's best friend Andy has started to hang out with the new kid Russ.  Andy wants Georgie to hang out with Russ too, but Georgie isn't sure how he will fit into this new friendship scenario.


Finally, everyone in his class is working on a research project about a president with a partner.  Georgie has to work with Jeanie the Meanie, the class bully.  Georgie isn't sure how he will fit into this new classroom scenario.


Georgie sounds pretty normal, doesn't he?  He has to deal with problems at home, with friends, and at school just like you.  Read The Thing About Georgie to find out how Georgie handles each new scenario.


Published: 2006

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Reading Level: Fifth Gade

Locations: School Library, Public Library, and Amazon

The Black Island

The Adventures of TinTin
The Black Island
by Herge


In this classic mystery comic, TinTin spots a plane in landing roughly.  As he goes to help the pilots, they  shoot him.  After he recovers, he sets out to find what the pilots were up to.  


Overcoming an abundance of hurdles, TinTin  perseveres until his investigation leads him to The Black Island, where he discovers more danger than he has faced before (remember this is a guy who got shot on the first page). Will he make it off the island alive?


I'm not telling, so read The Black Island to find out.


Published: 1956


Genre: Comic Book/Graphic Novel Mystery


Reading Level: fifth grade (lots of infering)


Locations: School library and Amazon

Flying Solo

Flying Solo
by Ralph Fletcher


Imagine your sixth grade teacher is absent, your substitute teacher doesn't show up, and none of the adults in charge at school know that no teacher is present.  What would you do?


Mr. Fab's sixth grade class decided to run class themselves.  Surprisingly, the students' day is pretty close to normal.  They write when they are supposed to write and read when they need to read. As the students take on responsibility, they learn more about themselves and try to make it through the day without getting caught. 


Read Flying Solo to find out what happens when Mr. Fab's class flies solo.


Published: 1998


Genre: Realistic Fiction


Reading Level: 5th Grade


Locations: School library and Amazon

Dodger and Me

Dodger and Me
by Jordan Sonnenblick


Willie has three big problems.

1. After his only and best friend Tim, moves away, he has no friends except for  a girl name Lizzie that he feels is stalking him
2. His mom is way too overprotective
3. He stinks at baseball and his team is trying to win the championship

What does Willie do to solve these problems?  

He discovers Dodger, a talking blue chimpanzee that only he can see. Luckily for Willie Dodger has a three part plan to fix Willie's problems.  Can a possibly imaginary, bumbling, stumbling, catastrophe prone chimpanzee named Dodger that only he can see really help Willie? Read Dodger and Me to find out.

Published: 2008

Genre: Fantasy

Reading Level: Fifth Grade

Location: School library and Amazon

On My Honor

On My Honor
by Marion Dane Bauer


You and your best friend Tony have gone swimming in the dangerous Vermillion River, even though  you know you're not supposed to.  Being the better swimmer, you swim out ahead.  When you reach your destination, you turn back to check on Tony, but he is nowhere to be seen.  At first you think he's hiding.  Then you come to the conclusion that he has drowned.  Now what do you do?

Read On My Honor to find out what Joel does after his best friend Tony drowns in the Vermillion River.

Published: 1986

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Reading Level: Fifth grade

Locations: Class library, school library, Amazon