My Name is Georgia

My Name is Georgia
by Jeanette Winter




With beautiful illustrations and poetic text, Jeanette Winters tells the artful life journey of Georgia O'Keeffe.  From her childhood home to the big city to the vast empty desert, Georgia O'Keeffe recorded the beauty of the world wherever she was. 


Published: 1998

Genre: Biography

Locations: School Library and Public Library

26 Fairmont Avenue

26 Fairmont Avenue
Tomie DePaola


26 Fairmont Avenue was a wonderful little memoir with a slightly misleading title.  When I picked up the book I expected to read funny little stories about what Tomie DePaola did at his house at 26 Fairmont Avenue.  Instead I enjoyed a bunch of hilarious stories that occurred while Tomie's family was building their new home at 26 Fairmont Avenue.  Read this book to find out how Tomie deals with a hurricane, his first day of kindergarten, seeing snow while celebrating New Year's, and finally moving into his new house at 26 Fairmont Avenue.


Published: 1999

Genre: Autobiography/Memoir

Locations: School Library and Public Library

Ida B

Ida B
by Katherine Hannigan


I'm sad, angry, and scared. I feel unloved.  My life is falling apart. But it wasn't always that way.  See I used stay home on the apple farm all the time.  My mama and daddy taught me all I needed to know.  I had time to go out and talk to the trees and brook.  I had time to be with my mama and daddy.  I was happy.


Then my mama got cancer and everything changed.  My mama was tired and sick.  My daddy was stressed.  We had to sell some of our land to pay mama's hospital bills. The new owner's cut down some of my trees.  My parents had to send me back to school.


I don't know how to deal with all of my emotions, so I'm turning my heart to steal.  I'm not going to be nice or sad.  I'll just be Ida.  Will I ever find happiness again? 


Published: 2004

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Locations: Class Library, School Library, and Public Library

Spanish Explorer Biographies

Our library has some awesome biographies about Spanish explorers.  They offer much more detail then our Social Studies book. 

Magellan
by Michael Burgan
921 MAG 


This book has a ton of detail about Magellan's trip around the world.  My favorite parts were the quotes from one of his crewman's journal.  It was also interesting to see how much trouble he had with his own crew. They didn't like that he was Portuguese.




Hernan Cortes
by Thomas Streissguth
921 Cortes


This Cortes biography has a strong focus on his conquest of the Aztecs. It really shows how it was a long drawn out process and not a simple conquest.






Hernan Cortes 
by Jeff Donaldson-Forbes 
921 Cortes


This Cortes biography also covers his conquest of the Aztecs but provides more information about his pre-Aztec adventures. He conquered more tribes than just the Aztecs. 




Juan Ponce De Leon 
by Marc Tyler Nobleman
921 Ponce De Leon


This version covers Ponce de Leon's life from young adulthood until death. It talks a lot about what he did before exploring Florida. He actually conquered the island that is now Puerto Rico.  This book argues that he was not searching for the Fountain of Youth while in Florida. 


Ponce De Leon
by Ann Heinrichs
921 Pon 


This Ponce de Leon biography is more detailed than Nobleman's.  It covers his life from birth until death.  He led two expeditions to Florida.  The first was to explore and the second was to set up a colony. It also argues that Ponce de Leon wasn't searching for the Fountain of Youth when he was in Florida. 




Francisco Vasquez de Coronado
by Kristin Petrie
921 Coronado


This biography covers Coronado's entire life. It primarily focuses on his expedition to find the Seven Cities of Gold.  The Native Americans that he met weren't fond of him and often told him that they knew were golden cities were to get him to leave. 




Hernando De Soto
by Peggy Pancella
921 De Soto


De Soto's biography is broken into two main parts. First it covers De Soto's life as an underling where he fight the native peoples in Central America and South America.  Second it covers his life as a leader and provides details about his exploration through North America. The book also has an informative paragraph on page 29 about why Spain quit exploring North America. 

The Wednesday Wars

The Wednesday Wars
by Gary D. Schmidt


It's hard being a seventh grader.  I've got a crazy older sister who wants to be a hippie and a dad who wants me to be perfect so I don't ruin the family architecture business. I get along with my classmates but sometimes they want to kill me and then there are eighth grade bullies to deal with.  There are two rats running around the walls of our classroom that I accidentally released from their cage.  The Vietnam War is being fought and nobody can agree about that.  My cross country coach keeps yelling at me to go faster. 


Oh yeah, and my teacher Mrs. Baker, I can't figure out if she hates me or not.  See I'm the only Presbyterian in my class, the rest of the kids are either Catholic or Jewish.  She doesn't hate me because of my religious beliefs, she hates me because I'm only kid in class who doesn't leave early on Wednesdays to go to religious school.  So she's stuck with me.  Just me.  


She has me reading Shakespeare, which I thought I would hate.  But I don't. I kind of like it. .  Shakespeare is actually helping me figure out life and that's good because like I said, being a seventh grader isn't easy.  Read my book, I think you'll think my year as a seventh grader was pretty interesting.  


Published: 2007

Genre: Historical Fiction

Locations: Classroom Library, School Library, Public Library, Amazon

Milo: Sticky Notes & Brain Freeze

Milo: Sticky Notes & Brain Freeze
by Alan Silberberg


You are Milo Cruikshank, almost 13, and starting 7th grade at a new school.  You know you're not the coolest guy in the world, so you've created an imaginary friend, Dabney St. Claire, to give you advice on being cool.  


Your mom has recently passed away.  Your father, sister, and yourself don't talk about her death. You more or less pretend she never existed.  


On your first day of school you fall in love with Summer but she doesn't know it because you've never spoken to her. On the other hand, you've spoken to your next door neighbor and fellow 7th grader Hillary but you thinks she's dorky and don't really want to be her friend. 


You feel OK but know something is missing in your life.  You need to figure out how your new motherless family is going to work and where you fit in at your new school.  Read your story, Milo: Sticky Notes and Brain Freeze, to find out how things work out for you.


Published: 2010

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Locations: Class Library, and Amazon


  

Spider Boy

Spider Boy
by Ralph Fletcher


Being the new kid at school is tough.  You don't have any friends.  You don't have any history with the kids in school.  You don't how to act in order to fit it.  Starting new is hard. 


Bobby is the new kid in Spider Boy. Bobby and his family have just moved from Illinois to New York.  He loves spiders.  He has a pet tarantula named Thelma and keeps a spider journal.  


Bobby isn't having much luck fitting into the 7th grade crowd at his new school and he is feeling very lonely.  He longs to go back to Illinois where he had many good friends and fit in just fine.   


When school bully Chick Hall finds out that Bobby is into spiders, Chick starts to call him Spider Boy. Chick doesn't stop there and goes out of his way to make Bobby miserable. 


Things aren't looking good for Bobby.  He just wants to go back home to Illinois but that isn't an option because his dad has a great new job in New York.  


Can Bobby make friends at his new school?  Can Bobby fit in?  Can New York ever feel like home for Bobby?  Read Spider Boy to find out!  


Genre: Realistic Fiction

Published: 1997

Locations: School Library, and Amazon

Faithful Elephants

Faithful Elephants
by Yukio Tsuchiya
translated by Tomoko Tsuchiya Dykes
illustrated by Ted Lewin


Faithful Elephants is a fictional retelling of what happened at the Ueno Zoo in Tokyo during World War II. 


Today the Ueno Zoo is a wonderful zoo and it was a wonderful place before World War II as well.  But during World War II is was a very sad place.  As the Allied Forces bombed Tokyo more and more, the Japanese Armed Forces ordered that all large animals, that could be dangerous if they escaped, be killed. 


Faithful Elephants retells how difficult it was for the three elephants' caretakers to follow through with the army's orders.


This story is extremely sad and demonstrates some of the lesser known consequences of war.  

Published in English: 1988

Genre: Historical Fiction Picture Book

Locations: School Library, and Amazon

Note: This book is considered fiction and non-fiction depending on which library you go to.  The Library of Congress considers it to be fiction.

Runt

Runt
by Marion Dane Bauer


Runt was born last among his five wolf siblings.  His brothers and sisters, whom are big and strong, are named: Leader, Sniffer, Runner, and Thinker.  His father named him Runt because he was so small. 


Runt looks just like his father King but he is tiny and weak and his father is concerned that he will quickly die because even strong pups frequently die in the wild.  His mother agrees that he is small and meek but she wonders "what gift he may bring to the pack?"


Runt grows and we discover he is wild and crazy.  He loves life and just goes for ever he wants.  He tries to make his father proud and earn a new name yet he makes many mistakes and doesn't seem to learn from them. 


As game becomes scarce for his family we wonder many things.  Will Runt survive?  Will Runt find his place in the pack?  Will Runt make his father proud?  Will Runt earn a new name?  Read Marion Dane Bauer's Runt to find out!


Published: 2002

Genre: Animal Adventure (Realistic except we can understand the animals when they communicate)

Locations: School Library, Public Library, Amazon

Big Red

Big Red
by Jim Kjelgaard


You are Danny. You are 17 and live with your father.  You live off the land, hunting, fishing, trapping, and working hard, yet you barely scrape by.  When you meet Red, a $7,000 show dog, you know you need to turn him into a hunting dog.  


When Red's owner Mr. Haggin sees how you and Red interact, he hires you.  He wants you to take care of Red and become a dog breeder.  


Now your challenges begin.  Can you, a boy who has never been to the city, raise show dogs?  Can you convert a show dog into a hunting dog?  Finally, can you keep $7,000 Red safe and in pristine condition while running around the wilderness?  Read Big Red to find out how you do!


Published: 1945

Genre: Historical Fiction/Adventure

Locations: School Library, Public Library, Amazon