Bear With Me

Bear With Me
by Max Kornell


A little boy has a pretty good life and enjoys being the only child in the family, so when his parents bring home a bear named Gary to live with them he isn't too happy.  Will the young boy ever come to accept his new bear sibling?


Published:

Genre: Picture Book

Locations: Public Library and Amazon

Say Hello To Zorro!

Say Hello To Zorro!
by Carter Goodrich


Mister Bud has a pretty good life and enjoys being the only dog in the house.  So when a new dog named Zorro shows up, Mister Bud isn't too happy.  Will Mister Bud ever come to accept his new housemate?


Published: 2011

Genre: Picture Book

Locations: Public Library and Amazon

The Boy Who Cried Ninja

The Boy Who Cried Ninja
by Alex Latimer


When outrageous things happen to Tim, nobody in his family believes him when he tells the truth about what happened.  When more outrageous things happen to him,  nobody in his family believes Tim when he lies about what happened. Will he ever get his family to believe what he tells them?  


Published: 2011

Genre: Picture Book

Locations: Public Library and Amazon

The Great Eggscape

The Great Eggscape
by Susan Glass
Illustrated by Cornelius Van Wright


In this super silly picture book with awesome word choice, two bad Easter eggs decide to pick on all of the other food items in the refrigerator.  Will any thing be able to stop them?


Published: 2011

Genre: Picture Book

Locations: Public Library and Amazon

Listen!

Listen!
by Stephanie S. Tolan


Simple Book Intro:  Charley tries to tame a wild dog so it can become her pet.  Will she be able to? 


Complex Book Intro:  Charley hurts both physically and mentally because she has suffered a lot.  First, her mother died in a plane crash.  To deal with the loss, her father turned into a workaholic and is never home.  Second, she was in a car accident that nearly crippled her.  Now after tons of therapy she is walking on her own.  Finally, her best friend has decided to spend the summer playing tennis far away.  


 Then she spots a stray dog, that she names Coyote, wandering her neighborhood and decides to make it her pet.  Will she be able to tame a wild dog?  Will this new found focus help to heal her mind and body?  Read Stephanie S. Tolan's Listen! to find out. 


Published: 2006

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Locations: School Library, Public Library, and Amazon

Scooby Doo and The Vampire's Revenge

Scooby Doo and the Vampire's Revenge
by Jaime Gelsey


It's Halloween and Scooby and Shaggy want to go trick or treating, but first they need to help the gang figure out who has stolen the Crostini Medallion from the charity auction they are volunteering at. 


Will Scooby and his pals be able to solve the mystery in time to trick or treat?


Published: 1999

Genre: Mystery

Locations: Class Library and School Library

The Scarecrow and His Servant

The Scarecrow and His Servant
by Phillip Pullman


Shortly after a thunderstorm, Jack, a young orphan, meets Scarecrow, an old scarecrow brought to life by a bolt of lightning, and agrees to be his servant. The two set off on many adventures meeting bandits, actors, sailors, a lovely broom and talking birds along the way. 


Scarecrow, being a scarecrow isn't very bright nor very sturdy.  Luckily his servant Jack is very clever and hard working and frequently assists, you might say saves, the Scarecrow from many disasters. 


All the adventures lead the two towards the Scarecrow's destiny, claiming his home of Spring Valley.  Now claiming a home sounds easy enough for a walking, talking scarecrow but it isn't.  You see, Scarecrow has to deal with the very evil Buffaloni family who also claims Spring Valley on their own. 


Read The Scarecrow and his Servant to enjoy Scarecrow and Jack's adventures and to see if they can out think, out wit, and beat the evil Buffalonis. 


Published: 2004

Genre: Fantasy

Locations: School Library, Public Library, and Amazon

Breaking Stalin's Nose

Breaking Stalin's Nose
by Eugene Velchin


Sasha is a devoted communist youngster growing up in Stalin's Soviet Union. He dreams of becoming a Young Pioneer, the first step in joining the Communist Party.  


The day before he is to join the group his father is arrested as an enemy of the state. Sasha believes his father is a hero and sets off to free him.  In the process he discovers that Stalin's Soviet Union is filled with lies and is not the ideal place he thought.  


Will Sasha join the Young Pioneers?  Will Sasha be able to free his father? Read Breaking Stalin's Nose to find out.


Published: 2011

Genre: Historical Fiction

Locations: School Library, Public Library, and Amazon

Guts

Guts
by Gary Paulsen


In this memoir, Gary Paulsen shares outdoor adventures from his past that helped influence the books he has written.  The book is filled with a ton of small moments that let the reader see the joys and dangers when you go into the wilderness. 


Published: 2001

Genre: Memoir/Biography

Locations: School Library, Public Library, and Amazon

A Crooked Kind of Perfect

A Crooked Kind of Perfect
by Linda Urban


Zoe Ellis is a wonderful girl who has a whole bunch of problems.  She wanted to learn how to play the piano but her dad bought her an organ.  She had a best friend at school but got ditched for another girl.  Her mom is a workaholic and her dad doesn't like to leave the house. What is Zoe going to do? Read the wonderfully fantastic A Crooked Kind of Perfect to find out.


Published: 2007

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Locations: School Library, Public Library, and Amazon

School of Fear

School of Fear (Book 1)
by Gitty Daneshvari


Madeline is terrified of spiders, bug, and insects.  Theo is constantly worried that tragedy will befall his family.  Lulu is claustrophobic.  Garrison can't go near bodies of water.  


All four are attending the School of Fear, a secret summer school designed to help kids get over their fears. 


The trouble is the school is run by Mrs. Wellington, a very odd woman obsessed with beauty pageants. Can Mrs. Wellington help them get over their fears?  You'll need to read School of Fear to find out. 


Published: 2009

Genre: Exaggerated Realistic Fiction

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

The Underneath

The Underneath
by Kathi Appelt


Ranger is a sad and lonely hound chained underneath his evil owner's porch.   


Grandmother is a 1,000 year old moccasin trapped in a jar far below an old tree. 


They are both trapped underneath insurmountable odds but can they escape to find happiness? 


Published: 2008

Genre: Fantasy

Locations: School Library, Public Library, and Amazon

Goddess Girls Athena the Brain

Goddess Girls Athena the Brain
by Joan Holub and Suzanne Williams


12 year old Athena has grown up on Earth and always wondered who her parents were.  Then one day she finds out she's the daughter of Zeus, a goddess and has to attend a new school on Mount Olympus.


How will Athena interact with a mother and father she has never met?  How will she fit in at her new school?  Will she be able to maintain her friendships on Earth now that she's a goddess living on Mount Olympus?  Read Athena the Brain to find out!


Published: 2010


Genre: Fantasy


Locations: Class Library, School Library, and Amazon

The River

The River
by Gary Paulsen


In Hatchet, Brian survived a plane crash and lived in the wilderness on his own.  In this sequel, Brian is asked to go back into the wild with an adult to teach the army how he survived. 


For awhile everything is going great.  Then Brian's companion gets seriously injured. Can Brian get his companion out of the wild and back to civilization for medical treatment? Read The River to find out.


Published:


Genre: Adventure Fiction

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

Brendan Buckley's Universe and Everything In It

Brendan Buckley's Universe and Everything In It
by Sundee T. Frazier


Brendan Buckley is a scientist.  He has a lot of questions and he likes to find their answers.


He's also 10 and has never met his mom's father.  All he knows is that his mother doesn't like his grandfather. 


Then one day, Brendan  accidentally meets his grandfather at a rock and mineral show at the local mall.


After he discovers that his grandpa exists and loves rocks just like he does, Brendan decides to get to know him without telling his mother.
He needs to find answers to all the questions that he has about the grandfather he has never met. 


Read to find out if  getting to know his grandfather is a good idea or a bad one for Brendan.  


Published: 2007

Genre: Realistic Fiction


Locations: School Library, Public Library, and Amazon 

8 Class Pets + 1 Squirrel / 1 dog = Chaos

8 Class Pets + 1 Squirrel Divided by 1 Dog = Chaos
by Vivian Vande Velde


What do you get when a dog chases a squirrel into a school and then gets locked inside?


You get a mess but you also get teamwork.  


When Twitch, a squirrel, gets chased into his neighborhood's elementary school by an angry dog he tries to escape on his own.  When he finds out that he can't evade the dog, he enlists the help of some class pets. Read to find out if a squirrel, a hamster, a rabbit, a rat, a parrot, a snake and some others can out wit a big angry dog. 


Published: 2012


Genre: The mess is realistic fiction, the talking animals are fantasy


Locations: School Library, Public Library and Amazon

The Bear Who Shared

The Bear Who Shared
by Catherine Rayner


Norris is a wise bear.  He knows how important it is to share.  Read this book if you want to find out what happens when a wise bear shares!


Published: 2011

Genre: Picture Books

Locations: Public Library and Amazon

Rrralph

Rrralph
by Lois Ehlert


Fifth graders, you'll have fun reading this picture book.  


Ralph is a dog.  Ralph can sort of talk like a human. 


See if you can guess which words he'll say!


Published: 2011

Genre: Picture Book

Location: Public Library and Amazon