Tooth Trouble

Tooth Trouble
(Ready Freddy! Book 1)
by Abby Klein

Freddy Thresher is the only student in his class who hasn't lost a tooth yet.  Other kids have started to notice and now a blue Freddy is determined to lose his first tooth.  Read this book to see what extremes Freddy goes to accomplish his goal.

Published: 2004

Genre: Realistic fiction

Location: School library, public library and Amazon

The Ruins of Gorlan

The Ruins of Gorlan
(Ranger's Apprentice Book 1)
John Flanagan

Orphaned as a baby, Will became a castle ward of Baron Arald.  He's a curious lad who excels at climbing and going where he is not allowed. 

Now in his fifteenth year, he has been chosen to be a Ranger Apprentice. Rangers are  shrouded in secrecy and thought of as magicians but in actuality they are the king's spies, detectives, and army scouts.  

Will has always dreamed of becoming a knight and he isn't sure he wants to be a Ranger.  Will he survive the challenging and arduous training?  Will he survive encounters with wild boars and mythical assassins?  Will he become a Ranger?  Read The Ruins of Gorlan to find out.

Published: 2005

Genre: Fantasy

Locations: School library, public library, and Amazon

Honus and Me

Honus and Me
by Dan Gutman

 Joe Stoshack is 12 and his family is always short of money. He finds an extremely rare Honus Wagner baseball card while cleaning his next door neighbor's attic.  Then he has to make a choice, should he return the card or sell it for half a million dollars.  

He talks to his mom, his dad, and a baseball card dealer.  They give conflicting advice.  He also talks with Honus Wagner.  Yeah, the same Honus Wagner pictured on the card and who has been dead for 40 plus years. You probably wonder how he managed that.  Well, you'll need to read the book to see how he manages to chat with Honus and to find out what he decides to do with the card.

Published: 1997

Genre: Fantasy

Location: School library, public library, and Amazon 

How To Tame a Bully

Published: 2006

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Locations: Classroom Library

The Great Turkey Walk

My Life as a Stuntboy

My Life as a Stuntboy
(Book 2)
by Janet Tashjian

Derek, age 12,  and his best friend Matt love to run around their hometown of  Los Angeles doing crazy stunts and it pays off when they meet a professional stuntman who recruits Derek to be a stuntboy in a movie.  

You'd think this opportunity would just bring joy to Derek but it doesn't.  First, Matt gets jealous of him and starts being mean.  Second, Derek's parents require him to work with a tutor and to change his pet monkey's diaper once a day in order to be a stuntboy. Finally, Derek has to successfully complete the dangerous stunts of a stuntboy.  

Will Derek survive his new life as a stuntboy?  Reading this book is the only way to find out.

Published: 2011

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Locations: Classroom, school library, public library, and Amazon

The Dodgeball Chronicles

The Dodgeball Chronicles
(Knights of the Lunch Table Book 1)
by Frank Cammuso

Artie had a very difficult start at his new school, Camelot Middle School. Before he even gets inside the school doors, he has a run in with The Horde, Camelot's resident bullies, and ends up on their bad side. Once he gets inside, he discovers he's stuck with locker 001 which no student has been able to open in years.  Will Artie survive his first week at Camelot?  If he does, it will be a miracle. 

Published: 2008

Genre: Graphic Novel

Locations: Classroom, public library, and Amazon

Persephone the Phony

Persephone the Phony
(Goddess Girls Book 2)
by Joan Holub adn Suzanne Williams

Persephone is worried that she is being a phony.  She is being a phony, but not in a bad way.  She isn't pretending she's better than everyone else, she's just doing whatever her friends at Mount Olympus Academy want her to do and not what she wants to do. 

When she meets the gloomy but cute godboy Hades and develops a bit of a crush, she has to decide if she's going to keep doing what others want her to do (not hang out with Hades) or do what she wants (hang out with Hades).  Her decision will be quite evident to you after you read this book. 

Published: 2010

Genre: Fantasy

Location: Classroom, public library, and Amazon