Trueit, Trudi Strain.
MY TOP SECRET DARES & DON'TS
New York : Aladdin, 2017
IL 5-8, RL 5.7
ISBN 1481469053
Kestral is on her way to British Columbia. Her grandfather has passed away and now Kestral, her mother and her brother will be spending the summer at the lodge to help out. Kestral discovers that there is something going on at the lodge and she tries to get her family to listen to her. But when you are only 12, sometimes you don't always make your point. As the summer progresses, it become clear that something is going on and Kestral wants to help her grandmother keep the lodge.
Podcast: https://spark.adobe.com/video/Ou6wnBqZD4yUc
Rusch, Elizabeth.
THE MUSIC OF LIFE : BARTOLOMEO CHRISTOFORI AND THE INVENTION OF THE PIANO
New York : Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2017
IL K-3, RL 4.6
ISBN 1481444840
Have you ever wondered how -- and why -- the piano was invented? They are everywhere now and many people can play these instruments in varying abilities. But what is the history of the piano? Way back in the 1600s in Italy, a young man named Bartolomeo Christofori was a talented harpsicord maker. His instruments were talked about around the country. He was even invited by the Prince to come to the palace and work for the court. This was great but Bartomoleo wanted to create an instrument that had more range than the harpsicord or the clavicord. He worked tirelessly year after year and finally came up with the pianoforte. Now the musician could play loud or soft and really control the music. And can you believe this? People hated it. Musicians couldn't figure out how to play it. Poor Bartomaleo. All his work and no one liked it. Why do you think it is so popular today?
For those of you who wonder how an author finds information while writing a book, Rusch given us details of how she discovered the facts for this book.
Podcast: https://spark.adobe.com/video/6YIXror5YNaQg
Rooney, Anne.
YOU WOULDN'T WANT TO LIVE WITHOUT INSECTS!
New York : Franklin Watts, 2015
IL 3-6, RL 5.7
ISBN 0531213625
Insects! Yuck, what a pain. Did you know that insects have been around a lot longer than people? Actually, they were the first type of animal to come out of the water and live on land about 450 million years ago. And did you know that there are about 6-10 million species of insect? They account for about 90 % of all life forms on Earth, not counting bacteria. Although some insects spread diseases like malaria and the plague, there are a lot of beneficial insects. Insects that are good for us? Come along and find out.
Podcast: https://spark.adobe.com/video/biM9UnLj33XCP
Paul, Miranda.
ONE PLASTIC BAG : ISATOU CEESAY AND THE RECYCLING WOMEN OF GAMBIA
New York : Millbrook Press, 2015
IL K-3, RL 3.0
ISBN 1467716081
Isatou Ceesay livedd in Gambia in Africa. When she droped a basket of fruit, she looked for another way to carry the fruit. She found a plastic bag. She didn't know what it was but it certainly would hold the fruit. Many of the people in the village began using plastic bags. But when they found that the bags broke quickly, they threw them away. But all the trash caused problems in the village. Isatou and her friends knew they had to do something to keep the bags out of the trash. Can you think of a way to reuse plastic bags?
Podccast: https://spark.adobe.com/video/8fEuOGElKDcSo
Maciejewski, Mark.
I AM FARTACUS
New York : Aladdin, 2017
IL 5-8, RL 5.6
ISBN 1481464205
Maciek Trzebiatowski (pronounced Maw-check Chub-a-tess-key) is better known as Chub to his friends. Not that he has very many. It is pretty much just Moby now. But everyone certainly knows Chub. There aren't many bald immigrants in the middle school. He used to be best friends with the Arch back in 2nd grade but they are now enemies. And Chub will do any mean trick he can think of to bring the Arch down. When the Arch becomes captain of the track team and class president, the rivalry intensifies.
Podcast: https://spark.adobe.com/video/1CSKbSNTe8j2Y
Rosenthal, Amy Krouse.
ON THE
SPOT
New York : Random House, 2017
IL K-3
ISBN 1101932309
“When I woke up this morning, what did I see? A sweet little . .
. spot chirping at me.” What would you use to fill in the
blank? Each page of the book gives you an
opportunity to fill in the blank. Not only with words
though. There are reusable stickers that you can use to
fill in the blanks. Have fun with this interactive book.
Podcast: https://spark.adobe.com/video/GkzNElAVyJV2g
Richmond, Lori.
PAX AND BLUE
New York : Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2017
IL K-3, RL 2.3
ISBN 1481451324
Do you have a pet? Maybe a cat or dog? Well, Pax doesn't have any pets so he makes friends with a pigeon in the park. He names him Blue and he stops to talk with him everyday and gives him treats. One day Pax's mother is in a big hurry and whisks Pax away. Blue tries to find him but gets lost. Oh no. Poor Blue. Can he ever find his way home?
Podcast: https://spark.adobe.com/video/CPu648OdYiH6b
Paschkis, Julie.
MAGIC SPELL
New York : Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2017
IL K-3, RL 1.7
ISBN 1481422103
The great magician Aziz is about to perform! Along with his lovely assistant, he turns a dish into a fish with ease. His assistant quickly catches the fish to keep it safe. As the magician continues, it is up to his assistant to fix his mistakes. But he keeps taking the bows. What will happen when the assistant get tired of cleaning up his messes?
Podcast: https://spark.adobe.com/video/3yTJGb14Qp4et
Lobel, Anita.
TAKING CARE OF MAMA RABBIT
New York : Knopf, 2014
IL K-3, RL 2.1
ISBN 0385753691
Mama Rabbit is usually the
one who is taking care of sick little rabbits. But when
she gets sick, who will care for her? When Papa goes to
the store to get her some medicine, each of her 10 babies tries
to find a way to make her feel better.
.
Podcast: https://spark.adobe.com/video/ql9EVZq8iIY3J
Levinson, Cynthia.
THE YOUNGEST MARCHER : THE STORY OF AUDREY FAYE HENDRICKS, A YOUNG CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST
New York : Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2017
IL K-3, RL 4.7
ISBN 1481400703
Meet Audrey Faye Hendricks. When she was just 9 years old, she made history. You see, Audrey was Black and there were laws in her city that discriminated against Black people. But Audrey wanted to be able to go to the nice movie theater or have brand new books in school. When a plan is made to have children march for freedom and get arrested, Audrey quickly signed up. They idea was that children would fill the jail cells until no one else could be arrested. Audrey was the youngest of the child marchers and jail wasn't what she expected. What would you do if you were Audrey? Could you be as brave as she?
Podcast: https://spark.adobe.com/video/7zoU8Vz0DAUJy
Oh, Ellen.
FLYING LESSONS AND
OTHER STORIES
New York : Crown, 2017
IL 3-6, RL 4.5
ISBN 110193459X
Tiny baby Lingsi was sold to the Li family only after Mrs Li
promised the baby’s mother to teach Lingsi to read upon her sixth
birthday. Lingsi served the Li family as she grew. On Lingsi’s
sixth birthday the promise had to be honored or the Li family
would suffer a curse from the broken promise. So it came to be
that Lingsi would be tutored alongside the Li’s son FuDing. For
six years Lingsi was tutored with the treacherous and cruel
FuDing. All studies ceased when the Li family began to make
preparations for their son’s marriage. But who would marry FuDing?
Why was Lingsi really bought? Was her purpose really more than
just a servant? The answers to these questions and more can be
discovered in The Difficult Path by Grace Lin. This is just one
story in a collaboration of ten award winning authors in a dynamic
collection of short stories. Some told in verse, some in diary
form, all gripping from the beginning. A brief bio is included on
each of the contributing writers: Kwame Alexander, Kelly J.
Bapstist, Soman Chainani, Matt de la Pena, Tim Federle, Grace Lin,
Meg Medina, Walter Dean Meyers, Ellen Oh, Tim Tingle, and
Jacqueline Woodson (New Hampshire Great
Stone Face Award nominee, 2018)
Podcast: https://spark.adobe.com/video/imxL4ta5hcaTw
Wolk, Lauren.
WOLF HOLLOW Dutton Children's Books, 2016
Life in the countryside of Pennsylvania was quiet and mostly uncomplicated for eleven year old Annabelle until Betty Glengarry came to town. The year is 1943 and the fighting of World War II rages on far away from the rural life of Wolf Hollow. It was said Betty was sent away from the city to live with her grandparents because she was “incorrigible”, an impossibly long word Annabelle has to look up in the dictionary at school. Incorrigible means delinquent, not manageable, and unruly. Betty soon shows herself to be a mean-spirited bully. Along with Annabelle, others become the object of Betty’s attacks. Annabelle’s story will grip you with the intensity of action and stark contrasts of kindness and cruelty. Reading this book could very well change your life. (New Hampshire Great Stone Face Award nominee, 2018)
Podcast: https://spark.adobe.com/video/JJS6yAJwCmHvj
Griffin, Paul.
WHEN FRIENDSHIP
FOLLOWED ME HOME
Dial, 2016
Ben Coffin knows better than to get too close with
people. As a former foster kid, he knows people leave. He prefers
to spend his time with the people in science fiction books,
reading each afternoon down at the Coney Island library. He’s such
a regular, the librarian there even sets aside new books she
thinks he’ll like without his asking. Then in one afternoon, Ben
finds a lost dog he names Flip, and meets Halley (like the comet),
a rainbow-hued girl at the library. Halley is the librarian’s
daughter, but he has missed meeting her because she’s been busy
with cancer treatments, now mercifully over. Ben suddenly finds
himself with two excellent companions, and with their help, sets
out to begin a Reading Dogs program at the library. But just as
everything is beginning to go right for once, Ben faces a tragedy
at home, leading him face to face with violence and homelessness.
His ties to Halley and her family seem more important and yet more
fragile than ever. But with Flip by his side and more people
behind him than he realizes, Ben is able to face each challenge as
it comes, and come out on top. (New Hampshire Great
Stone Face Award nominee, 2018)
Padcast: https://spark.adobe.com/video/hdC1augbQw0Ls
Mabbitt, Will.
THE UNLIKELY ADVENTURES OF MABEL JONES
New York : Viking, 2015
IL 3-6, RL 5.4
ISBN 0451471962
Have you ever been kidnapped right out of your own bed by a crew of scurvy pirates? A sack pulled over your head, and next, you’re thrown over a shoulder and dragged out of this world into a world where wolves, pigs, goats, and even a silent loris sail the seas in search of ill-gotten treasure??? No???? Ah! Then you must never have committed The Deed. The sacred Deed which shows you are a pirate in the making… Unfortunately for Mabel Jones, she did commit the deed---unlike all of you clean, healthy, and innocent children, Mabel Jones is guilty. Yes, she picked her nose…and then she ate it!!!! Ewwwwww! Pulled out of her bedroom onto the pirate ship The Feroshus Maggot, Mabel must serve its terrifying captain, (the cruel and selfish wolf, Idryys Ebenezer Split) so that she can stay alive long enough to find her way home. Can she survive the Greasy Pole of Certain Death? The Cadaverous Lobster Tavern? The Unremitting Drip? All of this while still dressed in pajamas??? Mabel is brave, smart, and she has a talent which the pirates lack…she can read. Come along with Mabel Jones, and find out if she can make her way back to her own bedroom! (New Hampshire Great Stone Face Award nominee, 2018)
Podcast: https://spark.adobe.com/video/BjAH6ZvTSnWx2
Van Draanen, Wendelin.
THE
SECRET LIFE OF LINCOLN JONES
New York : Knopf, 2015
IL 3-6, RL 4.3
ISBN 1101940409
Sixth-grader Lincoln Jones is new to town. His mom finally
found the strength to get out of an abusive relationship and
they’ve moved north and into a dive apartment in the not-so-great
part of town. That wouldn’t be so bad, but his mom won’t let him
stay home alone after school. So every weekday, Lincoln walks the
twelve blocks to Brookside where she works. And Lincoln will do
anything to keep his after school time at Brookside secret from
his classmates. He’s already got enough troubles being the new kid
with a southern accent, imagine what they’d say if they found out
he was spending his afternoons with elderly memory-care patients
like the naked, dancing Ruby Hobbs and Debbie, who shouts across
the room to ask his name every day. While his mother works as a
caregiver, Lincoln does his schoolwork and writes stories in his
ever-present notebook. But when a nosy classmate by the name of
Kandi Kane seems to be stalking him, Lincoln begins to worry. What
he learns is that other people have secrets of their own. Tough
subjects about aging and fitting in are handled with humor and
compassion. (New Hampshire Great
Stone Face Award nominee, 2018)
Podcast: https://spark.adobe.com/video/Q5QkItFDtdQVW
New York : Aladdin, 2017
