Scared Silly

Marc Brown is a talented author and illustrator, and I love it when you see them do something "different." This book has lots of rhymes, narrative poems, and jokes that entertain young readers. The book is great for choral reading, partner poems, and building fluency. The poems are an excellent vehicle for practicing making words "pop" and bringing a story to life by using your voice.

Tikki Tikki Tembo

Folktales usually use oral storytelling to explain why things have come to be the way we know them today. This old Chinese folktale explains the reasoning behind the naming of the first male child. Originally they were names something long and important. Ultimately, they decided that short names were better. Read to find out why.

Cinderhazel

A Halloween version of Cinderella. Great for a compare and contrast activity since most students are familiar with Cinderella. Students can identify aspects of the story that connect to Halloween themes.

Adam Sharp: Operation Spy School

This quick secret agent series is an easy and fun reader. Picture James Bond at 5th or 6th grade. You got Adam Sharp. He's suave and cool and has his exotic female sidekicks with him on the case. This series is very likeable and a page turner.

This is a great choice for boys in 2nd-4th grade.

The Cameleon Who Wore Chartruese

This series definitelty gives me the vibe of 1940s detective movies. You know the ones where the dame needs to be rescued and everyone wheres those cool Bogart hats from Casablanca?

A cheerleader's brother is missing before the big game, and Chet Gecko, 4th grade detective, is on the case. He falls for a red herring, but manages to pull the pieces together.

Schooled

I'm on a Gordon Korman kick since he will be in town tomorrow! Capricorn was raised by his grandmother on a hippie commune/farm. When she is injured, he is forced to live a "normal" life with a social worker who takes him in while Rain recooperates. At first, his nerdy, weird, naive ways make him a prime target in his middle school. Over time, he shows them how showing kindness is more powerful.

This book could be used to compare with Jerry Spinelli's Stargirl. Both are written with old students in mind and heavy middle/high school drama with cliques and being cool.

On the Run: Chasing the Falconers

This is a great, on the edge of your seat series. Aidan and Meg Falconer are sent to a juvie farm after their parents are sent to prison. They don't really belong there, but there is nowhere else to go as their family name has been tainted and their extended family has abandoned them. With the right opportunity, the pair escape and are set out to clear their family name.

Great suspense. Get storytelling.

Big Anthony

Big Anthony is the clutsy guy found in Tomie dePaola's Strega Nona series, but who exactly is he and what is his background? Tomie dePaola tells Big Anthony's biography from birth in an Italian village, through his travels throughout the country, and finally arriving at Strega Nona's front step to be her lovable handyman.

Google Lit Trips tracks Big Anthony's travels across Italy.

Strega Nona's Harvest

Strega Nona plants her garden with assistance, but is very particular about how it is done. When Big Anthony gets corrected, he decides to start his own secret garden on the other side of the house using his own standards. While Strega Nona's garden is manageable, Big Anthony's becomes out of control. He keeps piling his harvest outside her door. She goes to town and hears how poorly other farmers have fared with their crops due to the rain, and hosts a feast to share the bounty.

Guardians of Ga'Hoole: The Capture

The first in this series and the foundation for the new movie. Soren, a barn owl, is snatched from his tree and flown to an orphanage when many other owlets of every variety are brought. There, the young birds a moon-blinked into following orders and being brainwashed. Soren and his new friend Glyphie fight these rituals that are used to train the owls for an evil plot and plan to escape and warn the others.

Soren and Glyphie cannot reveal they are not moon-blicked, and there are few who can be trusted. Bad things happen to those who break the rules. Bad things. The end of book one sets up several avenues for future volumes: What is Soren's brother up to? Where is Glyphie's family? What is the legend of Ga'Hoole? Where is the Great Ga'Hoole Tree and will it be a haven? Will the leaders of St. Aggie's Ophanage find them? What are the flecks all about?

Movie trailers are available on line.

Seekers: The Quest Begins

Definitely a departure for me, this is the first book in a series about bears written by the team Erin Hunter of the Warrior series. The first 90% has separate stories of three bears in completely different settings.

A polar bear named Kallik travels with her mother and brother across the arctic in search of food. A grizzly bear named Toklo who travels with his mother and sickly brother. When tragic events happen these bears are left to use their instincts to survive and learn some hard lessons in the wild. Lusa, is a brown bear, who has been living in the "bear bowl" at the zoo and desperately wants out. She is inspired when she meets Toklo's mother, who was recently captured, and begins her journey in search of him.

This book ends with a cliff hanger forcing you to read the next one to see how the three bears meet and how the bear spirits will guide them through challenges.

Midnight for Charlie Bone

Charlie Bone is a typical boy of ten. Charlie is always being watched for signs of his paternal Yewbeam lineage. He learns of his special family "endowment" when looking at a photograph and hearing the voices and events around the picture. This gift encourages his missing father's mother to force Charlie to attend Bloor's Academy to develop the skills.

This Children of the Red King series would be a great "what else can I read after Harry Potter?" There are many similarities that should hook readers into these books.

Miss Spider's New Car

Part of the Miss Spider series, Miss Spider decides to find a new car and thinks she wants the first one. She is encouraged to try others before making her final decision, but ultimately decides to go with her favorite - the first. The only problem is she promised to be back by three and it's 3:30pm now. Will she get the car?

Gideon's Dream

The story of a grub who dreams of flying once he experiences a magic carpet ride freefall while munching on a leaf. At first he was terrified, then he felt exhilerated by the experience. As he plots and plans to fabricate a way to fly, Gideon falls asleep in his cocoon only to awaken to many changes.