Sunday, September 30, 2018

McGhee, Alison. DEAR SISTER


McGhee, Alison.
DEAR SISTER
New York : Atheneum, 2018
IL 3-6
ISBN 9781481451420

An 8 year old boy is not too excited about his new baby sister. His parents want him to write a note to her to put in her baby book. They do not like the picture he draws and want him to rewrite the note. Through the years, he continues to write notes that the "wardens' do not approve. As the years go by, the notes show a change in their relationship. Will he ever come to love his little sister?

Wednesday, September 26, 2018

Maker, Martha. THE UN-FRIENDSHIP BRACELET

Maker, Martha.
THE UN-FRIENDSHIP BRACELET
New York : Little Simon, 2018
IL K-3, RL 4.0
ISBN 
978-1-53440-908-8


Do you like to do crafts? Emily and Maddie certainly do. They love to create . They even have a craft room that they stock with supplies. They are so full of ideas. They are best friends and have made friendship bracelets to prove it. But a new girl in school may change all that. Bella becomes friends with Maddie first. Maddie wants to hang around with Bella and Emily feels left out. When her friendship bracelet falls apart, is this a sign?

Tuesday, September 25, 2018

Del Rosario, Juleah. 500 WORDS OR LESS

Del Rosario, Juleah.
500 WORDS OR LESS
New York : Simon Pulse, 2018
IL YA
ISBN
9781534410442

Nic is a senior in a high school where everyone is obsessed with getting into an Ivy League college. Nic is taking all AP courses and studying whenever she can. She tries not to think about Ben, her ex-boyfriend. The love of her life that she cheated on. He has transferred to another school and many of her classmates won't let her forget it. As she tries to figure out who she is, she finds an escape. She starts writing college essays for those same kids who blame her for Ben leaving. But in writing the essays, Nic finds she is getting to know the kids better and maybe learning about herself.


Saturday, September 22, 2018

Rylant, Cynthia. ECCLESIASTES : TO EVERYTHING THERE IS A SEASON

Rylant, Cynthia. 
ECCLESIASTES : TO EVERYTHING THERE IS A SEASON
New York : Beach Lane Books, 2018
IL K-3
ISBN
9781481476546



You may be familiar with the text of this book. It is from the Bible but is also a well-known song. Cynthia takes this text and illustrates it as only she can. The illustrations are simple but bold. See what you think.

Thursday, September 20, 2018

Rundell, Katherine. ONE CHRISTMAS WISH

Rundell, Katherine. 
ONE CHRISTMAS WISH
New York : Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2018
IL K-3
ISBN 
9781481491617

Theo is all alone. Well, he has a baby sitter but she fell asleep on her phone. His parents are working and there is no one around. When he sees a shooting star, he wishes with all his might. His wish -- to not be alone. He has spent the evening decorating the Christmas tree with the old, broken ornaments and it looks OK. But now, the ornaments are coming to life.  What is happening?

Wednesday, September 19, 2018

Joyce, William. BUDDY

Joyce, William. 
BUDDY
New York : Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2017
IL K-3, RL 4.4
ISBN
978-1-48148-961-4



If you lived in the 1930s in New York City, you may have come across a smartly dressed women walking with a gorilla. Yes, I said gorilla. Gertie Lintz loved animals. Her home included chimpanzees, birds, and lots of other animals. When she adopted a baby gorilla, she fell in love immediately. Buddy was tiny and not very healthy. With the help of the other animals, she was able to raise him up to be a healthy gorilla.  Gertie didn't believe in cages and she raised her animals as humans. They wore clothes and ate at the table. When Buddy grew up, he was very big and sometimes got upset. What will happen when he gets too big to be safe?

Tuesday, September 18, 2018

DiTerlizzi, Tony. THE BROKEN ORNAMENT

DiTerlizzi, Tony. 
THE BROKEN ORNAMENT
New York : Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2018
IL K-3
ISBN 
9781416939764

Jack wants to make this the best Christmas ever. When he finds an old ornament, he decides to unwrap it and put it on the tree. But, crash! It falls on the floor and breaks. His parents come running in and his mother is very  upset. He doesn't know why, but Jack knows that instead of making this the best Christmas, he has made his mother very, very sad.  What is going on? Why is his mother so sad? Can he make it right?

Monday, September 17, 2018

Calandrelli, Emily. ADA LACE AND THE IMPOSSIBLE MISSION

Calandrelli, Emily.
ADA LACE AND THE IMPOSSIBLE MISSION
New York : Simon & Schuster Books for Young , 2018
IL K-3, RL 3.9
ISBN
978-1-53441-685-7
Third grader Ada Lace is at it again.  She and her her best friend Nina are back in school and have a new social studies teacher. The teacher just loves group projects. Of course Ada and Nina will team up but why does Milton have to be in their group?  Ada really wants the project to be the best but Milton has a habit of pulling pranks. Their model of an old silver mine is very realistic. Hours are spent on getting everything just right. All the models have been locked into the teacher's storage room. Even though Milton promises that he did not rig the model to do something awful, can the girls trust him?

Sunday, September 16, 2018

White, Dianne. WHO EATS ORANGE?

White, Dianne.  
WHO EATS ORANGE?
New York : Beach Lane Books, 2018
IL K-3, RL 1.9
ISBN
978-1-53440-408-3



Who eats orange?  What types of foods are orange? Carrots, oranges, pumpkins. What about red foods? Like lobsters. What about yellow food? Corn. What color food do you eat?

Saturday, September 15, 2018

Callaghan, Cindy. POTION PROBLEMS

Callaghan, Cindy.
POTION PROBLEMS
New York : Aladdin, 2018
IL 5-8, RL 5.3
ISBN 978-1-53441-740-3

Kelly Quinn and her friends Darbie and Hannah are not having a good day. Their special Secret Recipe Book has gone missing and ended up in Charlotte's hands. As if this were not bad enough, they learn that their favorite class at school is being cut because of budget cuts. Kelly comes up with an idea to enter a cooking contest to earn enough money to save the cooking class. TV chef Felice Faoudini is Kelly's favorite and she just knows that they can win with the help of the Secret Recipe Book.  They just have to get it back and cast a spell on Charlotte to get her to leave them alone. This series of books are the basis for the popular television show, Just Add Magic.

Friday, September 14, 2018

Halligan, Katherine. HERSTORY : 50 WOMEN AND GIRLS WHO SHOOK UP THE WORLD

Halligan, Katherine.
HERSTORY  : 50 WOMEN AND GIRLS WHO SHOOK UP THE WORLD
New York  : Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2018
IL 3-6
ISBN 
9781534436640

Come along and learn about 50 amazing women who changed the world. All through history, women have been told what they can't do. These woman didn't believe that. They wanted to show what they could do.  There are authors, poets, scientists, and activists. From ancient Egypt to the 21st century, women have been shaking up the world.

Wednesday, September 12, 2018

McNamara, Margaret. ELIZA : THE STORY OF ELIZABETH SCHUYLER HAMILTON

McNamara, Margaret.
ELIZA : THE STORY OF ELIZABETH SCHUYLER HAMILTON
New  York : Schwartz and Wade Books, 2018
IL K-3
ISBN 
9781524765897
With the popularity of the Broadway play Hamilton, books are being written about Alexander Hamilton and his family. Not much is known about Hamilton's wife Eliza, but this book aims to introduce her. She was born to a wealthy family in 1757. She was expected to marry well. When she met Alexander, she knew that he was the one for her. She stood with him through troubled times. After his death, she did what she could for the poor of New York. Learn about this remarkable woman who had an effect on so many.

Tuesday, September 11, 2018

Hood, Susan. LIFEBOAT 12

Hood, Susan.
LIFEBOAT 12
New York : Simon & Schuster, 2018
IL 5-8, RL 4.8
ISBN 978-1-48146-883-1

The year is 1940 and the Germans have started bombing England. The Germans are now in France and it is just a short trip across the English Channel between Britain and invasion. To keep their children safe, parents have agreed to have them sent to Canada to escape the bombing.  Ken's parents have applied to the Children's Overseas Reception Board to get him transport to safety.  Ken doesn't know how he feels about this. At first he believes that it is just his stepmother's way to get rid of him. She doesn't seem to like him very much. But then he realizes that it could be a great adventure. Sailing across the Atlantic with the Royal Navy guarding them. Maybe he'll just stay in Canada and never come back. The ship is amazing and the food is something the kids had never experienced before.  Some children have trouble adjusting to life at sea but seem to be settling in. On day four, they are miles away from the U-boats and bombers that can hurt them so they can now begin to enjoy their life aboard a luxury liner. But then the torpedo shatters the night and the ship begins to sink. Ken gets separated from his friends and his lifeboat launches without him.  But does get on the last lifeboat before the ship sinks.  And now they are alone in the ocean with no one around, very little water, and getting sicker by the day. This story is based on a real life event that happened in World War II.

Monday, September 10, 2018

Turley, Beth. IF THIS WERE A STORY

Turley, Beth.
IF THIS WERE A STORY
New York : Simon & Schuster, 2018
IL 3-6
ISBN 
978-1-53442-061-8


Hannah is a fifth grader who is just a bit different from most of her class. She is very bright and believes she contains magic. When she gets the note that says "Nobody like Hannah", things change. Her parents focus on her more and they tend to fight less. Most people suspect that Kimmie sent the note. Kimmie's mother has died and she now lives with her grandmother. Kimmie is angry all the time. And Hannah is the only one who can beat her in the spelling bee. The notes continue and we are introduced to Hannah's inner world where her stuffed animal can talk as can coins and street signs. The school counselor tries to help Hannah but she becomes more withdrawn. This is an unusual tale of bullies, family problems, and imagination.

Tuesday, September 04, 2018

Ward, Jennifer. MAMA DUG A LITTLE DEN

Ward, Jennifer.
MAMA DUG A LITTLE DEN
New York : Beach Lane Books, 2018
IL K-3, RL 3.0
ISBN 
978-1-48148-037-6


What kind of animal digs a den for her family? And I say her since it is usually the female that digs the den.  You probably think of bears rights away. They spend winters in their dens. But there are so many animals that dig underground to keep their families warm. Some build dens in hollow trees or logs. Some dig in sand. Come along and see which mamas dig a little den.

Monday, September 03, 2018

McCanna, Tim. BOING : A VERY NOISY ABC

McCanna, Tim.
BOING : A VERY NOISY ABC 
New York : Simon & Schuster, 20158
IL K-3
ISBN
978-1-48148-755-9



This is a very noisy alphabet! It starts out with a young boy and his grandfather in the garden. When the grandfather sneezes, the boy loses control of the bouncing ball and now he is trying to catch it. Join the chase and go through the alphabet as well.

Saturday, September 01, 2018

Calkhoven, Laurie. LIN-MANUEL MIRANDA

Calkhoven, Laurie.
LIN-MANUEL MIRANDA
New York : Simon Spotlight, 2018
IL K-3, RL 2.9
ISBN 
978-1-53442-242-1
Have you heard of the musical Hamilton? Or the man behind it, Lin-Manual Miranda?  Even if you haven't, he is someone who you should get to know about. Lin-Manual Miranda was born in New York City in 1980. Both his parents were from Puerto Rico and Lin-Manual grew up listening to the sounds of his Hispanic neighborhood. Lots of Spanish songs, Broadway tunes and hip hop. His love for music was so strong, he dreamed of being on Broadway himself. He attended a special school for gifted students and he dove into theater arts. In college, he wrote a play that he hoped would appear on Broadway. Through hard work and the help of friends, Lin-Manual did make it to Broadway. Follow his journey from birth to fame.