THE BOOK OF EVERYTHING!

Thomas is a nine year old boy who lives with his parents and sister. His father is nothing but a bully in their home. The regular beatings that he and his mother encounter have left him nothing to look forward in his life. He longs to be happy and is in constant search for it. However, all throughout life he's been told by his father that only the "good for nothings and the weaklings are happy."
After Thomas' sister confronts their dad about his violent actions, the whole family realized that in actuality their dad is really afraid to live life and that he has nothing to offer but words to discourage his children of living a happy life. At times the story can be very depressing and discouraging; however the elements of hope, innocence and forgiveness never stop to encourage us to continue reading it. THE BOOK OF EVERYTHING by GUUS KUIJER is translated from Dutch. So if you want to to read European literature than this can be it.

For grades four through six.

FESTIVE FOOD FOR THE HOLIDAYS

This is a story about Maria and her family's holiday tradition - making tamales. Maria tries on her mother’s wedding ring while making the masa for the tamales and thinks she loses it in the dough. Rather than telling her mother she fears she has lost her wedding ring in the masa, Maria forces her cousins to help her eat through 24 tamales. TOO MANY TAMALES by Gary Soto is a delightful holiday tale, mixing English with Spanish words for ingredients and a little life lesson thrown in for spice. A great story for all ages, but especially for 1st - 4th graders.

A GHOST STORY

All Sissy wanted was to have friends to play with and for the girls to tell the truth about what happened that day long long ago. It's been years since her drowning. Everyone has grown up but her. But now she has new playmates, Ali and Emma, the daughters of her old summer playmates.

Deep and Dark and Dangerous: A Ghost Story by Mary Downing Hahn is for readers in 4th and older who enjoy a good suspenseful story.

GYM RAT NO MORE

Life sure isn't the same for Toby anymore. This time last year, everything was great. Toby and his best friend JJ were always hanging out and playing basketball at the rec center. Now JJ is a star varsity basketball player. He's in a band, has new friends, a new girlfriend, and is just too cool for Toby. So when the new coach encourages Toby to join the 8th grade basketball team, he decides to go for it. He didn't realize that the coach had asked him to join just so he could have him sit on the bench ALL THE TIME. How is Toby supposed to help his team win the league championship if he never gets to play? It gets worse though. Toby does finally get to play and when he does he finds out that playing on a team is a much different ball game. You'll have to read Toby Wheeler: Eighth Grade Benchwarmer to find out if Toby is stuck being a benchwarmer forever!

For grades 5 and older.

NATURE'S BEAUTY AT IT'S COLDEST

Wilson A. Bentley, a.k.a. Snowflake Bentley, becomes fascinated with snowflakes at a very young age. As a boy, Wilson tried to draw the snowflakes he inspected with his microscope, but they would always melt before he could capture what they truly looked like. When he turned seventeen, his parents bought him a special camera with a microscope built in so that he could photograph the snowflakes and show the delicate designs of each one. This biography tells the story of an interesting man from the late 1800s, but Snowflake Bentley by Jacqueline Briggs Martin reads like historical fiction. On the sides of each page are random facts that add to the story. This is a Caldecott Medal winner for the fantastic woodcut illustrations by Mary Azarian. A wonderful story for third grade and up.

BRONZEVILLE!

The very first thing that grabbed my attention with this book was it's beautiful illustrations. They are lively, colorful, happy and full of colors, lots of colors. This book of poems is simple, sweet and plain. But yet you will want to keep on reading because I bet that you all have felt the many different things that these boys and girls are feeling, the only difference is that they have expressed with poems. It is interesting to read about something as simple as holding your mother's hand expressed in poetry. The poems are very inventive and the language is simple with a universal theme and appeal. A very cool book. BRONZEVILLE: BOYS AND GIRLS by GWENDOLYN BROOKS and the illustrations by FAITH RINGGOLD.

For grades K through four.

A SCARY GHOST STORY

If you liked the movies The Others or The Sixth Sense, then this is the book for you. Breathe: A Ghost Story by Cliff McNish.

Jack is still recovering from his most recent asthma attack and the loss of his father when his mother moves them to an old farm house. Jack loves things with a history, just touching them allows him to see glimpses of the past of the previous owners.

But there are also spirits trapped in this house. A malevolent spirit of a dead mother who wants him, a child to love and one who will love her back. She wants a child to replace her dead daughter.

A good scare for readers in 5th grade and older.

CAUGHT BETWEEN GIRL AND GROWN-UP

Alice has turned thirteen and is in-between. In between childhood and woman-hood, that is. She and her two best friends still act silly sometimes, but more talk of boys, boobs, and bothersome brothers shows that they're not little girls any more. Alice lives with her father and brother, as her mother died of leukemia when she was five years old. Now Alice is the "woman of the house," her friends are changing all around her, and she seems stuck between being a kid and growing up. ALICE-IN-BETWEEN by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor is the fifth in the "Alice" series. There are over twenty books in the series, but you can start anywhere and still understand what's going on in Alice's world. For fourth grade and up.

CRISIS IN THE WORLD!

At first this book might look a bit boring and not as appealing to you guys as some other popular titles. However, I can assure you that there is absolutely nothing mundane about it. It truly is a fascinating book about our environment and the affects of the ever popular topic, the global warming. More glaciers and ice shelves are disappearing from the world than ever before. We are not taking care of our planet which is more important than perhaps cleaning your room. The before and after pictures are really great visual aid on things that get discussed in the book. The language is very basic and it offers a very simple definitions on terms like the greenhouse effect, gases, etc. AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH : THE CRISIS OF GLOBAL WARMING by AL GORE is a very important book that you can read before the year ends.

For grades five and up.

IF YOU ARE PUTTING OFF READING THEN READ THIS BOOK...

Moxy Maxwell does not love Stuart Little because she has to read it by the end of the summer. She loves to swim and is part of a synchronized swim team. In fact, she loves to do everything else but read this book. She comes up with outlandish plans to avoid reading Stuart Little until the very last possible moment, when her final scheme lands her in the mud. Procrastinators all over will see themselves in Moxy and will totally relate.

Moxy Maxwell Does Not Love Stuart Little by Peggy Gifford is short fun a book illustrated with photographs taken by her younger brother. It's perfect for readers in 2nd-4th grade who don't want to read...unless they have to.

A MYSTERY SOLVED

Claudia Kincaid feels like no one in her family appreciates her and so she decides to run away to teach them a lesson and to escape her straight A life. She convinces her younger brother Jaime to come with her to not only keep her company but to help finance the operation as he had a large savings. The two run off to New York City where take up residence in the very large Metropolitan Museum of Art and discover a beautiful statue of an angel with a mysterious background. Claudia becomes obsessed with the need to solve the mystery of the art piece and in the process shares an incredible adventure with her brother.


A good read for anyone who likes mysteries with a bit of adventure, this is best for 4th grade and older.

NATIONAL BOOK AWARD WINNER!

TRUE BELIEVER by VIRGINIA EUWER WOLFF is written in verse and is about a fifteen year old inner-city girl who is trying do do the right thing at all times in order to get a better life. However, time shows her that it is really difficult to always to the "right" thing since life can throw things in your way in the most unexpected way. She realizes that at times doing the right thing is not really as important than doing the things that you truly believe in. This is a coming of age story that is written so beautifully that you would wish there was more to read.

This is the second novel in a trilogy. The first one is called MAKE LEMONADE and this can also be checked out from our library.

For grades 7 and up.

TOYS ARE PEOPLE TOO!

Sting-ray, Lumphy and Plastic are three toys that live in a nice house with a sweet little girl to take care of them. There are many things they have to learn about living with humans. They get very nervous when the little girl puts them in the bottom of a dark sack and it starts bumping around, not to mention the thought of the scary machine in the basement that's supposed to make them clean. Even though they aren't used to the human world, they feel very loved. If you are just starting to read chapter books, TOYS GO OUT by Emily Jenkins is a great one! For 2nd graders and up.

THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY

The Library will be closed on Thursday and Friday and will re-open on Saturday, November 24th.

Happy Thanksgiving.

TO GIVE OR NOT TO GIVE

This has been one of my favorite books of all time. I am not sure if now I like this book as much as I liked it before. Since as we grow our perceptions of things change in our lives as much as the tree changes in this particular story. The story is about a boy and a tree. The tree loves the boy unconditionally and it literally gives everything that it can offer to the him. However, the boy is not as gracious as he should have been. He only remembers the tree only when in need of something. If you are in the mood to read something really sad than this book is for you. THE GIVING TREE by SHEL SILVERSTEIN is one that you will enjoy only if you are in a super happy mood, since after reading it you might not be as cheery as you might have wanted.

For grades four and up.

21st CENTURY LITTLE WOMEN

When you're in middle school, friendships come and go like the passing of day to night. What's even worse is parents all of a sudden decide to become VERY embarrassing! Put the two together and you get THE MOTHER-DAUGHTER BOOK CLUB by Heather Vogel Frederick. Emma and Jess are best friends. They used to be friends with Megan until she joined up with the "popular" girls. And Cassidy has just moved into town with the force of a tornado. When the moms decide to start a monthly book club, the girls aren't thrilled at the prospect of being forced to spend time with one another. But as they read through Little Women together, they begin to notice themselves in the characters of the book they are reading, and they begin to see each other in new ways as well. A surprisingly enjoyable book that strays from the typical pre-teen girl theme in many ways. Great for 5th graders and older.

BEYOND WORDS THERE ARE...

Now here is a book that you can 'read' without really reading it. Confused already? Well, don't be because there are simply no words in it. It is a wordless book that is so satisfying and amazing that if there were words in it, they would have been just a mere distraction. You will go on to this visual journey feeling a bit confused in the beginning but once you realize what is on the other side, things would start to make sense to you. I do have to admit that it is not an easy book to 'read' since you need to look beyond to speculate the many points of views and perspectives that surround the characters and how they see things from the infinite sides of things. How can the other side have so many sides? ISTVAN BANYAI who has created a really cool book called THE OTHER SIDE is on the children's side of the library and you can check it out because it really is worth the 'read' :)

For grades third and up.

ONE WEEK AND COUNTING

Cythnia Kadohata, award-winning author of WEEDFLOWER, will be at the Central Library on Thursday, November 15 at 7 p.m. She will be talking about her book, answering questions and signing personal copies as part of the One Book/One Glendale...for younger readers program.

This event is free and open to all.

Glendale Public Library / 222 East Harvard Street / Glendale, CA 91215

For additional information, please call (818) 548-2034.

IS YOUR TURKEY CHICKEN?!?!

In this funny story called A Hoboken Chicken Emergency by Daniel Pinkwater, a young boy named Arthur is sent to get the Thanksgiving turkey. Unfortunately there aren't any, so he's sent home with a huge, living chicken. Arthur grows attached to the chicken and many adventures take place as he tries to prevent the chicken from becoming Thanksgiving dinner. If you find yourself laughing at books like Captain Underpants or Junie B. Jones, you are really going to giggle at the crazy, silly things that happen to Arthur in this book! Ages 6-10.

TIME TRAVEL TO THE FUTURE!

It's 1995. Three adventurous boys set out on a typical field trip to the museum. They innocently try making their day more interesting, when suddenly...out of the blue...they end up 100 years in the future! They encounter annoying robots, anti-gravity flying discs and accidentally run into their granddaughters which could alter their futures forever! Exciting and fast-paced, good for boys and girls, 2095 by Jon Sciezka is another hilarious installment in the Time Warp Trio series. If you like this, try some others in the series like THE NOT-SO-JOLLY ROGER, YOUR MOTHER WAS A NEANDERTHAL, and DA WILD, DA CRAZY, DA VINCI! There's even Time Warp Trio in comic book style! For grades 3 and up.

THE THANKFUL TURKEYS

'Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving by Dav Pilkey

A Thanksgiving field trip to Farmer Mack Nugget's turkey farm takes a turn for the worse when the children see an ax and realize what will happen to their new foul friends.

A twist on the traditional 'Twas the Night Before Christmas with some fun and irreverant puns.

Great read-a-loud for everyone from preschoolers and up.

THE TRAVELS WITH SIENNA

Here is a fun and cool book that you will read about the African-American history. The book is written in a journal and scrapbook format which makes it very refreshing and interesting to look at. You will enjoy reading this book because the facts are presented in a fun way and you would think as though your own friend is telling you about their trip and will genuinely be interested. At the end of the book you will find all the names and the addresses of all the places that Sienna travels with her family. You never know, maybe you too might want to go to these places. SIENNA'S SCRAPBOOK: OUR AFRICAN AMERICAN HERITAGE TRIP is written by TONY TRENT PARKER and the illustrations are done by JANELL GENOVESE.

For grades third and up.

FUNNY FOX SHOWS OFF!

Sometimes animals seem a lot like humans. In the book FOX BE NIMBLE by James Marshall, the human-like character is Fox, and he has three chapters of funny happenings. Fox really thinks he's hot stuff. But apparently not everyone knows just how great he is, so he makes a point of showing everyone! First he must babysit for the Ling children who are hard to keep still and end up getting Fox on the evening news. Next, Fox injures himself falling on a skate and makes a big deal out of it, even though he wasn't very hurt, just because he is such a show off. He finally puts his antics to good use as the baton-twirling leader of a parade. This is good for 1st - 3rd graders who are almost ready to read chapter books, but aren't ready for anything too long.

DUCK FOR PRESIDENT?

This is a really laugh out loud funny book about a duck who gets tired of doing his ducky duties on the farm and decides to take over his farmer's job. He organizes an election and overthrows the farmer. After he is a farmer for a while he gets tired and realizes that it is not as easy as he thought it would be and decides to run for Governor, while being a Governor he decides again that he deserves to have a better job and decides to run for president.

I am not going to tell you what happens next, however I will tell you that the story is really funny and everyone can read and enjoy it, adults as well as children. DUCK FOR PRESIDENT by DOREEN CRONIN and the illustrations by BETSY LEWIN gets my vote as one of the funniest books that I have read in a long time.

For ages 9 to 100.

WHAT IF...

...you could live forever. Think that it would be a good thing? Maybe yes, but then again maybe it would not be so wonderful. Ken is used to always getting his way and will not settle for anything less and after the death of his best friend he decides that death is not something he wants to do. Most people know there are certain things that just can't be change and death is one of them. It comes to us all. But when Ken meets Cheri Buttercup he discovers an startling alternative. Good thing or bad thing, you will have to decide when you read William Sleator's, The Boy Who Couldn't Die.

For grades 5 and older.

SO B. IT

I loved reading this book from the moment I opened it, from the title until the very last sentence. It is about one brave twelve years old girl who knows nothing about her family and her mentally challenged mother can not even say her own name to save her life. However, since their neighbor has helped them ever since she was a week old, things seemed to be not as bad for her. Their rent gets paid on time in a mysterious way and she can choose to live her life just the way it is. However, an old photograph prompts her to find more about her mother's past which will help her to learn more about her own self. You will go on to this journey rooting all the way until the end in hopes for her to find her identity among other things.... SO B. It by SARAH WEEKS is a book not to be missed.

For grades six and up.

10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY

Any alumnus of STR out there? If so please send Theresa an email (trobinett @ci.glendale.ca.us) to get the details about the celebration and to receive your invitation to a night of books--an author! and food, of course. Hope to hear from you.

SEEDS SEEDS PUMPKIN SEEDS!

This is just the perfect story to read since Halloween is just around the corner. Before you carve the pumpkin, go ahead and guess how many seeds are in it. MARGARET McNAMARA who is the author of HOW MANY SEEDS IN A PUMPKIN? says , "small things have a lot going on inside of them." You will be surprised to find out that some of the bigger pumpkins do not have as much seeds as some of the smaller once. There are also some other important facts that you will find out about them before you purchase your Halloween pumpkin for this year. The illustrations are done by G. BRIAN KARAS with very soft colors that will make your eyes relaxed and calm.

For ages four and older.

THE IMPORTANCE OF GOOD FRIENDS

Annemarie Johansen lives in a Nazi occupied Denmark. While she does not understand why there are soldiers on her streets, she knows they make her feel very uncomfortable. Life takes an interesting turn when Annemarie learns her Jewish friend's family, the Rosens, must go into hiding. This opens her eyes to many things and she learns to be brave and compassionate as she and her family smuggle the Rosens out of Denmark. This is a Newbery Medal winner, and is one of the shortest books to win this award. I wish the book would've told me more about the characters because I didn't feel I got to know them very well. But let me know what you think! Post a response below...
For 4th graders and up.

FAIRY TALE FEASTS

One of my first loves is food, so it’s not unusual that learning to cook comes a very close second. One of the new books in the collection is Fairy Tale Feasts: A Literary Cookbook for Young Readers & Eaters, a storybook, fact book and cookbook rolled in a nifty package. It is fun and interesting to read because other than the stories, there were recipes that children could try at home, like Very French Toast. Because the recipes are kid-friendly, a lot of them are simple no-meat offerings. The book was also peppered with various trivial facts that would catch children's attention, like facts about eggs, carrots and grapes to name a few. The book is nicely illustrated with colorful artwork on glossy pages that can be easily wiped clean in case of a spill accident while trying the recipes. Check this book out and try one or two recipes. I tried the Very French Toast recipe, and serve the toasts with eggs, bacon and fruit. We had a wonderful breakfast…a sure hit with my family. Great for parents and their kids ages 4-8.

Dora, Children's Room Intern

IN DAYS OF OLD

Eleven-year-old Piers tired of working in his father's blacksmith shop leaves home to to become a knight's page in the adventurous story of PARSIFAL'S PAGE by Gerald Morris. Raised on the tales of his mother's time in the French court he has a very idealized picture of what a real knight is like but after spending time with the clueless Parsifal that is changed. He finds that the road to knighthood is not easy or smooth but nonetheless full of magic and adventure.

This was a Snacktime Reader's selection for January 2007 and was rated an average of 8.5, ten being the highest, by the group.

For grades 4 and older.

WHAT WOULD YOU DO FOR LOVE?

THE BALLAD OF BELLE DORCAS by William Hooks is a dark and mystical old folk tale from the time of slaves in the Deep South. Belle Dorcas, the daughter of a white man and a black woman, is free-born, meaning that she is not born into slavery. She falls in love with a slave named Joshua and marries him, and together they work on the same plantation with a kind master. When a new owner takes over the plantation where Joshua is enslaved and threatens to sell him, Belle Dorcas seeks the help of a local conjure woman, that some might call a witch, who turns Joshua into a tree so that they may be together without the threat of slavery tearing them apart. Great for a little bit of black history, a greater bit of magic and a mysterious twist that makes Joshua more than a tree every night. Ages 9 and up.

A PINK REFRIGERATOR?

...Yes, Dodsworth really did find a pink refrigerator with strange directions posted to the door under a mysterious magnet.

The note said MAKE PICTURES one day.

The next time READ MORE was written on a piece of paper.

This is strange. Very strange indeed because you see, Dodsworth loved to do nothing! His motto was to "Try to do as little as possible".

Will Dodsworth take the refrigerator up on its challenges?

A curious picture book readers in preschool through 2nd grade.

The Pink Refrigerator by Tim Egan

LEARN ENGLISH FROM BASEBALL

With a name like Shirley Temple Wong, something's bound to go wrong! Shirley Temple Wong has just moved from China to New York. She has a hard time getting adapted because she doesn't speak English very well and everyone treats her differently. When she makes friends with the toughest girl in the class by accident, she learns how to play stickball, and becomes a huge Brooklyn Dodgers fan. BROOKLYN DODGERS?!?!

IN THE YEAR OF THE BOAR AND JACKIE ROBINSON by Bette Bao Lord is set in 1947, when the Dodgers still played for Brooklyn, and even though it takes place 70 years ago, you'll see that kids are still pretty much the same. An easy to read chapter book for 4th grades and up.

TIME FOR A CLASSIC!

If you like sea adventure, pirate treasure hunts, villains, lost maps, and lots of other crazy stuff, than this is the perfect book for you. No wonder it has become a classic. Just hope that you don't get seasick and enjoy one of the coolest rides of your life. The illustrations in this book make it more interesting to flip the pages and they do help you to have a more visual understanding of the story.

This particular abridged edition of TREASURE ISLAND by ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON and the illustrations by FRANCOIS PLACE can be checked out at our library.

For grades six and up.

IF YOU LIKE SCARY STORIES...

THE INTRUDERS by E. E. Richardson

Joel can't get the chant out of his head, asleep or awake...

IF I SHOULD DIE BEFORE I WAKE, I PRAY THE LORD MY SOUL TO TAKE.

IF I SHOULD DIE BEFORE I WAKE, I PRAY THE LORD MY SOUL TO TAKE.

A tale of families

A tale of horror

A tale of mystery

For readers in grades 6th - 8th.

OUT OF THE DUST

In this gut-wrenching story written in a free-verse, you will find a twelve year old girl to be such an observant and brave being that you will root for her from the beginning to the end. Her thoughts and her insights are so well developed and poignant that you will know she will be fine no matter what happens to her. She will be able to crawl out of the dust with grace and dignity in a very poetic way. OUT OF THE DUST by KAREN HESSE is a Newbery award winning novel that should go on your must-read list.

For grades four and up!

IN THE NAME OF TOURISM

Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy by Gary D. Schmidt is a Newberry Honor book based on the Malaga community in Maine at the beginning of the 1900's. Isolated, Tucker is more aware than ever that he is not the son his father would wish for, dutiful and obedient. Worse, after a spurt of temper, he must redeem himself by reading to a crotchety old lady who wants to make sure that someone will be there to record her last words for posterity. Things seem brighter when he is befriended by another outsider living on a beautiful island offshore which everyone in town wants to turn into a tourist destination to boost the local economy. But then where would Lizzie Bright and her community of black freed and runaway slaves who have been there for over 100 years go?

For mature readers in grade 5 and older.

WHOOOO's IN THE SHOWER?

Borden's father is a logger, and he hates the owls. It's the owls that have kept Borden's dad out of work. Borden decides he hates them too, until one day he stumbles upon a baby owl. He is convinced it isn't a spotted owl, the endangered species whose life is threatened by the logging community, because how could anything so cute and helpless threaten people's jobs? It isn't long before both Borden and his father Leon, learn a lot from the baby owl Bardy. THERE'S AN OWL IN THE SHOWER by Jean Craighead George, shows how logging affects the world we live in, and how things can change for the better. For 4th grade and up.

EVERYTHING YOU LOOK AT HAS ART

Chances are that you have seen the now famous paintings of Campbell's soup cans. But when Mr. Warhol had decided to paint them no one thought that it was a good idea except for him. Andy Warhol said "everything you look at has art" therefore he made art out of ordinary things in life. He experimented with a lot of different materials and techniques and made people see ordinary things in life with a whole new perspective. ANDY WARHOL: POP ART PAINTER by SUSAN GOLDMAN RUBIN will either inspire you to start making art or to start appreciating the ordinary things in life more.

For grades fifth and up.

MYSTERY IN THE HLLS

The Hollywood Sisters: Backstage Pass by Mary Wilcox is a new mystery series about the Ortiz sisters newly plunked into their rented Beverly Hills mansion from more humble digs in Anaheim. Jessie, the shy and younger sister of the now famous Eva, is determined to stop the bad press, but she seems to only be getting in the way and creating ill feelings with the crew and cast members instead.

For readers in 4th-6th grade.

IT'S NOT TOO EARLY...

...to start reading Weedflower, our One Book/One Glendale book for younger readers. The author, Cynthia Kadohata will be joining us to talk about this great book on Thursday, November 15 at 7:00 p.m. in the auditorium of the Central Library.

There will also be a discussion group meeting on October 24 at 7:00 p.m. in the Children's Room of the Central Library.

Best for grades 4 and up.

LET IT SHINE!

The illustrations in this book are so well done that at first glance you would think that you are looking at an art book. The colorful cut-paper collages are really beautiful with a lot of intricate details. At times you will find yourself wondering if you too can start making similar paper-cuts as well. The book itself contains three classic well loved spirituals. So if you don't want to read them you can just look at the art work and it will be guaranteed that you will not be disappointed. LET IT SHINE by ASHLEY BRYAN can also be viewed as an art and craft book for it's cut out shapes.

For ages four through eight.

BOYS WILL BE BOYS

Here are five humorous short stories about Edward and his brother Jason as they experience the school year and its many adventures. One is concerned with Halloween costumes, while the other is trying to learn the secret language of girls. They each get a pet rat and non-birthday presents from their aunt. Sometimes they get on each others nerves, but mostly they get along and have many funny things happen throughout the book. If you are just starting to read chapter books, RATS by Jane Cutler is a fun and exciting collection of stories, and is the sequel of Jane Cutler's book NO DOGS ALLOWED! Ages 7-10.

STUMP... I MEAN, ALISTAIR

This is how Alistair became "Stump" and back to Alistair again. You take an angry kid with one leg, send him to a rich place in California for the summer, force him to spend time with his estranged dad and new double amputee stepmother, throw in a chance encounter with a beautiful actress, and an opportunity for personal growth by way of a crotchety old swim coach.

Funny and biting novel for mature readers in 6th -9th grade. The One Where the Kid Nearly Jumps to His Death and Lands in California by Mary Hershey is a fast-paced novel, unlike its long-winded title.

GIRLS ROCK!

We have always known that girls rock at whatever it is that they set out to do. But to rock in a sport where the dominating majority of it's athletes are males is one to call for a celebration. In the racing world, there is a new girl whose name is Danica Patrick and she is probably winning car races as you are reading this. The good news is that she is not the only girl in this sport. New girls are emerging rapidly. In the book RACER GIRLS by BOB WOODS you will learn more about her journey and about other women drivers before her that inspired her to follow her passion. Each day more women get interested in this sport. And maybe you too can start thinking about it after you read the book.

For ages 9-12.

KIDS FOR LUNCH

The biggest crocodile in all of Africa is out to find a tasty child for lunch. He considers himself to be quite an intelligent crocodile as he has devised many secret plans for capturing his meal. Unfortunately he shares these plans with many other jungle animals along the way, and they all end up ruining his great ideas and his lunch! Roald Dahl, author of THE ENORMOUS CROCODILE is always a fantastic author and talks about the slimy, yucky, creepy things that are often funny, sneaky, and a little crazy. Quentin Blake illustrates most of Dahl's books and does a wonderful job of capturing the character of the sneaky mean crocodile.

LEMONADE FOR SALE!

What started out as a friendly end of summer activity for brother and sister, Evan and Jessie, has turned into a very unfriendly competition when Evan finds out that his super smart sister will be skipping a grade and be in his fourth grade class. Evan and Jessie have their own worries about this news and it brings out the worst in each.

The Lemonade War by Jacqueline Davies is a great short read for third through fifth graders.

THE BOY BEHIND HARRY POTTER

When you are done reading the last Harry Potter book and would like to know more about the boy who plays him in the movie versions than this small book is for you. While the 'real' Harry Potter was trying to live his miserable life with his bad aunt and uncle. Daniel Radliffe who plays Harry, lived a very good life with his family in England. The only problem that he had was to convince his parents that he could take the role and that it would not interfere with his growing up. After making the movies, now he is one of the richest kids in the world. Guess what, he is only a teenager and has already played the role of a lifetime. DANIEL RADCLIFFE by JOHN BANKSTON is a quick read with some pictures of the actor when he was just beginning to act in the very first harry Potter movie.

For ages 9-11.