SLEEP TO DREAM

Newbery Medalist Sid Fleischman has written a haunting tale called THE DREAM STEALER about a sneaky bandit coming to steal your dreams while you are trying to sleep. One night, Susanna is dreaming a happy dream about her long lost friend, only to have it rudely snatched away from her before she can find the friend! But Susana is not going to put up with that! You'll have to read the book to find out how she gets her dream back. For grades 3-6.

I NEVER AGREED TO BE A ZOMBIE!

David Lubar has a new series about how Nathan, a not so popular kid, accidentally becomes a zombie.

A ZOMBIE?! WAIT! WHAT?! How?

Well, that's why it's call an accident.

THIS KID SOUNDS LAME!

Uh, that's not a very nice thing to say. This is exactly why he tried the Hurt-Be-Gone forumula. So that people like YOU can't hurt his feelings anymore.

ARE YOU TRYING TO BLAME ME FOR HIM TURNING INTO A ZOMBIE?

Of course not. But other kids in the book, were teasing him, and bullying him and calling him names and making him feel bad so he decided to try this experimental formula his classmate's crazy scientist uncle created.

Special formula? So did it work?

I'm not gonna tell you. You'll have to read the book to find out if the formula worked or not. It's funny. You'll like it.

Fans of the Weenies books will really enjoy My Rotten Life, a funny and not so scary new series. For readers in 4th -6th grades.

BRAIDS*TRENCITAS

Abuela and Isabela, tell each other stories while Abuela braids and unbraids Isabela's hair every day. Each time Isabela asks Abuela to read a story she has written, the woman finds excuses and says that she is “ a storyteller, not a reader”. When Isabela discovers that Abuela can’t read, she finds a wonderful way to teach her grandmother how to read using the “loteria” ( a bingo-like game from Mexico). This heartwarming book talks about the importance of family and cultural traditions across generations. Colorful acrylic illustrations. Written by Kathleen Contreras, illustrated by Margaret Lindmark. Grades 2-3.

JANE IN BLOOM

JANE IN BLOOM by DEBORAH LYTTON starts off like a happy, Sunday afternoon brunch. However, things are never what they seem. She is a girl of great curiosity and wonder, who is in love with her family, especially her very popular sister, who is the light of everyone’s eye…
On Jane's birthday, she can't wait to get her ears pierced since she is literally the last girl in her classroom that does not have them. However, her parents change their minds and Jane ends up not getting what she wanted. Things do turn into much worse, when she unexpectedly loses her sister. The entire family is devastated and there seems to be to light at the end of the tunnel. However, with her love of photography, Jane slowly begins to see beauty and colors through the lenses, which later become a respite from her dull days.
This is really a heartwarming story, even though the subject matter is not light, the author has been able to make is so beautiful and lovely.

For grades 5th and older

A WALK WITH GRANDPA/UN PASEO CON ABUELO

One sunny day, Daniela and her grandpa hand in hand, went for a peaceful walk in the woods. They discover and share the beauty of nature, as they do so, they express just how much they love each other by a silly word game they play together. This is a picture book poem that celebrates the relationship between a grandfather and his granddaughter.

Bilingual full text both in English and Spanish. For readers, grades 2-3, ages 7-8. Written by Sharon K. Solomon, illustrated by Pamela Barcita.

WHO ARE POPEYE AND ELVIS?

Well, this here is a book that reminds you of lazy hot days in summer, waiting for something exciting to happen. When you're a kid like Popeye, "exciting" doesn't happen that often. Fayette, South Carolina is a slow kind of place, where Popeye lives with his grandma Velma and good-for-nothin' Uncle Dooley. It's Dooley's fault he's called Popeye, since he was the one that shot him in the eye in the first place. But now it's time for a new adventure involving a clan of ragamuffin kids, boats made of Yoo-Hoo boxes, and dead dogs. THE SMALL ADVENTURE OF POPEYE AND ELVIS by Barbara O'Connor is a slow, southern style of book that will hang around in your head for a while after you read it. For grades 3 and up.

BEAUTIFUL MOON/BELLA LUNA

This picture book by Dawn Jeffers is about a little girl who wants the day to last forever so that she may play and play. When the moon grants her wish for a day that never ends and she plays until exhausted, then she wishes for night to come so she can rest. This poem answers a child's persistent questions about why we have to sleep at night. It helps kids to understand why we have night and why they need to go to sleep!

Beautiful illustrations and simple vocabulary. Bilingual full text in English and Spanish. For readers grades 2-3, ages 7-8.

MEET THE DWEEBS...

Meet the DWEEB’s, Denton-the negotiator, Wendell-the computer whiz, Eddie- the athlete, Elijah-the writer and Bijay-the performer. And now, imagine these misfits all together, trying to figure the mysterious happenings at their Ho-Ho-Kus Junior High. In this laughing out loud book, you will recognize a lot of the drama and the happenings that are taking place in your own schools. The combination of these boys with their specialized areas of expertise makes them a unique team that is a guarantee for a cool, fun read.

Of course, do to the nature of their personalities and traits, everytime something bad happens, they are the once who get the automatic punishments. Now how are they going to solve certain mysterious at their school and also proof their innocence is something that you need to find out yourself:)

DWEEB: BURGERS, BEASTS, AND BRAINWASHED BULLIES by AARON STARMER.

For grades 5th and older.

BLOODY BATTLES OF SCOTLAND

Alex is off to Scotland to visit his Aunt Fiona, and hopefully find his parents who disappeared while on vacation there. As it turns out, his aunt is sick and he is sent to live with the neighbors McRae, who have three kids his own age. All is going well until Alex decides to explore the Castle Duncragglin caves that he heard about from a strange professor sitting next to him on the flight over. Suddenly, Alex and the McRae kids find themselves dodging soldiers and fighting alongside the famous Sir William Wallace, who freed Scotland from a mean English king. As Alex and his friends try to get back to modern times, the experience many exciting adventures along the way. THE BATTLE OF DUNCRAGGLIN by Andrew H. Vanderwal starts a little slow, but will please any avid historical fiction reader. For grades 5-8.

FAMILY SECRETS

WATCHING JIMMY by Nancy Hartry is about a young girl named Carolyn who's best friend Jimmy has been involved in a horrible accident that makes him brain damaged. Only Carolyn knows the truth to how Jimmy got that way, and she's not sure how to tell people. As the weight of this knowledge continues to press down on her, Carolyn learns what it means to "find her voice" when she is asked to audition for a local choir group AND perform an important speech on Canada's Remembrance Day. This is an easy-to-read story set in the late 1950's and does a great job of portraying that era from a non-stereotypical perspective. For grades 4 and up.

DANCING THROUGH THE SNOW

For a moment, try to imagine that you have nothing, and I mean literally nothing, no real name, no birth certificate, no mother or father and not even sweet memories to keep you going. What would you do? Would you hide in your face or try to make sense of the unknown and the injustice? DANCING THROUGH the SNOW by JEAN LITTLE is the ultimate story of Min (not her real name) that will touch your heart and give you the strength to dance through the snow, physically and metaphorically speaking.

For grades 5 and older.