CAN YOU TALK TO THE ANIMALS?

Meet Ellis Coffey. He's in 4th grade. He makes most of the other kids in class laugh. He's a hard worker. Oh, and he can communicate with animals...sort of. At least that's what he thinks is happening when he finds a "woolly worm" (also know as a caterpillar) that seems to understand everything Ellis says. With such a talent, Ellis thinks he can win the woolly worm race and pay for his dad's much needed back surgery. Will his woolly worm win? THE WORM WHISPERER by Betty Hicks is a cute, simple story with a bit of Christianity thrown in. 

For 3rd through 5th grades.

MARCH 2015

GIRLS ARE SO MEAN SOMETIMES

It's summer vacation on Darcy Lane, and Julia is looking forward to a season of swimming, sitting around with her best friend Taylor, and thinking about the neighbor boy Peter. Lo and behold, the new neighbors move in with a girl Julia's age named Alyssa, and that changes everything. For some reason, Alyssa is rude to Julia from day one, steals best friend Taylor (is she such a good friend after all?), and basically makes Julia's life miserable - until the day of the great battle of Russia! 

THE BATTLE OF DARCY LANE by Tara Altebrando is your typical, tween angst novel, but is original enough to keep you reading to the very end. Questions like "will Peter and Julia become more than friends?" and "who is the mystery prank caller" intermingle throughout the story, with everything tied up in a nice neat bow at the very end.

 For 4th - 6th grades.

JUNE 2014

WOULD YOU LIE FOR SOMETHING YOU LOVE?

Ditty loves dancing. She loves her parents. She does not love lying. But she does not want to study Jewish tradition and get married to another Orthodox Jewish boy. Her parents act like their beliefs must rule everything about their lives. But Ditty isn't quite so sure if she believes these things any more. I mean, her parents have a secret television! So Ditty decides to take ballet, and has to come up with some elaborate stories to do what she loves the most - dancing! 

DANCING IN THE DARK by Robyn Bavati is about a girl who is transitioning from obedient child to daring teen, one who questions everything her parents ever taught her. How can dancing feel so right when her family thinks it is so wrong?! For grades 6 and up.

AUGUST 2013

WHEN KISSING IS A BAD IDEA

All Emerson wants is to try kissing a boy. But when she finally does, she sees into their minds! It's something she's been able to do ever since her mother abandoned her and her sister many years ago. Now, she's just trying to live as normal a life as possible. It's not easy, however, when her guardian Aunt threatens to pull her from the only school she's ever attended for getting bad grades! Emerson accidentally stumbles upon a plan that not only helps her grades, but allows her to practice kissing and meet the boy of her dreams! KISS & MAKE UP by Katie D. Anderson is not your typical realistic fiction story, with the whole reading minds thing, but it will definitely keep you reading! 

For grades 6 and up.

APRIL 2013

THE SHOW MUST GO ON!

Middle school is full of drama- break ups, make ups, and ensuring that the show goes on!  Passionate about theater (but unable to carry a tune), 7^th grader Callie is the set designer for her school’s drama department. She thinks her biggest worry will be making a prop cannon that will really fire during their spring musical, Moon Over Mississippi. Instead, she finds herself having to deal with 8^th grade divas, growing apart from old friends, and navigating the complex waters of modern middle school romance.

Told in an engaging graphic style format, Drama by Raina Telgemeier is a funny and realistic story of what goes on behind the scenes in the lives of middle schoolers. It’s sure to appeal to fans of her earlier work, Smile, but due to some more “grown-up” subject matter, is better suited to a 7^th grade and older audience.

ZOMBIES ARE A LITTLE DIFFERENT THAN WE THOUGHT

There's actually three levels of zombies, at least according to DEAD CITY  by James Ponti. You won't necessarily be able to tell if a zombie is a Level 1 because they look and act exactly like living humans, just with a lot more make up.  Level 2s try to be like Level 1s, but they have no soul and can't tell right from wrong.  Level 3s are pretty much like the zombies you're already familiar with - mindless, brain-eating blobs.  Of course, there's a team of kids out to save the city from the zombies.  They're called the Omegas, and are a highly secret organization, and it turns out that Molly, the newest member, is the greatest Omega since...well, since the death of someone very important to Molly. 

For grades 5 and up.

MARCH 2013

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.

THE WATCHER

"In this uncertain life, of these two things we are certain: the holiness of the heart's affections, the truth of the imagination" and so begins the story of THE WATCHER by JAMES HOWE...

The watcher is a thirteen-year-old girl who observes others without a smile, or a word. But nothing in life is what it seems... So we start seeing what is inside of the mind of the watcher and the watched. Perceptions, imaginations and the human need together intervene in this great story that ultimately is about survival. You will not want to put down this book until the very last word is finished.

For grades 4th and up.