FINDING YOURSELF IS MORE DIFFICULT THAN IT LOOKS

Rissa Bartholomew couldn't believe that she just told off all of her friends during her birthday party and right before starting middle school. Well, she did want to be an independent person, to think for herself rather than be one of the herd. Little did she realize how lonely and difficult it would be to find new friends and establish a new persona, especially if all she had to keep her company were her gnomes.

Rissa Bartholomew's Declaration of Independence by Lynda B. Comerford is a fun read for those who are coming of age and want to break out of the collective mold and begin their own self exploration as well as their world.

For readers in 6th - 8th grade.

A CROOKED SCIENTIST

Graphic novels (also known as comic books) are not like the Archie and Veronica or even the Garfield strips of old. You can see it in the new crops of books like this one: The Secret Science Alliance and the Copycat Crook by Eleanor Davis.

The drawings are really sharp and dynamic and printed on heavy glossy papers in hardback so it will last as you read and reread this story. You will definitely want to pore over the many diagrams of our clever heroes' inventions.

It's a story we've seen before, a nerdy kid finds like-minded friends and overcomes the odds and fights the bad guys. But what makes this better than your average story is the illustrations, color choices, details and panel layouts or in some cases lack of panels.

For readers in 4th and up.

MEET DYAMONDE

It's not easy to get separated from your dad, move away from friends and family and start living a brand new life with just a mother. But that is precisely what Dyamonde Daniel did. She is a precocious little girl who refuses to let anything bad affect her mood or her life. She doesn't really like to brag about how smart she is either, but at the same time she can't figure out why she doesn't have any friends...
She has gone through a lot of changes in her short life and is eager to find some sort of peace and comfort.
She makes a friend whose name is Reed. Reed likes to read. He gets teased a lot because here is Reed who likes to read. However, Dyamonde is not like the others, she becomes best of friends with Reed and together not only they read but start many new adventures. MAKE WAY FOR DYAMONDE DANIEL is by NIKKI GRIMES and the pictures are by R. GREGORY CHRISTIE.



For grades 2nd-4th.

BE A HOT FUDGE HERO!

In this beginning chapter book, the main character is very determined. HOT FUDGE HERO by Pat Brisson, Bertie learns many life lessons from experiences he has in every day life. The book is divided into three stories. The first story, “Bertie and Mr. Muckleberg,” transforms a mean old neighbor and his mean old pets into new friends. In “Sax Magic,” Bertie’s fairy godfather Stan gives him a magic hat that helps Bertie play the saxophone like a pro as long as he keeps practicing. It turns out to be a lucky day for Bertie in “Turkey Day.” Even though Bertie doesn’t get to bowl with his favorite bowling ball, he still gets a strike. For 2nd-4th grades.

CHICKEN FRIEND

Becca thinks that she has "messed up" big time...But it is not easy to have a crazy mad scientist mother, a wacky father and two cross brothers and still not mess up. She feels trapped in her own house and has really hard time to adapt to her new neighborhood. She is in desperate need to make friends, however on top of all the craziness in her family, she is also home schooled. So you can imagine the difficulty of first finding friends and second who won't judge you because your parents mutter things that are not relevant to reality among other things.

She befriends her chickens hoping that they will be good listeners and that they will not judge her on her many unconventional situations. Becca is a very smart, a bit too reflective and very self-aware which make things worse for her. Here is a really cute, funny, insightful and fun story that will put a smile on your face while your reading it and long after you finish reading it. Consider reading Chicken Friend by Nicola Morgan.

For grades five and older.