THE FLETCHER FAMILY VACATION AT ROCK ISLAND

Summer vacation has begun and the Fletcher Family has set off for Rock Island!  One of the main attractions to see is a beloved lighthouse, but once they make their way to it there is something undeniably different about it.  Many changes occur this vacation season, and each of the Fletcher boys experience a memorable summer, but will Jackson, the Fletcher's African-American son's memories be as wonderful as the others?

Dana Alison Levy's The Family Fletcher Takes Rock Island adventure is still rich with fun, humor, love, and support of one another. What was surprisingly different in this story and yet, important to note, is that the novel lightly touches upon the treatment of others based on race and ethnicity.  A good read and possibly a discussion starter on racial diversity.  

For 5th grade and up. 

ALLIE FINKLE’S RULES

This book is number 3 in the series (Allie Finkle's Rules For Girls) but if you haven’t read the first two, no worries, you will still be amused and entertained.

Allie is a typical fourth grader who after the winter school vacation is really excited to go back to school and be with her friends again. When she finds out that in addition to her usual friends, there is going to be a new girl, she becomes even more excited. Unfortunately as she starts her regular week at school, she realizes that the girl, whom she hoped could have become one of her own friends, is the exact opposite of her.  Cheyenne, the new girl, is rude, angry all the time and has the tendency to bully people around her. She tries to replace Allie‘s and her friends’ innocent recess games with inappropriate games such as chase and kiss, hoping to ‘recruit’ friends.  Allie of course, being the smart and kind person finds many ways to fight her rival.

You will fall in love with Allie and her friends and would want to read the entire series…

BEST FRIENDS AND DRAMA QUEENS by MEG CABOT For grades 3rd-5th. 



FRIENDS

From Children's Librarian, Vivian at the Casa Verdugo Branch:

Snake and Lizard by Joy Cowley

In this adventure, Snake and Lizard share a Help and Helper business.  Word spreads that this unlikely pair achieve their success by helping creatures of all kinds, and it really doesn’t matter what the situation may be.  They do have their share of bickering but in the end they try to understand each others point of view.  This is a humorous tale with some surprises.

ARE YOU A MYSTERY AND PUZZLE FREAK?

Winston is a puzzle freak and the king of puzzles. thought he was being such a sensitive brother by getting Katie a wooden box for her birthday, but instead he got a lot of grief from his family because everyone couldn't figure out the words on the sticks left inside a secret compartment. The two decide to team up with other treasure seekers when they realized that the puzzle might lead to a million dollar treasure left by the librarian's father when he passed away. A fantastic scavenger hunt for those of you who like to watch "The Greatest Race". The Puzzling World of Winston Breen by Eric Berlin

A puzzling call sets Winston and his two friends off on another whirlwind adventure looking for clues and cracking codes so their school can win the big prize, $50,000! Can they beat the other schools and find the person who is cheating? the second installment is full of the same fun and excitement. The Potato Chip Puzzles by Eric Berlin

ROSCOE RILEY RULES #3

Roscoe wishes he had a trophy. He is the only member of his family to not win one. His sister, Hazel, has many trophies, and Roscoe is quite envious of her. How far will Roscoe go to win a trophy? Will he tell a fib to his parents, or swap a hand-made sweater that his grandmother made with love? From the author of Animorphs, Katherine Applegate writes Don't Swap Your Sweater For A Dog from the Roscoe Riley Rules series. This is another fun read, with lessons for Roscoe Riley to learn- hopefully his third grade readers will too!

PLEASE WRITE IN THIS BOOK

Ms. Wurtz has a great group of kids in her class and each one has a unique personality and style. There's Milton-- he's really smart; Luke (whose name rhymes with puke) is the class clown; Lizzy, who tends to be a bit bossy; and Yoshi, a dedicated friend. To get the class to practice their writing skills, Ms. Wurtz puts a class journal in the Writer's Corner. Unfortunately, the messages, thoughts and drawings in the class journal get way out of hand. What starts off as creative and fun, then turns into broken friendships, tears, and jeer. Will Ms. Wurtz intervene and make everything right or will the class have a creative solution?

Students in the 3rd thru 5th grades, as well as teachers who are interested in adding a journal to their writing center, will find Mary Amato's book delightful, sometimes gross, and fun! Eric Brace's illustrations bring the story to life.