FRAZZLED

Abbie Wu is suffering from an extreme case of the middles.

Not only is Abbie a middle child (squarely between her amazingly good at everything older brother Peter and her annoyingly adorable younger sister Clara), she’s now starting middle school, and she’s currently in the middle of an identity crisis!

It seems like her best friends know exactly where their talents lie: Maxine is natural actress, while Logan is a young tech genius. Meanwhile, Abbie has tried plenty, but has yet to find her Thing. So when it comes time to choose the ever-important elective class, Abbie finds herself in dread study hall instead. But it’s once there that Abbie is drawn into a campus-wide underground lunch revolution that may reveal to everyone, including herself, just how much she has to offer.

With an air of dramatic doom and plenty of attractive cartoon illustrations on every page, Frazzled: Everyday Disasters and Impending Doom by Booki Vivat is a great read-alike to middle grade staples like Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Dork Diaries. Perfect for the humorously hyperbolic and melodramatic middle grade reader in your life.

Grades 4-6

DOUBLE THE TROUBLE

Miles and his family move to Yawnee Valley.  Miles had been known as the prankster at his previous school and hopes to maintain his reputation at his new school, the Yawnee Valley Science and Letter Academy.  Upon his arrival, Miles discovers that there is another prankster already at work.  Someone has already managed to move Principal Barkin’s car to the top of the stairs of the school entrance, where it is blocking any access into the school.  Miles is very impressed with the prank but is surprised when the principal begins to suspect that it was him.  

As Miles begins to familiarize himself at his new school, the student helper, Niles Sparks, is asked to show him around.  As the days and weeks go by, Miles is surprised that there are no signs of who the prankster could possibly be.  Even though the principal continues to suspect it’s him, he doesn’t want to take credit for something he didn’t do, so Miles gets to work on creating his own prank. 

With two unknown pranksters in the same school, this is a formula for a very interesting and unexpected school year.  Will the school pranksters reveal their identity and collaborate with one another to prank Principal Barkin and the Yawnee Valley Science and Letter Academy? Read to find out.

The Terrible Two by Mac Barnett and Jory John, with illustrations by Kevin Cornell, is a funny book that will appeal to students grade 3-6. This is the first book of the series. 

INTRODUCING BUNJITSU BUNNY

In a series of thirteen vignettes, Isabel, nicknamed Bunjitsu Bunny, proves her mastery. The animated young rabbit, though expertly trained and admirably skilled, accomplishes this not by kicking higher, hitting harder, or throwing further than others, but rather by exploring alternatives to expected solutions. Whether she is confronting monsters in her dreams, helping a friend redefine his abilities and self-perception, or schooling pirates, Isabel approaches each challenge with indomitable spirit.

Though there’s a lesson to be learned with every tale, the tone strikes a perfect balance to avoid seeming overly moralistic. Bold black and white illustrations on every page lend themselves well, deftly capturing the movement and spirit of each character. John Himmelman’s Tales of a Bunjitsu Bunny is a celebration of humor, wisdom, kindness, and creative thinking. A second book, Bunjitsu Bunny's Best Move, is set to be published October 2015.

For grades 1 and up.

"SIBLING RIVALRY, BRAVERY, UNCONDITIONAL LOVE... AND VEGGIES"

Dot never asked to be a big sister and, had anyone asked her, she would definitely have objected to getting a wolf as a baby brother. But Dot has little choice in the matter when the Bunny family returns home one day to find a tiny wolfish bundle awaiting them. Mama and Papa are immediately smitten with their newly adopted son, but Dot is skeptical at best. 

Unconvinced by Wolfie’s excellent sleeping habits and hearty carrot appetite, unmoved by his indefatigable affectionate devotion, Dot repeats her wary refrain: “HE’S GOING TO EAT US ALL UP!” When Dot finds her new brother threatened, however, she’ll adopt some wolfish traits herself to save them both.

Ame Dyckman’s Wolfie the Bunny is a humorous picture book tale on the familiar topic of family relationships and new sibling dynamics. Wolfie’s adorable charm perfectly counterbalances Dot’s surly distrust, which admittedly has some justification; it is a rare story in which rabbits and wolves can both be good. This sweet story would make a lovely, lively read aloud. 

For another picture book celebrating the bonds of (interspecies) family, try Guji Guji by Chih-Yuan Chen.

Ages 2+

A PAULSEN OLDIE BUT STILL A GOODIE

Harris and Me by Gary Paulsen

This summer, he'll be living with the Larsons, distant relatives of his, on their farm. Every so often, he packs up and get sent off to live with some relative or other due to the fact that his parents are drunks or "puke drunks" as his cousin Harris puts it. living on the farm with foul mouth, mischievous cousin who gets him into all kinds of hilarious scrapes - playing cowboys and Indians with the farm animals, being charged by the farm's bull, kicked unconscious in the head while milking the cow.

A funny and unforgettable summer for Harris and any reader in 4th grade and up.

ANIMAL RESCUE

Griffin and Ben are back in another Gordon Korman adventure. Luthor, the guard dog from Swindle is now in the care of Savannah, animal lover and whisperer extraordinaire. Luthor and his best friend Cleo, a capuccin monkey, are inseparable until Cleo goes missing. All attempts to find her turn up empty handed until a class field trip to a miserable floating zoo finds Savannah and her classmates face to face with the missing pet. Mr. Nastase, the owner of the zoo refuses to acknowledge Cleo as Savannah's pet so what's a girl and her friends to do but to hatch an escape plan.

Operation Zoobreak doesn't go as planned when Savannah wants to rescue ALL the zoo animals. When her place to shelter the animals falls through, everyone has to hide them anywhere they can. Griffin, Ben and their friends are once again involved in a hilarious adventure to free not just one but forty animals.

Zoobreak by Gordon Korman is animal lovers in 4th -6th grade.

ANOTHER SPY NOVEL YOU SAY?

Yes, another one! Andrew "Danger" North is ready for the big time. He's been wanting to join the family business and has been preparing since he was six years old when his brother told him that both he and his father were spies. In his anxiousness to become a spy he kind of "borrowed" his brother's calculator thinking it would be great way to communicate to be organization that he is ready to officially become one. Of course he doesn't know how to use the calculator and is afraid he has probably just set the device to blow up the world! But before he can correct his mistake, his math teacher confiscates it and sticks the calculator in his desk drawer. Now, he has to find a way to get it back before everything is annihilated!

Andrew North Blows Up the World by Adam Selzer is a funny misadventure of a boy who absolutely believes that his father cannot be anything as boring as an insurance salesman. It's is perfect for 4th graders and up.