The Many Hats of a School Librarian

Find your favorite hobby or job by looking at what the Peas are doing on each page.  This super cute book helps you learn your ABCs and helps you dream of what you can do.  Who are you?

by Roland Smith I love everything to do with the Federal Government's Witness Protection Program. It's a real program where the US Government will hide any one who's life is in danger by giving them a new identity. This book is about a boy named Zach whose Dad does some illegal things and now some mean men are after them. They enter the Witness Protection Program and have to move and change their names and even wear colored contacts to change the color of their eyes! You will see how hard it is to change your identity and be a normal boy in 7th grade.

by Patricia Reilly Giff This book is about a boy named Sam that is turning 11 and has a lot of questions about where he came from after he finds a newspaper article with a picture of him as a little boy with a different last name. The number 11 pops up throughout the book and Sam struggles with reading so he finds an unlikely friend to help him solve the mystery of his past. This book kept me wanting to read to the very end to find out who Sam is!

by Barbara Park I had to read at least one Junie B. Jones book because my students love them so much! I chose One Man Band because I played the flute in the band when I was in jr. high and high school. Junie gets into her usual trouble, but you'll have to read it to find out why she ended up playing a musical instrument instead of playing in the kickball tournament.

by Laurie B. Friedman Just like Mallory, I went to camp as a 3rd grader for the first time and loved it! In fact, I went every year until high school and then still loved it so much that I became a counselor in college. I got to work with campers for the whole summer. Mallory was a little scared at first and then she had some trouble with her bunk-mate. If you have ever been to camp, or are thinking of going to camp, you should definitely read this book!

by Margaret Peterson Haddix This book is about a future time in the world where only 2 children are allowed per family. Unfortunately, Luke is a 3rd child and has to live in total secret or he will be taken away. See what happens when Luke spots another 3rd child in his neighborhood. Will he get caught in the yard by the population police? This is the first in a series about Shadow Children. I liked this book and am excited to read the next one in the series. It ends in a bit of a cliffhanger, so get ready to be hooked to a new series of books!

by Wendy Mass This book is about 3 people who all end up in a campground to watch an eclipse. The three main characters are very different from each other, but they just might find common interests around this major celestial event. I loved this book and am excited to recommend it as part of 2010-2011 Maud Hart Lovelace Contest.

by Katherine Applegate This book written in verse (poetry) tells the story of a boy who moves to Minnesota from Africa. He is a refugee and he is living with relatives because his mother couldn't come with him. Applegate uses great language to describe life in Minnesota. I loved this book and it was my favorite among the 2009-2010 Maud Hart Lovelace Nominees and it won 2nd place.

by Trenton Lee Stewart When four misfit geniuses pass mysterious tests and find themselves in a crazy house, you know you are in for a great story. Reynie, Kate, Sticky, and Constance are asked to find out who is sending subliminal messages from an island school. Can they find the message sender before the whole world is brainwashed?

by Lynne Jonell Imagine if your mom was killed in a tragic chemistry accident where her lab blew up and your dad was so scared he would lose you too, that he never lets you leave the house. That's the life that Christina lives until she sees some interesting things happening at the orphanage across the street. See how Christina and her new orphan friend Taft solve mysteries that they didn't even know existed.

by Gordon Korman This book made me laugh out loud. It's about a boy who is sick of reading books where the dogs die at the end so he convinces his class to perform a dog play with a slightly different ending.

by Rick Riordan The first in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series is pretty good. It mixes a current story with ancient greek mythology. I was never a fan of mythology, but this story kept me reading until the end. I enjoyed the twists and turns and would recommend it to any age 3rd grade and up!