The Many Hats of a School Librarian

by Markus Zusak This book is about a 12 year old girl that lives in Germany in 1942 - during World War II under Hitler's reign. It is a Nazi Germany story like you have never read before and it gave me just a little taste of what it would be like to live in a little town with a war in my country. It's narrated by Death, which seemed very strange at first, but as I got further into the book, I appreciated the point of view because of the lack of grief when deaths were explained.  This is not a happy book, but there are lots of happy parts.  If you like historical fiction or beautifully written novels, I definitely recommend this book to older readers. I have to admit that it took great discipline for me to finish this book. I started it last year and had read a few chapters here and there, but it mainly sat untouched on my night stand. It seems fitting that I would decide to finish it and read about war on Memorial Day. (Though the German soldiers in the book were the sol...

by Claire Vanderpool - Newbery Award Winner 2011 I really prefer mysteries and suspense, and so I read this historical fiction novel simply because it won the award.  I struggled a bit to get into it - not because it isn't a "good" book - but because I like more action right from the beginning.  I am so happy that I stuck with it all the way to the end.  As I read, I began to really get to know the characters and while it seemed a little disjointed at the beginning, it all tied together in a way I never could have imagined (yet seemed so perfect) in the end.  By the time I was finished, I knew exactly why it won the highest young adult novel award in the country.  It's a story about a young girl in 1936 who's dad sends her to live with an old friend from his past for the summer.  She spends the summer looking for clues to her dad's past with a couple of friends and finds herself reading old newspapers, old hidden letters, and hearing stories from an old Div...

by Paul Owen Lewis "This adventure story concerns a chief's young son who is thrown from a canoe and finds himself on the shore of a strange village" - Booklist.

written by Helen Lester  Illustrated by Lynn Munsinger A Wombat from Australia is invited to join a baseball team, but when the other animals try to explain to him how to play, he pictures very different things that a real baseball game.  See how he helps out in the end - even after he steals second base right off the field!

by Libby Gleeson Illustrated by Freya Blackwood "Best friends Amy and Louie build pretend towers, see magical creatures in the clouds, and regularly climb through a hole in the fence into one another's yards. The special "Coo-ee Am-ee" or "Coo-ee Lou-ee" call is enough to bring one or the other running. But then Amy's family moves "to the other side of the world" and the two friends are sad and lonely. They think about each other night and day until Louie comes up with a way to send his special call out to his friend." - School Library Journal. This is especially a great book for introducing pen pals or to make someone feel better if a friend moves away.

Crest View's Literacy Blog: Books for 6th graders : "My niece and nephew (middle schoolers) are my source of ideas for books for 6th graders. They recently recommended 3 books to me that I rea..."

by Mo Williams. "What?!? People are looking at us?" See how Elephant and Piggie make the reader laugh! Bet you won't say Banana!