| The tiny hero of Ferny Creek Library by Linda Bailey; illustrated by Victoria JamiesonDreamy, book-loving Eddie is bright green bug who lives with his family inside the walls of Ferny Creek Elementary School. Eddie usually sticks close to home, but when his Aunt Min fails to return from a trip to the school library, Eddie ventures out into the hazardous halls to find her. Just as the two bugs are reunited, they uncover a scheme to turn the beloved library into a testing center. Can one little bug save an entire library? With drawings by award-winning illustrator Victoria Jamieson and a "Bugliography" of classic books to try, this whimsical animal fantasy will appeal to library lovers both young and old. |
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| Superstar by Mandy DavisThe school cafeteria is LOUD. After years of being homeschooled, fifth-grader Lester is upset by the noise, crowds, and bullies at his new public school, not to mention the kids and teachers who just don't seem to get him. However, the school has a science fair, and like his astronaut father (who died five years ago), Lester adores science. Can winning the fair help him find his place at Quarry Elementary? And will putting a name -- "autism spectrum disorder" -- to the way he experiences things make them any easier? Find out in this honest look at the ups and downs of school for a kid on the spectrum. |
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The street beneath my feet
by Charlotte Guillain
A double-sided foldout introduction to the underground world compares urban and rural regions with images of tunnels and pipes juxtaposed against burrowing creatures, tracing how both sides eventually descend through layers of rock to the planet's molten core. By the award-winning author of Spaghetti With the Yeti.
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Real friends
by Shannon Hale
The Newbery Honor-winning author of Princess Academy traces the roller-coaster challenges of first friendships as demonstrated by her own experiences from kindergarten through fifth grade, years marked by cliques, bullies and her efforts to gain popularity. Illustrated by the best-selling artist of the Princess in Black series.
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| The song from somewhere else by A.F. Harrold; illustrated by Levi PinfoldFrank Patel doesn't really want to make friends with her strange, smelly classmate Nick. But when Nick helps her escape the cruel neighborhood bullies and offers to let her hide at his house, she's not about to turn him down. It's at Nick's house that Frank first hears the beautiful, haunting music -- music that leads her to discover an unearthly secret that threatens Nick's family, and maybe even the whole world. Dark end eerie illustrations enhance the creepiness of this fantasy, making a perfect pick for fans of Neil Gaiman. |
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Roald Dahl's George's marvellous experiments
by Hutchison, Barry
George Kranky created his own Marvellous Medicine to deal with his grizzly old grunion of a Grandma. You definitely can't do that at home (so don't even try!), but here's some amazing science that you can do! From concocting home-made slime to creating your own volcano, these fun experiments are all easily done, following simple step-by-step instructions and using everyday household objects. Inspired by Roald Dahl's terrific tale, this is the book for budding young scientists everywhere!
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Mermaids
by Virginia Loh-Hagan
Presents information about mermaids, discussing the lore about their origins, physical features, beautiful voices, control over storms, attraction to sailors, and the Babylonian and Irish legends about them
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| Spirit hunters by Ellen OhTwelve-year-old Harper only has hazy memories about the events that led her family to move to Washington, D.C., but she can't push away the uneasy feeling she gets from their new house. Her neighbour, Dayo, says that the place is haunted, a claim that gets easier to believe as Harper's little brother begins acting out in alarming ways. Soon it becomes clear that in order to fight for her family's future, Harper will have to face up to the past. Filled with shivery tension and disturbing ghost encounters, Spirit Hunters will captivate anyone looking for a real scare. |
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| Oddly Normal by Otis FramptonFor half-witch, half-human Oddly, it only takes one careless wish to turn life upside-down. After her birthday-candle wish for her embarrassing parents to disappear actually comes true, ten-year-old Oddly is whisked away by her aunt to live in the magical realm of Fignation. Now, besides worrying about her parents, Oddly has to get used to a new house and a new school…oh, and the fact that she's living alongside zombies, vampires, and robots! Cartoon illustrations capture Oddly's fish-out-of-water struggles in this charming 1st book in the Oddly Normal graphic novel series. |
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| Dreamer, wisher, liar by Charise Mericle HarperThe mysterious jar is labelled "wishes," and it might be the only thing that can transform Ashley's terrible summer. It's bad enough that she has to babysit for annoyingly perky 7-year-old Claire -- how is Ash also supposed to deal with her best friend Lucy moving away? It's not like she can easily make new friends, since she has face blindness and can't recognise people. Finding the jar of wishes provides a welcome distraction, especially after Ash realises that the wishes can transport her back in time. The past and the present collide in this "amusing, heartfelt" (Kirkus Reviews) story about friendship and change. |
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| The seventh wish by Kate MessnerIt's not every ice-fishing expedition that yields a wish-granting fish, and 12-year-old Charlie isn't going pass up the chance to make some changes in her life. She could use a new Irish dancing dress, for instance, and she'd like Roberto Sullivan to notice her. Yet while Charlie's fish-wishes do come true, the results are often complicated. And when her sister Abby returns from college with a painful problem, Charlie is afraid that wishing won't be enough. Authentic and just a little bit magical, The Seventh Wish is destined to "zing straight to the hearts of readers" (Kirkus Reviews), especially those who enjoyed Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm's Sunny Side Up. |
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The fox and the ghost king
by Morpurgo, Michael
"Every fox in the whole town, in the whole country just about, is a football fan...And we all have an impossible dream." In a cosy den under a garden shed lives a family of foxes. They love to watch football - all foxes do. But their favourite team keeps losing and losing, and it seems like things will never look up. That is, until Daddy Fox finds the ghost of a king, buried underneath a car park. A king who wishes only to be free. "Release me," says the Ghost King, "and I can do anything. Just tell me your greatest wish." For these football-loving foxes, might everything be about to change...?
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| Wishing day by Lauren MyracleThey say that in Willow Hill, on the third night of the third month after her 13th birthday, a girl gets to make three wishes on a special willow tree. Yet when Natasha's wishing day arrives, she visits the tree reluctantly. Natasha isn't sure she believes in magic, but she's got plenty of wishes: She wishes to be noticed by her large, messy family. She wishes for her first kiss. And most of all, she wishes for her mother, who's been missing for years. Like Wendy Mass' Willow Falls series, this trilogy-starter is a warm, realistic story with gentle hints of fantasy. |
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Joplin, wishing
by Diane Stanley
Discovering magic in a beautiful Dutch platter that depicts the image of a girl, a middle-grade New Yorker wishes for a new friend before the girl depicted on the platter appears and reveals that she has been cursed for centuries and is being targeted by a sinister enemy.
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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