Brands We Know: Lego

I became familiar with this nonfiction series from other librarians who said this series FLIES off the shelves.  I am hoping they do.  From this one I can see that they would.  The series focuses on one wildly popular brand, or company, and tells of its history and major products.  In this one, you learn who created LEGOs and why.  The reader also sees a timeline of how the company progressed.  Bold-faced words are defined in a glossary, and there is an index as well.  I think this would be readable for a student in third grade or higher.  (338.7 GRE)

Dragon Masters: rise of the Earth Dragon

A student suggested this series to me and I am glad he did!  I enjoyed this first installment very much.  In it, we meet our main character, Drake.  He is taken from his home by the King's soldier and brought to the castle where he discovers that he has been chosen by the Dragon Stone to become a Dragon Master.  He learns that three other children are also dragon masters, ordered by the king to keep their job secret.  Drake must figure out what power his dragon has before an evil force threatens the kingdom.  You will love this!  It is from the branches series of beginning chapter books, perfect for 2nd and 3rd grade.(E WES)

If You Were A Kid In A Medieval Castle

This is a terrific nonfiction series to get children started in learning about significant time periods in history.  Through a story of fictional people living then, real life experiences and facts are presented using text boxes on the side for support.  For younger students, it is a great series to start their research.  Important words are bold and the book contains both a glossary of terms as well as an index.  (940.1 GRE)

Eerie Elementary - The Locker Ate Lucy

This is the second in a terrific Scholastic series written for early readers.  It is a short chapter book with many images to facilitate reading.  In the series, the main character, Sam, becomes a hall monitor in the school.  Because of this, he is entrusted with a secret: the school is alive!  His two friends, Lucy and Antonio, are the only ones (other than the janitor) who know this secret and they must keep the students safe.  In this 2nd book, a locker swallows Lucy up and Sam and Antonio have to save her.  While doing so, they discover HOW the school became possessed and who is behind it.  I think students will LOVE these spooky stories!  (E CHA)

You Go First

This book appealed to me with its theme of friendship and being true to yourself.  However, I felt it fell flat and was not very eventful.  It centers around 2 middle-school children, living in two different states.  They know each other because they play an online game of Scrabble together.  Each battling his/her own problem, they reach out to each other and yet do not share their problems.  Charlotte's Dad has had a heart attack.  Ben's parents are getting a divorce.  I never felt like the stories connected in a real way.  I was happy with their choices at the end, but I was not invested emotionally in either character.  (FIC KEL)

Amal Unbound

This was a fresh, unique story written by Aisha Saeed set in present day Pakistan.  There, education is not a given, especially for girls.  There, greedy landlords can turn your life around in a minute with their power.  Twelve-year-old Amal loves school and her family.  However, Amal made a mistake one day and was taken away from her family to work off her father's death in the corrupt landlord's house.  Her strength and courage in this fictitious story mirror that of real-life education advocate Malala Yousafzai.  (FIC SAE)

Wish

This was a sweet book about a young girl who, because of sad circumstances in her family, has to move to a different town to live with an aunt and uncle she doesn't know.  She meets a boy next door who is kind and confident and a great friend.  She gets a dog as a pet who she loves immensely.  Her aunt and uncle are quirky and wonderful and love her dearly.  But she keeps wishing her same wish.  Maybe she already has what she is wishing for. 
I found this book to be a bit unoriginal.  I felt like I had read this same story before:  misfits finding each other and growing confident in that new friendship.  I did not think the author brought anything new to the table with this.  (FIC OCO)

The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl

This was a very entertaining read, full of heart and NUMBERS!  Lucy was struck by lightning when she was 8 and ever since, she has been gifted with incredible number sense!  She can do math faster than a calculator!  Her Nana has home-schooled her and Lucy was fine with that.  But Nana is making her go to middle school for one year, to be a normal kid for a while.  But how can a genius be a normal kid?  (FIC MCA)

The Trail

I adored this Great Stone Face 2018-19 nominee.  It was a beautifully touching story about a young boy who sets out alone to hike the Appalachian trail from Vermont to Maine.  He is doing it as a promise to his best friend, who was supposed to hike with him but can not. Toby's journey of self-discovery on the trail is mixed with flashbacks of the tragic story of what happened to Lucas. Can he do this without Lucas?  Along the difficult journey, he meets people who show him that others are broken in their own ways, like him.  He grows on the trail and learns to be confident and brave, to be a good friend, and to be responsible.   (FIC HAS)

Jake the Fake: Keeps It Real

This book did not appeal to me until its conclusion.  A Great Stone Face nominee this year, its main character is a 6th-grader who cheated and faked his way into an Arts School as a piano player.  The entire book, he is nervous about fitting in.  He decides to call himself The Dentist and has everyone else do it, just so he fits in, because in this school, "Let your freak flag fly."  In other words, be yourself.  By the end, he realizes he is not a piano player and he does find his true talent.  It is silly and many students will like its humor.  I was not a fan.  (FIC ROB)

Wedgie and Gizmo

This funny story about a guinea pig and a dog is on the Great Stone Face list this year - 2018-19.  Kids are going to love it.  Told from each of the animals' perspective, it chronicles the first few days of a new blended families' situation.  Gizmo the guinea pig, owned by Elliot, has an evil plan to take over the world.  Wedgie, the Welsh Corgie owned by Jasmine, is all energy and it quite dim but lovable and keeps thwarting Gizmo's plan. This is the first in a series that I will be putting on my shelves.  It is sure to be a hit with its humor and silly pets.  (FIC SEL)