Molly Mac Tooth Fairy Trouble

This is the first in a beginning-chapter book series by Marty Kelley.  Molly is a curious little girl who tends to get herself into trouble.  "Don't ask." she often tells her parents and teacher.  When her first tooth is about to come out, Molly's imagination runs away with her.  She tries to prevent it from happening because she is nervous of the tooth fairy.  Once it does fall out, she asks her best friend to sleep over so they can catch the tooth fairy and ask her questions.  I loved the ending with the little brother.   (E KEL)

The Secret Keepers

From the author of The Mysterious Benedict Society comes this fantasy story about a boy who finds a pocket watch.  He soon discovers it has a certain power and that a family has been tasked with protecting its secret for generations.  The evil ruler of his town has been looking for it his whole life and will stop at nothing to get it.  Reuben needs to use the watch's power to defeat the Smoke and will need his new friends to do it.  This was a long, but exciting and wonderfully original story.  (FIC STE)

Restart

I loved this story so much!  Students should really read this story about getting a fresh start on your life.  The book opens with Chase, the main character, recovering from a fall and being told he has amnesia.  He remembers nothing before the fall.  The chapters are told from various characters' viewpoints, and the reader learns that Chase was the biggest bully in the school.  But that was the old Chase.  Can the others trust that he is different?  Can they forget all he has done?  Woven in is a bit of a mystery that keeps you hooked and resolves itself beautifully in his redefining who he is.  A must-read!  (FIC KOR)

What If...?

I adored this beautiful picture book by Samantha Berger.  The illustrations are gorgeous and its message is powerful.  A creative girl imagines what she would do if her creative tools were taken away from her.  What would she do?  She would find something else to accomplish it, because, "As long as I live, I will always create."  (PIC BER)

The Explorer

In this survival fiction story on the Great Stone Face list this year, we meet four children who are in a plane crash in the Amazon rainforest.  The find clues that they are not the first to live there.  They follow a map to what they hope will be the way home and find the owner of the things they found - The Explorer.  I enjoyed the story, although I found it took a bit too long to get to the meat of it.  I also would have very much liked much more backstory on the children.  I found the lack of it kept me from connecting and really liking any of them.  If you like adventure survival stories, you will like this.  It started out very much like Hatchet, which I was unhappy about, but it blazed its own trail (pun intended) in the genre.  (FIC RUN)

A Boy Called Bat

Bixby Alexander Tam prefers to be called Bat.  He loves animals and he will be a veterinarian one day.  When his mother, also a veterinarian, brings home a baby skunk one day because its mother was killed, Bat falls in love with it, despite the fact that his mother warns him not to get attached because they will only be keeping it for a month.  It is a quick, sweet story about a boy on the autism spectrum, and how he sees the world.  I adored his teacher, Mr. Grayson, who understands Bat and helps him navigate school in small but important ways.  (FIC ARN)

Front Desk

I loved this realistic fiction story about an immigrant family and their struggles in America.  Based on the author's real-life experiences, it chronicles Mia and her family's new job at a hotel, running it for a very mean and prejudiced man.  Through their experience, they see how America can be for people who struggle - especially people of color.  Mia wants her family to get off the wrong roller coaster - the one that only takes them on a ride of struggle their whole lives.  Through her kind heart, and her improving writing skills, she is able to help them (and others) get out of the poverty cycle and make it in America.  I loved the message of standing up in the face of intolerance and speaking your voice.  The content in areas was a bit mature, but an important book for kids to read.  (FIC YAN)