Ms. Bixby's Last Day

 

When the teacher who inspires you, challenges you, understands you, and maybe even SAVES you leaves unexpectedly, you have to say goodbye.  And it has to be meaningful and memorable, like she is.  Three friends skip school to make sure that happens in this realistic fiction story by John David Anderson.

War Stories

Gordon Korman's latest features a 12-yr-old boy named Trevor who loves war...war video games, posters and the topic in general.  His great-grandfather, GG, was one of the brave soldiers who liberated France in WWII.  But when GG is invited to France to honor him on the 75th anniversary of the victory, his war stories lose a bit of their shine when Trevor learns of the tragedies behind the glory.  I enjoyed this story, and more importantly, I am grateful for a story that highlights the error in glorifying war.  

Notations of Cooper Cameron

What a beautiful and heart-wrenching story this was.  Cooper is a boy who struggles with a disorder similar to autism.  He has OCD - or Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.  He believes unless he does certian things in certain ways, his family will perish.  The Father character in this book can not handle his son's uniqueness and those scenes are truly troubling.  I loved the back story of the loving grandfather, as well as the kind friend who looks past Cooper's sometimes-embarrassing behaviors and connects with him.  A few mild swearwords make this a book for older elementary students, but one that should not be missed.  (FIC ORE)

Resist

Since I have been reading Alan Gratz lately, I thought I would read this short story that continues Samira's story from Allies.  Samira and her mother are part of the Resistance in WWII, the group of people who secretly fight against the Nazis in Europe.  At the end of Allies, her mother is captured.  This short story picks up right after that, on the eve of D-Day with Samira's attempt to rescue her mom.  It was exciting and informative.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Deep End

The latest in the series, Gregg and his family decide to get out of their grandmother's basement where they are living and go on a camping trip.  Of course, nothing goes right.  I don't see the appeal of these.  But since students love them and are reading them, I continue to buy them.  Whatever floats their boat!  (FIC KIN)

Vanderbeekers: Lost and Found

I rarely read more than one book in a series.  I can get the feel for it in the first, and I have to read so many books, that I feel it is gratuitous to continue a series.  This is the exception.  Karina Van Glasser can write 100 of these and I will read every one and purchase them for my libraries.  This is the fourth in the realistic-fiction series centered around a beautiful, loving family sharing a brownstone with adoring neighbors.  I want them to adopt me.  Each story surrounds me with love and joy and heartache.  I ugly-cried in this one, about a friend who is struggling with homelessness.  (FIC GLA)

Refugee

Alan Gratz is publishing some wonderful historical fiction stories of late.  I recently finished Allies, on the Great Stone Face list this year.  I LISTENED to this one on Overdrive.  This story had the same format as Allies - a tale told from three different perspectives.  This one, however, obviously deals with the topic of refugees.  Josef, Isabel, and Mahmud are three children from three different periods in history, all forced from their home countries for different reasons.  Josef is a Jewish boy, escaping Germany before WWII and the Holocaust.  Isabel is fleeing Communist Cuba in the 1990s.  Mahmoud is leaving war-torn Syria in 2015.  Each story is terrifying and heart-wrenching and shines a light on the plight of refugees and the need of nations to assist those in such dire need.   Although the children obviously never meet, their stories connect in a beautiful way, illustrating that a kind deed leaves ripples.

Terrible Two Get Worse

 

In this sequel to the Terrible Two, Miles and Niles face an even better goat than their original principal... his father!  But is it a prank if the goat doesn't react?????  How can their pranking reputation be saved if the entire year passes and they haven't gotten the reaction they so need?  I really enjoy these quick, light, funny stories by Mac Barnett.  (FIC BAR)

We Will Rock our Classmates

Ryan Higgins brings back Penelope, the lovable T-Rex, in this sequel to We Don't Eat Our Classmates.  Penelope wants to rock out in the talent show at school, but she is a T-Rex, not a rock star.  Can she be both?  This is a sweet and funny picture book about how we can do whatever makes up happy, and share our talents, whatever they may be.  (PIC HIG)

Stick Dog Meets His Match

I found this quick, heavily-illustrated novel very witty.  The main character is the leader of a stray pack of dogs. The others are not as bright as he is, but he is always patient and kind.  Their ideas, although, nonsensical are really funny and I love StickDog's understanding and patience with them as he steers them to the logical choice of action.  Int his one in the series, he meets a German Shephard who helps them get some food.  (FIC WAT)

Katie Woo Flower Girl

This series is a sweet, early reader series.  In this installment, Katie is asked to be a flower girl for her aunt's wedding.  Even though she gets encouragement from all her friends, she is nervous until her best friend does it with her!  (E MAN)

Terrible Two

This was such a funny and refreshing book.  I should not have expected anything less from Mac Barnett.  He has written some amazing children's books, including Sam and Dave Dig a Hole, a picture book.  He has also written early readers in the Jack series, and now these for middle grade.  I loved this!  Miles was a prankster at his old school.  He was all excited to establish himself in that role in his new school.  But his best prank ever was foiled by the prankster already there!  Now it's game on.  This is the first in the series.  (FIC BAR)

Ranger in Time - Rescue on the Oregon Trail

This is the first book in a time-travel series by Kate Messner.  The main character is Ranger, the dog.  He was trained to be a search and rescue dog, but he never passed the test because he gets too distracted.  One day, he finds an old first aid kit buried in the yard.  Its magic transports him back to 1850 in America to a launching spot for those traveling West on the Oregon Trail.  There he helps a boy named Sam and sets off on the dangerous trail with Sam's family.  Readers who love the Magic Treehouse books will enjoy these historical fiction stories.  They are a bit higher level than those, although not by too much.  They are on the same level as the I Survived stories, which are similar, although they don't have the time travel component.  (FIC MES)

Meet Addy

 

Meet Addy is from the American Girl series.   In all of the American Girl books, we meet a fictitious girl who lived during a real period of American history.  Through that story, we can learn about our nation's past.  In this story, we meet Addy.  Addy is a slave.  Her family lives on a plantation in North Carolina.  Her father wants to run away to freedom before the family is broken up and sold off.  Before they can do that however, the father's predictions come true.  Addy's mom decides that they should run away anyway.  This is an exciting and of course, sad story that offers its readers an important view into a troubled, embarrassing, and tragic period of our history.  (FIC AME)

Eight Keys

 

I love this author, Suzanne LaFleur.  In this realistic fiction/mystery story, we meet Elise, the main character.  She has lived with her aunt and uncle since she was three, since both her parents have died.  She receives a letter every year from her dad, written as he was battling cancer.  She finds out this will be his last letter, which of course saddens her.  She needs them now more than ever.  Middle Shool is hard.  She is being bullied and it is causing her to pull away from her one true friend.  When she receives the last letter, it leads her to a series of eight doors in the barn that have been locked her whole life.  Eight keys will open eight doors.  Each room holds a gift from her father.  (FIC LAF)

The Mysterious Benedict Society

 

This fantasy/adventure/mystery story was a fun, action-packed read.  Four children, all with special talents answer an ad put in the paper by an eccentric man, Mr. Benedict.  They pass the test and are hired to be spies, taxed with finding out the source of an evil plan to brainwash the world.  With a cast of unique characters, one of whom is a brilliant 2-yr-old, and a bunch of riddles that need to be solved, it is engaging and entertaining.  (FIC STE)

The Next Great Paulie Fink

 I loved this book by Ali Benjamin, author of The Thing About Jellyfish.  It was unique and refreshing and thought-provoking.  Caitlyn moves to this VERY rural VT town where the school is in a house and there are only 10 kids in her class.  There was a legendary kid in their class named Paulie Fink, but he has disappeared this year and didn't tell anyone that he would not be returning to 7th grade.  She immediately starts to compare this place to her old school where she needed to worry about cliques, and what is cool, and what is not.  They decided to have a reality-show-style competition to see who can be the NEXT great Paulie Fink.  As the story unfolds, you learn that Caitlyn may dislike this new place, but its special nature is softening the hardness in her...the place that made her a mean girl at her old school.  You grapple with questions like, what do we know about people?  What do they let us see and why?  What will your story be?   I love stories for kids that get them thinking about their place, their school, their role in what goes on around them.  This would make a superb real-aloud and lead to some meaningful discussions.  (FIC BEN)

Peter and the Starcatchers

 

Adventure and fantasy fans take note.  This was AMAZING.  It is the prequel to the classic Peter Pan story.  It answers the questions of who is Peter?  Why is he on Neverland?  How can he fly?  Why does Hook hate him so much?  It is a story of treasure and pirates and good vs. evil.   It is the first of four in the series.  (FIC BAR)

Holes

 

This is an oldie but a goodie...a Newbery Award-winning novel written by Louis Sachar in 1999.  It is three stories in one, beautifully woven together.  Stanley has been sent to Camp Greenlake, a rehabilitation facility for deliquent youths.  There, he and the other boys dig holes to build character.  It is also the story of Stanley's ancestor whose actions cursed the family for generations.  Lastly it is the story of a beautiful and caring white teacher who fell in love with a black man during a time in American when that was not o.k.  A lovable main character, a nasty antagonist, and a mystery all make this a must-read.  

Scar Island

 

This was yet another Dan Gemeinhart book I had to read. Since Good Dog was a bit mature in its content, I was hoping this one would be more appropriate for grades 4-5. The concept of the story reminded me of Sachar's Holes - troubled kids being sent to a rehabilitation facilty where a horrible, mean warden rules their lives and makes them miserable.  But that is where the similarities end. This one was spooky. The setting is a crumbling building, an island in itself in the ocean, that used to be an asylum. Jonathan is sent there for doing something terrible and he welcomes the idea of his rehabilitation. But shortly after he arrives, something happens to change the boys' situation.  Decisions are made. And here is where I started seeing similarities with Lord Of The Flies.  One of the boys decides he is in charge.  One small boy challenges him and knows it won't end well.  I was engrossed in this tale from start to finish.  I loved Johnathan's internal struggle.  I also loved the characters of Colin and especially the librarian, of course, whose books bring comfort to the boys.  

Before the Ever After

 

Jacqueline Woodson has written many children's books, including the award-winning Brown Girl Dreaming and Harbor Me.  They all deal with the struggles of people of color in our country.  This one, written in verse (like a poem) concentrates on the devastating effect of football on the brains of its players.  ZJ's dad is a famous football player who is starting to forget things, repeat things, and who has angry outbursts.  Because this story is set prior to the recent revelations about concussions and brain trauma, their family struggles with an answer.  ZJ wants his old dad back... the one who plays and makes music with him.  It was so beautifully written.  I loved getting wrapped up in her story of pride, and loss, and love and hope.  I especially loved ZJ's crew and their love for each other.  (FIC WOO)

Good Dog

 

I love this author.  He wrote one of my favorites, The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise, so I HAD to read this one.  I wasn't disappointed.  It was unique, engaging, and heartwarming.  Brodie the dog has died.  While in the limbo place before doggy heaven, he remembers that his boy is in danger.  He risks his eternity by "going back" to help him.  While there, he faces not only soul-sucking hellhounds, but also the reason he is dead.  I liked this book a lot, but given its mature content, I would say hold off until you are in middle school.

Indian No More

 

This is a historical fiction story based on the real experience of the author, an Umpqua native from Oregon.  She and her family were forced to move when their tribal lands were stripped from them and they were told they were no longer "Indian" in the late 1950's.  At this time, America is full of hate for whom they consider outsiders, not just natives.  And Regina sees that racism first-hand as her family tries to make a new life in L.A.  I think this story is important to tell and it should be read.  However, given the racist language and its mature content, I think it is more appropriate for a middle-school library. 

The Haunted Library: The Ghost in the Attic

This is a fun beginning-chapter-book series by Dori Hillestad Butler that I will soon be adding to our collection.  Claire lives upstairs in a library with her grandmother, the librarian, and her parents.  She is able to see and talk to the ghosts that live there.  Each book is a mystery that she and her ghost friend, Kaz, need to solve.  In  this one, a neighbor thinks she has a ghost in her attic and Claire and Kaz take the case.   But an overarching problem in all the books is for Kaz to find his ghost family that he was separated from.  (E BUT)

Roxie and the Hooligans at Buzzard's Roost

 

Roxie is back in this sequel.  She and her best friend, Norman, are heading on a vacation with her eccentric uncle.  But as soon as they arrive, they realize the Hooligans have stowed away.  They aren't as bad as they used to be, since Roxie saved everyone from the theives in the first book, but she is still nervous abou them staying the week.  She quickly realizes that they may be of help, as a new threat followed her uncle on their vacation.  Will she be able to save the day like last time?

Echo Mountain

 

As soon as I saw the author of this one, I knew this was a must-read.  Her Wolf Hollow was one of my all-time favorite books.  I have read it aloud to many a class.  In this story, her female protagonist is similar in age and strength of character.  Ellie and her family are struggling living in Maine during the Great Depression.  They move to the side of a mountain and build a new home.  But shortly after finishing the home, the father is felled by a tree and is in a coma.  Ellie is blamed.  She needs her father to wake up and tell everyone the truth.  Ellie is different from others in her family.  She knows her father does not need lullabies to wake him up.  Her attempts enrage her mother and sister and get her punished.  But when she meets the hag at the top of the mountain, things begin to change.  Ellie finds her talents and her strength, and maybe a friend along the way.    

A Wolf Called Wander

 

This Roseann Parry novel is based on the true story of a tagged wolf pup from Oregon who, in the span of three years, traveled one thousand miles to a new home.  She describes the event that may have forced a pup to leave his pack and the perilous journey he may have faced in finding his new home.  I enjoyed the story, but I especially enjoyed the final chapters of the book which document the real pup's history.  Parry also provides some information about the area and all its wildlife...much of which was presented in Wander's exciting story.

Eventown

 

Can a town be too perfect?  Not for the family of Elodee, who need an escape and a restart.  Elodee remembers a great vacation there once and is excited to begin a new life in Eventown, but when her family starts forgetting who they are and where they came from, Elodee pushes back and breaks the rules in town.  That is not allowed in Eventown.  It is a beautiful story, akin to The Giver, about the power of memory and how it shapes who we are.  (FIC HAY)

The Magnificent Mya Tibbs: Spirit Week Showdown

 

Crystal Allen challenges readers to rethink their definition of a bully in this realistic fiction story.  Mya gets paired with the class "bully" for Spirit week competitions, and her best "friend" Naomi is angry.  Mya tries and tries to make it better, to apologize, but Naomi doesn't listen.  Mya soon realizes that maybe her partner, and Naomi as well, aren't who everyone thinks they are.  (FIC ALL)

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane

 

Kate DiCamillo has written some of my favorite books, including Tale Of Despereaux.  This beautiful fantasy story is the story of Edward, a vain and self-absorbed china rabbit, who gets thrown off a ship and is lost at sea.  A fisherman catches him and brings him home, beginning a series of owners in his life that change his character and make him a better "person".  Funny at times, gut-wrenchingly sad in others, the ending of this story is magical.  (FIC DIC)

When Friendship Followed Me Home

This was a sweet story of the power of friendship.  Ben lives with his adoptive mom.  He is an avid reader and bullied a lot at school.  Through his friend, the librarian at his local library, he not only meets a cute dog named Flip, who becomes his, but also Halley - a girl unlike anyone he has ever met before.  Their passion for books and reading cement a true, tight friendship.  They decide to write a fantastical story together that parallels their lives a bit.  But as they do that, their worlds change and they are both faced with some serious challenges.  This was a bit mature in content and occasional language.  I would not recommend it for anyone younger than 5th grade.  (FIC GRI)

The Goose Girl

Oh, how I loved this series, the Books of Bayern, by Shannon Hale.  This first in the series centers around Ani, a princess with the power to talk and understand animals.  She is sent by her mother, the queen, far away to marry a prince of a neighboring kingdom.  En route, though, someone attempts to kill her.  She escapes and goes into hiding, where she pretends to be a lowly peasant girl.  She meets friends with special powers and they learn who she is and help her get the throne back.  It was a beautiful, exciting world to get lost in.  (FIC HAL)  

The Lightning Thief

In this first installment in the Percy Jackson series, we meet Percy, a teenager who thinks he is going out of his mind because he keep s seeing weird things happening  His mother finally assures him he is not, and that he is seeing them because he is actually a demi-god, a child of a human and a god.  He is the child of Poseidon, the Greek god of the sea.  He is sent to Camp Half-Blood where all half-bloods train and learn about their powers.  It is there he meets two friends who will accompany him on a quest to return a stolen lightning bolt to Zeus himself to avert a war between the gods.  It an action-packed, thrilling book.  If you like mythology, you will love this series, as well as his others, based on Egyptian and Roman gods, too. (FIC RIO)

Out of My Mind

 

Sometimes a book just smacks you in the face.  This was it.  Melody battles cerebral palsy and is trapped in a wheelchair.  But her mind works perfectly... even better than most.  She has a photographic memory and is brilliant.  But no one knows that because she can't speak.  Everyone assumes she is mentally handicapped as well.  When she gets an assistive technology that enables her to speak, it changes her world.  But changing people's views and prejudices is much harder.  This was a beautiful story that challenges how we see and judge people with disabilities.  A must-read.  (FIC DRA)

The Chronicles of Narnia #1 - Magician's Nephew

 

This is the prequel to the more famous story, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.  It tells of the ring that transports the two main characters to other realms where they unknowingly release the white witch from a spell and meet Aslan, who creates the world of Narnia.  I love back-stories and since Lion, Witch and Wardrobe had so many unexplainable things, this story made sense of many of them for me... particularly where the wardrobe came from.  (FIC LEW)

Fairy Tale Detectives (Sisters Grimm #1)

 

Written by Michael Buckley, this fantasy series centers on two sisters who have moved in with their grandmother after the disappearance of their parents.  They soon discover that the town is a barrier between the fairy tale realm and the real world and that their ancestors, the Brothers Grimm (the authors of the fairy tales) were actually detectives who kept the peace betweent he two realms.  Now it's the girls' turn!  (FIC BUC)

Magyk

 

This is the first in the Septimus Heap series.  Septimus was declared dead on the day of his birth.  The seventh son of a seventh son, he was actually stolen by the midwife.  That same night, the family takes in an infant girl they name Jenna.  They finally realize Spetimus did not die and they journey to find him.  Full of spells and magic and adventure, it is a wonderful fastasy read. (FIC SAG)

Tale of Despereaux

 

I adored this Newbery Award winner book by Kate DiCamillo.  I read it as a read aloud every year I taught.  It features three stories:  a mouse in love with a princess, a mean rat plotting revenge on the princess, and a poor serving girl.  Their stories weave together brilliantly to tell a tale of betrayal and redemption.  The theme of good and evil and the struggle between light and dark is one that is familiar to students and it makes this very fun to teach, with the Harry Potter or Star Wars comparisons.

Candy Bomber

In this nonfiction book, we learn about an amazing man who dropped candy and treats from his plane to children in Berlin, Germany after WWII.  It is an amazing story of the power and contagious effect of kindness.  (Michael O. Tunnell)

I Survived: the Sinking of the Titanic (Graphic Novel)

                                              

Your wait is over!  The insanely popluar historical fiction series is now coming to the graphic novel shelf, one edition at a time.  This was the first release.  George and his siter are traveling to NYC when the unthinkable happens.  WIll the be among the few survivors?  (Lauren Tarshis and Haus Studio)

Owl's Outstanding Donuts

                                                  

This Great Stone Face nominess this year is a great mystery.  One night, Maddie is alerted by an owl that a crime is being committed.  No one believes her.  But when her aunt is charged with the crime, her and her friends (and the owl!) have to figure out who is doing it so her aunt's donut business can re-open.  (Robin Yardi)

Explorer: Mystery Boxes

                                              

  

What a fun concept!  One idea - seven different takes on where it can take you!  In this graphic novel, the editor gave a theme to 7 graphic novel illustrators.  They each have a short story depicting their take on it.  This book's them was MYSTERY BOXES and the author, Rena Tegelmeier tackles her idea, the author of Amulet (who edits the book) does another.  Each author/illustrator's take is so different from the next!  What fun!  This is the first book in a new series, each following that same model.  (editor Kazu Kibuishi)

The Rhino in Right Field

                                          

This story, set in the 1940's America, highlights a young boy named Nick.  He is the son of hard-working, Greek immigrants parents.  When the new owner of the local baseball team announces a contest to be a batboy for a day, Nick knows he can't compete.  He has to work on Saturdays with his Dad.  When he decided to forge his Dad's name on the paperwork, and then lie to his parents so he can try out, his guilt is measurable.  But when he makes it to the final round and might actually win, how can he keep the lie going?  

Richard Byrne picture books

 

These are such fun!  This Book Just Ate my Dog, This Book Just Stole my Cat, This Book is Out of Control are a few of his in this great series in which the characters know they are in a book and the book is the antagonist or problem - swallowing the dog in the spine, for example.  Kids will LOVE these silly, interactive books.

The Sweetest Sound

 

This was a sweet, realistic fiction by Sherri Winston story about a shy girl with a beautiful gift.  But she is too shy to share it with the world.  When a good friend threatens to steal the spotlight she THOUGHT she didn't want, she does the right thing and decides to own it.  I liked this story about being yourself.  I found her struggle believable and real, and I felt like I hadn't read it a million times in other stories' themes.

Time Jumpers: Stealing the Sword

 

Wendy Mass writes this new series for the Branches collection from Scholastic.  It is an early chapter book about a brother and sister who find a suitcase.  In the suitcase is a random collection of items.  When they touch one of the items, it takes them back in time.  I found this A LOT like Magic Treehouse.  Almost too much like it for me to enjoy the story.  There were a few differences... this one has a villain right off the bat, and it was quite fast-paced.  

All The Wrong Questions

 

This is a first in the prequel mystery series to A Series of Unfortunate Events.  Much like that one, this series is narrated by Lemony himself and has quirky characters, like "S", his mentor.  They are hired to find an tiem that was allegedly stolen and return it.  But in doing so, a larger scheme is developing, and a villain appears who will play a major part in the other books in the series.  

House of Robots

 

In this funny and heavily illustrated novel by James Patterson and Chris Grabenstein, we meet Sam.  Sam is not very populr at school so he is terrified when his computer-engineer mom makes him bring one of her robots to school with him.  Sam knows it won't go well and it will make things worse for him.  He is right.  But with a little tweaking, "E" soon steals the show.  Is that a good thing?  (FIC PAT)

Enginerds

 

Jarrett Lerner has found the key to tempting reluctant readers.  This short, fantasy novel will be devoured by my students. Ken receives a box on his doorstep.  In it, he finds some metal pieces.  He and his friend try to put it together, but give up.  When they return, it has built itself.  It's a robot... an insanely HUNGRY robot that poops out waste cubes at an alarming rate.  And it is not the only one unleashed on the town.  The boys need to put all their science skills to the test to save the town.  This is a funny and entertaining book.  (FIC LER)

Squint

 

I loved this unique story about a boy named Flint.  He has an eye disease but that doesn't stop him from pursuing his passion for creating comics.  He thinks that if he wins the comic book contest, that his life will change.  He will have friends.  He will be cool.  McKell is a cool girl who has a talent of her own, but like Flint, is afraid to show it.  Her brother has challenged her to be brave and do scary things.  Will they both listen to his message?  This is a beautiful story about being yourself and the power of a kindness.  Step back and see what is important.  I loved its message as well as its comic book subplot.  (FIC MOR)

Amy Wild, Animal Talker

 

Kids will love this early-reader series about a young girl who moves to live with an aunt.  She gives Amy a necklace that lets her talk to animals! The animals on the island have not had a Talker for years and they do not want Amy to lead the clan. In this first one, she helps rescue a baby kitten who is lost and earns her way into the Clan.  (E KIM)

The One and Only Bob

 

This is a touching sequel to Katharine Applegate's The One and Only Ivan, a Newbery Award-winning novel.  Fans of Ivan will be thrilled to hear Bob the dog's story after all the animals are transferred from the mall to a zoo.  Bob has found a home with Julia, and he is getting a bit used to a posh life.  But the scrappy dog will not admit it.  He still visits his best friend Ivan all the time and gives Julia a hard time, just for good measure.  But a storm is brewing and it threatens all his friends, and even a family member he thought was long gone.  Bob may end up being a hero with a soft side after all.  We knew it all along.   (FIC APP)

Notorious

Gordon Korman is the author of this Great Stone face nominee this year.  It is sure to be a hit with the older students.  It is a mystery set on an island on a border between Canada and the U.S.  Keenan just moved there.  ZeeBee has lived there all her life.  When ZeeBee introduces her spunky self to Keenan, she sounds a bit crazy to him.  She starts talking about her enormous, destructive dog - who she insists was murdered.   And she is obsessed with the old gangsters that used to live on the island.  When the two friends realize that the dog's death is linked to a stash of hidden gangster gold, they find themselves in danger.  (FIC KOR)

Stay

If you believe in the unbreakable bond between a dog and his owner, this is the story for you.  Piper and her family are struggling.  They relocate to a new town after they lose everything.  They are able to find a place in a homeless shelter.  While waiting in line or dinner, Piper meets an older woman with a sweet dog named Baby.  Pets are not allowed in a shelter or a soup kitchen, so Jewel and Baby have to live outside and find food by other means.  When Jewel is taken to the hospital, Baby is left alone.  Piper and her new friends put aside their own struggles and work to reunite Baby and Jewel.  This Great Stone Face nominee this year was a touching story about giving of yourself to help others, the bond between a dog and his owner, and "seeing the doughnut, not the hole".  I also think this glimpse into homelessness is important and timely.  (FIC PYR)

My Jasper June

This is a BEAUTIFUL story about friendship and its power to transform people and situations.  It deals with several mature issues, though, so I would probably not recommend it for anyone under 4th grade.  Leah and her family are dealing with a tragic loss.  Their relationships have suffered.  They are "ghosts" going through life but not really living.  Enter Jasper, a joyful, bright light that fills Leah's brokenness. "There is a crack in everything.  That's how the light gets in."  (Leonard Cohen)  Jasper needs Leah as well, but in a different way.  Can their friendship save them both?  (FIC SNY)

Planet Earth is Blue

Wow.  Just wow.
I have read many novels written from the perspective of an autistic child.  This was beautiful and suspenseful and tragic and poignant.  I am so glad it is on the Great Stoneface List this year.  More students will read it.
Set in 1986, Nova and her sister Bridget have been shuffled around foster homes since they were taken from their mother, who was mentally ill.  Nova is in a new home, without Bridget now, and is doing great.  They love her, and understand that she is not "retarded" and stupid as everyone else thinks.  Nova is waiting for Bridget to come back, as promised, on the day the Challenger will launch.  But the day comes, and with it, the anticipated tragedy.  This climax triggers Nova to remember everything.  (FIC PAN)

The Best of Iggy

Annie Barrows (author of Ivy and Bean) wrote this Great Stone Face Nominee about a boy who always seems to get in trouble.  He's not a bad kid.  He just makes some bad decisions a lot of the time.  Think Horrible Harry or Junie B. Jones.  In this story, he lays out the three levels of things you shouldn't have done.  1.  Not too bad - you just got caught.   2.  Going a bit too far.   3.  Should NEVER have done it and you feel horrible.   Iggy provides one example of each in this story.  This was a funny book.  Iggy is likeable and relatable.  Students will enjoy its short length, easy readability, and many illustrations.  (FIC BAR)

Other Words for Home

In this 2020-21 Great Stone Face nominee, we meet Jude - a young girl from Syria who moves to the United States.  Leaning English, living with her distant cousin, and navigating middle school are hard enough without the world looking at Muslims like they are the enemy.  She wants to be in the spotlight, but for good reasons, not bad.  She tries out for the school play and meets friends who share her experience as an immigrant or being different.  This story is a wonderful and touching story of accepting and loving who you are, but it is a bit mature in places when it speaks of WHEN a Muslim girl moves to wearing the head scarf.   It is a quick read, written in verse.  (FIC WAR)

The Oddmire: The Changeling

This is a Great Stone face nominee for this year.  It is a fantasy story about a goblin changeling who is left in a human house.  The baby takes on the form of the human, so they become identical twins.  The mother knows magic in involved, but she raises and loves both boys as her own.  They boys know one of them is the changeling, but not which one.  When the goblin who left the changeling lures the boys back into the Wild Wood to save magic, it puts everyone at grave danger and one of the boys will discover his fate.  This was a spooky story which kicks off a new series.  (FIC RIT)

Charlie Thorne: The Last Equation

Charlie is a 12-year-old girl.  And a genius.  And a thief.  Did I mention she's mega-rich, too?  She is living large in college... skipping classes and doing whatever she wants when the CIA kidnaps her and forces her to help them.   Only someone as smart as Albert Einstein himself can solve his last equation that could possible save the world. This non-stop action, spy-thriller of a story will keep even the most reluctant reader engaged.  It is a very good selection for this year's Great Stone Face contest.  (FIC GIB)

Allies

This fast-paced, page-turning thriller is a historical fiction story based on the invasion of Normandy by the Allied forces in World War II, a day known as D-Day.  The author, Alan Gratz, highlights several main characters, who each have a different role in the invasion.  Dee, an American solider comes to the shore as a foot soldier.  Another is a paratrooper.  Samira is a young, Algerian resistance fighter.  Yet another is a black Medic helping those wounded on the shores.  Their stories intertwine over the 12-hr time lapse and explain how the greatest naval invasion in history succeeded, leading to the beginning of the end for Hitler's Europe.  It is the first I have read on next year's Great Stone Face list.  It was excellent and will be huge hit with my students.  (FIC GRA)

Look Both Ways

Let me start by saying I LOVE Jason Reynolds.  He is brilliant.  So I was very intrigued with the concept of this book... 10 tales of a day...same school... ten different stories of kids leaving school.  Each brief chapter celebrated different characters and their struggles and joys of middle school.  You get glimpses of the others in each story, but don't see it until their story is laid out.  I will say I found it a bit confusing.  I could go back and read it again and probably pick up more brilliance of its interconnectedness.  I was confused by the bus falling from the sky, also.  My students probably would be, too.  (FIC REY)

The New Kid

Jerry Craft is the author of this graphic novel getting a lot of acclaim right now.  It is about a boy named Jordan who transfers to a posh, mostly-white middle school rather than go to the art school he wants to go to.  Like any new kid, he struggles to fit in, but it is complicated by the racial inequity in the school.  He and the other students of color find themselves the victims of discrimination and racial profiling.  Jordan's parents hope that his ability to handle it in school will help him handle it later in the real world.  It was a honest look at racism that is still present in our society and how it may impact students of color in a mostly-white school.  (GN CRA)

Caterpillar Summer

I thoroughly enjoyed this realistic fiction novel by Gillian McDunn.  Cat is excited to spend some of her summer vacation visiting her best friend in Georgia.  But those plans fall apart, and her and her special-needs brother, Chicken, are dropped off with their mother's parents on an island in North Carolina.  They have never met them.  At first, Cat is nervous.  Chicken does not do well with change.  How can Cat take care of him here?  She soon grows to love the place, finds friends, and learns to fish.   She learns a lot about herself and her mom's past, while also teaching her family about forgiveness.  It was a beautiful and sweet story.  (FIC MCD)