Book Recommendations

Notes From a Liar and Her Dog – Gennifer Choldenko

admin — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 15:28:28 +0000

Ant, or Antonia as her parents like to call her, is different from her two perfect sisters. She dresses in camouflage and black, she isn’t into ballet, and her hair is unruly and brown instead of styled and blond. Ant feels as if she can’t do anything right, so she may as well lie about everything. It’s easier and more fun. The only things Ant seems to care about are her best friend Harrison and her tiny dog Pistachio. Before long though her lying becomes too much and starts to jeopardize things for those she cares about.

Last Summer with Maizon by Jacqueline Woodson

admin — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 19:22:45 +0000

Margaret and Maizon may not be family but they feel like sisters. they have done everything together since they can remember on their block in Brooklyn. Everything might be changing though. Margaret’s father is int he hospital and for the first time she and Maizon will be split up. Maizon is afraid to go to a school with hardly any black students and Margaret is afraid of feeling all alone. Will they both survive the fall?

Mrs. Branyon

Coraline by Neil Gaiman

admin — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 19:18:43 +0000

In Coraline’s apartment are twenty-one windows and fourteen doors. Thirteen doors open and one only opens on to a brick wall until the day it leads to another world just like hers only different. There is another mother, another father and they want Coraline to stay with them and be their little girl. They want to change her and never let her go. Other children are trapped there as well, lost souls behind the mirrors. Coraline is their only hope of rescue. She will have to fight with all her wits and all the tools she can find if she is to save the lost children, her ordinary life, and herself. The book is even better than the movie.

Mrs. Branyon

Looking for Red by Angela Johnson

admin — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 19:12:53 +0000

Twelve-year-old Mike (short for Michaela) is inseparable from her brother Red. then one day Red disappears. One minute he is here, the next…gone. No warning. No time to prepare. This is a story that is equal parts mystery, romance and tragedy. It is the story of how the memories of those we have lost can help transform our fears of being alone into a greater appreciation of what remains.

Mrs. Branyon

Thank You, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.! by Eleanora E. Tate

admin — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 19:08:12 +0000

Have you ever wished you were someone else? Mary Elousie is dying to be in the school play, but the part she gets is the last one she wants–narrator of the Black History skit. Even though her grandmother, Big Momma, says it’s important to remember her heritage, Mary Elouise hates being reminded about slavery and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. She’d rather be int he skit about presidents with Brandy, the girl in her class with beautiful blond hair. Then one day, two stroytellers come to school with glorious tales of Africa…and a new way for Mary Elouise to see herself and her heritage.

Mrs. Branyon

Students’ Book Recs

admin — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 19:47:08 +0000

OK, Kids, you asked for it! Here is where you can post your own book recommendations for each other! Just post them as a comment to this post! I can’t wait to hear what you are reading and loving!!

Mrs. Spisak

Heat by Mike Lupica

admin — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 14:36:14 +0000

Cuban-born Michael Arroyo is a phenomenal little league baseball player. One day he hopes to play for the pros, but for this year, he is hoping his Bronx little league team can make it to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. At 12 years old, this is his last chance. Michael is so good that players and coaches from other teams begin to question his age. What will happen to Michael if he can’t get a copy of his birth certificate from Cuba? In addition to this difficulty, Michael and his brother Carlos have been keeping a secret. Their father died in March and they are trying to make it on their own until Carlos turns 18 in nine months. I loved this story!

Mrs. Spisak

Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DiCamillo

admin — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 14:23:56 +0000

Shortly after moving to Florida, India Opal Buloni adopts a dog she names Winn-Dixie, after the supermarket where she finds him. Winn-Dixie becomes her first true friend. Soon after, she begins to make many unusual friends who help her deal with the loss of her mother. Very sweet story.

Mrs. Spisak

Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison

admin — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 14:17:28 +0000

Georgia Nicholson’s journal is laugh-out-loud funny! Her story takes place over the course of one year and details her interesting views on life, her interest in one particular guy, and her most embarrassing moments. This is the first of multiple books about Georgia’s crazy life. This book made me laugh so loud when I was on a plane that my husband made me put it away! He was too embarrassed!

Mrs. Spisak

Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment by James Patterson

admin — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 18:19:32 +0000

A group of genetically enhanced kids who can fly and have other unique talents are on the run from part-human, part-wolf predators called Erasers in this exciting thriller. Max, 14, and her adopted family–Fang and Iggy, both 13, Nudge, 11, Gazzy, 8, and Angel, 6–were all created as experiments in a lab called the School. Jeb, a sympathetic scientist, helped them escape and, since then, they’ve been living on their own. The Erasers have orders to kill them so the world will never find out they exist. Max’s old childhood friend, Ari, now an Eraser leader, tracks them down, kidnaps Angel, and transports her back to the School to live like a lab rat again. The youngsters are forced to use their special talents to rescue her as they attempt to learn about their pasts and their destinies.

Mrs. Branyon