Friday, May 3, 2013

Summer is Coming -- What Do You Plan on Reading?

Rapunzel Lets Her Hair Down by Tony Bradman

Stories about what happens at the end of the fairytale. Do they really live happily ever after? Does Rapunzel enjoy her new life at the palace when all she has to do all day is look after her lovely, long tresses. What happens when she rebels and has it all chopped off?
 
The Newsy News Newsletter by Karen English

Newsy news is not just regular news. It's news that's interesting and exciting. Nikki and Deja know that there's plenty of newsy news happening on their block and at Carver Elementary, just waiting to be reported. Luckily, Nikki has her special pen and notepad, Deja has the use of Auntie Dee's computer, and they both have lots of ideas. Before long, the "Fulton Street Newsy News Newsletter" is born.

At first, everyone wants to read what the girls have written. But after just one issue, some unexpected problems arise. Will Nikki and Deja's plans to become celebrated journalists succeed?

Stubby and the Puppy Pack to the Rescue by Nikki Wallace

It's a dog's life!

And that's not too bad -- for dogs. But I am a cat. Not that I'm complaining. Heck, no! Some of my best friends are dogs. Like Boris, Doris, and Morris. It takes a cat like me, Kikki (a.k.a. Stubby), to handle an insecure dog like Morris. But how can we all survive Kylie? The spoiled, pudgy child is determined to trap us in her tree house and play tea party. If it weren't for Doris, Boris, and Morris, I'd still be smeared with makeup, stinking of perfume and stuffed into a dress. It's so bad we're afraid to leave the backyard.
But enough's enough. We've got to escape to the meadow! Boris can fish in the pond and we can run and play. There's only one problem....


The Houdini Box by Brian Selznick

Victor is forever trying to escape from locked trunks, walk through walls, and perform any number of Houdini's astonishing magic tricks...without success. Then -- amazingly -- he actually meets his idol, and begs Houdini to explain himself. 

A mysterious locked box is the magician's only answer, and Victor is left to wonder: Does the box contain the secrets to the most famous magic tricks ever performed?

Truck Dogs by Graeme Base

In a far-off desert world remarkably similar to outback Australia, evolution has taken an unexpected turn. The dominant life form is a creature covered in fur but with living steel panels beneath. It gnaws on bones and sniffs lamp posts but fills up on oil, brake fluid and petrol. And it's wonderfully clever with its wheels and wing mirrors - able to do just about anything, in fact - which is lucky since it hasn't got any arms or legs. 

It's an animal with an engine. Or is it a car with floppy ears and a wet nose? This is the world of TruckDogs.
 
Olivion's Favorites by Troy Cle

When Louis Proof collapsed in pain in front of his uncle's store, he thought he was going to die. Instead he awoke in Midlandia, a place of the impossible.

Almost as soon as he arrives, three eNoli -- people who look human but are otherworldly -- try to kill him. In fact, it seems as if everyone in Midlandia is trying to kill Louis and the other two human teens, Cyndi Victoria Chase and Devon Alexander. The three are Favorites. If they survive Midlandia, they will have great powers. That's a big "if," though.

Louis must find Cyndi and Devon, who've been flung to different parts of Midlandia. Only when the three are together will Olivion's Gate appear. Then they will be able to cross the Gate, meet the Olivion, and return home. The three teens must also pay attention to everything on their journey. It is not enough to be a Favorite; they need to learn how to use their newfound abilities. Tremendous challenges await them at home. But as they're about to learn, those challenges are only the beginning. A threat is coming that is greater than anyone -- human or eNoli or iLone -- can imagine.


Super-sized Slugger by Cal Ripken, Jr.

Cody Parker may be overweight (he prefers the word burly), but he plays third base like a dream. Too bad no one knows it yet, because he’s new to Baltimore, where he’s a target—okay, a big target—for brutal teasing. Even worse, he’s competing for the starting job on the Orioles of the Dulaney Babe Ruth League against budding hoodlum.

Dante Rizzo, who vows to squeeze Cody’s head like a grape if Cody beats him out. Life gets even more complicated when York Middle School is beset by a rash of mysterious thefts, a crime wave that threatens to sideline Cody—and ruin a golden season for the Orioles. Will Cody ever succeed in getting people to see him for who he really is?


Treasures of Weatherby by Zilpha Keatley Snyder

Harleigh J. Weatherby IV feels misunderstood. At age twelve he is about as tall as a six-year-old, and no one lets him forget it. At school the bullies nicknamed him "Hardly." Now he is homeschooled at the Weatherby mansion, where strict Aunt Adelaide is always on his case about something. 


 Then Harleigh meets Allegra. When she literally flies over the walls of Weatherby and into Harleigh's life, the two form an unlikely friendship. Allegra is fascinated by the enormous Weatherby mansion, and against Harleigh's orders, sneaks inside.

Together they discover that someone is trying to find -- and steal -- the long-lost Weatherby treasure. Will Harleigh and Allegra be able to foil the villain and save Weatherby House? 


Here Be Monsters! by Alan Snow

Welcome to Ratbridge. But beware -- for there is skulduggery afoot. Young Arthur has fallen foul of the appalling outlaw, Snatcher, and is trapped alone in the town with every way home sealed. Meanwhile Snatcher and his men are working tirelessly in secret on a fiendish and dastardly plan to take over -- and destroy -- the entire town. 

With the help of Willbury Nibble, QC; some friendly boxtrolls and cabbageheads; Marjorie the frustrated inventor; and the rats and pirates from the Ratbridge Nautical Laundry, can Arthur thwart Snatcher's evil plans -- and find his way home?

The Witchy Worries of Abbie Adams by Rhonda Hayter

Abbie Adams and her family come from a long line of witches, and she’s having a tough time keeping it a secret from her best friend and the rest of her school. Especially the day her little brother morphs into a wolf and tries to eat his teacher.

That’s also the day her father brings home a kitten. Abbie’s been begging for a cat for months, and she falls in love with that fluffy fuzzball right away. But there’s something peculiar about this kitten, and it just might take a witch like Abbie to figure out what it is.


Flawed Dogs by Berkeley Breathed

Sam the Lion is actually a priceless dachshund, bred to be a show dog. More important, he is Heidy?s best friend?and she needs one like never before. Living with her reclusive uncle is hard, but Sam has a way of making her feel soft and whole. 

Until the day Sam is framed by the jealous poodle Cassius, and is cast out by Heidy?s uncle, alone on the wild streets, where he is roughed up by a world he was not bred for. Sporting a soup ladle for a leg, Sam befriends other abandoned dogs and journeys all the way to the Westminster Dog Show, where his plan for revenge on Cassius takes an unexpected turn when he and Heidy spot each other after years of being apart.