Mysteries for 4th Graders

I compiled this list for a local teacher and thought I would share.

Series:

• Brixton Brothers Series by Adam Rex
• The Secret Series (This Book is Not Good for You) by Pseudonymous Bosch
• The Sister's Grim by Michael Buckley
• Sammy Keyes by Wendelin Van Draanen
• Herculeah Jones series by Betsy Cromer Byars
• Benjamin Pratt and the Keepers of the School by Andrew Clements
• Chet Gecko by Bruce Hale
• Mr. Chickee by Christopher Paul Curtis
• Sherlock Files by Tracy Barrett

Stand Alone Titles:

• From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E Franweiler by E.L.Konigsburg
• Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliet
• Hoot by Carl Hiaasen
• Masterpiece by Elise Broach
• The London Eye Mystery by Siobhan Dowd
• Pie by Sarah Weeks
• The Great Cake Mystery by Alexander McCall Smith
• Vanishing Acts by Phillip Margolin
• Horton Halfpott, or, The fiendish mystery of Smugwick Manor, or, The loosening of M'Lady Luggertuck's corset by Tom Angleberger
• Scat by Carl Hiaasen

Book Display: Favorite Book Club Books

I put out this display for February 2012. This is a collection of popular Book Club books from the past 10 or so years.

The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls

The Road by Cormac McCarthy

Water for Elephants by Sarah Gruen

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

Devil in the White City by Eric Larson

The Help by Katheryn Stockett

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Annie Barrows

The Book Thief by Mark Zusak

Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

Sarah's Key by Tatiana De Rosnay

The Kite Runner by Khlaed Hosseini

Room by Emma Donoghue

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See

The Life of Pi by Yann Martel

The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford

The Red Tent by Anita Diamant

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

The Alchemist by Paul Coehlo

Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout

Bel Canto by Ann Patchet

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

The Shack by William Young

The Rainbow Project

The Rainbow Project is a booklist of recommended books for kids and teens revolving around the topics of GLBTQ (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transsexual, and Questioning.) It is the brainchild of the ALA GLBT Round Table and SRRT (Social Responsibilities Round Table.)

Check-out their website here

This is a booklist of just some of the recommended books from the August 2011 issue of VOYA magazine. (v 34, #3, page 226-227 by Lynn Evarts.) Check-out the article for the full listing.

• Will by Maria Boyd, 2010
• Unbearable Lightness by Portia de Rossi, 2010
• Of All the Stupid Things by Alexandra Diaz, 2009
• Out by Sandra Diersch, 2010
• Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green, 2010
• The Popularity Papers: Research for the Social Improvement and General Betterment of Lydia Goldblatt and Julie Graham-Change by Amy Ignatow, 2010
• Me by Ricky Martin, 2010
• Scars by Cheryle Rainfeld, 2010
• Kiss by Jacqueline Wilson, 2010

Recommended websites for LGBTQ teens:

• Avert.org An abundance of information for young people confused or concerned about sex. Has a small section on GLBTQ sexuality.
• Teenshealth.org Covers many topics on teen growth including sexual harassment and bullying.
• GoAskAlice Like a "Dear Sally" with issues teens are concerned about.
• PlannedParenthood Special section on how to come out to your family
  

Funny Books for Boys

This is a list of great books that will make your boy patrons LOL!

Series:
Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket
Lunch Lady series by Jarrett J Krosoczka (graphic novel)
Far Side Comics by Gary Larson (graphic novel)
Weenies series by David Lubar
Time Warp Trio by Jon Sciezka
Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney
Shredderman by Wendelin Van Draanen
Double Fudge by Beverly Cleary
Guys Read edited by Jon Sciezka
Mr. Chickee by Christopher Paul Curtis
Bunnicula by Jame Howe
My Weird School by Dan Gutman
Fly Guy by Tedd Arnold (easy reader)
Walter the Farting Dog by William Kotzwinkle (picture book)


Stand Alone Titles:
6th Grade Nickname Game by Gordon Korman
Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein
Frankenstein Make a Sandwich by Adam Rex (picture book)
Frankenstein Takes the Cake by Adam Rex (picture book)
Knucklehead by Jon Scieska (biography)
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
My Rotten Life by David Lubar
Doctor Proctor's Fart Powder by Jo Nesbo
The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales by Jon Sciezka (picture book)
The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Sciezka(picture book)
A Pig Parade is a Terrible Idea by Michael Ian Black (picture book)
A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever by Marla Frazee (easy reader)
Interrupting Chicken by David Ezra Stein (picture book)



-Some content from guysread.com

Booklist: Books About Self Esteem

-From Listserv, compiled by Bridget R Wilson, Youth Services Librarian


The Fast and the Furriest By Andy Behrens
Shredderman Series By Wendelin VanDraanen
The Extraordinary Adventures of Ordinary Boy By William Boniface
Schooled By Gordon Korman
A Week in the Woods By Andrew Clements
The Boy Who Owned the School By Gary Paulsen
S.O.R. Losers by Avi – a seventh grade soccer team made up of the
non-athletes
The 18th Emergency – Betsy Byars (a boy going through being bullied and
thinking his way out of every emergency but being bullied)
Almost anything by Daniel Pinkwater (Lizard Music, Snarkout Boys, Alan
Mendelson the Boy From Mars) generally feature boys who are “different”
Slake’s Limbo – Felice Holman (loner boy goes to live in the subway)
Maniac Magee – Jerry Spinelli (more a boy hero to a loner boy)
Stand Tall Molly Lou Melon, by Patti Lovell
I'm gonna like me by Jamie Lee Curtis
Jim Hensen's muppet's in flip flap flop by Stephanie St. Pierre
'Stick Up For Yourself!: Every Kid's Guide to Personal Power and Positive
Self-Esteem' by Gershen Kaufman, Lev Raphael, and Pamela Espeland
Welcome Comfort by Patricia Polacco
Diary of a Wimpy Kid books by Kinney

Non-Fiction that reads like fiction

Books for fans of fiction:

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life by Barbara Kingsolver
Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt
Brunelleschi's Dome: How a Renaissance Genius Reinvented Architecture by Ross King
Dewey: The Small Town Library Cat Who Touched the World by Vicki Myron
The Emperor of Scent by Chandler Burr
Fast Food Nation: the Dark Side of the All American Meal by Eric Schlosser
Flyboys: a True Story of Courage by James Bradley
The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls
In the Heart of the Sea: the Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex by Nathaniel Philbrick
The Hot Zone by Richard Preston
Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer
Jarhead: A Marine's Chronicle of the Gulf War and Other Battles by Anthony Swofford
Julie and Julia: 365 days, 24 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen by Julie Powell
The Lost City of Z: a Tale of Deady Obsession in the Amazon by David Grann
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt
Open by Andre Agassi
The Perfect Storm by Sebastian Junger
Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace...One School at a Time by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin
Seabiscuit: an American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand
A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson
The Zookeeper's Wife by Diane Ackerman

High Interest Historical Fiction Chapter Books

Historical Fiction is a huge genre in children's literature. The list below is historical fiction read-a-likes inspired by the Lois Lowry book Number the Stars.

The Entertainer and the Dybbuk by Sid Fleischman

"In 1948 Europe, former American bomber pilot Freddie Birch is making a precarious living as a ventriloquist when he encounters young Avrom Amos. The boy is a dybbuk, the spirit of a Jewish youth murdered by the Nazis. He was one of the resistance fighters who helped Freddie escape from a POW camp. The ghost has "unfinished business" with the SS colonel who killed him, and he needs a living body—Freddie's—to accomplish it.Fleischman explores the sensitive topic of anti-Semitism—not just the overt evil of the Nazi system, but also the casual, pervasive bigotry of the period. Even Freddie has to deal with his own deep-seated prejudice. There is a strong emphasis on friendship and justice, and an ultimate affirmation of life and hope." --Elaine E. Knight (Reviewed August 1, 2007) (School Library Journal, vol 53, issue 8, p116)

Good Night, Maman by Norma Fox Mazer

Aimed at readers who have already encountered Anne Frank, this riveting historical novel from Mazer (Missing Pieces, 1995, etc.) is based on a little-known chapter of WWII history. Karin Levi's story begins in a tiny attic room in Paris in the 1940s, where she is hidden away with her brother, Marc, and their mother, practicing the art of quiet. German soldiers are conducting house-to-house searches, rounding up Jews, and the small family is soon on the run, depending on strangers for scraps of food and shelter. When Maman falls ill, Karin and Marc head for Naples without her; the children board the Henry Gibbons, a ship full of European refugees bound for Fort Ontario in Oswego, New York. Upon their arrival in America, their story turns from one of flight and danger to the happiness and sorrow associated with adjusting to a new language, customs, and schooling, and making new friends. Although it is a shock to Karin, it comes as no surprise to readers when Marc reveals that Maman is dead. Mazer skillfully paints Karin as brave and independent, yet depicts her devotion to Maman throughout, writing unsent letters and never losing sight of her belief that one day they will be reunited. Rather than relying on events and facts of the war and its atrocities to create sympathy, the author paints her central character's thoughts and feelings, her moments of weakness and her strength, so that the story is stirringly understated. (Kirkus Reviews, October 15, 1999)

Speed of Light by Sybil Rosen
Audrey Ina Stern, a Jewish girl living in Blue Gap, VA, in the 1950s, must come to terms with racism and anti-Semitism when her father, a city councilman, champions a black man for an opening in the local police department. Councilman Stern''s action triggers a sequence of events including phone threats, hostility from neighbors, and, ultimately, having his family''s home firebombed. For Tante, a distant relative who lives with the Sterns, these events rekindle haunting memories from her childhood, including imprisonment at Auschwitz and the loss of her family. Through the Sterns'' efforts, along with those of the courageous Mr. Cardwell, the black police candidate, and Miss Farley, an eccentric librarian, progress toward a more equal and just community is made. Tim Rausch, Crescent View Middle School, Sandy, UT Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information. 

Witness by Karen Hesse

The author of Out of the Dust again turns language into music in her second quietly moving novel written entirely in verse. Here, 11 narrative voices chronicle actual events occurring in a sleepy Vermont town after the arrival of the Ku Klux Klan in 1924. Those victimized by the Klan include the families of Leanora Sutter, a 12-year-old African-American girl, and Esther Hirsh, the six-year-old daughter of a Jewish shoe salesman. Rounding out the portrait of the town are community leaders (an enlightened physician, a newspaper editor who moves from neutral to anti-Klan) as well as less prominent folk—shopkeepers, a Protestant minister—who are swayed into joining the white supremacist group. Staff (Reviewed August 20, 2001) (Publishers Weekly, vol 248, issue 34, p80) 

 The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg

After his older brother Harold is forced to join the Union Army, Homer runs away from their wicked uncle’s farm to save him. His southward journey divides easily into episodic adventures: outwitting two slave-hunting scoundrels with the help of a wealthy abolitionist; traveling south with an easily duped young clergyman; joining a medicine show led by a mysterious man; fleeing in a hot-air balloon with a disastrous flaw; and arriving at Gettysburg in time for the battle. If these adventures seem a little too colorful to be quite believable, first-person narrator Homer begins his tale by saying, the truth don’t come easy to me. The narrator’s humor and folksy charm bubbles to the surface from time to time, despite a streak of cruelty that runs straight through the story, from the farm to the battlefield. Notes on the period and a glossary are appended. This eventful, episodic novel is accessible to a younger audience than many others set during the Civil War. -- Phelan, Carolyn (Reviewed 01-01-2009) (Booklist, vol 105, number 9, p84)