The Six Crowns: Trundle's Quest by Allan Jones

This is a story about two hedgehogs, Esmeralda and Trundle. Trundle has a peaceful life, until Esmeralda cones to his door with pirates tracking her. Esmeralda says stuff about a prophesy and the badger blocks (blocks of wood that tell the future sometimes). "You are the lamplighter," says Esmeralda. "Pirates are tracking me, come on, I'll explain later." So Esmeralda and Trundle go to find an airship. (In the Sundered Lands, airships are their form of transportation). Will Esmeralda and Trundle find the six crowns? Find out if you read this book. P.S. You'll especially like this book if you like pirates.

Written by Zach, fourth-grade reader

(Note: This is the first in a series of six books.)



AR Level 5.4
AR Points 3

Waiting for the Magic by Patricia MacLachlan

Soon after William’s father left, his mother herded William and his little sister Elinor into the car. “We’re going to get a dog,” she announced. William reminded his mother that Papa had never wanted a dog. “Everyone should have a dog,” she responded.

But Mama doesn’t stop with a dog; they come home with four – and a cat! The animals quickly take on the roles as healers in this aching family, but that isn’t the magic mentioned in the title. You see, people who have the magic can hear the animals talk! The young (Elinor) have the magic. What will it take for William, Mama, and Papa to get the magic, too? Read this sweet, heartwarming book for some magic of your own.

AR Level 3.0

AR Points 2

Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick

Ben's story begins in 1977 in Gunflint Lake, Minnesota. Rose's story begins in1927 in Hoboken, New Jersey. Ben's story is told through words; Rose's story is told through pictures. How Brian Selznick brings their stories together and works in details of the world of museums, Deaf culture, the history of cinema (movies) and some interesting bits about New York City is a true work of art that tells a touching story of family lost and found. Don't let the thickness of this book scare you off. It takes a lot of pictures to tell Rose's story. And you probably won't want to put this book down until you find out how the two stories come together. Don't miss this one!

 AR Level 5.4
AR Points 4

Dragon Castle by Joseph Bruchac

This story is about Prince Rashko and his brother Paulek. They both are descendants of Pavol the Good. But Rashko has a problem. The evil Baron Temny is parked right outside the gate and Paulek is falling under the spell of the evil baron’s daughter. Will Rashko have enough time to save the kingdom and his brother or will Baron Temny take control? Will Paulek have to get married to the horrible baron’s daughter? Find out more in Dragon Castle by Joseph Bruchac.

(P.S. I liked this book and I hope you do too!)

Written by Doug, fifth-grade reader and blogger

AR Level 5.6

AR Points 10

Eight Keys by Suzanne LaFleur

Sometimes a book is so much better than its title might indicate. That is the case with Eight Keys. I guess I was expecting it to be an adventure-type book, similar to 100 Cupboards, which I recently read. Boy, was I wrong!

Beginning sixth grade can be a trying time for many kids. Elise gets a double whammy of difficult when she realizes that her best friend, Franklin, is so way not cool (in fact, he’s sort of embarrassing) and her locker partner is a snobbish bully who makes her life miserable at least once a day by dropping her books on top of Elise’s lunch. With her twelfth birthday coming up, Elise hopes that things will change, but a birthday didn’t work any kind of magic.

So where do the eight keys come in? On the upstairs of Elise’s Uncle Hugh’s barn are eight locked doors. Elise has never been allowed to see what is behind those doors. One day, she spots a key hanging up in the barn, and discovers it has her name on it. That begins a series of events which lead Elise to discover much about her family, herself, and the value of friendship.

The messages Elise receives throughout this book are messages that are speak to everyone, not just twelve-year-olds. Pick up Eight Keys for a great story that will give you lots to think about.

AR Level 3.8

AR Points 6

You'll Like It Here (Everybody Does) by Ruth White

Meggie Blue still has nightmares stemming from the day a crazy man burst into her third grade classroom wielding a knife and screaming about aliens. Even the move from California to a quiet little town in North Carolina hasn’t pushed those memories from her mind. Now, three years later, there’s talk of aliens again. And the finger points to Meggie’s family after an elderly local man suffers a stroke shortly after visiting with Meggie and her brother, David.

When the townspeople approach the Blue family’s home in the middle of the night, the family is one step – and light years – ahead of them. They pile into “The Carriage” and escape to another world. In her haste, Mrs. Blue wasn’t able to give specific coordinates for their arrival location, and they end up in the park of a place called Fashion City. The first person they meet is a policeman, who directs them to the housing authority. They are given an apartment, stamps to buy whatever they need, and are told where to go the next day to see about work. It’s when evening comes and the building manager comes for a head count, then locks them in their apartment that they realize Fashion City is not a place they want to stay.

The title of the book echoes the words they hear over and over whenever they meet someone new. Meggie Blue and her family are definitely not included in the “everybody.” But is there any way out? Ruth White has created a civilization that would put a fright into anyone, and she plunks down in the middle of it two strong, young characters who aren’t going to sit around and let other people determine the course of their lives. You’ll like this book. (Everybody does)

AR Level 4.5

AR Points 8

The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

I'll start with a confession -- I prefer to get my information by reading rather than interpreting pictures. I don't need a picture of an oven temperature dial set at 450 degrees on my frozen pizza box, because I can read and understand written instructions. That said, the second part of the confession is that I just read The Invention of Hugo Cabret, even though it was published in 2007 and won the Caldecott Medal in 2008. It wasn't until I saw that it was coming to the big screen at Thanksgiving time that I decided to see what all the fuss was about. I understand now.
Hugo lives in a Paris train station with his uncle, whose job is to keep all of the clocks in station running. But Hugo must stay hidden, or his uncle may lose his job, and with it the small room at the station that the two share. When is uncle doesn't return one day, Hugo takes over the clock maintenance and continues to collect his uncle's pay checks, though he doesn't know how to cash them. Without money, he takes to stealing from some of the food vendors at the station. And he occasionally filches a small toy from a toy store in the station as well. You see,he needs parts from the toy to fix a machine his father had been repairing at the museum where he worked before he died in the fire that destroyed the museum.
Author Brian Selznick has told Hugo's story in 526 pages, nearly 300 of which are black-and-white illustrations which move the story through its paces. Not a novel, not a picture book, not a graphic novel, Hugo Cabret is a one-of-a-kind creation of story-telling full of mystery, history, determination and loyalty, with an ending that will leave you in awe.
Find The Invention of Hugo Cabret in the juvenile fiction section under S.

AR Level 5.1
AR Points 4

Guinea PI(G)

Guinea PI(G): Pet Shop Private Eye graphic novel series is a new on the scene. We currently have books 1-4 in this series (I have read them all) and they were so surprisingly fun to read, that I had to recommend them! The cartoons are fun, cute, and interesting to look at, and the story lines are so funny. Every animal in the shop has such great personalities, you can't help but love every goofy character. The kid in me just adores these books, and I think kids of all ages who are looking for a good laugh will love them too.

Hamster and Cheese:
Reading Level 2.3/ .5 pts
This is the first book in the series where we meet the main characters Sasspants PI(G), a very smart and creative guinea pig, and Hamisher, a wanna-be side kick and hyper hamster. They, and the other animals, live in Mr. Venezi's pet shop. Unfortunately for the pets, Mr. Venezie knows nothing about animals, and is constantly mislabeling them (for example: he labeled the hamsters as 'koalas'), feeding them the wrong food, and putting them in the wrong cagest. That's enough for the pets to deal with already, but now there's a sandwich thief in their midst. Hamisher thinks she is a PI (private investigator) since her cage label says Guinea Pi (but in actuality the G has just fallen off). So, he asks her to investigate, and after some convincing she agrees and together they take on the mystery of the serial Sandwich-Napper

And Then There Were Gnomes:
Reading Level 2.6/ .5pts
In second book we meet up with Sasspants and Hamisher again. Hamisher is ready for another mystery and is dying to be side kick to Sasspants, but Sasspants has no intention of continuing to be a private eye... one time was enough! But soon enough, Hamisher notices that all the mice are disappearing and the other pets in the shop start to worry. When Sasspants wont help him, Hamisher decides to take on the case himself. Will Hamisher be able to solve this case on his own, or will the case of the missing mice go unsolved?

The Ferret's a Foot:
Reading Level 2.4/ .5pts
The third book in this series begins with Mr. Venenzi hanging up a help wanted sign. Poor Mr. Venenzi really doesn't know much about the animals, but what if the new person isn't nice? So Sasspants and Hamisher volunteer to help out Mr. Venenzi and make new signs for the animal cages with little pictures of the animals on them. Then Mr. Venenzi won't have to hire any one! Soon, however, something is amiss.... all the signs have been changed! The Lizards were now Blizards and the Chinchillas were Gorillas! Every one suspects the new ferrets, but it's up to Sasspants and Hamisher to discover the truth behind this mystery.

Fish You Were Here:
Reading Level 2.4/ 1pts
The fourth book begins with Mr. Venenzi interviewing potential employees. He's already turned away so many nice sounding people, the pets are starting to wonder if they will be lucky enough to get some one who actually knows what they're doing! Then Viola comes in, friendly and knowledgeable about the animals. Mr. Venenzi hires her on the spot. She is perfect for the job and is takes over all the care for the pets... so well that Mr. Venenzi becomes depressed and feels like he isn't needed any more. Then, one day, Mr. Venenzi doesn't come in at all! Suddenly, Viola starts neglecting the animals and sits at the desk watching TV all day. They animals panic... what happened to Mr. Venenzi? Will he ever come back? Sasspants is determined to find out what happened to Mr. Venenzi, but even if they find out where he is... will it be too late?