Chapter Books

Birdbrain Amos
written and illustrated by Michael Delaney

Grades 2-4 / Animal Stories

Poor Amos! He hires a tick bird to eat the bugs off his back and gets more than he bargained for when Kumba builds a nest on his head and lays three eggs.

Soft hearted Amos is not happy but finds it hard to chase the family away, even when his friends call him a birdbrain. What’s a hippo to do? This delightful early chapter book begs to be read aloud to children as early as kindergarten. Charming illustrations enhance this delightful tale.

- Sylvia 09/05

Diary of a Fairy Godmother
By Esme Raji Codell

Grades 4-6 / Fantasy

Hunky Dory is the best witch in her class at school but she doesn’t really enjoy doing wicked things—for instance when she turns a prince into a frog, she always makes sure to turn him back into a prince

When she asks her teacher and her mother about using her magic to grant wishes, she is told that she should never even think about it. But Hunky doesn’t give up easily and starts granting wishes, only to get expelled from school and kicked out of her home.

Find out if she can figure out how to use her education to grant wishes and please her family and her teachers. Along the way, see how many characters from stories you can identify. For instance, there is a little girl with golden curls who never knocks but just opens the door to any house; a wolf who wants a grandmother costume, and a troll with a very strange name. Do any of these sound familiar?

- Ellen 10/05

Grades 4-6 / Adoption / Realistic Fiction

How would it feel to learn that your parents died in a plane crash when you were a baby, and that you’ve been raised by your dad’s sister and brother-in-law?

While he is shocked at first, Dillon gradually comes to accept his situation while exploring nature near the lake. He becomes especially fascinated by a loon, her mate, and their new baby chicks. When he realizes that both loon parents have been killed, he worries how the chicks will survive. His fears are relieved when another loon steps in to raise the babies. This thoughtful novel beautifully tells the story of a boy finding his place in the world.

- Nancy 10/06

Drita, My Homegirl
by Jenny Lombard

Grades 3-5 / Friendship Stories / Realistic Fiction

Making friends at a new school can be difficult, especially if you and your family have just immigrated to America from war-torn Kosovo.

Drooling and Dangerous: The Riot Brothers Return.
by Mary Amato; illustrated by Ethan Long.

Humorous Fiction
Grades 3-5

“Make something exciting happen every day.” This is Rule #1 for 5th grader Wilbur and 3rd grader Orville, aka the delightfully mischievous Riot Brothers. High spirited and imaginative, this lovable duo embark on three more exciting adventures in their sequel to, Snarf Attack, Underfoodle, and the Secret of Life: The Riot Brothers Tell All. An excellent choice for family and classroom read-aloud fun.

- Sylvia 11/06

Eager
by Helen Fox

Grades 5 and up / Science Fiction

Imagine it’s the end of the 21st century, and robots are there to take care of your every need. The appliances talk to you, the house wakes you up in the morning, and your personal butler cooks your favorite food.

This is the world Gavin Bell and his older sister Fleur live in, and so when their reliable but old-fashioned house robot begins to run down, they hope they will get a top of the line BDC4 robot for its replacement.

Instead they get EGR3 (better known as Eager), an experimental robot who learns about the world as a child would. As the siblings teach Eager new skills, they begin to notice something strange about the new BDC4s – the robots seem unnaturally clever and are starting to rebel against their owners to do their own thing. What is going on? Will Eager and the siblings be able to figure it out before the BDC4s take control of the city? You’ll discover the answers in this fun, Jetsons-like book - Eager.

- Shana 8/05

The Good Dog
by Avi

Grades 3-6 / Animal Stories

Hello, human pups. Did you ever wonder what dogs’ lives are really like? (Human pups—that’s what you are, from a dog’s point of view.)

My name is McKinley. I’m head dog of all the dogs in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. My human pup’s name is Jack. I take care of him and his family. Sometimes they sit in front of the “glow box” (human translation: TV) or “look at a block of staring papers” (human translation: read a book). During the day, Jack goes to the “pups’ gathering place” (human translation: school). Being head dog and taking care of a human pup are big responsibilities, but my life is good. At least, it was until now.

A wolf has come down from the north. Her name is Lupin, and she wants to get the Steamboat Springs dogs to leave their human families and join her pack in the wild. Now I’m being challenged as head dog by Redburn, an Irish Setter who would do anything, even hurt a fellow dog, to please his human master. I’m also trying to keep Lupin safe from the humans, who want to hunt her down and kill her. Worst of all, I’ve got to make a big decision. Do I stay in my comfortable house and take care of my human pup, Jack? Or do I leave and join Lupin and the wolves for a life of complete freedom—and possibly danger?

If you like dogs and adventure, read my story.

- Ann 08/06

Leon and the Champion Chip
By Allen Kurzweil

Grades 4-6 / Humor

Think you know a lot about potato chips? There’s a good chance you don’t know as much about them as Leon Zeisel, the self proclaimed “potato chip collector extraordinaire.”

Leon’s love of this crunchy snack is fueled when his fifth grade science class devotes an entire semester to studying all things potato chip.

When the Chipapalooza, a potato chip trivia and taste-test contest, comes to his town, Leon enters it and soon finds himself up against some pretty stiff competition - a local potato chip manufacturer and a man best known as “the Chippopotamus.”

Will Leon’s chip knowledge help him win the competition? Adding to the fun are a cast of quirky characters, a hotel full of zany animals and pictures of some truly presidential potato chips. It doesn’t take a potato chip expert to know readers will simply devour this funny book.

- Shana 6/06

The Little Gentleman
by Philippa Pearce

Grades 3-6 / Animal Stories

Why would old Mr. Franklin ask Bets to take a book out to the meadow and read it out loud? Who would hear her in what appeared to be an empty field?

Bets is not sure why, but she wants to help the elderly man who has broken his leg, so she takes the book and does as he asks. To her surprise, she finds that she is reading to a mole, but not an ordinary animal. This mole is 300 years old and able to talk to humans, but more than anything else, he wants Bets to help him regain his animal nature. But if she does that, she will lose the best friend she ever had.

- Ellen 6/05

Moon Runner
by Carolyn Marsden

Grades 3-4
Sports--Running

Mina, who considers herself a “girly girl,” is surprised to discover a secret love and talent for running. The problem is, Mina is a faster runner than her best friend Ruth. Will Mina's talent change her friendship with Ruth? Will her relay team win All City? Find out in Moon Runner!

- Donnae 6/05

Mr. Chickee’s Funny Money
By Christopher Paul Curtis

Grades 4-6 / Mystery Fiction

Look out! The Flint Future Detectives –namely, nine-year-old Steven, his friend Russell, and Russell’s huge, drooling dog Zoopy—are on the loose!

The funny detective adventure begins when Steven’s blind neighbor, Mr. Chickee, gives him a gift after he helps Mr. Chickee with errands. The gift is money, but not just any money. The “1” on this bill has fifteen zeroes after it. It’s a quadrillion dollar bill! Soon Steven finds himself on the run from sneaky Agent Fondoo from the U.S. Treasury Department, who is trying to get the bill back.

How does Steven use his new spying invention, the Snoopeeze 2000? Is Zoopy, the incredible drooling dog, really gone for good? Does Steven get to keep the bill and become a quadrillionaire? If you like funny stories, action-packed chase scenes, spy stuff, a touch of fantasy, and want to know the answers to these questions, read Mr. Chickee’s Funny Money.

- Ann, 6/06

Mutton Soup: More Adventures of Johnny Mutton
by James Proimos

Humorous Fiction
Grades 1-3

Fantasy
Grades 5-8

Marianne Pinhoe is not enjoying her summer. Her grandmother seems to have lost her mind and has to be moved from her big house, there is a plague of frogs, and the cat is always disappearing from a locked house. Then she meets Cat Chance, a young boy from Chrestomanci Castle and life for the Pinhoe family will never be the same.

The two find a strange egg in the attic which has been hidden for many years, and when Cat takes it to the castle, it hatches into a young griffin. Add in a battle of magic between two witch families, Marianne’s brother who has an unusual gift combining technology and magic (imagine a flying machine powered by a stuffed ferret) and you have a wild magical adventure.

Diana Wynne Jones has written a wonderfully witty story of family feuds and magical mayhem. You don’t have to read the Chrestomanci books in order, but once you discover them, you will want to read them all. Other Chrestomanci books include The Lives of Christopher Chant, Witch Week, and Charmed Life.

- Ellen 1/07

Pure Dead Trouble
by Debi Gliori

Grades 4-6 / Fantasy / Humor

Ready for some “pure dead” fun? The Strega-Borgia family is back in the spotlight in this fourth installment of the “Pure Dead” series, but this time trouble is brewing.

The family returns home from vacation only to find their butler Latch passed out on their front porch, emitting a strange sulphur smell. Who (or what) attacked Latch, and why? In the meantime, the Strega-Borgias hire a temporary butler, but his frequent disappearances in the night and his odd behavior demonstrate that he has an ulterior motive.

Follow Titus, his sister Pandora and Nanny McLachlan as they try to figure out what the mysterious butler is up to. The fantastical beasts that call the Strega-Borgias’ mansion home are up to their old antics as well, rounding out the cast of zany characters. Fans of the series will not be disappointed, and newcomers will want to go back and read the earlier adventures of this purely magical, purely fun group.

- Shana 11/05

Robert and the Lemming Problem
By Barbara Seuling

Grades 2-4 / Humor

I like Robert and the Lemming Problem because I like the author. I think the book is funny. My favorite part was when the scrunched up juice box and the lunch paper bag was in the tuba.

- Liam Douglass, aged 6.5, 4/06

Stink: the incredible shrinking kid
By Megan McDonald

Grades 2-4 / Humor

How did James Madison, the shortest president of the United States, handle being a short person?

James Moody (nicknamed “Stink”) the shortest second grader in class 2D, thinks about this as he drinks from the baby fountain and stands in the front row for class pictures. Maybe, Stink wonders, he might actually be shrinking!

Though he is not growing as fast as he would like, Stink’s creativity prevails. He spikes his hair and wears up and down stripes to look and feel taller. And he finds a way to manage his bossy older sister. Stink’s irrepressible spirit is captured in his own comic book saga “The Adventures of Stink” and will remind readers that a little kid can be big in ideas and triumph in his own way. Readers will cheer for Stink as they laugh their way through this humorous, pun-filled beginning chapter book.

- Karen 11/05

The Unvisibles
by Ian Whybrow

Grades 4-6 / Fantasy / Humor

Classmates Oliver and Nicky couldn’t be more different. Oliver is known for always getting in trouble and Nicky tries to be so quiet that he is never noticed by the teacher or the other students.

When Oliver finds an old magazine with the “Indian rope trick” invisibility spell he can’t wait to try it and to his surprise, it works!

At first being invisible seems like fun, and he plays all sorts of tricks at school and at home, but before long he wants to be visible again. Unfortunately, the hand he wrote the spell on is invisible, along with the rest of him, and he needs Nicky to help him at home, at school and to find the solution to becoming visible again. If you have imagined the fun you could have if you were invisible, read The Unvisibles.

- Ellen 10/06

Wishing Moon
by Michael O. Tunnel

Grades 5 and up / Fantasy

What would you do with a magic lamp that gave you three wishes every full moon?

Aminah must answer that question quickly before the evil Princess Badr and Saladin, the Captain of the Guards, find her and the lamp. It isn't easy for Aminah to deal with a tricky jinni while the spies of Captain Saladin are getting closer to finding her.

Will the princess find the lamp? Will Aminah rescue the handsome Hassan? Who was the Jinni before he was trapped in the lamp? Find out more in Wishing Moon!

- Donnae 6/05

Non-fiction Books

Are We Alone?: Scientists Search for Life in Space
by Gloria Skurzynski

Grades 4 and up / Non-fiction - Life on Other Planets

What if we found life on other planets? What would the other beings look like?

How would we communicate with them? What does a planet need to support life? How are scientists searching the universe? Join Gloria Skurzynski as she talks to scientists about the search for life on other planets in Are We Alone?: Scientist Search for Life in Space.

- Donnae 6/05

Gandhi
by Philip Wilkinson

Grades 5-8 / Non-fiction - Biography

This biography of Mohandas Gandhi is a visually appealing look at the four major stages of Gandhi’s life – youth, education as lawyer, life in South Africa and his return to India where he became a leader of his people’s struggle for independence.

Filled with photographs, maps, a timeline and background information on India’s history, religions, marriage customs and castes. An enjoyable, attractive and informative book about a fascinating and influential man.

- Terrie 04/06

George Washington: A photographic story of a life
by Lenny Hort

Grades 5 and up / Non-fiction - Biography

How many things have been named for George Washington?

In addition to Washington D.C. , Washington State and the Washington Monument, how about 21 mountains, 31 counties, 277 communities and thousands of streets, bridges, highways, schools and businesses? In addition, he is commemorated on the dollar bill and the quarter. This biography includes more than 100 illustrations of artworks and artifacts, as well as a time line, bibliography and websites for further information. Even readers who already know something about George Washington may find new information in this book.

- Ellen 08/05

It's Disgusting and We Ate It!
by James Solheim, illustrated by Eric Brace

Grades 2 and up / Non-fiction - Food History and Habits

Today's Lunchroom Menu:

• Frog Leg Appetizer
• Earthworm Soup or Sidewinder Salad
• Woolly Mammoth Meatballs with Squid Ink Spaghetti
  or Stewed Cane Rat with Tomatoes and Hot Red Peppers
  or Wheat Dough with Tomato Sauce, Curdled Mild and Fungus
• Australian Honey Ant Dessert
  or Frozen Bee Sugar and Cow Squirt

Strange foods for a strange world. For more information, check out It's Disgusting and We Ate It!.

P. S. Only one of the menu items above is not mentioned in the book and two of the menu items you probably know by different names. Can you guess which items are which?

- Donnae 8/05

The Journey that Saved Curious George: The True Wartime Escape of Margret and H.A. Rey
by Louise Borden; illustrated by Allen Drummond

Grades 3 and up / Non-fiction - Biography

Curious George is adored here in America, but he got his start in Paris, France when his creators, Margret and H.A. Rey, wrote a story about a curious little money named Fifi.

Because they were Jewish, it was important that the Reys leave France when the Nazis invaded in 1940. They had room for few possessions when they escaped Paris on bicycles. Thankfully, the manuscript for The Adventures of Fifi was tucked away in their bicycle basket.

Traveling by train and boat, the Reys made their way to America. Within a year their first book would be published, and the little monkey Fifi, now named Curious George, and would become the beloved character he is today.

- Nancy 3/06

Runny Babbit and his friends Kittle Litten, Dungry Hog and others speak a language of their own by switching letters. For instance, when Runny goes to a restaurant, the waiter recites the menu which includes ied freggs, ambled screggs, beanut putter, bima leans, chork pops and other strange and wonderful dishes. I dare anyone to read this book without laughing out loud!

- Ellen 7/05

This title celebrates Edison’s imagination and perseverance and will inspire readers to ponder the questions that were at the root of his lifelong journey of experimentation and discovery: “What is this? Why does that happen? How does it happen?”

Clear, informative text and beautiful illustrations vividly depict the historical setting of Edison’s era and bring life to an engaged, determined and curious mind at work. Includes an illustrated overview of some of Edison’s best known inventions.

- Karen 10/06