The Storm Makers by Jennifer E. Smith

Ruby doesn't know what's wrong with her twin brother, Simon.  Things haven't been the same between them since they moved out into the country.  On the farm, everything is different, her mom is now a struggling artist and her dad is trying to build his invention.  Then, Ruby discovers a mysterious stranger in their barn.  The tall, lanky figure tells Ruby that Simon is a storm maker, a person who can control the weather.  Ruby, doesn't want to believe the news but Simon has been different lately.  He seems to be putting off some kind of electrical current.  Finally, after Simon gets hospitalized, Ruby is willing to listen to Otis, the stranger.  To make matters even worse, the storm makers are now divided between the charismatic London and the quiet Otis.  Which storm maker is to be trusted?  Will Simon choose power or self-control?  And what part does Ruby play in all of this?  An adventure filled with mystery, drought, tornadoes, fires and more!

City of Ember

Teaching 4th and 5th grade library media classes, I get a lot of requests for The Hunger Games, which is a little too violent for this age group.  City of Ember, by Jeanne Duprau, is a great choice for students who are interested in this genre.

Lina Mayfleet, lives in the dark city of Ember.  All the citizens of Ember worry about the lights, which keep the city from being in complete darkness, going out.  Already the city is running out of food, clothing, everything and Lina is concerned.  The politicians of Ember are trying to keep the dire situation of their city quiet but people are getting suspicous.  Doon, a friend and classmate of Lina's agrees to switch jobs with Lina, because he is convinced there is some way out of Ember, some way to save everyone from impending doom.  This is a page turner, I could not put it down. I wanted to know what was going to happen to Lina and Doon, what secrets were being hidden, and if there was a way out of Ember.

Love this

Middle School How I Survived Bullies, Broccoli and Snake Hill

This was my first Middle School by James Patterson series book.  My students love these books and now I know why.

Rafe Katchadorian, the main character and narrator in practically all the Middle School books,(except Middle School: My Brother is a Big, Fat, Liar) is headed off to summer camp.  Only this summer camp also offers summer school! Yay!  Rafe ends up in a cabin full of misfits, who are targeted by the camp bullies.  The food is gross, classes are awful and his cabin is prehistoric.  The only good things at Camp Wannamorra are Katie Kim, Rafe's cute math teacher, time at the lake and his new friends from the Muskrat Cabin.  Can Rafe survive a summer at Camp Wannamorra?  Can anything stop the Bobcat bullies?  Will Katie Kim fall in love with Rafe?  Read Middle School How I Survived Bullies, Broccoli and Snake Hill!  (If you like Big Nate or Diary of a Wimpy Kid, you will like these books.)

First Days in the Media Center

So, here are some of the things I am planning to do the first days in my school library.  My school is very unique (only 4th and 5th grade), which has its advantages and challenges.

I think this is a really great "attention grabber" for the students when they enter the media center for the first time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sl6a7GD3dm4

 Learning 400+ names is often difficult, especially with the quick move onto the middle school.  This year, I am going to try the name wave (I will let you know how it turns out)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnpimhtLRjY

I also need to remind my students of the rules in the library (for some of them, this is their first time in a library)  I thought this was simple and to the point.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcrOJL0CjmE

Hold Fast by Blue Balliett

Hold Fast, like Blue Balliett's other books, involves a mystery.  Early, our young black protagonist, is distraught when her father doesn't come home one night.  (As the reader, we know there has been some sort of car accident but we are not sure how it relates to the story.)  No one believes Early or her mother when they call the police to report her father, Dashel, missing.  Things just get worse from there.  Two men break into the apartment and threaten Early, her mother and her little brother then ransack their home.  Soon afterward, without Dashel's paycheck the family loses their apartment and become homeless.  Early is determined to save her family and find out what happened to her father.  The book is an eye-opening look into the world of homeless children and the shelter system.

The Apothecary by Maile Meloy in another book on my personal summer reading list.  This book has some serious content, but through the eyes of Janie, it's her life and all she has ever known.

After the celebrations of the end of World War II, Janie hoped life would be better, she would have real butter instead of oleomargarine, she would get a baby sister, and her family would go the Kings Canyon to see the giant trees, but it wasn't that simple.  The Cold War had begun and many people were suspected of being communists.  Men begin following Janie and suddenly the family moves to London, under suspicious circumstances.  Janie is not happy to leave California, especially to London, which is still recovering from World War II (they don't even have chocolate back yet, much to her father's horror).  At her new school, Janie doesn't feel like she fits in, her classes are not the same as back home, she doesn't know anyone and she has to take Latin.  Then she meets Ben.  Ben is the son of the local apothecary who desperately wants a more exciting life than his father's.  Janie tags along on Ben's spy adventures and suddenly they are swept up in a world of magic, nuclear disaster, and intrigue.  The apothecary is not just a simple pharmacist, he along with some others in his society are out to save the world, and Janie and Ben want to help.  This book is filled with kidnappings, mystery, spies and a little romance.  Can they save the world, do they have what it takes to change a nuclear bomb?  Read The Apothecary by Maile Meloy.

Welcome to Gold Star Days

“For me, it was a Gold Star day. I'd identified an enemy, and I'd made a life decision: I might come home tore up from fighting or late from being punished, but I'd never come home crying. So far, I ain't.” 
― Sheila Turnage, Three Times Lucky

As a middle grade media specialist, this is a space to record books I have read.  Three Times Lucky by Sheila Turnage was an amazing read.  Both adults and children will love it.

Here is my booktalk for Three Times Lucky:

You think your life is strange?  Wait til you meet Mo LeBeau.  She was found floating down a river during a hurricane when she was just a baby.  Now she lives with the Colonel and Miss Lana in the small town of Tupelo, North Carolina.  Life is anything but ordinary for Mo and her best friend Dale, between theme nights at the cafe, disappearing guardians and stolen boats, things are always happening in their small town.  But when there is a murder in Tupelo, no one is safe.  You will be glued to this book through homicides, car crashes, kidnapping and hurricanes!  Can Mo help solve the murder?  Is trouble too close to home?  Will she ever find her "upstream" mother?  Find out in Three Times Lucky by Sheila Turnage.