Footer Davis Probably Is Crazy
By Susan Vaught Illustrated by Jennifer Black Reinhardt Publisher: Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books Pages: 240 Lexile: 800L Age Range: 10 – 14 Years ABOUT Winner of the Edgar Allan Poe Award for best mystery. Footer Davis is on the case when two kids go missing after a fire in this humorously honest novel that is full of Southern style. “Bless your heart” is a saying in the South that sounds nice but really isn’t. It means, “You’re beyond help.” That’s what folks say about fifth grader Footer Davis’s mom, who “ain’t right” because of her bipolar disorder. She just shot a snake...
Read MoreEmmanuel’s Dream: The True Story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah
By Laurie Thompson Illustrated by Sean Qualls Publisher: Random House Children’s Books Pages: 40 Lexile: AD770L Age Range: 4 – 8 Years ABOUT Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah’s inspiring true story—which was turned into a film, Emmanuel’s Gift, narrated by Oprah Winfrey—is nothing short of remarkable. Born in Ghana, West Africa, with one deformed leg, he was dismissed by most people—but not by his mother, who taught him to reach for his dreams. As a boy, Emmanuel hopped to school more than two miles each way, learned to play soccer, left home at age thirteen to provide for his...
Read MoreAnother Kind of Hurricane
By Tamara Ellis Smith Publisher: Random House Children’s Books Pages: 336 Lexile: 570L Age Range: 9 – 12 Years ABOUT In this stunning debut novel, two very different characters—a black boy who loses his home in Hurricane Katrina and a white boy in Vermont who loses his best friend in a tragic accident—come together to find healing. A hurricane, a tragic death, two boys, one marble. How they intertwine is at the heart of this beautiful, poignant book. When ten-year-old Zavion loses his home in Hurricane Katrina, he and his father are forced to flee to Baton Rouge. And when Henry,...
Read MoreRevenge of the Flower Girls
By Jennifer Ziegler Publisher: Scholastic, Inc. Pages: 240 Lexile: 720L Age Range: 8 – 12 Years ABOUT In this middle-grade Bridesmaids, hilarity ensues as triplets have to stop a wedding! One bride. Two boys. Three flower girls who won’t forever hold their peace. What could go wrong with this wedding? Everything! The Brewster triplets, Dawn, Darby, and Delaney, would usually spend their summer eating ice cream, playing with their dog, and reading about the US Presidents. But this year they’re stuck planning their big sister Lily’s wedding. Lily used to date Alex, who...
Read MoreCake Pop Crush: A Wish Novel
By Suzanne Nelson Publisher: Scholastic, Inc. Pages: 256 Age Range: 8 – 12 Years ABOUT Alicia Ramirez has always loved baking. Her family owns Say It With Flour, the small bakery in town. And Ali’s specialties are cake pops: delicious confections on a stick. But Ali’s sweet life turns sour when a sleek coffee shop opens across the street, giving her bakery a run for its money. Worst of all, the owner’s son, Dane McGuire, likes to bake, too. He’s the new kid in Ali’s school … and happens to be annoyingly cute. When Dane and Ali engage in a bake-off to...
Read More