New Mystery Chapter Books

 
39 Clues #7: The Viper's Nest - by Peter Lerangis (2010)
Amy and Dan travel to a distant land to follow in the footsteps of their most formidable ancestor yet, a military leader who teaches them the art of ancient warfare.

The Case of the Case of Mistaken Identity - by Mac Barnett (2009)

Twelve-year-old Steve Brixton, a fan of Bailey Brothers detective novels, is mistaken for a real detective and must elude librarians, police, and the mysterious Mr. E as he seeks a missing quilt containing coded information.

Economic Books

Money Madness - by David Adler (2009)

A beginning guide to economics that introduces young learners to the purpose and value of money.

The Lemonade War - by Jacqueline Davies (2007)
Evan and his younger sister, Jesse, react very differently to the news that they will be in the same class for fourth grade and as the end of summer approaches, they battle it out through lemonade stands, each trying to be the first to earn 100 dollars. Includes mathematical calculations and tips for running a successful lemonade stand.

One Cent, Two Cents, Old Cent, New Cent - by Bonnie Worth (2008)

The Cat in the Hat introduces money, describing its history, minting, and saving.  

Start Saving, Henry - by Nancy Carlson (2009)
When Henry the mouse wants to buy a Super Robot Dude, he discovers how hard it is to save money. 

 

There are Millions of Millionaires: and Other Freaky Facts about Earning, Saving, and Spending - by Barbara Seuling (2009) 

Provides dozens of facts related to money, covering little-known facts about millionaires, currency, taxes, insurance, and spending.  

New Realistic Fiction

Umbrella Summer - by Lisa Graff (2009)
After her brother Jared dies, ten-year-old Annie worries about the hidden dangers of everything, from bug bites to bicycle riding, until she is befriended by a new neighbor who is grieving her own loss.


 
Also Known as Harper - by Ann Haywood Leal (2009)
Writing poetry helps fifth-grader Harper Lee Morgan cope with her father's absence, being evicted, and having to skip school to care for her brother while their mother works, and things look even brighter after she befriends a mute girl and a kindly disabled woman. 
 

Faith, Hope & Ivy June - by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor (2009) 

During a student exchange program, seventh-graders Ivy June and Catherine share their lives, homes, and communities, and find that although their lifestyles are total opposites they have a lot in common.
 

Jemma Hartman, Camper Extraordinaire - by Brenda Ferber (2009)

Spending the summer after fifth grade at Camp Star Lake in Wisconsin, Jemma discovers the joy of sailing and learns a lesson about friendship.

New Sports Books

My First Sports series (2010) - Blastoff Readers
Blastoff Readers are carefully developed by literacy experts and combine standards-based content with developmentally appropriate text. Early Fluent/Fluent - Level 4 provides more text per page, increased use of punctuation, greater variation in sentence patterns, and increasingly challenging vocabulary.




Baseball - by Ray McClellan
A photographic introduction to baseball for beginning readers, explaining what baseball is, reviewing the rules of the sport, and looking at baseball equipment.


Gymnastics - by Anne Wendorff
A photographic introduction to gymnastics for beginning readers, explaining what gymnastics is, reviewing the rules of the sport, and looking at gymnastics gear.

Soccer - by Anne Wendorff
A photographic introduction to soccer for beginning readers, explaining what soccer is, reviewing the rules of the sport, and looking at soccer equipment.


Also available: Basketball, Football, Hockey, Swimming, Tennis

Going Green

S is for Save the Planet: a How-to-be Green Alphabet - by Brad Herzog (2009)
An alphabetically-arranged, illustrated discussion of environmental issues that covers topics and terms related to recycling, composting, energy efficiency, global warming, and appreciation of the outdoors.

 
We are Extremely Very Good Recyclers - by Lauren Child (2009)
Lola enlists her classmates in trying to win a recycling competition in which the prize is a live tree to plant.

Annie and Snowball Read-to-Read series

Annie and Snowball and the Dress-Up Birthday - by Cynthia Rylant
Annie and her pet rabbit, Snowball, invite Henry and Mudge to a dress-up birthday party, but there is some confusion about what the guests are supposed to wear.
 
Annie and Snowball and the Prettiest House - by Cynthia Rylant 
In the not-so-pretty house where she lives with her dad and bunny Snowball, Annie plans to make some changes in the decor with the help of her next-door neighbor and cousin Henry and his big dog Mudge.


Annie and Snowball and the Pink Surprise - by Cynthia Rylant
After noticing that a visiting hummingbird likes her pink petunias, Annie and her rabbit Snowball, accompanied by Henry and his dog Mudge, fill the garden with pink objects to attract more hummingbirds.


More books are available in the school libraries in this series!

Social Studies Books

 

Colonial Voices: Hear Them Speak - by Kay Winters (2008)   

Ethan, a printer's errand boy, must deliver an important message to the Patriots, and as he makes his way through the streets of his city, he witnesses the daily events and practices of diverse groups of people.

 

20 Questions: History series (2008)

A unique, high-interest approach to teaching history! Required content is given a fun new twist as important topics in American history are broken into 20 snappy questions and answers.  With questions like "Why did Washington cross the Delaware? (no, it wasn't "to get to the other side"!)" history is made more accessible for young readers.

New Books by Past Visiting Authors

Sleep, Big Bear, Sleep - by Maureen Wright; illustrated by Will Hillenbrand (2009)
As winter comes and Big Bear prepares to hibernate, he keeps thinking he hears Old Man Winter giving him exhausting orders that prevent him from sleeping.



Billy Twitters and His Blue Whale Problem - by Mac Barnett; illustrated by Adam Rex (2009)
When Billy Twitters' mother follows through on her threat to buy him a blue whale if he refuses to obey, he finds himself the owner of an enormous pet that he must take with him everywhere, which does not make him popular at school.



Bullies Never Win - by Margary Cuyler (2009)
Jessica, a natural-born worrier, becomes more and more distressed with the taunting of Brenda, the first-grade bully, but after a talk with her mother she decides to take a stand.


One Fine Trade - by Bobbi Miller; illustrated by Will Hillenbrand (2009)
Georgy Piney Woods, the best peddler who ever lived, makes several trades so his daughter can buy a wedding dress.  

New Historical Fiction

The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg - by Rodman Philbrick (2009)
Homer P. Figg escapes from his wretched foster home in Pine Swamp, Maine, and sets out to find his beloved older brother, Harold, who has been illegally sold into the Union Army.


My Brother Abe: Sally Lincoln's Story - by Harry Mazer (2009)
A fictionalized account of the childhood of Sally Lincoln that recounts the adventures she had with her brother Abe and reveals how she helped shaped the future president.


Carolina Harmony - by Marilyn Taylor McDowell (2009)
Carolina, having escaped from a foster home and living with Mr. Ray and Miss Latah on Harmony Farm, refuses to talk about the events surrounding the deaths of her parents and younger brother, and befriends a troubled runaway who she secretly feeds and takes the blame for his pranks. 

Laugh Out Loud

Ivy + Bean Doomed to Dance - by Annie Barrows (2009)
Second-grade best friends Ivy and Bean beg for ballet lessons, then, when they are cast as squids in their first recital, scheme to find a way out of what seems to be boring, hard, and potentially embarrassing. 


Judy Moody & Stink: The Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Treasure Hunt - by Megan McDonald (2009)
During a weekend trip to Ocracoke Island, siblings Judy and Stink Moody take part in a pirate treasure-hunting game, in which various clues lead them to silver coins, or "pieces of eight", hidden across the island.

 
Melonhead - by Katy Kelly (2009)
In the Washington, D.C. neighborhood of Capitol Hill, Lucy Rose's friend Adam "Melonhead" Melon, a budding inventor with a knack for getting into trouble, enters a science contest that challenges students to recycle an older invention into a new invention.

Chapter Books

Brooklyn Nine: a novel in nine innings - by Alan Gratz (2009)     

Follows the fortunes of a German immigrant family through nine generations, beginning in 1845, as they experience American life and play baseball.

 

The 39 Clues, Book Seven: In Too Deep - by Jude Watson (2009)
Amy and Dan continue their search for the clues and cross oceans amid ruthless enemies and dangerous truths while following the trail of a famous aviator.

New Biographies

 
Boy on the Lion Throne - by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel (2009)
Chronicles the childhood of the fourteenth Dalai Lama, and explores Tibet.

Knucklehead - by Jon Scieszka (2008)

Presents a memoir of what it was like to grow up in the 1950s and other almost true stories by American children's author Jon Scieszka.

You Never Heard of Sandy Koufax? - by Jonah Winter (2009)
Offers a brief overview of the life of Sandy Koufax, discussing the obstacles and physical challenges he faced, his successful career, his retirement, and other related topics. 
 

Henry Aaron's Dream - by Matt Tavares (2010)

Chronicles the childhood of Henry Aaron, describing his dream of becoming a major league baseball player.

Animal Books

Christian the Lion: based on the true story of Anthony Bourke, John Rendall, and Christian the Lion - by Anthony Bourke (2009)

Recounts the story of a lion cub purchased by two friends from a London department store, written from the point of view of Christian, the lion. He is ultimately sent to Kenya to be rehabilitated by George Adamson, for release into the wild.

 

 

Butterflies and Moths - by Nic Bishop (2009)

Full-color photographs and illustrations describe the physical characteristics, behaviors, habits, and life cycle of butterflies and moths. 

New DVDs

American History for Children: American Independence

Learn about America's history through the use of graphics and animations, live-action portrayals of historic figures and stories told from a child's point of view. Topics featured in this video include the Boston Tea Party, the Declaration of Indpendence, the life of Thomas Jefferson, the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall.

Time: 25 minutes

Intended Audience: Grades K-4; Teacher's Guide Included

American History for Children: Early Settlers
Learn about America's history through the use of graphics and animations, live-action portrayals of historic figures and stories told from a child's point of view. Topics featured in this video include the Pilgrims and the Mayflower, the Mayflower Compact, Squanto and the first Thanksgiving, life in colonial Williamsburg, and the Colonists.

Time: 25 minutes

Intended Audience: Grades K-4; Teacher's Guide Included

 

American History for Children: United States Expansion

Learn about America's history through the use of graphics and animations, live-action portrayals of historic figures and stories told from a child's point of view. Topics featured in this video include the Lewis & Clark Expedition; the story of a child: my family went west; Native Americans forced from their homes; the life of John Henry; and the story of Mount Rushmore.

Time: 25 minutes

Intended Audience: Grades K-4; Teacher's Guide Included

Colonial Life for Children: Settling the New World

This program highlights key aspects of colonial settlement in the New World. It presents a brief portrait of daily life in the settlements while describing the important contributions each group brought to the development of the new American society.

Time: 23 minutes

Intended Audience: Grades 3-7; Teacher's Guide Included

 

Explorers of the World: Marco Polo
Discover the story of Marco Polo, the most famous European to travel to Asia in the 13th century. Follow along with our two young hosts as they are given a chance to meet and speak with this famous explorer as he describes the fascinating tales of his adventures to the East.

Time: 23 minutes

Intended Audience: Grade 5-8; Teacher's Guide Included

Explorers of the World: Spanish Explorers

Learn about Coronado's exploration of the American Southwest, Juan Ponce de Leon's discovery of Florida and Hernando de Soto's discovery of the Mississippi River.

Time: 23 minutes

Intended Audience: Grades 5-8; Teacher's Guide Included

New DVDs

Animal Life for Children: All About Food Chains

Learn about how energy from the sun is passed on from one living thing to another. Students will take a look at examples of various food chains, identifying the difference between producers, consumers and decomposers, while examining the roles that they play.

Time: 23 minutes

Intended Audience: Grades K-4

Teacher's Guide Included; Investigation Data Sheet Available Online

 

Physical Science for Children: All About Solids, Liquids & Gases

All objects are made from atoms and their movements determine the form matter takes. Discover how matter can change form when energy is added or taken away.

Time: 23 minutes

Intended Audience: Grades K-4

Teacher's Guide and Investigation Data Sheet Available Online

Letter Writing

Yours Truly, Louisa - by Simon Puttock (2009)
Louisa the pig, unhappy with conditions on the farm, starts an anonymous letter writing campaign to get Farmer Joe to fix things up, but when she goes too far she gets a letter of her own.

Love, Lizzie: Letters to a Military Mom - by Lisa Tucker McElroy (2005)
Nine-year-old Lizzie writes to her mother, who is deployed overseas during wartime, and includes maps that show her mother what Lizzie has been thinking and doing. Includes nonfiction tips for helping children of military families.

Mr. Putter & Tabby Beginning Reader Series

Mr. Putter and Tabby Make a Wish - by Cynthia Rylant
Mr. Putter thinks he is too old to celebrate his birthday, but when he remembers some of his past birthdays, he changes his mind.

Mr. Putter and Tabby Stir the Soup - by Cynthia Rylant

Mr. Putter and Tabby go to their neighbor's house to make soup, but Zeke the dog makes it very difficult for them.

 Mr. Putter and Tabby Spill the Beans - by Cynthia Rylant

Although he would rather be sipping an ice cream soda, Mr. Putter and his cat Tabby attend a cooking class with Mrs. Teaberry and her dog Zeke, where they learn one hundred ways to cook beans. 

 If you like these, we have other titles in the series.