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THE NIGHT FAIRY by Laura Amy Schlitz…A LOVELACE 2013-14 Division I Nominee
If anyone would have asked me what I thought of The Night Fairy at any time during the first 60 pages (chapters 1-6) I would have found a tactful way to say “bo-o-o-o-o-o-ring.” I had a hard time...
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LIKE PICKLE JUICE ON A COOKIE by Julie Sternberg
Like Pickle Juice on a Cookie is the story of Eleanor. Eleanor is 8 years old and it is the summer before 3rd Grade. At the center of the story is Eleanor learning her long-time babysitter/nanny...
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DRAMA by Raina Telgemeier
Drama is similar in tone and character to Telgemeier’s earlier work, Smile. The story is built around the musical theatre production at Eucalyptus Middle School. The main character–a 7th grader named...
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THE CENTER OF EVERYTHING by Linda Urban
The Center of Everything is the touching story of Ruby Pepperdine–a 6th grader who has recently lost her beloved grandmother, Gigi. As so often happens when we lose someone we love so fiercely, we...
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ONE DOG AND HIS BOY by Eva Ibbotson
Eva Ibbotson is perhaps better known for her humorous and inventive stories about ghosts and ogres, witches and magic. In this book all her characters are humans or dogs. There is no “wizard-type”...
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RAPUNZEL’S REVENGE and CALAMITY JACK by Shannon Hale & Dean Hale; Illustrated...
Rapunzel’s Revenge is a graphic novel that was recommended to me by my 10-year-old son and my (then) 8-year-old daughter. My son read it first, then passed it to his sister, they...
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FROGGED by Vivian Vande Velde
Frogged is an inventive twist on the traditional fairy tale of The Frog Prince. Princess Imogene will be thirteen in two short weeks. Her mother–much to Imogene’s annoyance–has given her a book...
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THE EMERALD ATLAS by John Stephens…Lovelace Nominee Division II 2013-14
The Emerald Atlas is a thrilling adventure into the realms of magic and mystery. As the story begins three children–Kate, Michael and Emma–are scooped from their beds by their parents and turned over...
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I FEEL BETTER WITH A FROG IN MY THROAT: HISTORY’S STRANGEST CURES by Carlyn...
I Feel Better is admittedly a bizarre nonfiction addition to anyone’s reading list. It is compelling in both content and format. It is–as the title suggests–a compendium of past medical cures...
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BAD ISLAND & GHOSTOPOLIS by Doug TenNapel
Bad Island is a graphic novel by the author of Cardboard (a creative, well-plotted story about magical cardboard with both good and evil tendencies). Bad Island relates the parallel father-and-son...
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THE KLIPFISH CODE by Mary Casanova…2013-14 LOVELACE Nominee Division I
The Klipfish Code focuses on Marit Gundersen, a 10-year-old girl in 1940 when the Germans bomb her town of Isfjorden in Norway at the beginning of World War II. The sudden German Occupation of Norway...
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MARIA VON TRAPP: BEYOND THE SOUND OF MUSIC by Candice F. Ransom
I loved The Sound of Music from the first time I saw the movie–and countless viewings later I still love it. When my mother told me that it was a true story, that Maria and the Captain, their...
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HOW MARTHA SAVED HER PARENTS FROM GREEN BEANS by David LaRochelle
In Martha’s family Tuesday nights mean green beans for dinner. Martha hates green beans and refuses to eat them. Every Tuesday her parents give her reasons why green beans are good and they she...
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CLOSE TO FAMOUS by Joan Bauer…a 2013-14 Lovelace Nominee Division I
I LOVED this book. It is definitely my personal favorite of the 2013-14 Division I Lovelace Award Nominees. The main character is a twelve-year-old girl named Foster McFee. Foster’s dream is to be...
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SMIFFY BLUE: ACE CRIME DETECTIVE by Walter Dean Myers
Walter Dean Myers is perhaps better known to older readers for his poetry and works of young adult fiction. Some young readers will remember that Walter Dean Myers is the poet who inspired the young...
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LAKE OF SKULLS: A KNIGHT’S STORY #1 by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell
Lake of Skulls: A Knight’s Story is the first in another series by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell, perhaps better known for The Edge Chronicles. They have also collaborated on the thrilling–sometimes...
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WILFRED by Ryan Higgins
What originally attracted me to this book in the library was the illustration on the cover. It reminded me of my all-time favorite comic Calvin & Hobbes by Bill Watterson. Wilfred actually has...
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MY LIFE AS A…BOOK/STUNTBOY/CARTOONIST by Janet Tashjian
I read the My Life As A… series because my 9-year-old daughter read them, enjoyed them and recommended them to me. Each of the three are enjoyable to differing degrees and for different reasons. All...
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THE HYPNOTISTS #1 by Gordon Korman
The Hypnotists is the first in a new series by Gordon Korman, one of my favorite authors. Jackson Opus (Jax) is a 12-year-old 6th Grader who gradually discovers he has the ability to hypnotize other...
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ALMOST HOME by Joan Bauer
I saw Joan Bauer’s new book Almost Home after having read her current Lovelace nominee Close to Famous and I snatched it off the library shelf! Almost Home follows Sugar Mae Cole, a 12-year-old sixth...
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