We've recently put these titles out on the new shelves. Check out the descriptions below! Descriptions were borrowed from the goodreads.com website.
"Don't Check Out This Book" by Kate Klise
Consider the facts:
Appleton Elementary School has a new librarian named Rita B. Danjerous. (Say it fast.)
Principal Noah Memree barely remembers hiring her.
Ten-year-old Reid Durr is staying up way too late reading a book from Ms. Danjerous's controversial "green dot" collection.
The new school board president has mandated a student dress code that includes white gloves and bow ties available only at her shop.
Sound strange? Fret not. Appleton's fifth-grade sleuths are following the money, embracing the punny, and determined to the get to the funniest, most rotten core of their town's juiciest scandal. Don't miss this seedy saga from the creators of the award-winning Three-Ring Rascals and 43 Old Cemetery Road series!
"The Disaster Days" by Rebecca Behrens
Hannah Steele loves living on Pelling, a tiny island near Seattle. It's a little disconnected from the outside world, but she's always felt completely safe there.
Which is why when she's asked one day to babysit after school, she thinks it's no big deal. Zoe and Oscar are her next-door neighbors, and Hannah just took a babysitting class that she's pretty sure makes her an expert. She isn't even worried that she left her inhaler at home.
Then the shaking begins.
The terrifying earthquake only lasts four minutes but it changes everything, damaging the house, knocking out the power, and making cell service nonexistent. Even worse, the ferry and the bridge connecting the kids to help ― and their parents ― are both blocked. Which means they're stranded and alone... With Hannah in charge, as things go from bad to dangerous.
"Ostriches: The SUPERPOWER Field Guide" by Rachel Poliquin
This third installment in the hilarious and highly illustrated full-color Superpower Field Guide series features the silly-looking, surprisingly fierce ostrich. This two-toed torpedo may have the largest eyes of any animal on dry land, but it can outrun most horses!
Meet Eno, an ordinary ostrich living in the Serengeti, a corner of the African savanna. But there’s something you should know: Even ordinary ostriches are extraordinary. And that includes Eno.
I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking that ostriches are just overgrown chickens with ridiculous necks, skinny legs, and bad attitudes. And you’re right! Believe it or not, that neck helps ostriches run at supersonic speeds. Those skinny legs can kill a lion dead. And these are only a few weapons in Eno’s arsenal of superfierce survival skills — Eno has Colossal Orbs of Telescopic Vision, the Impossible Ever-Flow Lung, the Egg of Wonder, and so many more.
You’re still not convinced that ostriches are superpowered, are you? Well, you don’t know ostriches yet. But you will.
Includes a ruler printed along the book’s back side to aid the observations of young field scientists everywhere!
"A Portrait of Poems: The Storied Life of Gertrude Stein and Alice B Toklas" by Evie Robillard, Rachel Katstaller
The stories, paintings and early twentieth-century Paris of Gertrude Stein and her partner, Alice B. Toklas, come to life in this charming and innovative picture book biography, told in clever second-person free verse.
Here's an insider's tour of the fascinating lives of Gertrude Stein and her partner, Alice B. Toklas, amusingly addressed directly to the reader ("The next time you go to Paris …"). It explores the couple's art collection, their famous writer and artist friends and even their dog, Basket. It also describes how Gertrude's book The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas was not about Alice, but was more about Gertrude herself! A celebration of creativity and the creative process, this original and very readable picture book biography champions two women who dared to live unconventional lives.
In playful free verse, author Evie Robillard offers a unique introduction to one of the most influential figures of twentieth-century art and literature. It includes twelve child-friendly quotations from Stein's work, such as: "It takes a lot of time to be a genius, you have to sit around so much doing nothing, really doing nothing." Illustrator Rachel Katstaller's fun yet detailed art delightfully evokes the time and place of the text. Touching on literature, history, writing and the visual arts, this biography offers loads of direct curriculum applications. Back matter includes a time line, "snapshots," sources and an author's note with further background.
"Most Wanted: The Revolutionary Partnership of John Hancock & Samuel Adams" by Sarah Jane Marsh
John Hancock and Samuel Adams were an unlikely pair of troublemakers. Hancock was young and dashing. Adams was old and stodgy. But working together, they rallied the people of Boston against the unfair policies of Great Britain and inspired American resistance. And to King George, they became a royal pain.
When the British army began marching toward Lexington and Concord, sending Hancock and Adams fleeing into the woods, the two men couldn't help but worry — this time, had they gone too far?
Rich with historical detail and primary sources, this spirited tale takes readers through ten years of taxes and tea-tossing, tyranny and town hall meetings. The team behind Thomas Paine and the Dangerous Word reunites for a lively look at the origins of the American Revolution told through the powerful partnership of two legendary founders.
"Flight for Freedom: The Wetzel Family’s Daring Escape from East Germany" by Kristen Fulton
An Inspiring True Story about One Family's Escape from Behind the Berlin Wall!
Peter was born on the east side of Germany, the side that wasn't free. He watches news programs rather than cartoons, and wears scratchy uniforms instead of blue jeans. His family endures long lines and early curfews. But Peter knows it won't always be this way. Peter and his family have a secret. Late at night in their attic, they are piecing together a hot air balloon—and a plan. Can Peter and his family fly their way to freedom? This is the true story of one child, Peter Wetzel, and his family, as they risk their lives for the hope of freedom in a daring escape from East Germany via a handmade hot air balloon in 1979.
• A perfect picture book for educators teaching about the Cold War, the Iron Curtain, and East Germany
• Flight for Freedom is a showcase for lessons of bravery, heroism, family, and perseverance, as well as stunning history.
• Includes detailed maps of the Wetzel family's escape route and diagrams of their hot air balloon.
"A is for Another Rabbit" by Hannah Batsel
A rabbit-obsessed narrator makes an owl increasingly irate by refusing to play by the rules of a conventional alphabet book. Every entry is about bunnies, from "delightful, dynamic, daredevil rabbits" to "xylophone rabbits and rabbits on drums!"
"Box: Henry Brown Mails Himself to Freedom" by Carole Boston Weatherford
In a moving, lyrical tale about the cost and fragility of freedom, a New York Times best-selling author and an acclaimed artist follow the life of a man who courageously shipped himself out of slavery.
What have I to fear?
My master broke every promise to me.
I lost my beloved wife and our dear children.
All, sold South. Neither my time nor my body is mine.
The breath of life is all I have to lose.
And bondage is suffocating me.
Henry Brown wrote that long before he came to be known as Box, he "entered the world a slave." He was put to work as a child and passed down from one generation to the next — as property. When he was an adult, his wife and children were sold away from him out of spite. Henry Brown watched as his family left bound in chains, headed to the deeper South. What more could be taken from him? But then hope — and help — came in the form of the Underground Railroad. Escape!
In stanzas of six lines each, each line representing one side of a box, celebrated poet Carole Boston Weatherford powerfully narrates Henry Brown's story of how he came to send himself in a box from slavery to freedom. Strikingly illustrated in rich hues and patterns by artist Michele Wood, Box is augmented with historical records and an introductory excerpt from Henry's own writing as well as a time line, notes from the author and illustrator, and a bibliography.
"Mario and the Hole in the Sky: How a Chemist Saved the Planet" by Elizabeth Rusch
Mexican American Mario Molina is a modern-day hero who helped solve the ozone crisis of the 1980s. Growing up in Mexico City, Mario was a curious boy who studied hidden worlds through a microscope. As a young man in California, he discovered that CFCs, used in millions of refrigerators and spray cans, were tearing a hole in the earth's protective ozone layer. Mario knew the world had to be warned — and quickly. Today Mario is a Nobel laureate and a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. His inspiring story gives hope in the fight against global warming.
"The Bug Girl: A True Story" by Sophia Spencer
Real-life 7-year-old Sophia Spencer was bullied for loving bugs until hundreds of women scientists rallied around her. Now Sophie tells her story in this picture book that celebrates women in science, bugs of all kinds, and the importance of staying true to yourself.
Sophia Spencer has loved bugs ever since a butterfly landed on her shoulder — and wouldn't leave — at a butterfly conservancy when she was only two-and-a-half years old. In preschool and kindergarten, Sophia was thrilled to share what she knew about grasshoppers (her very favorite insects), as well as ants and fireflies... but by first grade, not everyone shared her enthusiasm. Some students bullied her, and Sophia stopped talking about bugs altogether. When Sophia's mother wrote to an entomological society looking for a bug scientist to be a pen pal for her daughter, she and Sophie were overwhelmed by the enthusiastic response — letters, photos, and videos came flooding in. Using the hashtag BugsR4Girls, scientists tweeted hundreds of times to tell Sophia to keep up her interest in bugs — and it worked! Sophia has since appeared on Good Morning America, The Today Show, and NPR, and she continues to share her love of bugs with others.
"Lego Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker" by Ruth Amos
Join the ultimate battle for the LEGO® Star Wars(TM) galaxy with new movie The Rise of Skywalker!
Learn all about the heroes' top secret mission! Travel the galaxy with the Resistance heroes. Discover new planets and new friends. Find out about the First Order's plot to rule the galaxy! Can the heroes defeat the villains?
Combining DK's four-level reading scheme with the popular LEGO Star Wars theme, this level 2 LEGO Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker will help kids learn to read — and to love reading. Exciting images, simple vocabulary and a fun quiz will engage young readers and help them build confidence in reading.
"What a Masterpiece!" by Riccardo Guasco
In this wordless picture book, the Western world’s greatest art is closer than you expect. A boy’s daily routines bring him face-to-face with Escher’s winding stairs, Banksy’s balloon girl, Picasso’s dancing fauns, and many more familiar sights. Maybe the boy’s bedroom looks a little like Van Gogh’s. Maybe that apple looks a bit like Magritte’s. And maybe another masterpiece is on its way…
A celebration of creativity across the centuries, What a Masterpiece! will inspire young artists to find wonder in their everyday lives. An art index after the story helps readers identify the cultural treasures behind the illustrations.
"Welcome to Japan" by D.K. Publishing
A look at the wonders of Japan and what makes this country and their culture so interesting and unique.
Find out all about Japan with this nonfiction reading book for children. Packed with facts, DK's Welcome to Japan will make learning to read fun and engaging for kids. Children will discover all about Japanese calligraphy, the cherry blossom festival, and Mount Fuji. These amazing facts are paired with incredible images of the Japanese landscape, providing an ideal balance of words and images for young learners.
Welcome to Japan is a new Level 1 title in the four-level DK Readers series, aimed at children who are beginning to learn to read. DK Readers cover a vast range of fascinating subjects to support children as they learn to read, making these books an ideal starting point for developing a lifelong love of reading.
"Pinkalicious and the Pinkadorable Pony" by Victoria Kann
Pinkalicious and her family have a giddy-up good time in this new Level One I Can Read adventure down at the ranch, brought to you by #1 New York Times bestselling author Victoria Kann.
When Pinkalicious visits the Pink Pines Ranch, she meets the most amazing mini-tastic miniature pony! When the peewee pony escapes her corral, it’s up to Pinkalicious to find her.
Pinkalicious and the Pinkadorable Pony is Guided Reading Level K and a Level One I Can Read book, which means it’s perfect for children learning to sound out words and sentences.