Pre K-1st
bed hog
by GEORGETTE NOULLET (Marshall Cavendish, 2011)
***
Does your dog like to sleep with you? Well, Bailey loves to sleep with his boy but as soon as the lights are turned out, “Move over, bed hog dog!” is what he hears. So he goes and tries the sister’s bed. He pulls himself up over all the stuffed animals and settles down only to hear once again, “Move over, bed hog dog!” Under the baby’s crib is no good either…babies cry loudly! And getting in with Dad while Mom is with the baby just gets him pushed out when Mom returns. So he peeks back into his boy’s room. Dare he try there again?
2ND – 4TH
nurse, soldier, spy: the story of sarah emma edmonds
by marissa moss (Abrams, 2011)
***
Sarah Emma Edmonds left Canada and came to the United States to escape a marriage her parents had arranged for her. She joined the Union Army because she wanted to help the country that had given her a new life. But the Union Army didn’t let women sign up. So she signed up as Frank Thompson. She disguised herself as a man to join the Army! In fact, that is what she did to escape her parent’s marriage plans. She had lived for three years disguised as a man. She trained as a nurse (nurses in the Army were all men back then) which was one of the hardest jobs because of the horrible wounds and surgery without anesthesia. She was a hard worker and very fearless. But a very special job awaited her when she was chosen to be a spy! Read about her first spy mission and her army life disguised as a man in this biography of the only woman to be buried in a Civil War cemetery.
MIDDLE SCHOOL
wishing for tomorrow
by hilary mckay (Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2009)
***
Finally! A sequel to the classic book, A Little Princess, by Frances Hodgson Burnett! McKay takes up the story where Burnett leaves off and tells the story of what happened to all the girls left behind in Miss Minchin’s Select Seminary for Young Ladies after the rescue of Sara Crewe. Learn about the next year in the lives of Ermengarde, Lottie, Lavinia, Jessica and Gertrude; how they grow and learn and change. Many things are different for the girls as new problems arise in Sara’s wake, they have new neighbors, a new scullery maid is hired, and Miss Minchin becomes very reclusive leaving the running of the school to her sister, Amelia. But as in all good children’s books from 100 years ago, a happy ending for all is inevitable, even Miss Minchin. But do go back and reread the original again because the stories tie in so closely to one another it might be confusing if you don’t truly remember the beginning of the whole tale. A fitting wrap to a classic story.
HIGH SCHOOL
dash & lily’s book of dares
by rachel cohn & david levithan (Alfred A. Knopf, 2010)
***
This is a fun and clever story of 2 teens, who never met, “meeting” through a coded message in a notebook that was purposely left on a bookshelf in the Strand Book Store in NYC with the message “if you dare” on the title page. Dash, the 16 year old book lover who discovers the notebook opens it and reads the clue left by Lily who is looking for someone to take her up on her dare. Dash responds with another clue and the fun begins. The game becomes a literary scavenger hunt throughout NYC at Christmas time. They begin to reveal more and more about themselves until they both are trying to find ways to “really" meet each other. You’ll find yourself laughing out loud at some of the antics and language of Dash, Lily and their assortment of offbeat friends who help them out on their adventure.
