Knights vs. Dinosuars by Matt Phelan. In this creative new series, we meet a group of Knights of the Round Table who are sent by the wizard Merlin to slay The Terrible Lizard. The group of Knights and one young squire carrying weapons, leave to find the lizard's cave. What they find is the age of dinosaurs and battles with many terrible dinosaurs including, Spinosaurus, Triceratops, Ankylosaurus, Brachiosaurus to the king Tyrannosaurus Rex! In the process we find out secrets about each Knight but special surprises about the Black Knight and the young squire. Great fun and adventure, especially for dinosaur and Knight lovers. Fantasy grades 2-4. Me, Frida and the Secret of the Peacock Ring by Angela Cervantes. When Paloma,'s mother gets a job assignment in Mexico City, Paloma goes with her for the summer, worried she will be lonely and miss her friends in Kansas. But Paloma's father who died when she was a baby, was from Mexico and Paloma does want to try to connect with that heritage. She immediately finds a strong connection with the art of artist Frida Kahlo when visiting her nearby museum home and learning that Kahlo was her father's favorite. She also meets three kids her own age, Gael and Lizzie twins, who are her Spanish tutors and Tavo, the son of the wealthy businessman who gave her mother the job opportunity. Through the twins Paloma learns of a missing Kahlo treasure, a ring shaped like a peacock worth millions and apparently stolen from the museum. Loving mysteries, Paloma agrees to help the twins solve the mystery, beginning an adventure into international art theft that will keep the reader turning pages, while learning about Kahlo's life and art and Spanish words too! Mystery grades 3-5. The House that Lou Built by Mae Respicio. Lou continually surprises friends and family with her creativity and strength in both designing and building all kinds of creations, and her shop teacher encourages her abilities. But her big dream is to build a "tiny house"-of only 100 square feet-on a plot of land that she inherited from her deceased father, who passed away before she was born. She intends for her house to be a space of her own that is environmentally sound and honors her dad's memory. Lou lives in a small cramped but loving home, with her mother and grandmother and has a large close knit group of Filipino family nearby. So Lou is very upset when her mother announces she may take a new job in another state. Lou cannot imagine living far from her Filipino cousins and the family traditions, plus the little house she is building with help from friends and cousins. Meet fun and interesting characters and find out about building plus a wonderful culture, including great food! Realistic fiction grades 4 and up. Operation Frog Effect by Sarah Sheerger. This clever story takes place during the 5th grade year of one class with a new teacher, a new frog class pet and mascot and a special challenge. Mrs. Graham requires each student to keep a journal and enter something daily and through the short but frank entries and drawings of 7 students, the readers learns student personalities, strengths, challenges, problems at home and school and potential changes in old and new friendships. When the class begins a unit on current social problems, Mrs. Graham further challenges the students to think beyond the paper and find a way to effect real change in their community. While the unit may bring the class together in ways that surprise them and the reader, could it threaten Mrs. Graham's job in the process? Realistic fiction, grades 3 and up. Aquicorn Cove by Katie O'Neill - a graphic novel that merges fantasy with sea creatures called "aquicorns" (that could be a cross between a seahorse and unicorn) and the story of a small fishing village recently hit by several severe storms possibly because of global warming. Lana and her father (humans) return to the village where Lana's mother grew up and died several years before. They are there to help their Aunt Mae clean up from the latest storm. While Lana reconnects with the beach and sea her mother loved and rescues a baby aquicorn, Mae tells her the story of the special cove where the sea creatures once saved her life. But they also told her that the villager's new fishing techniques were hurting the cove and the coral. Read this environmental fantasy story to learn what Lana and her aunt decide to do. Graphic Fantasy grades 2 -5.
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December 2021
My Reading List!
AuthorI am the Library Media Center director at Patton School in Arlington Heights where I help students from kindergarten through 5th grade find terrific independent reading for enjoyment and information, and teach students the skills to use information and technology safely and productively and to connect, communicate and share with others. I have four grown children, a large black dog, (flat coat retriever) and a small striped cat. I am an obessive Chicago Cubs fan and I love to run. Patton LMC Summer Reading Blog |