Sherlock Holmes and the Disappearing Diamond by Sam Hearn. Join the Baker Street Academy students on a fun mystery in London. John Watson joins the class, meeting Sherlock, Martha, and the dog Baskerville, just as a famous diamond is stolen from the British History Museum while the students are on a field trip there! Everyone gets involved in trying to figure out who took the diamond, but Sherlock is of course leading the way. This fun mystery series is full of drawings, cartoons and clues! Grade 2-4. Mystery. In A Drop of Hope by Keith Calabrese the reader first meets 11 year old Ernest, as he honors his dying grandfather's wish that he clean out his attic. There Ernest finds a group of interesting items, mostly classic toys, but he is not sure what he is supposed to do with them or what they mean. But then he learns of the town's wishing well and its legend and then seemingly by accident the attic items seem to be instrumental in fulfilling wishes. While Ernest is part of the richest family in their struggling town and has been a loner, some new friends join him in this strange mystery. Brooding but generous Ryan and insightful Lizzy, bond with Ernest as they try to figure out if the wishes being fulfilled are just coincidence or magic. Could their good intentions really help the struggling town? Magical Realism, grades 4 and up. Max & the Midknights by Lincoln Peirce is the start of a new series by the author of the Big Nate series. Fans of Big Nate will recognize the fun cartoon drawings but otherwise the story is very different. Max lives in the middle ages (14th century) and when we meet him he is traveling with his uncle a "troubadour" (entertainer that goes from village to village), though this is not a life that Max loves. Max longs to become a knight. When Max suddenly finds an old and magical sword, his life changes. They enter the town where his uncle grew up and find that the good and kind King of the town has been replaced by his greedy and evil brother. And an evil witch has put a spell on the people of the town who are now almost all mean and unfriendly. But Max finds three new friends and together they form the MidKnights and go on an adventure to save the town, meeting dragons, entering castles and learning magic. Told with a mix of text and cartoons. Grade 3-5 The Adventures of a Girl Called BICYCLE by Christina Uss. In this very unusual story, a 3 year old orphan wearing a shirt with a bicycle on it is adopted by a nun and raised in a Mostly Silent Monastery, where the monks only say eight words. They name the girl, Bicycle and when she is old enough to ride give her an old but sturdy bike she names Clunk, which becomes her most prized possession. Bicycle is happy with her rather solitary life but when she turns twelve, her guardian Sister Wanda sends her to the Friendship Factory summer camp to meet more girl friends. Bicycle finds most girls silly and wants to spend summer on her bike and meeting her hero, a famous professional bicyclist who is visiting California. So she escapes the camp and begins a bike journey from Washington, D.C., to San Francisco. On this cross country bike trip, she meets and is helped by many different people and even a famous inventor. Will she make it? A fantastical adventure. Grades 4 and up. The Doughnut King by Jessie Jankowitz is the sequel to The Doughnut Fix in which we meet Tris, a budding chef, as he tries to adjust to his family's move from New York City to a very small town. He and a friend get the recipe for an amazing doughnut and eventually start The Doughnut Stop, a doughnut stand for the town. In this new installment, Tris' business has thrived and he is now having trouble keeping up with the orders. His mother's new restaurant seems to be doing well also, until the family learns the town's population has been dropping and its businessess including their's could be in danger of disappearing. Then Tris' sister enters him in a cut throat kids cooking television competition. If he wins, he could advertise for the town, and afford a doughnut robot that would help him make more doughnuts. But Tris does not really like competitions! Realistic fiction with lots of food! Grade 3-5. Mac B. Kid Spy, The Impossible Crime by Mac Barnett is the second book in the Mac B. "kid spy" series and just as much fun as the first! Mac is again summoned by the Queen of England, given money and a plane ticket and hired as an international spy. This time he needs to find out how a thief stole the crown jewels right in front of a guard and Mac when they were in a locked cell with the jewels. They are off to a castle in Ireland where they know the thief lives. Great illustrations and lots of corgi dogs too! Can Mac solve this "locked room" crime? Grades 2-4 or more!
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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 |