Escape from Baxters' Barn by Rebecca Bond

Burdock the barn cat is a loner who has experienced repeated rejection. So when he learns that all the farm animals are in grave danger—their owner is devising evil plans, they’re locked in their pens with no evident escape route, and a fierce storm is brewing—Burdock realizes he “could go it alone.”

However, when the animals plan their escape, each contributing skills, encouragement, and ideas, Burdock faces a moral quandary: “Saving yourself seemed right. Obviously abandoning your companions seemed wrong. But what if saving yourself meant abandoning them?”

When Burdock resolves his quandary, he participates in a clever team effort in which the animal friends escape and find a place they can truly call home.

246 pages

The 13-Story Treehouse by Andy Griffiths

Andy and Terry live in a treehouse. But it's not just any old treehouse, it's the most amazing treehouse in the world!

This treehouse has thirteen stories, a bowling alley, a see-through swimming pool, a secret underground laboratory, and a marshmallow machine that follows you around and automatically shoots marshmallows into your mouth whenever you are hungry.

Life would be perfect for Andy and Terry if it wasn't for the fact that they have to write their next book, which is almost impossible because there are just so many distractions, including thirteen flying cats, giant bananas, mermaids, a sea monsters pretending to be mermaids, enormous gorillas, and dangerous burp gas-bubblegum bubbles!

239 pages
Lexile 560

Book Trailer

Also Known as Elvis by James Howe

 Seventh grade is over. While his friends scatter on family vacations, Skeezie looks after his clingy, younger sisters. His father’s never paid child support, his mom works two jobs, and now Skeezie needs one too. He’s kept the stress and fighting at home a secret from the gang. Joe, out and proud, and Addie, smart and determined, have intact, supportive families; Bobby and his widowed father live in a trailer park, but they’re doing fine, too. Addie’s sometime friend Becca has a crush on Skeezie—or does she? Skeezie enjoys the job he’s landed at the Candy Kitchen, working with pretty Steffi, who calls him Elvis and has family and boyfriend problems herself. When his dad shows up out of the blue, Skeezie’s life changes again, and he’s torn between the possibility of a new life and loyalty for the one he knows. 

Part 4 of the Misfit's Series-The series that inspired No Name CallingWeek

1. The Misfits
2. Totally Joe
3. Addie on the Inside
4. Also Known as Elvis

288 pages
No Name Calling Week

Author Interview

The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate

Ivan is an easygoing gorilla. Living at the Exit 8 Big Top Mall and Video Arcade, he has grown accustomed to humans watching him through the glass walls of his domain. He rarely misses his life in the jungle. In fact, he hardly ever thinks about it at all.

Instead, Ivan thinks about TV shows he's seen and about his friends Stella, an elderly elephant, and Bob, a stray dog. But mostly Ivan thinks about art and how to capture the taste of a mango or the sound of leaves with color and a well-placed line.

Then he meets Ruby, a baby elephant taken from her family, and she makes Ivan see their home—and his own art—through new eyes. When Ruby arrives, change comes with her, and it's up to Ivan to make it a change for the better.

Video Book Talk

The story of the real Ivan

300 pages

Lexile 570

John Newbery Medal

Fortunately, The Milk by Neil Gaiman

"I bought the milk," said my father. "I walked out of the corner shop, and heard a noise like this: T h u m m t h u m m. I looked up and saw a huge silver disc hovering in the air above Marshall Road."

"Hullo," I said to myself. "That's not something you see every day. And then something odd happened."

Find out just how many odd things happen in this hilarious story of time travel and breakfast cereal. 

Neil Gaiman talks about this book

Lexile 680

113 pages

The Boy on the Porch by Sharon Creech

One day a young couple awake to find a boy asleep on their porch. Unable to speak, the boy cannot explain his history. What kind of person would leave their child with a stranger? All they know is that they have been chosen to care for this boy. As their connection to him grows, they embrace his exuberant spirit and talents. The three of them blossom into an unlikely family, but how long can their happiness last?

Video Book Talk
Sharon Creech's Website

151 pages

Stick Dog by Tom Watson

Introducing everyone's new best friend: Stick Dog!

  

He'll make you laugh . . . he'll make you cry . . . but above all, he'll make you hungry. Follow Stick Dog as he goes on an epic quest for the perfect burger.'
Easy to read!
Fun!

189 pages
Lexile: 700

Video Booktalk

Small Steps: The Year I Got Polio by Peg Kehret

Polio is not just a vaccine you get when you are a kid. It is a real disease that affected many people. This is the true story of the year Author Peg Kehret got polio. She was 12 and went from worrying about the upcoming dance to being paralyzed and terrified. With the help of her family, roommates,  and doctors and therapists, she fought her way to recovery.

You are probably thinking this is a depressing book about getting sick- WRONG. This is a great story of what you can do if you put your mind to it and get a little help along the way.

This is what Peg feared her life would be like:

Peg's Website

Middle School: Get Me Out of Here by James Patterson

Everything you need to know about this book you will find at this website:

Middle School Books

It is a quick read and almost everyone will find parts they can relate to.

Enjoy!

13 Gifts by Wendy Mass

It doesn't take long for Tara Brennan to realize that breaking into school to steal a goat while wielding a can of pepper spray is not a good idea. As punishment for her misdeed, Tara's parents send her to the sleepy little town of Willow Falls to stay with relatives she hardly knows, including her eleven-year-old cousin Emily, who, the last time they were together, ate an entire stick of glue. Tara quickly learns that Emily isn't even remotely the strangest person in town. There's a boy who sings in the bottom of an empty pool, two best friends who use blackboards to Communicate, and a green-eyed girl who may—or may not—be dating the world's hottest teen movie star .

Due to another huge lapse in judgment, Tara finds herself beholden to perhaps the strangest person of all: Angelina D'Angelo. If Tara can't collect thirteen mysterious objects for the old woman in time for her rapidly approaching thirteenth birthday, the consequences will be REALLY BAD. Like losing-her- immortal-soul kind of bad. And that's just for starters! Tara's adventures take her and her new friends to places they'd never thought they'd find, some in the real world, and a lot deep inside themselves.

Author Interview

Morris Gleitzman

These were some really serious books to start the summer with. But they were really good books.

Once I escaped from an orphanage to find Mum and Dad.

Once I saved a girl called Zelda from a burning house.

Once I made a Nazi with toothache laugh.

My name is Felix.

This is my story.

Everybody deserves to have something good in their life.

At least once.

Video Book Talk
Video Book Talk
Author Morris Gleitzman talks about Once
Listen to part one read by Morris Gleitzman

Then is the second story of Felix and Zelda. They escaped from the Nazis, but how long can they now survive when there are so many people ready to hand them over for a reward? Thanks to the courage of a kind, brave woman they are able to hide for a time in the open, but Felix knows he has a distinguishing feature that identifies him as a Jew and that it is only a matter of time before he is discovered, which will mean death for them all. Even though he promised Zelda he would never leave her, he knows he has to, before it is too late . . .

Video Book Talk


And More is coming...

Golden Archer Nominees-Primary Division

Like Pickle Juice on a Cookie by Julie Sternberg

I had a bad August.
A very bad August.
As bad as pickle juice on a cookie.
As bad as a spider web on your leg.
As bad as the black parts on a banana.I hope your August was better.
I really do.

When Eleanor's beloved babysitter, Bibi, has to move away to take care of her ailing father, Eleanor must try to bear the summer without Bibi and prepare for the upcoming school year. Her new, less-than-perfect babysitter just isn't up to snuff, and she doesn't take care of things like Bibi used to. But as the school year looms, it's time for new beginnings. Eleanor soon realizes that she will always have Bibi, no matter how far away she is.

Author Website: http://www.juliesternberg.com/

Ellray Jakes is Not a Chicken by Sally Warner

"Buk, buk, book," Jared whispers, but loud enough for everyone to hear. Eight-year-old EllRay Jakes is sick of getting picked on. But every time he tries to defend himself against class bully Jared Matthews, EllRay is the one who winds up in trouble. It's just not fair!
Then his dad offers him a deal: If EllRay can stay out of trouble for a week, they'll go to Disneyland! So now EllRay has a lot to prove - he's not a troublemaker, and he's not a chicken.

Available through interlibrary loan.

School! Adventures at the Harvey N. Trouble Elementary School by Kate McMullan

A pun-filled week at Harvey N. Trouble School is hilarious. Every morning, Ron Faster sprints to the road and boards the school bus. Given that the driver is Ivan Stuckinaditch, the bus promptly become stuck in...guess what...a ditch. Ron and the other kids, Viola Fuss, Izzy Normal and so on, get to school late. The principal, Miss Ingashoe, moves slowly because she's "missing something." Chuckie Upkins is always running to the bathroom, and Oopsie Spiller causes the daily resignations of Janitor Iquit and Assistant Janitor Quitoo. Over and over and over. The pattern changes on Friday... what a week! Booth's great cartoon illustrations add whimsy and pure fun to every page,