Special Collections
Browse by Lexile: 400L - 490L
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Fancy Nancy
by Jane O'ConnorBeing green is important to Nancy--so important that she wants her family to take care of the Earth morning, noon, and night!
Fancy Nancy
by Jane O'ConnorNancy is determined to make the cover of her very first book report as fancy as she can, but she spends so much time on it that she has no time to write about the book.
Full of Beans
by Jennifer L. HolmNewbery Honor Book Turtle in Paradise is beloved by readers, and now they can return to this wonderful world through the eyes of Turtle's cousin Beans.
Grown-ups lie. That's one truth Beans knows for sure. He and his gang know how to spot a whopper a mile away, because they are the savviest bunch of barefoot conchs (that means "locals") in all of Key West. Not that Beans really minds; it's 1934, the middle of the Great Depression.
With no jobs on the island, and no money anywhere, who can really blame the grown-ups for telling a few tales?
Besides, Beans isn't anyone's fool. In fact, he has plans. Big plans. And the consequences might surprise even Beans himself.
Winner of the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction
Dreambender
by Ronald KiddEveryone in the City is assigned a job by the choosers--keeper, catcher, computer. Callie Crawford is a computer. She works with numbers: putting them together, taking them apart. Her work is important, but sometimes she wants more. Jeremy Finn is a dreambender. His job is to adjust people's dreams. He and others like him quietly remove thoughts of music and art to keep people in the City from becoming too focused on themselves and their own feelings rather than on the world. They need to keep the world safe from another Warming. But Jeremy thinks music is beautiful, and when he pops into a dream of Callie singing, he becomes fascinated with her. He begins to wonder if there is more to life than being safe. Defying his community and the role they have established for him, he sets off to find her in the real world. Together, they will challenge their world's expectations. But how far will they go to achieve their own dreams?
The People Could Fly
by Virginia Hamilton24 folktales briefly and dramatically told lend themselves to be read aloud or acted out around campfires, on stormy nights, or to be discussed for readers of all ages. Their heroes prevail through cleverness, perseverance, quick thinking and, often, magic. The stories come from far and wide where enslavement of Africans was practiced from Portugal, to the United States, to the Cape Verde Islands. After each story, Virginia Hamilton, the Newberry Award winning author, provides concise information about its source, history, symbols, storytelling elements and interpretation. Find out how the lion who goes about scaring the other animals by roaring, "Me and myself!" is silenced, how Little Daughter evades a stalking wolf with her goodest, sweetest, song, and how a man whose horse and grandmother is killed by a bully, avoids being killed himself, becomes wealthy, and brings the brute to justice. In one story a young man uses his three obedient rabbits to outwit a princess, queen, and king, catching them in a sackful of lies. Another story warns that should you ever cut off a creature's big , long tail and eat it, it will come for you in the night calling for you to give it's, "tailypo," back. It will creep up your wall, through your window, across your floor, on to your bed and you'll be too scared to move, too scared to scream...
Winner of the Coretta Scott King Medal
Calvin Coconut
by Graham SalisburyCalvin Coconut needs to fix things with Stella—and fast! Stella from Texas is now officially a member of the Coconut household.
As if getting a bossy babysitter isn’t bad enough for Calvin, Stella teases him mercilessly. What’s a nine-year-old boy to do? Calvin decides to “fix” her, and he dumps his neighbor’s cat Zippy on Stella’s bed, knowing she’s allergic.
But when Stella breaks out in hives and misses her first big date, Calvin realizes his “zippy fix” went too far. He’s got to make it up to her, and decides to give her a birthday present. But he has no money. Along with the help of his loyal friends and little sister, Darci, Calvin works hard, and comes up with enough cash to give Stella the best birthday gift ever.
Graham Salisbury’s voice perfectly captures the inner workings of Calvin’s mind, and Jacqueline Rogers’ delightful pictures add zest and humor toThe Zippy Fix.
Calvin Coconut
by Jacqueline Rogers and Graham SalisburyHawaii boy Calvin Coconut has come up with the best idea ever for his sister Darci's birthday party. But a huge tropical storm hits the islands and threatens everything. It rains and rains. And rains.
The river next to Calvin's house rises high. When Calvin's friend Willy falls into the raging water, Calvin grabs his skiff to save him. As Willy is swept into the bay, Calvin struggles in the wild waves. What happens next shows Calvin what heroes are made of.
Calvin Coconut
by Graham Salisbury and Jacqueline RogersCalvin Coconut's fourth grade class meets Benni Obi, a weird and likable new kid. Benny brags about knowing kung fu, wears mirrored sunglasses, eats worms, crickets, and chocolate-covered scorpions, and says all the wrong things to bully Tito. Uh-oh.
Meanwhile, the neighborhood kids and pets clear the road--Calvin's babysitter Stella is learning how to drive. She's got a lead foot. Readers will enjoy the humor in Kung Fooey as Calvin's smarts and courage help him learn something new about standing up for friends, and facing a bully.
Calvin Coconut
by Graham Salisbury and Jacqueline RogersCalvin and his Mom's boyfriend, Ledward, are good friends. When Ledward wins plane tickets, he invites Calvin to go on a man trip--they'll fly to Hawaii, the Big Island, for a day, and go deep-sea fishing. Wow!
Calvin's never been on a plane, or any boat but his skiff. What a day--Calvin catches his first big fish, an ono. But that's nothing compared to what happens when Ledward hooks a huge, and very angry marlin that charges the boat!
Calvin Coconut
by Graham Salisbury and Jacqueline RogersCalvin's dad is a famous pop singer, and he's going to be in a concert on the island! Everyone wants to go.
Dad gave Calvin's mom 10 tickets, and Calvin has to decide who gets the last ticket: teacher's pet Shayla, who has a crush on him (ick!) or Tito the bully?
But much more important: Calvin hasn't seen his dad in four years. And he's never met Dad's new wife. Will Dad still like Calvin now?
Case of the Sneaky Snowman
by Macky Pamintuan and Carolyn KeeneCan Nancy solve this chilling mystery? Who wears a blue scarf and old rubber boots, and has broccoli for a nose? It's Sherlock -- Nancy, Bess, and George's snowman! The girls are thrilled to be on winter vacation and take part in all of the season's activities!
Nancy's friend Deirdre has even transformed herself into Madame Chocolata, a fortune-teller who predicts the future by reading hot cocoa marshmallows! But the wintry days get a little too chilly after many of Deirdre's visions come true. Sherlock even goes missing -- just as predicted! Can the Clue Crew put a freeze on this mystery before it snowballs out of control?
Horrible Harry and the Scarlet Scissors
by Suzy Kline and Amy WummerWill the best artist win? The art teacher asks the students of Room 3B to draw posters of things they love, and one of them will get to display his or her artwork on South School's brand-new TV show. Harry doesn't care about the contest. Mary, on the other hand, is convinced that her poster is the best, and she can't wait for her television debut. But if Mary's poster doesn't get selected, then she's going to make horrible trouble for Room 3B--especially Harry!
Horrible Harry Goes to the Moon
by Suzy KlineWhen Harry finds an ad in the paper for a used telescope, Miss Mackle suggests that the class raise money to buy it.
The telescope will make their moon study unit even more exciting! Once they get the telescope, the class can have a nighttime moonwatch.
But Harry wants to do more than watch the moon-he wants to go there! Can Harry really take a trip into outer space?
Horrible Harry Moves up to the Third Grade
by Suzy KlineThird grade brings lots of surprises, but one thing hasn't changed a bit--Harry and Sidney are still sworn enemies. And their relationship only gets worse when Sidney accidentally kills Harry's pet spider. But Harry comes up with a horribly funny way to get revenge during a class trip to a scary old prison and a creepy copper mine.
Horrible Harry and the Purple People
by Suzy Kline and Frank RemkiewiczRoom 2B been invaded by purple people! That's what Harry is saying, but no one else believes him. Can he prove that the purple people are real?
Horrible Harry's Secret
by Suzy KlineHarry's in love, and his best friend, Doug, is disgusted -- Harry won't even throw snowballs at girls anymore. Will Harry ever go back to being his horrible self?
Horrible Harry and the Green Slime
by Suzy Kline and Frank RemkiewiczHarry leads a mission to place cobwebs all over school, shows the class how to make green slime, and stages a "deadly skit" that has everyone on the edge of their seats.
Marvin Redpost
by Louis SacharBotched bike races and broken noses...Suicide Hill is the stuff of legends. Many have tried to master the slippery slopes on their bikes, but few have succeeded. The word at school is that Marvin will be taking on the hill with his new mountain bike.
But the truth is, he can barely climb onto the seat! And shifting gears-forget about it. How did he suddenly become a daredevil? Does he have to ride down Suicide Hill to prove himself? If Marvin makes it, he'll be a hero. If not, his friends and family will catch the biggest wipeout in history!
As Marvin counts down to the dreaded day, his classmates have a hilarious discussion about toes, and a visiting policewoman scares Nick who didn't raise his hand before he asked a question.
Sachar conveys the funny and worrisome elements of childhood. Though this book is written with easy vocabulary , is will be fun, satisfying reading for upper as well as lower elementary age students.
Marvin Redpost
by Louis SacharThe president of the United States is coming to visit Marvin's class. He's even going to answer one question from each kid. Plus everything is going to be on TV! Marvin is nervous. What if someone steals his question?
What if he can't speak when it's his turn? How will that look to the president and everyone watching on TV? Marvin learns how to be a good citizen and that he may grow up to be president of The United States.
But Marvin may not get a chance to see himself on TV. He's late. He forgot his mom was taking him to shop for shoes after school.
The Case of the Missing Monkey
by Cynthia RylantWhile having breakfast at their favorite diner, two detectives, Bunny and Jack, solve a mystery that is not what it seems.
The Case of the Desperate Duck
by Cynthia RylantIn their latest case, animal detectives Bunny and Jack help Mabel the duck find out who stole the sugar cubes from her tea room.
The Case of the Baffled Bear
by Cynthia RylantBunny and Jack, animal detectives, take a break from playing cards to look for Bernard Bear's missing messenger whistle.
The Case of the Fidgety Fox
by Cynthia RylantWhen the fluffy dice of Melvin the bus driver turn up missing, Bunny and Jack, two animal detectives, investigate the case.
The Case of the Sleepy Sloth
by Cynthia RylantWhile having a picnic on the docks, animal detectives Bunny and Jack meet a dog whose one and only lawn chair is missing, and they set out to solve the case.