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Browse by Lexile: 500L - 590L
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Song Lee and the Leech Man
by Suzy KlineHarry plots revenge against Sidney, the class tattletale, when Miss Mackle's second graders go on a field trip to the pond. Independent readers will enjoy this chapter book, which is written in short, simple, chatty sentences. --Booklist
Stink and the Incredible Super-Galactic Jawbreaker
by Megan McdonaldSpurred by a new found awareness of false advertising, Stink Moody becomes the proverbial kid in a candy store as his letter-writing campaign yields him heaps of free rewards.
When Stink buys a mammoth jawbreaker that doesn't break his jaw, he writes a letter of complaint to the manufacturer -- and receives a ten-pound box of 21,280 jawbreakers for his trouble!
This unexpected benefit of acing the art of letter-writing in school sure gets Stink thinking. Soon Stink is so preoccupied with getting free stuff sent to him that he overlooks a scribbly envelope in the mail pile -- until his best friend, Webster, starts acting standoffish and looks as mad as a hornet.
Arthur Loses a Friend
by Marc BrownBuster goes away for a month, and Arthur becomes sad and confused when he does not receive even one postcard from him.
Imagination According to Humphrey
by Betty G. BirneyHumphrey's eleventh adventure celebrates stories, writing, and the power of the imagination!
Imaginations are running wild in Mrs. Brisbane's class, but Humphrey is stumped.
His friends are writing about where they would go if they could fly, but Humphrey is HAPPY-HAPPY-HAPPY right where he is in Room 26.
It's pawsitively easy for Humphrey to picture exciting adventures with dragons and knights in the story Mrs. Brisbane is reading aloud.
He has no trouble coming up with Plans to help his friends and tricks to entertain them.
His imagination even goes a little too far when he wonders if Carlos's imaginary friend might be a ghost.
If only his imagination wouldn't disappear when he tries to write. Luckily, Humphrey likes a challenge, and Mrs. Brisbane has lots of writing tips that do the trick.
Mrs. Cooney Is Loony!
by Jim Paillot and Dan GutmanMrs. Cooney, the school nurse, is a knockout -- and A.J. has a crush on her! But are her charms just a cover for her secret identity as an international spy? Will A.J.'s love for Mrs. Cooney win out over his love for the good old USA?
Mr. Docker Is Off His Rocker!
by Jim Paillot and Dan GutmanSomething weird is going on!
Mr. Docker must be a mad scientist! He does nutty experiments and he has an evil, demented, cackling laugh. Plus he invented a car that runs onto potatoes. Mr. Docker is the weirdest science teacher ever! Is he trying to take over the world?
Mrs. Yonkers Is Bonkers!
by Dan Gutman and Jim PaillotSomething weird is going on!Mrs. Yonkers, the computer teacher, is the nerdiest teacher in the history of the world. She can type with her feet! She buys foam cheeseheads off eBay! She even puts a Webcam on a turtle! Is she trying to take over the planet?
The Back-to-School Fright from the Black Lagoon (Black Lagoon Adventures, Book
by Mike ThalerIn this book of the "Black Lagoon" series, Hubie tries to think of ways to extend his summer vacation as his mother drags him around to shop and get ready for school to start.
Jane on Her Own
by Ursula K. Le GuinJane is restless. What's the use of having wings and being able to fly if she never gets to go anywhere or see anything? "It's too dangerous," says her big sister Harriet. "If human beings saw cats with wings, they'd put us in cages." But Jane refuses to listen. There are adventures waiting beyond the farm, and she is eager to find them. And find them she does. She flies to the city-and through the window of a man who makes her a TV star! But her pampered life is too much like a cage. Brave Jane escapes, to seek new friends, old friends, and true freedom. Book 4 in the Catwings series.
Ivy and Bean Bundle Set 1 (Books 1-3)
by Annie Barrows and Sophie BlackallThis three-book bundle is a delightful introduction to the beloved, bestselling series. This bundle contains the first three books in the series, including: Ivy and Bean, Ivy and Bean and The Ghost That Had to Go, and Ivy and Bean Break the Fossil Record. Ivy and Bean's hilarious adventures hook readers from the first page and everyone is sure to fall in love with these two spunky characters who never meant to like each other.
Please note, this book does not have page numbers.
Ivy and Bean Bundle Set 2 (Books 4-6)
by Annie Barrows and Sophie BlackallThis super-cute bundle continues the adventures of spunky second graders, Ivy and Bean. It includes
IVY AND BEAN TAKE CARE OF THE BABYSITTER: What's the worst babysitter you can imagine? Okay, now multiply by a million. Bean's just found out that Nancy is babysitting for the afternoon. After Ivy rescues her from prison, the two girls turn tragedy into opportunity.
IVY AND BEAN: BOUND TO BE BAD: Ivy has decided to become good. Extra-super-duperly good. Bean figures that's a big waste of time--until Ivy explains that if you're really good, animals and birds follow you around. Wow! Animals and birds! Bean's going to be good, too! They're going to be nice; they're going to be sweet; they're going to be kind and generous and--Wait a second! How did they end up muddy, wet, and in trouble?
IVY AND BEAN: DOOMED TO DANCE: Ooops. Ivy and Bean have made a terrible mistake. They thought that ballet meant leaping, kicking, and cool costumes. Instead, it means they're going to have to be The Two Friendly Squids in a ballet the teacher made up. How embarrassing. As disaster looms, the girls come up with a great escape plan. It's an easy plan, a simple plan, a beautiful plan. It only involves a field trip, a couple of sharks, and some weird animals that glow in the dark.
Please note, this book does not have page numbers.
Ivy and Bean
by Annie Barrows and Sophie BlackallThe moment they saw each other, Bean and Ivy knew they wouldn't be friends. But when Bean plays a joke on her sister, Nancy, and has to hide, quick! Ivy comes to the rescue, proving that sometimes the best of friends are people never meant to like each other. Vibrant characters and lots of humor make this a charming - and addictive - introduction to a new series.
Commander Toad and the Big Black Hole
by Jane YolenFrom the Author's Website: I began the COMMANDER TOAD books because I saw an article in the local newspaper about a boy and his frog who had just won a jumping-frog contest. The frog's name was "Star Warts." I thought it would be funnier if the frog had been a toad, since the old superstition is that toads gives you warts. (It isn't true, of course.) So I invented frog and toads in space on a ship called "Star Warts." Every book is riddled with puns. (I love puns!) There are seven Commander Toad books altogether, though I have been thinking about possibly writing an eighth. A half-hour television show was made with puppets about Commander Toad but it wasn't very successful. For some reason, several of the characters were changed--Jake into a human boy and Doc Pepper into a turtle--and the ship's name was changed as well to "Stella." Also all the puns were missing. All the Commander Toad books were on Reading Rainbow. A PaperStar edition is in print.
Dash
by Kirby LarsonNew from Newbery Honor author Kirby Larson, the moving story of a Japanese-American girl who is separated from her dog upon being sent to an incarceration camp during WWII.
Big Bad Detective Agency
by Bruce HaleFrom the comic genius behind CHET GECKO comes a new kind of fairy tale hero -- and a big, bad, crime-solving adventure! The houses of all Three (not-so-) Little Pigs were broken into and ransacked, and the Pigs are squealing for justice. So Prince Tyrone, ruler of Fairylandia, drags in the obvious suspect: Wolfgang. The lone wolf has big teeth, sharp claws, no alibi -- and a single day to find the real culprit and clear his big bad name. When Wolf (reluctantly) teams up with the fourth Little Pig to crack the case, the Big Bad Detective Agency -- and an adventure way funnier than your average fairy tale -- is off to a howling start!
Katie and the Cupcake Cure
by Coco SimonThis first book in The Cupcake Diaries is told through the perspective of Katie Brown. We find Katie miserable on the first day of middle school. Her best friend Callie came back from camp boy-crazy and part of a whole new group of friends. When it's made clear that Callie is in the PGC (Popular Girls Club) and Katie is not invited to join, Katie suddenly feels incredibly alone. Katie realizes if she's going to survive middle school she needs to seriously regroup and find some new friends. But how? She bites into the cupcake her mother packed her for lunch and for a second closes her eyes. The sweet treat makes her happy--finally something goes right! Looking around her table, Katie notices the other students seeming a bit lost, as well. Which gives her an idea...With three new friends Katie forms a club as a way to spread the cupcake love and earn some cupcake cash.
The Last Kids on Earth and the Zombie Parade
by Max Brallier and Douglas Holgate"Terrifyingly fun! Delivers big thrills and even bigger laughs."--Jeff Kinney, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Diary of a Wimpy KidDiary of a Wimpy Kid meets The Walking Dead in this very funny post-apocalyptic graphic novel for middle-grade readers. The zombies are disappearing. This might seem like a good thing, since zombies eat your brains, but normal human kid Jack Sullivan is suspicious. He keeps hearing an eerie shrieking noise that seems to be almost summoning the zombies--but to where, and for what (probably) foul purpose? Jack, his three best friends (maybe the only people left on Earth), and their pet monster Rover need to get to the bottom of this. Along the way they encounter a lot more than they bargained for, including a giant Wormungulous, a pizza parlor monster hangout, an ancient evil who destroys worlds, and a stereo system that is totally the bomb. Can Jack figure out why the zombies are vanishing . . . before he and his friends are next?From the Hardcover edition.
Advisory: Bookshare has learned that this book offers only partial accessibility. We have kept it in the collection because it is useful for some of our members. Benetech is actively working on projects to improve accessibility issues such as these.
Waiting for Normal
by Leslie ConnorAddie is waiting for normal.
But Addie's mom has an all-or-nothing approach to life: a food fiesta or an empty pantry, jubilation or gloom, her way or no way. All or nothing never adds up to normal. All or nothing can't bring you all to home, which is exactly where Addie longs to be, with her half sisters, every day. In spite of life's twists and turns, Addie remains optimistic. Someday, maybe, she'll find normal.
Leslie Connor has created an inspiring novel about one girl's giant spirit.
Schneider Family Award Winner
Crazy Lady
by Jane Leslie ConlyReceiving less and less attention from his widowed father, Vernon joins with his friends as they ridicule the neighborhood outcasts--Maxine, an alcoholic prone to public displays of crazy behavior, and Ronald, her retarded son. Then the social service decides to put Ronald into a special home, and Vernon finds himself fighting the agency. 1994 Newbery Honor Book
Notable Children's Books of 1994 (ALA)
1994 Best Books for Young Adults (ALA)
1994 Young Adult Editors' Choices (BL)
1994 Books for the Teen Age (NY Public Library)
Young Adult Choices for 1995 (IRA)
The One and Only Ivan
by Katherine Applegate and Patricia CastelaoIvan 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.
Katherine Applegate blends humor and poignancy to create Ivan's unforgettable first-person narration in a story of friendship, art, and hope.
Newbery Medal Winner
Horrible Harry Bugs the Three Bears
by Suzy KlineHorrible Harry has always loved insects, and he's recently discovered a new favorite: earwigs! When he tries to share his passion for the creepy critters, though, no one but Song Lee will listen to him. So when Miss Mackle assigns the class to act out a fairy tale, Harry takes the opportunity to rewrite the classic "Goldilocks and the Three Bears. " And his version gets everyone in room 3B to pay attention to earwigs. But will the class think his play is hilarious . . . or horrible? As an added bonus, the complete text of Harry's play is included in the back of the book, so readers can perform it, too.
Marvin Redpost
by Louis SacharDoes anybody like being the new kid at school? The new kid, Joe Normal, doesn't, and since his parents are always moving, he is forced to be the new kid again and again. Joe tries to fit in, but the kids never like him. They talk about him behind his back for kissing the flagpole, they laugh out loud at him in class when he doesn't know what an elephant is because he says there aren't many of them in Chicago where he's from.
At recess they don't want to let him in line to play ball and after school they say if he goes home with them to play, their dog will bite him. Marvin agrees that a kid who shakes hands with everyone he meets is weird, but even if it means Marvin's friends will stop playing with him, Marvin decides to take Joe home. Marvin thinks it's hard being the new kid.
Strange things continue to happen when Joe and Marvin go home. Joe is wild about Jell-O, teaches the family to play a new game where they step on paper plates instead of slimy fish, and eats his pizza with a knife and fork, but everyone, even Marvin's teen aged brother, likes Joe. Marvin and Joe become best friends and suddenly the kids at school like Joe, too.
Then why does Joe come to Marvin's house in a big limo driven by soldiers? What does all of this have to do with a giant flying birthday cake with green frosting?
Amber Brown Horses Around
by Paula Danziger and Bruce Coville and Elizabeth Levy and Anthony LewisThe most colorful chapter-book character is going to camp!
Amber Brown is one happy camper. She and her best friend, Justin, are spending the summer at Camp Cushetunk. Learning to ride Cinnamon, the sweetest horse ever, is so amazing that Amber doesn't even mind shoveling her poop.
Then Amber becomes the target of a series of pranks. Certain she knows who is behind them, Amber and her friends come up with the biggest prank ever to get revenge. But the outcome is not what they expect.
Turns out horsing around can lead to big trouble. But sometimes, Amber is surprised to learn, big trouble can lead to big changes for the better.
Arthur's Teacher Trouble
by Marc BrownArthur is amazed when he is chosen to be in the school's spellathon!
Caleb's Story
by Patricia MaclachlanThe stranger lurking on the Witting family prairie farm turns out to be their long-lost grandfather whose presence along with some prodding from Caleb forces Jacob to deal with his past. Sequel to Sarah Plain and Tall.