I started reading this first featured book last week. It seems like a perfect title to read at Halloween because it involves a haunted house. I’ll be honest. I’m a real scaredy cat. But I wanted to push myself to read outside of my comfort zone – especially because we have so many students who love spooky books!
The Peculiar Incident on Shady Street, (2017)
by Lindsay Currie
Goodreads summary: A girl unravels a centuries-old mystery after moving into a haunted house in this deliciously suspenseful mystery.
Tessa Woodward isn’t exactly thrilled to move to rainy, cold Chicago from her home in sunny Florida. But homesickness turns to icy fear when unexplainable things start happening in her new house. Things like flickering lights, mysterious drawings appearing out of nowhere, and a crackling noise she can feel in her bones.
When her little brother’s doll starts crying real tears, Tessa realizes that someone—or something—is trying to communicate with her. A secret that’s been shrouded in mystery for more than one hundred years.
With the help of three new friends, Tessa begins unraveling the mystery of what happened in the house on Shady Street—and more importantly, what it has to do with her!
Watch The Peculiar Incident on Shady Street book trailer.
This week’s Mock Newbery is by an author who won the 2016 Newbery Honor for the powerful and touching The War That Saved My Life. I ordered two copies for our library but they are on back order. I hope we get them soon because I’m dying to catch up with Ada! Hampden Meadows is a reading community and I invite the adults and students to participate in our HMS Mock Newbery by reading titles and commenting on what you think by going to this link.
The War I Finally Won, (2017)
by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
Goodreads summary: When Ada’s clubfoot is surgically fixed at last, she knows for certain that she’s not what her mother said she was—damaged, deranged, crippled mentally as well as physically. She’s not a daughter anymore, either. What is she?
World War II continues, and Ada and her brother, Jamie, are living with their loving legal guardian, Susan, in a borrowed cottage on the estate of the formidable Lady Thorton—along with Lady Thorton herself and her daughter, Maggie. Life in the crowded cottage is tense enough, and then, quite suddenly, Ruth, a Jewish girl from Germany, moves in. A German? The occupants of the house are horrified. But other impacts of the war become far more frightening. As death creeps closer to their door, life and morality during wartime grow more complex. Who is Ada now? How can she keep fighting? And who will she struggle to save?
Watch Kimberly Brubaker Bradley talk about The War I Finally Won.
This wordless picture book is on our Mock Caldecott list. It has my heart. When you get it into your hands, the message will have your heart as well.
Wolf in the Snow, (2017)
by Matthew Cordell
Goodreads summary: A girl is lost in a snowstorm. A wolf cub is lost, too. How will they find their way home?
Paintings rich with feeling tell this satisfying story of friendship and trust. Here is a book set on a wintry night that will spark imaginations and warm hearts, from Matthew Cordell, author of Trouble Gum and Another Brother.
Watch the Wolf in the Snow book trailer.
I just got a chance to read this book last week and immediately ordered it for our library. It would probably have been a great addition to the family math club titles you explored last Wednesday! That first ever family math club seemed like a lot of fun. I hope you’ll consider joining Mrs. Burrows and Mr. Sangiuliano the next time they host one. We all have questions we want answered. This might be the book for you!
How Many Guinea Pigs Can Fit on a Plane?: Answers to Your Most Clever Math Questions, (2017)
by Laura Overdeck
Goodreads summary: How many bees does it take to make one jar of honey?
How many soccer balls would fit inside a hollow Earth?
How many pieces of gum would it take to stick you to a wall and keep you there?
Believe it or not, you can find out the answers to these questions yourself using math! Combining questions from real readers like you with surprising answers, How Many Guinea Pigs Can Fit on a Plane? proves that numbers can be fun and that math is power.
My librarian friend Mrs. DiBella made me aware of this amazing new graphic novel so I purchased a copy for our library. We all need books that provide windows and mirrors. Windows books let readers get a chance to experience a life different from their own. Mirrors books give readers a chance to see themselves in the media they consume.
Pashmina, (2017)
by Nidhi Chanani
Goodreads summary: Pashmina tells the story of an Indian-American girl who struggles to fit in at high school, then discovers more about her family’s history with the help of her mother’s magical pashmina.
BONUS: I’m ending with one more new ghost story just in time for Halloween. Ellen Oh, founder of the #WeNeedDiverseBooks movement, wrote this.
Spirit Hunters, (1017)
by Ellen Oh
Goodreads summary: We Need Diverse Books founder Ellen Oh returns with Spirit Hunters, a high-stakes middle grade mystery series about Harper Raine, the new seventh grader in town who must face down the dangerous ghosts haunting her younger brother. A riveting ghost story and captivating adventure, this tale will have you guessing at every turn!
Harper doesn’t trust her new home from the moment she steps inside, and the rumors are that the Raine family’s new house is haunted. Harper isn’t sure she believes those rumors, until her younger brother, Michael, starts acting strangely. The whole atmosphere gives Harper a sense of déjà vu, but she can’t remember why. She knows that the memories she’s blocking will help make sense of her brother’s behavior and the strange and threatening sensations she feels in this house, but will she be able to put the pieces together in time?
Watch the Spirit Hunters book trailer.