Summer Reading Program Book Talks, 2005
Carol L. Edlefsen – Children’s Librarian
Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko – Moose’s family
moves to
All About Sign Language, Talking With Your Hands by Felicia Lowenstein – A beginning book on signing that includes a history of sign language, jobs with sign language, and the future of sign language.
The Big Book of Boy Stuff by Bart King – According to the flyleaf Bart interviewed the wisest guys and smartest alecks for this how-to book. How-to make lightening, build and launch a water rocket, and make a grenade! Full of things to keep everyone from getting bored over the summer!
Bollywood Babes by Narinder Dhami – The Dhillon sisters are back! This time they take in a former Bollywood superstar who is down on her luck, all, of course, without running their plan by dad or auntie. Bhindi Babes introduced the threesome.
Boredom Blasters, Brain Bogglers, Awesome Activities, Cool Comics, Tasty Treats, and More… by Helaine Becker – This little tome is full of tricks, games, and foods all geared for kids and perfect for those long summer days when there is “nothing to do”; answers are included.
The Boy, The Bear, The Baron, The Bard by Gregory Rogers – A wordless adventure about a modern young boy who suddenly finds himself at the Old Globe being chased by Shakespeare, befriended by a bear, and rescuing a timid baron from the Tower of London!
Chasing Vermeer by Blue Ballliett – In this adventure you’ll meet Petra and Calder, two sixth graders who become mixed-up in an exciting adventure that has to do with pentominoes, frogs, and a stolen painting.
Code Talker by Joseph Bruchac – In a boarding school run by whites, a young Navajo teen, Ned Begay, is told his native language useless. But the United States is involved in World War II, a war where young Navajo men were recruited by the Marines to become code talkers; sending messages back and forth in an unbreakable code using their native language.
Cool Rubber Stamp Art by Pam Price – Looks at the history of stamping, stamping techniques and how to make stamps of your own.
Goldilocks and the Three Martians by Stu Smith – Goldilocks is tired of listening to her mother nagging, so she takes off in a rocket ship looking for another planet that is “just right”. Once there she runs into a Mama, Daddy, and Baby Martian.
Gooney Bird and the Room Mother by Lois Lowry – Welcome back to Gooney Bird Greene who is right back where she likes to be “smack in the middle of things” and this time she is looking for a room mother for her class.
Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins – Eleven-year-old Gregor and his two-year-old sister Boots slide down a shoot in their laundry room and find themselves on a quest to find their dad who is somehow involved with the underlanders.
Guts, Our Digestive System by Seymour Simon – This is a sure kid pleaser, an introduction to the digestive system that includes wonderful color photographs.
How Angel Peterson Got His Name, And Other Outrageous Tales About Extreme Sports by Gary Paulsen – Sidesplitting funny stories about being a thirteen year-old boy in a small town in the 1940’s and 1950’s. Comes with a “don’t try this at home” warning.
Imagine a Day by Sarah L. Thomson, illustrations by Rob Gonsalves. The text asks you to imagine…and the incredible illustrations put pictures to the thought.
The Ink Drinker by Eric Sanvoisin – This easy chapter book introduces the reader to a vampire who is allergic to blood and drinks the ink from old books instead.
Jack and the Seven Deadly Giants by Sam Swope – Jack‘s search for his mother takes him through seven, funny, fractured Jack tales, featuring fearsome giants and based on the seven deadly sins.
Jim Carrey by Jill C. Wheeler – A short biography about the actor, this book is especially good for beginning readers.
Kensuke’s Kingdom by Michael Morpurgo – After falling off his family’s boat, Michael and his dog Stella are washed ashore, on what he thinks is a deserted island. Reminiscent of Gary Paulsen’s Hatchet.
Last Shot a Final Four Mystery by John Feinstein – How will Steven and Susan Carol, winners of the junior journalism contest, help March Madness superstar, Chip, from throwing the final game? You’ll be on the edge of your front row center seat reading to find out.
Leaping Beauty and Other Animal Fairy Tales by Gregory Maguire – Animals are the main characters in these funny fractured fairy tales.
The Loathsome Dragon by David Wiesner & Kim Kahng – An English fairytale that includes a prince, princess, a wicked step-mother, magic, and a dragon.
Look At My Book, How Kids Can Write & Illustrate Terrific Books by Loreen Leedy - A how-to book for kids who want to author, edit, and illustrate their own books.
The Man Who Went to the Far Side of the Moon, the Story of Apollo 11 Astronaut Michael Collins by Bea Uusma Schyffert – A biography of astronaut Michael Collins.
Millions by Frank Cottrell Boyce – Two young brothers, millions of dollars in cash, and a couple of weeks to spend it before it becomes worthless. Oh – and the thieves who stole the money in the first place are closing in fast!
Missy Violet and Me by Barbara Hathaway – The summer that Viney is eleven she apprentices to Missy Violet learns about the medicinal purposes of herbs and roots and all about catchin’ babies.
Monkey Business by Wallace Edwards – Don’t be put off by the picture book format this is a delightful and colorful book about idioms for kids of all ages.
Odd Boy Out, Young Albert Einstein by Don Brown – A picture book format introduces children to Albert Einstein. The story is reassuring and Einstein becomes accessible as the author writes that Albert’s grandmother considered him too fat and his mother was concerned because his head was much too big!
Oh, No! Where Are My Pants? And Other Disaster Poems edited by Lee Bennett Hopkins – The title says it all.
Olive’s Ocean by Kevin Henkes – Twelve-year-old Martha is left a note by a classmate who died, and she spends the summer trying to make sense of the note, the summer, and herself; a poignant coming of age story
Only Emma by Sally Warner – Emma is eight years old and loves being an only child. But she learns an important lesson about sharing herself when four year old Anthony comes to stay for a few days.
The Pepins and Their Problems by Polly Horvath – The unusual Pepin Family has some very strange problems indeed and the author asks the reader for help in solving the problems – a great read-aloud.
Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson – A prequel to Peter Pan, this is an exciting, fast-paced, swashbuckling tale. Meet Peter and his band of boys, Molly a starcatcher-in-training, Black Stache, and Mister Grin. Oh yes, and the “starstuff” which some are protecting and others are hunting.
Plastic Man On the Lam by Kyle Baker – A superhero graphic novel.
Please Bury Me In the Library by J. Patrick Lewis – A slender volume of fun poetry about books and the library.
Poop A Natural History of the Unmentionable by Nicola Davies – With this book kids will get the scoop on poop – what it’s for, where it goes, and what we can learn from it.
Red Ridin’ In the Hood by Patricia Santos Marcantonio – A book of fractured fairy tales told from an Hispanic point of view.
Remember D-Day, the Plan, the Invasion, Survivor Stories by Ronald J. Drez Introduces and discusses the events and people involved in the Allied invasion of France on June 6, 1944.
Ripley’s Believe It Or Not, Special Edition 2005 by Mary Packard – Filled with amazing facts and strange curiosities this is Ripley’s at its most interesting.
Robots Meet the Robots by Acton Figueroa – A beginning reader about the characters in the movie, Robots.
Runny Babbit a Billy Sook by Shel Silvestein – The English language and your mouth will never be the same once you try to read these topsy-turvy, tongue-twisting poems.
Scorpia by Anthony Horowitz – This fifth book in the Alex Rider series once again has the readers on the edge of their seats. Was Alex’s dad really a member of the terrorist group Scorpia? Is Alex? How will he keep thousands of English school children from dying? Is he really seeing him mom and dad or is he hallucinating from the gunshot? Will Alex recover for a sixth book?
Sea of Trolls by Nancy Farmer – Jack and his sister Lucy are taken prisoner by Olaf One-Brow and are soon on their way to the Northland where they will meet Berserkers, trolls, Ivar the Boneless and (gasp) the even worse Queen Firth, a shape-shifting half-troll.
The Secret Blog of Raisin Rodriquez by Judy Goldschmidt – Seventh grader Raisin Rodriquez moves to Philadelphia from Berkeley, after her mother remarries. Through her weblog Raisin lets her old friends know how it is going in her new school; chronicling everything can a problem Raisin soon learns!
Shredderman Attack of the Tagger by Wenedlin Van Draanen – Nolan Byrd, nerd and superhero, is back again and takes on a spray-painting graffiti artist this time. Shredderman was introduced in Secret Identity.
Skeleton Man by Joseph Bruchac – After Molly’s mom and dad disappear, a previously unknown great uncle comes to her rescue, or does he? Based on a Mohawk legend this is a truly spine tingling, scary tale.
The Sinking of the Titanic by Matt Doeden – A story of the 1912 sinking of the Titanic told in graphic novel form.
Slangalicious, Where We Got That Crazy Language by Gillian O’Reilly – Did you know that the Ancient Greeks used slang over 2,000 years ago? This is a funny and easy to read history on the origin of slang.
The Teacher’s Funeral, A Comedy in Three Parts by Richard Peck – It’s 1904 and it seems that Russell Culver’s dream is about to come true as it is August, time to head back to school, and the teacher dies – what more could a young boy who wants to head out with threshing crew ask for?
Top Secret, A Handbook of Codes, Ciphers, and Secret Writing by Paul B. Janeczeko – From everyday codes and pictographs to encryption and concealment this book has everything a kid needs to make and break codes and ciphers.