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Zombie Baseball Beatdown
Paolo Bacigalupi - 2013
Little do they know the plant's toxic cattle feed is turning cows into flesh-craving monsters...ZOMBIES!!! The boys decide to launch a stealth investigation into the plant's dangerous practices, unknowingly discovering a greedy corporation's plot to look the other way as tainted meat is sold to thousands all over the country. With no grownups left they can trust, Rabi and his friends will have to grab their bats to protect themselves (and a few of their enemies) if they want to stay alive...and maybe even save the world. In this inventive, fast-paced novel that strikes a pitch-perfect tone for reluctant readers, National Book Award finalist and Printz Award-winning author Paolo Bacigalupi effectively uses humour and high-intensity action to take on hard-hitting themes - from food safety to racism and immigration - and creates a zany, grand-slam adventure that will get kids thinking about where their food comes from.
Heartbeat
Sharon Creech - 2004
When she's barefoot and running, she can hear her heart beating . . . thump-THUMP, thump-THUMP. It's a rhythm that makes sense in a year when everything's shifting: Her mother is pregnant, her grandfather is forgetful, and her best friend, Max, is always moody. Everything changes over time, just like the apple Annie's been assigned to draw. But as she watches and listens, Annie begins to understand the many rhythms of life, and how she fits within them.Twelve-year-old Annie ponders the many rhythms of life the year that her mother becomes pregnant, her grandfather begins faltering, and her best friend (and running partner) becomes distant.
Super Fly: The World's Smallest Superhero!
Todd H. Doodler - 2015
. . SUPER FLY! This is the story of Eugene Flystein, a small and nerdy, mild-mannered housefly, who also happens to be the world's smallest superhero and humanity's greatest crime fighter.SUPER FLY!: Able to stop tornadoes from destroying towns with just one breath. Strong enough to push a ship away from a looming iceberg. He's even read every book in the library twice. Yes, twice!Can this four-eyed little bugger, along with his trusty sidekick Fantastic Flea, take on Crazy Cockroach and his army of insect baddies? It's housefly vs. cockroach in this epic battle of good vs. evil. Who will come out on top? Stay tuned!
The Fourth Stall
Chris Rylander - 2008
It's what he does—he and his best friend and business manager, Vince. Their methods might sometimes run afoul of the law, or at least the school code of conduct, but if you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can pay him, Mac is on your side. His office is located in the East Wing boys' bathroom, fourth stall from the high window. And business is booming.Or at least it was, until one particular Monday. It starts with a third grader in need of protection. And before this ordeal is over, it's going to involve a legendary high school crime boss named Staples, an intramural gambling ring, a graffiti ninja, the nine most dangerous bullies in school, and the first Chicago Cubs World Series game in almost seventy years. And that's just the beginning. Mac and Vince soon realize that the trouble with solving everyone else's problems is that there's no one left to solve yours.
The Escape of the Deadly Dinosaur
Elizabeth Singer Hunt - 2004
Starting at the Natural History Museum, Jack's detection takes him to a competitive grade-schooler determined to win the science fair with his experiment crossing his own dog with the DNA from the bone of a dangerous, carnivorous dinosaur. Soon the gargantuan creature is terrorizing New Yorkers and Jack must stop him before he devours the animals in the Central Park zoo!
Diary of a Mad Brownie
Bruce Coville - 2015
No, not the kind you eat! He’s a tiny magical creature that loves to do chores. Angus has just “inherited” a new human girl, Alex. To say that Alex is messy would be an understatement. She’s a total hurricane-like disaster—and she likes it that way, thankyouverymuch! Living with each other isn’t easy but Angus and Alex soon learn there is a curse that binds them. What’s worse, it threatens Alex’s family! Working together, Angus and Alex will set out to break the curse . . . without killing each other first . . . hopefully.
Save the Day!
Trey King - 2012
LEGO(R) Batman and Superman team up with Robin and Wonder Woman to battle the Joker, Lex Luthor, Catwoman, Poison Ivy, Two-Face, and more!
The Newest Princess
Melody Mews - 2020
Itty Bitty Kitty’s eighth shooting star is about to arrive and that means she’s going to become a princess! Itty’s excited, but when she learns about all the things that are going to change, she’s also nervous. Between trying out new hairstyles and hearing that she can’t attend her regular school anymore, Itty begins to feel like she might not be cut out for this princess gig. Will Itty Bitty Kitty become Itty Bitty Princess Kitty after all?
The Fast and the Furriest
Andy Behrens - 2010
Now meet Cromwell, his part beagle, part potato chip dog. Kevin’s looking forward to spending his summer doing as little as possible. Unfortunately, Kevin’s father, former Chicago Bears star player/super-sports fanatic, Howie Pugh, feels differently. So does Cromwell, who has suddenly and mysteriously developed a fascination with agility competitions: running up seesaws, leaping over hurdles, soaring through hoops (sometimes). If he has to do anything, Kevin would rather do something for newly obsessed Cromwell, but dog agility lessons do not constitute a sport in his father’s mind, so football camp it is. Until some well-timed events collide, literally, and soon Kevin’s found a way for he and Cromwell to take classes, and the upstart Team Cromwell is born.Andy Behrens has written a hilarious novel with a dry-as-dirt protagonist who’s constantly tortured by the goings-on around him. It’s also a charming story about a boy and his dog, as well as a meaningful and heartfelt look at a relationship between a boy and his father who don’t always see eye-to-eye.
Amelia Bedelia Sleeps Over
Herman Parish - 2012
It's Amelia Bedelia's first sleepover, and she's confused. Isn't sleeping boring? Luckily, all the girls in Amelia Bedelia's class are there, and the party is the exact opposite of boring. There are pizzas to eat, games to play, and fingernail polish in all the colors of the rainbow to admire. And when it is time to go to sleep, well, something unexpected happens then, too.Amelia Bedelia discovers that friends and family are the best, no matter what time of day it is, in this easy-to-read book that is just right for beginning readers.
Moldylocks and the Three Beards
Noah Z. Jones - 2014
Jones turns well-known fairy tales upside-down in this humorous new series!This series is part of Scholastic's early chapter book line called Branches, which is aimed at newly independent readers. With easy-to-read text, high-interest content, fast-paced plots, and illustrations on every page, these books will boost reading confidence and stamina. Branches books help readers grow!In the Land of Fake Believe, Princess meets a strange girl named Moldylocks. When Princess's stomach grumbles, Moldylocks takes her to the home of the Three Beards. The girls sit in their chairs, eat their chili, and jump on their beds. The Three Beards are not happy when they get home--and they are very, very hungry! Will Moldylocks and Princess go into the chili pot? With easy-to-read text and engaging full-color artwork throughout, kids will be drawn right into this very funny land of fractured fairy tales!
The Daring Escape of the Misfit Menagerie
Jacqueline Resnick - 2012
That's why they're known as the Misfit Menagerie. The four oddball animals live on Mr. Mumford's farm, where they play games and do tricks for neighborhood children. It's an idyllic existence--until a cruel circus owner named Claude Magnificence comes to town, and life as they know it ends. The Menagerie is snatched away to a traveling circus, where Claude and his buffoonish sidekicks force them to perform death-defying tricks. At the circus, Smalls and his friends only have slop to eat. They live in filthy, cramped cages. And they're bullied by a rough band of trained animals called the Lifers. It's worse than awful--it's despicable! But then young Bertie Magnificence comes along, and he and Smalls form the kind of friendship that inspires hope. They decide that something needs to change...and fast. With the help of an acrobat named Susan, Smalls and Bertie set in motion a heroic plan. Can a lonely boy and a misfit bear hoodwink cruel Claude and save an entire circus of captive animals?
Trouble at the Zoo
Bindi Irwin - 2010
Karaoke, animal rides, dancing competitions-it's all happening! But when a spoiled ten-year-old boy decides he wants to take home one of the zoo's precious water dragons, Bindi, her brother Robert, and a green-winged macaw come to the rescue. Can Bindi save the water dragon and her party?A fast-paced adventure series featuring The Jungle Girl herself! The stories are inspired and co-created by Bindi Irwin, daughter of the iconic wildlife expert, Steve Irwin. The series features the characters of Bindi, her brother Robert, mother Terri, and the Australia Zoo.Bindi's Wildlife Adventures Series: Trouble at the Zoo (Book 1)Rescue! (Book 2)Bushfire! (Book 3)Camouflage (Book 4)A Whale of a Time (Book 5)Roar! (Book 6)Croc Capers (Book 7)Surfing with Turtles (Book 8)
The Strictest School in the World: Being the Tale of a Clever Girl, a Rubber Boy and a Collection of Flying Machines, Mostly Broken
Howard Whitehouse - 2006
Fortunately, 12-year-old Robert Burns, an indestructible village boy, is not. Absurdly unafraid of bodily harm, ?Rubberbones? is the ideal pilot for Emmaline's experiments with flight.But before Emmaline can perfect a flying machine with the aid of her new friend, she is sent off to St. Grimelda's School for Young Ladies --- to be cured of her decidedly unladylike ways. It is a school so strict, so severe, so forbidding that it makes the brutal misery in the tales of Charles Dickens look cheery by comparison. With a horrifying headmistress, terrifying teachers and food that is even worse than Aunt Lucy's, this medieval stronghold also houses a terrible secret and a mysterious way of keeping its prisoners, er, its students in line. All Emmaline can think of is escape. But no one has ever escaped from St. Grimelda's. And our heroine soon realizes that the only way out is to face her greatest fear.