Just Grace and the Super Sleepover
Written by Charise Mericle Harper
Illustrated by Rachel Clowes
Age Level: 6 - 9                                                            
Grade Level: 1 – 4

I loved this story! Grace is such a great character! She’s invited to a camp-out sleepover, but she’s terrified. Grace ties herself into knots, forgets to buy a card for the birthday girl, and then blames a ghost for taking it. Grace reminds me of Junie B. She’s very kid-like, makes lots of mistakes, but has a great heart. Kids will love the cartoonish/graphic novel illustrations. No wonder this is book 11 from a 12 book series!

Ratscalibur (Chronicles of the Low Realm)
Written by Josh Lieb
Age Level: 8 – 12                                                                
Grade Level: 3 – 7 

​I read this story a few years ago. It was #22 out of the 111 chapter books/middle grade novels I’ve read and recorded in my Picture Book Journal. I still remember this book, even though it was 89 books ago.
 
Why? It’s a great story, and it’s unusual. A boy moves to the city, and an uncle gives him a rat (not my kind of gift), but the Rat is a ragician (rat magician. He bites the boy and turns him into a rat too. Our hero is sent to deliver a message to King Uther, the King of Avalon. The rat kingdom is in danger, and it needs a hero. Our hero sees a spork stuck in a hard biscuit. He pulls it out, and becomes a hero. Then the real adventure begins! Can our hero rescue the rat kingdom from the evil crows? Can he change back into a boy again? I can’t answer, but I can tell you there’s a happy ending.
 
I can also tell you this book was reviewed and loved by Jimmy Fallon (from TV), Daniel Pinkwater (one of my favorite authors), and Richard Peck (2001 Newberry winner). Wow! It’s like the triple crown of reviews!

​The Story of Diva & Flea
Written by Mo Willems
Illustrated by Tony DiTerlizzi
Age Level: 6 - 8                                          
Grade Level: 1 – 3

Say hello to Diva, the dog who’s afraid to leave her home in Paris. Then shout bon jour to  Flea, the homeless alley cat who must flaneur/wander the streets. What happens when they meet – Diva and Flea become friends who explore Paris together, but have a place to return to when the fun is all done.
 
Where did Mo get this story idea – from a trip to Paris! Before he could start his own adventures, he found a guard dog, a cat explorer, and the seed to this story.

Ivy & Bean: Make the Rules
Written by Annie Barrows
Illustrated by Rachel Clowes
Age Level: 6 - 10                                             
​Grade Level: 1 – 5

​What would you do when your big sister goes off to camp, and you’re too little? You start your own – Camp Flaming Arrow! Imagine the fun Bean could have doing crafts, nature, dance, first aid, and women’s history at a ‘real’ kids’ camp. Then read and enjoy!
 
PS- It’s no wonder this is #9 in a series of 11 books. 

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Strongheart: Wonder Dog of the Silver Screen
Written by Candace Fleming
Illustrated by Eric Rohmann
Age Level: 8 - 12                                                             
​Grade Level: 3 – 7

This is a Cinderella story of a German dog who becomes an American movie star. Etzel’s taken away from his mother and litter mates as a puppy. Play and kindness are trained out of him to make him into a police dog.
 
Then Larry Trimble appears on the scene. He’s looking for the right dog to appear in his movies, and he sees something in Etzel, but it took his secretary/co-writer Jane Murfin to unlock it. How? She taught him how to play again. Jane’s also the one who renamed him Strongheart.  
 
That was the beginning of his film career. He made 6 movies, and people are still amazed by the emotion he showed on camera and in real life when he was falsely accused of attacking a girl. From the beginning to the end, this story is as full of heart as the real Strongheart. I loved every page of his story!

Stay Alive #1: Crash
Written by Joseph Monninger
Age Level: 8 - 12                                                            
​Grade Level: 3 – 7

​I loved this book. It reminds me of the  I SURVIVED series, but it’s definitely for older kids, with a readability score of 5th grade. Boys will love it, but girls will too!
 
The story starts with a team of kids flying to Alaska as part of a student news team.  Their plane crashes killing the pilot and a student. Her twin sister survives. The rest of the story is about the survivors, and how they fight to stay alive in the Alaskan wilderness, without phones or internet.
 
Side note- somewhere in the book is a list of 4 survival tips. It’s a good addition, given the theme of staying alive. 

Born to Fly
Written by Steve Sheinkin
Illustrated by Bijou Karman
Age Level: 10 - 14                                                             
​Grade Level: 4 – 6

​​I discovered this book at a writers’ conference. It was recommended as a model for  nonfiction. The details the author uncovered from a century ago were incredible.
 
In the first third you’ll meet fliers like Amelia Earhart, Marvel Crosson, Louise Thaden, and Elinor Smith as little girls. You’ll read about the kinds of things they did  as kids, the things that shaped them into the women they’d become.
 
The second third follows them into the 1929 Air Derby, the first  women’s race across the US. Women had just earned the right to vote in 1920, and now they were fighting to fly an airplane. The public believed women weren’t capable of flying, let alone doing it cross country.
 
The final third follows our heroines past the race and into their future. It’s the end to each of their stories. The back matter will show you the author’s source notes and photo credits. BORN TO FLY is well done from the start to the finish line!

​Piper Green and the Fairy Tree
Written by Ellen Potter
Illustrated by Qin Leng
Age Level: 7 - 9                                  
​Grade Level: 2 – 4

Looking for a cute story that takes place in an unusual setting? This is it! Piper Green lives on an island, and she goes to school in a lobster boat, but this year is different. Her brother is going away to school, but Piper isn’t. She misses him so much that she wears his earmuffs into class. It sounds sweet, but not to her teacher who tries to make Piper take off those earmuffs. When Piper gets in trouble at school, can a tree, even a fairy one, help her? You’ll have to read to find out how.
​PS – If you like this story, check out the two sequels – Too Much Good Luck and The Sea Pony.
 

Like Bug Juice on a Burger
Written by Julie Sternberg
Illustrated by Matthew Cordell
Age Level: 6 - 9                                           
​Grade Level: 1 – 4

​This title sounds absolutely disgusting, but that’s why kids love it! So much so that it’s the second in a series of books about icky foods. Check out the other 2 – Like Pickle Juice on a Cookie and Carrot Juice on a Cupcake.
 
Meet the main character of all 3 books, Eleanor. In this book she’s so excited . . .  she gets to go to the same summer camp her mother went to as a kid. Her problem – it’s time to leave for camp. Have you had the same experience, excited to do something . . .  till it’s time to do it? I have!
 
Eleanor is prepared for the worst, even bug juice on a burger! So she gives her parents a code. If she writes Esmerelda, it’s a message to pick her up. Unfortunately  the camp  counselor discovers what it really means. She comes up with a deal. Eleanor must post 2 feeling letters on the camp wall, anonymously. Will it work? You’ll have to read the book to find out!
                                      
 

​ Misadventures of a Magician’s Son
Written and Illustrated by Laurie Smollett Kutscera
Age Level:  8 - 12
Grade Level: 5 – 6
 
I loved this story! It’s a mix of magic, mystery, fantasy, and realistic fiction. Meet Alexander Finn, the Magician’s son. He’s still grieving the death of his father when his mother moves them back to her hometown. It’s the last thing Alex wants to do, but things start to look up when he enters a magic contest. His ace in the hole – the cards his father left him. They aren’t just any cards – they come to life with real Kings and Queens, Aces and Jokers and numbered cards of each suit. They help Alex win easily but that’s when disaster strikes. The cards disappear leaving Alex heartbroken. How will he ever find them, and when he does, can he get them back from a mafia card shark? Follow the twists and magical turns until this mystery is solved. How? That would be telling! You’ll have to read this story for yourself!