Itasca Community Library » Kid Reads

Happy Birthday, Sophie Hartley by Stephanie Greene

jackie — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 19:12:29 +0000

Sophie Hartley is almost sure that her dad said okay when she asked for a baby gorilla for her birthday. Soon the kids at school want to know every detail about the gorilla, and dealing with her enthusiastic classmates gets harder as the big day approaches. When teenage sister Nora leaves their shared bedroom for her own space in the attic and close friend Jenna shows signs of becoming a shrieker, Sophie finds it hard to remain optimistic. Funny and believable, the story of a big birthday will please old and new Sophie fans.

Lunch Lady and the League of Librarians by Jarrett J. Krosoczka

karyn — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 15:13:18 +0000

Serving justice . . . and lunch! Lunch Lady can sniff out something rotten like no one else—and there’s definitely something rotten going on in the library. The usually friendly librarians have become cold and secretive. Even Dee can’t seem to crack a smile out of them. What darkness may lurk in the hearts of librarians? Lunch Lady is on the case! And Hector, Terrence, and Dee are along for a wild ride!

Mallory Goes Green! by Laurie Friedman

beth — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 17:40:27 +0000

Mallory is back and this time she is the official member of the Fern Falls Elementary Environmental Committee. Mallory is so excited to go green that she alienates her friends and family by telling them what they need to do to go green, too. She must learn to listen to other people’s ideas and work together to save the environment. 2nd-4th graders who enjoy Junie B. Jones or Judy Moody are sure to love reading about Mallory McDonald.

Binky the Space Cat by Ashley Spires

karyn — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 15:25:08 +0000

Binky is a housecat with a purpose: to build a rocket ship, explore outer space, and protect his humans from alien domination. So what if outer space is the world outside his front door, or that the aliens Binky battles are actually bugs? He’s a cat with a dream and only the thought of leaving his humans behind will keep Binky from his meeting with destiny.

Neil Armstrong is My Uncle and Other Lies Muscle Man McGinty Told Me by Nan Marino

karyn — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 14:31:55 +0000

It’s July 1969 and while the attention of everyone else in her Long Island neighborhood is on the impending moonwalk, Tamara Ann Simpson’s focus is the black hole created by the sudden departure of her best friend, Kebsie, a foster child who lived across the street. She directs her considerable anger at Douglas McGinty, the new foster kid, whom she ironically dubs “Muscle Man.” In her self-absorbed grief, Tammy fails to see that the whoppers Douglas tells-he’s training for the 1972 Olympics, he’s sung on Broadway-are his way of coping with a major loss of his own.

The Pirates of Crocodile Swamp by Jim Arnosky

jackie — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 23:55:47 +0000

After being kidnapped by their father, brothers Sandy and Jack escape to Crocodile Swamp, a remote island in the Florida Keys, and learn to survive the wilderness with the help of mysterious new friends.

Little Audrey by Ruth White

karyn — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 15:39:18 +0000

In 1948, eleven-year-old Audrey lives with her father, mother,and three younger sisters in Jewell Valley, a coal mining camp in Southwest Virginia… where her mother still mourns the death of a baby, her father goes on drinking binges on paydays, and Audrey tries to recover from the scarlet fever that has left her skinny and needing to wear glasses.

The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart

beth — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 22:04:32 +0000

After passing a series of mind-bending tests, four children are selected for a secret mission that requires them to go undercover at the Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened, where the only rule is that there are no rules. Also check out the sequel to this book that was recently released titled The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey.

11 Birthdays by Wendy Mass

beth — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 16:21:03 +0000

After celebrating their first nine same-day birthdays together, Amanda and Leo, having fallen out on their tenth and not speaking to each other for the last year… prepare to celebrate their eleventh birthday separately but peculiar things begin to happen as the day of their birthday begins to repeat itself over and over again.