March Reader’s Choice: Youth-Recommended Reads
DB33742 BR16423 Babe: The Gallant Pig by Dick King-Smith
Annotation: When Babe, the piglet, arrives at the Hogget’s farm, Mrs. Hogget anticipates the juicy ham and bacon he will provide when he is a full-grown pig. Fly, the old sheepdog, dismisses Babe as just another dumb animal. But then Fly takes pity on the motherless little creature and adopts Babe. And Babe, to everyone’s surprise, learns to herd sheep. For grades 3-6. 1985. Followed by “Ace: The Very Important Pig.” First in series. Also published as: The Sheep Pig.
DB102922 Ben Yokoyama and the Cookie of Doom by Matthew Swanson
Annotation: Eight-year-old Ben takes a fortune cookie literally and, believing he has only one day left to live, tries to do everything he has always wanted to before nightfall. Commercial audiobook. For grades 3-6.
DB111659 JLT War JBR War A Rover’s Story by Jasmine Warga
Annotation: “Built to explore Mars, Resilience begins to develop human-like feelings as he learns from the NASA scientists who assembled him, and as he blasts off and explores Mars, Resilience must overcome different obstacles as he explores the red planet.” — Provided by publisher. For grades 3-6.
DB106411 JBR War The Shape of Thunder by Jasmine Warga
Annotation: Twelve-year-old neighbors and former best friends Cora Hamed and Quinn McCauley begin working together to open a wormhole so they can travel through time to prevent the school shooting that resulted in the death of Cora’s sister. Commercial audiobook. For grades 4-7
JLT War A Strange Thing Happen in Cherry Hall by Jasmine Warga
Annotation: A painting has been stolen…! When Rami sees a floating girl in the museum, he knows he has seen her somewhere before. Then he realizes: She looks just like the girl in the painting that has gone missing. But how does her appearance connect to the theft? Agatha the turtle knows — she has been watching from the garden. But she can’t exactly tell anyone…can she? Will Rami, with the help of his classmate, Veda, be able to solve the mystery? The clues are all around them, but they’ll have to be brave enough to really look.
DB121496 The Big Sting by Rachelle Delane
Annotation: “A visit to Leo’s grandfather’s farm turns upside down when his grandmother’s bee hives are stolen. A light-hearted and funny middle-grade novel for fans of Rebecca Stead and Lynda Mullaly Hunt. Eleven-year-old Leo is an “armchair adventurer.” This, according to Dad, means he’d choose adventures in books or video games over real-life experiences. And while Leo hates the label, he can’t argue with it. Unlike his little sister Lizzie, Leo is not a risk-taker. So when he, Lizzie, Mom and Dad leave the city to visit Grandpa on Heron Island, Leo finds all kinds of dangers to avoid – from the deep, dark ocean to an old barn on the verge of collapse. But nothing on the island is more fearsome than Grandpa himself – Leo has never met anyone so grumpy! According to Mom, Grandpa is still grieving the recent death of his wife, a beekeeper beloved by everyone on the island. Despite Leo’s best efforts to avoid it, adventure finds him anyway when Grandma’s beehives go missing in the dead of night. Infuriated, Grandpa vows to track down the sticky-fingered thieves himself . . . with risk-averse Leo and danger loving Lizzie (plus a kitten named Mayhem) in tow.”– From publisher. For grades 3-6.
DB48595 Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sachar
Annotation: Thirty humorous stories about the students and teachers from the top floor of a school accidentally built sideways with thirty classrooms stacked on top of each other. Followed by “Wayside School Is Falling Down.” For grades 3-6. First Wayside School book.
DBC19142 BR21495 The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown
Annotation: Daniel James Brown’s robust book tells the story of the University of Washington’s 1936 eight-oar crew and their epic quest for an Olympic gold medal, a team that transformed the sport and grabbed the attention of millions of Americans. Adapted for young readers. For junior and senior high readers.
DB87202 A Storm Too Soon by Mike Toughlas
Annotation: Tougias tells the story of four coastguardsmen and their search for three veteran sailors who were on a forty-seven-foot sailboat that disappeared in the Gulf Stream during a calamitous storm in 2007. Adaptation for a younger audience. For grades 4-7.
DB79373 Bringing Down the Mouse by Ben Mezrich
Annotation: A mathematically gifted sixth-grader is recruited by a group of students to game the system at the biggest theme park in the world — and win the prize. For grades 4-7.
DB126085 JLT Sep The Bletchley Riddle by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin
Annotation: “Remember, you are bound by the Official Secrets Act… Summer, 1940. Nineteen-year-old Jakob Novis and his quirky younger sister Lizzie share a love of riddles and puzzles. And now they’re living inside of one. The quarrelsome siblings find themselves amidst one of the greatest secrets of World War II–Britain’s eccentric codebreaking factory at Bletchley Park. As Jakob joins Bletchley’s top minds to crack the Nazi’s Enigma cipher, fourteen-year-old Lizzie embarks on a mission to solve the mysterious disappearance of their mother. The Battle of Britain rages and Hitler’s invasion creeps closer. And at the same time, baffling messages and codes arrive on their doorstep while a menacing inspector lurks outside the gates of the Bletchley mansion. Are the messages truly for them, or are they a trap? Could the riddles of Enigma and their mother’s disappearance be somehow connected? Jakob and Lizzie must find a way to work together as they race to decipher clues which unravel a shocking puzzle that presents the ultimate challenge: How long must a secret be kept?”– Provided by publisher. For grades 4-7.
