“Liam loved to get mail.” So begins the story of a boy who NEVER received mail and decided to do something about it – he wrote a letter to his mailbox! The mailbox responded by sending Liam a fire-breathing dragon. Liam, who must have been raised by very polite parents, wrote a thank you letter back to the mailbox (with a request for more stuff) and received many wonderful items, like trombone-playing pigs and an air whale (i.e. a whale that flies). He and the mailbox went back and forth until he had TOO MUCH MAIL! He then decided to share the wealth by sending gifts to others through the mail and decided that it felt good to give to others, too.
This book is full of fun, with cartoon-like drawings, speech bubbles and little side jokes that will appeal to older readers as well as the target k-3 crowd. Writing letters and the enjoyment of sending and receiving mail are explored in a silly, entertaining way. This will be a great addition to a lesson on letter writing or a unit on community helpers (post office).

This series focuses on four friends and their adventures as Critter Club members, who care for and find homes for pets. They operate a volunteer pet rescue center with help from Amy’s mom, Dr. Purvis, a veterinarian.
In this book, Ellie can’t wait for her cousin’s wedding, but she becomes even more excited when Hailey asks her to be the flower girl! To add to the excitement, the Critter Club girls (Ellie, Amy, Marion and Liz) get a cute bulldog puppy that needs a home. Ellie’s enthusiasm turns to dismay when she ruins her flower girl’s dress with paint. How will she fix this and can they find a home for Lulu, the bulldog puppy? Fortunately, things seem to work out for the Critter Club!
This series is a great one for early chapter book readers. The combination of cute animals and the diverse girls who help them is a winner and the accompanying illustrations are quite charming. The stories are relatable and the language is appropriate. Pick this book up for your primary students – it will fly off the shelf.

Five high school students are in their evening summer school Psychology class when their heartless and sadistic professor dies. They spend the next three weeks in a state of absolute terror, dread, and crisis as they try to cover up their involvement, avoid implication in the crime, and struggle with the temptation to turn on each other to pin the blame on someone else.

This is a suspenseful nail biter that engages the reader through the very last page, in spite of the somewhat stereotypical characters. There is the “Queen Bee” gorgeous (white) girl, so popular with the boys and envied by the girls; the super brainy girl (black) who has never had a boyfriend; the rich and unemotional (Asian) boy; the handsome (white) juvenile delinquent guy; and the kind, sweet (white) gay boy.

The story is told from all five of their points of view, which makes the book even more engaging.

Life is Funny by E.R. Frank is an intense fiction novel that is anything but funny. The author gives insight into 11 teenagers growing up in Brooklyn, NY over a span of 7 years; each character has a voice and portrays an in depth look into their modern day life and struggles dealing with topics of unwanted pregnancies, drug and sexual abuse, love, suicide, cutting, and what it’s like to be a teenager. It’s at times graphic and slightly intense for younger teen readers, but at the same time gives raw perspective into 11 teenagers lives all living in the same area. Originally published back in 2000, this new cover art will also help pull in readers.  I recommend this book older teens and adults who want a look at what some students in our system have to deal with, and how they react.

The new Piper Morgan series fills a niche for those young girls living in a single-parent family, where they are the only child and there is no father in the picture. Piper is most likely in the 5-8 year age range, is eager to please, wants to make friends, and jumps to conclusions – be they right or wrong. Piper’s mother works out of a ‘Temp’ agency which takes her and Piper to many different places. Piper’s big hope is that her mother will finally get a job where they will be able to stay in one place for a long time.

As book #2 opens, Piper’s mother has taken on her latest temp job working on a project in a school office. Piper might get to help around the school as a Helper Bee, when not in class. Piper is introduced to her new class. She will be sitting next to Lily, the principal’s daughter, who is also a Helper Bee.

Nana and Piper make cookies for Piper to give to the principal. When the cookies disappear, Piper blames Lily. Later, when Lily and Piper are yelling at each other Piper’s mother is able to get Lily to explain how she hid the cookies in a classroom. Meanwhile, Lily’s father had already found the missing cookies. It seems Piper and Lily both wanted to be the best Helper Bees.

In the end, Piper finds the “I’m sorry” card Lily made for her.

At the end of each of the ten chapters, there is a “Class Fact” page of trivia about the topic of interest from that chapter.  At the end of chapter 5, the Class Fact deal with how to tell if someone is lying. While at the end of chapter 8, the Class Fact deals with how to say you’re sorry and after chapter 9, it deals with famous artists.

Lucy Fleming has two or three gray-toned pencil illustrations for each chapter.

Named one of “13 Detective Book Series You Obsessed over as a Kid” by Buzzfeed.com and the inspiration for a hit Disney film, the masterful Great Mouse Detective series is now available to a whole new generation of readers!

Basil the mouse detective sets off on a journey to solve one of the greatest mysteries of mousedom: Do miniature cats exist? Leading mouse scientists aren’t certain, but they believe that answers can be found in India. As Basil sets sail for the Far East-and the lost island of Kataarh-danger stalks him at every turn. Will Basil successfully unravel the mystery of these mini-cats and their mouse king?

Written on a 5.2 AR level, advanced second and third grade readers would enjoy this book. May not appeal to the older middle grade readers; seen as “too young.” Nice illustrations, well paced, interesting.

This is the second book in a hilarious new monster adventure series. With fresh, funny illustrations on every page, this is perfect for fans of comics and graphic novels aged 8 and over.

Jack Sullivan, originally introduced in The Last Kids on Earth, is back! It’s still TOTAL MONSTER ZOMBIE CHAOS on the streets, but now Jack has a gang of friends to help him through – science genius and best friend Quint, super-strong Dirk and all-round coolest girl ever, June. Not to mention Rover, Jack’s awesome monster pet! Along the way this group encounters a lot more than they bargained for, including a giant Wormungulous, a pizza parlor monster hangout, an ancient evil who destroys worlds, and a stereo system that is totally the bomb. Can Jack figure out why the zombies are vanishing . . . before he and his friends are next?

Mr. Andre’s class is going on a nature walk, but first they must feed and water the class gecko, Jojo.  On their walk, Mr. Andrew and the students observe the similarities between Jojo and the plants and animals they see.  These observations lead the students to identifying patterns in the nature they see around them.  As they return to their class, they summarize their learning before saying goodbye to Jojo and heading home.  The story line is contrived but the connections the students draw fit well with the Next Generation Science Standards concepts.

Contains Table of Contents, Nature Treasure Hunt Activity, Glossary, To Learn More, and Index.

This informational book introduces basic facts about bighorn sheep such as their appearance, size, food, ewes vs. rams, predators, and information about babies. Each page spread contains large photos that supports the information stated. Charts are found throughout this book emphasizing the content. This book contains a table of contents, glossary, index, and library reference information.

This informational book introduces basic facts about unique mammals such as pangolins, bats, sloths, monkeys, lemurs, moles and more. Mammal facts are also explained. Most page spreads contain a full page photo that supports the information stated. This book contains a table of contents, “which is stranger” page, “top 5 facts” page, “record holders” page, “animal crack-ups” page, glossary, index and a publisher sponsored web address.