2012 | 3rdgradereading

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Freaky Fast Frankie Joe

Posted on January 2, 2013 by admin Leave a comment

Written by Lutricia Clifton

Frankie Joe lives in a trailer park in Texas and his friends are the retired people who live there. But all that changes when he has to leave them behind because his mother is put in jail and he can’t live alone. The father he has never known is taking temporary custody of Frankie Joe. He will move in with a family he has never met and go to Illinois, a place he has never seen. Frankie Joe hates it. The school holds him back a grade to give him a chance to catch up, but he is bigger than everyone else. His four half brothers make him feel like a freak. He decides to escape. He will earn money as a delivery boy and ride back home on his bicycle. Slowly, he makes friends as he builds his business and he gains the respect of his new family. Just as he attempts to put his escape into action, his mother throws the biggest kink of all into the plan. She signs over permanent custody to his father and blithely leaves town with the boyfriend whose drugs landed her in jail in the first place. The life he created in Illinois is now his safety net.
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Posted in 2012, Contemporary, Fiction

Vampire School: Stage Fright

Posted on December 31, 2012 by admin Leave a comment

Written by Peter Bently
Illustrated by Chris Harrison

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The kids from St. Orlok’s Elementary, a vampire school, return with more monster mayhem. This time, they’re preparing for the big phantomime of Snow Fright and the Seven Dwarfs. After bat lessons with the three S’s (swooping, swerving, and skulking), the vampire children prepare for their performance. Their teacher also explains the three C’s for hiding (columns, curtains, and corners) and the three D’s (dark, damp, and dingy). Gnashful is the angry dwarf. The others are Gappy, Snappy, Flappy, Creepy, Chompy, and Shock. Lucy is typecast as the Wicked Queen. When Bella loses her voice, Lee volunteers to let her lip synch to his voice. Bella and Lee are subsequently cast in the upcoming production of The Sound of Screaming, in which there are seven children and a nanny. It will be produced by local impresario Harker Winegum.
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Posted in 2012, Contemporary, Fantasy, Fiction, Humor

Mallory McDonald: Super Snoop

Posted on December 28, 2012 by admin One comment

Written by Laurie Friedman
Illustrated by Jennifer Kalis

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What do you get when a ten-year-old girl’s brother has an official girlfriend and the sister wants to know what the couple is doing?Lots of trouble. That’s what. In this eighteenth installment from the “Mallory McDonald” series, Mallory and brother Max are at home with babysitter Crystal while their parents are out of town. Max and his girlfriend are working diligently on a secret science project, and Mallory is not convinced they are really working on the project. Mallory goes to extreme lengths to discover the truth, asking everyone she knows, including her cat, for advice. She talks to her best friend, to Crystal, to other friends, and even sends an email to an internet advice columnist. They all tell her to leave her brother alone, but she doesn’t like this advice. She finally witnesses an innocent kiss by hiding in a closet. Not satisfied with her knowledge, she embellishes the event to the point of embarrassment for all involved. Needless to say, she pays dearly for her lies. Her friends are appalled, and everyone else is very angry. Mallory has to figure out a way to start the healing.
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Posted in 2012, Contemporary, Fiction, Humor, Mystery

The Conference of the Birds

Posted on December 26, 2012 by admin Leave a comment

Retold by Alexis York Lumbard
Illustrated by Demi

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Alexis Lumbard has taken a 12th century Persian poem, modernized it, and made it fun to read. This is the story of a search for the King. The birds of the land were in search of somebody who would lead and care for them. They flew all across the world, searching for their King. There were many problems to be faced along the way; one of the biggest problems for each one of the birds was their depth of commitment. How far were they willing to go, and what were they willing to give up to be able to come before the King?

The many different birds will each come face to face with their own deepest fears: Am I strong enough? Am I worthy? Can I give up my beautiful jewels? Can I stand before him as I am, without pretext?
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Posted in 2012, Fantasy, Nature

My Favorite Bible: The Best Loved Stories of the Bible

Posted on December 24, 2012 by admin Leave a comment

Written by Rondi DeBoer and Christine Tangvald

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My Favorite Bible: The Best Loved Stories of the Bible just might be this moms favorite bible for kids!In our home we have more than a few chunky kids’ bibles on the shelves. After twenty years of raising children, one tends to gather quite a collection and many have been sent packing because they didn’t quite make the grade. My Favorite Bible is certainly a keeper because this chunky kid’s bible is different than any other I’ve laid hands on.

Author’s Rondi DeBoer and Christine Tangvald have done a superb job bringing bible stories to life. They’ve included most of the main Old Testament stories and just as many New Testament stories, which isn’t always common among children’s bibles. Each story is written in an easy to understand way and uses the God’s Word Translation, giving it extra readability. It’s written at about a third grade reading level, but would also make an outstanding read aloud for younger children.
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Posted in 2012, Contemporary

The Enchanted Attic: Saving Moby Dick

Posted on December 21, 2012 by admin Leave a comment

Written by L.L. Samson

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Picture a reluctant young reader with two reading choices: classics in one pile and contemporary fiction in the other. Which will be the favored pile? LL Samson, the author of The Enchanted Attic books, makes the task easier by melding the two piles into one. He created a series that brings the characters of the classics into the modern world and introduces readers to the classics in an un-putt-downable fashion. Saving Moby Dick is the second book in the series.
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Posted in 2012, Contemporary, Fiction

Hunter Moran Saves The Universe

Posted on December 12, 2012 by admin Leave a comment

Written by Patricia Reilly Giff

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Tinwitty Day is coming (soup ahoy). Five-year old Steadman is following (“The stakes are high. One sound and we are stuck.”).The report card is about to breathe its last (and has to be given a proper burial). The dentist is plotting (Hunter and Zack are on his trail). Mary is screaming (the house is out of milk). Linny is shouting (“Where’s the milk for Mary? Someone drank it all?”). William is painting (big globs of paint are everywhere). Mama is in the kitchen (maybe cooking). And Papa is in the office (working). All this in just the first chapter! Oh what an exhausting book already!
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Posted in 2012, Contemporary, Fiction, Humor, Mystery

The Secret of the Fortune Wookiee

Posted on December 7, 2012 by admin Leave a comment

Written and Illustrated by Tom Angleberger

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First there was The Strange Case of the Origami Yoda, then there was Darth Paper Strikes Back. Now there is The Secret of the Fortune Wookiee. A colorful and quirky cast at McQuarrie Middle School uses Star Wars culture to help them navigate the complicated world of middle school. Dwight introduced Origami Yoda in the first book, a finger puppet made from folded paper that could give advice for life’s most challenging situations while the gang solved a mystery. But Dwight is suspended from McQuarrie in this book and becomes a mystery himself. He stops talking to his friends after he goes to his alternative school and begins to act very un-Dwight-like, in other words, normal. Before he goes, he supposedly leaves a paper fortune teller shaped like Chewbacca with Sara. Thanks to a Han Solo puppet that can translate Wookiee-speak, she is able to give advice that rival Yoda’s. In spite of the day-to-day drama/advice success, they still miss their friend Dwight and set about convincing him that his real place is with his friends at McQuarrie.
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Posted in 2012, Contemporary, Fantasy, Fiction, Humor

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