Grade: 4

Three curious kids discover a world of brownies, fairies, and other fantastic creatures in this ultra-enchanting launch to Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black’s Spiderwick Chronicles.
When the three Grace children — Mallory, Jared, and Simon — and their mom move into Aunt Lucinda’s old house, readers know there’s magic afoot. The kids uncover a nest of assembled junk, and on a visit to the secret library via the dumbwaiter, Jared finds a note describing “my secret to all mankind.” After a few mysterious pranks that get blamed on Jared, the boy finally digs up the real prize: Arthur Spiderwick’s Field Guide to the Fantastical World Around You. Fortunately enough, the kids meet one of the critters listed in the guide — a brownie named Thimbletack — who makes it all “real” and helps provide the book’s suspenseful conclusion: “‘Throw the book away, toss it in a fire. If you do not heed, you will draw their ire.’”

Fourteen-year-old Jake has always been close to his grandfather, Skelly. But now Skelly has Alzheimer’s disease and can’t watch over Jake. Jake has to help his grandfather fasten the Velcro on his sneakers and clean food off his face. It’s embarrassing when his friends come over, because he never knows how Skelly will act. By adding a dose of humor to a tragic situation, Park makes young readers aware of the difficulties in dealing with a debilitating disease.

Doing homework becomes a thing of the past! Meet the D Squad, a foursome of fifth graders at the Grand Canyon School made up of a geek, a class clown, a teacher’s pet, and a slacker. They are bound together by one very big secret: the homework machine. Because the machine, code-named Belch, is doing their homework for them, they start spending a lot of time together, attracting a lot of attention. And attention is exactly what you don’t want when you are keeping a secret. Before long, things start to get out of control, and Belch becomes much more powerful than they ever imagined. Now the kids are in a race against their own creation, and the loser could end up in jail…or worse!

Here’s a book that teaches children an important lesson. When Libby gets caught telling a lie, her mama reprimands her, so she decides to always tell the truth. When children admire her best friend Ruthie Mae’s outfit, Libby points out the hole in Ruthie Mae’s sock. She confides to her teacher that Willie hasn’t done his homework, and she tells her neighbor Miz Tusselbury that her yard looks like a jungle. Before long, everyone is angry at Libby.

Orphan Hugo Cabret lives in a wall. His secret home is etched out in the crevices of a busy Paris train station. Part-time clock keeper, part-time thief, he leads a life of quiet routine until he gets involved with an eccentric, bookish young girl and an angry old man who runs a toy booth in the station. The Invention of Hugo Cabret unfolds its cryptic, magical story in a format that blends elements of picture book, novel, graphic novel, and film. Caldecott Honor-winning author-illustrator Brian Selznick has fashioned an intricate puzzle story that binds the reader like a mesmerist’s spell.

The fourth episode of Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi’s Spiderwick Chronicles is here and more spellbinding than ever! When the Grace children and their mom attend Mallory’s fencing competition, Jared spies an odd-looking fellow rooting through Mallory’s duffel bag. The problem is, the thief looks just like Jared himself, and when the boy confronts his mysterious double with a knife — iron is known to repel faeries — the “Not-Jared” disappears and Jared winds up almost expelled from school. But when Mallory disappears, a trip to the quarry results in a harrowing meeting with dwarves, a run-in with a googly-eyed “knocker,” a scheme to rescue their sister from a strange sleep, and finally, a startling fight over the book. All may look hopeless for the Grace kids, but thankfully, help is right at home. A page-turning installment that even includes an image of Jared’s expulsion letter, The Ironwood Tree packs the punch that fans have come to love.

Clements shows a keen sense of humor through his characters. In this book, a student “journalist” writes an exposé about her teacher — an act that ultimately benefits the teacher and the entire class.

Percy Jackson is a good kid, but he can’t seem to focus on his schoolwork or control his temper. And lately, being away at boarding school is only getting worse — Percy could have sworn his pre-algebra teacher turned into a monster and tried to kill him. When Percy’s mom finds out, she knows it’s time that he knew the truth about where he came from, and that he go to the one place he’ll be safe. She sends Percy to Camp Half Blood, a summer camp for demigods (on Long Island), where he learns that the father he never knew is Poseidon, God of the Sea. Soon a mystery unfolds and together with his friends — one a satyr and the other the demigod daughter of Athena — Percy sets out on a quest across the United States to reach the gates of the Underworld (located in a recording studio in Hollywood) and prevent a catastrophic war between the gods. But to succeed on his quest, Percy will have to unravel a treachery more powerful than the gods themselves.