Grade: 4

“I was born at the beginning of it all, on the Red side—the Communist side—of the Iron Curtain.” Through annotated illustrations, journals, maps, and dreamscapes, Peter Sís shows what life was like for a child who loved to draw, proudly wore the red scarf of a Young Pioneer, stood guard at the giant statue of Stalin, and believed whatever he was told to believe. But adolescence brought questions. Cracks began to appear in the Iron Curtain, and news from the West slowly filtered into the country. Sís learned about beat poetry, rock ’n’ roll, blue jeans, and Coca-Cola. He let his hair grow long, secretly read banned books, and joined a rock band. Then came the Prague Spring of 1968, and for a teenager who wanted to see the world and meet the Beatles, this was a magical time. It was short-lived, however, brought to a sudden and brutal end by the Soviet-led invasion. But this brief flowering had provided a glimpse of new possibilities—creativity could be discouraged but not easily killed. By joining memory and history, Sís takes us on his extraordinary journey: from infant with paintbrush in hand to young man borne aloft by the wings of his art.

Gary D. Schmidt offers an unforgettable antihero in THE WEDNESDAY WARS—a wonderfully witty and compelling novel about a teenage boy’s mishaps and adventures over the course of the 1967–68 school year.

Meet Holling Hoodhood, a seventh-grader at Camillo Junior High, who must spend Wednesday afternoons with his teacher, Mrs. Baker, while the rest of the class has religious instruction. Mrs. Baker doesn’t like Holling—he’s sure of it. Why else would she make him read the plays of William Shakespeare outside class? But everyone has bigger things to worry about, like Vietnam. His father wants Holling and his sister to be on their best behavior: the success of his business depends on it. But how can Holling stay out of trouble when he has so much to contend with? A bully demanding cream puffs; angry rats; and a baseball hero signing autographs the very same night Holling has to appear in a play in yellow tights! As fate sneaks up on him again and again, Holling finds Motivation—the Big M—in the most unexpected places and musters up the courage to embrace his destiny, in spite of himself.

If your students like booing bad puns, have them read this. The authors have come up with 26 stories about challenging words–from abasement to zealot–each ending in a word-defining pun.

The Logan family is glad to share their water when all their neighbors’ wells go dry. But ten-year-old David Logan is challenged by mean-spirited Charlie, a white teenager, who is prejudiced against blacks. Tension builds in this story, keeping readers on edge until the end. Check your library for more stories about the Logan family and their struggle for civil rights, including In Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry and Let the Circle Be Unbroken.

A thrilling follow-up to DiTerlizzi and Black’s first Spiderwick Chronicles book, The Seeing Stone has Jared and Mallory rescuing Simon from a band of goblins. When the young boy is kidnapped, Thimbletack leads Jared to a stone that allows him to have “the sight,” or the ability to see magical creatures. Soon, the brother and sister are outfoxing a hungry troll, working with a helpful goblin named Hogsqueal to thwart the other goblins, and taking care of a wounded griffin. With more enchanted action than the first book and a suspenseful ending, this second installment will have kids chomping at the bit for more.

Like Joey Pigza, Bradley Chalkers doesn’t fit in with the other kids in his fifth-grade class. For one thing, he’s the oldest. He’s also a liar and an attention-seeking bully. Many students have a “Bradley” in their own classrooms. Hopefully they will see that friendship and understanding go a long way toward helping kids like Bradley triumph over their own obstacles.

Borden Watson’s father is a logger in Northern California and he has lost his job because logging in that region has been halted to protect the endangered spotted owl. When Borden brings home an abandoned baby owl, his father yells, “Shoot him!” But calmer heads prevail and the owl is allowed to remain in the house. Before long, the presence of the owl causes a turn-around in the lives and attitudes of the people who live there.

Angela Johnson’s original new picture book pays tribute to the men, “from Native Americans to Europeans to Asians to Africans,” who with their “blood, sweat, and courage” have built America’s bridges, railroads, and skyscrapers. Poetic text and dramatic watercolors illustrate the hard work and danger these men faced.