Grade: 5

Route 66 may be the best way to see the U.S.A., and your students are sure to get their travel kicks by reading this fictional keepsake. In 1946, ten-year-old Molly McIntire takes a road trip with her family. She collects a scrapbook of souvenirs and memories, including photos of well-known people, state postcards, national park ticket stubs, and dinner receipts. Through Molly’s backseat perspective, readers will learn that Springfield, Illinois, is not only the home of Abe Lincoln, but also the home of Cozy Dog hotdogs! Comical events, such as using a Mohave water bag to cool the car’s engine, accompany practical post-World War II realities. Readers will inevitably compare Molly’s life to their own!

Readers get a close look at the planning, construction, and use of the Jefferson home. Fisher includes black-and-white paintings, photographs, and house plans.

In alternating chapters, warm, carefully chosen words show the reader how it feels to be Morning Girl, a 12-year-old Taino, and her younger brother, Star Boy. The powerful ending packs a wallop and will leave the reader thinking long after the last page has been turned.

The author describes some of the dogs that have had special places in his life, including his first dog, Snowball, in the Phillippines; Dirk, who protected him from bullies; and Cookie, who saved his life.

María Isabel Salazar López is a new girl in school. It’s hard enough to be a new girl, but when the teacher decides to give her another name, Mary Lopez, she is frustrated. María Isabel, who is so proud to be named after close family members, is lost without her name. When her teacher calls on her she doesn’t even recognize the name as hers. This leads to many misunderstandings that stand in the way of María Isabel’s getting along with her teacher and fitting in with the class. When María Isabel writes an essay about her greatest wish, let’s just say it comes true!

A girl. An iguana. An island. And e-mail. Meet Nim–a modern-day Robinson Crusoe! She can chop down bananas with a machete, climb tall palm trees, and start a fire with a piece of glass. So she’s not afraid when her scientist dad sails off to study plankton for three days, leaving her alone on their island. Besides, it’s not as if no one’s looking after her–she’s got a sea lion to mother her and an iguana for comic relief. She also has an interesting new e-mail pal. But when her father’s cell-phone calls stop coming and disaster seems near, Nim has to be stronger and braver than she’s ever been before. And she’ll need all her friends to help her.

Is “power counting” like power jogging? It is in that it gets kids’ minds in great math shape. Professor X. P. Nential teaches kids to count using exponents of 10. From 1, kids power count to a googol (10 with 100 zeros) and beyond. Sidebars with real-world fascinating facts make these large numbers meaningful.

A secret prophecy shapes the lives of Firestar’s grandchildren, but only one of the three knows about it. Jaypaw is captivated by the power it promises, and he believes the key to that power may lie buried in the distant past — with the ancient cats who once walked these woods and now prowl through his dreams. His search for answers leads him toward the mountains — the home of the Tribe of Rushing Water. Lionpaw and Hollypaw feel drawn to the mountains too, for different reasons. But the mountains hide secrets as well as answers, and if the three cats find a way to get there, they may discover more than they ever expected.