Aliens on Vacation by Clete Barrett Smith

2012-2013

David isn’t happy about leaving Florida and his friends to summer with his crazy grandmother in “Middle-of-Nowhere,” Washington. Arriving at her Intergalactic Bed & Breakfast, he isn’t surprised by its the-60’s-meets-Star-Wars décor, but he is surprised by the weird-looking guests. It turns out that each room in the inn is an off-earth portal and his grandma the gate-keeper, allowing aliens to vacation on Earth. Grandma desperately needs David's help monitoring the visitors, shopping for cartloads of aluminum-foil for dinner, and taking rambunctious alien kids, that glow-in-the-dark and look like trees, camping. The problem is, the town sheriff, already suspicious about Granny, is a scout leader camping in the same spot. Will David blow Granny’s cover, forcing the B&B to shut down for good, or will the intergalactic police have to intervene?

Aliens on Vacation Book Trailer 

 



Just Being Audrey by Margaret Cardillo

2012-2013

From Roman Holiday to Breakfast at Tiffany's, when Audrey Hepburn starred in a movie, she lit up the screen. Her unique sense of fashion, her grace, and, most important, her spirit made her beloved by generations. But her life offscreen was even more luminous. As a little girl growing up in Nazi-occupied Europe, she learned early on that true kindness is the greatest measure of a person—and it was a lesson she embodied as she became one of the first actresses to use her celebrity to shine a light on the impoverished children of the world through her work with UNICEF.

This is Audrey Hepburn as a little girl, an actress, an icon, an inspiration; this is Audrey just being Audrey.



Someone Named Eva by Joan M. Wolf

I thought this book was a great book to assign your class to sum up the World War II lesson. The book, Someone Named Eva, is by Joan M. Wolf. The main setting is in Poland. The family of six this story is about there is Milada, Babichka, Mama, Papa, Anechka, and Jaroslav. One day the Nazis busted in and arrested them and separated the boys and the girls.
Then the girls were taken to a school gym and all the young girls with blonde hair were inspected and taken away from their family. The girls that were inspected and taken away were trained to be young German girls, or Aryans, and they were given new names, I bet you are wondering what Milada's new name is , but to find that out you will have to buy this book. When her training was finished she was taken to Germany and she got to see what her new life would be like. The next day was the day the adoption day was starting. The next day was the day she was adopted. To find out more on her life and the struggles she went through you will have to buy this great book which I highly recommend you do.

A Bad Case of Stripes by David Shannon

 

I love to read David Shannon's books because they are always fun, but also often have a good lesson to teach. In this book, Camilla loves lima beans, but won't admit it because she is afraid of what the other kids will think of her. So, she breaks into a bad case of stripes; changing her appearance every time the people around her change. At the end of the story, she learns that it is okay to be different and it doesn't matter what other people think of you.

Koko's Kitten by Dr. Francine Patterson



Story of Koko the gorilla and her kitten "All Ball" illustrated with several photographs.

Misty Gordon and the Mystery of the Ghost Pirates by Kim Kennedy

 

Bluebonnet Book 2012-2013

2012-2013



Here is a funny middle-grade mystery from a bright new fiction talent.Things in the New England town of Ashcrumb are getting weird. Or just weirder. Misty Gordon, whose antique-dealing parents drive a van that says “D.E.A.D.” on the side (for “Deceased’s Estate and Antique Dealer”), is accustomed to weird.One day, when accompanying her father to the estate of a recently departed clairvoyant, Misty discovers a notebook and a pair of eyeglasses that enable her to see ghosts! And solve mysteries. With the help of her new powers and her best friend, Yoshi, Misty learns that her hometown was settled not by respectable colonists but by pirates! And the ghosts of the pirates are returning to reclaim a dangerous, powerful treasure they lost centuries ago. Who will find it first, Misty or the pirates?

Killing Lincoln by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard



Right now I'm reading Killing Lincoln by Bill O'Reilly.

The anchor of The O'Reilly Factor recounts one of the most dramatic stories in American history—how one gunshot changed the country forever. In the spring of 1865, the bloody saga of America's Civil War finally comes to an end after a series of increasingly harrowing battles. President Abraham Lincoln's generous terms for Robert E. Lee's surrender are devised to fulfill Lincoln's dream of healing a divided nation, with the former Confederates allowed to reintegrate into American society. But one man and his band of murderous accomplices, perhaps reaching into the highest ranks of the U.S. government, are not appeased.

In the midst of the patriotic celebrations in Washington D.C., John Wilkes Booth—charismatic ladies' man and impenitent racist—murders Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre. A furious manhunt ensues and Booth immediately becomes the country's most wanted fugitive. Lafayette C. Baker, a smart but shifty New York detective and former Union spy, unravels the string of clues leading to Booth, while federal forces track his accomplices. The thrilling chase ends in a fiery shootout and a series of court-ordered executions—including that of the first woman ever executed by the U.S. government, Mary Surratt. Featuring some of history's most remarkable figures, vivid detail, and page-turning action, Killing Lincoln is history that reads like a thriller.