The Humming Room

Title:  The Humming Room
Author:  Ellen Potter
Genre: Mystery
Description:  Twelve-year-old orphan Roo Fanshaw is sent to live with an uncle she never knew in a largely uninhabited mansion on Cough Rock Island and discovers a wild river boy, an invalid cousin, and the mysteries of a hidden garden.
AR Level:5.2

Word Count: 41,594

Location:  Find The Humming Room in the F (Fiction) section under POT (for Potter).

Read part of The Humming Room HERE.

Waiting for the Magic

Title:  Waiting for the Magic
Author:  Patricia MacLachlan
Genre: Fantasy
Description:  When Papa goes away for a little while, his family tries to cope with the separation by adopting four dogs and a cat.
AR Level: 3.0

Word Count: 12,706

Location:  Find Waiting for the Magic in the F (Fiction) section under MAC (for MacLachlan).

Learn more abut Waiting for the Magic HERE.

Freaky Fast Frankie Joe

Title:  Freaky Fast Frankie Joe
Author:  Lutricia Clifton
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Description:  Twelve-year-old Frankie, forced to live with the father he never knew, a stepmother, and four half-brothers in Illinois, starts a delivery service to finance his escape back to his mother in Texas, not realizing he is making a better life for himself.

AR Level: 3.8

Word Count: 48,340

Location:  Find Freaky Fast Frankie Joe in the F (Fiction) section under CLI (for Clifton).

Laugh with the Moon

Title:  Laugh with the Moon
Author:  Shana Burg
Genre:  Adventure
Description:  Massachusetts thirteen-year-old Clare, grieving after her mother's recent death, reluctantly travels with her father to spend nine weeks in a remote village in Malawi, where new friends and experiences help open her mind and heart.
AR Level: 4.5

Word Count: 55,070

Location:  Find Laugh with the Moon in the F (Fiction) section under BUR (for Burg).

Walls within Walls

Title:  Walls within Walls
Author:  Maureen Sherry
Genre: Mystery
Description:  When the Smithfork family moves into a lavish Manhattan apartment building, they discover clues to a decades-old mystery hidden behind the walls of their new home.
AR Level: 5.2

Word Count: 66,495

Location:  Find Walls within Walls in the F (Fiction) section under SHE (for Sherry).

Go on a Walls within Walls Treasure Hunt!

Whatever After : If the Shoe Fits

Title:  If the Shoe Fits
Author:  Sarah Mylnowski
Genre: Fantasy; Fairy Tale
Description:  On their second adventure through the magic mirror, Abby and Jonah find themselves in the Cinderella fairy tale and things soon start to go really wrong. Book #2
AR Level: 2.9

Word Count: 26,701

Location:  Find If the Shoe Fits in the F (Fiction) section under MYL (for Mylnowski).

Lawn Boy

Last night I finally got around to reading Lawn Boy by Gary Paulsen. Someone recommended it to me a few years ago, but it got buried under other books I just had to read... That's one of the problems with being a librarian - I find out about ALL the great books out there and want to read every one of them. 

I really liked Lawn Boy and can't wait to start reading the sequel, Lawn Boy Returns, tonight.  This story is about a boy who gets a lawn mower for his birthday ( a little bit weird, but I've received stranger gifts).  If you're wondering what you could possibly to with a lawn mower in just one summer, this book will give you some ideas.  This book is fairly easy to read and will teach you a little about economics (supply and demand and capitalism).

I can't wait to find out what happens to Lawn Boy next!

Title:  Lawn Boy
Author:  Gary Paulsen
Genre: Animal
Description:  Things get out of hand for a twelve-year-old boy when a neighbor convinces him to expand his summer lawn-mowing business.AR Level: 4.3

Word Count: 14,323

Location:  Find Lawn Boy in the F (Fiction) section under PAU (for Paulsen).