Monday, August 7, 2017

Small Fry Pick of the Week:The Explorers, the Door in the Alley



Cover image for The Explorers : the door in the alley

by Adrienne Kress


Dear Reader,
 
     The book you hold in your hands is filled with adventure and danger.  There are missing persons, hired thugs, a mysterious box, a hidden key, famous explorers, a risk-averse boy, and a girl on a rescue mission.  Not to mention secrets that are not meant for the faint of heart.  But if you are feeling bold, or maybe even a little italic, and if you enjoy derring-do's ) and doing dares), this just might be the story for you.

     Also, it's really not a big deal, but if you happen to find a pig in a teeny hat, please return him to the Explorer's Society as soon as is humanly possible.  Thank you.






For Lexile info, click here


Click on the title to place it on hold at the Ventress Memorial Library!

Thursday, July 13, 2017

Small Fry Pick of the Week: Hazy Bloom and the Tomorrow Power



Cover image for Hazy Bloom and the tomorrow power


Hazy Bloom and the Tomorrow Power by Jennifer Hamburg


Hazel "Hazy" Bloom is having an ordinary day when suddenly her arms start to get prickly and goose bumpy and she gets kind of hot and cold at the same time, and then a strange vision flashes through her mind: FLYING PEAS!

Things get one thousand percent weirder the next afternoon in the school cafeteria, when a food fight erupts involving a that same airborne veggie.  It's bizarre ( spelling word), for real live.  Hazy's BFSB ( Best friend since birth), Elizabeth, decided that Hazy now has "tomorrow power," and ability to glimpse a hint of trouble before it happens the following day.  But in her funny first adventure in this new series, Hazy finds that having a little bit of foresight sometimes only makes it easier to cause a lot of unforeseen disasters.






Check out Novelist K-8 for Lexile Info and more! (valid library card required)

Click on the title to place it on hold at the Ventress Memorial Library!

Wednesday, May 17, 2017

Small Fry Pick of the Week: Horizon



 Cover image for Horizon

Horizon by Scott Westerfield
Ages 8-12

The crash is just the beginning.  When a plane goes down in the arctic, eight young survivors step from the wreckage expecting to see nothing but ice and snow.  Instead, they find themselves lost in a strange jungle with no way to get home and little hope of rescue.

Food is running out. Water is scarce. And the jungle is full of threats unlike anything the survivors have ever seen before--from razor-beaked shredder birds to carnivorous vines to the mysterious predator stalking the wilderness in the dead of night, whose chilling cries seem to be getting closer. . 



 Check out Novelist K-8 for Lexile Info and more! (valid library card required)

Click on the title to place it on hold at the Ventress Memorial Library!

Thursday, April 20, 2017

Small Frye Pick of the Week: Detective Gordon, A Case in Any Case



Cover image for A case in any case

Detective Gordon: A Case in any Case

Grades 1-4

Buffy was suddenly frightened. A small mouse alone in the big forest.  The wind howled and her tail was ice-cold.  Her whiskers trembled.  Maybe she should call the police.  The she remembered: she was the police.

Gordon has retired and Buffy is the sole detective at the small police station in the forest.  It is not easy for a police officer to be alone.  Especially when there are strange noises outside the station at night.

Buffy decides to seek out Gordon to help solve the mystery.  After all, two police think twice as well as one.  Two police are twice as brave!

Check out Novelist K-8 for Lexile info and more! (valid library card required)

Click on the title to place it on hold at the Ventress Memorial Library!

Tuesday, April 4, 2017

Small Fry Pick of the Week: Sticks and Stones



Cover image for Sticks & stones

Sticks and Stones 
by Abby Cooper
                           

          Ever since she was a baby, the words people use to describe Elyse have instantly appeared on her arms and legs.  At first it was CUTE and ADORABLE, but as she's gotten older and kids have gotten meaner, words like LOSER and PATHETIC appear, and those words bubble up and itch.  Then there are words like INTERESTING, which she's not really sure how to feel about.

          Now at age twelve, Elyse is starting middle school, and just when her friends who used to accept and protect her are drifting away, she receives an anonymous note saying,


                                            I KNOW WHO YOU ARE,

                                                AND I KNOW WHAT
                       
                                           WHAT YOU ARE DEALING WITH.

                                                I WANT TO HELP. 

      Can Elyse figure out who is sending the notes--and how to be happy with herself?

Check out Novelist K-8 for Lexile Info and more! (valid library card required)

Click on the title to place it on hold at the Ventress Memorial Library!

Saturday, April 1, 2017

Small Fry Pick of the Week: A Silent Voice

Cover image for A silent voice. 1
A Silent Voice By Yoshitoki, Oima

Teen Ages 12+ Manga/Graphic Novel

Shoya is a bully. When Shoko, a girl who can’t hear, enters his elementary school class, she becomes their favorite target, and Shoya and his friends goad each other into devising new tortures for her. But the children’s cruelty goes too far. Shoko is forced to leave the school, and Shoya ends up shouldering all the blame. Six years later, the two meet again. Can Shoya make up for his past mistakes, or is it too late?

 
Click on the title to place it on hold at the Ventress Memorial Library!

Wednesday, March 22, 2017

Small Fry Pick of the Week: Razzle Dazzle Unicorn



Cover image for Razzle dazzle unicorn : another Phoebe and her unicorn adventure

Razzle Dazzle Unicorn by Dana Simpson


J Graphic Novel
Grades 3+

Phoebe and her Unicorn is back with more sparkles than ever! In this 4th volume, join in the adventure as Phoebe and Marigold confront messy rooms, trouble at school, and a nasty case of "Sparkle Fever."  Follow the pair back to Camp Wolfgang, where their old pals Sue ( a.k.a. "Monster Girl") and Ringo, the lake creature, remind them that being weird is WAY more fun than being normal.

Check out NOVELIST K-8 for Lexile and more information!

Click on the title to place it on hold at the Ventress Memorial Library!

Friday, March 10, 2017

Small Fry Pick of the Week: See You in the Cosmos



Cover image for See You in the Cosmos, Carl Sagan


See You in the Cosmos by Jack Cheng

All eleven-year-old Alex Petroski wants is to launch his golden iPod into space.  With a series of audio recordings, he'll show other life-forms what life on Earth-his Earth-is really like.

But for a boy with a long-dead-dad, a troubled mom, and a mostly not-around brother, Alex struggles with the big questions:  Where do I come from?  Who's out there?  And above all, how can I be brave?

Determined to find the answers, Alex sets out on an extraordinary road trip with his dog Carl Sagan-names for Alex's hero, the real-life astronomer.   But his destination keeps changing.  And the funny, lost, remarkable people he meets along the way can only partially prepare him for the secrets he'll uncover--secrets that will turn h is universe upside down.

Check out Novelist K-8 for Lexile info and more information  (valid library card required)

Click on the title to place it on hold at the Ventress Memorial Library!