Wallace Wallace, accidental star of the football team, won't tell even the smallest lie. When he refuses to pretend to like his English teacher's favorite book, Old Shep, My Pal, his teacher sentences him to detention until he rewrites his book report. Since Wallace won't give in to write the kind of report his teacher wants, he's banned from football practice and stuck in rehearsals for the school's play. The play is Old Shep, My Pal, adapted from the book and directed by none other than his teacher, Mr. Fogelman. Wallace's truth-telling mouth just can't keep quiet, though, and soon the play takes a turn no one could have predicted.

Reviewed by: emc

Date read: 3/30/2010

ISBN-10: 078682462X

ISBN-13: 9780786824625

Check the library catalog

This is about a girl who is very into a horse. You have to read the book to find out what happens.

Reviewed by: St. Charles Reader

Date read: 11/19/2009

ISBN-10: 0763624225

ISBN-13: 9780763624224

Check the library catalog

Laketon Elementary has a nickname for their 5th grade kids, it 'The Unshushables'. But that all changes when Dave Packer reads about how the Mahatma Gandhi practiced complete silence for 1 day a week to bring order to his mind. Though Dave is known to talk nonstop, he is determined to give the idea a try. During school the next day, Dave runs into Lynsey, another chatterbox, and they end up challenging the boys against the girls in a no-talking contest for 48 hours. The only time they can talk is when an adult asks them a direct question at which time they can only answer in 3 word sentences. Can 'The Unshushables' really keep their months shut for the 48 hour contest? Will the parents and teachers figure out what is behind the changes in the kids' behavior? Read this entertaining book and find out.

Similar books: Frindle; Week in the Woods

Awards nominated: Bluestem 2011

Reviewed by: bklyczek

Date read: 5/10/2010

ISBN-10: 1416909834

ISBN-13: 9781416909835

Check the library catalog

Commenter: Hap, grade 8

David's always getting in trouble. Whether he's tracking in mud, banging on pans, jumping on his bed, or playing with his food, he hears, 'No, David!' Here, we see David misbehaving again and again, in colorful, comic glory, like when he opens his mouth and we see a gaping hole like the night sky filled with half-chewed food. Won't David be hurt that the only words he hears are scolding? At the end, David's mom surrounds him in a warm hug.

Similar books: David Gets in Trouble by David Shannon; David Goes to School by David Shannon

Awards won: Caldecott Honor Book 1999

Reviewed by: emc

Date read: 7/26/2010

ISBN-10: 0590930028

ISBN-13: 9780590930024

Check the library catalog

Nory Ryan and her family have always lived in Ireland. They love the sea and the rolling hills, and they all love each other. Da is out to sea to pay for the rent, while Nory and her siblings stay home with her grandpa to grow potatoes and catch fish. But soon, their neighbors are thrown out of their house. Even worse, a potato disease has plauged the land and all of the potatoes are spoiled. They all dream of being free in America, but only Nory's older sister braves the journey. Nory is left to find food and money for her family and her neighbors. To find out what happens to Nory and if they ever get to America, read this book.

Similar books: Meggie's Door by Joanne Sundell; Water Street by Patricia Reilly Giff

Reviewed by: mtk

Date read: 7/23/2009

ISBN-10: 0385321414

ISBN-13: 9780385321419

Check the library catalog