Matt and Keith have been best friends since they were six years old, and now that they're in eighth grade, nothing has changed. Nothing has changed, except for the fact that Keith shot up five inches taller than Matt, and all the girls are interested in Keith, a good-looking athlete who stars in advertising campaigns for toothpaste. Keith's still a great friend, and he doesn't treat Matt any differently, but Matt can't help but let it sting. How will Matt survive his eighth-grade year with a best friend who gets everything Matt wants?

Reviewed by: emc

Date read: 4/23/2010

ISBN-10: 068986213X

ISBN-13: 9780689862137

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Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster grew up during the Depression reading about their heroes Flash Gordon and Tarzan. Jerry also wrote stories of his own, and Joe loved to draw. Comic books were new back then, and they wanted to write and illustrate their own. When they were 24, they created the first and best superhero of all time.

Awards nominated: Bluestem Award 2011

Reviewed by: donna

Date read: 6/7/2010

ISBN-10: 0375938028

ISBN-13: 9780375938023

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Bright Path: Young Jim Thorpe by Don Brown is a picture book biography of, 'the greatest athlete in the world,' Jim Thorpe. Born in Oklahoma in 1888, Jim's real name was Wa-tho-huck meaning Bright Path. Each day, he worked hard tending the crops, feeding the livestock, and taming wild horses. He loved his life until he was sent away to a school that taught Indian children how to live in the white man's world. Jim hated being kept in a schoolroom instead of being able to run free in the open fields. Many times, Jim would run away only to be caught and brought right back to school. One day, Jim Thorpe's life changed dramatically. After watching many of the school athletes fail at making a high jump, he asked to try. Jim cleared the bar with room to spare. With the help of his school coach, Jim joined the school team and learned to play different types of sports. This eventually earned him a spot in the 1912 Olympic Games in Stockholm. At the Olympics, Jim Thorpe won the decathlon event and set a world's record that wasn't broken for 16 years. Read this amazing story of how Thorpe's life started down a rocky path but eventually led him to greatness.

Similar authors: Ron Knapp; Jack Kavanagh: Glen Macnow; George Sullivan

Similar books: Thorpe!: The Sports Career of James Thorpe by James Hahn; Jim Thorpe: Orginal All-American by Joseph Bruchac; Jim Thorpe's Bright Path by Joseph Bruchac; Sports Great by Nolan Ryan; Great Lives: Sports by George Sullivan

Reviewed by: mb

Date read: 7/12/2010

ISBN-10: 1596430419

ISBN-13: 9781596430419

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Tug hasn't said a word since the day, six years before, that he watched his grandfather do something horrible. His brother, Bro, is the only person who understands him, even though he doesn't speak. Bro stands up for him, telling people that Tug is a smart kid, and that he will speak when he is ready. Unfortunately, some of the things Bro does to help his brother are not strictly legal, and he ends up at a prison camp. The book opens when Tug and his parents are in a car which is smashed by a freight train. His parents are killed, but Tug comes away without a scratch. The local authorities send him to live with his grandfather, the one who committed the terrible act. Luckily, there are some good, helpful people in Tug's life, including the local police chief, and his great-aunt. The police chief tries to arrange the release of Bro, but Bro escapes before he finds out. Will there be a happy ending for Tug and Bro?

Similar books: Holes by Louis Sachar

Reviewed by: sc

Date read: 4/29/2009

ISBN-10: 0060529741

ISBN-13: 9780060529741

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Commenter: Matthew, grade 3

Mike Pillsbury has always felt that he is different from anyone else on earth. In fact he is convinced that he is a refugee from a doomed alien people who was adopted when he was a baby. After a particularly disastrous Halloween dance at which his worst enemy humiliates him in front of the girl of his dreams, he sends a desperate plea for help into space. Only he isn't quite ready for the answer he receives.

Reviewed by: caroll

Date read: 7/15/2009

ISBN-10: 0380976811

ISBN-13: 9780380976812

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