Author: Barbara O'Connor
RU Level: 5th Grade

Charlie Reese has made a wish every day since she was in fourth grade using different "wish granting" strategies.  Made to live with people she doesn't know while her  mother gets on her feet, Charlie captures a stray dog and makes friends with an "up-down" boy while learning to grow into a better person. This explores the meaning of family, controlling anger, forgiving and recognizing what we really want.  A heart-warming tale that may cause a tear or two to be shed. This will be some students' favorite of the year.

Author: Jennifer Chambliss Bertman
RU Level: 6th Grade

A bestseller for good reason. Imagine playing a scavenger game with clues hidden across the country leading to a book that many people are vying for. Now imagine having something go terribly wrong when the creator of the hunt mysteriously disappears and now becomes part of the puzzle.  Imagine no further, read the book before the sequel comes out this spring!

Author: Daniel James Brown
RU Level: Secondary

Adapted for younger readers, this book focuses on one rower, Joe Rantz, who through grit and determination, helped his team capture the Gold Medal at the 1936 Olympics with Hitler watching.  The journey is amazing and hard to believe--even knowing the ending. This showcases how the impossible really does happen. A must read.

Interested in some APA proven winners?  Last school year the sixth graders at each campus read and voted from a short list of books to name their "Sixth Grade Book of the Year."  While each campus didn't agree on the winner, some fine books were chosen, indicating that there are some great books out there and APA students have good taste!  There are also other books in two of these series that students are continuing to enjoy!

Author: Melissa Sweet
RU Level: 4th Grade

Charlotte was "Some Pig,"  and this is  "Some Book!"

The biography of E.B. White, the author of Charlotte's Web, Stuart Little and Trumpet of the Swan is told in scrapbook style using E.B. White's photos, letters, and other document, mixed with the art work.  This is a book you just have to see to appreciate because words don't do it justice.  This will be a must for a home library.

"The Science of Fun Stuff" and "The History of Fun Stuff" Series
RU Level: 3rd Grade

A fun new series explores the science behind and the history of a lot of fun, interesting things.  Examples of individual book topics include: candy, fireworks, ice cream, space travel, comics, video games, snow, amusement parks, baseball, phones, pizza, hot chocolate and Halloween.  Did you know that Ben Franklin was the first to contribute a cartoon to an American newspaper? Did you know that immigrants were served ice cream as part of their first meal in America? Did you know if you stacked all the Oreos ever made they would make it to the moon and back five times?  These and many other tidbits can be learned in this great series.