News from Youth Services Category: Picks by Loreen S.

Wink

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by Rob Harrell

wink book cover
JF HARRELL, R.

Middle School can be a little rough for anyone, but for Ross, it’s especially rough. He’s just been diagnosed with cancer of his eye! So not only does he have to go for radiation treatments, he also has to go to school wearing an eye patch (like a pirate!), and  he has to keep putting some sort of eye “goop” on his eye all through the day at school. It can’t get much worse than this, right? 

But it does. His hair begins to fall out, and there’s a chance he may lose his sight in that eye. 7th Grade would be a completely miserable year if it weren’t for his band. 

Oh, yeah! His band! That’s a real high point! Will it be enough to get him to get through the school year?

Author Rob Harrell actually lived this life and then wrote a book about it for us. Read to see how Ross’s school year goes.

Scritch Scratch

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by Lindsay Currie

scritch scratch book cover
JF CURRIE, L.

Do you like ghost stories? How about ghost stories that aren’t too scary? Well, author Lindsay Currie has a great one for you! (And it even takes place in Chicago!) 

Claire’s dad gives ghost tours around the city. (There are really people who do that; I’ve gone!) Claire hates going on his tours – they creep her out. But one night, he really needs her help, so she has to go.  

Riding in his bus, visiting cemeteries and haunted buildings, all is going pretty well–that is until one of the ghosts decides to follow Claire home! Now the real “fun” begins! 

Nat Enough

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by Maria Scrivan

nat enough book cover
J GRAPH SCRIVAN, M.

When Natalie sees that her Best Friend for Always is also going to the same middle school that she is, she’s delighted! Now they can be the bestest of friends, just like before!

Or can they? Her (former) best friend has moved on to the “In” crowd, the popular kids. Not only does she not have any time for Nat anymore, she’s out and out rude!

Nat doesn’t realize it, but she’s already made some new friends. They’re right there in front of her, if only she’d look! It takes a special writing contest, a school play, (and painting her face like a parrot – honest!) before Nat is able to see the new friends standing right beside her.

This is book one of the “Nat” series. If you like Nat Enough, catch her also in the other “Nat” books by Maria Scrivan:

Pie by Sarah Weeks

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Cover image for PieWhat’s your favorite type of pie? No matter; whatever your favorite is, it would be available and free at PIE, Aunt Polly’s bakery. She just loved baking pies, and didn’t need the money, so her pies would all be free!

But then she died, and no one, not her sister, not her favorite niece, Alice, no one, had a copy of her famous pie crust recipe. Aunt Polly left the only known copy of it to her cat, Lardo!

How can someone leave a recipe to a cat? Good question. It’s a mystery, and Alice, with her friend, Charlie, is determined to find out!

(Another plus to this books are the 14 pie recipes, each one guaranteed to be delicious! Come to read the book; stay and try out a pie recipe!)

Book reviewed by Loreen S., Youth Services Assistant

E-audio and E-book-Clementine by Sarah Pennypacker

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clementine book cover

Move over, Ramona, Junie B. Jones, and Gooney Bird Green! Clementine is here! Clementine, by Sarah Pennypacker, brings us into this 8 year old’s life, where she joins her father in fighting off pigeons, and “fixes” her friend’s hair by first cutting most of it off, and then coloring it using permanent marker (including little “squigglies” on her forehead for bangs). This is the first book of a series, so you’ll get to spend lots of time laughing and learning with Clementine.

Book reviewed by Loreen  S., Youth Services Assistant

The first book, Clementine, is available in e-audio from Overdrive/Libby, and book six, Clementine and the Spring Trip, is available as an e-book from Overdrive/Libby.