Tag: 2015-16 DCF

July 12, 2015

The Meaning of Maggie By Megan Jean Sovern

“Eleven year old Maggie Mayfield can’t stop thinking about Oreos and this is just one of her many conundrums.

She also has two older sisters with bods that don’t stop and she has to wait to campaign for President for almost an entire quarter century.

Then in one summer, her conundrums triple when her father takes a fall at work. What happened? The truth? It’s not what happened to him, it’s what’s happening to him.

The Meaning of Maggie is a novel set in a house too small for all the big problems plaguing a smart girl just trying to survive adolescence armed with after school snacks and deep thoughts.

When her father’s legs permanently fall asleep, Maggie begins a search for meaning that she never expected.

And just like that, getting a B doesn’t seem like such a HUGE DEAL*.

*Okay getting a B is still a huge deal. But you get the idea.
(from the author’s site).

Visit the publisher’s site).”

Get the ebook

or request the hard copy from a federation library
& be sure to leave your review in the comments below!

July 12, 2015

Hope is a Ferris Wheel by Robin Herrera

“Ten-year-old Star Mackie lives in a trailer park with her flaky mom and her melancholy older sister, Winter, whom Star idolizes. Moving to a new town has made it difficult for Star to make friends, when her classmates tease her because of where she lives and because of her layered blue hair. But when Star starts a poetry club, she develops a love of Emily Dickinson and, through Dickinson’s poetry, learns some important lessons about herself and comes to terms with her hopes for the future (from the publisher’s site).”

Visit Robin Hererra’s site.

Get the ebook

or request the hard copy from a federation library
& be sure to leave your review in the comments below!

Here’s a great book trailer (Thanks, Mya!)

July 12, 2015

Seven Stories Up by Laurel Snyder

“When Annie wakes up on her first morning at the Hotel Calvert, she’s in for a big surprise. There’s a girl named Molly in her bed who insists the year is 1937 and that this is her room! Annie’s not sure what happened, but when she learns that Molly’s never been outside the hotel, she knows it’s time for an adventure. Magic, fortune-telling, some roller skates, a rescued kitten, and the best kind of friendship make up the unforgettable story of two girls destined to change each other’s lives (from the publisher’s site).”

Visit Laurel Snyder’s site.

Get the ebook

or request the hard copy from a federation library
& be sure to leave your review in the comments below!

July 12, 2015

The Fourteenth Goldfish by Jennifer L. Holm

“Galileo. Newton. Salk. Oppenheimer.
Science can change the world . . . but can it go too far?

Eleven-year-old Ellie has never liked change. She misses fifth grade. She misses her old best friend. She even misses her dearly departed goldfish. Then one day a strange boy shows up. He’s bossy. He’s cranky. And weirdly enough . . . he looks a lot like Ellie’s grandfather, a scientist who’s always been slightly obsessed with immortality. Could this pimply boy really be Grandpa Melvin? Has he finally found the secret to eternal youth?
(from the publisher’s site).”

Visit Jennifer L. Holm’s site.

Get the ebook

or request the hard copy from a federation library
& be sure to leave your review in the comments below!

July 10, 2015

The Port Chicago 50 by Steve Sheinkin

“On July 17, 1944, a massive explosion rocked the segregated Navy base at Port Chicago, California, killing more than 300 sailors who were at the docks, critically injuring off-duty men in their bunks, and shattering windows up to a mile away. On August 9th, 244 men refused to go back to work until unsafe and unfair conditions at the docks were addressed. When the dust settled, fifty were charged with mutiny, facing decades in jail and even execution (From the publisher’s page).”

Get the ebook

or find it on the DCF Shelf
& be sure to leave your review in the comments below!

Visit author Steve Sheinkin.

Hear the author read an excerpt:

And here’s a book trailer:

July 10, 2015

No Summit Out of Sight: The True Story of the Youngest Person to Climb the Seven Summits by Jordan Romero

“On May 22, 2010, at the age of thirteen, American teenager Jordan Romero became the youngest person to climb to the summit of Mount Everest. At fifteen, he became the youngest person to reach the summits of the tallest mountains on each of the seven continents. In this energizing memoir for young adults, Jordan, recounts his experience, which started as a spark of an idea at the age of nine and, many years of training and hard work later, turned into a dream come true (From the publisher’s page).”

See a CNN interview with Jordan

Find it on the DCF Shelf & be sure to leave your review in the comments below!

July 10, 2015

Running Out of Night by Sharon Lovejoy

“Every day is a misery for a nameless, motherless Southern girl who is treated cruelly by her pa and brothers. Her life changes forever when a runaway slave named Zenobia turns to her for help and shelter. Longing for her own freedom, the girl decides to run away, and she and Zenobia set off on a harrowing journey. Along the way, Zenobia names the girl Lark, after the bird, for her ability to mimic its song.

Running by night, hiding by day, the girls are pursued by Lark’s pa and brothers and by ruthless slave catchers. Brightwell, another runaway slave, joins them, and the three follow secret signs to a stop on the Underground Railroad. When the hideout is raided and Zenobia and Brightwell are captured, Lark sets out alone to rescue her friends (From the publisher’s page).”

Find it on the DCF Shelf & be sure to leave your review in the comments below!

July 10, 2015

Gabriel Finley and the Raven’s Riddle by George Hagen

“How can twelve-year-old Gabriel find his missing father, who seems to have vanished without a trace? With the help of Paladin—a young raven with whom he has a magical bond that enables them to become one creature—he flies to the foreboding land of Aviopolis, where he must face a series of difficult challenges and unanswerable riddles that could lead to his father… or to his death(From the publisher’s page.”

Visit the author George Hagen on Tumblr, where he posts cool animations and great riddles.

Find it on the DCF Shelf & be sure to leave your review in the comments below!

July 10, 2015

El Deafo by Cece Bell

El Deafo is a wonderful graphic memoir loosely based upon the author’s own experience moving from a school for the deaf to a public school classroom. This has proved to be a little tricky, especially because her teacher keeps forgetting to turn his microphone off so she can hear him EVERYWHERE- when he’s getting lunch, when he’s talking to other teachers, even in the bathroom. It’s also tricky because she has to make new friends, and this year she has one quest: find the perfect friend.
There’s plenty in this book for anyone who has ever felt different to relate to (isn’t that most of us?) and an equal amount for everyone who has ever wondered what it means to be a friend.

Visit the publisher’s page and the author Cece Bell.

Listen to an interview with Cece Bell.

Find it on the DCF Shelf & be sure to leave your review in the comments below!

July 10, 2015

I Kill the Mockingbird by Paul Acampora

When everyone’s favorite 8th grade English teacher, Mr. Nowak, dies, Lucy, along with her friends Elena and Michael, sets out to get everyone in her class– and in her town– to read his favorite book To Kill a Mockingbird. She and her friends are about to make the book “go viral” in a way nobody expected.

Visit the publisher’s page and the author Paul Acampora.

Find it on the DCF Shelf & be sure to leave your review in the comments below!