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Los Pingüinos by Joann Early Macken

My name is Diego. I’m 11 years old and I like to play with my dog and spend time with my family.

Los pandas parecen osos pero no son sólo parecen. Los pandas son blanco y negro. Tienen la cara blanca, las orejas negras y manchas negras en los ojos. Los pandas comen mucho! Comen una planta llamada bambú. Y en los zoológicos les dan zanahorias y manzanas. Ellos sostienen la comida con las zarpas. Usan las zarpas delanteras como si fueran manos. Las afiladas garras de sus zarpas permiten a los pandas subir a los árboles. A los pandas les encanta dormir en los árboles. Los pandas vienen de China, pero allí ya sólo viven unos pocos. Los zoológicos ayudan a proteger a los pandas.

Pandas are really cute and look like bears but aren’t. I think you should learn about these animals because they are really interesting.

Find it in print here.

La Historia de Eli Whitney by Ann Gaines

My name is Diego. I’m 11 years old and I like to play with my dog and spend time with my family.

Eli Whitney fue un inventor. Hizo algo que nadie había hecho antes. En 1793, hizo una máquina para sacar las semillas del algodón recién cosechado. La llamó desmotadora de algodón. Usamos algodón para hacer ropa. Hoy en día la mayoría de los pantalones, camisetas y vestidos están hechos de algodón. Eli Whitney nació en Westboro, Massachusetts, el 8 de diciembre de 1765. Era un muchacho al que le gustaba hacer cosas útiles. En su adolescencia, él y su padre construyeron una forja en su establo. Una forja es un sitio especial para calentar el metal. Whitney aprendió a dar forma al metal sobre el fuego. Usaba la forja para hacer clavos y alfileres de sombrero para vender.

Después de terminar sus estudios en la universidad, Eli Whitney se mudó a Carolina del sur. Allí conoció a Catherine Greene. Ella poseía una plantación, una gran tierra de cultivo. Catherine le dijo que el algodón crecía bien en sus tierras. El problema era que limpiar el algodón llevaba mucho tiempo. Una persona trabajando todo todo el día podía sacar las semillas de de tan sólo una libra de algodón. Tenía que haber una manera de hacerlo más rápido. Eli Whitney trató de idear una manera mejor de sacar las semillas del algodón. En su mente, imaginó una máquina con diminutos dedos de alambre. Los dedos de alambre recogían las semillas de las cápsulas del algodón. Whitney recordó las cosas que hacía en la forja de su casa. Encontró trozos de metal y de madera en la granja de Catherine Green. Trabajando rápidamente, construyó una máquina desmotadora de algodón. La probó y funcionaba. En 1817, Eli Whitney se casó con Henrietta Edwards. Tuvieron cuartor niños. Tras una larga enfermedad, muriò el 8 de enero 1825.

I think you should learn about people from the past that made a change to the planet or made it better. Because you might make a good change to the world and make it better.

Find it through Interlibrary Loan here.

The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness

Hi, I am Sarah. I am fourteen years old and an avid reader; it is one of my favorite things to do. Inspired by authors’ creations of magnificent places and surprising havens built by simple letters, I aspire to be an author and, meanwhile, nurture the love to write.

We all know about the chosen ones—those special kids with the powers and the destinies and the stories that they star in as heroes. But what about all of those other people—the rest of us, who aren’t involved in a dramatic path laid down by twists of fate, the ones hovering at the edges, pretty much left out of everything?

What about Mikey Mitchell? Mikey, who just wants to graduate and leave his little town before something else happens, something worse than the undead or those soul-eating ghosts or the epidemic of vampires? Mikey, who wants to spend time with his little sister Meredith and maybe work up the courage to ask out his longtime friend Henna Silvennoinen. Mikey, who’s trying to finish his senior year with his best friends as normally as possible, before someone else dies or blows up the high school. 

Again. 

Not shying away from illnesses of both the mind and body, this book raises all the right questions about choosing your family, finding yourself, and those problems bigger and more personal than the latest apocalypse. This original twist of a story reminds us that there are many different types of extraordinary, and you don’t have to be “the chosen one” to be great. 

Find it in print and eaudiobook here.

Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper

Hi, I am Sophie. I like to mountain bike, water ski, snow ski, and do about every other sport. But, I also love to read. My favorite author is Dusti Bowling.

Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper is about a girl named Melody, with Cerebral Palsy. Cerebral Palsy is when your body muscles don’t work, but you have a brain that is more powerful than other people’s brains. People often underestimate people with Cerebral Palsy because of how they look on the outside. Doctors think Melody isn’t smart enough to go to school, but Melody’s mom enrolls her anyway. At school, she is in a class for disabled kids. In 5th grade, the school lets Melody do inclusion classes, where Melody gets to go to normal classes.  Melody gets to learn things, but no one talks to her. One day, her classmate comes to class with a new laptop. Melody wants one too, but one that is right for her. Catherine, her helper, helps look for a computer for Melody. Finally, she finds the “Medi-Talker”. The  Medi-Talker can talk for Melody.

 Melody later learns that her school does a competition called Whiz Kids, where schools from all over the district compete against each other, answering questions. Melody is put on the team. Melody and her team go to the competition and crush it. Their team gets to go to the finals in Washington D.C. The day they leave, there is a big storm. All flights are canceled, but one. Melody’s team makes the flight, but they leave her behind. Melody experiences many other struggles, but you will have to read the book to figure out how she deals with her hardships.

Find it in print, ebook, and eaudiobook here.

Spy School Revolution by Stuart Gibbs

Hi, my name is Ruby. I am in the 6th grade. I love to read and one of my favorite genres is fiction. Some things that I like to do include skiing, playing soccer, and hiking.

Spy School Revolution is the 8th book in the Spy School series. It is about a boy named Ben Ripley. He is a spy in training at the Academy of Espionage. You should read the Spy School series in order for this book to make the most sense.

In the book, Erica, a spy in training with Ben gets her name on the FBI’s most wanted list. Once Ben finds this out, he tries to go and clear her name. As always, it does not go that smoothly. People start shooting at them, and they go for a wild ride down a river. In the book, you cannot always trust your friends, and let me tell you, the person who betrays Ben and Erica is very surprising. When Ben finds out who is behind the attack it does not seem very realistic at all. You will find out some surprising things about Erica that will make your mind spin. Once the bad guys are stopped, however, it is on to another mission for Ben.

I recommend this book to people who like to read books in one day and to people who like a book where it will keep your brain spinning with questions. Compared to other Spy School books this one is the most exciting and surprising than any other Spy School books out there, in my opinion. Spy School is one of the best series that I have read. I definitely would recommend this book.

Find it in print here.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Hi my name is Aija. I’m in 8th grade. I enjoy skiing, swimming and hiking.

Markus Zusak’s book The Book Thief might look a little intimidating with a length of 552 pages! It’s an extremely sad, well-structured book about Nazi Germany narrated by Death itself The reader is introduced to Death as the storyteller. Death is no Grim Reaper; he is kinder and gentler and feels sympathy for his victims. As Death himself says “I can be amiable. Agreeable. Affable. And that’s only the A’s.” Maybe so, but Death is so weak that he’s not very interesting or affecting. Fortunately, this book isn’t about Death (the character). Principally it is about Liesel Meminger, whose little brother dies just before Liesel’s mother leaves her with foster parents in a dismal town in southern Germany. Her new Papa is the implausibly angelic Hans Hubermann. Hans is a good person he even manages to love his wife, Rosa. Later on in Liesel’s troubled life she begins to fight with boys and becomes a thief. If You would like to follow Lisel on her fraudulent yet dejected journey. The Book Theif is a touching and thoughtful novel told by a young author. It’s truly engaging and channels emotions that you didn’t know you had. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone above age 13, because of explicit material and the difficulty of the text.

Find it in print, ebook, eaudiobook, CD, and DVD here.