New Reads for a New Year!

That's right, school is back in session. How about some fun new books to start off your new year? Have you ever thought about keeping a journal of the books you've read? You can write down the title, author, what the book was about, and what you thought about it. This is very helpful when you can't quite remember what that one book was called, or to recommend good books to your friends. Then at the end of 2012, you can look back and see how much you've read!

Check out these new books for elementary-aged kids (grades 3-6) who like a good chapter book:

Breadcrumbs by Anne Ursu
JFIC URS Link to Catalog
"Once upon a time, Hazel and Jack were best friends. But that was before he stopped talking to her and disappeared into a forest with a mysterious woman made of ice. Now it's up to Hazel to go in after him. Inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's "The Snow Queen," Breadcrumbs is a story of the struggle to hold on, and the things we leave behind."



Secrets at Sea by Richard Peck
JFIC PEC Link to Catalog
"In the beloved tradition of The Borrowers, The Tale of Desperaux, and The Cricket in Times Square, here is an irresistible adventure story of the tiny individuals who secretly live among us humans. Helena is the oldest of four mouse siblings who live in the walls of the Cranston estate. It is 1887 when the nouveau riche Cranstons decide to take a cruise ship to England in search of a husband for their awkward older daughter. The Cranston mice stow away in the luggage . . . and so begins the time of their lives, as they meet intriguing, cosmopolitan mice onboard and take it upon themselves to help the human Cranston daughters find love. They might just find perfect futures for themselves as well!"


Warp Speed by Lisa Yee
JFIC YEE Link to Catalog
"Entering 7th grade is no big deal for Marley Sandelski: Same old boring classes, same old boring life. The only thing he has to look forward to is the upcoming Star Trek convention. But when he inadvertently draws the attention of Digger Ronster, the biggest bully in school, his life has officially moved from boring to far too dramatic . . . from invisible to center stage."



Flyaway by Lucy Christopher
JFIC CHR Link to Catalog
"In a heartbeat, in a wingbeat, it happens. Isla's father falls. They're racing across the fields, following the swans flying in to winter at the lake like they do every year, when something goes wrong. And before she can even catch her breath, they're in the back of an ambulance, she's holding his hand. At the hospital, upset and scared, Isla meets Harry. Unlike the boys at school, he doesn't laugh when she tells him about her love of birds. He listens. But what is he doing there? Outside the hospital windows, Isla watches a lone whooper swan struggling to fly. If only she could save the lost bird, would that somehow heal her dad, and cure Harry, and make everything good again?"


Saving Zasha by Randi Barrow
JFIC BAR Link to Catalog
"Devastated by Germany's conflict with the Soviet Union at the end of WWII, Mikhail, 13, and his family are struggling to survive in their rural Russian community, where everything German is hated and Mikhail's father is missing in action. When the family shelters a beautiful German shepherd (they call her Zasha), they know they will be called traitors, but they bond with the beautiful dog, and they save her life by hiding her. Then they discover that she is pregnant. Can they build a safe shelter for her and her pups without being detected? What about the spies who see dog hair on Mikhail's clothes?"


The Shadows (The Books of Elsewhere, Book 1) by Jacqueline West
JSCFIC WES Link to Catalog
"When 11-year-old Olive moves into the crumbling old mansion on Linden Street, she's right to think there's something weird about the place, especially the walls covered in creepy antique paintings. But when she finds a pair of old-fashioned glasses in a dusty drawer, she discovers the most peculiar thing yet. She can travel inside these paintings to Elsewhere, a world that's strangely quiet . . . and eerily sinister. Olive finds herself caught in a plan darker and more dangerous than she could have imagined, confronting a power that wants to be rid of her by any means necessary. It's up to her to save the house from the shadows, before the lights go out for good. For fans of Roald Dahl and Neil Gaiman comes a tale at turns haunting, moving, and darkly funny."

We hope you enjoy some great books in 2012!