6th grade booktalks
2017-2018
April 11, 2018: fantasy...and more
The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill
- F BAR. fantasy/friendship
- This book includes a good witch, magic that comes from starlight--and moonlight--, a wise Swamp Monster, and a Perfectly Tiny Dragon. It also includes a girl with the power to protect the people she loves, but may mean losing everything she's ever known.
Forgive My Fins by Tera Lynn Childs
- F CHI. genre: fantasy/relationships
- This book takes place in an underwater, magical kingdom. It includes an evil cousin who will stop at nothing to make Lily, the main character suffer, and a secret Lily is hiding from *everyone.*
Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer
- F COL. fantasy/science fiction
- This book includes a criminal mastermind...12 year old. It also includes a kidnapping of a fairy, Captain Holly Short of the LEPrecon Unit. That's a lot easier said than done. It includes the world above ground and the world underground, and the two worlds collide in this book.
The Secret of Zoom by Lynne Jonell
- F JON. fantasy/adventure
- This book includes a forest with barbed wire around it and a sign that reads "TRESPASSERS WILL BE BOILED." It includes a laboratory where Christina's father works and where her mother was killed. It also includes orphans, a secret tunnel, and a mystery about Christina's family.
Spirit Hunters by Ellen Oh
- F OH. fantasy/suspense
- book trailer
- This book includes a possible haunted house, a brother acting very strangely, and memories just below the surface.
March 6, 2018: books to read while you're playing...or watching...or ignoring :) basketball
Sneaker Century: a history of athletic shoes by Amber J. Keyser
- nonfiction. about shoes. made interesting! 685 KEY
- The earliest sneakers were made in the 1800s. Initially they were made for elite athletes, but they quickly became popular among kids and teens too.
- The Nike shoe debuted in the 1970s, with inspiration from...a waffle iron?
- Read all about a topic you didn't even know you'd be interested in!
Jump Ball: a basketball season in poems by Mel Glenn
- poetry? novel in verse? sort of both. 811 GLE
- Each poem stands alone, told by a different member of the basketball team and larger community. But the poems also work together to tell the story of a season.
- The team has some great highs and some really sad lows, with basketball connecting them.
Basketball (or something like it) by Nora Raleigh Baskin
- four different characters (Hank, Jeremy, Nathan, and Anabel) tell the story in alternating chapters. F BAS
- They all play basketball, but all have different levels of success, and they all want to be on the basketball team for different reasons.
- In the end, this book isn't JUST about basketball--it's also about how the four kids relate to their families and each other.
Athlete vs. Mathlete by W.C. Mack
- another book from multiple perspectives, this time from fraternal twin brothers Owen and Russell. F MAC
- Owen loves to play basketball. Russell loves to win math awards.
- One day Owen's new coach asks Russell to try out for the basketball team because he's tall--not knowing that Russell doesn't play!
- Can the brothers work together well on the SAME team?
Stanford Wong Flunks Big Time by Lisa Yee
- a star basketball player who flunks English. F YEE
- Not a good situation--since Stanford is terrible at English, he has to take a summer school English class, which means he can't participate in basketball camp.
- He gets tutored by nerdy girl Millicent but pretends to be the tutor so his crush Emily will still like him.
- Plenty of laughs in this as Stanford tries to figure out how to save his summer.
January 6, 2018: books to help you learn something (without being boring!)
Treasury of Greek Mythology by Donna Jo Napoli
- 398.2 NAP
- Interested in the stories of Greek Mythology?
- Read all about Zeus, Apollo, Helen of Troy, and Medusa in these short stories. Includes lots more information too!
Terrible Typhoid Mary: a true story of the deadliest cook in America by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
- 614.5 BAR
- Mary Mallon worked as a cook for wealthy families in New York City in the early 1900s. When several people died from what was later diagnosed as typhoid fever, sanitary engineer George Soper eventually tracked it to her.
- Imagine feeling perfectly healthy and have a stranger come up to you to say you are a danger to society and demand that you give him blood samples. This happened to Mary.
- The true story of "Typhoid Mary."
A Storm Too Soon by Michael J. Tougias
- 910.9 TOU
- This is the story of a shipwreck (a sailboat wreck, actually) in the Atlantic Ocean, the fight for survival for the three sailors on board, and the courageous attempts by the Coast Guard to save them.
- Try this if you like survival suspense stories! And bonus: this one really happened!
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba
- 921 KAM; a memoir
- Looking for another example of a kid activist? Look no further!
- When a terrible drought hits William's village in Malawi, not only did it mean his family did not have crops to eat or sell, it also meant he had to drop out of school because they didn't have the money to send him.
- William was interested in science and not willing to let his struggles beat him. He decided he was going to figure out how to build a windmill for his village. It changed his village forever.
The Boys Who Challenged Hitler: Knud Pederson and the Churchill Club by Phillip Hoose
- 940.53 HOO
- book trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjkJfhUOfAg
October 3, 2017: books to keep you on the edge of your seat
Last Shot: a Final Four Mystery by John Feinstein
Stevie Thomas is thrilled to be one of the winners of the U.S. Basketball Writer's Association and win a trip to the Final Four and, even better, a press pass! When he gets there, though, he and Susan, the other winner, realize there's more drama behind the scenes than on the court itself! When the two overhear a conversation about throwing the championship game, they figure out they have 48 hours to figure out why someone is trying to blackmail one of the star players of the tournament and why.
Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz
Alex Rider knows his uncle Ian did not really die in a car accident because he's seen the bullet holes in the car. However, he was not prepared for the news that his uncle was really a spy for Britain's top-secret intelligence agency. Now Alex has been pulled in, helping to find Ian's killers and to complete Ian's last mission. Will he be able to help before it's too late?
The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
A mystery worth $200 millon...
book trailer: https://youtu.be/neSNAytgE7E
The View From the Cherry Tree by Willow Davis Roberts
Rob is in his family's cherry tree again, watching the world go by and avoiding his sister's wedding preparations, when he sees his next door neighbor pushed out of the window and die. No one, not even the police, believe him when he says he saw the murderer. Can Rob catch the murderer on his own without putting his own life in danger?
September 5, 2017: books to make you chuckle
Home Sweet Motel by Chris Grabenstein
P.T. Wilkie is on a mission to save his family's Wonderland motel! What will he and his friend Gloria think of next in order to make that happen?
Chris's background to writing the book: https://vimeo.com/162211637
It Ain't So Awful, Falafel by Firoozeh Dumas
Zomorod Yousefzadeh is doing her best to fit in to her new neighborhood, and she starts by renaming herself Cindy. It's tricky to do that, though, when she and her family are from Iran and the news is full of stories from there.
Knucklehead: Tall Tales and Almost True Stories of Growing Up Scieszka by Jon Scieszka
Tells the story of Jon Scieszka's growing up years, including stories about time spent at the lake, babysitting misadventures, family jokes told at dinner, and more.
Schooled by Gordon Korman
Capricorn (Cap) Anderson has always been homeschooled by his hippie grandmother. But when she has to go to the hospital, he has to go to public school for the first time. And he has a LOT to learn!