Book Finder

Three female cousins share a summer home with their family in Maine and each has a summer romance. This beach read may bring a tear to the eye, and will definitely bring some sequels.

Patty Bergen is an abused girl who befriends an escaped German prisoner of war. In spite of what her parents and others say about the Germans, Patty gets to know Anton and falls in love with his gentle spirit.

In a story that combines baseball and folklore, 11-year-old Ethan, an aspiring baseball player, is recruited by a mysterious elderly scout to help preserve a fairy population from destruction by all manner of predators. Ethan and his friends battle goblins, shape-shifters and sea monsters in a series of high-stakes challenges.

Sunny Lewin has been packed off to Florida to live with her grandfather for the summer. Sunny meets Buzz, a boy who is completely obsessed with comic books, and soon they’re having adventures of their own: facing off against golfball-eating alligators, runaway cats, and mysteriously disappearing neighbors. But the question remains — why is Sunny down in Florida in the first place? The answer lies in a family secret that won’t be secret to Sunny much longer.

Robin believes in his country and volunteers to fight in Iraq, but when he arrives in the war zone he realizes that fighting for freedom is not always black and white.

With real-life examples from sports, medicine, online dating, and airline pricing, Ayres describes how data about all of us is collected and “crunched” by statisticians and computers to profile consumers benefitting both the consumer and the companies interested in selling to them.

Peter is now 12 and still tormented by younger brother, Fudge. And then he learns that his parents want to leave New York City for some time in the country — and a new baby in the family. One Fudge is bad enough, but how will Peter cope with yet another? Humor abounds in this recognizable tale.

This story follows space-obsessed Lester Musselbaum as he experiences the challenges of his first days of public school: making friends, facing bullies, finding his “thing,” and accidentally learning of his autism-spectrum diagnosis. A touching peek into the life of a sensitive autism-spectrum boy facing the everydayness of elementary school.

This book uses beautiful photographs to tell the history of this warm weather sport. While the pictures are beautiful, the writing is also strong.

In the future, reality TV, like Survivor is not only entertainment but education as well. Several teenagers go to Antarctica to relive the Scott expedition. Is the danger real or for television?

Miikwan and Dez are best friends. Miikwan is Anishinaabe; Dez is Inninew. Together, the teens navigate the challenges of growing up in an urban landscape - they’re so close, they even completed their Berry Fast together. However, when Dez’s grandmother becomes too sick, Dez is told she can’t stay with her anymore. With the threat of a group home looming, Dez can’t bring herself to go home and disappears. Miikwan is devastated, and the wound of her missing mother resurfaces. Will Dez’s community find her before it’s too late? Will Miikwan be able to cope if they don’t?

It’s 1953, and the United States has just executed an American couple convicted of spying for the Soviet Union. Everyone is on edge as the Cold War standoff between communism and democracy leads to the rise of Senator Joe McCarthy and his zealous hunt for people he calls subversives or communist sympathizers. Suspicion, loyalty oaths, blacklists, political profiling, hostility to foreigners, and the assumption of guilt by association divide the nation. Richard and his family believe deeply in American values and love of country, especially since Richard’s father works for the FBI. Yet when a family from Czechoslovakia moves in down the street with a son Richard’s age named Vlad, their bold ideas about art and politics bring everything into question.

Richard is quickly drawn to Vlad’s confidence, musical sensibilities, and passion for literature, which Richard shares. But as the nation’s paranoia spirals out of control, Richard longs to prove himself a patriot, and blurred lines between friend and foe could lead to a betrayal that destroys lives.

Summer’s over and it’s time for Sunny Lewin to enter the strange and unfriendly hallways of middle school. When her Gramps calls her from Florida to ask how she’s doing, she always tells him she’s fine. But the truth? Sunny is NOT having the best time. Not only is the whole middle school thing confusing but life at home is confusing, too. Sunny misses her brother Dale, who’s been sent to boarding school. But when Dale comes back, she STILL misses him because he’s changed.

Brave men and women have taken up the sword since ages of old, and a fascination with this formidable weapon grips dedicated followers to this day. Here is a celebration of swords and swordsmen that spans time and place — from ancient warriors such as Beowulf to medieval knights; from stealthy ninja and samurai to legendary maidens of war. 

In 1950’s Appalachia, the Collins family leads a hard existence. The youngest sister, Carolina, is adrift, when her guitar-playing cousin, Tadpole, unexpectedly arrives. Tadpole’s beautiful singing and positive outlook inspire the family, but when they learn he’s on the run from an abusive uncle, they worry the uncle will come and take Tadpole away.

Wes Henderson has other things to think about than the protests his parents are always dragging him to. But when a real estate developer makes an offer to buy Kensington Oaks, the neighborhood Wes has lived his whole life, everything changes. Wes isn’t about to give up the only home he’s ever known. Can Wes find the missing piece that will solve this puzzle and save the Oaks?

After their father’s sudden death eight years ago, Chuck and Lori’s mother left them with their grandparents while she traveled for work. Now she’s try to reconnect with them and it’s not going great. Can the walls built up over the years come down and what happens when all the secrets are revealed?

The extraordinary memoir of an orphan who danced her way from war-torn Sierra Leone to ballet stardom, most recently appearing in Beyonce’s Lemonade and as a principal in a major American dance company.

Meet the Hatchers through the voice of Peter, the oldest of son, tormented (as all siblings are) by his younger and perennially “cute” brother, Farley (better known as Fudge). Their life in an apartment in New York City sparkles with humor and plausible family scenes in this first of the stories of Peter, his family, and ultimately his neighbors.

Based on the true stories of the Native American Code Talkers, this incredible graphic novel features nine original stories by Native American artists and writers documenting the heroic tales of Code Talkers from World War I through the Korean War. The graphic novel also features a history of the Code Talkers and a lesson plan for teachers who wish to use the book to teach students about the struggle and accomplishments of these Native American heroes.

Teaching Literacy Online is a practical guide for secondary and college teachers of English in digital and online environments. Like other, practical, “how to teach online” books, TLO includes an overview of good practices and guidelines for teaching in digital environments. However, it goes further, by providing detailed suggestions and examples to model good digital teaching practices. You’ll learn how to apply the online teaching guidelines through:

• Digital organization;
• Engagement with materials;
• Analysis and synthesis of information; and
• The production of texts in a multitude of media and modalities.

By focusing on the engagement, analysis, and production of texts, TLO positions literacy pedagogy as the driving force when making decisions about how to teach online and/or with different digital applications.

A behind-the-scenes look at the people on the ground — engineers, safety inspectors, seamstresses, painters, doctors, electricians — who helped get a man on the moon. Also includes many fascinating photos.

Eight teenagers who fled from Ethiopia and Rwanda tell how they got to America and Canada only to receive more prejudicial treatment.