Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat
by Lynne Jonell

When Emmy discovers that she and her parents are being drugged by their evil nanny, she and some new friends must try everything possible to return things to normal.

Room One: A Mystery or Two
by Andrew Clements

Fifth grader, Ted Hammond loves a good mystery, and this year, he's working on a big one. How can his school stay open next year if there are going to be only five students.

The Magic Thief
by Sarah Prineas

A young thief is drawn into a life of magic and adventure after picking the pocket of the powerful wizard Nevery Flinglas, who has returned from exile to attempt to reverse the troubling decline of magic in Wellmet City.

The Liberation of Gabriel King
by K.L. Going

In Georgia during the summer of 1976, Gabriel, a white boy, and Frita, an African American girl, decide to overcome their many fears together as they enter fifth grade.

Lunch Money
by Andrew Clements

Twelve-year-old Greg is surprised to find himself teaming up with his lifelong rival, Maura, to create a series of comic books to sell at school.

Rowan of Rin
by Emily Rodda

Rowan must conquer not only the Mountain's many tricks, but also the fierce dragon that lives at its peak.
 

Lily Quench and the Dragon of Ashby
 by Natalie Jane Prior

Lily is called upon to fight an unexpected dragon.

 

The Girl, the Dragon and the Wild Magic
by Dave Luckett

Just as Rhianna is falling out of magic school, a wizard appears with some astonishing news.
 

Book of Dragons
by Michael Hague

A collection of short stories featuring dragons.

 

Hatching Magic
by Ann Downer

A young wizard goes in search of his pet wyvern that disappeared through a magic hole in time.
 

Morris and Boris at the Circus
by Bernard Wiseman

Morris and Boris go to the circus as spectators and end up being part of the action.

 

The Circus Train
by Joseph A. Smith

After moving to a new home, Timothy wonders how he will make any friends.

 

Circus Girl
by Jack Sendak

A little circus girl longs to know what the people who attend the circus every night are like when they are not at the circus.
 

Spot Goes to the Circus
by Eric Hill

Spot loses his ball at the circus and encounters all the show's familiar sights and characters on his search to find it.
 

Olivia Saves the Circus
by Ian Falconer

Olivia's simple trip to the circus turned out to be a busy day of high-flying fun!

 

Circus Family Dog
by Andrew Clements

Grumps is content to do his one trick in the center ring at the circus until a new dog shows up and steals the show.
 

Clifford at the Circus
by Norman Bridwell

Emily, Elizabeth and Clifford the big red dog have a day at the circus that they will always remember.
 

Stanford Wong Flunks Big-time
by Lisa Yee

After flunking sixth-grade English, basketball prodigy Stanford Wong must struggle to pass his summer-school class, keep his failure a secret from his friends, and satisfy his academically demanding father.

Wolf Brother
by Michelle Paver

6,000 years ago, 12-year-old Torak and his guide, a wolf cub, set out on a dangerous journey to fulfill an oath the boy made to his dying father -- to travel to the Mountain of the World Spirit to destroy a demon-possessed bear.

Mummies in the Morning
by Mary Pope Osborne

Jack and his younger sister take a trip in their tree house to ancient Egypt.

Mercy Watson to the Rescue
by Kate DiCamillo

After Mercy the pig snuggles to sleep with the Watsons, all three awaken to a big surprise.

Nate the Great and the Big Sniff
by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat

Nate the Great follows the clues to find his lost dog, Sludge, in a department store.

Days with Frog and Toad
by Arnold Lobel

Frog and Toad enjoy time together, but also value time apart.

Young Cam Jansen and the Lions' Lunch Mystery
by David Adler

On a field trip to the zoo, Cam Jansen helps solve the mystery of the missing lunch.

Scat
by Carl Hiaasen

Nick and his friend Marta decide to investigate when a mysterious fire starts near a Florida wildlife preserve and an unpopular teacher goes missing.

The Ruins of Gorlan
by John Flanagan

When 15-year-old Will is rejected by battle school, he becomes the reluctant apprentice to the mysterious Ranger Halt, and winds up protecting the kingdom from danger.

Bud, Not Buddy
by Christopher Curtis

10-year-old orphan Bud gets into all sorts of trouble as he tries to track down his supposed dad - a man he's never seen.

The Gas Grill Gourmet
by A. Cort Sinnes, with John Puscheck
It was great to find a barbecue cookbook that focuses on gas grills so you don’t have to translate cooking times and temperatures from a charcoal grill recipe. The recipes are grouped by category (appetizers, type of meat, vegetables and vegetarian, side dishes, fruit and desserts) and each recipe has a little introduction. They are pretty simple, but there are no photos which is too bad. But the most important thing about a cookbook is whether the recipes are good and these are great! Some of our favorites are the salad Nicoise, skewered herbed potatoes, grilled fresh pineapple, and London broil with black bean and corn salsa. The book also includes information on grill safety, equipment and supplies, and how to use various types of wood chips to enhance your cooking.

Reviewed by staff member Tina Drew

Be Near Me : a Novel
by Andrew O'Hagan
Father David Anderton has lived an insulated life, sheltered from conflict and his own strongest feelings. An Oxford graduate, an intellectual and something of a connoisseur of wine and food, his life begins to change abruptly after he is sent to a poor working-class parish in Scotland. Here he encounters the rampant hostility of the locals. The loneliness of his life is tempered by his friendship with his housekeeper Mrs. Poole, blunt, loyal, and hungry for a taste of culture. He is also drawn to two wildly impulsive adolescents, who live in defiance of all order and authority. This attraction has grave consequences for the priest, but leads to the beginnings of self-knowledge and an opening to the world. This is a beautifully written and compelling novel.

Reviewed by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library staff member

The Red Queen : a Transcultural Tragicomedy
by Margaret Drabble
Fascinating and mysterious 18th century Lady Hyegyong, lived as her status required, confined in women’s apartments behind thick palace walls from the time of her marriage at age 10 to a Korean Crown Prince until her death at 80. But do not expect an neatly embroidered history based on her actual memoirs; listen instead to the Red Queen’s ghost voice describing the strange and tragic events that transformed her life, as she reexamines them from the perspective of 200 years of intellectual exploration and questioning. In the second half of the novel we are introduced to Dr. Barbara Halliwell, puzzling over the anonymous gift of a translation of the original memoirs, received as she is preparing for a flight from Heathrow to Seoul, where she will present a research paper at a professional conference. Upon her arrival a comic confusion of luggage brings Barbara into contact with Dr. Oo, who is familiar with the princess’ history, while her increasing desire to know more about the Red Queen attracts the interest of the conference’s star attendee, Jan van Jost. From this point the two stories, one ancient, one modern, are deftly woven together around themes of beloved children, physical or spiritual entombment, survival after tragedy, immortality, an occurrence of magpies and the persistent longing for a article of red clothing.

Muqtada : Muqtada al-Sadr, the Shia revival, and the struggle for Iraq
by Cockburn, Patrick
Muqtada is a summary of the Shia’s modern history and conflict in Iraq as is rooted with a mystery figure, a maverick, and a firebrand young cleric Muqtada Al-Sadar. Patrick Cockburn compiles an account of the Shia modern politics, religion, nationalism, and their conflict in Iraq. The author had a firsthand experience in the modern Iraqi political conflict including Saddam’s brutality, the Shia suffering, and the destruction of Iraqi infrastructure. Mr. Cockburn’s book is a collaboration of valuable interviews and direct contact with many Iraqi figures including Shia, Sunni, and Iraqi officials.

The book is not just a biography of Muqtada Al-Sadar, but details of his family’s history and the Sadirist movement including the feud of Shia’s leadership and their struggle with the Iraqi government and Baath party. Muqtada blended the Shia’s cause with violence, assassinations, and anarchy. The young cleric seized the momentum to conquer by combining his family’s name, assembling the poor with religious rhetoric and nationalism. He became a ruthless militiaman, but he successfully identified himself with the Mahdi army and his movement. Nevertheless, his rivals were many, al-Khoie, Sistani, & al-Hakim including the Sunni, and the middle class. Many saw him as a dangerous figure leading a mob of thieves and robbers and created bitter rivalries, a controversial figure, but a popular among the poor Shia fanatics.

Reviewed by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library staff member Ashour Benjamin

My Lobotomy
by Howard Dully with Charles Fleming
In 1960 at age 12, Howard Dully became the youngest patient of Dr. Walter Freeman to receive a transorbital – or “ice pick” – lobotomy. What happens to Dully after the surgery is a life of skipping around to various foster families, halfway houses, juvenile hall, and even an insane asylum. Forty years after the lobotomy, as his father is living his final days, Dully decides he needs to know why this happened to him. What was the lobotomy for? Why did his family abandon him after the surgery? How much of an impact did this procedure have on the rest of his life? With the help of journalist Charles Fleming, Dully begins to look back at his life and investigate his family’s history as well as the history of Dr. Walter Freeman, an unlicensed surgeon that may have performed as many as 40,000 lobotomies during his career.

Dully’s story is shocking and inspiring. He takes the reader through his extremely dysfunctional childhood and an abusive stepmother who was the one that approved of the surgery. Dully and Fleming do an excellent job of weaving Dully’s story with transcripts and letters from family and doctors as well as the story of Dr. Freeman’s career. The last chapters of the story talk about Dully’s adulthood and how he has been able to work through all of his struggles. My Lobotomy is the tragic story of an optimistic and brave person.

Reviewed by Edenvale Branch Library staff member Angie Miraflor

Promises I Made My Mother
by Sam Haskell
Sometimes, you may find it easier to listen to someone else’s mother than your own. For one, you can always ignore her, and for another, her counsel may be worth your while. After all, see how her son, Sam Haskell, turned out. Sam Haskell may not be a household name, but his clientele needs no introduction – Ray Romano, Prince Edward of the U.K., Dolly Parton and many more. But this book is not about them (even though they get honorary mention). It is about the indelible imprint Sam’s mother left on his life; and how he has kept faith with her. Sam Haskell grew up in Amory, Mississippi (pop. 7,000) and made his name in Beverley Hills, CA. He started in the mailroom and ended up as the Worldwide Head of Television at the renowned William Morris Agency. He credits his rise to the wisdom of his mother which he shares entertainingly with his readers in Promises I Made My Mother. This inspirational memoir has a bit of everything in it – small town intrigue, cosmopolitan machinations, human frailties, struggles, joys, sadness, drama. Peppered with sagacity and interesting anecdotes, mellifluously melding society column with words to live by, it is delightful reading that packs a powerful punch.

Reviewed by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library staff member