Book Suggestions

The Vanderbeekers: Lost and Found by Karina Yan Glaser

This is the fourth book in the Vanderbeekers series and it doesn't disappoint. The Vanderbeeker kids uncover the mystery of who has been living in the garden shed and why! This leads them to try to help out a friend (as they always do!). At the same time their upstairs neighbor Mr. Jeet has some health issues that impact the whole family. Always fun, funny and full of heart, the Vanderbeekers again rise to the various crises that life throws at them. Can't wait for the next book, due out next fall (2021)! 

We Dream of Space by Erin Entrada Kelly

Cash, Fitch, and Bird Thomas are three siblings in seventh grade together in Park, Delaware. In 1986, as the country waits expectantly for the launch of the Space Shuttle Challenger, they each struggle with their own personal anxieties.

Cash, who loves basketball but has a newly broken wrist, is in danger of failing seventh grade for the second time. Fitch spends every afternoon playing Major Havoc at the arcade on Main and wrestles with an explosive temper that he doesn’t understand. And Bird, his twelve-year-old twin, dreams of being NASA’s first female shuttle commander, but feels like she’s disappearing. In the weeks leading up to the launch of the Challenger, readers follow the three siblings as they face their own day-to-day struggles. Realistic, historical fiction by a Newbery Award winning author! 

The Next President: The Unexpected Beginnings and Unwritten Future of America's Presidents by Kate Messner

This fascinating nonfiction book traces the history of the presidency in an interesting way: what were the next presidents doing when George Washington was elected? What was Donald Trump doing when John F. Kennedy was elected? And what are our future presidents up to right now as we get ready to elect our next president? Interesting facts about each president and what they did before they became president are presented to the reader with beautiful illustrations. 

My First Book Club

Candlewick Press has developed their website to include lots of materials for learning at home. One section is called My First Book Club.  https://myfirstbookclub.com/  They suggest lots of intermediate chapter book titles like Mercy Watson, The Infamous Ratsos and Princess in Black. Each title comes with resources like puzzles related to the book, a suggested activity, coloring page, and discussion questions. 

Curbside Pickup is up and running for grades 3 - 5! 

Students can request print books from our library by placing a hold on them in the library catalog, and then stop by Lawrence to pick them up on Tuesday afternoons from 2:30 - 3:30 pm at the door by the school garden. I hope to expand this service to additional grades, but am starting slow to make sure I can do it well and safely! Stay tuned!