Cupcake

We all want to be unique and known for something that is different about us.  Cupcake thinks he is special until he realizes that he does not stand out in his cupcake family, especially next to his cupcake brothers and sisters like Chocolaty Chocolate Cupcake, Happy-Face Cupcake, and Fancy Flower- Top cupcake.  Things start to change for Cupcake when he meets a new friend, Candle, who also feels inferior to his candle family. Together they brainstorm and try different creative ways to make them stand out.  You might be surprised in how they end up finding their own place in their ‘Journey to Special!’

Reviewed by Mrs. Ziter at Karigon

Spoon by Amy Krouse Rosenthal

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be an eating utensil?  How different your life would be compared to all of the other members in the silverware drawer?  Well this is Spoon’s reality.  He thinks his life as a spoon is pretty boring.  Knives live an exciting life of cutting and spreading.  Forks get to go everywhere and are so useful to everyone.  Even Chopsticks live an exciting and exotic life as a team!  Through meeting new friends, Spoon learns from them about all the things that are so exciting about being a spoon.  Read Spoon by Amy Krouse Rosenthal to find out!

Reviewed by Mrs. Ziter from Karigon

School! Adventures at the Harvey N. Trouble Elementary School by Kate McMullan

Reviewed by Mrs. Bruno at Arongen

Harvey N. Trouble is the silliest school that you will visit. Spend a week in this book and you will meet a cast of characters with abilities only their names define, like Ron Faster, who is a fast runner and Ivanna Snack who is always hungry. Almost everyday they are late to school because their bus driver, Mr. Stuckinaditch is always stuck in a ditch. Will a day go by when the janitors Mr. Quitoo and Mr. Iquit not quit their job? Will Miss Ingashoe, the principal, ever find what's missing? Read this book of funny characters and find out why you never get in trouble there.

Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life by James Patterson and Chris Tebbetts

Reviewed by Mrs. Bruno at Arongen

There are two sides to Rafe Khatchadorian: on one side he is a talented artist, has illustrated and written a book of his own, is generally funny and on the other side he is a total cut-up getting into heaps of trouble. Sixth grade can be really hard. Especially when the school bully "Miller the Killer" is making your life difficult. Plus, Rafe is making trouble of his own by breaking the school rules. But is he really doing it, or is his "friend" Leo causing all the stir? His mom is mad at him, his teacher and principal are furious and he is spending a lot of time in detention. Will Rafe change his wayward ways? Read this hilarious book and find out.

Billions of Bats by Scott Nickel

Reviewed by Mrs. Bruno from Arongen

Buzz Beaker is the smartest kid in school. That was until Sarah Bellum, the new kid, arrived. Buzz sets out to mastermind Sarah to prove he is the smartest. But his plan backfires and she beats him at his own game. In class, Sarah develops "The Cosmic Copier" and she uses her pet bat to show off her new invention. But something goes terribly wrong and there are bats EVERYWHERE! Will she learn that two heads are better than one?

Miss Daisy is Crazy, by Dan Gutman

Reviewed by Mrs. Bailey at Okte

This is the first book in the lively, funny series called "My Weird School." AJ and his friends are amazed to find that their teacher cannot read, spell or do math problems. She spends much of the day asking the children in her class to explain things that she does not know. Then one day on the playground, AJ and the rest of the class begin to wonder if their "real" teacher has been kidnapped...or worse!

All the adults in this series are strange and funny...and the kids have their hands full trying to set them all straight! There are many books in the series so you can just keep on finding out more unusual things about this crazy school!

Welcome to the Shen Kids Read Blog!

Your Shenendehowa Elementary librarians would like to share some books with you! Check back here on this blog to see some of the great reading choices for elementary students. We hope that you will enjoy reading for fun this summer and any time during the year!
We would like to see your comments, but please remember to only post your first name and last initial in order to keep safe on the web.

Ivy + Bean (Book One) by Annie Barrows

Reviewed by Mrs. Bruno at Arongen

Despite her mother's wish that she befriends Ivy, Bean has no intention of following through. But when Bean plays a trick on her sister, Nancy, Ivy helps to scheme against her. The two girls become partners in a plan. Ivy, who is practicing to become a witch, has devised magic spells. When the magic backfires, other mischief ensues. Will the girls get in trouble? Or do they realize they have a lot in common after all? For other books in the series, go to the author page at http://www.anniebarrows.com/.

A Beginning, A Muddle, and an End: The Right Way to Write Writing by Avi

Reviewed by Mrs. Bruno at Arongen

In his pursuit to write a book, Avon the snail, realizes that the process is very challenging and difficult. He starts writing his book with one word, "Something," and that is all he can capture on the page. But what should he write next? Discouraged, he turns to his friend Edward the ant for wisdom and inspiration. In their quest to find "something" to write about, an adventure brings them closer to the story. Lucky for Avon, he has Edward to encourage him.

Middle School is Worse Than Meatloaf by Jennifer L. Holm, pictures by Elicia Castaldi

Reviewed by Ms. Pierce at Tesago
This hilarious book tells the story of Ginny's year in seventh grade. Lots of crazy things happen: Ginny accidently dyes her hair pink, and oops - gets sent to detention for throwing FROGS in class! This book is funny and interesting and fun, but the coolest part of the book is that it isn't told in the regular way with chapters and paragraphs, it's told through Ginny's "stuff." Stuff like report cards, to-do lists, journal entries, newspaper clippings, and notes from friends. The author (the same awesome author who wrote the Babymouse books) and illustrator tell the story of Ginny's seventh grade year in a totally new and creative way. It's a perfect pick for fans of graphic novels, neat artwork and funny stories - check it out!

Little Hoot by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Jen Corace

Reviewed by Ms. Pierce at Tesago

Little Hoot is a very happy little owl. He loves going to school. He loves playing hide and seek. There is just one thing that Little Hoot does not love - staying up late! He HATES it. All Little Hoot wants to do is go to bed, but his parents keep saying "No, no, no!" What will he do? Pick up this book and find out!

Melonhead by Katy Kelly

Reviewed by Mrs. Bruno at Arongen

Ten-year-old Adam Melon is known by his classmates as Melonhead. He is an active boy who gets himself into various predicaments from his impulsive behavior. Some of his quirky ideas, like getting his foot caught in a tree, bringing a snake home that gets loose and climbing on rooftops, gets him into heaps of trouble. However, there is a reason for his actions. At school there is a contest for students who can design an invention using recycled parts. Will Melonhead and his best friend Sam win the contest and make it to first place? Can these budding inventors stay out of trouble long enough to develop their invention? Will their invention come from some lessons they learn along the way?

Suddenly Supernatural: School Spirit by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel

Reviewed by Mrs. Bruno at Arongen

Being the daughter of a medium isn’t easy for Kat. She dislikes her mother’s gift and becomes alarmed seeing a flute playing ghost roaming her school. Kat would love to become one of the Satellite Girls, a popular clique, headed by the stunning, Shoshanna Longbarrow, but it seems her gift is taking precedent. One day the ghost appears to her in the library. If she risks telling her new best friend Jac, will she think Kat is crazy? What does the ghost want with her? Or could it be that the ghost wants something from Jac? The two girls set out to reveal the identity of the ghost to uncover a mystery dating back to 1960.

Julian Rodriguez: Episode 1-Trash Crisis On Earth

Reviewed by Mrs. Bruno at Arongen

Julian has been living on Earth posing as an earthling. He has many experiences like going to school, eating school lunches, doing homework and taking test. However he faces challenges that are beneath a First Officer of the Federation when Evilomami makes him do chores like, "take out the refuse"; which is another word for garbage. Can Julian succumb to these horrible requests or is it time for the Mothership to obliterate these earthlings? Read this hilarious story that will have you begging for more books to be published in this series. If you like cartoon drawings, you will find them inside this book too!

Stinky, Smelly Feet: A Love Story by Margie Palatini

Reviewed by Mrs. Bruno at Arongen

Douglas and Delores are so much in love. But something has come between them; the problem is Douglas' stinky, smelly feet. When his shoes are removed, Delores passes out from the odor. They go to the movie theater and everyone faints from the rotten smell. At the beach the fish need breathing masks. The pictures will have you rolling in the aisles. Can the smitten couple overcome the odor and stick together? Read Stinky Smelly Feet: A Love Story or other books by Margie Palatini by going to http://www.margiepalatini.com/

Punished! by David Lubar

Reviewed by Ms. Gulotta-Bruno from Arongen

Benedict doesn’t want to procrastinate with the report his teacher assigned and convinces Logan to go with him to the library. They will play later. While being mischievous and playing tag in the library, Logan runs into a mysterious stranger in the reference section. He took magic dust and blew it on Logan and said he needed to be punished for his actions. Strange things happen to Logan after that encounter; he starts speaks in puns. The funny things he says are getting him into heaps of trouble. To end the spell, Logan is on a quest to find seven examples of oxymorons, anagrams and palindromes, and he must do it as quick as possible. What is an oxymoron, anagram and palindrome? To learn the meaning of these new words, you can read this book or look them up in the dictionary. Whatever you do, be on the lookout for librarians with magic dust, so you are not punished too!

I Was A Third Grade Spy by Mary Jane Auch

Reviewed by Ms. Gulotta-Bruno from Arongen

During their science experiment, Josh, Brian, and Dougie have a dilemma on their hands. They were practicing hypnotizing Josh, but it seems that Brian's dog, Arful is under a spell too. Now Arful can speak. There is a school talent show and Emily, with the help of her girlfriends plan to win. Both sides strike up a bet that whoever wins will get to boss and order the losing team around. Since the boys plan on winning, they agree to keep their talking dog a secret. A plan is devised to use Arful's new talent for spying on their rival, Emily Venable. You will be laughing out loud at Arful escapades. If you like this book, try reading I Was a Third Grade Science Project by Mary Jane Auch.

Oh Say, I Can't See by Jon Scieszka

Reviewed by Ms. Gulotta-Bruno from Arongen

Joe, Fred and Samantha are whisked back in time to the year 1776. They are looking for “the book” and Samantha’s cat. However, they get captured by soldiers who believe them to be Tory spies. While George Washington’s plans have been put on hold, Samantha encourages them to go through with it and shows them the plan of attack. Will they find the magical book that will take them back home to Brooklyn? Will they be forced to fight in the American Revolution? This is one of the many humorous, historical fiction series books from the Time Warp Trio by Jon Scieszka that kids love. Two great websites for more of Jon Scieszka's books or to learn about what others kids are reading go to: http://www.guysread.com/ and http://www.jsworldwide.com/

Clementine's Letter, by Sara Pennypacker

Reviewed by Mrs. Bailey at Okte

This is the third book in the Clementine series. The first two books, Clementine and The Talented Clementine, have been flying off the shelves at the Okte library--everyone loves red-headed Clementine and her funny predicaments!

In Clementine's Letter, Clementine's third grade teacher enters a contest to win a trip to Egypt. Everyone in the class is encouraged to write a letter telling the judges why he should win. Clementine is afraid that if her teacher does win, she will be stuck with a substitute teacher for the ENTIRE rest of the year! Can you guess what Clementine decides to write in her letter?

Marley: A Dog Like No Other, by John Grogan

Reviewed by Mrs. Bailey at Okte


Perhaps you have seen adults reading a book called Marley and Me, by this same author. The story of Marley was so popular, that the author decided to write a book about his dog just for kids. Marley is a yellow Labrador retriever who eats just about anything and is always getting into trouble for stealing underwear and crashing into screen doors. He is a ton of work for his family to take care of, but he also teaches them lessons about what really matters in life. This is a true story!