Brendan's the best player on his baseball team. He would love to be in the playoffs, but he knows that his losing team will never make it. As his teammates make mistake after mistake, Brendan gets more and more frustrated with them. What's the point of being good at the game if you can't ever win? Then, Brendan's uncle surprises him with a trip to Wrigley Field. There, he tells Brendan the story of Ernie Banks, a Cubs player for nineteen years. Could thinking like Ernie Banks turn this season around? Check out other titles in the AllStar SportStory series by Fred Bowen.

Reviewed by: emc

Date read: 10/22/2009

ISBN-10: 156145155X

ISBN-13: 9781561451555

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Ms. Wurtz leaves a blank book in the Writer's Corner of her classroom, with the instructions that students write to each other in it, but to tell no one that it's there! With this begins a secret feud among the various members of the class who think the book should be used only the way they think it should be. Will it be stories and pictures of rabbits, rainbows, and ballet or stories and drawings of mucus, worms, smelly feet, and robots?

Reviewed by: emc

Date read: 3/19/2010

ISBN-10: 0823419320

ISBN-13: 9780823419326

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Poppy loves ballet more than anything. Her dearest wish is to take the exam to move to the next level with her best friend, Jasmine. On the day their teacher chooses the girls who will take the test, a new girl from Poppy's school shows up at class and distracts Poppy. Poppy is devastated when Miss Coralie passes her over for the exam. Can Poppy and Jasmine find a way to persuade Miss Coralie that Poppy deserves a chance to move to the next level? Will the new girl ruin everything?

Reviewed by: emc

Date read: 8/26/2010

ISBN-10: 0746060246

ISBN-13: 9780746060247

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Would John Farrington, an 11-year-old boy, be able to help the beautiful Monarch butterflies complete their migration journey safely? After finding that their original 'safe haven' had been turned into a concrete mini-mall, these beautiful creatures turned to John to guide them to a new location. They needed a place to feed, to rest, and to feel safe. In the story, 'The Prince of Butterflies' by Bruce Coville, John became 'one' with the butterflies and led them to a lush green meadow. This experience changed John's life forever. From that day forward, John dedicated his life to the protection of these magnificent insects. He was instrumental in helping to establish 'The Butterfly Road' legislation that protects the Monarch butterflies during their yearly migration. This up-lifting story of courage and dedication shows how one person's vision made a difference and saved the Monarch butterflies from extinction.

Similar authors: Gail Gibbons; Laurence P. Pringle; Phillip Joseph Schappert

Similar books: The Journey of a Butterfly by Carolyn Scarce; The Migration of a Butterfly by Tanya Kant; Butterfly Fever by Lori Haskins and Jerry Smath

Reviewed by: mb

Date read: 6/29/2011

ISBN-10: 0152014543

ISBN-13: 9780152014544

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Fourteen-year-old Mia has a pretty normal life. She does wish, though, that she had a boyfriend and that her mom wasn't dating her algebra teacher! One day, out of the blue, her father comes to visit her and announces that she is the princess of Genovia, a small European principality. Mia is sooo embarrassed! She tries to hide the fact that she is a princess from all of her classmates but suddenly her face is all over magazines and the press starts swarming her school. Mia finds out that being a princess is very complicated. Lots of people now want to be her friend because of her new status. The most popular boy in school asks Mia to go to the cultural diversity dance with him-which she is so thrilled about! Is life going to suddenly become wonderful for Mia? Read this book and the rest in the Princess Diaries series to find out. A good audio book as well.

Reviewed by: jb

Date read: 3/22/2012

ISBN-10: 0380978482

ISBN-13: 9780380978489

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