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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This book is about polar bears and what their habitats are like. Also, it describes how scientists discover things about polar bears. There are several books in the Adventures of Riley series. If you like this one, read them all!

Reviewed by: St. Charles Reader

Date read: 11/28/2009

ISBN-10: 1600400043

ISBN-13: 9781600400049

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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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When Omakayas, an Ojibwe girl, is twelve years old, her family is forced by white settlers to find a new home. Along the way, her brother has a run-in with a porcupine which he decides to keep as his medicine animal. For awhile the porcupine seems to bring them good luck, but then two of their men are kidnapped and later their supplies are stolen. Omakayas is also worried about Old Tallow, the woman who rescued Omakayas as a child and whom Omakayas loves like a mother. The journey is long and the winter is harsh but Omakayas' family finally reaches the lake where her extended family has settled. This beautiful story weaves in Ojibwe culture and family life. The sequel to The Birchbark House and The Game of Silence.

Reviewed by: hap

Date read: 3/24/2010

ISBN-10: 0060297883

ISBN-13: 9780060297886

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