This month's featured titles . . .
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Celia's Robot
In this celebration of a multicultural family, half-American and half-Chinese, Margaret Chang has created a heartfelt and hilarious middle-grade novel about learning to love your family, your friends, and of course, your robot. For more about Margaret Chang and how Celia’s Robot came to be, see this month’s Spotlight on . . . feature and listen to the podcast. PICTURE BOOK |
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THE LONGEST NIGHT by Marion Dane Bauer Ted Lewin, Illustrator Celebrate the Winter Solstice. This inspiring story by Newbery Honor-winning author Marion Dane Bauer, breathtakingly illustrated by Caldecott Honor-winning illustrator Ted Lewin, captures a beautifully snowy night woods and the warmth of the dawn as a tiny woodland creature summons a new day. The snow lies deep. All through the forest, animals long for dawn’s warmth on the longest night of the year. Strong and clever creatures boast that only they can bring back the sun. But the wind knows better. A Conversation with . . . Marion Dane Bauer and Ted Lewin "What I hope children will take away from this book is hope itself, the understanding that the least of us can 'bring back the sun,' however ordinary our songs may seem."—Marion Dane Bauer "I'd like readers to experience a sense of the solitude, mystery, and beauty of the night woods, and the usually unseen creatures who leave their tracks in the snow." —Ted Lewin For more on how The Longest Night came to be, click here. PICTURE BOOK |
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THAT DOGGONE CALF by Bill and Carol Wallace What happens when an uppity calf who thinks he has a royal pedigree tries to take over the job of a no-nonsense guard dog? Dust flies and so do some pretty hilarious antics. Cookie, a black-and-white belted Galloway calf, thinks that he has come to the farm to be in charge of the herd of cows. Hoss, the German shepherd, figures that Cookie can barely keep track of his own tail. The only thing the two stubborn animals have in common is their loyalty to a young farm girl named Ann. So when Ann is in danger, the two rivals must figure out how to go from butting heads to putting their two heads together to save her. MIDDLE-GRADE FICTION |
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 THE PALE ASSASSINby Patricia Elliott In this dramatic novel set during the French Revolution, a teen aristocrat must question the justice of her own wealth while facing the cataclysmic divisions of her society. Secrets are revealed, sympathies shift, and every choice can change—or end—a life. Spoiled, beautiful fourteen-year-old Eugenie de Boncoeur is accustomed to outrageous privilege. The French Revolution may rage around her, but Eugenie's luxurious lifestyle is only improved by visits from her brother, Armand, especially doting since the two were orphaned. What Eugenie doesn't know is that their guardian has promised her in marriage to the wealthy, vengeful Le Fantome, a revolutionary nursing a secret grudge against her family. As the Revolution becomes increasingly violent, Eugenie is shipped off to convent school. Finally, there is no place in France that is safe for her. Eugenie dusts off her lightly used brains and rises to the challenge of survival; and soon she is in the thick of turmoil and romance, confronting spies, secret agents, and double-crossing suitors in her quest to get out of France alive. YA HISTORICAL FICTION |
| From middle-grade to young adult novels, this month’s Historical Fiction picks feature the French Revolution, Native Americans of 17th century Texas, 1880s Appalachia, and indentured servants in 19th century Massachusetts.
For more of this month’s Classroom Picks, click here. |
