Night Lights
Susan Gal


Susan Gal tells the story of a child's evening routine through all the different kinds of lights that shine in the night. From the porch light by the front door, to the firelight (and firefly light!) of a backyard cookout, and the candles on a cake, everything seems to glow in this warm and cozy book. When the lightning of a sudden summer storm sends the action inside, there is light there too - a bedside light to read by, a flashlight to make shadows with, a night-light to keep you company, and the moonlight for sweet dreams.

Little Blue and Little Yellow
Leo Lionni

Little Blue and Little Yellow are best friends, but one day they can't find each other. When they finally do, they give each other such a big hug that they turn green! How they find their true colors again concludes a wonderfully satisfying story told with colorful pieces of torn paper and very few words. This 50th-anniversary edition includes Lionni's own explanation about how the book came to be during a train trip with his very young grandchildren.

I So Don't Do Mysteries
Barrie Summy

Sherry (short for Sherlock) Holmes Baldwin is spending spring break in California with her best friend, Junie. She can't wait to hang out in the sun, hit the mall, and spend time with cutie-pie Josh.

Then . . . a freaky change of plans. Sherry's mom, a cop killed in the line of duty, contacts her. Not only is she a ghost, she's a ghost in danger of flunking out of the Academy of Spirits, and she needs Sherry's help. Unless she solves an important mystery in San Diego, she'll be banished to an afterlife for ghost failures!

Dream Girl

Lauren Mechling

Claire Voyante has been having strange visions ever since she can remember. But the similarity between her name and her talents is purely coincidental. The name is French and unlike the psychics on TV, she can't solve crimes or talk to the dead. But that all changes on Claire's 15th birthday, when her grandmother gives her something a little more extraordinary than one of her old cocktail dresses: a strange black-and-white onyx cameo on a gold chain. It's not long before Claire's world becomes a whole lot clearer. And a whole lot more dangerous.

Pat Scales was the director of Library Services at the South Carolina Governor's School for the Arts and Humanities in Greenville, South Carolina, and has had recently retired after working as a school librarian for 36 years. She is known throughout the country as an advocate for Children's Literature and Intellectual Freedom. Every month Pat will be found here on the Web discussing an important issue affecting librarians, books, and children.

This November, the National Education Association is sponsoring the 88th annual celebration of American Education Week.  We all know that understanding the importance of education and celebrating those who teach should be a priority every day of the year, but Pat's November column has some great ideas to help you put together an education-themed program just for this special occasion!

To read Pat's column click here.

Scat
Carl Hiaasen

Bunny Starch, the most feared biology teacher ever, is missing. She disappeared after a school field trip to Black Vine Swamp. And, to be honest, the kids in her class are relieved. But when the principal tries to tell the students that Mrs. Starch has been called away on a "family emergency," Nick and Marta just don't buy it. No, they figure the class delinquent, Smoke, has something to do with her disappearance.