Great eBooks for 4th Graders from the Wake County Public Library

Check out the ebooks available from your Wake County Public Libraries

“The School for Good and Evil” by Soman Chainani (ebook version)

“My name is Sophie... I’m totally gorgeous - look at my long, flowing blond hair, and as selfless as I can be,  the very picture of all things good, but I’m am completely bored with my life and this town.  Now my best friend, Agatha, she is the complete opposite of me -  a loner, odd-looking, dark, mysterious, everything that seems evil.  We live in a town surrounded by a dark forest.  There seems to be only one way to leave the town, by getting kidnapped by the mysterious school-master, and I for one, cannot wait.  Now, not everyone is town believes the legend of the school-master, but once per year, two children disappear, never to return and they reappear as stars of their very fairy tales, Rapuzel, Jack, the Giant (that was a kid named Angus who used to be a pointy-eared, freckle-faced hooligan), they all got their own stories.  Now, the thing is, these kids that get taken, well one is good and one is evil.  Me, of course I’m good and I cannot wait to be a star in my very own princess story - sigh - Princess Sophie, sounds perfect.  I only hope there is a prince worthy of me out there somewhere.”  Sophie seems a little full of herself, right?  Well, she is, and she’s in for a BIG surprise.  She and her friend do indeed get kidnapped, but somehow, she ends up at the school for evil while Agatha ends up at the school for good.  The girls are sure there’s been a mistake - even Agatha’s mom has been prepping her to be an evil witch someday, but the girls are assured that there was NO mistake.  Seems like appearances can truly be deceiving.  What will happen to the girls?  Will they get their own fairy tale?

“Shredderman: Secret Identity” by Wendelin Van Draanen

He’s a boy, he’s a nerd, he’s a math-whiz, he’s a 5th grader... he’s Shredderman, secret cyber-hero who can’t quite keep his shoes tied.  Nolan Byrd is tired of being bullied by Bubba Bixby who lies, cheats, steals, pounds on people, and totally gets away with it - he’s a complete nightmare, but no one, not even the principal can control him.  Armed with a secret camera and a backpack, Nolan creates the website Shredderman.com to expose Bubba for the bully he is, but he has to figure out how to get kids to the site without exposing his identity, a superhero’s most sacred secret.  Nolan learns how to make change like a real superhero but no one can ever know it was him.  He's a true superhero. What kind of superhero would you be?

More Great Books for 2nd Graders!

“Back of the Bus” by Aaron Reynolds
"[Rosa] It’s a hot Alabama day, and it sure feels good to sit down on this here bus.  There’s a little boy in the back playing with his marble… sweet thing, keeps rolling up to the front every time the bus stops.  He best be careful lest someone slip on that marble.  The bus stops again, and that grumpy old bus driver tells me to get up for the white folks.  He says to move on to the back where we belong.  Who says we belong on the back of the bus… some silly law about blacks and whites being separated. Well, I’ll tell you something.  I’m not getting up today. I’m not moving and there’s nothin that bus driver can do about it. I see some folks giving me angry looks, even some colored folks - but I’m not movin, not no more.  It just ain’t right."

Learn all about a fictional account of Rosa Parks' famous story, the day she protested the injustice of segregation on buses, from the perspective of a little boy.  I've presented the story from Rosa’s perspective, but this story tells about it from the little boy’s perspective.  Very awesome illustrations.

"The Day the Crayons Quit" by Drew Daywalt

This is a different kind of protest book, a very silly one, about some crayons who are tired of being singled out, mistreated, ignored, or pigeon-holed into a certain type of drawing. Each of the crayons in Duncan's crayon box writes Duncan a letter, outlining their various concerns. Duncan reads each letter patiently, and brainstorms a way to make all the crayons happy, so that he can get back to the serious business of coloring. Will Duncan be able to come up with a compromise that will make all the crayons happy? You'll just have to read it to find out.

More Great Books for 1st Graders!

“Tacky the Penguin”… by Helen Lester Tacky is a penguin but he’s not your typical penguin. He doesn’t march in a straight line and he doesn’t dive gracefully and he definitely doesn’t sing pretty songs. He’s just plain different. One day some hunters come and they are looking for penguins, you know the kind that march in a straight line, dive gracefully, and sing pretty songs. Tacky doesn’t know that he should run away from the hunters like a typical penguin would. In fact, he’s the only penguin that the hunters find. What will happen to Tacky? To the other penguins? Will being different finally get Tacky into real trouble??

“Curious George Rides a Bike” by H. A. Rey

Can you imagine how much trouble a curious little monkey like George might get into with a bike?  He heads out to explore the town with his new bike, has a mishap, and they next thing he knows, he’s part of a circus.  But the trouble doesn’t stop there.

BYOD... What is it Anyway?

BYOD stands for Bring Your Own Device.  It's an initiative that's taking hold in schools and businesses in an effort to turn "no zones" into "yes zones."  People are simply more comfortable with their own technology.  Many adults and students alike carry a very powerful computer in their pocket daily in the form of smartphones.  For years, students have been told to turn their devices off when they enter the building or not to bring them at all.  That mantra is no longer a reality in today's connected age.  Why not let students turn their devices into productive tools for learning instead of merely using them for social networking?  BYOD has multitudes of pros and cons; simply search it and you will find a slew of articles for and against it.  Several districts across the country are successfully implementing BYOD, and WCPSS is turning to those districts for guidance during this pilot year.  At LMES we are doing a very small pilot with only 2 classes starting BYOD.  Once we've worked through the bumps and policies, we hope to be able to determine whether BYOD is a great fit for Lake Myra or not!
 

More Great Books for 5th Graders

 

“Game Changers: Heavy Hitters” by Mike Lupica

Sports writer, Mike Lupica, weaves an excellent tale centered around middle school aged baseball.  Ben and his friends, the Core Four Plus One, learn how to deal with fear, pressure, and friendship during this baseball season that's leading up to the championship game of the All-Star Baseball League.  In the first game of the season, Ben gets hit by a pitch, and he gets hit hard.  Will he be able to overcome his fear of hitting?  I thoroughly enjoyed this book that I mistakenly thought was going to be only for boys who are sports fans.  How wrong I was!

“Savvy” by Ingrid Law

What’s your savvy?  Can you make water bend to your will, creating storms of hurricane caliber? Or are you electric?  Maybe you’re just about perfect, getting things right 98% of the time?  What if your savvy was that you could hear what people were thinking… well, only if they have some ink on their skin - like a tattoo or some writing?  What happens when someone can’t control their savvy and gets angry?  Can you imagine if your brother could electrify you?  This story involves one very special family with a whole bunch of unique savvys, but this family is dealing with a tragedy.  Confused, angry, and desperate to help their father, the kids and some new friends take an unexpected journey that will cause all kinds of mischief, but will also form bonds of friendship that will last a lifetime.  What’s your savvy?

More Great Books for 4th Graders

 

“Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library” by Chris Grabenstein

Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory has nothing on Mr. Lemoncello’s library.  Get ready for the craziest escape game with puzzles and clues and serious competition.  Would you play dirty like Charles Chiltingon, you know, Chiltingtons never lose.  Or would you play desperately like Haley or would you ally yourself with strong team members?  These kids will see holographic librarians, talking Pharaohs, experience a hover ladder to reach the high heights, and be tempted by treachery and deception.  Think you’re ready to be the new focus for Mr. Lemoncello’s commercials?  Enter the library and let the games begin.

“Flora & Ulysses” by Kate DiCamillo

It all started with a with a multi-terrain vacuum cleaner.  Before you know it, I, Flora one of the world’s natural-born cynics, was rescuing a squirrel.  Holy Bagumba, who vacuums their yard anyway, but that’s exactly what I witnessed, one poor little squirrel getting sucked right up.  For a cynic, I was surprisingly helpful and I dashed over to my neighbors’ and shook that squirrel right out.  I can tell you that there was nothing in the back of favorite bonus comic “Terrible Things Can Happen to You” about how to give an unresponsive squirrel CPR.  Something amazing happened after I saved that little beast... perhaps he was destined to be a superhero or maybe a writer.  For a cynic, I have surprisingly high hopes for my new friend, Ulysses.  Unfortunately, the powers of evil are working against us in Ulysses’ arch-nemesis, my mother.  And then there’s William Spiver, an annoying boy who’s temporarily blind, but kind of growing on me and with serious sidekick potential.  All I know, is that together, Ulysses and I are better... check out our illuminated adventures to see what kind of craziness we we get into.

More Great Books for 3rd Graders

"Cat and Mouse in a Haunted House” by Geronimo Stilton 

Geronimo is at it again... this time, he's lost in the woods and he stumbles upon a haunted castle.  He wishes over and over again that he was at home.  His sister Thea shows up to discover the mysteries of the castle, but all of the scary tricks are only revealed to Geronimo.  Will Geronimo ever make it home?

“Ramona the Brave” by Beverly Cleary

I am Ramona and this is my year… the year I’m going to have something to tell all the kids at school when it starts.  It’s actually been an exciting summer at our house for a change - we have an actual hole in our house.  I know, unbelievable but true, and it’s going to be my new room!  But you know, this year just isn’t turning out like I thought - my sister thinks I’m a pest, the kids think I’m a liar, I’m kind of scared of my new room, and my teacher just doesn’t like me.  Do any of you have 1st grade brothers or sisters?  Just remember that the really are trying to grow up, but it’s really really hard.