What they're (really) reading: February 2017

By keeping a pulse on what our students are checking out at our middle school library and keeping a close eye on which books are circulating heavily, I feel that I can spend the small budget I have more wisely by choosing books I know will have a greater likelihood of circulating widely.

Each month I'll feature some books that are on the "heavy rotation" list at our middle school library. They're not necessarily new, shiny, or covered with awards -- they're just what the kids want. 

This Month's Selections:

Cupcakes, Cookies, and Pie, Oh, My!
by Karen Tack
Nonfiction

Get ready for another whimsical decorating book from Tack and Richardson (Hello, Cupcake!; What's New, Cupcake?), best-selling authors and culinary MacGyvers who transform store-bought candies, frosting, and baking mixes into stunning cupcake creations. Here, they've expanded their repertoire to include other types of desserts (e.g., a lemon cheesecake that masquerades as nachos). With just one trip to the grocery store, aspiring decorators of all ages can easily re-create treats from this fun book.

Soccer Star Cristiano Ronaldo
by John Albert Torres
Nonfiction

Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the biggest names in all of sports and one of the most iconic figures in international soccer. This biography covers the hardships that Ronaldo faced as a child, and how he overcame them to become the face of the powerhouse soccer club Real Madrid and the Portuguese national team.

Best Foot Forward
by Joan Bauer
Fiction (Realistic)

Taller-than-average shoe salesperson Jenna Boller is back in this gentle, stand-alone sequel to Joan Bauer's lauded Rules of the Road (1998). It's the start of junior year, and new challenges await Jenna, both on the job and at home. Professionally, she is helping Mrs. Gladstone with the merger between Gladstone Shoes and Shoe Warehouse, while training smooth-talking, former juvenile delinquent Tanner Cobb in the fine art of shoe retail. Privately, she is working through her feelings about her father's alcoholism by attending Al-Anon meetings; she's also trying to score a date with cute Charlie Duran, who knows donuts the way she knows shoes. Jenna is so busy that she nearly fails to notice clues leading to Mrs. G's unscrupulous son Elden's embezzlement. But it doesn't take long for sole-ful Jenna to catch on, and, with Mrs. G's support, restore the good name of Gladstone.

The Bully (Bluford High series)
by Paul Langan
Fiction (Realistic/urban)

A new life. An new school. A new bully. That's what Darrell Mercer faces when he and his mother move from Philadelphia to California. After spending months living in fear, Darrell is faced with a big decision. He can either keep running from this bully--or find some way to fight back.

Haunted Houses
by Robert San Souci
Fiction (Short stories/horror)

These 10 spooky stories include a classic Halloween scare: visitors get their admission fee of $25 back if they make it to the top floor of a haunted house-but can they? In another, the primary occupant of a dollhouse is a ghost of a child who needs help moving from one consciousness to another. San Souci also writes about an abandoned teahouse with ghosts, a Ouija board that foretells a confusing yet doomed future, and a mother's spirit who is searching for her missing son. The stories are well paced and satisfyingly startling. While some are better written than others, this book won't stay on the shelves for long. Murphy and Revoy's black-and-white illustrations heighten the fright factor, making San Souci's collection even more riveting.