Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper

11 year old Melody has cerebral palsy which leaves her unable to move her own body or to speak. Her mind, however, is top notch.  This imbalance creates conflicts in her life, but her determination and cunning wit seem to help her get through her life's challenges. I enjoyed how strong she was in the face of obstacles.  She reminds me a little bit of Auggie, from Wonder too!

Francine Poulet Meets the Ghost Raccoon by Kate DiCamillo

Fans of the Mercy Watson books will love Francine Poulet Meets the Ghost Raccoon. It is by the same author, Kate DiCamillo, and is set in the same town. You will see many familiar friends from the Mercy Watson books!

Francine Poulet comes from a long line of animal control officers -- her father was one and so was her grandmother -- and she is good at it! When she gets a call about a raccoon that screams the homeowner's name, she doesn't think much of it. Pretty routine.

Not so much!

In this ghostly, screeching raccoon, Francine Poulet meets her match. Soon she is questioning everything from her career to who she really is. With a little help from some friends on Deckawoo Drive, she figures it all out!



Be sure to look for Kate DiCamillo's other books from Deckawoo Drive: Leroy Ninker Saddles Up and Where Are You Going, Baby Lincoln?

Miracle Mud - Lena Blackburne and the Secret Mud That Changed Baseball - by David A. Kelly

Lena Blackburne loved baseball, but he was tired of how players broke in new balls. The baseballs were soggy, blackened and stinky! So he came up with a top-secret mud recipe that is still used today to prepare baseballs for play.

Love this book. I gave it to my 6th grade son, Owen, who plays and loves the game of baseball. He thought it was an "easy" book being a picture book, but he too ended up loving it. "I learned a lot from this book that I thought was going to just be an easy picture book. I can't believe that something created 75 years ago is still being used in baseball. The pictures helped me a lot too."

So there you have it! Be sure to add this to your list whether you're a fan of the game or not.

Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt

Someone once said that "if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid."

Ally Nickerson believes that she is stupid. Aside from her artistic talent, she just can't seem to do anything right in school. As she moves from school to school, she learns to hide this from her teachers by misbehaving and misdirecting her teachers' attention. Everyone seems to believe her act that she is a troublemaker with nothing to give until she lands in Mr. Daniels' 6th grade class. Mr. Daniels sees something in Ally that she had stopped daring to believe was there. With patience and encouragement, he helps her to realize that she is far from stupid and instead learns differently from her classmates.

As Ally moves from invisible to invincible, she starts to see others in a new light -- that her beloved brother struggles in the same way she does, that the meanest girl in her class doesn't lead the charmed life that she pretends.

This is another great book from the author of One for the Murphys ... and if you haven't read that one, you should! Click here for Mrs. Corbett's review of One for the Murphys.