The Three Snow Bears by Jan Brett (Fairytale, Grades Preschool-2)
Set in the Arctic, this retelling of “Goldilocks and the Three Bears” replaces Goldilocks with a parka-wrapped Inuit girl named Aloo-ki and brown bears with polar bears that live in an igloo rather than a house in the woods. Aloo-ki samples the bears’ bowls of soup, tries on their boots, and naps in their fur cover blankets, all to the polar bear family’s surprise. Vividly illustrated in Jan Brett’s characteristic style, this beautifully re-imagined fairytale is sure to delight those familiar with the traditional story and new readers alike.
The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart (Fiction, Grades 4-6)
Are you brave? Reynie Muldoon hopes he is. Gifted (he’s currently learning to speak Tamil) and kindhearted, Reynie is not your typical abandoned orphan. He knows he’s meant for something bigger and is drawn one day to a strange newspaper ad calling for gifted children “looking for special opportunities.” The ad leads to a mind-bending series of logic and character tests, all in the effort to assemble a team of intelligent and daring children to assist Mr. Benedict in a project of vital importance. Filled with tongue-in-cheek and dark humor, the Society finds itself in real peril and must overcome physically and intellectually demanding obstacles in order to prevail.
Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli (Fiction, Grades 7-9)
16-year-old Leo Borlock thinks he’s in for another run-of-the-mill school year at Mica Area High School—that is, until Stargirl Caraway comes along. Stargirl is as unique as unique can get, wearing prairie dresses and kimonos and serenading her classmates in the cafeteria while strumming a ukulele. At first, Stargirl stuns her fellow students into silence as they are caught off guard with her novelty and pure-spirited friendliness. But then, as always in the sometimes vicious high school world, individuality and conformity collide and Leo is forced to decide whose friendship he values more—that of Stargirl, or that of the rest of the school.
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