WBPL Fourth Grade Book Talk          October, 2019

Clicking on any title will bring you directly to our catalog where you can place your selection on hold with your library card.

GOOFY STORIES:

Andy and Terry’s 13-storey treehouse has got a bowling alley, a see-through swimming pool, a tank full of man-eating sharks, and a marshmallow machine that follows you around and shoots marshmallows into your mouth whenever you’re hungry.

Miles Murphy is known for one thing and one thing only: pranking. So when he’s forced to move to boring Yawnee Valley he assumes he’ll be the best prankster at his new school too. But the school already has a prankster—and he’s good. Really good.

Surviving their first winter after the Monster Apocalypse was no easy feat, yet Jack and his buddies waste no time springing to action against some of the nastiest, most evil monsters around. When Jack discovers his Louisville Slicer has new, otherworldly powers, he’s thrown into epic training to find out what kind of destruction the blade can wield.

GRAPHIC NOVELS:

Poor Stacey. She just moved to a new town, is still coming to terms with her diabetes, and is facing baby-sitting problems left and right. Fortunately, Stacey has three new friends — Kristy, Claudia, and Mary Anne. Together they’re the BSC.

  • The Amulet series (8 books)                                         Kazu Kibuishi

This series follows the adventures of Emily, a young girl who discovers a magical amulet in her great-grandfather’s house.

For most of her twelve years, Astrid has done everything with her best friend Nicole. But after Astrid falls in love with roller derby and signs up for derby camp, Nicole decides to go to dance camp instead. And so begins the most difficult summer of Astrid’s life as she struggles to keep up with the older girls at camp, hang on to the friend she feels slipping away, and cautiously embark on a new friendship.

Artie King just wants to ease into life at Camelot Middle School. He’s got new lunch buddies, Percy and Wayne, and his science teacher, Mr. Merlyn, is pretty cool. But then there’s scary Principal Dagger and big bad Joe and The Horde, a bunch of brawny bullies who rule the school.

ADVENTURE:

Cruz leaves home to train at the Explorer Academy with the world’s leading scientists. No sooner has he arrived at the Academy than he discovers that his family has a mysterious past with the organization that could jeopardize his future.

When robot Roz opens her eyes for the first time, she discovers that she is all alone on a remote, wild island. She has no idea how she got there or what her purpose is–but she knows she needs to survive.

Science, teamwork, survival skills all in the context of high adventure and a magical compass. Grylls also writes adventure stories for an older reader.

The I Survived books are perfect for reluctant readers or any young reader who enjoys an action packed, page turning thriller. Each book also contains several pages of nonfiction content, encouraging readers to further explore the historical topic.

REALISTIC:

When their reclusive landlord decides not to renew their lease, the family has eleven days to do whatever it takes to stay in their home and convince the landlord just how wonderful they are.

When Reena, her little brother, Luke, and their parents first move to Maine, Reena doesn’t know what to expect. Then her parents “volunteer” Reena and Luke to work for an eccentric neighbor named Mrs. Falala, who has a pig named Paulie, a cat named China, a snake named Edna—and that stubborn cow, Zora.

“ I was 12 years old and broke. Then Grandma gave me an old riding lawnmower. I set out to mow some lawns. Hilarity follows.”

Greg Kenton has two obsessions — making money and his long-standing competition with his annoying neighbor, Maura Shaw. So when Greg discovers that Maura is cutting into his comicbook business with her own minibooks, he’s ready to declare war.

MYSTERY:

The Gateway is no ordinary hotel. Its guests aren’t just visiting from other cities and towns – they’re coming from other planets!

Sara Collins has an abnormal secret: She is psychic. She’s had her abilities for as long as she can remember, but she doesn’t like to talk about them. She hopes that if she ignores them, they might go away. Sara wants nothing more than to have a normal life…

  • Small Spaces,                                    Katherine Arden

After suffering a tragic loss, eleven-year-old Ollie who only finds solace in books discovers a chilling ghost story about a girl named Beth, the two brothers who loved her, and a peculiar deal made with “the smiling man”–a sinister specter who grants your most tightly held wish, but only for the ultimate price.

FANTASY:

  • Spirit Animals series, (8 books) Brandon Mull and many authors     (online game is available from Scholastic)

Four children all undergo the same ritual, watched by cloaked strangers. Four flashes of light erupt, and from them emerge the unmistakable shapes of incredible beasts, Suddenly the paths of these children — and the world — have been changed forever.

For generations, the African plains have been ruled by a strict code: only kill to survive. But treachery lurks in the unlikeliest of places, and some animals will stop at nothing in their thirst for power.

The 10-year-old Shluffmuffin twins long to be adopted out of the Jolly Days Orphanage. The elderly Mandible sisters take them home, on trial, to their weird mansion deep in Dripping Fang Forest. The Onts, as the old ladies want to be called, provide comfortable rooms and delicious chocolate meals, but they warn the youngsters never to go into the cellar.

Hansel and Gretel walk out of their own story and into eight other classic Grimm (and Grimm-inspired) fairy tales. As the siblings roam a forest brimming with menacing foes, they learn the true story behind the famous tales, as well as how to take charge of their destinies and create their own happily ever after.