The Phantom Isles by Stephen Alter

There is a very good reason that you should not break into public libraries during the night and mess with old books- there might be ghosts. Once ghosts wake up, trouble begins. Three junior high students learn the hard way that some old myths are based in truth. They start a mess and it takes all three of them, a librarian, her chemistry teacher husband, and one fussy photocopier to help the spirits move on to where they belong. But what a crazy ride when the meanest teacher and parents try to put an end to all this ghost nonsense. If you ever had one of those mean teachers, you will love what happens to her. Just take a good look at some of those pages - you may see a ghost. But how did it get there? Read the book and find out. And no, you can't try this at home.

Dial-a-Ghost by Eva Ibbotson

Can you believe that some people would love to have ghosts in their homes? What happens to ghosts if their homes are destroyed and what is built doesn't suit them? Dial-a-Ghost is a match-making agency that places homeless ghosts with new families. Sounds easy and simple, but could a mix-up that leads to a comedy of errors really save a young boy's life? Why would a loving uncle really want to scare his nephew to death? How can a family of kind ghosts keep that from happening if they're limited by being ghosts? Where did those scary ghosts go and how does that involve a group of nuns? Please don't read this if you have strange noises that go bump in the night or branches that hit your window. The last thing a need is another parent complaining that I give their kids nightmares when I just tell a few stories or suggest a great book.

The Great Fire by Jim Murphy

On October 8, 1871, the city of Chicago nearly burnt to the ground. The story you have heard, both in song and tales, is not the truth. Why poor Mrs. O'Leary was blamed made one of my former teen patrons in Detroit exclaim " You mean white people hate other white people too?" If you have enjoyed the episode that was part of the When Weather Changed History series or the one that was part of the Unsolved History series, you need to read this. Every good story has heroes, villains, and those who are hard to put in either category. Those who narrowly escaped lived to tell the tales, but it takes science and detective work to tell about those who didn't. Reading the real words of those who survived and seeing the pictures and drawings makes you wonder if this could happen again. Will it happen again? Those living at that time had the most modern equipment of the day to fight fires. But when fire makes it own weather and the city's resources are stretched by cuts and closings, you will need to read this moving true story to make up your mind.

Poop Happened by Sarah Albee

Which is more important to your life: Cellphones, computers or flush toilets? Before you answer that, stop and think what the world would be like without the other choice. If you didn't make your choice the flush toilet, you really need to read this book. If you did, you will still enjoy this take on world history. Where did the crowds go when nature called and they were at the games in Rome? Why could you smell some towns miles away? What do delousers, gongfermors, and fullers really do for a living and would you take that job if that was the only way you might earn money to live? Why do we have cholera to thank for our modern government? Maybe you can teach your teachers a few facts about the ancient country you are studying. Just don't blame me if you get detention from your addition to the curriculum. But please, don't decide that people living in the Middle Ages had the right idea about taking baths for your fellow students' sake.

Thirteenth Child by Patricia C. Wrede

What if our history had magic in it? What would be different? Does a belief really mean that an innocent child can be bad or great because of the number of their birth order? Eff is a twin. She is the 13th child, but her twin brother Lan is the 7th son of a 7th son. She will be a bad seed and her brother will be a great magician, at least according to her uncle. To escape her uncles', aunts', and cousins' beliefs, her parents agree to let her Dad take a job as professor of Magic in a land grant college at the edge of the wilderness on the Mammoth River. It is a frontier town just like the ones in our history, but magic keeps the mythical beasts like dragons, unicorns,and woolly mammoths from the settlements. Adventures are always around the corner and danger is nearer than anyone wants to think. As Eff and Lan grow up, they learn that there is more than one type of magic. But which is best, the one that gave their relatives their beliefs and their father teaches, or the one a favorite teacher learned from her parents? With many twists, characters, and weird facts that seem so similar to our history, the tension builds until the their world starts to blow apart and the matter of who is the real powerful one is questioned in a fight to not die or see their father's death before their eyes. See if you can figure out what part of our history has been changed by just adding a little magic.

The Dragons of Spratt, Ohio by Linda Zinnen

Set in the real place called The Wilds, a wild animal preserve that was once a strip mine in southeast Ohio, John gets the shock of his life when he sees a dragon flying around. While he is very excited, his mom is upset that the zebras are getting eaten. Zebras are expensive and she has to fight for every dollar from both the state and federal government. When both parents leave to go to Washington D.C. to fight for funding, John is left to care for the late dragon's eggs. (His dad has to go to keep Mom from doing great bodily harm to too many senators even if some of us might enjoy that.) Somehow, his Dad's sister who lives in France finds out about the dragon and shows up with too much stuff that could mean she is taking her job of research and development for cosmetics company a little too seriously. What can a high school nerd do to protect the cute little dragons if his only help is the sister of his best friend, who seems to only think about style and beauty? Never underestimate a teenage girl when the going gets tough, and boy, does the going get tough. Someone or something is not going to make it out alive. To find out who, read the book. The surprise twist will not be expected and no, it isn't that Ohio has dragons. People in Michigan always think the weirdest things about Ohio. To learn more about The Wilds, just go to: www.thewilds.org/about/

It has been 2 years since I started

At my age, two years fly pass faster than when I was in junior high. I started this two years ago to allow me to recommend books to students when I was not in the library. I have discovered that students do look at this more than I thought. When I went to pull titles to book talk to classes, many titles were not on the shelf. Since I was only in the library half-time, I didn't really know what was happening while I was at the elementary school. Maybe it was the bookmarks about this blog, or a classmate telling another about this blog, students did find books to read from the blog. With budget cuts forcing the district to move me to being a full time elementary librarian next year, I hope that this blog will help my students find books without me physically being there. Don't worry readers, the library will be open, just not as much as normal.The library aide will still be there for you. A few new books will be added each month along with the small order I made before I left. I will still be adding a new title a month to this blog. I brought a bag of books home for the summer and adding those to others I haven't had a chance to add, I will have plenty to choose from to add. I hope to be gone only for next school year. Once money can be found, I will be back being your half-time librarian. You will have to start writing comments on the posts to let me know what you think about them.

Ghosts True Encounters with the World Beyond by Hans Holzer

Hans Holzer was my favorite author when I was in high school. I read all his books over and over again. Instead of the science used today on shows like the Ghost Hunters, he used Mediums and research to get to the bottom of his cases. This book is a blend of all the others, with the most interesting cases included. From ghosts that have been seen on live TV to a ghost of a sea captain that might have been a pirate, this book has more stories than you can read in one check out. Don't let the size overwhelm you, most tales are short and if you don't like the one you are reading, go to the next. There is even a chapter my non-believer of a husband would enjoy - Ghosts that Aren't. If want to be a serious ghost hunter, read chapter 2. I had to buy 2 copies because this book always seems to be out haunting its reader.

Motel of Mysteries by David Macaulay

For those who are studying the ancient civilizations and wonder if everything you are being taught is correct, this may be the book for you. More illustrations than text, it looks at what a future archaeologist might decided about objects found in a local motel. The ancient country of Usa was buried in 1985 by tons of mail and impurities and it is now 4022. A brave archaeologist finds the site that will make his career and you get to read what he thinks all the stuff he found was used for. Did he get it right? Don't they use this stuff in 4022? If they don't, what are they using in its place? Laugh all you want as you read this book.

Tony and Me by Alfred Slote

While I would love to show the actual cover of the book, this could not be found on the internet because the book as been out of print for years. I read Tony and Me when I was in sixth grade and the story has stuck all these years. Have you ever moved away from your "perfect" home to a new place and tried to find new friends and a team. Bill was on a winning baseball team in California, but here in Michigan, he gets stuck with a losing one. All it seems to do is rain. But when he meets Tony, life is looking up. But Tony has a problem behavior that gets Bill in trouble too. Does being great in sports as Tony really makes up for doing wrong in life outside of baseball? What does a true friend do when the chips are down? Would you do as Bill did or did Bill take the easy way out? Let me know after you finish the story.

Here at the Scenic-Vu Motel by Thelma Hatch Wyss

Have you ever wanted to be free of your parents and live on your own while you are in high school? Jake is a senior and along with 5 other students that live too far for the school bus to get every day is trying. Instead of boarding with host families, this year's lowest bidder is the Scenic-Vu motel and the school board wants to keep cost down. Mayhem is possible especially since the 2nd rule of the 2 rules that Jake has made is to have fun. Written in the form of Jake's senior English class journal, the years ups and downs are at times funny and at times sad, but always true to life for most high schoolers. Sometimes when brains go missing, trouble will follow and the actions of one person can ruin it for the whole group. See if they will try some of the things you might if you had the same opportunity as these kids from Bear Flat, ID.

California Blue by David Klass

John doesn't seem to fit any where, not his family or his school or even his town. He is a runner. His father and older brothers were all football stars in a town that football is the only sport that matters. Only one teacher at school does understand him, but she is an outsider herself. During one of his runs, trespassing on timber company land, he finds a new type of butterfly. His town depends on timber and many jobs have been lost due to forest protection. If he lets the EPA know, more jobs will be gone. If he doesn't, this butterfly may be lost forever. He has to decide whether to go against his father, his school, and his town or save and name a new species for the rest of the world. But what do you owe people who never accepted you in the first place? This book is for those who find themselves not fiting in and need hope to do the right thing, even if it means your life will change forever. John's life sure does by the end of the book, but is it for the good or the bad?

Time Enough for Drums by Ann Rinaldi

When you remember and still keep a book in your top favorites for 25 years, you know it must be a great book. Set during the American Revolution, the events are seen through a teenage girl whose family gets too up close to the action. Jemina is head strong and even if she doesn't believe it, is lucky to have a tutor. Most girls are either uneducated or have only a basic education. John Reid is difficult, demanding, and worst of all, a Tory that supports the king. Most of Jemina family, including her, are supporting the rebels. Mr. Reid feelings about Jemina are just as same, dislike and barely tolerance of the other. But when Jemina learns Mr. Reid's secret, a secret that if it gets out means death, the balance of power changes. Can Mr. Reid and even her parents trust a teenage girl with lives in the balance? How many people that Jemina loves will be alive at the end of war, especially when the war comes to Trenton, her home. You will either love Ann Rinaldi books or hate them. Find out which side you are on.