4 BOOKS FRee! - Junior Library Guild

eleMenTaRY TITles
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A Crooked Kind of Perfect u
by Linda Urban
A GROUP (GRADES 3–5) • Reviews: BL, CL, K, PW, SLJ
“A piano is glamorous. Sophisticated. Worldly. It is
a wonderful thing to play the piano. . . I play the
organ. A wood-grained, vinyl-seated, wheeze-bag
organ. The Perfectone D-60.” Zoe, eleven, wants
to become a musical prodigy, but her distractible
father brings home the wrong instrument. Then her
best friend dumps her for someone cooler. And a
weird boy starts following her home. As Zoe suffers
through lessons in playing “Hits of the Seventies,”
she wonders whether anything in her life will ever be
right. Until then, there’s always the cha-cha setting.
Isbn: 9780152060077 • Dewey: f • 5" x 7 1/2" • 144 pp
aR level: 3.7 • aR Points: 4 • sRC level: 4.5 • sRC Points: 8 • lexile: 730l
JLG: $9.00 • Harcourt: $17.00 • JlG Month: seP 2007
*NEW* Damian Drooth, Supersleuth:
The Mystery of the Missing Mutts
by Barbara Mitchelhill • illustrated by Tony Ross
ME GROUP (GRADES 2–6)
When Mrs. Popperwell’s poodle disappears, Damian
Drooth is sure dognappers are responsible. But for
some reason, when Damian and his friends protect
all the local dogs by hiding them in Damian’s family’s
garden shed, his neighbors—and his mother—don’t
appreciate it. “Damian, listen to me!” his mom
shouts, upon finding one. “Why is this animal in my
yard? And why do I keep getting phone calls from
people accusing me of taking their dogs?” Glossary.
Discussion questions. Writing prompts. Tips for
Internet research. Black-and-white illustrations.
Isbn: 9781434212160 • Dewey: f • 5 1/4" x 8" • 72 pp
aR level: 3.2 • aR Points: 1
JLG: $13.25 • stone arch: $17.99 • JlG Month: MaY 2009
Dancing to Freedom:
The True Story of Mao’s Last Dancer
by Li Cunxin • illustrated by Anne Spudvilas
NE GROUP (GRADES 2–6) • Reviews: BCCB, BL, HG, SLJ, WC
“I was always hungry. At night we slept head to
toe, crammed on a hard bed. . . . And my brothers
and I were luckier than some in our village. We
survived.” Li Cunxin dreamed of seeing the world
outside the small town in China where he was born.
Then a group of government officials visited and
offered him the chance to study ballet in Beijing. It
was an opportunity he couldn’t turn down, but it
would mean leaving his family behind—ultimately,
half a world behind. Historical note. Full-color ink,
watercolor, and oil paintings.
Isbn: 9780802797773 • Dewey: 792.802/8092 b • 9 1/4" x 11 5/16" • 40 pp
aR level: 4.4 • aR Points: 0.5 • sRC level: 2.7 • sRC Points: 2 • lexile: aD680l
JLG: $9.00 • Walker: $16.95 • JlG Month: seP 2008
*NEW* The Desperado Who Stole Baseball
by John H. Ritter
SE GROUP (GRADES 2–6) • Reviews: BCCB, BL, CL, K, SLJ, WC
1881: After a chance encounter in the California
desert, twelve-year-old Jack Dillon befriends one
of his idols, Billy the Kid, and they ride together
to Dillontown. Billy, wanted dead or alive, only
wants to hide there. Jack, though, hopes to join
the renowned Dillontown Nine baseball team. The
Nine are unbeaten, but their owner, John Dillon,
has wagered the town’s future for a shot against the
best team in baseball, the Chicago White Stockings.
When the ruthless owner of the Stockings orders
his henchmen to undermine the Nine before the
big game, even Jack and Billy, astonishing baseball
prodigies, may not be able to save Dillontown.
Isbn: 9780399246647 • Dewey: f • 5 1/2" x 8 1/4" • 256 pp
lexile: 750l
JLG: $13.25 • Philomel: $17.99 • JlG Month: MaY 2009
“Ritter’s use of vibrant imagery and
musical phrases places this adventure
right square in the annals of the oral
Western tall tales—you’ll want to read
this one aloud, more than once.”
—Children’s Literature
Dexter Bexley and the Big Blue Beastie u
written and illustrated by Joel Stewart
P GROUP (GRADES K–1) • Reviews: BL, HG, K, PW, SLJ
Dexter is scooting along one day when he bumps
right into a Big Blue Beastie. “I’m bored,” says the
Beastie. “And you look small and tasty. I should
probably eat you up.” Dexter comes up with better
ways to pass the time—they go scooting together,
start a business delivering flowers, and, as detectives,
solve “The Case of the Solid Gold Snowball” and
“The Rubber Glove Affair.” Then—oh, dear—Dexter
runs out of ideas! Full-color artwork.
Isbn: 9780823420681 • Dewey: e • 8 11/16" x 10 7/16" • 32 pp
aR level: 2.2 • aR Points: 0.5 • sRC level: 1.8 • sRC Points: 1 • lexile: aD340l
JLG: $9.00 • Holiday House: $16.95 • JlG Month: JUn 2007
Diary of a Fly u
by Doreen Cronin • illustrated by Harry Bliss
E GROUP (GRADES 1–3)
Reviews: BL, HGs, KH, PWH, SLJH
“June 7: Tomorrow is the first day of school. I’m
so nervous. What if I’m the only one who eats
regurgitated food? June 8: Everyone eats regurgitated
food!” Meet Fly, an average young insect: she has
327 brothers and sisters, she dreams of becoming a
superhero because of her powerful flight muscles,
and she hangs out with her friends Worm and
Spider—while trying to steer clear of Spider’s hungry
grandfather! Full-color illustrations.
Isbn: 9780060001575 • Dewey: e • 7 1/2" x 10" • 40 pp
aR level: 3.2 • aR Points: 0.5 • sRC level: 2.5 • sRC Points: 1 • lexile: 490l
JLG: $9.00 • HarperCollins: $16.89 • JlG Month: noV 2007