Shirlington 2016 Book Talks

Rudger, an imaginary playmate, must find his friend Amanda before he fades away to nothing, while eluding the only other person who can see him: evil Mr. Bunting, who hunts--and possibly even eats--imaginaries.

The plots of nine classic stories are summarized in this collection of silly verses.

Discover how Benjamin Franklin's scientific method challenged a certain Dr. Mesmer's mysterious powers in a whimsical look at a true moment in history.

In the days before the Russian Revolution, twelve-year-old Feodora sets out to rescue her mother when the Tsar's Imperial Army imprisons her for teaching tamed wolves to fend for themselves.

Contains world records about dogs.

When the Berlin Wall went up, Gerta, her mother, and her brother Fritz are trapped on the eastern side where they were living, while her father, and her other brother Dominic are in the West--four years later, now twelve, Gerta sees her father on a viewing platform on the western side and realizes he wants her to risk her life trying to tunnel to freedom.

Since entering fourth grade, Benny Barrows worries that he will never be good at anything, that he is responsible for an accident that sent his father to the hospital, and that his attempts at winning a school contest will never be noticed.

Told in rhyming text, Mike is a mixed-race boy, completely comfortable with his identity and his parents--and his wild, curly hair.

Malala Yousafzai was a girl who loved to learn but was told that girls would no longer be allowed to go to school. She wrote a blog that called attention to what was happening in her beautiful corner of Pakistan and realized that words can bring about change. She has continued to speak out for the right of all children to have an education. In 2014 she won the Nobel Peace Prize.

"All beavers have flat tails, furry coats, and two front teeth. And then there's Buck. Unlike the rest of his family, he has one gigantic front tooth--and he hates it. It's ruining everything for him, especially the annual talent show. Whatever Buck tries to do for the contest--whistle, walk on stilts, blow bubbles--his tooth gets in the way. Will Buck ever learn to love what he hates the most, and embrace his inner tooth?" --