Ann loves her new third grade teacher, Mrs.Kempczinski, who is one of those teachers who makes everyone feel special.  After the class has had a substitute for two weeks, the principal comes in to tell them that Mrs. K. has cancer.  Ann’s class waits for Mrs. K. to come back, which she finally does for an end of the year party.  Mrs. K. was a real teacher and this book was written to honor her. (KG)

Marshall, James.  Swine Lake. Illustrated by Maurice Sendak.  New York: Michael Di Capua Books, 1999. 

A lean and mangy old wolf can’t believe his good fortune when he stumbles upon a theatre packed with pigs.  He plots a surprise attack during the porcine production of Swine Lake, but becomes so engrossed in the play that he misses his opportunity.  He spends every last penny on a ticket for the next show...  will he get his money’s worth this time?  (BMD) 

Rylant, Cynthia.  Bunny Bungalow.  New York: Harcourt Brace, 1999. 

A cozy rhyming tale of the bunny family’s life in the home they made all their own.  You’ll love the inside, with the quilts, rockers and bedtime tea; and the outside, where they play in the squishy cherries under Father’s carrot weathervane.  (BMD) 

Rylant, Cynthia.  The Cookie Store Cat.  New York: The Blue Sky Press,  1999. 

A sweet stray cat is taken in by the baker and becomes the neighborhood’s Cookie Store Cat.  Soon he has sweet cream to drink,  pastry to eat and his own cozy bed.  There’s even a fish shop and a yarn store nearby...  now that’s living!  This book is as sweet as the recipes in the back.  (BMD) 

Say, Allen.  Tea with Milk.  Boston:  Houghton Mifflin,  1999. 

May was born and raised in America by Japanese parents.  When she graduates high school they move back to Japan where she is suddenly the foreigner.  Unable to conform, she moves to a large city where she meets Joseph and learns that home is not a matter of simple geography... it’s where the people and things that you love are (like tea with milk and sugar).  (BMD) 

Seuss, Dr., Jack Prelutsky & Lane Smith.  Hooray for Diffendoofer Day!  New York:  Knopf, 1998.

This book, started by Dr. Seuss and finished by Jack Prelutsky and Lane Smith, is a fun story about a strange school—from the teacher who teaches yelling to the one who teaches smelling!  The librarian tells the students who are reading silently to read "LOUDER."  Mr. Smith used some of Dr. Seuss’ own drawings as part of the illustrations for the book. (SN) 

Spinelli, Eileen.  When Mama Comes Home Tonight.  New York: Simon & Schuster, 1998. 

Sometimes it feels like your Mama will never get home, and when she does, it feels like your day is just beginning.  This is a heartwarming, soothing story about a mama and her child celebrating their time together just before bedtime.  A perfect read aloud story to be shared with any mama, when she comes home tonight.  (SM) 

Ramona’s back!  It’s a busy year in fourth grade—she has a teacher who makes her spell correctly, she has a secret crush on Yard Ape, she makes a new friend, she babysits Roberta, she watches Beezus learn to dance, and Ramona even falls through the ceiling! (MK) 

Clements, Andrew. The Landry News. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1999. 123 p.

Fifth grader, Cara Landry posts an editorial about a burned-out (Mr. Larson) teacher’s poor teaching and really gets his attention.  He challenges his class to create a real newspaper. Cara makes new friends by accepting their help on the paper, and Mr. Larson gets the boost he needs. But, will the newspaper lose Mr. Larson his job? (KG)

Conford, Ellen.  Annabel the Actress: Starring in Gorilla My Dreams.  New York: Simon & Schuster, 1999.  64 pages (grades 1-3) 

Annabel wants to be an actress.  Her first job is tough—pretending to be a gorilla at a five-year-old boy’s birthday party.  She finds her costume in the basement—the furry lining of a raincoat. All week, she practices her gorilla moves.  And wouldn’t you know it, something goes wrong.  Fun! (MK) 

Hahn, Mary Downing.  Anna All Year Round.  New York:  Clarion, 1999. 

Spend a year in nine-year-old Anna’s world - the streets of Baltimore in 1913.  You’ll see just how much the world and people have changed,  and how much they haven’t.  Pay close attention and you might even learn some German!  (BMD) 

Matas, Carol.  In My Enemy’s House.  New York: Simon & Schuster, 1999. 

The Nazis are in Poland, shooting Jews and taking prisoners.  Marisa, with her blond hair and blue eyes, gets a chance to live.  But to survive, she must take the papers of a Polish Catholic girl, go to Germany and live with a Nazi family.  Powerful story.  (MK) 

Miller, William.  Night Golf. Illustrated by Cedric Lucas. New York: Lee & Low, 1999. (32 p.)

Finding an old bag of golf balls and a club, James, a young African American boy, wants to learn how to play, but he is told it is a “rich white man’s game.” When he decides to become a caddie, a fellow caddie, teaches him to play golf at night. This story is based on the experiences of real caddies who played golf by moonlight prior to 1962. (KG)

Naylor, Phyllis Reynolds. Alice on the Outside.  New York: Atheneum. 1999. 169pp. 

In this continuing saga about Alice, Naylor weaves several plots together—sex, lesbianism, prejudice, and going alone to the dance.  Naylor tells it to young girls straight.  She sets her stories in Montgomery County, Maryland—fun for readers to recognize places.  (MK) 

Skurzynski. Gloria.  Spider’s Voice.  New York: Atheneum, 1999. 

It’s the twelfth century, and the famous scholar, Abelard, is in love with the beautiful Heloise.  Abelard rescues a small boy from slavery.  Spider hears, but he can’t talk, and so, he begins to stand guard whenever the lovers are behind closed doors.  Adventure, love, history--terrific.  (MK) 

Spires, Elizabeth. The Mouse of Amherst.  New York: Foster, 1999. 64 p.

Emmaline, a white mouse, moves into Emily Dickinson’s bedroom and begins a writing adventure. Told from the mouse’s point of view, this is the story of her friendship with Emily as they “correspond” through poetry. At the end of the story, one must guess who wrote the last poem, Emily or Emmaline. (KG)

Told in acts and scenes, learn about Shakespeare and the history of theater in London.  In Act five, Sam Wanamaker, a young American actor rebuilds the Globe Theater as a tribute to Shakespeare. (KG)

Arnold, Caroline.  South American Animals.  New York: Morrow, 1999.  48 pages (grades 1-4) 

Want close-up color photographs of South American animals—birds, monkeys, sloths, snakes, frogs, jaguars, armadillos, tapirs, tarantulas, guanacos, spectacled bears, deer, foxes, maras, flamingos, sea turtles, and penguins?   There’s a brief 100-word paragraph for each animal.  (MK) 

Bitton-Jackon, Livia.  My Bridges of Hope: Searching for Life and Love After Auschwitz.  New York: Simon & Schuster, 1999. 

After surviving the Nazi death camps, Elli, her mother and brother return to Czechoslovakia.  Their old life is destroyed, and they must live in the poorest of conditions.  They apply for immigration papers to America; years pass without word.  Readers will want this sequel to the award-winning I Have Lived a Thousand Years—to see for themselves that Elli lives. (MK) 

Brighton, Catherine. The Fossil Girl: Mary Anning’s Dinosaur Discovery. Brookfield, CT:  Millbrook, 1999.

Biographical information is presented as a graphic novel. In 1810, twelve year-old Mary Anning and her brother find the fossil of an ichthyosaur in the stone ledges near the ocean in England. When the children bring it back to their mother’s curiosity shop, Henry Henley offers to buy it for a small sum of money. (KG)

Bryan, Ashley.  African Tales, Uh Huh. New York: Atheneum, 1998. 

“Listen Frogchild, listen carefully to what I have to say.  Snake comes from the Snake Family. They are bad people. Keep away from them. You hear me, child?” Why can’t Frog and Snake children play together—they have SUCH a good time? This is one story in a charming collection of African Folk Tales. Other stories describe how animal got their tails when the wind falls down while playing, and what if you just can’t keep yourself from counting EVERYTHING even when it’s really rude? (DS) 

Florian, Douglas. Laugh-eteria. New York: Harcourt Brace, 1999. 157 p.

From “The Ooze” to “Sigh-clops,” this is an illustrated poetry collection with a variety of funny themes. Varying in length, some of the poems are limericks and others are long poems. (KG)

Freedman, Russell. Babe Didrikson Zaharius: The Making of a Champion. New York: Clarion, 1999.  192 p.

Babe Didrikson Zaharius was an unusual young athlete who excelled in any sport she tried during a time when it was not proper for young girls to do that.  She was an Olympic gold medalist in track and field, a championship golfer and played exhibition baseball. Babe was voted “Woman Athlete of the Year” six times.  Russell Freedman shares her biography through rare archival photos and reminiscences of family and friends. (KG)

Giblin, James Cross. The Mystery of the Mammoth Bones. New York: HarperCollins, 1999. 97 p.

In 1801, Charles Wilson Peale received a letter and embarked on the biggest adventure of his life, searching for mammoth bones. Hee and his sons investigated peat bogs in search of bones and then put two sets of bones together.  Information about his life and sociology of the times is mixed in with the scientific adventure. (KG)

Hoyt-Goldsmith, Diane.  Celebrating Chinese New Year.  New York: Holiday House, 1998. 

From shark fin's soup to lion dances, Diane Hoyt-Goldsmith shares the rituals and customs of preparing for the Chinese New Year.  Join Ryan and his family in San Francisco as they prepare for family dinners, parades, and other traditions associated with this important holiday. Lawrence Migdales's colorful photographs enhance this story. (SR) 

Kilborne, Sarah S.  Leaving Vietnam: The True Story of Tuan Ngo.  Illustrated by Melissa Sweet.  New York: Simon & Schuster, 1999. 

In 48 pages and 7 chapters, readers will learn of the daring escape of young Tuan from Vietnam, the dangers at sea, the crowded conditions of refugee camps, and his eventual entry in America.  Simple text aimed for the level 3 reader makes this a good choice for readers who are looking for chapter books.  (MK) 

Krull, Kathleen.  They Saw the Future: Oracles, Psychics, Scientists, Great Thinkers and Pretty Good Guessers. Illustrated by Krysten Brooker.  New York: Atheneum, 1999. 

This fun book will interest a wide range of readers—from fifth grade to adults.  Short, illustrated chapters describe Leanardo Da Vinci, Nostradamus, Jules Verne, H.G. Wells, Edgar Cayce, and others. In the back, there’s a bibliography for further reading—after you read this, you are going to want more! (MK) 

Leedy, Loreen.  Celebrate the 50 States.  New York: Holiday House, 1999.  32 pages (grades kdg-3) 

Leedy devotes ½ of a page to every state in the union.  She’s drawn a map, a picture of the state animals, flowers, when the state became a state, and other details.  Good book for young students who enjoy geography.  (MK) 

Lobel, Anita.  No Pretty Pictures: A Child of War.  New York: Greenwillow, 1998. 

Caldecott Honor-winning illustrator tells her story of surviving the Nazi death camps of World War II.  Great book.  (MK) 

Myers, Walter Dean.  At Her Majesty’s Request.  New York:  Scholastic Press,  1999. 

Imagine being born an African Princess,  rescued from certain death at the hands of a rival tribe’s king, and being taken under the wing of Queen Victoria of England.  All of this, and much more, happened to Sarah Forbes Bonetta in the mid-nineteenth century.  This incredible historical account of her life is proof that truth is stranger than fiction!  (BMD) 

Pinkney, Andrea Davis.  Duke Ellington:  The Piano Prince and His Orchestra.   Illustrated by Brian Pinkney.  New York: Hyperion, 1998.[unp.] 

The silky-smooth words of this story capture the rhythms of the musical style of Duke Ellington.  Although he quit taking piano lessons, Duke continued to play, captivated by the music of ragtime.  The scratchboard illustrations invite the reader to climb aboard the “A Train” and tour the country with Duke and the orchestra.  After this introduction, the reader will want to listen and dance to the music of the King of the Keys, Duke Ellington. (CG) 

San Souci, Robert D.  Centrilllon.  New York: Simon & Schuster, 1998. 

In this Cinderella tale, the storyteller is none other than Cendrillon’s Nannin”, or godmother.  When Nannin’ was a girl, her mother died and left her a magic stick that she could only use to help someone she loved.  You know how the story goes, but don’t miss this version with its Caribbean flavor and unique illustrations. (KS) 

Schmandt-Besserat. Denise. The History of Counting.  Illustrated by Michael Hays.  New  York: Morrow, 1999. 

A great book for future mathematicians or for anyone who wants to know about math.  The author describes early counting systems, then describes the numbers used by the  Phoenicians, Greeks and Romans.  The Arabic numerals were a terrific invention, but no one knows when or where or who invented them.  Lovely illustrations.  (MK) 

Shepard, Aaron.  The Crystal Heart: A Vietnamese Legend.  New York:  Atheneum, 1998. 

Mi Nuong, the daughter of a great mandarin, stays in the palace with only her maid for company.  One day, on the river far below, she hears a man singing a beautiful song.  Convinced that he is a mandarin's son, she hopes that he will return and fall in love with her. You'll be surprised at what happens when the two finally meet. (JS) 

Spinelli, Eileen. The Tea Party, Poems to Sip and Savor. Illustrated by Karen Dugan. Honesdale, PA: Wordsong, 1999.

Recipes and teatime tips are included in this book of original poetry and illustrations.  Lots of children in different settings have tea in a variety of traditions. (KG)

St. George, Judith.  In the Line of Fire: Presidents' Lives at Stake.  New York:  Holiday House, 1999.

Get him to the hospital—he’s been shot!  Find out fascinating facts about the attempts to murder the most powerful men in the world.  What motivates a person to aim a gun at the President of the United States, and why does the President put his life at risk? (JRM)