by Barb Langridge | Jun 30, 2009 | Realistic/Contemporary Fiction
Ashley doesn’t care about going to the prom. She cares about T.J. and about moving into an apartment with him. Her friends, however, especially Nat, are dreaming about the prom and when it turns out that a math teacher has stolen all the prom funds, Nat steps up to...
by Barb Langridge | Jun 30, 2009 | Realistic/Contemporary Fiction
This book was nominated for a National Book Award in 1999 so you get a sense of how well written it is and how powerful it is. This is a keen look at life in a high school through the eyes of a girl who cannot speak up for herself. She has lost the ability to speak up...
by Barb Langridge | Jun 30, 2009 | Realistic/Contemporary Fiction
What a powerful story of a guy trying to figure out who he is and what his values are, while his parents are falling apart, and the girl of his dreams is tantalizingly close, yet caught in her own struggle and weakness. Senior in high school, Tyler Miller, has a...
by Barb Langridge | Jun 30, 2009 | Realistic/Contemporary Fiction
High school senior, Kate Malone, is waiting for her acceptance letter from MIT so she can proceed with her life in orderly fashion. Unbeknownst to her family and friends, MIT is the only school she applied to. There are no safety schools waiting to catch her if she...
by Barb Langridge | Jun 30, 2009 | Graphic Novel / Comics / Manga
Yes, the Time Warp Trio gets even more appealing for reluctant readers in a graphic novel format. Imagine your child wanting to learn about Babylon. Well, Joe, Sam and Fred have lost The Book that enables them to time travel, and they have to go back to ancient...
by Barb Langridge | Jun 30, 2009 | Short Stories
I am such a strong proponent of short stories for kids who have moved into middle school. They have limited time to read, and they tend to choose the same thing over and over again. A collection like this exposes them to different authors and gives them a chance to...
by Barb Langridge | Jun 30, 2009 | Fiction
“No wonder she hasn’t been adopted. She’s a mountain of trouble, that Hollis Woods.” Hollis is twelve years old, and she’s been in plenty of foster homes. She keeps “running money” so she can always tell herself she can get away, and she’s an artist. Hollis is about...
by Barb Langridge | Jun 30, 2009 | Picture Book
by Barb Langridge | Jun 30, 2009 | Science Fiction
When you’re learning to read, and you look at those words on the page, they can look really strange. This is the story of Henry P. Baloney who is trying to explain to his teacher why he is late to school. His story uses words from many different languages and also...
by Barb Langridge | Jun 30, 2009 | Picture Book
It all started one day when Art was supposed to meet his friend at Fifty-Third Street and Fifth Avenue. He wasn’t there. So, his friend asked around, “Seen Art?” He found himself in the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in New York City and was led from room to...
