Genre: Contemporary realistic fictionAnnotation:A stolen flag, a secret society, and three complete strangers . . .Anna, José, and Henry have never met, but they have more in common than they realize. Snowed in together at a chaotic Washington, DC, airport, they encounter a mysterious tattooed ma...
I love this picture book! It is a perfect combo of lyrical text and early science for kids. Heck, I learned things in the back matter--I never knew the underground winter world where mice, voles, and other animals live is called the subnivean zone. So much is packed into this one book. Messner's...
Marty is my kind of girl. No princess frilly stuff for her. Marty likes to catch frogs at the pond or pretend she is Jane Goodall saving chimpanzees. Unfortunately, her teacher chooses her to play the part of the princess in the class production of "A Frog Prince". With a little coaching from ...
Marty is a spunky third grade girl who loves to get dirty and is disappointed to discover she has been cast as a princess in the school play. Brain Floca's illustrations add humor to this delightful story! My daughter and I laughed out loud several times while reading this book together. (Th...
This is another Battle of the Books book that I decided to read since I was asking kids to read it. Marty would rather be outside playing in the dirt and catching frogs than be rehearsing for the play. She has been cast as the Princess and cannot get over the fact she has been chosen and when i...
I am a pushover for books in which a girl becomes immersed in the intense world of an individual sport. Messner's novel is engrossing, realistic and still full of unpredictable plot twists. Reading about Claire's experiences in the competitive world of ice skating, complete with mean girls, comp...
Marty McGuire is a third grader with a project to do. She needs to find a way to save the world's environment. Her grandmother helps her by introducing the idea of building a bench for earthworms that will eat the food scraps from the school cafeteria. Marty's zeal is greater than the earthworm p...
I am a super big Marty fan. When the ARC of Marty McGuire Digs Worms arrived today, I had to immediately read it. Kate Messner perfectly captures the voice of a 3rd grader. Marty is likeable without being annoying. Annie, and Veronica Grace and the others from the first book are back. And th...
Sea Monster’s First Day by Kate Messner would be an excellent read aloud for Pre-K through grade 2 students at the start of the school year. The setting is under the sea and the main character, Ernest the sea monster, is nervous about going to school for the first time. He continually tries to e...
Sarah insisted. But he was nowhere to be found. We knocked on his room door, checked the labs, the cafeteria . . . everywhere. “He’s probably holed up in that workshop or whatever, doing those engineering projects he supposedly loves so much.” We found Quentin and Ben at the pool and told them ev...
She points to the Crock-Pot, so I get myself some soup and sit down at the table. Denver curls up on the floor and flops his head on my foot. He hates soup nights. Nobody drops soup on the floor like they do french fries. My phone buzzes with a text, and when I look down, I see it’s a short one: ...
The smell wraps me in a warm blanket as soon as I get inside. At first I think we’ve gone in the wrong door and crashed somebody’s church supper. But then I see the people sitting in the folding chairs, hunched over their plates on the tables. Grocery cart lady is there on the end with her cart p...
CHAPTER 21 Thanks so much. Everything’s just fine now. Bye, Ruby! Take care, sweetheart!” Mom watches Ruby get into her mom’s car and ride away. “Do you want to call your mom?” she asks Zig. “I could give you a ride home.” “No, I’ll walk; the rain stopped.” He turns to me. “Call me if you need he...
“So things are a lot better because I saw Jessica at lunch, and I told her that somebody told me that Jason liked me—I didn’t tell her it was a pencil because how weird is that—but I told her I had no idea they were going out or I totally wouldn’t have gone near him. And she said that was okay be...
I hear the snick of her key in the lock, and I am trapped in what must be the only room Dad’s fingerprint can’t open. My legs aren’t tied, so I straddle the chair and try to wiggle free. If I can get even a little slack, I might be able to get out. But Grandma is as good at knots as she is at met...