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Books at Guided Reading Level Z

  • The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

    Suzanne Collins

    Hardcover (Scholastic Press, May 19, 2020)
    Ambition will fuel him. Competition will drive him. But power has its price. It is the morning of the reaping that will kick off the tenth annual Hunger Games. In the Capitol, eighteen-year-old Coriolanus Snow is preparing for his one shot at glory as a mentor in the Games. The once-mighty house of Snow has fallen on hard times, its fate hanging on the slender chance that Coriolanus will be able to outcharm, outwit, and outmaneuver his fellow students to mentor the winning tribute. The odds are against him. He’s been given the humiliating assignment of mentoring the female tribute from District 12, the lowest of the low. Their fates are now completely intertwined — every choice Coriolanus makes could lead to favor or failure, triumph or ruin. Inside the arena, it will be a fight to the death. Outside the arena, Coriolanus starts to feel for his doomed tribute . . . and must weigh his need to follow the rules against his desire to survive no matter what it takes.
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  • Awesome Engineering Activities for Kids: 50+ Exciting STEAM Projects to Design and Build

    Christina Schul

    Paperback (Rockridge Press, May 28, 2019)
    Spark creativity and build critical-thinking skills with 50+ fun activities about engineering for kids ages 5-10 Watch your child’s eyes light up as they get excited about engineering, learn valuable knowledge, and have tons of fun. Awesome Engineering Activities for Kids is packed with more than 50 fascinating STEAM exercises, complete with step-by-step instructions, colorful pictures, and simple explanations of how and why the experiments work. Make engineering for kids easy and enjoyable with projects that use common, inexpensive household materials so they can play and learn anytime. From toothpick towers and marble runs to egg drops and water rockets, the activities in this book about engineering for kids will challenge and delight. This entertaining book about engineering for kids goes above and beyond to include: A range of activities―Explore different kinds of engineering for kids with lots of unique projects, like constructing a paper cup telephone, creating pendulum art, and making a fantastical flying dragon. STEAM connection―Discover the connection between each exciting engineering experiment and real-life science, technology, art, and math. Think like an engineer―Learn all about engineering with a brief guide to the different types of engineers, an explanation of what they do, and what kids need to know to become one. Unlock the world of engineering for kids with engaging STEAM exercises that help them learn, grow, and get creative. Let’s dive in!
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  • Guinness World Records 2020

    Guinness World Records

    Hardcover (Guinness World Records, Sept. 3, 2019)
    Fully revised and updated, the record-breaking compendium of superlatives is back and bursting with facts, figures and incredible stories – each one selected to inspire you to learn about the fascinating world we live in… and to break records of your own.In a series of 11 fact-packed chapters, we introduce you to the record-holders who’ve pushed the boundaries of what’s possible. Meet…• The adventurers who trek, swim, ski, climb and fly to all four corners of the globe • The real-life cyborgs who augment their bodies with cutting-edge technology• The painters, sculptors, musicians and moviemakers taking performance art to new levels• The stars of social media generating millions of views on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter• The athletic legends who continue to raise the bar in the world of sportsBut it’s not only human beings who set records. Explore the wilder side of life with 24 pages of record-breaking animals, and take a trip around the world to visit the most awe-inspiring sights on each continent!Plus, we investigate 10 record-breaking robots to find out what makes them tick. And look out for our exciting new “Snapshot” feature, in which our digital artists put a unique visual spin on some iconic record-holders such as the largest ever crocodile, the richest person on Earth and the tallest living tree – prepare to be amazed!
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  • Animal Farm: 1984

    George Orwell, Christopher Hitchens

    Hardcover (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, June 1, 2003)
    This edition features George Orwell's best known novels – 1984 and Animal Farm – with an introduction by Christopher Hitchens. In 1984, London is a grim city where Big Brother is always watching you and the Thought Police can practically read your mind. Winston Smith joins a secret revolutionary organization called The Brotherhood, dedicated to the destruction of the Party. Together with his beloved Julia, he hazards his life in a deadly match against the powers that be.Animal Farm is Orwell's classic satire of the Russian Revolution -- an account of the bold struggle, initiated by the animals, that transforms Mr. Jones's Manor Farm into Animal Farm--a wholly democratic society built on the credo that All Animals Are Created Equal. But are they?
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  • Just Between Us: Mother & Daughter: A No-Stress, No-Rules Journal

    Meredith Jacobs, Sofie Jacobs

    Diary (Chronicle Books, March 31, 2010)
    Looking for tween gifts for girls or the perfect mother gift?A journal for girls or girl's diary—Just Between Us: Mother and Daughter: "Packed with writing prompts, it's the perfect gift for Mother's Day."— Girl's Life magazineHave you ever wondered...What your mom thought the moment you were born?Or where your daughter would go if she could go anywhere in the universe?Just Between US—The mother daughter journal: Thoughtful writing prompts and entertaining mini quizzes in this beautiful mom and daughter journal pave the way to discussing everything from friends and school to crushes and growing up. Just Between Us provides plenty of free space for writing about whatever comes to mind, plus pages for drawing and making lists, ensuring this mom and me journal stays refreshingly open-ended.A bestselling mom and daughter journal: With advice and perspectives from both generations, two lovely ribbon bookmarks (one each for mother and daughter), and appealing illustrations, this deluxe hardcover journal has established itself as a bestselling phenomenon. It's a surefire hit with moms and girls alike!If you liked Wreck This Journal or The Care and Keeping of You, you'll love Just Between Us as a gift for tween girls and moms alikeAlso, for those granddaughters out there, don't miss Just Between Us: Grandmother & Granddaughter: A No-Stress, No-Rules Journal
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  • A Raisin in the Sun

    Lorraine Hansberry, Robert Nemiroff

    Mass Market Paperback (Vintage, Nov. 29, 2004)
    This groundbreaking play starred Sidney Poitier, Claudia McNeill, Ruby Dee and Diana Sands in the Broadway production which opened in 1959. Set on Chicago's South Side, the plot revolves around the divergent dreams and conflicts within three generations of the Younger family: son Walter Lee, his wife Ruth, his sister Beneatha, his son Travis and matriarch Lena, called Mama. When her deceased husband's insurance money comes through, Mama dreams of moving to a new home and a better neighborhood in Chicago. Walter Lee, a chauffeur, has other plans, however: buying a liquor store and being his own man. Beneatha dreams of medical school. The tensions and prejudice they face form this seminal American drama. Sacrifice, trust and love among the Younger family and their heroic struggle to retain dignity in a harsh and changing world is a searing and timeless document of hope and inspiration. Winner of the NY Drama Critic's Award as Best Play of the Year, it has been hailed as a "pivotal play in the history of the American Black theatre." by Newsweek and "a milestone in the American Theatre." by Ebony.
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  • Ivy and Bean's Treasure Box:

    Annie Barrows, Sophie Blackall

    Paperback (Chronicle Books, Oct. 1, 2008)
    Books 1-3 from The New York Times bestselling Ivy & Bean series"Introduce independent readers to the award-winning Ivy & Bean series with this boxed set containing the first three books about two spunky second graders." — Seira Wilson, Amazon EditorMeet Ivy and Bean, two friends who never meant to like each other: Ivy and Bean are very different. Bean is loud and wild and goofy. She loves to be involved in games and poke her nose in other people's business. Ivy is quiet and full of ideas. She spends most of her time learning how to be a witch. Each girl thinks the other one is weird. Each girl thinks she could never be friends with the other. But sometimes opposites can become the best of friends because they're opposites!Ivy & Bean's Secret Treasure Box—which includes the first three books in the series—is a delightful introduction to these spunky characters and includes a secret treasure-hiding box with a cool surprise inside!• Book 1: Ivy & Bean: Both girls were sure they would never like each other, but when Bean finds herself in a pickle, Ivy helps out with a magical spell.• Book 2: Ivy & Bean and the Ghost that Had to Go: When Ivy discovers a ghost in the girls bathroom at school, she needs Bean's help to get rid of it as quickly as possible.• Book 3: Ivy & Bean Break the Fossil Record: The girls set out to prove that they broke a record and are in fact the youngest paleontologists in the world. • Annie Barrows is the bestselling author of books for both children and adults including the Ivy & Bean series which has more than 5 million copies in print. Fans of the Junie B. Jones, Magic Tree House, and Princess in Black series will love the hilarious adventures of best friends Ivy and Bean.A classroom favorite, Ivy and Bean have been keeping kids laughing — and reading — for more than a decade.• Funny, relatable characters and storyline• Books for independent readers ages 6-9• Elementary school chapter books• Books for grades 1-4
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  • A Young People's History of the United States: Columbus to the War on Terror

    Howard Zinn, Rebecca Stefoff

    Paperback (Triangle Square, June 2, 2009)
    A Young People's History of the United States brings to US history the viewpoints of workers, slaves, immigrants, women, Native Americans, and others whose stories, and their impact, are rarely included in books for young people. A Young People's History of the United States is also a companion volume to The People Speak, the film adapted from A People's History of the United States and Voices of a People’s History of the United States.Beginning with a look at Christopher Columbus’s arrival through the eyes of the Arawak Indians, then leading the reader through the struggles for workers’ rights, women’s rights, and civil rights during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and ending with the current protests against continued American imperialism, Zinn in the volumes of A Young People’s History of the United States presents a radical new way of understanding America’s history. In so doing, he reminds readers that America’s true greatness is shaped by our dissident voices, not our military generals.
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  • The Perks of Being a Wallflower

    Stephen Chbosky

    Paperback (MTV Books, Aug. 14, 2012)
    Read the cult-favorite coming of age story that takes a sometimes heartbreaking, often hysterical, and always honest look at high school in all its glory. Also a major motion picture starring Logan Lerman and Emma Watson, The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a funny, touching, and haunting modern classic.The critically acclaimed debut novel from Stephen Chbosky, Perks follows observant “wallflower” Charlie as he charts a course through the strange world between adolescence and adulthood. First dates, family drama, and new friends. Sex, drugs, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Devastating loss, young love, and life on the fringes. Caught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it, Charlie must learn to navigate those wild and poignant roller-coaster days known as growing up. A #1 New York Times best seller for more than a year, an American Library Association Best Book for Young Adults (2000) and Best Book for Reluctant Readers (2000), and with millions of copies in print, this novel for teen readers (or “wallflowers” of more-advanced age) will make you laugh, cry, and perhaps feel nostalgic for those moments when you, too, tiptoed onto the dance floor of life.
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  • Piecing Me Together

    Renée Watson

    Paperback (Bloomsbury YA, June 5, 2018)
    2018 Newbery Honor and Coretta Scott King Author Award Winner"Timely and timeless." --Jacqueline Woodson"Important and deeply moving." --John GreenAcclaimed author Renee Watson offers a powerful story about a girl striving for success in a world that too often seems like it's trying to break her.Jade believes she must get out of her poor neighborhood if she's ever going to succeed. Her mother tells her to take advantage of every opportunity that comes her way. And Jade has: every day she rides the bus away from her friends and to the private school where she feels like an outsider, but where she has plenty of opportunities. But some opportunities she doesn't really welcome, like an invitation to join Women to Women, a mentorship program for "at-risk" girls. Just because her mentor is black and graduated from the same high school doesn't mean she understands where Jade is coming from. She's tired of being singled out as someone who needs help, someone people want to fix. Jade wants to speak, to create, to express her joys and sorrows, her pain and her hope. Maybe there are some things she could show other women about understanding the world and finding ways to be real, to make a difference.NPR's Best Books of 2017A 2017 New York Public Library Best Teen Book of the YearChicago Public Library's Best Books of 2017A School Library Journal Best Book of 2017Kirkus Reviews' Best Teen Books of 20172018 Josette Frank Award Winner
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  • Unbirthday: A Twisted Tale

    Liz Braswell

    Hardcover (Disney-Hyperion, Sept. 1, 2020)
    What if Wonderland was in peril and Alice was very, very late?Alice is different than other eighteen-year-old ladies in Kexford, which is perfectly fine with her. She'd rather spend golden afternoons with her trusty camera or in her aunt Vivian's lively salon, ignoring her sister's wishes that she stop all that "nonsense" and become a "respectable" member of society. Alice is happy to meander to Miss. Yao's teashop or to visit the children playing in the Square. She's also interested in learning more about the young lawyer she met there, but just because she's curious, of course, not because he was sweet and charming.But when Alice develops photographs she has recently taken about town, familiar faces of old suddenly appear in the place of her actual subjects-the Queen of Hearts, the Mad Hatter, the Caterpillar. There's something eerily off about them, even for Wonderland creatures. And as Alice develops a self-portrait, she finds the most disturbing image of all-a badly-injured dark-haired girl asking for Alice's help. Mary Ann.Returning to the place of nonsense from her childhood, Alice finds herself on a mission to stop the Queen of Hearts' tyrannical rule and to find her place in both worlds. But will she able to do so . . . before the End of Time?
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  • Summer of the Woods

    Steven K. Smith

    Paperback (MyBoys3 Press, May 11, 2013)
    Do you remember your first real adventure? When summer was filled with magic and anything seemed possible?"Magic Tree House meets The Hardy Boys...A perfect summer reading adventure!"When young brothers Derek and Sam move with their family to Virginia, they have no idea what adventures the summer will bring. As they explore their creaky old house and the deep surrounding woods, they uncover a sixty-year-old mystery of a valuable coin collection stolen from the local museum. Join the boys as they spend their summer running from danger and searching the woods, secret caves, rushing waters, and hidden passageways for treasure and the rare 1877 Indian Head cent coin!Summer of the Woods is the first book in The Virginia Mysteries series. If you enjoy mystery and adventure like the Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, Magic Tree House, or National Treasure, you'll love author Steven K. Smith's exciting middle-grade series. The stories are modern-day fictional mysteries with twists of real locations and events from Virginia history. These fast-paced books are popular with both boys and girls ages 7-12, appealing to even reluctant readers!The Virginia Mysteries - Adventures with a twist of historyBook 1 - Summer of the WoodsBook 2 - Mystery on Church HillBook 3 - Ghosts of Belle IsleBook 4 - Secret of the StaircaseBook 5 - Midnight at the MansionBook 6 - Shadows at JamestownBook 7 - Spies at Mount VernonBook 8 - Escape from MonticelloAlso by Steven K. SmithBrother WarsBrother Wars: Cabin ElevenBrother Wars: The Big AppleFinal KingdomThe MissingThe RecruitThe Bridge (Coming Soon)"As if by magic, Mr. Smith presents the perfect combination of nostalgia and modern day. This exemplifies the summers I remember. Freely roaming all around, turning over rocks in creeks, exploring woods and caves while our imaginations provided limitless adventures. Kids being kids." - Reader of Summer of the Woods"My 7 year old loved this! While there is a place for the "silly" books targeted for little boys nowadays, it's refreshing to find a story reminiscent of the Hardy Boys, yet updated for this generation" - Reader of Summer of the Woods"My nine year old, reluctant reader fell in love with the story. The mystery and adventure drew her in right away…a perfect read aloud for my seven year olds. This fast paced, wholesome adventure story will leave you wanting to take a hike with your kids!" - Reader of Summer of the Woods
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