The Great Shelby Holmes

by Elizabeth Eulberg

Eulberg, E. (2016). The great Shelby Holmes.  New York, NY: Bloomsbury.

After the separation of his parents, 11 year-old John Watson has just moved to a New York City apartment with his mom.  After living on numerous Army bases throughout his life, John is used to having to start over with new friends, schools, and such, but this big city is somewhat of a culture shock.  Will he ever be able to make friends in a place like this?  Enter 9 year-old Shelby Holmes...Detective Shelby Holmes that is.  Within about two minutes of meeting her, she's practically figured out their life story and solved the mystery of the broken mirror.  John can't help but be intrigued, even if she is a bit on the young side.  A reluctant Shelby ends up showing John around the city and he's amazed that everyone seems to know and admire this girl.  What is her deal?  It's definitely not her friendly disposition, as she's actually kind of rude with a know it all attitude.  It turns out Shelby has helped all of these people in one way or another with particular cases, including some that the police couldn't even solve.  While she may not be a great friend, hanging out with her has to be more interesting that sitting alone at home unpacking boxes.  As the pair are out one morning walking Shelby's dog, Tamra, a girl in Shelby's grade, approaches and exclaims that her dog has gone missing 3 days before the big dog show.  Shelby, with John in tow, makes it her mission to find the missing dog, leaving no stone unturned.  When she begins crawling around on the floor and acting like a dog, John begins to wonder what he has gotten himself into.  Perhaps he should just ditch Shelby and go play basketball with Tamra's brother Zane and his friends instead.  But he's got to admit that this case has gotten interesting and he really wants to know who took the missing dog.  Plus maybe Shelby could actually use his help, not to mention a friend of her own.  With some persistent sleuthing and a bit of teamwork, these two not only find Tamra's dog, but something much more important...a friend.

Shelby's use of language would make this book an excellent choice for working on vocabulary.  It would also make a great choice for teaching lessons on making predictions.  This Texas Bluebonnet Nominee, the first in a series, would most likely be enjoyed by students in grades 3-6.

Book Trailer for The Great Shelby Holmes

Activities and Resources for Use with The Great Shelby Holmes

Discussion Questions for The Great Shelby Holmes from Teachers Pay Teachers

Soar

by Joan Bauer

Bauer, J. (2016). Soar.  New York, NY: Viking.

Jeremiah is 12 years old, at least he thinks he is.  Abandoned as an infant in the snack room of a computer company the doctors could only assume his age.  Luckily Jeremiah, chewing on his stuffed eagle, was found by a kind hearted computer programmer named Walt who decided to take him in and adopt him as his own son.  Walt, a former baseball player in school, loves the game and shares his passion and knowledge of the sport with his new son.  Jeremiah develops a love of baseball as well and has big dreams, until all of a sudden they are dashed when he is forced to have a heart transplant.  Well if he can't actually play ball, he'll do the next best thing, he sets his sights on becoming a coach.  It just so happens that Walt has been transferred to Hillcrest, Ohio, a town known for it's championship baseball team.  Jeremiah couldn't be more excited to watch the Hornet's kill it on the ball field.  But when the star player suddenly dies, and Coach Perkins is accused of giving his players performance enhancing drugs, the town erupts in scandal and it seems like Hillcrest's days of baseball and glory are over.  So where does that leave Jeremiah?  He can't stand to watch his beloved sport smeared and dying in this town, and takes it upon himself to rally up some of his middle school classmates to form their own team.  But will anyone ever take them seriously?  Has the damage to baseball's reputation in this town been done?  Can he really take this group of kids and turn them into real ball players?  One thing he learns for sure is that it is not all about winning or losing, but how you play and never giving up.  I would recommend this Texas Bluebonnet Nominee for students in grades 4-8, and think it will have a special appeal to males and sports lovers.

Book Trailer for Soar

Activities and Resources to Use With Soar

Unidentified Suburban Object

by Mike Jung

Jung, M. (2016). Unidentified suburban object.  New York, NY: Arthur A. Levine Books.

Soon to be seventh grader Chloe Cho and her family are the only Koreans in her entire town.  In fact they're the only Asians in her whole town, and she's getting really tired of people who think all Asians are only either Chinese or Japanese and they can't even tell the difference. And don't even get her started on Asian stereotypes or compare her to world famous violinist Abigail Yang!  Luckily she has her best friend Shelly who is also a super smart teacher's pet, in the band, and loves the fact that Chloe is Korean, to keep her sane.  But, this year could be different.  This year Chloe has a new teacher, Ms. Lee, who is new to the area and is also Korean.  This is just fantastic.  You see, anytime Chloe broaches the subject of her family's history or being from Korea, her parents ALWAYS change the subject.  Whether it's something deep like about family members or their past, or something more fun like food or clothing, Chloe can never get a straight answer from them and it is infuriating.  Perhaps this new teacher will provide Chloe with some of the information she so desperately seeks.  Of course it's also possible that her search for answers will lead her to a family history that she never could have expected!  After Ms. Lee accuses Chloe of plagiarism on a story about their family history, an angry Chloe confronts her father about the story he told her.  Together, Chloe's parents explain to her that they are in fact NOT from Korea, but are aliens from the planet Tau Ceti.  This revelation leads Chloe down a path of denial, self destruction, and a lot more questions than answers.  Can Chloe and Shelly's friendship survive?  Will Chloe finally find self acceptance?  Read 2017-2018 Texas Bluebonnet Nominee Unidentified Suburban Object to find out.  Recommended for grades 4-8.

Book Trailer for Unidentified Suburban Object

Discussion Guide for Unidentified Suburban Object

Interview with Author Mike Jung