Sweet Reads titles are always available via Sora (download the app and login with your ISU Google account) until August 28, 2023. There is a wide variety of books available to appeal to all readers. The best part is that they are always available which means these are the ideal titles to read with friends. Click on the image below to go directly to Sora and borrow these titles.
Tumble Books is available 24/7. TumbleBooks has a wide selection of fiction, nonfiction, read-alongs and audiobooks for all of our young readers and book lovers. Login details are available on the ISU Library Online Databases document. (You need to be logged in with your ISU Google account in order to view this document.)
Newsela is a source of student-friendly news with each article provided at a variety of reading levels. Students can stay up-to-date with current events or read news coverage about people, places and things of interest. Login with your ISU Google account. (Grades 3 and up)
Participate in the ISU Beanstack Summer Reading Challenge. Log your reading and earn badges! If you read for at least 360 minutes this summer, you will be rewarded! Not only will you be smarter, but you'll also be treated to cupcakes AND you will earn the right to be entered into a draw for a book prize of your choice! Login to Beanstack with your ISU Google account and start logging minutes!
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Epic! Books is available from home until the end of June. Your class code was shared by your homeroom teacher earlier this year. If you don't remember it, please feel free to email and ask.
There are numerous benefits to enjoying a book together as a family: make time for one another; explore topics and ideas together; explore emotions and reactions; promote life-long reading. Here are a few titles selected by Ms. Surridge and available on Sora. (Login with an ISU Google account.) Some of these titles are audiobooks and would be perfect for a road trip listening for the whole family.
The book suggestions below are in order of interest by age starting at age 4 with the last few books being suitable for 12 and up.
The One and Only Bob by
Ages 4 and up: A #1 New York Times bestseller! Return to the unforgettable world of the Newbery Medal-winning and #1 New York Times bestselling novel The One and Only Ivan (soon to be a major motion picture!) in this incredible sequel, starring Ivan's friend Bob! Bob sets out on a dangerous journey in search of his long-lost sister with the help of his two best friends, Ivan and Ruby. As a hurricane approaches and time is running out, Bob finds courage he never knew he had and learns the true meaning of friendship and family. Bob, Ivan, and Ruby have touched the hearts of millions of readers, and their story isn't over yet. Catch up with these beloved friends before the star-studded film adaptation of The One and Only Ivan hits theaters in August 2020! One and Only Bob is an instant #1 New York Times bestseller, embraced by new and old fans of Katherine Applegate's beloved One and Only Ivan. Great for summer reading or anytime! A Today show pick for "25 children's books your kids and teens won't be able to put down this summer!"
The World's Worst Children by
From the world's favourite author, David Walliams - ten cautionary tales and a delightfully dreadful cast of characters; all in a gorgeously gifty FULL COLOUR format! Are you ready to meet the World's Worst Children? Five beastly boys and five gruesome girls! * Like Sofia Sofa - a TV super-fan so stuck to the sofa that she's turning into one! * Or Dribbling Drew - a boy whose drool gets him into trouble on a school trip! * And not forgetting Blubbering Bertha - a girl who bawls and tells terrible tales! Also featuring a special appearance from fan-favourite Raj! From Number One bestselling author David Walliams comes this collection of wickedly funny, deliciously mischievous tales, illustrated in glorious colour by the artistic genius Tony Ross.
Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library by
Can you find your way out of what James Patterson calls the "coolest library in the world"? Join gamer-fan Kyle Keeley as he competes in the escape game of a lifetime! From the coauthor of I Funny and Max Einstein--and with 100+ weeks on the the New York Times Times bestseller list--the LEMONCELLO books are laugh-out-loud, puzzle-packed, MUST-READS for classrooms and homes across America. When Kyle Keeley learns that the world's world's most famous game maker, Luigi Lemoncello, has designed the town's new library and is having an invitation-only lock-in on opening night, Kyle is determined to be there! But the tricky part isn't getting into the library--it's getting out. Because when morning comes, the doors stay locked. Kyle and the other kids must catch every clue and solve every puzzle to find the hidden escape route! Enjoy bonus content in the back--extra puzzles, an author Q A, and more! And don't miss the puzzle-packed sequels: Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics, Mr. Lemoncello's Great Library Race, Mr. Lemoncello's All-Star Breakout Game, and Mr. Lemoncello and the Titanium Ticket! 44 STATE AWARD LISTS AND COUNTING 100+ WEEKS ON THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER LIST * "A worthy successor to the original madman puzzle-master himself, Willy Wonka." --Booklist, starred review
Anne of Green Gables by
Read the timeless classic about the beloved Anne Shirley, a red-haired orphan with a fiery spirit, before the new NETFLIX series premieres and don't miss the forward by Margaret Atwood, author of The Handmaid's Tale, celebrating the 100th anniversary of this children's favorite! Eleven-year-old Anne Shirley has never known a real home. Since her parents' deaths, she's bounced around to foster homes and orphanages. When she is sent by mistake to live with Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert at the snug white farmhouse called Green Gables, she wants to stay forever. But Anne is not the sturdy boy Matthew and Marilla were expecting. She's a mischievous, talkative redheaded girl with a fierce temper, who tumbles into one scrape after another. Anne is not like anybody else, the Cuthberts agree; she is special, a girl with an enormous imagination. All she's ever wanted is to belong somewhere. And the longer she stays at Green Gables, the harder it is for anyone to imagine life without her. "[Anne is] the dearest and most lovable child in fiction since the immortal Alice."-Mark Twain
Scythe by
Ages 10 and up: Two teens must learn the "art of killing" in this Printz Honor-winning book, the first in a chilling new series from Neal Shusterman, author of the New York Times bestselling Unwind dystology. A world with no hunger, no disease, no war, no misery: humanity has conquered all those things, and has even conquered death. Now Scythes are the only ones who can end life--and they are commanded to do so, in order to keep the size of the population under control. Citra and Rowan are chosen to apprentice to a scythe--a role that neither wants. These teens must master the "art" of taking life, knowing that the consequence of failure could mean losing their own. Scythe is the first novel of a thrilling new series by National Book Award-winning author Neal Shusterman in which Citra and Rowan learn that a perfect world comes only with a heavy price.
Alone by
Perfect for fans of Hatchet and the I Survived series, this harrowing middle grade debut novel-in-verse from a Pushcart Prize-nominated poet tells the story of a young girl who wakes up one day to find herself utterly alone in her small Colorado town. When twelve-year-old Maddie hatches a scheme for a secret sleepover with her two best friends, she ends up waking up to a nightmare. She's alone--left behind in a town that has been mysteriously evacuated and abandoned. With no one to rely on, no power, and no working phone lines or internet access, Maddie slowly learns to survive on her own. Her only companions are a Rottweiler named George and all the books she can read. After a rough start, Maddie learns to trust her own ingenuity and invents clever ways to survive in a place that has been deserted and forgotten. As months pass, she escapes natural disasters, looters, and wild animals. But Maddie's most formidable enemy is the crushing loneliness she faces every day. Can Maddie's stubborn will to survive carry her through the most frightening experience of her life?
Refugee by
A tour de force from acclaimed author Alan Gratz (Prisoner B-3087), this timely -- and timeless -- novel tells the powerful story of three different children seeking refuge. A New York Times bestseller! JOSEF is a Jewish boy living in 1930s Nazi Germany. With the threat of concentration camps looming, he and his family board a ship bound for the other side of the world . . . ISABEL is a Cuban girl in 1994. With riots and unrest plaguing her country, she and her family set out on a raft, hoping to find safety in America . . . MAHMOUD is a Syrian boy in 2015. With his homeland torn apart by violence and destruction, he and his family begin a long trek toward Europe . . . All three kids go on harrowing journeys in search of refuge. All will face unimaginable dangers -- from drownings to bombings to betrayals. But there is always the hope of tomorrow. And although Josef, Isabel, and Mahmoud are separated by continents and decades, shocking connections will tie their stories together in the end. This action-packed novel tackles topics both timely and timeless: courage, survival, and the quest for home.
Guys Read: True Stories by
Visiting the dentist--in ancient Egypt Spending a night in the jungle--with giant tarantulas Wrestling with a grizzly bear--and living to tell the tale The fifth installment in the Guys Read Library of Great Reading features ten stories that are 100% amazing, 100% adventurous, 100% unbelievable--and 100% true. A star-studded group of award-winning nonfiction authors and journalists provides something for every reader, all aligned with the Common Core State Standards. Compiled and edited by real-life literature legend Jon Scieszka, Guys Read: True Stories is a mind-blowing collection of essays, biographies, travelogues, and more, all proving that the truth is most definitely out there.
Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus by
"Aven is a perky, hilarious, and inspiring protagonist whose attitude and humor will linger even after the last page has turned." --School Library Journal (Starred review) The paperback edition of the bestselling middle grade novel about a spunky girl born without arms and a boy with Tourette syndrome navigating the challenges of middle school, disability, and friendship--all while solving a mystery in a western theme park. Aven Green loves to tell people that she lost her arms in an alligator wrestling match, or a wildfire in Tanzania, but the truth is she was born without them. And when her parents take a job running Stagecoach Pass, a rundown western theme park in Arizona, Aven moves with them across the country knowing that she'll have to answer the question over and over again. Her new life takes an unexpected turn when she bonds with Connor, a classmate who also feels isolated because of his own disability, and they discover a room at Stagecoach Pass that holds bigger secrets than Aven ever could have imagined. It's hard to solve a mystery, help a friend, and face your worst fears. But Aven's about to discover she can do it all . . . even without arms. Autumn 2017 Kids' Indie Next Pick Junior Library Guild Selection Library of Congress's 52 Great Reads List 2018
Blame My Brain: The Amazing Teenage Brain Revealed by
Ages 12 and up: Nicola Morgan's accessible and humourous examination of the ups and downs of the teenage brain deals with powerful emotions, the need for more sleep, the urge to take risks, the difference between genders, the reasons behind addiction and depression, and what lies ahead.