Special Collections
District List: NYC Reads 365 - Sixth Grade
Description: NYC Reads 365 is a literacy initiative of the New York City Department of Education to create a new generation of readers. This list of high-interest titles is curated by NYC school librarians for students in Grade 6 and is updated each school year.
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Took
by Mary Downing Hahn"Folks say Old Auntie takes a girl and keeps her fifty years--then lets her go and takes another one." Thirteen-year-old Daniel Anderson doesn't believe Brody Mason's crazy stories about the ghost witch who lives up on Brewster's Hill with Bloody Bones, her man-eating razorback hog. He figures Brody's probably just trying to scare him since he's the new kid . . . a "stuck-up snot" from Connecticut. But Daniel's seven-year-old sister Erica has become more and more withdrawn, talking to her lookalike doll. When she disappears into the woods one day, he knows something is terribly wrong. Did the witch strike? Has Erica been "took"?
The Tapper Twins Tear Up New York
by Geoff RodkeyThe Tapper twins' scavenger hunt takes cutthroat competition to hilarious new heights! In the follow up to The Tapper Twins Go to War, Geoff Rodkey delivers another ultra-modern comedy told as oral history with texts, screenshots and smartphone photos. When Claudia initiates a citywide scavenger hunt to raise money for charity, it's not just the twins' opposing teams that run riot. With the whole school racing to trade in sights seen for points to score front row tickets at Madison Square Garden, they may not get to the finish line with their dignity-and social lives-intact!
Once Was A Time
by Leila SalesIn the war-ravaged England of 1940, Charlotte Bromley is sure of only one thing: Kitty McLaughlin is her best friend in the whole world. But when Charlotte's scientist father makes an astonishing discovery that the Germans will covet for themselves, Charlotte is faced with an impossible choice between danger and safety. Should she remain with her friend or journey to another time and place? Her split-second decision has huge consequences, and when she finds herself alone in the world, unsure of Kitty's fate, she knows that somehow, some way, she must find her way back to her friend. Written in the spirit of classic time-travel tales, this book is an imaginative and heartfelt tribute to the unbreakable ties of friendship.
Blackbird Fly
by Erin Entrada Kelly and Betsy PeterschmidtFuture rock star, or friendless misfit? That's no choice at all. Apple Yengko moved from the Philippines to Louisiana when she was little, and now that she is in middle school, she grapples with being different, with friends and backstabbers, and with following her dreams. Apple has always felt a little different from her classmates. Her mother still cooks Filipino foods, speaks a mix of English and Cebuano, and chastises Apple for becoming "too American." It becomes unbearable in middle school, when the boys--the stupid, stupid boys--in Apple's class put her name on the Dog Log, the list of the most unpopular girls in school. When Apple's friends turn on her and everything about her life starts to seem weird and embarrassing, Apple turns to music. If she can just save enough to buy a guitar and learn to play, maybe she can change herself. It might be the music that saves her . . . or it might be her two new friends, who show how special she really is. Erin Entrada Kelly deftly brings Apple's conflicted emotions to the page in her debut novel about family, friendship, popularity, and going your own way.
Stars of World Soccer (First Edition)
by Illugi JvkulssonStars of World Soccer tells you who these players are, where they come from, and what they have accomplished. Profiling 30 men--including the Brazilian crown prince Neymar, the enigmatic genius Zlatan Ibrahimovic, the troubled spirit Luis Suárez, and the fabulous James Rodriguez--this engaging book profiles the cream of the crop in world soccer today.
Tiny Stitches
by Gwendolyn Hooks and Colin BootmanThe Life of Medical Pioneer Vivien Thomas is a biography of an African-American man who pioneered open-heart surgery for infants, but had to wait years to receive recognition. It explains the heart condition "tetralogy of Fallot" and the medical procedure Thomas developed to address it. It describes the disturbing instances of racial prejudice faced by him in the first half of the 20th century.
The Inker's Shadow
by Allen SayFor Allen Say, life as teen in Southern California was a cold existence. His father, one of the leading hamburger salesmen in Japan, ran a booming burger business, much like McDonald's
Maker Lab
by Dorling Kindersley StaffMaker Lab includes 28 kid-safe projects and crafts that will get young inventors' wheels turning and make science pure fun.
Cutting Edge Technology Drones
by Louise SpilsburyIs it a bird, a plane, or maybe even a drone flying overhead?
This amazing book tackles the history of drone technology and where future development will take these exciting aircraft.
Known mostly for its use in the military as surveillance equipment or even in combat, these pilotless flying machines are now used all over the world by ordinary people who love remote controlled vehicles.
Today, drones of all shapes and sizes can achieve amazing things, even if it's just taking photos or some video in someone's backyard.
This book investigates the complicated role drone technology plays in our modern lives, and what future development will mean for our privacy and safety.
Mad About Monkeys
by Owen DaveyWith over 250 species inhabiting our planet, this book explores the many different types of monkeys from the smallest Pygmy Marmoset to the largest Mandrill, and provides all the facts you wanted to know and more.
Discover where monkeys come from, how they swing from tree to tree, and why they fight and play with each other. After reading this beautifully illustrated book, you'll soon be raving mad about monkeys!
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind
by Anna Hymas and Bryan Mealer and William KamkwambaWhen a terrible drought struck William Kamkwamba's tiny village in Malawi, his family lost all of the season's crops, leaving them with nothing to eat and nothing to sell. William began to explore science books in his village library, looking for a solution. There, he came up with the idea that would change his family's life forever: he could build a windmill. Made out of scrap metal and old bicycle parts, William's windmill brought electricity to his home and helped his family pump the water they needed to farm the land.Retold for a younger audience, this exciting memoir shows how, even in a desperate situation, one boy's brilliant idea can light up the world. Complete with photographs, illustrations, and an epilogue that will bring readers up to date on William's story, this is the perfect edition to read and share with the whole family.
Sitting Bull
by S. D. NelsonSitting Bull (c. 1831-1890) was one of the greatest Lakota/Sioux warriors and chiefs who ever lived. From Sitting Bull's childhood--killing his first buffalo at age 10--to being named war chief to leading his people against the U. S. Army, Sitting Bull: Lakota Warrior and Defender of His People brings the story of the great chief to light. Sitting Bull was instrumental in the war against the invasive wasichus (white men) and was at the forefront of the combat, including the Battles of Killdeer Mountain and the Little Bighorn. He and Crazy Horse were the last Lakota/Sioux to surrender their people to the U. S. government and resort to living on a reservation. The book includes an extensive author's note and timeline, historical photographs, a map, a bibliography, endnotes, and an index.
Lost in the Pacific, 1942
by Tod OlsonLOST IN THE PACIFIC is the first book in a new narrative nonfiction series that tells the true story of a band of World War II soldiers who became stranded at sea and had to fight for survival.World War II, October 21, 1942. A B-17 bomber drones high over the Pacific Ocean, sending a desperate SOS into the air. The crew is carrying America's greatest living war hero on a secret mission deep into the battle zone. But the plane is lost, burning through its final gallons of fuel.At 1:30 p.m., there is only one choice left: an emergency landing at sea. If the crew survives the impact, they will be left stranded without food or water hundreds of miles from civilization. Eight men. Three inflatable rafts. Sixty-eight million square miles of ocean. What will it take to make it back alive?
Let Your Voice Be Heard
by Anita SilveyPete Seeger, the iconic folk musician and multiple Grammy winner, discovered early in life that what he wanted to do was make music. His amazing career as singer, songwriter, and banjo player spanned seven decades, and included both low points (being charged with contempt of Congress) and highlights (receiving the Kennedy Center Honor from President Clinton). An activist and protester, Seeger crusaded for the rights of labor, the rights of people of color, and the First Amendment right to let his voice be heard, and launched the successful campaign to clean up the Hudson River. Archival photographs and prints, source notes, bibliography, index.
Courage & Defiance
by Deborah HopkinsonCritically acclaimed Sibert Honor author Deborah Hopkinson brings to bold life the remarkable story of the Danish resistance and rescue of over 7,000 Jews during WWII.When the Nazis invaded Denmark the morning of Tuesday, April 9, 1940, the people of this tiny country to the north of Germany awoke to a devastating surprise. The government of Denmark surrendered quietly, and the Danes were ordered to go about their daily lives as if nothing had changed. But everything had changed. Award-winning author Deborah Hopkinson traces the stories of the heroic young men and women who would not stand by as their country was occupied. Rather, they fought back. Some were spies, passing tactical information to the British; some were saboteurs, who aimed to hamper and impede Nazi operations in Denmark; and 95% of the Jewish population of Denmark were survivors, rescued by their fellow countrymen, who had the courage and conscience that drove them to act. With her extraordinary talent for digging deep in her research and weaving real voices into her narratives, Hopkinson reveals the thrilling truth behind one of WWII's most daring resistance movements.
Charlie Joe Jackson's Guide To Summer Vacation
by Tommy Greenwald and J. P. CoovertDespite all attempts to avoid reading and extra work, Charlie Joe Jackson finds himself in a terrible dream he can't wake up from: Camp Rituhbukkee (pronounced "read-a-bookie")—a place filled with grammar workshops, Read-a-Ramas, and kids who actually like reading. But Charlie Joe is determined to convince the entire camp to hate reading and writing—one genius at a time. Tommy Greenwald's Charlie Joe Jackson's Guide to Summer Vacation is another fun installment in the life of a reluctant reader.
Charlie Joe Jackson's Guide To Planet Girl
by Tommy Greenwald and J. P. CoovertThere's a crisis at Eastport Middle School! It appears that everyone has a boyfriend or girlfriend except . . . Charlie Joe Jackson??!? Yup-he's the only single guy out of all his friends. How is this possible? Even Pete Milano snagged a girl! Well, Charlie Joe refuses to be left out. He quickly goes looking for help in the last place anyone would think to find him-the library. And what he finds is the gem of all gems, the guidebook of all guidebooks, the key to finally getting a girl! Now, everyone is suddenly coming to him for love advice. (Oh, how the tables have turned.) But Charlie Joe's world is swiftly turned upside down when he realizes the girl he actually likes... might not actually be the girl he likes.
Charlie Joe Jackson's Guide To Not Growing Up
by Tommy Greenwald and J. P. Coovert and Lauren BurniacCharlie Joe has been waiting for this moment his entire middle school career. This might even be the best day of his life. No more teachers! No more books! Just make it through the ceremony and he's free. But suddenly things around him are starting to change. Words like "responsibility" and "college prep" keep popping out of his friend's mouths. What happened to words like "fun" and "pool party"? And come to think of it, doesn't high school bring more teachers and more books? Maybe this whole growing up thing isn't such a good idea after all. Actually being a kid is pretty darn fun! Surely Charlie Joe can figure out a way to put the brakes on growing up-and fast! This hilarious final installment in the Charlie Joe Jackson series written by Tommy Greenwald and illustrated by J. P. Coovert is infused with nostalgia and just the right amount of chaos.
Charlie Joe Jackson's Guide to Extra Credit
by Tommy Greenwald and J. P. CoovertCharlie Joe Jackson, the most reluctant reader ever born, made it his mission in the first book to get through middle school without reading a single book from cover to cover. Now he's back―and trying desperately to get straight As in order to avoid going to academic camp for the summer. To do this, he will have to betray his friend, lose the girl of his dreams, and end up acting in a school play about the inventor of paper towels. Charlie Joe's not exactly the "school play kind of guy," but desperate times call for desperate measures, in Charlie Joe Jackson's Guide to Extra Credit by Tommy Greenwald.
Charlie Joe Jackson's Guide to Making Money
by Tommy Greenwald and J. P. CoovertCharlie Joe's weekly allowance just isn't cutting it and he desperately needs money to buy a Botman, the latest gadget to sweep his middle school. Only catch is, he wants to earn the money by doing the least amount of work possible. After several failed attempts, including a near disastrous day of dog-walking, Charlie Joe hatches a plan to throw his own bar mitzvah (no gifts please—checks only) even though he's not Jewish. Hilarity ensues when throwing a fake coming-of-age party turns out to be much harder than it looks.
Return to Planet Tad
by Doug Holgate and Tim CarvellTad is back and he's blogger than ever, in a laugh-out-loud sequel to the book Jon Stewart called "hilarious to anyone who ever went through, is currently in, might go to, or flunked out of middle school."Tad may have survived seventh grade, but his troubles are just getting started. From his first sort-of date (a disaster) to his first semiformal dance (a bigger disaster), all Tad wants to do is make it out of this year alive. But that's not the only reason he keeps a blog. Tad also has a lot of important thoughts he needs to get off his chest, like: I don't get the phrase "you are what you eat." It seems to me like the only people that's true for are cannibals. This highly illustrated and hilarious book is by the Emmy® Award-winning former head writer of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and is based on a column in MAD Magazine. Through a series of daily entries, readers are treated to a year in Tad's blog that will leave them in stitches.MAD Magazine and all related characters and elements are trademarks of and © E.C. Publications. (s14)
Planet Tad
by Tim Carvell and Doug HolgateTad has an agenda: Survive seventh grade. He also wants to: grow a mustache, get girls to notice him, and do a kickflip on his skateboard. . . . But those are not the main reasons he started a blog. Tad just has a lot of important thoughts he wants to share with the world, like: Here is the first thing I have learned about having a dog in your house: Don't feed them nachos. Not ever.
Jinx's Fire
by Sage BlackwoodThe young wizard Jinx concludes his suspenseful and dryly humorous adventures in the magical forest of the Urwald with this third installment in the series that ALA Booklist says “deserves a permanent place in the children’s fantasy pantheon, with Narnia and Earthsea” (Jinx's Magic, starred review). This action-packed conclusion is perfect for readers of fantasy adventure series such as Septimus Heap, the Sisters Grimm, and Fablehaven.The forest is under attack and its magic is fading. Can Jinx summon enough of his magic—the bright fire within him—to rescue Simon, defeat the Bonemaster, unite the Urwald, and fight off the invaders? He is the Urwald's only hope. . . .
Jinx's Magic
by Sage BlackwoodJinx's Magic is the second book in Sage Blackwood's highly acclaimed fantasy-adventure series, Jinx. This humorous and smart tween trilogy set in a magical forest is perfect for fans of Angie Sage's Septimus Heap, Michael Buckley's the Sisters Grimm, and Brandon Mull's Fablehaven."Readers will thrill to journey with Jinx" (Jinx, School Library Journal, starred review), a daring young wizard's apprentice, as he travels from his home in the Urwald to an unfamiliar desert land in search of ancient magic. He needs that magic badly—there are forces threatening the Urwald from all sides. The more he learns, however, the clearer it becomes that this quest will require more than the magic of a solitary wizard's apprentice, and soon he'll have to call upon all of the Urwald—witches, werewolves, wizards, and trees—for help.