Battle of the Books

Finn and the Intergalactic Lunchbox

by Michael Buckley

Finn Foley has a lunchbox, and when he opens it, weird things come out . . . like a seven-foot-tall robot and a strange, blinking device that glues itself to his chest. The lunchbox also opens wormholes--shortcuts through space--that take Finn to the farthest corners of the galaxy.

Sounds awesome, right?

Not so much. Rocketing through the cosmos attracts the attention of the Plague, a race of gigantic bugs. The thing on Finn's chest belongs to them--it's the most dangerous weapon in the universe--and they want it back.

To fight the Plague, Finn will need the lunchbox, as well as an unlikely squad of assistants: Lincoln, the bully; Julep, the coolest girl in school; Kate, Finn's unicorn-obsessed little sister; and Highbeam, a robot spy from another galaxy. If they can learn to work together, they just might have a chance, but the bugs are coming, and they'll stop at nothing to get their weapon--even if it means destroying the world.

Zeus and the Thunderbolt of Doom

by Joan Holub

Ten-year-old Zeus is mystified (and super-annoyed) by the fact that he keeps getting hit by lightening. Every. Single. Year. He also longs for adventure, as he has never been far from the cave where he grew up.

Zeus gets his wish-and a lot more than he bargained for-when he is kidnapped by dangerous, giant Titans! In self-defense, Zeus grabs the first thing he sees-an actual thunderbolt he pulls from a stone that is covered in mysterious markings. Zeus is the only one who can decipher the markings, and sets off on a quest to rescue his fellow Olympians from the evil Cronus. Armed with his trusty thunderbolt (named Bolt, of course), Zeus is on an adventure of a lifetime-and a journey to fulfill his destiny as King of the Gods.

Turtle in Paradise

by Jennifer L. Holm

During the Depression, eleven-year-old Turtle is sent to live with her Aunt Minnie in Key West after her mother’s employer makes it clear that she doesn’t like children (her mother is a live-in domestic). Turtle spends her time with her boy cousins—Beans, Buddy, and Kermit—and their friends who run a babysitting service called the Diaper Gang, carting around neighborhood babies and selling their homemade diaper-rash ointment. Strong and quick-witted, Turtle is able to keep up with the gang, even if they consider her an outsider. Their daily adventures are varied, and these independent kids are capable and competent, though one senses that the adults, as busy as they are, are watching out for them in one way or another. As Turtle starts to embrace her extended family and new surroundings, she makes interesting discoveries about her relatives and her identity. And when the Diaper Gang goes on a treasure hunt, the story reaches an adventurous climax. Reality comes crashing down quickly with the return of Turtle’s mother and her boyfriend, Archie, but a surprising twist grounds this humorous and exciting story in the warmth of family.

Poacher Panic (Wild Rescue)

by Jan Burchett

"Twins Ben and Zoe are miserable after being left behind while their parents head to Africa for a veterinary adventure. But almost immediately after their parents depart, Dr Stephen Fisher, a famous zoologist, recruits Ben and Zoe for an adventure of their own! Soon, the twins are on their way to Sumatra to rescue a tiger and her two cubs from a gang of vicious poachers."

The Elephant’s Girl

by Celesta Rimington

An elephant never forgets, but Lexington Willow can't remember what happened before a tornado swept her away when she was a toddler. All she knows is that it landed her near an enclosure in a Nebraska zoo; and there an elephant named Nyah protected her from the storm. With no trace of her birth family, Lex grew up at the zoo with Nyah and her elephant family; her foster father, Roger; her best friend, Fisher; and the wind whispering in her ear.

Now that she's twelve, Lex is finally old enough to help with the elephants. But during their first training session, Nyah sends her a telepathic image of the woods outside the zoo. Despite the wind's protests, Lex decides to investigate Nyah's message and gets wrapped up in an adventure involving ghosts, lost treasure, and a puzzle that might be the key to finding her family. As she hunts for answers, Lex must summon the courage to leave the secure borders of her zoo to discover who she really is--and why the tornado brought her here all those years ago.