Entering Third Grade

The Losers Club

by Andrew Clements

Just Grace

by Charise Mericle Harper

Words with Wings

by Nikki Grimes

Nothing stopped Sophie : the story of unshakable mathematician Sophie Germain

by Cheryl Bardoe

Plants Can't Sit Still

by Rebecca E. Hirsh

Summertime Sleepers: Animals that Estivate

by Melissa Stewart

Lumphy, StingRay and Plastic are stuffed animals. (Well, Plastic is... what is Plastic, anyway?)They live with the girl who sleeps on the high bed with the big pillows. It's very nice there. But what is the meaning of life? And why is clean better than dirty? And what will happen if StingRay tries to go in the water?

In this utterly delightful peek into the secret lives of toys, three beloved playthings participate in a series of small adventures. This is a book bound to be a favorite with any child who has ever adored an inanimate object.

Ramona begins third grade at a new school determined to do her share for the family. With her mother working and her father back at college, Ramona has to go to Howie's grandmother's after school; her job is to be nice to Howie's pesky little sister, and she tries hard. She also helps older sister Beezus improvise a Sunday dinner--they're grateful that it's edible, despite the mess in the kitchen. But Ramona gets egg on her face in class when her mother sends a raw, rather than a hard-boiled egg with her lunch. Later that day she hears her teacher refer to her as a show-off and nuisance. Another time, trying hard not to be a nuisance, she suffers silently through feeling bad . . . until she throws up right in class. But Ramona and her teacher finally straighten out the nuisance remark, and though the family has its money worries and its cranky days, things are never so bad that a Sunday dinner at the Whopperburger can't cheer them up.

Ben is racing off to class when he finds the janitor, Mr. Keane, in severe pain. The man gives him a gold coin from 1783 that has been passed down through the years by loyal janitors and can be traced to the first man hired by the founder of Captain Duncan Oakes School. It reads, "First and always/My school belongs to the children ./Defend it." A few hours later, he is dead. The town council has sold the school to a big company to build a theme park, and there's something very fishy about the deal. With the words on the coin as his first clue, Ben studies the history of his school, which is 50 feet from the water's edge in a Massachusetts coastal town, and he convinces his friend Jill to help him explore it.

Meet third-grader Grace Stewart, who gets stuck with the name “Just Grace” when she tries to distinguish herself from the three other Graces in her class. Grace is plenty different, though. She has a “teeny-tiny superpower,” for instance—she can tell if someone is unhappy and often tries to fix it. But sometimes her good intentions backfire...