Book 1:《怪手杖》
Grade Level：G2-G6
Author：: 金波
Publisher：湖北教育出版社
ISBN：9787556426287
Shelf Number：1楼-0473
Strange Cane is a book that contains a number of classic fairy tales, delivered through a presentation of innocent, child-like, lively and cute artistic characters. For example, a pair of little red shoes looks for everywhere for good friends; a little dark horse shows his love for his mother; a little mouse tries his best to do good deeds to maintain his family’s reputation; a fire fox who refuses to go to the zoo and instead wants to live with his grandfather; a little silver snake chooses to help others. These fairy tales are suitable for mothers or grandmothers to read to young children. Young readers will gain a sense of intimacy and identify with these images, through which they can develop good qualities such as fraternity, kindness and bravery.
Book 2：Noah’s Ark
Lexile measure: NP
Grade Level: G1-G2
Author/Illustrator: Peter Spier
Publisher：Doubleday
ISBN: 9780440406938
Shelf Number：1楼-1284
Noah’s Ark is the winner of the Caldecott Medal, the ALA Notable Children’s Book and the New York Times’ Best Illustrated Book of the Year. In this story, Peter Spier shows how Noah’s family leads a group of animals through the catastrophe to finally re-emerge into a new life in the vast world of rainbows. One of the most touching things about the story is the care given the animals and the harmony between them. It is a wordless book consisting of nearly 70 life-filled illustrations with lots of details, allowing parents and children to tell this magnificent story using their own imagination.
Book 3:《白菊》
Grade Level：G6+
Author：李琦
Publisher：花山文艺出版社
ISBN：9787551154390
Shelf Number：2F-0238
Chrysanthemum comes from the second season of the Poet’s Prose series. Poet’s prose is a special concept, one that is different from general prose. It has established a unique existence in the world of poetry because of the poet’s unique way of observation and expression.
Li Qi, the author of Chrysanthemum, has been an educated youth, a university professor, and a literary editor, and has made remarkable achievements in the field of poetry creation. The content of this book can be roughly divided into three categories: writing experience, life perception and travel notes. Most of her works integrate the poetic creation experience with personal observations of people and things around her, often producing thought-provoking thoughts and artistic charm.
Book 4：The Next Great Paulie Fink
Lexile measure: 710L
Grade Level: G6-G9
Author：Ali Benjamin
Publisher：Little, Brown and Company
ISBN: 9780316492614
Shelf Number：2F-0446
Leaving a familiar environment for a brand new one is an experience that requires everyone to walk out of their comfort zone. When Caitlyn was in the seventh grade, she transferred to a super small school full of oddities – Mitchell School in Mitchell Village, Vermont. There were only ten children in the seventh grade, classmates who were the “origins” of the school and who had known each other since kindergarten. The students were not at all interested in their new unexpected classmate, Caitlyn. They only cared about Paulie, the class clown, eccentric troublemaker and mischievous genius in the class who had disappeared earlier this year.
As the story of Paulie’s disappearance unfolded, his legend gradually formed. Everyone was hoping that Paulie would reappear, so they decided to find the next great Paulie Fink through a talent competition which would be judged by Caitlyn, who had never met him. Who on earth is Paulie Fink? Readers will learn about the true Paulie Fink through interviews, letters, chat records and other text types.
This book is very suitable for middle school students to read. It explores self-awareness, idolatry and group identity through light-hearted and witty stories that evoke deep philosophical reflections.