Pigeon Series

Willems, M. (n.d.). Pigeon Series. Disney-Hyperion

            This hilarious pigeon takes us on too many funny adventures. These books are my favorite for read alouds with young readers. Buy all the books here

The Genuis Wars

 Jinks, C. (2010). The genius wars. Boston: Harcourt.

After abandoning a life full of deception and mistrust, fifteen-year-old Cadel has finally found a home with loving parents. He has made real friends and he is actually going to school. However, he's still not safe from the evil who once captured him. When Cadel's most precious loved ones are threatened, he must launch an all-out attack.

Genius Squad

Jinks, C. (2008). Genius squad. Orlando: Harcourt.

            In this sequel to Evil Genius, Cadel is now living with foster parents. He still does not know where he was born, who his true father is, or when he was born. His life is made even worse due to his foster brother "Mace" (real name: Thomas) constantly bullying him. With no school to go to due to his questionable legal status, Cadel spends his time either on the computer. The police, and FBI also occasionally turn up to question him on what he knows about Dr. Darkkon, Prosper English and the Axis Institute. In this sequel, it is once again up to Cadel to save the world from evil.

Evil Genius

Jinks, C. (2007). Evil genius. Orlando: Harcourt.

            This is a story of Cadel Piggot, who is taken to a psychologist because his insane and dangerous intelligence. He has hacked into high-security networks and can do great harm with his mind. His strife for moral guidance is complicated by Phineas Darkkon, an evil genius of sorts whom he is told is his father, and Thaddeus Roth, his psychologist whom the police identify as Prosper English, a notorious criminal and right-hand man of Dr. Darkkon, and who later also claims to be Cadel's father.He also meets a number of other talented people at the Axis Institute, which is the university Phineas Darkkon had created for him to get his World Domination degree. His specialty is IT and hacking.

Mercy Watson Series

DiCamillo, K. (2005). The Mercy Watson Collection. New York: Random House.

         Kate DiCamillo is one of my favorite authors, and she succeeds yet again in the Mercy Watson series. Mercy is a cheery pig that likes to act like a person. He loves driving cars, trick-or-treating, toast with butter, and causing trouble.

         The series has six books, all beautifully illustrated by Chris Van Dusen. These books are a great way to introduce Kate DiCamillo to students, with hopes they will move on to her more difficult, higher level books.

Magic Tree House Fact Tracker

Osborne, M. (2012). Magic Tree House Fact Tracker. S.l.: Random House Children's

Books.

            The Magic Tree House Fact Tracker Series is the nonfiction counterpart to the Magic Tree House Series. They offer factual information on numerous historical topics and events.

            They are the perfect addition to every Social Studies unit, or history research project.