January Reads for 6 to 9 year olds (and YOU!)

SCARLETT & SAM: SEARCH FOR THE SHAMIR
​by Eric Kimmel
​Kar-Ben, 1/1/18

A close encounter with Grandma Mina's time-traveling carpet sends Scarlett and Sam to ancient Jerusalem, where some very important people need their help. The twins meet the prophet Nathan, the warrior Benayahu ben Yehoiada, and even King Solomon himself, the wisest ruler of all time. But Solomon has a big problem that even his wisdom can't solve. God wants him to build the Temple, but it can't be done without the mythical insect called the shamir. It's up to the twins to find the shamir--even if that means facing off against the king of the demons.

BORN TO SWING: LIL HARDIN ARMSTRONG'S LIFE IN JAZZ by Mara Rockliff,
​illus by Michele Wood
Calkins Creek, 1/2/18

Ever since she was a young girl, Lil Hardin played music with a beat. She jammed at home, at church, and even at her first job in a music store. At a time when women's only place in jazz was at the microphone, Lil earned a spot playing piano in Chicago's hottest band. She went on to achieve fame as a bandleader and composer, and "swung" with many of the greatest early jazz musicians, including her husband, Louis Armstrong. Award-winning author Mara Rockliff and acclaimed illustrator Michele Wood brilliantly capture the rhythms and passions of this jazz pioneer and legend whose music and story deserve to be heard.

RANGER IN TIME 7 - D-DAY: BATTLE ON THE BEACH
by Kate Messner
Scholastic, 1/30/18

In this adventure, time traveling rescue dog Ranger heads to Normandy on the morning of the D-Day invasion and finds himself in the middle of one of the fiercest battles of World War II. Ranger meets Leo, a Jewish boy who is hiding with a local farmer, and Walt, a young African-American soldier fighting to free France from the Nazis. Walt is in the 320th Balloon Battalion, so it's his job to help operate the enormous barrage balloons that fly over the American troops, shielding them from enemy planes. It's pure chaos, with thundering warplanes, falling bombs, and exploding land mines. Will Ranger, Leo, and Walt survive?