"Extra Credit, by Andrew Clements, is a very interesting book about how Abby Carson is assigned an extra credit project. As a result, she becomes pen pals with Sadeed Bayat in Afghanistan. The problem is that Afghanistan boys are not to communicate with American girls. Read to find out more about what happens with the friendship across the ocean."

"Patrick Jennings's Guinea Dog is a fun tale of a fifth grader named Rufus, who desperately wants a dog. His dad, who works at home, is not liking the idea. He says dogs: whine, scratch, gnaw, and bark. Rufus's mom thinks of something out of the box and brings home a guinea pig! Read to find out what happens next!"