No Shelf Control!

A Book Club for Grades 4-6

All readers in Grades 4-6! "No Shelf Control" starts its 3rd year with a discussion of Jasmine Warga's "A Strange Thing Happened in Cherry Hall," which features an art theft, friendship, and a turtle!

Welcome to Year 3 of No Shelf Control! If you are in grades 4, 5 or 6 and love to read and have fun talking about books and characters, this just might be the place for you! No Shelf Control meets monthly for discussion and activities related to a book chosen by a librarian just for this age group, freely available through the library, and read ahead of time.

Our first selection for the 2025-2026 school year is “A Strange Thing Happened in Cherry Hall” by Jasmine Warga, which involves a stolen painting, a mysterious girl that only a few people can see, a pair of unlikely 6th grade detectives, a very old and private secret, and a very curious and determined turtle. The author’s previous books include the acclaimed “Other Words for Home,” a novel in verse about an immigrant girl and her family adjusting to life in the United States. “A Strange Thing Happened in Cherry Hall” is currently a nominee for the Maryland Association of School Libraries’ Black-Eyed Susan Award for Children’s Fiction.

You can borrow a copy of the book, along with a specially prepared reading guide for our group, from the Connie Morella Library; just ask at either the Circulation Desk or Information Desk for the book for the next meeting of No Shelf Control. The book is also available in electronic formats from the library’s free services: on Hoopla as an e-book or e-audiobook; and on Overdrive or the Libby app as an e-book or e-audiobook. If you use an electronic version, please contact librarian Jeff Coster (Jeffrey.Coster@montgomerycountymd.gov) to request a copy of the reading guide. He can also be contacted with any questions about the program and participant eligibility.

Over the course of the school year, we’ll read books from a wide range of genres—realistic fiction, mystery, humor, science fiction, fantasy, adventure—featuring characters your age and themes such as friendship, family, overcoming adversity, confronting challenges, sorting through conflicting values and other people's expectations, and navigating life, school, sports and other extracurricular activities, while expanding their knowledge of themselves and the world around them. We often use new books published within the last 2-3 years and titles from such award programs as the Black-Eyed Susan. Each session’s interactive discussions and hands-on activities will relate to the major topics and themes of the book in a fun and engaging way.

Library Program Attendance (both virtual and in the branch) is limited to participants within the suggested age range of the program. Children attending an MCPL program under the age of 8 must be accompanied by an adult. Adults attending a program intended for children must have an accompanying child.

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Have questions about this program? Contact the branch at 240-777-0970.

Accommodation Requests

People who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing should request English-language captioning or sign-language interpretation at least five days before the library-sponsored program they plan to attend. Contact the Assistant Facilities and Accessibility Program Manager at 240-777-0002 with all other accommodation requests.

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