| 1) The Tale of Despereaux
Author: Kate DiCamillo
Despereaux is the smallest mouse in the castle, born with large ears and an
even larger heart. He falls in love with the human Princess Pea and is
banished to the dungeon by his family for not conforming. Meanwhile, the
rat Chiaroscuro, falls in love with light. When he leaves the dungeon to
find the light, he frightens the queen to death and ends up back in the
dungeon with a grudge against Princess Pea. Out in the town, a girl named
Miggery Sow, is sold into slavery by her father. She dreams of being a
princess herself one day. All three stories combine in the final part of the
book in a satisfying ending for nearly everyone.
2) Holes
Author: Louis Sachar
Stanley Yelnats is under a curse that began with his no-good-dirty-rotten-
pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather. Now Stanley has been sent to a boys'
prison known as Camp Green Lake. Here the evil warden makes the boys "build
character" by spending each day digging holes: five feet wide and five feet
deep. It doesn't take long for Stanley to realize that there is something
not right with Camp Green Lake. The boys are digging holes because the
warden is looking for something.
3) Hoot
Author: Paul Hiaasen
Roy is the new kid in town. From the school bus window, as a bully is
harassing him, Roy sees a barefoot boy running by and Roy is determined to
find out who that boy was. Roy follows the boy, and learns that he is
trying to protect the nesting site of some rare owls. Strange things start
to happen—alligators pop up in portable potties and a tough girl takes a
bite out of Roy's bike tire—before Roy works out a way to get revenge on the
bully and help the barefoot boy save the owls.
4) Sounder
Author: William H. Armstrong
A young black boy grows in courage and understanding after his father is
sent to jail for stealing food to feed the family. While the father is in
jail, the boy is determined to learn how to read and take care of his
injured dog Sounder.
5) The Phantom Tollbooth
Author: Norton Juster
Milo was a very bored child. One day he finds a tollbooth in his bedroom
and when he drives through it, Milo finds wild adventures in Dictionopolis,
the land of words; Digitopolis, the world of numbers, and many locations in
between. He is on a quest to bring back Princess Rhyme and Princess Reason.
The book is filled with crazy characters like the Spelling Bee who spells
the words that he speaks, and the creatures of the Doldrums who fall asleep
before they finish their sentences.
6) Bridge to Terabithia
Author: Katherine Paterson
Jesse practices all summer so that he can be the fastest runner in his fifth-
grade class. Despite his practice, however, he loses the race to Leslie
Burke, the new girl in school. Despite Jesse's loss, he becomes friends
with Leslie. Together they build the imaginary kingdom of Terabitia in the
woods!
7) Anne of Green Gables
Author: L.M. Montgomery
This is my favorite story! It is about Anne, a precocious,
talkative 11-year-old orphan. She is adopted by an elderly brother and
sister and changes everyone’s lives, quite unexpectedly, for the good.
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