REAL LIFE AND HISTORICAL FICTION
Appelt, Kathi - The Underneath
An old hound that has been chained up at his hateful owner's run-down shack,
and two kittens born underneath the house, endure separation, danger, and
many other tribulations in their quest to be reunited and free.
*Avi - Blue Heron
Maggie finds strength in a heron as she discovers a change in her father and
his new family.
Avi – Crispin: The Cross of Lead
Falsely accused of theft and murder, an orphaned peasant boy in fourteenth-
century England flees his village and meets a larger-than-life juggler who
holds a dangerous secret.
Birdsall, Jeanne - The Penderwicks : a summer tale of four sisters, two
rabbits, and a very interesting boy
While vacationing with their widowed father in the Berkshire Mountains, four
lovable sisters, ages four through twelve, share adventures with a local
boy, much to the dismay of his snobbish mother.
Clements, Andrew – Frindle
When the "class clown" decides to turn his fifth grade teacher’s love of the
dictionary around on her, he invents a new word and begins a chain of events
that quickly moves beyond his control.
Creech, Sharon – Granny Torrelli Makes Soup
With the help of her wise old grandmother, twelve-year-old Rosie manages to
work out some problems in her relationship with her best friend, Bailey, the
boy next door.
Creech, Sharon – Chasing Redbird
Thirteen-year-old Zinnia Taylor uncovers family secrets and self truths
while clearing a mysterious settler trail that begins on her family's farm
in Kentucky.
*Creech, Sharon – The Wanderer
Thirteen-year-old Sophie and her cousin Cody record their transatlantic
crossing aboard the Wanderer, a forty-five foot sailboat, which, along with
uncles and another cousin, is en route to visit their grandfather in England
*Curtis, Christopher Paul – Bud, Not Buddy
Ten-year-old Bud, a motherless boy living in Flint, Michigan, during the
Great Depression, escapes a bad foster home and sets out in search of the
man he believes to be his father--the renowned bandleader, H.E. Calloway of
Grand Rapids.
*Cushman, Karen – Rodzina
A twelve-year-old Polish American girl is boarded onto an orphan train in
Chicago with fears about traveling to the West and a life of unpaid slavery.
*Farley, Walter - Black Stallion
The first in the series of horse stories.
Gantos, Jack – Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key
To the constant disappointment of his mother and his teachers, Joey has
trouble paying attention or controlling his mood swings when his
prescription medications wear off and he starts getting worked up and acting
wired.
Giff, Patricia Reilly – Lily’s Crossing
During a summer spent at Rockaway Beach in 1944, Lily's friendship with a
young Hungarian refugee causes her to see the war and her own world
differently.
Paulsen, Gary – Harris and Me
Sent to live with relatives on their farm because of his unhappy home life,
an eleven-year-old city boy meets his distant cousin Harris and is given an
introduction to a whole new world.
*Rawls, Wilson - Summer of the Monkeys
Jay spends his country summer trying to catch escaped monkeys to earn money.
Uchida, Yoshiko - Jar of Dreams
Growing up in California during the depression, Rinko feels left out because
she is Japanese
MYSTERY
Bruchac, Joseph – Skeleton Man
After her parents disappear and she goes to live with her “great uncle”,
Molly must rely on her dreams about an old Mohawk story for her safety and
even her life.
Bruchac, Joseph- The Return of the Skeleton Man
Sequel to Skeleton Man. When Molly attends a conference at Mohawk Mountain
House Molly begins to fear that she’s being watched by the same man who
tried to kill her last year.
Clements, Andrew – Room One: A Mystery or Two
Ted Hammond, the only 6th grader in his small Nebraska town’s one-room
school house, searches for clues to the disappearance of a homeless family.
DeFelice, Cynthia – The Missing Manatee
While coping with his parent’s separation, 11 year old Skeet spends most of
his spring break in his skiff on a Florida river where he finds a manatee
shot to death nd begins looking for it’s killer.
Johns, Linda – Hannah West in the Belltown Towers: a mystery
Budding sleuth, Hannah West, the 12 year old adopted daughter of a single
mom, decides to investigate when a thief targets the paintings of one of
Seattle’s hot new artists just before the HONCHO charity auction.
*Roberts, Willo Davis - View from the Cherry Tree
Rob has seen a murder, but no one believes him except the murderer.
*Springer, Nancy – The Case of the Left-Handed Lady
Pursued by her much older brother Sherlock Holmes, 14 year old Enola,
disguised and using false names, attempts to solve the kidnapping of a
baronet’s 16 year old daughter in 19th century London.
FANTASY & SCIENCE FICTION
*Alexander, Lloyd – The High King Series (from The Chronicles of Prydain)
The series includes the adventures of Taran, the Assistant Pig Keeper in
Prydain, who sets out with various warriors to save his country from evil.
Bellairs, John - House with a Clock in its Walls
A boy goes to live with his magician uncle in a mansion with a clock in its
walls that is ticking off the minutes until doomsday.
*Christopher, John - City of Gold and Lead
Boys who escaped the Tripods in the White Mountains are training for a very
important athletic contest. Part of the Tripods Series.
Lasky, Kathryn – The Capture
Soren, a barn owl that is captured and taken to a special school for
orphaned owls, is befriended by elf owl Gylfie and together the two set out
to discover what is really going on at St. Aegolius Academy.
Levine, Gail – Ella Enchanted
In this Cinderella based story, Ella struggles against a childhood curse
that forces her to obey any order given to her.
Milway, Alex - The Mousehunter
Emiline, a mousekeeper who works for the wealthy Isiah Lovelock, is given
the opportunity to join the hunt for the legendary pirate Mousebeard.
*Riordan, Rick - The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson series)
The escapades of the Greek gods and heroes get a fresh spin in the first
book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, about a contemporary 12-
year-old New Yorker who learns he's a demigod.
NON- FICTION
Dash, Joan – A Dangerous Engine
A biography of eighteenth-century printer, scientist, revolutionary, and
diplomat, Benjamin Franklin.
*Freedman, Russell – Out of Darkness
A biography of the nineteenth-century Frenchman who, having been blinded
himself at the age of three, went on to develop a system of raised dots on
paper that enabled blind people to read and write
Gutman, Dan – Baseball’s Biggest Bloopers
Stories of baseball players who made errors that people are still talking
about.
*Montgomery, Sy – The Tarantula Scientist
Describes the research that Samuel Marshall and his students are doing on
tarantulas, including the largest spider on earth, the Goliath bird-eating
tarantula.
*Murphy, Jim – Blizzard! The Storm that Changed America
Presents a history, based on personal accounts and newspaper articles, of
the massive snow storm that hit the Northeast in 1888, focusing on the
events in New York City..
Nelson, Kadir - We are the Ship
Imagine listening to baseball legends Willie Mays and Ernie Banks swapping
stories about their Negro League days as they sit in the stands, munching on
peanuts and watching Ken Griffey Jr. launch a curve ball into the
stratosphere.
GRAPHIC NOVELS
Holm, Jennifer - Babymouse (series)
An imaginative mouse dreams of being queen of the world, but will settle for
an invitation to the most popular girl's slumber party.
Kinney, Jeff - Diary of a Wimpy Kid (series)
Greg records his sixth grade experiences in a middle school where he and his
best friend, Rowley, undersized weaklings amid boys who need to shave twice
daily, hope just to survive, but when Rowley grows more popular, Greg must
take drastic measures to save their friendship.
*Indicates a more challenging choice
