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