Recommended Summer Reading
by the SVUSD Library Staff
2005
The Librarians and the Library Clerks through out the district have
made the following suggestions for your summer reading pleasure. Most titles are relatively new, but a
few of the old favorites are listed too.
The list is divided into three interest sections, Lower, Middle and
Upper Grades just as a guide. Parents may want to assist their child in their
selection or readers may want to consult their teacher or librarian on choosing
a book just right for them. One
size does not fit all and interests and reading abilities vary greatly between
readers of the same age. The
reading levels are taken from the reading programs at the schools (Accelerated
Reader or Reading Counts), so again, they are listed only as a guide.
Reading during the summer will help keep young minds sharp and
entertained as well. So have a
great summer and…..
HAPPY
READING!!!!!
Recommended Summer Reading 2005
Ashman, Linda. The essential worldwide monster guide. 1st
ed. New York : Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, c2003.
Contains descriptions of monsters from various countries in the
form of the travel guide for a world tour by balloon.
Interest level: K-3,
Reading level: 4.0
Bonning, Tony, 1948-. Snog the frog. 1st ed. for the U.S.,
its territories and dependencies and Canada. Hauppauge, NY : Barron's, 2005,
c2004.
Snog the frog wonders if
the kiss of a princess will turn him into a prince.
Interest level: K-3
Brown, Don, 1949-. Odd boy out : young Albert Einstein.
Boston : Houghton Mifflin, 2004.
Presents a picture-book
biography of Albert Einstein, focusing on his oddness as a baby and child, and
his disinterest in school, and discussing the significance of his discoveries
in physics.
Interest level: K-3,
Reading level: 2.9
Buehner, Caralyn. Superdog : the heart of a hero. 1st ed.
[New York] : HarperCollins, c2004.
Tired of being overlooked
because he is so small, a big-hearted dog named Dexter transforms himself into
a superhero.
Interest level: K-3,
Reading level: 3.0
Carle, Eric. Mister Seahorse. New York : Philomel Books,
c2004.
After Mrs. Seahorse lays
her eggs on Mr. Seahorse's belly, he drifts through the water, greeting other
fish fathers who are taking care of their eggs.
Interest level: K-3,
Reading level: 3.0
Child, Lauren. I am too absolutely small for school. 1st
U.S. ed. Cambridge, MA : Candlewick Press, 2004, c2003.
When Lola is worried about
starting school, her older brother Charlie reassures her.
Interest level:
K-3 Reading level: 2.6
Chodos-Irvine, Margaret. Ella Sarah gets dressed. 1st ed.
San Diego : Harcourt, c2003.
Despite the advice of
others in her family, Ella Sarah persists in wearing the striking and unusual
outfit of her own choosing.
Interest level:
K-3 Reading level: 3.2
Cronin, Doreen. Diary of a worm. 1st ed. [New York] :
Joanna Cotler Books, c2003.
A young worm discovers, day
by day, that there are some very good and some not so good things about being a
worm in this great big world.
Interest level:
K-3 Reading level: 3.0
Cronin, Doreen. Duck for president. 1st ed. New York :
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, c2004.
When Duck gets tired of
working for Farmer Brown, his political ambition eventually leads to his being
elected President.
Interest level:
K-3 Reading level: 3.3
De Paola, Tomie. Strega Nona : an old tale. Englewood
Cliffs, N.J. : Prentice-Hall, [1975].
When Strega Nona leaves him
alone with her magic pasta pot, Big Anthony is determined to show the
townspeople how it works.
Interest level:
K-3 Reading level: 3.9
Emmett, Jonathan. Ruby in her own time. 1st American ed.
New York : Scholastic Press, 2004, c2003.
Ruby, the last of Mother
Duck's and Father Duck's eggs to hatch, is slower to develop than her four
siblings, until the day that she flies further and higher than any of them.
Interest level:
K-3 Reading
level: 2.1
Fleischman, Paul. Sidewalk circus. 1st ed. Cambridge, MA :
Candlewick Press, 2004.
A young girl watches as the activities across the street from her
bus stop become a circus.
Interest level: K-3
Fleming, Candace. Muncha! Muncha! Muncha! New York :
Atheneum Books for Young Readers, c2002.
After planting the garden
he has dreamed of for years, Mr. McGreely tries to find a way to keep some
persistent bunnies from eating all his vegetables.
Interest level:
K-3 Reading level: 2.7
Fox, Mem, 1946-. Where is the green sheep? 1st ed. Orlando
: Harcourt, c2004.
A story about many different sheep, and one that seems to be missing.
Interest level:
K-3 Reading level: 1.7
Frank, John. The toughest cowboy, or, How the Wild West was
tamed. 1st ed. New York : Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers,
c2004.
A group of grizzly cowboys are transformed when Foofy, a French
poodle, comes to live with them on the range.
Interest level:
K-4 Reading level: 3.8
Freeman, Don. Dandelion. New York : Puffin, 1981, c1964.
Dandelion overdresses for a come-as-you-are party and is turned
away because the hostess does not recognize him.
Interest level:
K-3
Reading level: 3.6
Funke, Cornelia Caroline. The princess knight. 1st American
ed. New York : Chicken House/Scholastic, 2004, c2001.
Princess Violetta, raised by her widowed father, the king, to ride
and joust just like her brothers, is horrified when he announces plans to hold
a tournament, the winner of which will win her hand in marriage.
Interest level:
K-4 Reading level: 4.4
Harris, Robie H. Don't forget to come back! 1st Candlewick
Press ed. Cambridge, MA. : Candlewick Press, 2004.
When her parents go out for the evening, a little girl threatens
to run off to Alaska but has a good time with the babysitter instead.
Interest level:
K-3 Reading level: 2.4
Henkes, Kevin. Chester's way. 1st ed. New York :
Greenwillow Books, c1988.
Chester and Wilson share
the same exact way of doing things, until Lilly moves into the neighborhood and
shows them that new ways can be just as good.
Interest level:
K-3 Reading
level: 3.1
Henkes, Kevin. Julius, the baby of the world. 1st ed. New
York : Greenwillow Books, c1990.
Lilly is convinced that the
arrival of her new baby brother is the worst thing that has happened in their
house, until Cousin Garland comes to visit.
Interest level:
K-3
Reading level: 3.0
Henkes, Kevin. Kitten's first full moon. 1st ed. [New York]
: Greenwillow Books, c2004.
When Kitten mistakes the full moon for a bowl of milk, she ends up
tired, wet, and hungry trying to reach it.
Interest level:
K-3
Reading level: 2.3
Henkes, Kevin. Owen. 1st ed. New York : Greenwillow Books,
c1993.
Owen's parents try to get
him to give up his favorite blanket before he starts school, but when their
efforts fail, they come up with a solution that makes everyone happy.
Interest level:
K-3 Reading level: 2.4
Henkes, Kevin. A weekend with Wendell. 1st ed. New York :
Greenwillow Books, c1986.
Sophie does not enjoy
energetic, assertive Wendell's weekend visit until the very end, when she
learns to assert herself and finds out Wendell can be fun to play with after
all.
Interest level:
K-3 Reading
level: 2.7
Hopkinson, Deborah. Apples to Oregon : being the (slightly)
true narrative of how a brave pioneer father brought apples, peaches, pears,
plums, grapes, and cherries (and children) across the plains. 1st ed. New
York : Atheneum Books for Young Readers, c2004.
A pioneer father transports his beloved fruit trees and his family
to Oregon in the mid-nineteenth century. Based loosely on the life of Henderson
Luelling.
Interest level:
K-4 Reading
level: 4.0
Jenkins, Steve, 1952-. Actual size. Boston : Houghton
Mifflin, 2004.
Discusses and gives examples of the size and weight of various
animals and parts of animals.
Interest level K-4 Reading level: 4.6
Ketteman, Helen. Armadilly chili. Morton Grove, Ill. :
Whitman, 2004.
In this Texas-style adaptation of a traditional folktale, a
tarantula, mockingbird, and horned toad refuse to help an armadillo prepare a
batch of chili but nevertheless expect to eat it when it's ready.
Interest level: K-3
Reading level: 2.9
Knutson, Barbara. Love and roast chicken : a trickster tale
from the Andes Mountains. Minneapolis : Carolrhoda Books, c2004.
In this folktale from the Andes, a clever guinea pig repeatedly
outsmarts the fox that wants to eat him for dinner.
Interest level:
K-3
Reading level: 2.9
Lester, Helen. Hooway for Wodney Wat. Boston [Mass.] :
Houghton Mifflin, c1999.
All his classmates make fun
of Rodney because he can't pronounce his name, but it is Rodney's speech
impediment that drives away the class bully.
Interest level:
K-3 Reading
level: 3.1
Lester, Helen. Me first. Boston : Houghton Mifflin, c1992.
Pinkerton the pig always
manages to be first until he rushes for a sandwich and it turns out to be not
the edible kind.
Interest level:
K-3 Reading
level: 3.0
Look, Lenore. Ruby Lu, brave and true. 1st ed. New York :
Atheneum Books for Young Readers, c2004.
"Almost-eight-year-old" Ruby Lu spends time with her
baby brother, goes to Chinese school, performs magic tricks and learns to
drive, and has adventures with both old and new friends.
Interest level:
K-4 Reading
level: 4.1
Marshall, James, 1942-. George and Martha. Boston :
Houghton Mifflin, 1972.
Relates several episodes in
the friendship of two hippopotamuses.
Interest level:
K-3 Reading
level: 2.8
McPhail, David M. The teddy bear. 1st ed. New York : H.
Holt, 2002.
A teddy bear, lost by the
little boy who loves him, still feels loved after being rescued by a homeless
man.
Interest level: K-3
Reading level: 3.4
Moss, Marissa. Mighty Jackie : the strike-out queen. 1st
ed. New York : Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, c2004.
In 1931, seventeen-year-old Jackie Mitchell pitches against Babe
Ruth and Lou Gehrig in an exhibition game, becoming the first professional
female pitcher in baseball history.
Interest level:
K-4 Reading
level: 4.0
Munsch, Robert N. The paper bag princess. Toronto, Ont. :
Annick Press, 1991.
When a dragon smashes her
castle, burns her clothes with his fiery breath, and prince-naps her fiance
Ronald, Princess Elizabeth dons a large paper bag and sets off to find the
dragon and her not-so-charming prince.
Series: Munsch for
Kids
Interest level:
K-3
Reading level: 3.8
Osborne, Mary Pope. Vacation under the volcano. New York :
Random House, 1998.
Their magic tree house takes Annie and Jack to Pompeii just as
Vesuvius is about to erupt, and they must find a Roman scroll before everything
is covered with burning ash.
Series: Magic Tree
House #13
Interest level:
2-4 Reading
level: 3.3
Palatini, Margie. Piggie pie! New York : Clarion Books,
c1995.
Gritch the witch flies to
Old MacDonald's farm for some pigs to make a piggie pie, but when she arrives
she can't find a single porker.
Interest level:
K-3 Reading
level: 2.5
Park, Barbara. Junie B. Jones and some sneaky peeky spying. New
York : Random House, c1994.
Six-year-old Junie B.'s penchant for spying on people and her
curiosity about the private life of her teacher get her in trouble at
kindergarten.
Series: Junie B.
Jones
Interest level:
K-3
Reading level: 2.2
Pattou, Edith. East. Orlando, Fla. : Harcourt, c2003.
A young woman journeys to a
distant castle on the back of a great white bear who is the victim of a cruel
enchantment.
Interest level:
Middle/High School
Polacco, Patricia. John Philip Duck. New York : Philomel
Books, c2004.
During the Depression, a young Memphis boy trains his pet duck to
do tricks in the fountain of a grand hotel and ends up becoming the Duck Master
of the Peabody Hotel.
Interest level:
K-4 Reading
level: 4.3
Polacco, Patricia. Pink and Say. New York : Philomel Books,
c1994.
Chronicles the frienship of Pink, a fifteen-year-old
African-American Union soldier, and Say, his poor white comrade, as one nurses
the other back to health from a battle wound and the two of them are imprisoned
at Andersonville. Based on a true story.
Interest level:
K-4
Reading level: 3.8
Pulver, Robin. Punctuation takes a vacation. New York :
Holiday House, c2003.
When all the punctuation marks in Mr. Wright's class decide to
take a vacation, the students discover just how difficult life can be without
them.
Interest level:
K-4
Reading level: 3.9
Reynolds, Peter, 1961-. The dot. 1st ed. Cambridge, MA :
Candlewick Press, 2003.
Vashti believes that she cannot draw, but her art teacher's
encouragement leads her to change her mind.
Interest level:
K-3
Reading level: 1.9
Rumford, James, 1948-. Sequoyah : the man who gave his people
writing. Boston : Houghton Mifflin Co., 2004.
While walking through a forest of sequoias, a father tells his
family the story of the tree's namesake. Sequoyah was a Cherokee man who
invented a system of writing for his people. His neighbors feared the symbols
he wrote and burned down his home. All of his work was lost, but, still
determined, he tried another approach. The Cherokee people finally accepted the
written language after Sequoyah taught his six-year-old daughter to read.
Interest level:
K-4 Reading
level; 3.7
Scieszka, Jon. The frog prince, continued. New York :
Viking, 1991.
After the frog turns into a prince, he and the Princess do not
live happily ever after and the Prince decides to look for a witch to help him
remedy the situation.
Interest level: K-3 Reading level: 3.2
Scieszka, Jon. The true story of the 3 little pigs. New
York : Viking, 1989.
The wolf gives his own
outlandish version of what really happened when he tangled with the three
little pigs.
Interest level:
K-3
Reading level: 3.0
Sendak, Maurice. Where the wild things are. [New York] :
Harper & Row, c1963.
A naughty little boy, sent to bed without his supper, sails to the
land of the wild things where he becomes their king.
Interest level:
K-4 Reading
level: 3.4
Shannon, David, 1959-. Alice the fairy. New York : Blue Sky
Press, c2004.
Alice, a very imaginative little girl, practices her trade as a
Temporary Fairy, but still has trouble learning the difficult tricks, such as
making her clothes put themselves away.
Interest level:
K-3 Reading
level: 2.4
Shannon, David, 1959-. Duck on a bike. New York : Blue Sky
Press, c2002.
A duck decides to ride a
bike and soon influences all the other animals on the farm to ride bikes too.
Interest level:
K-3
Reading level: 2.0
Sierra, Judy. Wild about books. 1st ed. New York : Knopf :,
c2004.
A librarian named Mavis McGrew introduces the animals in the zoo
to the joy of reading when she drives her bookmobile to the zoo by mistake.
Interest level:
K-4
Reading level: 4.1
Stevens, Janet. Tops & bottoms. San Diego : Harcourt
Brace, c1995.
Hare turns his bad luck around by striking a clever deal with the
rich and lazy bear down the road.
Interest level:
K-3
Reading level: 3.2
Teague, Mark. Detective LaRue : letters from the investigation.
1st ed. New York : Scholastic, 2004.
While on vacation, Mrs. LaRue receives letters from her dog Ike
who has been falsely accused of harming the neighbor's cats and is trying to
clear his name.
Interest level:
K-3
Reading level: 3.0
Willems, Mo. Don't let the pigeon drive the bus! 1st ed.
New York : Hyperion Books for Children, c2003.
A pigeon that longs to drive a bus sees a chance to make its dream
come true when the bus driver takes a short break.
Interest level:
K-3 Reading level: 1.0
Willems, Mo. Knuffle Bunny : a cautionary tale. 1st ed. New York :
Hyperion Books for Children, c2004.
Trixie becomes very unhappy when she accompanies her daddy to the
laundromat and realizes she has lost her stuffed bunny.
Interest level:
K-3
Reading level: 3.0
Williams, Linda (Linda D.). The little old lady who was not
afraid of anything. 1st ed. New York : Crowell, c1986.
A little old lady who is not afraid of anything must deal with a
pumpkin head, a tall black hat, and other spooky objects that follow her
through the dark woods trying to scare her.
Interest level:
K-3 Reading
level: 3.5
Wilson, Karma. Bear snores on. 1st ed. New York : Margaret
K. McElderry Books, c2002.
On a cold winter night many animals gather to party in the cave of
a sleeping bear, who then awakes and protests that he has missed the food and
the fun.
Interest level:
K-3 Reading
level: 2.2
Wood, Audrey. Heckedy Peg. San Diego : Harcourt Brace,
c1987.
A mother saves her seven children from Heckedy Peg, a witch who
has changed them into different kinds of food.
Interest level:
K-3
Reading level: 3.2
Wood, Audrey. Elbert's bad word. 1st ed. San Diego :
Harcourt Brace, c1988.
After shocking the elegant garden party by using a bad word, Elbert
learns some acceptable substitutes from a helpful wizard.
Interest level:
K-3 Reading level: 3.6
Woodson, Jacqueline. Coming on home soon. New York :
Putnam's, c2004.
After Mama takes a job in
Chicago during World War II, Ada Ruth stays with Grandma but misses her mother
who loves her more than rain and snow.
Interest level: K-3 Reading level: 2.9
Almond,
David, 1951-. The fire-eaters. New York : Delacorte Press, [2004],
c2003.
Despite
observing his father's illness and the suffering of the fire-eating Mr.
McNulty, as well as enduring abuse at school and the stress of the Cuban
Missile Crisis, Bobby Burns and his family and friends, living in England in
1962, still find reasons to rejoice in their lives and to have hope for the
future.
Interest
level: 5-8, Reading level: 6.0
Almond,
David, 1951-. Kit's wilderness. 1st American ed. New York : Delacorte
Press, 2000.
Thirteen-year-old
Kit goes to live with his grandfather in the decaying coal mining town of Stoneygate,
England, and finds both the old man and the town haunted by ghosts of the past.
Interest
level: 4-8
Reading level: 4.0
Almond,
David. Skellig. New York : Dell, [2000], c1998.
Unhappy
about his baby sister's illness and the chaos of moving into a dilapidated old
house, Michael retreats to the garage and finds a mysterious stranger who is
something like a bird and something like an angel.
Interest
level: 3-6
Reading level: 3.5
Avi,
1937-. The end of the beginning : being the adventures of a small snail (and
an even smaller ant). 1st ed. Orlando, Fla. : Harcourt, c2004.
Avon the
snail and Edward, a take-charge ant, set off together on a journey to an
undetermined destination in search of unspecified adventures.
Interest
level: 3-6, Reading level: 3.8
Balliett,
Blue, 1955-. Chasing Vermeer. 1st ed. New York : Scholastic Press, 2004.
When
seemingly unrelated and strange events start to happen and a precious Vermeer
painting disappears, eleven-year-olds Petra and Calder combine their talents to
solve an international art scandal.
Interest
level: 3-7. Reading level: 5.4
Bellairs,
John. The house with a clock in its walls. New York : Puffin Books,
1993, c1973.
A boy
goes to live with his magician uncle in a mansion that has a clock hidden in
the walls which is ticking off the minutes until doomsday.
Interest
level: 5-8
Reading level: 5.0
Blume,
Judy. Are you there God? It's me, Margaret. Yearling ed. New York :
Dell, 1986.
Faced
with the difficulties of growing up and choosing a religion, a twelve-year-old
girl talks over her problems with her own private God.
Interest
level; 3-6
Reading level: 3.6
Blume,
Judy. Double Fudge. 1st ed. New York : Dutton Children's Books, c2002.
His
younger brother's obsession with money and the discovery of long-lost cousins
Flora and Fauna provide many embarrassing moments for twelve-year-old Peter.
Interest
level: 3-6 Reading level: 4.0
Bredsdorff,
Bodil. The Crow-girl : the children of Crow Cove. 1st ed. New York :
Farrar Straus Giroux, 2004.
After
the death of her grandmother, a young orphaned girl leaves her house by the
cove and begins a journey which leads her to people and experiences that
exemplify the wisdom her grandmother had shared with her.
Interest
level: 3-6, Reading level: 5.2
Brink,
Carol Ryrie, 1895-. Caddie Woodlawn. 1st Aladdin Books ed. New York :
Aladdin Books, 1990, c1935.
The
adventures of an eleven-year-old tomboy growing up on the Wisconsin frontier in
the mid-nineteenth century.
Interest
level: 5-8 Reading level: 5.3
Byng,
Georgia. Molly Moon's incredible book of hypnotism. 1st American ed. New
York : HarperCollinsPublishers, [2003], c2002.
Unlucky
and unloved, Molly Moon, living in a dreary orphanage in a small English town,
discovers a hidden talent for hypnotism and hypnotizes her way to stardom in
New York City.
Interest
level: 5-8 Reading level:
5.5
Carman,
Patrick. The Dark Hills divide. 1st Scholastic ed. New York : Orchard,
2005.
Twelve-year-old
Alexa realizes her lifelong wish when she finds the key to a secret passageway
leading out of the walled city of Bridewell, and is free to explore the
mysterious forests and
mountains
that lie beyond its confines.
Series: The Land of Elyon #1
Interest
level: 3-6
Choldenko,
Gennifer, 1957-. Al Capone does my shirts. New York : Putnam's, c2004.
A
twelve-year-old boy named Moose moves to Alcatraz Island in 1935 when guards'
families were housed there, and has to contend with his extraordinary new
environment in addition to life with his autistic sister.
Interest
level: 5-8 Reading
level: 3.5
Christopher,
Matt. Penalty shot. 1st ed. Boston : Little, Brown, c1997.
Jeff,
already worried about losing his place on the hockey team because of low
grades, suddenly finds himself the victim of sabotage in the form of forged
papers.
Interest
level: 3-6 Reading level: 5.0
Codell,
Esme Raji, 1968-. Sahara special. 1st ed. New York : Hyperion Books for
Children, c2003.
Struggling
with school and her feelings since her father left, Sahara gets a fresh start
with a new and unique teacher who supports her writing talents and the
individuality of each of her classmates.
Interest
level: 3-6 Reading
level: 4.2
Colfer,
Eoin. Artemis Fowl. 1st American ed. New York : Hyperion Books For Children,
c2001.
When a
twelve-year-old evil genius tries to restore his family fortune by capturing a
fairy and demanding a ransom in gold, the fairies fight back with magic,
technology, and a particularly nasty troll.
Interest
level: 5-8 Reading
level: 6.0
Colfer,
Eoin. Artemis Fowl : the Arctic incident. 1st American ed. New York : Scholastic Inc., c2002.
Thirteen-year-old
criminal mastermind Artemis Fowl must join forces with his nemesis, Captain
Holly Short of the LEPrecon fairy police, in order to save his father--one of
the few people in the world Artemis loves--who has been kidnapped by the
Russian Mafiya.
Interest
level: 5-8
Reading level: 6.0
Colfer,
Eoin. Artemis Fowl : the eternity code. 1st American ed. New York :
Hyperion Books For Children, c2003.
Artemis
Fowl creates an extraordinarily powerful computer with stolen fairy technology,
but his business deal hopes go sour when a Chicago businessman steals his
invention and mortally wounds Artemis's loyal bodyguard.
Interest
level: 5-8
Reading level: 6.0
Collins,
Suzanne. Gregor and the Prophecy of Bane. 1st ed. New York : Scholastic,
2004.
In
his second adventure, eleven-year-old Gregor returns to the world beneath New
York City to rescue his kidnapped sister, Boots, and fulfill a prophecy that
will restore peace to the people, bats, rats, cockroaches, and spiders who
populate the underworld.
Creech,
Sharon. Granny Torrelli makes soup. 1st ed. New York : Joanna Cotler
Books, c2003.
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.
Interest
level: 3-8 Reading level: 4.2
Creech,
Sharon. Walk two moons. New York : HarperCollins, c1994.
After
her mother leaves home suddenly, thirteen-year-old Sal and her grandparents
take a car trip retracing her mother's route. Along the way, Sal recounts the
story of her friend Phoebe, whose mother also left.
Interest
level: 5-8 Reading level: 5.0
Creech,
Sharon. Ruby Holler. 1st ed. New York : Joanna Cotler Books, c2002.
Thirteen-year-old
fraternal twins Dallas and Florida have grown up in a terrible orphanage but
their lives change forever when an eccentric but sweet older couple invites
them each on an adventure, beginning in an almost magical place called Ruby
Holler.
Interest
level: 5-8 Reading
level: 4.5
Dale,
Anna. Whispering to witches. 1st U.S. ed. New York : Bloomsbury
Children's Books, 2004.
On
his way to spend Christmas at his mother's house in Canterbury, England, Joe
meets a young witch named Twiggy and becomes part of a mystery involving a
missing page from an ancient book of magic.
Interest
level: 3-6 Reading
level: 5.3
DiCamillo,
Kate. The tale of Despereaux : being the story of a mouse, a princess, some
soup, and a spool of thread. 1st ed. Cambridge, MA : Candlewick Press,
2003.
The
adventures of Despereaux Tilling, a small mouse of unusual talents, the
princess that he loves, the servant girl who longs to be a princess, and a
devious rat determined to bring them all to ruin.
Interest
level: 3-6 Reading level: 4.7
DiCamillo,
Kate. Because of Winn-Dixie. 1st ed. Cambridge, Mass. : Candlewick
Press, 2001, c2000.
Ten-year-old
India Opal Buloni describes her first summer in the town of Naomi, Florida, and
all the good things that happen to her because of her big ugly dog Winn-Dixie.
Interest
level: 5-8 Reading level: 4.0
DiTerlizzi,
Tony. The field guide. 1st ed. New York : Simon & Schuster Books for
Young Readers, c2003.
When the
Grace children go to stay at their Great Aunt Lucinda's worn Victorian house,
they discover a field guide to fairies and other creatures and begin to have
some unusual experiences.
Series: Spiderwick Chronicles #1
Interest
level: 3-6 Reading level: 4.3
DiTerlizzi,
Tony. The Ironwood tree. 1st ed. New York : Simon and Schuster Books for
Young Readers, c2004.
After
Mallory is kidnapped at her fencing meet, Jared and Simon search for her near
an old quarry and find themselves amidst dwarves and goblins.
Series; Spiderwick Chronicles #4
Interest
level: 3-6 Reading level: 4.3
DiTerlizzi,
Tony. Lucinda's secret. New York : Simon & Schuster Books for Young
Readers, c2003.
With
goblins, trolls, and the house boggart all trying to get them, the Grace
children turn to Great Aunt Lucinda for help.
SeriesL Spiderwick Chronicles #3
Interest
level: 3-6 Reading
level: 3.9
DiTerlizzi,
Tony. The seeing stone. 1st ed. New York : Simon & Schuster Books
for Young Readers, c2003.
When
Mallory and Jared attempt to rescue Simon from goblins, they use a magical
stone which enables them to see things that are normally invisible.
Series: Spiderwick Chronicles #2
Interest
level: 3-6 Reading level: 4.1
DiTerlizzi,
Tony. The wrath of Mulgarath. 1st ed. New York : Simon & Schuster
Books for Young Readers, c2004.
The
Grace children, Jared, Simon, and Mallory square off against an evil ogre who
has kidnapped their mother. They enlist help of a brownie, hobgoblin and more
in their quest to reunite their family.
Series: Spiderwick Chronicles #5
Interest
level: 3-6 Reading level: 4.4
DuPrau,
Jeanne. The city of Ember. 1st ed. New York : Random House, c2003.
In the
city of Ember, twelve-year-old Lina trades jobs on Assignment Day to be a
Messenger to run to new places in her decaying but beloved city, perhaps even
to glimpse Unknown Regions.
Interest
level: 5-8 Reading level: 5.0
DuPrau,
Jeanne. The people of Sparks. 1st ed. New York : Random House, c2004.
Lina and
Doon are thrilled to see their people join them above ground in the vibrant
village of Sparks, but suspicion and prejudice soon turn the villagers and
newcomers against each other.
Interest
level: 5-8 Reading level: 4.9
Farmer,
Nancy. The house of the scorpion. 1st ed. New York : Atheneum Books for
Young Readers, c2002.
In
a future where humans despise clones, Matt enjoys special status as the young
clone of El Patrón, the 142-year-old leader of a corrupt drug empire nestled
between Mexico and the United States.
Interest
level: 5-8 Reading level: 6.3
Funke,
Cornelia Caroline. Dragon rider. 1st American ed. New York : Scholastic,
2004.
After
learning that humans are headed toward his hidden home, Firedrake, a silver
dragon, is joined by a brownie and an orphan boy in a quest to find the
legendary valley known as the Rim of Heaven, encountering friendly and
unfriendly creatures along the way, and struggling to evade the relentless
pursuit of an old enemy.
Interest
level: 3-6 Reading
level: 5.0
Funke,
Cornelia Caroline. Inkheart. 1st American ed. New York : Scholastic,
2003.
Twelve-year-old
Meggie learns that her father Mo, a bookbinder, can "read" fictional
characters to life when an evil ruler named Capricorn, freed from the novel
"Inkheart" years earlier, tries to force Mo to release an immortal
monster from the story.
Interest
level: 4-7 Reading level: 5.4
Funke,
Cornelia Caroline. The Thief Lord. New York : Scholastic, [2003].
Orphaned
brothers Prosper and Bo, having run away from their cruel aunt and uncle,
decide to hide out in Venice where they fall in with the Thief Lord, a
thirteen-year-old boy who leads a crime ring of street children.
Interest
level: 3-6 Reading level: 4.6
Giff,
Patricia Reilly. Lily's crossing. New York : Bantam Doubleday Dell Books
for Young Readers, [1999], c1997.
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.
Interest
level: 3-6 Reading level: 5.2
Gilson,
Jamie. Thirteen ways to sink a sub. 1st ed. New York : Lothrop, Lee
& Shepard, c1982.
The boys
and girls in the fourth grade devise a contest to "sink" their
substitute teacher by making her cry.
Interest
level: 3-6 Reading
level: 5.2
Hale,
Bruce. The chameleon wore chartreuse : from the tattered casebook of Chet
Gecko, private eye. 1st Harcourt pbk. ed. San Diego : Harcourt, 2001,
c2000.
When
hired by a fellow fourth-grader to find her missing brother, Chet Gecko
uncovers a plot involving a Gila monster's revenge upon the school football
team.
Series: Chet Gecko mystery #1
Interest
level: 3-6 Reading
level: 3.5
Hale,
Bruce. Give my regrets to Broadway : from the tattered casebook of Chet
Gecko, private eye. 1st ed. Orlando, Fla. : Harcourt, c2004.
Chet and
his partner, Natalie Attired, take on a case involving an actor gone missing
from the school musical.
Series: Chet Gecko mystery
Interest
level: 3-6 Reading level: 3.7
Hale,
Bruce. Farewell, my lunchbag : from the tattered casebook of Chet Gecko,
private eye. 1st Harcourt paperbacks ed. San Diego [Calif.] : Harcourt,
2002, c2001.
When
fourth-grade private eye Chet Gecko is called to catch someone who is stealing
food from the school cafeteria, he finds himself framed for the crime.
Series: Chet Gecko mystery #3
Interest
level: 3-6
Reading level: 3.9
Hale,
Bruce. The mystery of Mr. Nice : from the tattered casebook of Chet Gecko,
private eye. 1st Harcourt pbk. ed. San Diego : Harcourt, 2001, c2000.
When the
principal of his school begins acting nice to him, Chet Gecko realizes that he
is an imposter and so sets out to find the real one.
Series: Chet Gecko mystery
Interest
level: 3-6 Reading
level: 3.7
Hale,
Bruce. Trouble is my beeswax : from the tattered casebook of Chet Gecko,
private eye. 1st ed. Orlando, Fla. : Harcourt, c2003.
Chet and
his partner, Natalie Attired, investigate a cheating ring at Emerson Hicky
Elementary school.
Series: Chet Gecko mystery
Interest
level: 3-6
Reading level: 3.9
Hannigan,
Katherine. Ida B-- : and her plans to maximize fun, avoid disaster, and
(possibly) save the world. 1st ed. New York : Greenwillow Books, c2004.
In
Wisconsin, fourth-grader Ida B spends happy hours being home-schooled and
playing in her family's apple orchard, until her mother begins treatment for
breast cancer and her parents must sell part of the orchard and send her to
public school.
Interest
level: 3-6 Reading level: 5.3
Henkes,
Kevin. Olive's ocean. 1st ed. New York : Greenwillow Books, c2003.
On
a summer visit to her grandmother's cottage by the ocean, twelve-year-old
Martha gains perspective on the death of a classmate, on her relationship with
her grandmother, on her feelings for an older boy, and on her plans to be a
writer.
Interest
level: 5-8 Reading level: 5.0
Hill,
Kirkpatrick. The year of Miss Agnes. 1st Aladdin Paperbacks ed. New York
: Aladdin Paperbacks, 2002, c2000.
Ten-year-old
Fred (short for Frederika) narrates the story of school and village life among
the Athapascans in Alaska during 1948 when Miss Agnes arrived as the new
teacher.
Interest
level: 3-6 Reading level: 4.5
Hodges,
Margaret, 1911-. Merlin and the making of the king. 1st ed. New York :
Holiday House, c2004.
A
retelling of four Arthurian legends, "The Sword in the Stone,"
"Excalibur," "The Lady of the Lake," and "The Last
Great Battle," which feature Merlin, King Arthur, and other familiar
figures.
Interest
level: 3-6 Reading level: 6.0
Holm,
Jennifer L. Boston Jane : an adventure. 1st ed. New York :
HarperCollins, c2001.
Schooled
in the lessons of etiquette for young ladies of 1854, Miss Jane Peck of
Philadelphia finds little use for manners during her long sea voyage to the
Pacific Northwest and while living among the American traders and Chinook
Indians of Washington Territory.
Interest
level: 5-8
Reading level: 4.9
Ibbotson,
Eva. The Star of Kazan. 1st American ed. New York : Dutton Children's
Books, 2004.
Annika,
a twelve-year-old foundling in late nineteenth-century Vienna, inherits a trunk
of costume jewelry, and soon afterwards a woman claiming to be her aristocratic
mother arrives and takes her to live in a strangely decrepit mansion in
Germany.
Interest
level 5-8 Reading
level: 6.1
Jocelyn,
Marthe. Mable Riley : a reliable record of humdrum, peril, and romance.
1st ed. Cambridge, MA : Candlewick Press, 2004.
In
1901, fourteen-year-old Mable Riley dreams of being a writer and having
adventures while stuck in Perth County, Ontario, assisting her sister in
teaching school and secretly becoming friends with a neighbor who holds
scandalous opinions on women's rights.
Interest
level: 5-8 Reading level: 6.1
Kadohata,
Cynthia. Kira-kira. 1st ed. New York : Atheneum Books for Young Readers,
c2004.
Chronicles
the close friendship between two Japanese-American sisters growing up in rural
Georgia during the late 1950s and early 1960s, and the despair when one sister
becomes terminally ill.
Interest
level: 5-8 Reading level: 4.7
Kay,
Elizabeth. The Divide. 1st American ed. New York : Scholastic, 2003.
While hiking
on the Continental Divide of Costa Rica, a young boy with a heart condition
falls into a magical otherworld full of fantastical creatures.
Interest
level: 5-8 Reading
5.3
Kerr,
Judith. When Hitler stole pink rabbit. New York, NY : Putnam & Grosset,
1997, c1971.
Recounts
the adventures of a nine-year-old Jewish girl and her family in the early 1930s
as they travel from Germany to England.
Interest
level: 5-8 Reading
level: 5.1
Krull,
Kathleen. The boy on Fairfield Street : how Ted Geisel grew up to become Dr.
Seuss. 1st ed. New York : Random House, c2004.
Introduces
the life of renowned children's author and illustrator Ted Geisel, popularly
known as Dr. Seuss, focusing on his childhood and youth in Springfield,
Massachusetts.
Interest
level: 3-6 Reading level; 5.7
Leedy,
Loreen. There's a frog in my throat! : 440 animal sayings a little bird told
me. 1st ed. New York : Holiday House, c2003.
Presents
the meanings of over four hundred common phrases with references to animals,
along with vivid illustrations.
Interest
level: 3-6 Reading level: 5.2
Levine,
Gail Carson. Cinderellis and the glass hill. New York : HarperCollins,
2000.
In
this humorous retelling of a Perrault tale, a lonely, young farm lad uses his
unusual inventive ability to pass a nearly impossible test and win the hand of
the neighboring princess.
Series: Princess tales
Interest
level: 3-6 Reading
level: 3.9
Levine,
Gail Carson. Ella enchanted. New York : HarperCollins, c1997.
In this
novel based on the story of Cinderella, Ella struggles against the childhood
curse that forces her to obey any order given to her.
Interest
level: 3-6 Reading
level: 5.0
Levine,
Gail Carson. The fairy's mistake. 1st ed. New York : HarperCollins,
c1999.
In this
humorous retelling of a Perrault tale, the fairy Ethelinda rewards one twin
sister for good behavior and punishes the other for bad, only to discover that
her punishment is more pleasing than her reward.
Series: Princess tales
Interest
level: 3-6 Reading
level: 4.0
Levine,
Gail Carson. The fairy's return. 1st ed. [New York] : HarperCollins,
c2002.
The
good-natured son of a baker wins the heart of a princess, with the help of a
fairy and a magic goose.
Series: Princess tales
Interest
level: 3-6 Reading level: 3.8
Levine,
Gail Carson. For Biddle's sake. 1st ed. New York : HarperCollins, c2002.
In
this humorous retelling of Andrew Lang's "Puddocky," a young maiden
who has been transformed into a toad by a jealous fairy relies on her newly
honed magical abilities to charm a prince into marriage.
Series: Princess tales
Interest
level: 3-6 Reading
level: 4.4
Levine,
Gail Carson. Princess Sonora and the long sleep. 1st ed. New York :
HarperCollins, c1999.
In this
retelling of the fairy tale Sleeping Beauty, Princess Sonora, who is ten times
smarter than anyone else, vows to choose for herself the best time to be
pricked by the spindle.
Series: Princess tales
Interest
level: 3-6
Reading level: 4.1
Levine,
Gail Carson. The two princesses of Bamarre. 1st Harper Trophy ed. New
York : HarperTrophy, 2003, c2001.
With her
adventurous sister, Meryl, suffering from the same illness that claimed their
mother's life, meek and timid Princess Addie sets out, armed with magical gifts
from a sorcerer, to find a cure.
Interest
level: 3-6
Reading level: 4.5
Levine,
Gail Carson. The wish. 1st ed. New York : HarperCollinsPublishers, 1999.
When
granted her wish to be the most popular girl in school, Wilma, an eighth
grader, forgets that she will graduate in three weeks and her popularity will
vanish.
Interest
level: 4-8 Reading
level: 4.0
Lewis,
C. S. The lion, the witch, and the wardrobe. New York : HarperTrophy,
1994, c1950.
Four
English schoolchildren find their way through the back of a wardrobe into the
magic land of Narnia and assist Aslan, the golden lion, to triumph over the
White Witch, who has cursed the land with eternal winter.
Interest
level: 4-9 Reading level: 6.1
Littman,
Sarah. Confessions of a closet Catholic. 1st ed. New York : Dutton
Children's Books, c2005.
Justine
Silver, a teenaged middle child, questions her faith when her best friend, Mary
Catherine McAllister gives up chocolate for Lent, but when her grandmother
suffers a stroke, Jussy has to face her relationship with religion.
Interest
level: 5-8 Reading
level: 4.2
Martin,
Ann M., 1955-. A corner of the universe. 1st ed. New York : Scholastic
Press, 2002.
The
summer that Hattie turns twelve, she meets the childlike uncle she never knew
and becomes friends with a girl who works at the carnival that comes to
Hattie's small town.
Interest
level: 5-8 Reading level: 4.5
Martin,
Ann M., 1955-. The doll people. 1st ed. New York : Hyperion Books for
Children, c2000.
A
family of porcelain dolls that has lived in the same house for one hundred
years is taken aback when a new family of plastic dolls arrives and doesn't
follow The Doll Code of Honor.
Interest
level: 3-6
Reading level: 4.0
Martin,
Ann M., 1955-. The meanest doll in the world. 1st ed. New York :
Hyperion Books for Children, c2003.
Annabelle
and Tiffany, dolls who are best friends living in the Palmer house, have an
adventure when they hide in Kate Palmer's backpack, are carried to school,
mistakenly go to another house, and try to stop Princess Mimi, a doll who
threatens all dollkind.
Interest
level: 3-6
Reading level: 4.6
Matthews,
L. S. (Laura S.). Fish. New York : Delacorte Press, c2004.
As
fighting closes in on the village where Tiger's parents have been working, the
three of them and a mysterious guide set out on a difficult journey to safety.
Interest
level: 5-8
McKay,
Hilary. Saffy's angel. 1st U.S. ed. New York : Margaret K. McElderry
Books, 2002.
After
learning that she was adopted, thirteen-year-old Saffron's relationship with
her eccentric, artistic family changes, until they help her go back to Italy
where she was born to find a special momento of her past.
Interest
level: 3-6
Reading level: 4.5
Montgomery,
Sy. The tarantula scientist. Boston : Houghton Mifflin, 2004.
Describes
the research that Samuel Marshall and his students are doing on tarantulas,
including the largest spider on earth, the Goliath birdeating tarantula.
Interest
level: 3-6 Reading level: 5.8
Murphy,
Jim, 1947-. Inside the Alamo. New York : Delacorte Press, c2003.
An
overview of the struggle between the Texan settlers and Mexico's General Santa
Anna for control of Texas, with a detailed description of the 1836 siege of the
Alamo. Includes biographical sketches and quotations of some of those involved.
Interest
level: 5-8 Reading level: 7.1
Nimmo,
Jenny. Charlie Bone and the invisible boy. 1st Scholastic ed. New York :
Orchard, 2004.
Charlie
Bone and his friends find Ollie Sparks, an invisible boy living in the academy's
attic, and promise to make him visible again with the help of his older
brother, Mr. Boldova.
Interest
level: 3-6 Reading
level: 4.9
Nimmo,
Jenny. Charlie Bone and the time twister. 1st Scholastic ed. New York :
Orchard Books, 2003.
While
at Bloor's Academy, Charlie Bone gets a surprise when Henry Yewbeam arrives
from the year 1916 and needs Charlie's help to stay alive.
Interest
level: 3-6
Reading level: 4.7
Nimmo,
Jenny. Midnight for Charlie Bone. 1st Scholastic ed. New York : Orchard
Books, 2003, c2002.
Charlie
Bone's life with his widowed mother and two grandmothers undergoes a dramatic
change when he discovers that he can hear people in photographs talking.
Interest
level: 3-6
Reading level: 4.8
Oppel,
Kenneth. Airborn. 1st ed. New York : Eos, c2004.
Matt,
a young cabin boy aboard an airship, and Kate, a wealthy young girl traveling
with her chaperone, team up to search for the existence of mysterious winged
creatures reportedly living hundreds of feet above the Earth's surface.
Interest
level: 5-8 Reading level: 5.1
Peck,
Richard, 1934-. A long way from Chicago : a novel in stories. 1st ed.
New York : Dial Books for Young Readers, c1998.
A boy
recounts his annual summer trips to rural Illinois with his sister during the
Great Depression to visit their larger-than-life grandmother.
Interest
level: 5-8
Reading level: 5.0
Peck,
Richard, 1934-. The teacher's funeral : a comedy in three parts. New
York : Dial Books, c2004.
In
rural Indiana in 1904, fifteen-year-old Russell's dreams of quitting school and
joining a wheat threshing crew are disrupted when his older sister takes over
the teaching at his one-room schoolhouse after mean old Myrt Arbuckle
"hauls off and dies.".
Interest
level: 5-8 Reading level: 5.5
Ryan,
Pam Munoz. Becoming Naomi Leon. 1st ed. New York : Scholastic Press,
c2004.
When
Naomi's absent mother resurfaces to claim her, Naomi runs away to Mexico with
her great-grandmother and younger brother in search of her father.
Interest
level: 5-8
Ryan,
Pam Munoz. Esperanza rising. New York : Scholastic Press, c2000.
Esperanza
and her mother are forced to leave their life of wealth and privilege in Mexico
to go work in the labor camps of Southern California, where they must adapt to
the harsh circumstances facing Mexican farm workers on the eve of the Great
Depression.
Interest
level: 5-8
Reading level: 5.3
Rylant,
Cynthia. The islander : a novel. New York : Bantam Doubleday Dell Books
for Young Readers, c1998.
Living
with his grandfather on an island off British Columbia, ten-year-old Daniel
feels deep loneliness until the night he meets a mermaid whose identity he
tries to learn.
Interest
level: 5-8 Reading
level: 5.3
Rylant,
Cynthia. Missing May. New York : Orchard Books, c1992.
After
the death of the beloved aunt who has raised her, twelve-year-old Summer and
her uncle Ob leave their West Virginia trailer in search of the strength to go
on living.
Interest
level: 5-8 Reading level: 6.7
Schmidt,
Gary D. Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster boy. New York : Clarion Books,
c2004.
In 1911,
Turner Buckminster hates his new home of Phippsburg, Maine, but things improve
when he meets Lizzie Bright Griffin, a girl from a poor, nearby island
community founded by former slaves that the town fathers--and Turner's--want to
change into a tourist spot.
Interest
level: 5-8 Reading
level: 6.4
Shange,
Ntozake. Ellington was not a street. 1st ed. New York : Simon &
Schuster Books for Young Readers, [2004], c1983.
Presents
an illustrated poem in which Ntozake Shange recalls her childhood growing up in
the company W.E.B. Du Bois, Dizzy Gillespie, Paul Robeson, and other great
African-American men who were instrumental in changing American culture and
society.
Interest
level: 3-6 Reading level: 5.0
Snicket,
Lemony. The grim grotto. 1st ed. New York : HarperCollins, c2004.
The
Baudelaire orphans attempt to reach an important VFD meeting, but first they
must travel in an old submarine to the Gorgonian Grotto, a dangerous underwater
cave, in search of a sugar bowl.
Series: Series of Unfortunate Events #11
Interest
level: 5-8
Reading level: 6.5
Snicket,
Lemony. The slippery slope. 1st ed. New York : HarperCollins, 2003.
In
the perilous Mortmain Mountains, Klaus and Violet Baudelaire meet another
well-read person, who helps them try to rescue Sunny from the villainous Count
Olaf and his henchmen as they all near "the last safe place.".
Series: Series of Unfortunate Events #10
Interest
level: 5-8
Reading level: 7.0
Speare,
Elizabeth George. The bronze bow. Sandpiper ed. Boston : Houghton
Mifflin, c1989.
A
young boy seeks revenge against the Romans for killing his parents, but is
turned away from vengeance by Jesus.
Interest
level: 5-8 Reading
level: 5.0
Spinelli,
Jerry. Stargirl. 1st Knopf trade pbk. ed. New York : Alfred A. Knopf,
2002, c2000.
In this
story about the perils of popularity, the courage of nonconformity, and the
thrill of first love, an eccentric student named Stargirl changes Mica High
School forever.
Interest
level: 5-8 Reading level: 4.1
Spinelli,
Jerry. Wringer. 1st ed. New York : HarperCollins, c1997.
As
Palmer comes of age, he must either accept the violence of being a wringer at
his town's annual Pigeon Day or find the courage to oppose it.
Interest
level: 5-8 Reading level: 4.5
Staples,
Suzanne Fisher. The green dog : a mostly true story. 1st ed. New York :
Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2003.
During
the summer before fifth grade, Suzanne, a daydreaming loner who likes to fish
and walk through the woods, acquires a canine companion. Based on the author's
childhood in northeastern Pennsylvania.
Interest
level: 3-6 Reading level: 5.3
Stewart,
Paul, 1955-. Beyond the Deepwoods. 1st American ed. Oxford [U.K.] ; :
David Fickling Books, [2004], c1998.
Thirteen-year-old
Twig, having always looked and felt different from his woodtroll family, learns
that he is adopted and travels out of his Deepwoods home to find the place
where he belongs.
Series: Edge Chronicles #3
Interest
level: 5-8
Reading level: 5.0
Stewart,
Paul, 1955-. The curse of the Gloamglozer. 1st American ed. Oxford
[U.K.] ; : D. Fickling, [2005], c2001.
Apprenticed
to the Most High Academe of Sanctaphrax, a floating city of scholars, gossip,
and treachery, fourteen-year-old Quint runs increasingly dangerous errands,
which eventually bring him to a place of gruesome monsters that threaten his
life and those of his friends.
Series: Edge Chronicles #4
Interest
level: 5-8 Reading level: 5.0
Stewart,
Paul, 1955-. Midnight over Sanctaphrax. 1st American ed. Oxford [U.K.] ;
: David Fickling Books, [2004], c2000.
Twig,
a young sky pirate captain, is the only one who can save the floating city of
Sanctaphrax from the Mother Storm.
Series: Edge Chronicles #1
Interest
level: 5-8 Reading level: 5.0
Stewart,
Paul, 1955-. Stormchaser. 1st American ed. Oxford ; : David Fickling,
[2004], c1999.
In
his continuing adventures, Twig, now sixteen years old, joins the crew of his
father's sky pirate ship and embarks on a dangerous mission to collect the
powerful stromphrax, a substance that purifies water and also prevents the city
of Sanctaphrax from floating away.
Series: Edge Chronicles #2
Interest
level: 5-8 Reading level: 5.4
Stroud,
Jonathan. The Amulet of Samarkand. 1st ed. New York : Miramax
Books/Hyperion Books For Children, c2003.
Nathaniel,
a young magician's apprentice, becomes caught in a web of magical espionage,
murder, and rebellion, after he summons the djinni Bartimaeus and instructs him
to steal the Amulet of Samarkand from the powerful magician Simon Loveland.
Series: Bartimaeus trilogy #1
Interest
level: 5-8
Reading level: 5.9
Stroud,
Jonathan. The golem's eye. 1st U.S. ed. New York : Hyperion Books for
Children, c2004.
In their
continuing adventures, magician's apprentice Nathaniel, now fourteen years old,
and the djinni Bartimaeus travel to Prague to locate the source of a golem's
power before it destroys London.
Series: Bartimaeus trilogy #2
Interest
level: 5-8
Reading level: 5.9
Tolkien,
J. R. R. The hobbit, or, There and back again. Boston : Houghton
Mifflin, 1986.
Bilbo
Baggins, a respectable, well-to-do hobbit, lives comfortably in his hobbit-hole
until the day the wandering wizard Gandalf chooses him to share in an adventure
from which he may never return.
Interest
level 5-12 Reading
level: 6.6
Wittlinger,
Ellen. Hard love. 1st Aladdin Paperbacks ed. New York : Aladdin
Paperbacks, 2001, c1999.
After
starting to publish a magazine in which he writes his secret feelings about his
lonely life and his parents' divorce, sixteen-year-old John meets an unusual
girl and begins to develop a healthier personality.
Interest
level: Middle/High School
Wolff,
Virginia Euwer. True believer. 1st ed. New York : Atheneum Books for
Young Readers, c2001.
Living
in the inner city amidst guns and poverty, fifteen-year-old LaVaughn learns
from old and new friends, and inspiring mentors, that life is what you make
it--an occasion to rise to.
Interest
level: Middle/High School
Yep,
Laurence. When the circus came to town. 1st ed. New York :
HarperCollins, c2002.
An Asian
cook and a Chinese New Year celebration help a ten-year-old girl at a Montana
stage coach station to regain her confidence after smallpox scars her face.
Interest
level: 3-6 Reading level: 4.5
Adams, Douglas, 1952-. The hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy.
1st Ballantine Books ed. New York : Ballantine Books, 1995, c1980.
Seconds before Earth is
demolished to make room for a galactic freeway, an earthman is saved by his
friend. Together they journey through the galaxy.
Interest level:
Middle/High School
Alcott, Louisa May, 1832-1888. Little women. 1st Tor ed.
New York : Tor, 1994.
Chronicles the joys and troubles of the four March sisters--Meg,
Jo, Amy, and Beth--as they grow into young ladies and marry in
nineteenth-century New England.
Interest level:
Middle/High School
Anderson, Laurie Halse. Speak. New York : Puffin, 2001,
c1999.
A traumatic event near the
end of the summer has a devastating effect on Melinda's freshman year in high
school.
Interest level:
Middle/High School
Brashares, Ann. The sisterhood of the traveling pants. New
York : Delacorte, [2003], c2001.
Carmen decides to discard
an old pair of jeans, but Tibby, Lena, and Bridget think they are great and
decide that whoever the pants fit best will get them. When the jeans fit
everyone perfectly, a sisterhood and a memorable summer begin.
Interest level:
Middle/High School
Brashares, Ann. The second summer of the sisterhood. New
York : Delacorte Press, [2004], c2003.
A sequel to "The
Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" in which the four girls, now sixteen,
embark on another summer of travels and life lessons charmed by a shared pair
of seemingly magical thrift-store jeans.
Interest level:
Middle/High School
Brashares, Ann. Girls in pants : the third summer of the
sisterhood. New York : Delacorte Press, c2005.
The Sisterhood of the
Traveling Pants graduates from high school and spends their last summer before
college learning about life and themselves.
Interest level:
Middle/High School
Bronte, Emily, 1818-1848. Wuthering Heights. London ; :
Penguin Books, 2003.
Forced by a storm to spend
the night at the home of Heathcliff, Mr. Lockwood uncovers a tale of terror and
hatred on the Yorkshire moors.
Interest level:
Middle/High School
Cabot, Meg. The princess diaries. 1st Harper Trophy ed. New
York : HarperTrophy, 2001, c2000.
Fourteen-year-old Mia, who
is trying to lead a normal life as a teenage girl in New York City, is shocked
to learn that her father is the Prince of Genovia, a small European
principality, and that she is a princess and the heir to the throne.
Series: Princess Diaries #1
Interest level:
Middle/High School
Cabot, Meg. Princess in the spotlight. 1st Harper Trophy
ed. New York : HarperTrophy, 2002, c2001.
Having recently discovered
she is the sole heir to the throne of a tiny European principality,
fourteen-year-old Manhattan resident Mia writes in her journal about her
attempts to cope with this news, as well as with more typical teenage concerns.
Series: Princess Diaries # 2
Interest level:
Middle/High School
Cabot, Meg. Princess in love. 1st ed. New York :
HarperCollins, c2002.
In a series of humorous
diary entries, a New York City ninth grader agonizes over her love life, final
exams, and future role as the princess of Genovia.
Series: Princess
Diaries #3
Interest level:
Middle/High School
Cabot, Meg. Princess in waiting. 1st ed. New York :
HarperCollins, c2003.
Princess Mia is introduced
to her Genovian subjects, and more importantly, she goes out on a date.
Series: Princess Diaries #4
Interest level:
Middle/High School
Cabot, Meg. Princess in pink. 1st ed. New York :
HarperCollins, c2004.
In a series of humorous
diary entries, high school freshman (and Genovian Princess) Mia tries to get
her reluctant boyfriend to take her to the prom.
Series: Princess Diaries # 5
Interest level:
Middle/High School
Cabot, Meg. The Princess Present : A Princess Diaries Book.
New York, N.Y. 10019 : Harper Collins, 2004.
Every year, Princess Mia spends the holidays in Genovia with
Grandmere. This year her boyfriend, Michael and her best friend Lily are coming
to Genovia. Lilly must learn about
palace protocol. Mia hasn't been able to find the perfect gift for Michael.
Series: Princess
Diaries
Interest level:
Middle/High School
Cabot, Meg. Project princess. 1st Harper Trophy ed. New
York : HarperTrophy, 2003.
Princess Mia and her
friends volunteer to build a house for the less fortunate during their spring
break.
Series: Princess
Diaries #4
Interest level:
Middle/High School
Chambers, Aidan. Postcards from no man's land. 1st American
ed. New York : Dutton Books, 2002.
Alternates between two
stories--comtemporarily, seventeen-year-old Jacob visits a daunting Amsterdam
at the request of his English grandmother--and historically, nineteen-year-old
Geertrui relates her experience of British soldiers's attempts to liberate
Holland from its German occupation.
Interest level:
Middle/High School
Chbosky, Stephen. The perks of being a wallflower. New York
: MTV Books/Pocket Books, c1999.
A novel about the dilemma
of passivity versus passion.
Interest level:
Middle/High
Coman, Carolyn. Many stones. 1st ed. Asheville, N.C. :
Front Street, c2000.
After her sister Laura is
murdered in South Africa, Berry and her estranged father travel there to
participate in the dedication of a memorial in her name.
Interest level:
Middle/High School
Cormier, Robert. The chocolate war. New York : Bantam
Doubleday Dell Books for Young Readers, [1986], c1974.
A high school freshman
discovers the devastating consequences of refusing to join in the school's
annual fund raising drive and arousing the wrath of the school bullies.
Interest level:
Middle/High School
Curtis, Christopher Paul. Bucking the Sarge. New York :
Wendy Lamb Books, c2004.
Deeply involved in his cold
and manipulative mother's shady business dealings in Flint, Michigan,
fourteen-year-old Luther keeps a sense of humor while running the Happy Neighbor
Group Home For Men, all the while dreaming of going to college and becoming a
philosopher.
Interest level:
Middle/High School
Dickinson, Peter, 1927-. The Ropemaker. New York :
Delacorte Press, c2001.
When the magic that protects their Valley starts to fail, Tilja
and her companions journey into the evil Empire to find the ancient magician
Faheel, who originally cast those spells.
Interest level:
Middle/High School
Donnelly, Jennifer. A northern light. 1st ed. Orlando :
Harcourt, c2003.
Sixteen-year-old Mattie, determined to attend college and be a
writer against the wishes of her father and boyfriend, takes a job at a hotel
in 1906 where the death of a guest renews her determination to live her own
life.
Interest level:
Middle/High School
Dorris, Michael. A yellow raft in blue water. Warner Books
ed. New York, NY : Warner Books, 1988, c1987.
A saga of three generations of Indian women, beset by hardship and
torn by angry secrets, yet joined together by the bonds of kinship.
Interest level: Middle/High
School
Ferris, Jean, 1939-. Of sound mind. 1st ed. New York :
Farrar Straus Giroux, 2001.
Tired of interpreting for
his deaf family and resentful of their reliance on him, high school senior Theo
finds support and understanding from Ivy, a new student who also has a deaf
parent.
Interest level:
Middle/High School
Freedman, Russell. The voice that challenged a nation : Marian
Anderson and the struggle for equal rights. New York : Clarion Books,
c2004.
Easter Sunday, April 9,
1939 -- Twenty-five cents a song -- A voice in a thousand -- Marian fever --
Banned by the DAR -- Singing to the nation -- Breaking barriers -- "What I
had was singing.". Tells the life story of singer Marian Anderson,
describing her famous 1939 Lincoln Memorial performance and explaining how she
helped end segregation in the American arts after being refused the right to
perform at Washington's Constitution Hall because of the color of her skin.
Interest level:
Middle/High School
Gantos, Jack. Hole in my life. 1st ed. New York : Farrar,
Straus and Giroux, 2002.
The author relates how, as
a young adult, he became a drug user and smuggler, was arrested, did time in
prison, and eventually got out and went to college, all the while hoping to
become a writer.
Interest level:
Middle/High School
Going, Kelly. Fat kid rules the world. New York : G.P.
Putnam's Sons, c2003.
Seventeen-year-old Troy, depressed, suicidal, and weighing nearly
three hundred pounds, gets a new perspective on life when Curt, a semi-homeless
teen who is a genius on guitar, asks Troy to be the drummer in a rock band.
Interest level:
Middle/High School
Hurston, Zora Neale. Their eyes were watching God. 1st
Harpercollins hardcover ed. New York : HarperCollins, 2000.
An African-American woman
searches for a fulfilling relationship through two loveless marriages and
finally finds it in the person of Tea Cake, an itinerant laborer and gambler.
Interest level:
Middle/High School
Jackson, Livia Bitton. I have lived a thousand years : growing
up in the Holocaust. New York : Simon & Schuster Books for Young
Readers, c1997.
A memoir of Elli Friedmann
in which she tells about her experiences at Auschwitz concentration camp where
she was taken at the age of thirteen in 1944 when the Nazis invaded her native
Hungary.
Interest level:
Middle/High school
Kingsolver, Barbara. Prodigal summer : a novel. 1st
Perennial ed. New York : Perennial, 2001, c2000.
Three lives intersect in the mountains and farms of southern
Appalachia where they learn lessons of love and nature.
Interest level:
Middle/High School
Marchetta, Melina, 1965-. Saving Francesca. 1st American
ed. New York : Knopf, [2004], c2003.
Sixteen-year-old Francesca
could use her outspoken mother's help with the problems of being one of a
handful of girls at a parochial school that has just turned co-ed, but her
mother has suddenly become severely depressed.
Interest level:
Middle/High School
Montgomery, L. M. Anne of Green Gables. New York : Tor,
1995.
Anne, an 11-year-old
orphan, is sent by mistake to live with a lonely middle-aged brother and sister
on a Prince Edward Island farm and proceeds to make an indelible impression on
everyone around her.
Interest level:
Middle/High School
Myers, Walter Dean, 1937-. Monster. 1st Harper Tempest ed.
New York : HarperTempest, 2001, c1999.
While on trial as an
accomplice to a murder, sixteen-year-old Steve Harmon records his experiences
in prison and in the courtroom in the form of a film script as he tries to come
to terms with the course his life has taken.
Interest level:
Middle/High School
Na, An, 1972-. A step from heaven. 1st ed. Asheville, N.C.
: Front Street, c2001.
A young Korean girl and her
family find it difficult to learn English and adjust to life in America.
Interest level:
Middle/High School
Oppel, Kenneth. Airborn. 1st ed. New York : Eos, c2004.
Matt, a young cabin boy
aboard an airship, and Kate, a wealthy young girl traveling with her chaperone,
team up to search for the existence of mysterious winged creatures reportedly
living hundreds of feet above the Earth's surface.
Interest level:
Middle/High School
Plum-Ucci, Carol, 1957-. The body of Christopher Creed. 1st
Volo ed. New York : Volo/Hyperion, 2001, c2000.
Torey Adams, a high school
junior with a seemingly perfect life, struggles with doubts and questions
surrounding the mysterious disappearance of the class outcast.
Interest level:
Middle/High School
Rees, Celia. Witch child. 1st Candlewick Press ed.
Cambridge, Mass. : Candlewick Press, 2001, c2000.
In 1659, fourteen-year-old
Mary Newbury keeps a journal of her voyage from England to the New World and
her experiences living as a witch in a community of Puritans near Salem,
Massachusetts.
Interest level:
Middle/High School
Sones, Sonya. One of those hideous books where the mother dies.
1st ed. New York : Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, c2004.
Fifteen-year-old Ruby Milliken leaves her best friend, her
boyfriend, her aunt, and her mother's grave in Boston and reluctantly flies to
Los Angeles to live with her father, a famous movie star who divorced her
mother before Ruby was born.
Interest level:
Middle/High School
Sones, Sonya. Stop pretending : what happened when my big
sister went crazy. 1st Harper Tempest ed. New York : HarperTempest, 2001,
c1999.
A younger sister has a difficult time adjusting to life after her
older sister has a mental breakdown.
Interest level:
Middle/High School
Sones, Sonya. What my mother doesn't know. 1st ed. New York
: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, c2001.
Sophie describes her relationships with a series of boys as she
searches for Mr. Right.
Interest level:
Middle/High School
Steinbeck, John, 1902-1968. Travels with Charley : in search of
America. New York : Penguin Books, 1980, c1962.
Contains observations about life and descriptions of nature as
described by Steinbeck as he traveled from coast to coast at sixty years of age
with his French poodle, Charley.
Interest level:
Middle/High School
Taylor, G. P. Shadowmancer. 1st American ed. New York :
Putnam, 2004, c2003.
When Obadiah Demurral, the
power-hungry Vicar of Thorpe, attempts to become a god by dabbling in magic,
Raphah (who has come from Africa to get back the artifact stolen from his
Temple and sold to Demurral) joins forces with Kate and Thomas to stop him.
Interest level:
Middle/High School
Taylor, G. P. Wormwood. 1st American ed. New York :
Putnams, 2004.
In 1756, as a deadly comet
hurtles toward London, Dr. Sabian Blake and his fourteen-year-old housemaid,
Agetta, struggle against dark forces that seek an ancient, powerful book in
Blake's possession that would enable them to carry out an evil plan in which
Agetta unknowingly plays a pivotal role.
Interest level: Middle/High School
Tolkien, J. R. R. The hobbit, or, There and back again.
Boston : Houghton Mifflin, 1986.
Bilbo Baggins, a
respectable, well-to-do hobbit, lives comfortably in his hobbit-hole until the
day the wandering wizard Gandalf chooses him to share in an adventure from
which he may never return.
Interest level 5-12
Villaseñor, Victor. Rain of gold. New York, N.Y. : Delta,
c1992.
Weaves the parallel stories of two Mexican-American families and
two countries. Describes the volatile bootlegger who would become the author's
father and the beautiful Lupe, his mother.
Interest level:
Middle/High School