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__Welcome to the Curtis Library's Wikipage__

Bearrrrrific Books ===We invite you to add your favorite books. Give fellow students ideas for great new books to read! Try to include both the author and title, along with a short summary of the book, if you can. ===

I'll give some suggestions for different genres. Feel free to add new ideas!
A genre of fiction in which there is an adventure, an exciting undertaking involving risk and physical danger in the main storyline. Adams, Richard: //**Watership Down**//. Chronicles the adventures of a group of rabbits searching for a safe place to establish a new warren so that they can live in peace. Aguiar, Nadia: //**Secrets of Tamarind**//. Four years after leaving the lost island of Tamarind, Maya, Simon and Penny return to stop the mining of the magical mineral ophalla there that is ruining the magnificent island. Black, Holly: //**Doll Bones**//. Zach, Alice, and Poppy, friends from a Pennsylvania middle school who have long enjoyed acting out imaginary adventures with dolls and action figures, embark on a real-life quest to Ohio to bury a doll. Colfer, Eoin: //**Artemis Fowl**//. Twelve-year-old Artemis Fowl is a most ingenious criminal mastermind, and heir to the Fowl family empire, a centuries-old clan of underworld figures and famous con artists. When Artemis kidnaps Holly Short, one of the Fairy People, to help him on his quest for gold, he takes on a Fairy world determined to rescue Holly by fighting back with magic, technology, and a particularly nasty troll. Dahl, Roald: //**Charlie and the Chocolate Factory**//. Each of five children lucky enough to discover an entry ticket into Mr. Willy Wonka's mysterious chocolate factory takes advantage of the situation in his own way. DeFelice, Cynthia: //**Weasel**//. Alone in the frontier wilderness in the winter of 1839 while his father is recovering from an injury, eleven-year-old Nathan runs afoul of the renegade killer known as Weasel and makes a surprise discovery about the concept of revenge. DiCamillo, Kate: //**Miraculous journey Edward Tulane**//. Edward Tulane, a cold-hearted and proud toy rabbit, loves only himself until he is separated from the little girl who adores him and travels across the country, acquiring new owners and listening to their hopes, dreams, and histories. Farmer, Nancy: //**A Girl Named Disaster**//. While journeying to Zimbabwe, eleven-year-old Nhamo struggles to escape drowning and starvation and in so doing comes close to the luminous world of the African spirits. Fleischman, Sid: //**The Whipping Boy**//. A bratty prince and his whipping boy have many adventures when they trade places by mistake after becoming involved with dangerous outlaws. (Newbery Award winner) Fleischman, Sid: //**The Giant Rat of Sumatra: Or Pirates Galore**//. A cabin boy on a pirate ship finds himself in San Diego in 1846 as war breaks out between the United States and Mexico. George, Jean C: //**My Side of the Mountain**//. A boy conducts an experiment in survival and self-sufficiency as he spends a year alone living off the land in a tree house in a remote area of the Catskill Mountains. Grahame, Kenneth: //**The Wind in the Willows**//. The adventures of a group of animals who live in the English countryside -- bashful Mole, boastful Toad, practical Badger and world-wise Rat. Gurney, James: //**Dinotopia: The World Beneath**//. Four years after being shipwrecked on the lost island of Dinotopia, sixteen-year-old Will Denison, now a fully trained Skybox Corps pilot, explores the skies over the island while his scientist father leads an expedition into the forgotten caverns. Haggard, H. Rider: //**King Solomon’s Mines**//. Three men set out to find the world’s most fabulous treasure – if it even exists! On the way they must cross burning deserts and freezing mountains, face hostile tribes and overcome ancient superstitions, warring armies and witches curses, as they search for lost diamonds and lost men. Higson, Charles: //**Double or die: a James Bond adventure**//. Teenage James has forty-eight hours to rescue a kidnapped professor and to keep a powerful weapon from falling into the wrong hands. Hobbs, Will: //**Far North**//. After the destruction of their floatplane, sixteen-year-old Gabe and his Dene friend, Raymond, struggle to survive a winter in the wilderness of the Northwest Territories. Horowitz, Anthony: //**Ark Angel.**// After recovering from a near fatal gunshot wound, teenage spy Alex Rider embarks on a new mission to stop a group of eco-terrorists from sabotaging the launch of the first outer space hotel. Horowitz, Anthony: //**Eagle Strike**//. After a chance encounter with assassin Yassen Gregorovich in the South of France, teenage spy Alex Rider investigates international pop star and philanthropist Damian Cray whose new video game venture hides sinister motives involving Air Force One, nuclear missiles, and the international drug trade. Horowitz, Anthony: //**Scorpia**//. After being told that his father was an assassin for a criminal organization, fourteen-year-old Alex goes to Italy to find out more and becomes involved in a plan to kill thousands of English schoolchildren. Hughes, Carol: //**Jack Black and the Ship of Thieves**//. Having fallen from his father's airship, Jack blunders into a feud between a pirate ship and a deadly ocean-going war machine and encounters danger, intrigue, and treachery. Patterson, James: //**The Angel Experiment.**// After the mutant Erasers abduct the youngest member of their group, the “bird kids”, who are the result of genetic experimentation, take off in pursuit and find themselves struggling to understand their own origins and purpose. Paulsen Gary: //**Brian's Hunt**//. Two years after having survived a plane crash into the Canadian wilderness, a sixteen-year-old returns to the wild to befriend a wounded dog and hunt a rogue bear. Paulsen Gary: //**Brian's Return**//. After having survived alone in the wilderness, Brian finds that he can no longer live in the city but must return to the place where he really belongs. Paulsen Gary: //**Brian's Winter**//. Instead of being rescued from a plane crash, as in the author's book Hatchet, this story portrays what would have happened to Brian had he been forced to survive a winter in the wilderness with only his survival pack and hatchet. Paulsen Gary: //**Hatchet**//. After a plane crash, 13-year-old Brian spends 54 days in the wilderness, learning to survive initially with only the aid of a hatchet given by his mother, and learning also to survive his parents' divorce. Paulsen Gary: //**The River.**// Because of his success surviving alone in the wilderness for 54 days, 15-year-old Brian, profoundly changed by his time in the wild, is asked to undergo a similar experience to help scientists learn more about the psychology of survival. Riordan, Rick: //**Lightning Thief**//. Percy, expelled from six schools for being unable to control his temper, learns the truth from his mother that his father is the Greek god Poseidon, and is sent to Camp Half Blood where he is befriended by a satyr and the demigod daughter of Athena who join him in a journey to the Underworld to retrieve Zeus's lightning bolt and prevent a catastrophic war. Riordan, Rick: //**The Sea of Monsters**//. Demi-god Percy Jackson and his friends must journey into the Sea of Monsters to save their camp. But first Percy will discover a secret that makes him wonder whether being claimed as Poseidon's son is an honor or a cruel joke. Rowling, J. K.: //**Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets**//. When the Chamber of Secrets is opened again at the Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry, second-year student Harry Potter finds himself in danger from a dark power that has once more been released on the school. Stevenson, Robert Louis: //**Treasure Island**//. While going through the possessions of a deceased guest who owed them money, the mistress of the inn and her son find a treasure map that leads to a pirate fortune as well as great danger. Stewart, Paul: //**Fergus Crane**//. Nine-year-old Fergus Crane's life is filled with classes on the school ship Betty Jeanne, interesting neighbors, and helping with his mother's work until a mysterious box flies into his window and leads him toward adventure. Taylor, Theodore: //**Timothy of the Cay**//. Having survived being blinded and shipwrecked on a tiny Caribbean island with the old black man Timothy, 12-year-old white Phillip is rescued and hopes to regain his sight with an operation. Alternate chapters follow the life of Timothy from his days as a young cabin boy. Tolkein, J.R.R.: //**The Hobbit**//. The adventures of the well-to-do hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, who lived happily in his comfortable home until a wandering wizard granted his wish. Wyss, Johan David: //**The Swiss Family Robinson**//. Tale of a Swiss family shipwrecked on a desert island and the dangers they must face in order to survive.
 * Adventure Fiction **

Stories set in places that do not exist, about people and creatures that could not exist or events that could not happen. They are set in make-believe and imaginative worlds.
 * Fantasy Fiction **

Abbott, Tony: **//The Hidden Stairs and the Magic Carpet//**. Eric and his friends find entry into the world of Droon by using a staircase in Eric's basement. Alexander, Lloyd: **//Book of Three//**. The adventures of Taran the Assistant Pig-keeper is on a quest to become a hero. Taran is joined by an engaging cast of characters that includes Eilonwy, the strong-willed and sharp-tongued princess; Fflewddur Fflam, the hyperbole-prone bard; the ever-faithful Gurgi; and the curmudgeonly Doli--all of whom become involved in an epic struggle between good and evil that shapes the fate of the legendary land of Prydain. Almond, David: **//Skellig//**. 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. Amato, Mary: **//Word Eater//**. Lerner Chanse, a new student at Cleveland Park Middle School, finds a worm that magically makes things disappear, and she hopes it will help her fit in, or get revenge, at her hated school. Barker, Clive: **//Abarat//**. Candy Quackenbush of Chickentown, Minnesota, one day finds herself on the edge of a foreign world that is populated by strange creatures, and her life is forever changed. Barron, T.A. : **//Merlin//** books. A young boy who has no identity nor memory of his past washes ashore on the coast of Wales and finds his true name after a series of fantastic adventures. Barrie, J.M. : **//Peter Pan//**. As a baby, Peter Pan fell out of his carriage and was taken by fairies to Neverland. There, he can fly and is the champion of the Lost Boys and a friend to the fairy Tinker Bell. Revisiting England, Peter becomes involved with Wendy Darling and her younger brothers, all of whom accompany Peter to Neverland. The children have many adventures and vanquish the pirate Captain Hook. Baum, Frank: **//Wizard of Oz.//** Dorothy, a farm girl from Kansas, is whisked away by a cyclone to a mysterious and magical land called Oz. Blackwood, Sage: **//Jinx//**. A young boy named Jinx encounters magic and danger as he grows up in the deep, dark forest known as the Urwald and discovers that the world beyond--and within--the Urwald is more complex than he could imagine. Carman, Patrick: **//Land of Elyon//** series. 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. Carroll, Lewis: **//Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland//**. Alice adventures into a bizarre, topsy-turvy land underground. There she encounters a cast of strange characters and fanciful beasts, including the White Rabbit, March Hare, Mad Hatter, the sleepy Dormouse and grinning Cheshire Cat, the Mock Turtle, the dreadful Queen of Hearts, and a host of other unusual creatures. Chabon, Michael: **//Summerland//**. The ferishers, little creatures who ensure perfect weather for Summerland, recruit Ethan Feld, one of history's worst baseball players, to help them in their struggle to save Summerland, and ultimately the world, from giants, goblins, and other legendary, terrible creatures. Chima, Cinda: **//The Warrior Heir//**. After learning about his magical ancestry and his own warrior powers, sixteen-year-old Jack embarks on a training program to fight enemy wizards. Colfer, Eoin: **//Artemis Fowl//**. 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. Collins, Suzanne: **//Gregor the Overlander.//** When Gregor falls through a grate in the laundry room of his apartment building, he hurtles into the dark Underland, where spiders, rats, cockroaches coexist uneasily with humans. This world is on the brink of war, and Gregor's arrival is no accident. A prophecy foretells that Gregor has a role to play in the Underland's uncertain future. Gregor wants no part of it -- until he realizes it's the only way to solve the mystery of his father's disappearance. Reluctantly, Gregor embarks on a dangerous adventure that will change both him and the Underland forever. Cooper, Susan: **//Over Sea, Under Stone//**. Three children on a holiday in Cornwall find an ancient manuscript which sends them on a dangerous quest for a grail that would reveal the true story of King Arthur. Coville, Bruce: **//Into the Land of the Unicorns//**. Having jumped into the fantasy land of Luster, Cara joins Lightfoot the unicorn in the search for Queen Arabella Skydancer. Coville, Bruce: **//Jeremy Thatcher, dragon hatcher.//** If Howard Morton and Freddie the Frog Killer were trying to hold you down so that Mary Lou Hutton could kiss you, you might run as fast as Jeremy Thatcher did the day he stumbled into Mr. Elives' Magic Shop. And if you stumbled into that strange shop, you, too, might be asked to make a choice. What would you buy? The Chinese rings? The Skull of Truth? Or the dragon's egg? Downer, Ann: **//Hatching Magic//**. When a thirteenth-century wizard confronts twenty-first century Boston while seeking his pet dragon, he is followed by a rival wizard and a very unhappy demon, but eleven-year-old Theodora Oglethorpe may hold the secret to setting everything right. Duane, Diana: **//So You Want to be a Wizard//**. Something stopped Nita's hand as it ran along the bookshelf. She looked and found that one of the books had a loose thread at the top of its spine. It was one of those So You Want to Be a. . . books, a series on careers. So You Want to Be a Pilot, and a Scientist. . . a Writer. But his one said, So You Want to Be a Wizard. I don't belive this, Nina thought. She shut the book and stood there holding it in her hand, confused, amazed, suspicious--and delighted. If it was a joke, it was a great one. If it wasn't. . . ? Eager, Edward: **//Half Magic//**. Four children spending their summer in a city apartment enjoy a series of fantastic adventures by double-wishing on an ancient coin. Flanagan, John: **//Ranger’s Apprentice//**. He had always wanted to be a warrior. The Rangers, with their dark cloaks and shadowy ways, made him nervous. The villagers believe the Rangers practice magic that makes them invisible to ordinary people. And now fifteen year-old Will, always small for his age, has been chosen as a Ranger’s apprentice. What he doesn’t realize yet is that the Rangers are the protectors of the kingdom. Highly trained in the skills of battle and surveillance, they fight the battles before the battles reach the people. And as Will is about to learn, there is a large battle brewing. The exiled Morgarath, Lord of the Mountains of Rain and Night, is gathering his forces for an attack on the kingdom. This time, he will not be denied. . . . Funke, Cornelia: **//Dragon Rider//**. 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. Gaiman, Neil: **//Coraline//**. Looking for excitement, Coraline ventures through a mysterious door into a world that is similar, yet disturbingly different from her own, where she must challenge a gruesome entity in order to save herself, her parents, and the souls of three others. Gurney, J.: **//Dinotopia.//** A biologist and his young son are shipwrecked on the lost island of Dinotopia, where dinosaurs and humans live together in peaceful interdependence. Gutman, Dan: **//Honus and Me//**. Joey, who loves baseball but is not very good at it, finds a valuable 1909 Honus Wagner card and travels back in time to meet Honus. Ibbotson, Eva: **//Island of the Aunts//**. As they get older, several sisters decide that they must kidnap children and bring them to their secluded island home to help with the work of caring for an assortment of unusual sea creatures. Jacques, Brian: **//Redwall//**. Action, sword fighting and adventures but with the heroes and villains of the tale mice, badgers, and other talking animals. Redwall is a fast-paced action series that’s wonderfully entertaining. Juster, Norton: **//Phantom Tollbooth//**. Milo mopes in black ink sketches, until he assembles a tollbooth and drives through. He jumps to the island of Conclusions. But brothers King Azaz of Dictionopolis and the Mathemagician of Digitopolis war over words and numbers. Joined by ticking watchdog Tock and adult-size Humbug, Milo rescues the Princesses of Rhyme and Reason, and learns to enjoy life. Kessler, Liz: **//Emily Windsnap//**. Emily is put under a curse that will force her to choose to be either a mermaid or a human and split up her parents forever. L'Engle, Madeleine: **//A Wrinkle in Time//**. Meg Murry and her friends become involved with unearthly strangers and a search for Meg's father, who has disappeared while engaged in secret work for the government. Lewis, C.S.: **//Chronicles of Narnia//**. 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. Lisle, Janet Taylor: **//Afternoon of the Elves//**. As Hillary works in the miniature village, allegedly built by elves, in Sara-Kate's backyard, she becomes more and more curious about Sara-Kate's real life inside her big, gloomy house with her mysterious, silent mother. MacHale, D.J.: **//Pendragon//** series. Pendragon and Courtney set out to rescue Mark and find themselves traveling--and battling--their way through different worlds as they try to save all of Halla. Martin, Ann: **//Doll People//**. 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. Nimmo, Jenny: **//Charlie Bone//** series. 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. Nix, Garth: **//Mister Monday//**. Arthur's life is saved by a key shaped like the minute hand of a clock, but bizarre creatures from another realm are determined to take the key even if it means killing him. Nix, Garth: **//Sabriel//**. Sabriel, daughter of the necromancer Abhorsen, must journey into the mysterious and magical Old Kingdom to rescue her father from the Land of the Dead. Norton, Mary: **//Borrowers//**. Miniature people who live in an old country house by borrowing things from the humans are forced to emigrate from their home under the clock. O'Brien, Robert: **//Mrs. Frisby//**. Having no one to help her with her problems, a widowed mouse visits the rats whose former imprisonment in a laboratory made them wise and long lived. Ogilvy, Ian: **//Measle and the Wrathmonk//**. Twelve-year-old orphan Measle Stubbs is shrunk down to half an inch tall and placed in a train set by his evil guardian, the Wrathmonk. Paolini, Christopher: **//Eragon//**. In Aagaesia, a fifteen-year-old boy of unknown lineage called Eragon finds a mysterious stone that weaves his life into an intricate tapestry of destiny, magic, and power, peopled with dragons, elves, and monsters. Pierce, Tamora: Alanna. Eleven-year-old Alanna, who aspires to be a knight even though she is a girl, disguises herself as a boy to become a royal page, and proves to be capable of high adventure. Riordan, Rick: **//Lightning Thief//**. Percy, expelled from six schools for being unable to control his temper, learns the truth from his mother that his father is the Greek god Poseidon, and is sent to Camp Half Blood where he is befriended by a satyr and the demigod daughter of Athena who join him in a journey to the Underworld to retrieve Zeus's lightning bolt and prevent a catastrophic war. Rodda, Emily: **//Rowan of Rin//**. Because only he can read the magical map, young, weak and timid Rowan joins six other villagers to climb a mountain and try to restore their water supply, as fears of a dragon and other horrors threaten to drive them back. Rowling, J.K.: **//Harry Potter//**. Rescued from the outrageous neglect of his aunt and uncle, a young boy with a great destiny proves his worth while attending Hogwarts School for Wizards and Witches. Sage, Angie: **//Magyk//**. After learning that she is the Princess, Jenna is whisked from her home and carried toward safety from pursuit by agents of those who killed her mother ten years earlier. Stroud, Jonathan: **//Amulet of Samarkind//**. 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. Sutherland, Tui: **//The Dragonet Prophecy//**. The seven dragon tribes have been at war for generations, locked in an endless battle over an ancient, lost treasure. A secret movement called the Talons of Peace is determined to bring an end to the fighting, with the help of a prophecy, a foretelling that calls for great sacrifice. Tolkien, J.R.R.: **//Lord of the Rings.//** A great quest undertaken by Frodo and the Fellowship of the Ring: Gandalf the Wizard; the hobbits Merry, Pippin, and Sam; Gimli the Dwarf; Legolas the Elf; Boromir of Gondor; and a tall, mysterious stranger called Strider. Winthrop, Elizabeth: **//Castle in the Attic//**. A gift of a toy castle, complete with silver knight, introduces William to an adventure involving magic and a personal quest. Wrede, Patricia: **//Searching for Dragons//**. With the aid of King Mandanbar, Princess Cimorene rescues the dragon Kazul and saves the Enchanted Forest from a band of wicked wizards. Yolen, Jane: **//Wizard Hall//**. A young apprentice wizard saves the wizard's training hall by trusting and believing in himself. Stories reconstruct life in the past, using realistic actual and fictional characters, events and historical setting.
 * Historical Fiction **

Alcott, Louisa May: **//Little Women//**. In picturesque nineteenth-century New England, tomboyish Jo, beautiful Meg, fragile Beth, and romantic Amy come of age while their father is off to war. Auch, Mary Jane: **//Journey to Nowhere//**. In the spring of 1815, Remembrance "Mem" Nye and her family set off in a covered wagon from their farm in Connecticut to the western New York wilderness. Mem and her mother see it as a journey to nowhere since there won't be any houses or neighbors, just endless forest. Their journey is filled with the uncertain danger of wild animals, raging storms, and cruel strangers. When Mem is unexpectedly separated from her family, she must face every danger alone while hoping to find her family again.

Bradley, Kimberly: **The War That Saved My Life**. A young disabled girl and her brother are evacuated from London to the English countryside during World War II, where they find life to be much sweeter away from their abusive mother.

Brink, Carol R.: **//Caddie Woodlawn//**. Caddie Woodlawn is a real adventurer. She'd rather hunt than sew and plow than bake, and tries to beat her brother's dares every chance she gets. Caddie is friends with Indians, who scare most of the neighbors -- neighbors who, like her mother and sisters, don't understand her at all. Burnett, Frances: **//The Secret Garden//**. What secrets lie behind the doors at Misselthwaite Manor? Recently arrived at her uncle's estate, orphaned Mary Lennox is spoiled, sickly, and certain she won't enjoy living there. Then she discovers the arched doorway into an overgrown garden, shut up since the death of her aunt ten years earlier. Mary soon begins transforming it into a thing of beauty--unaware that she is changing too. But Misselthwaite hides another secret, as mary discovers one night. High in a dark room, away from the rest of the house, lies her young cousin, Colin, who believes he is an incurable invalid, destined to die young. His tantrums are so frightful, no one can reason with him. If only, Mary hopes, she can get Colin to love the secret garden as much as she does, its magic will work wonders on him. Carbone, Elisa Lynn: **//Blood on the River: James Town 1607//**. Traveling to the New World in 1606 as the page to Captain John Smith, twelve-year-old orphan Samuel Collier settles in the new colony of James Town, where he must quickly learn to distinguish between friend and foe. Crane, Stephen: **//The Red Badge of Courage//**. During his service in the Civil War a young Union soldier matures to manhood and finds peace of mind as he comes to grips with his conflicting emotions about war. Daldliesh, Alice: **//The Courage of Sarah Noble//**. In 1707, young Sarah Noble and her father traveled through the wilderness to build a new home for their family. "Keep up your courage, Sarah Noble," her mother had said, but Sarah found that it was not always easy to feel brave inside. The dark woods were full of animals and Indians, too, and Sarah was only eight! DeFelice, Cynthia: **//The Apprenticeship of Lucas Whitaker//**. This fascinating novel is based on information that surfaced recently, exposing the macabre practice employed in the mid-1800 by people desperate to save their loved ones from what we now call tuberculosis. DeFelice, Cynthia: **//Weasel.//** The name has haunted my sleep and made my awake hours uneasy for as long as I can remember. Other children whisper that he is part man and part animal -- wild and blood-thirsty. But I know Weasel is real: a man, an Indian fighter the government sent to drive off the Indians -- to "remove them." Weasel has his own ideas about removal... Durrant, Lynda: **//Echohawk//**. A twelve-year-old white boy adopted and raised by Mohicans in the Hudson River Valley during the 1730s is sent with his younger brother to an English settlement for schooling. Fleischman, Sid: **//Bandit's Moon//**. Twelve-year-old Annyrose relates her adventures with Joaquin Murieta and his band of outlaws in the California gold-mining region during the mid-1800s. Griffin, Adele: **//Hannah, Divided//**. In 1934, a thirteeen-year-old with a gift for numbers is offered the chance to leave her family's dairy farm to spend one term at an exclusive Philadelphia girls' school preparing for a scholarship exam. Hobbs, Will: **//Jason's Gold//**. When news of the discovery of gold in Canada's Yukon in 1897 reaches fifteen-year-old Jason, he embarks on a 5,000-mile journey to strike it rich. Karr, Kathleen: **//The Great Turkey Walk//**. In 1860, a 15-year-old boy attempts to herd 1,000 turkeys from Missouri to Denver, in hope to sell them at a profit. Lasky, Kathryn: **//Alice Rose & Sam//**. Alice Rose, an irrepressible twelve-year-old, shares adventures with Mark Twain, an outlandish reporter on her father's newspaper in Virginia City, Nevada, during the 1860s. Lisle, Janet Taylor: **//The Art of Keeping Cool.//** In 1942, Robert and his cousin Elliot uncover long-hidden family secrets while staying in their grandparents' Rhode Island town, where they also become involved with a German artist who is suspected of being a spy. Lowry, Lois: **//Number the Stars//**. Ten-year-old Annemarie Johansen and her best friend Ellen Rosen often think of life before the war. It's now 1943 and their life in Copenhagen is filled with school, food shortages, and the Nazi soldiers marching through town. When the Jews of Denmark are "relocated," Ellen moves in with the Johansens and pretends to be one of the family. Soon Annemarie is asked to go on a dangerous mission to save Ellen's life. MacLachlan, Patricia: **//Sarah, Plain and Tall//**. When their father invites a mail-order bride to come to live with them in their prairie home, Caleb and Anna are captivated by her and hope that she will stay. Montgomery, L.M.: **//Anne of Green Gables//**. Spunky Anne Shirley begins her adventures at Green Gables, a farm outside Avonlea, Prince Edward Island. When the freckled girl realizes that the elderly Cuthberts wanted to adopt a boy instead, she begins to try to win them over. Murphy, Jim: **//The Journal of James Edmond Pease: A Civil War Union Soldier//**. James Edmond, a sixteen-year-old orphan, keeps a journal of his experiences and those of "G" Company which he joined as a volunteer in the Union Army during the Civil War. Dear America series. Myers, Laurie: **//Lewis and Clark and Me: A Dog's Tale//**. Seaman, Meriwether Lewis's Newfoundland dog, describes Lewis and Clark's expedition, which he accompanied from St. Louis to the Pacific Ocean. Myers, Walter Dean: **//The Journal of Scott Pendleton Collins: A World War II Soldier//**. A seventeen-year-old soldier from central Virginia records his experiences in a journal as his regiment takes part in the D-Day invasion of Normandy and subsequent battles to liberate France. Dear America series. O’Dell, Scott: **//Island of the Blue Dolphins//**. In the Pacific there is an island that looks like a big fish sunning itself in the sea. Around it, blue dolphins swim, otters play, and sea elephants and sea birds abound. once, Indians also lived on the island. And when they left and sailed to the east, one young girl was left behind. — This is the story of Karana, the Indian girl who lived alone for years on the Island of the Blue Dolphins. Year after year, she watched one season pass into another and waited for a ship to take her away. But while she waited, she kept herself alive by building shelter, making weapons, finding food, and fighting her enemies, the wild dogs. Osborne, Mary Pope: **//My Brother's Keeper. Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, 1863//**. In 1863, as the Civil War approaches her quiet town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, nine-year-old Virginia Dickens records in her diary the horrible things she witnesses before, during, and after the Battle of Gettysburg. Dear America series. Paulsen, Gary: **//Tucket's Gold//**. Fifteen-year-old Francis and the two children he has adopted travel across the Old West, evade Comanchero outlaws, discover a treasure, and wind up rich beyond their wildest dreams. Peck, Richard: **//Fair Weather : a novel//**. In 1893, thirteen-year-old Rosie and members of her family travel from their Illinois farm to Chicago to visit Aunt Euterpe and attend the World's Columbian Exposition which, along with an encounter with Buffalo Bill and Lillian Russell, turns out to be a life-changing experience for everyone. Speare, Elizabeth: **//The Witch of Blackbird Pond//**. Orphaned Kit Tyler knows, as she gazes for the first time at the cold, bleak shores of Connecticut Colony, that her new home will never be like the shimmering Caribbean island she left behind. In her relatives' stern Puritan community, she feels like a tropical bird that has flown to the wrong part of the world, a bird that is now caged and lonely. The only place where Kit feels completely free is in the meadows, where she enjoys the company of the old Quaker woman known as the Witch of Blackbird Pond, and on occasion, her young sailor friend Nat. But when Kit's friendship with the "witch" is discovered, Kit is faced with suspicion, fear, and anger. She herself is accused of witchcraft! Spyri, Johanna: **//Heidi.//** Heidi, a lively orphan girl, goes to live with her grandfather in a little hut high in the Alps. Soon she is in perfect harmony with her surroundings leading a carefree life with her grandfather and her constant companion, Peter, a young goatherd. But her happiness is short-lived when she is sent to stay with a rich city family as a companion for her sick cousin Clara. Although she becomes fond of the older girl, Heidi is terribly homesick. Wilder, Laura Ingalls: **//Little House on the Prairie//**. A family travels from the big woods of Wisconsin to a new home on the prairie, where they build a house, meet neighboring Indians, build a well, and fight a fire. Includes a detailed account of how the novel was written and published. Wolff, Virginia Euwe: **//Bat 6//**. In small town, post-World War Oregon, twenty-one 6th grade girls recount the story of an annual softball game, during which one girl's bigotry comes to the surface. Woods, Brenda: **//The Red Rose Box//**. In 1953, Leah Hopper dreams of leaving the poverty and segregation of her home in Sulphur, Louisiana, and when Aunt Olivia sends train tickets to Los Angeles as part of her tenth birthday present, Leah gets a first taste of freedom.

Novels and stories written in a comical and amusing manner.
 * Humorous Fiction **

Appelt, Kathi: **//The True Blue Scouts of Sugar Man Swamp//**. Twelve-year-old Chap Brayburn, ancient Sugar Man, and his raccoon-brother Swamp Scouts Bingo and J'miah try to save Bayou Tourterelle from feral pigs Clydine and Buzzie, greedy Sunny Boy Beaucoup, and world-class alligator wrestler and would-be land developer Jaeger Stitch. Atwater, Richard: **//Mr. Popper's Penguins//**. The unexpected delivery of a large crate containing an Antarctic penguin changes the life and fortunes of Mr. Popper, a house painter obsessed by dreams of the Polar regions. Avi: **//Never mind: A twin novel//**. Twelve-year-old New York City twins Meg and Edward have nothing in common, so they are just as shocked as everyone else when Meg's hopes for popularity and Edward's mischievous schemes coincidentally collide in a hilarious showdown. Barrows, Annie: **//Ivy and Bean//**. The moment they saw each other, Bean and Ivy knew they wouldn't be friends. But when Bean plays a joke on her sister, Nancy, and has to hide--quick--Ivy comes to the rescue, proving that sometimes the best of friends are people never meant to like each other. Benton, Jim: //**Franny K. Stein, Mad Scientist**//. Franny K. Stein is not your average girl -- she's a mad scientist. She prefers poison ivy to daisies and piranha to goldfish, and when Franny jumps rope, she uses her pet snake.Being a mad scientist is exciting, but it does  have its drawbacks. From fending off giant monstrous fiends to getting a lab assistant to battling her own teenage self, Franny has her hands full! Birney, Betty: **//The World According to Humphrey//**. Humphrey, pet hamster at Longfellow School, learns that he has an important role to play in helping his classmates and teacher. Blume, Judy: **//Fudgemania//**. Pete describes the family vacation in Maine with the Tubmans, highlighted by the antics of his younger brother. Blume, Judy: **//Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing//**. Fourth-grader Peter Hatcher finds his demanding two-year-old brother an ever-increasing problem. Byng, Georgia: **//Molly Moon’s Incredible Book of Hypnotism//**. 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. Child, Lauren: **//Clarice Bean Spells Trouble//**. Clarice Bean, aspiring actress and author, unsuccessfully tries to avoid getting into trouble as she attempts to help a friend in need by following the rules of the fictional, "exceptionordinarily" spy, Ruby Redfort. Cleary, Beverly: **//Henry and the Paper Route//**. When Henry wants to start a paper route, he receives unexpected help from his little sister, Ramona. Cleary, Beverly: **//The Mouse and the Motorcycle//**. The adventures of a boy and a little mouse who wants to ride his toy motorcycle. Cleary, Beverly: **//Ramona the Pest//**. Ramona meets lots of interesting people in kindergarten class, like Davy whom she keeps trying to kiss and Susan whose springy curls seem to ask to be pulled. Clements, Andrew: **//Lost and Found//**. Twin brothers Jay and Ray Grayson learn about friendship, honesty, and themselves after taking advantage of a clerical oversight in which their new school thinks there is only one Grayson boy. Cowell, Cressida: **//How to Train Your Dragon//**. Chronicles the adventures and misadventures of Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third as he tries to pass the important initiation test of his Viking clan, the Tribe of the Hairy Hooligans, by catching and training a dragon. Creech, Sharon: **//Absolutely Normal Chaos//**. Thirteen-year-old Mary Lou grows up quickly during the summer while learning about romance, homesickness, death, and her cousin's search for his biological father. Cronin, Doreen: **//The Trouble with Chickens//**. A hard-bitten former search-and-rescue dog helps solve a complicated missing chicken case. Dahl, Roald: **//Matilda//**. Matilda applies her untapped mental powers to rid the school of the evil, child-hating headmistress, Miss Trunchbull, and restore her nice teacher, Miss Honey, to financial security. Danziger, Paula: **//P.S. Longer Letter Later//**. Elizabeth and Tara*Starr are best friends, despite the fact that they are almost total opposites. While Elizabeth is quiet and shy, Tara*Starr is boisterous and flamboyant. Elizabeth`s family is `normal`, while Tara*Starr`s family is less conventional. When Tara*Starr`s parents decide to move away, the two best friends continue their friendship courtesy of the US Mail. Elizabeth and Tara*Starr discuss their lives in a series of letters, sharing happy and painful times as only best friends can. Fitzgerald, John Dennis: **//The Great Brain//**. The exploits of the Great Brain of Adenville, Utah, are described by his younger brother, frequently the victim of the Great Brain's schemes for gaining prestige or money. Fleischman, Paul: **//The Dunderheads//**. When Miss Breakbone confiscates Junkyard's crucial find, Wheels, Pencil, Spider, and the rest of the Dunderheads plot to teach her a lesson. Fleischman, Sid: **//The Whipping Boy//**. A bratty prince and his whipping boy have many adventures when they inadvertently trade places after becoming involved with dangerous outlaws. Grabenstein, Chris: **//Escape from//** **//Mr. Lemoncello’s Library//**. Twelve-year-old Kyle gets to stay overnight in the new town library, designed by his hero (the famous gamemaker Luigi Lemoncello), with other students but finds that come morning he must work with friends to solve puzzles in order to escape. Haddix, Margaret Peterson. **//Say What?//**. When their parents begin saying the wrong thing every time six-year-old Sukey and her older brothers misbehave, the children discover that it is a plot and fight back with their own wrong phrases. Haywood, Carolyn: **//B is for Betsy//**. Betsy experiences an interesting first year in school and looks forward to summer vacation at her grandfather's farm. Henkes, Kevin: **//The Year of Billy Miller//**. Seven-year-old Billy Miller starts second grade with a bump on his head and a lot of worries, but by the end of the year he has developed good relationships with his teacher, his little sister, and his parents and learned many important lessons. Hite, Sid: **//Stick and Whittle//**. In 1872, while journeying from Texas to Kansas, a Civil War veteran named Melvin meets a sixteen-year-old orphan, another Melvin, and they give each other nicknames and become partners and traveling companions on an exciting adventure. Horvath, Polly: **//The Pepins and their Problems//**. The author speaks directly to readers, asking them to send her mental messages on how to solve the Pepin family's many problems which include having a cow who creates lemonade rather than milk and learning to cope with a competitive neighbor. Howe, Deborah: **//Bunnicula: a Rabbit Tale of Mystery//**. Though scoffed at by Harold the dog, Chester the cat tries to warn his human family that their foundling baby bunny must be a vampire. Kelly, Jamie: **//Dear Dumb Diary: Am I the Princess or the Frog?//**. Jamie Kelly shares with her diary who likes her, that she likes Hudson, and that Hudson likes someone else at Mackerel Middle School. King-Smith, Dick: **//Funny Frank//**. Gertie the hen is appalled when her son Frank wants to swim with the ducks, but Jemima and her mother, the farmer's wife, make the young chick a special outfit so that his dream can come true. Kline, Suzy: **//Herbie Jones and the Class Gift//**. Disaster strikes when Annabelle trusts Herbie Jones and Raymond with the job of picking up the class's gift to their teacher. Lindgren, Astrid: **//Pippi Longstocking//**. Escapades of a lucky little girl who lives with a horse and a monkey--but without any parents--at the edge of a Swedish village. Lowry, Lois: **//Anastasia again!//**. Twelve-year-old Anastasia is horrified at her family's decision to move from their city apartment to a house in the suburbs. Lowry, Lois: **//Gooney Bird and the Room Mother//**. Gooney Bird Greene, an entertaining second grader who introduces challenging vocabulary words and tells "absolutely true" stories, finds a surprise room mother to bring cupcakes for the Thanksgiving pageant. McCloskey, Robert: **//Homer Price//**. Six episodes in the life of Homer Price including one in which he and his pet skunk capture four bandits and another about a donut machine on the rampage. Park, Barbara: **//The Kid in the Red Jacket//**. When ten-year-old Howard has to move with his family to a distant state, he is forced to live on a street named Chester Pewe, adjust to a new school, and get used to being shadowed by the little girl in a nearby house. Peirce, Lincoln: **//Big Nate Strikes Again//**. Sixth-grader and self-proclaimed genius Nate Wright faces his all-time enemy, Gina, when they are paired to work on a research paper together and she also gets a position on his intramural team. Pennypacker, Sara: **//Clementine//**. While sorting through difficulties in her friendship with her neighbor Margaret, eight-year-old Clementine gains several unique hairstyles while also helping her father in his efforts to banish pigeons from the front of their apartment building. Pinkwater, Daniel: **//Hoboken chicken emergency//**. Arthur goes to pick up the turkey for Thanksgiving dinner but comes back with a 266-pound chicken. Pinkwater, Daniel: **//Fat Camp Commandoes//**. Fed up with the systematic jeering and abuse at Camp Noo Yoo, where frantic parents send their pudgy little darlings in the hopes that they will shed a few of those socially unacceptable pounds, Ralph and Sylvia Nebula and their friend, Mavis Goldfarb, hop a bus back to Pokooksie. There, they seek revenge. Revenge on their parents. Revenge on Dr. Frizzbender, founder of Anti-Fat day. And revenge on Richard "Dick" Tator, the overweight and overbearing owner of Camp Noo Yoo. Robinson, Barbara: **//The Best Christmas Pageant Ever//**. The six mean Herdman kids lie, swear, steal, smoke cigars--even the girls--and then become involved in the community Christmas pageant. Rockwell, Thomas: **//How to Eat Fried Worms//**. Because of a bet, Billy is in the uncomfortable position of having to eat 15 worms in 15 days. Sachar, Louis: **//Sideways Stories from Wayside School//**. Humorous episodes from the classroom on the thirtieth floor of Wayside School, which was accidentally built sideways with one classroom on each story. Selden, George: **//The Cricket in Times Square//**. The adventures of a country cricket who unintentionally arrives in New York and is befriended by Tucker Mouse and Harry Cat. Urban, Linda: **//A Crooked Kind of Perfect//**. Ten-year-old Zoe Elias, who longs to play the piano but must resign herself to learning the organ, instead, finds that her musicianship has a positive impact on her workaholic mother, her jittery father, and her school social life. Venokur, Ross: **//Autobiography of Meatball Finkelstein//**. Thirteen-year-old Meatball, an overweight vegetarian, discovers that eating meatballs gives him the magic power of turning into anything he wants, and he uses this ability to fight his principal's diabolical plot to eliminate fun from the planet. Wiles, Deborah: **//Love, Ruby Lavender//**. When her quirky grandmother goes to Hawaii for the summer, nine-year-old Ruby learns to survive on her own in Mississippi by writing letters, befriending chickens as well as the new girl in town, and finally coping with her grandfather's death.

A novel or short story in which a detective (either professional or amateur) solves a crime.
 * Mystery Fiction **

Avi: **//Something Upstairs//**. When he moves from Los Angeles to Providence, Rhode Island, Kenny discovers that his new house is haunted by the spirit of a black slave boy who asks Kenny to return with him to the early nineteenth century and prevent his murder by slave traders. Balliet, Blue**: //Chasing Vermeer//**//.// Strange things happen when a old woman seeks Petra and Calder's company and a Vermeer painting disappears. Can they solve the crime? Banks, Lynne Reid: **//The Indian in the Cupboard//**. At first, Omri is unimpressed with the plastic Indian toy he is given for his birthday. But when he puts it in his old cupboard and turns the key, something extraordinary happens that will change Omri's life for ever. For Little Bull, the Iroquois Indian brave, comes to life... Bosch, Pseudonymous: **//The Name of This Book Is Secret//**. // Warning: this description has not been authorized by Pseudonymous Bosch. // As much as he'd love to sing the praises of his book (he is very vain), he wouldn't want you to hear about his brave 11-year old heroes, Cass and Max-Ernest. Or about how a mysterious box of vials, the Symphony of Smells, sends them on the trail of a magician who has vanished under strange (and stinky) circumstances. And he certainly wouldn't want you to know about the hair-raising adventures that follow and the nefarious villains they face. You see, not only is the name of this book secret, the story inside is, too. For it concerns a secret. A Big Secret. Buckley, Michael: **//The Sisters Grimm//** series. Detectives Sabrina and Daphne Grimm face their first case without Granny Relda when the future mixes with the past, and because some of the future is not bright, they try to make some changes. Clements, Andrew: **//Things Hoped For//**. When Gwen’s grandfather disappears from their home in New York City, he leaves a message saying not to worry, but it’s hard when Gwen has upcoming violin auditions at Julliard! But then she meets Robert, a fellow musician, and things seem to look up. At the same time, there are other forces in motion, like the scary great uncle who keeps coming by, and the strange man Gwen sees one day when shopping. Then the even //stranger// story Robert tells her about what she saw. And finally, the discovery that brings their worlds to a halt, uniting Gwen and Robert in ways neither of them could have foretold. Clifford, Eth: **//Harvey's Marvelous Monkey Mystery//**. Harvey finds himself embroiled in a mystery when a monkey appears at his bedroom window in the middle of the night. Cooney, Caroline: **//The Face on the Milk Carton//**. A photograph of a missing girl on a milk carton leads Janie on a search for her real identity. Cox, Phil: **//Who Stole the Black Diamond?//** The reader is invited to solve the disappearance of "Black Diamond" following the death of its 119-year-old collector. Cronin, Doreen: **//The Trouble with Chickens//**. J.J. Tully is a former search-and-rescue dog who is trying to enjoy his retirement after years of performing daring missions saving lives. So he's not terribly impressed when two chicks named Dirt and Sugar (who look like popcorn on legs) and their chicken mom show up demanding his help to track down their missing siblings. Driven by the promise of a cheeseburger, J.J. begins to track down clues. Is Vince the Funnel hiding something? Are there dark forces at work - or is J.J. not smelling the evidence that's right in front of him? Dadey, Debbie: **//Bailey School Kids//** series. DeFelice, Cynthia: **//The Ghost of Cutler Creek//**. When Allie is contacted by the ghost of a dog, she and Dub investigate the surly new boy at school and his father, who may be running a puppy mill, to see if they are involved. Dixon, Franklin: **//The Tower Treasure//**. A dying criminal confesses that his loot has been secreted "in the tower." Both towers of the looted mansion are searched in vain. It remains for the Hardy boys to make an astonishing discovery that clears up the mystery. Dowd, Siobhan: **//The London Eye Mystery//**. Monday, 24 May, 11.32 a.m. Ted and Kat watch their cousin Salim get on board the London Eye. He turns and waves and the pod rises from the ground. Monday, 24 May, 12.02 p.m. The pod lands and the doors open. People exit in all shapes and sizes – but where is Salim? Ted and his older sister Kat become sleuthing partners since the police are having no luck. Despite their prickly relationship, they overcome their differences to follow a trail of clues across London in a desperate bid to find their cousin. And ultimately it comes down to Ted, whose brain runs on its own unique operating system, to find the key to the mystery. Eager, Edward: **//Knight’s Castle//**. When the ancient toy soldier comes alive, the Old One grants Roger's wish to adventure in "yeomanly" Sherwood Forest. Will Roger earn his second wish, to save his father? Need for an operation brings Roger 11 and younger Ann to stay with bossy cousin Eliza and Jack. Can the children convince Ivanhoe to marry Rebecca over Rowena, and conquer the castle - in pjs? Erickson, John: **//Hank the Cowdog//** series. Evans, Lissa: **//Horten’s Miraculous Mechanisms//**. As if being small for his age and also having **S. Horten** as his name isn't bad enough, now 10-year-old Stuart is forced to move far away from all his friends. But on his very first day in his new home, Stuart's swept up in an extraordinary adventure: the quest to find his great-uncle Tony--a famous magician who literally disappeared off the face of the earth--and Tony's marvelous, long-lost workshop. Along the way, Stuart reluctantly accepts help from the annoying triplets next door… and encounters trouble from another magician who's also desperate to get hold of Tony's treasures. Grabenstein, Chris: **//Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library//**. Kyle Keeley is the class clown, popular with most kids, (if not the teachers), and an ardent fan of all games: board games, word games, and particularly video games. His hero, Luigi Lemoncello, the most notorious and creative gamemaker in the world, just so happens to be the genius behind the building of the new town library. Hahn, Mary Downing: **//Deep and Dark and Dangerous//**. Just before summer begins, 13-year-old Ali finds an odd photograph in the attic. She knows the two children in it are her mother, Claire, and her aunt Dulcie. But who’s the third person, the one who’s been torn out of the picture? Ali figures she’ll find out while she’s vacationing in Maine with Dulcie and her four-year-old daughter, Emma, in the house where Ali’s mother’s family used to spend summers. All hopes for relaxation are quashed shortly after their arrival, though, when the girls meet Sissy, a kid who’s mean and spiteful and a bad influence on Emma. Strangest of all, Sissy keeps talking about a girl named Teresa who drowned under mysterious circumstances back when Claire and Dulcie were kids, and whose body was never found. At first Ali thinks Sissy’s just trying to scare her with a ghost story, but soon she discovers the real reason why Sissy is so angry. . . . Hoeye, Michael: **//Time Stops for No Mouse//**. When Linka Perflinger, a jaunty mouse, brings a watch into his shop to be repaired and then disappears, Hermux Tantamoq is caught up in a dangerous search for eternal youth as he tries to find out what happened to her. Horowitz, Athony: **//Stormbreaker, An Alex Rider Mystery//**. They told him his uncle died in an accident. He wasn't wearing his seatbelt, they said. But when fourteen-year-old Alex finds his uncle's windshield riddled with bullet holes, he knows it was no accident. What he doesn't know yet is that his uncle was killed while on a top-secret mission. But he is about to, and once he does, there is no turning back. Finding himself in the middle of terrorists, Alex must outsmart the people who want him dead. The government has given him the technology, but only he can provide the courage. Should he fail, every child in England will be murdered in cold blood. Horowitz, Anthony: **//The Falcon's Malteser: a Diamond brothers mystery//**. After his older brother agrees to safeguard a package for a dwarf who does not live long, thirteen-year-old Nick scampers to solve the mystery while also trying to stay one step ahead of an assortment of thugs. Howe, James: **//Bunnicula//**. Before it's too late, Harold the dog and Chester the cat must find out the truth about the newest pet in the Monroe household -- a suspicious-looking bunny with unusual habits...and fangs! Keene, Carolyn: **//The Secret of the Old Clock//**. Nancy Drew's keen mind is tested when she searches for a missing will. Kline, Suzy: **//Orp and the FBI//**. Twelve-year-old Orville and his friend Derrick form their own detective agency and, with help from Orville's younger sister Chloe, investigate the arrival of an unusual letter and the appearance of a mysterious intruder. Konigsburg, E.L.: **//From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler//**. When suburban Claudia Kincaid decides to run away, she knows she doesn’t just want to run from somewhere, she wants to run to somewhere — to a place that is comfortable, beautiful, and, preferably, elegant. She chooses the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Knowing her younger brother Jamie has money and thus can help her with a serious cash-flow problem, she invites him along. Marsh, Carole: **//The Mystery of Biltmore House//**. Stacy, Trent, Wendy, and Michael visit the famous Biltmore House in Asheville, North Carolina, where they encounter some creepy ghosts, a scary basement, and a missing antique chess set. Nickerson, Sara: **//How to disappear completely and never be found//**. With a swimming medal, the key to a mansion, and a comic book as her only clues, a twelve-year-old girl seeks the truth about her father's mysterious death. Raskin, Ellen: **//The Westing Game//**. A bizarre chain of events begins when sixteen unlikely people gather for the reading of Samuel W. Westing's will. And though no one knows why the eccentric, game-loving millionaire has chosen a virtual stranger - and a possible murderer - to inherit his vast fortune, one things' for sure: Sam Westing may be dead... but that won't stop him from playing one last game! Riordan, Rick: **//Maze of Bones//**. Grace is the last matriarch of the Cahills, the world's most powerful family. Everyone from Napoleon to Houdini is related to the Cahills, yet the source of the family power is lost. 39 clues hidden around the world will reveal the family's secret, but no one has been able to assemble them. Now the clues race is on, and young Amy and Dan must decide what's important: hunting clues or uncovering what REALLY happened to their parents. Stewart, Paul: **//Fergus Crane//**. "FERGUS CRANE! YOU ARE IN GREAT DANGER! I AM SENDING HELP.Signed T. C., your long-lost Uncle Theo" Fergus Crane has an almost ordinary life--having lessons taught by rather odd teachers on the school ship "Betty Jeanne "and helping his mother in the bakery. But then a mysterious flying box appears at the window of his waterfront home and Fergus is plunged headlong into an exciting adventure! The box is followed by a winged mechanical horse that whisks him off to meet his long-lost uncle and his penguin helpers, Finn, Bill, and Jackson. Fergus finds out that his teachers are not quite what they seem-- they're actually pirates! Can Fergus and his winged horse save his schoolmates on the far-off Fire Island? And who else will he find there? Stewart, Trenton: **//The Mysterious Benedict Society//**. "Are you a gifted child looking for special opportunities?" ad attracts dozens for mind-bending tests readers may try. Only two boys and two girls succeed for a secret mission, undercover and underground into hidden tunnels. At the Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened, the only rule is - there are no rules. Van Draanen, Wendelin: **//Sammy Keys and the Hotel Thief//**. Grams always told her those binoculars would get her into trouble. Now Sammy's witnessed a crime at the Heavenly Hotel-a light fingered thief stealing $4,000 from Madame Nashira, the astrologer with the fire-hazard hair-do. Thing is, while she was watching him, he was watching her, too... Woodruff, Elvira: **//Ghosts Don't Get Goose Bumps//**. Vacationing on a farm in West Virginia near the haunted glass factory where crazy old Irwin Loop used to make marbles, eleven-year-old Jenna decides to use the place to shock her mute younger brother into talking. Wright, Betty Ren: **//The Dollhouse Murders//**. A dollhouse filled with a ghostly light in the middle of the night and dolls that have moved from where she last left them lead Amy and her retarded sister to unravel the mystery surrounding grisly murders that took place years ago.

Stories could happen in the real world; characters seem real; contemporary setting.
 * Realistic Fiction **

Angleberger, Tom: **//The Strange Case of Origami Yoda//**. Sixth grader Tommy and his friends describe their interactions with a paper finger puppet of Yoda, worn by their weird classmate Dwight, as they try to figure out whether or not the puppet can really predict the future. Barrows, Annie: **//Ivy + Bean//**. When seven-year-old Bean plays a mean trick on her sister, she finds unexpected support for her antics from Ivy, the new neighbor, who is less boring than Bean first suspected. Bauer, Joan: **//Almost Home//**. Sixth-grader Sugar and her mother lose their beloved house and experience the harsh world of homelessness.

Birdsall, Jean: **//The Penderwicks//**. 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. Blume, Judy: **//Blubber//**. When several members of Jill's fifth-grade class decide to make life miserable for one girl, unexpected problems occur. Blume, Judy: **//Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing//**. Life with his little brother, Fudge, makes Peter Hatcher feel like a fourth grade nothing. Whether Fudge is throwing a temper tantrum in a shoe store, smearing mashed potatoes on the walls at Hamburger Heaven, or trying to fly, he's never far from trouble. He's an almost three-year-old terror who gets away with everything, and Peter's had it up to here! Burnett, Frances Hodgson: **//The Secret Garden//**. Ten-year-old Mary comes to live in a lonely house on the Yorkshire moors and discovers an invalid cousin and the mysteries of a locked garden. Buyea, Rob: **//Because of Mr. Terupt//**. Seven fifth-graders at Snow Hill School in Connecticut relate how their lives are changed for the better by "rookie teacher" Mr. Terupt. Byers, Betsy: **//Summer of the Swans//**. A teenage girl gains new insight into herself and her family when her mentally retarded brother gets lost. Christopher, Matt: many, many books about sports. Christopher, Matt: **//Penalty Shot//**. 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. Cleary, Beverly: **//Dear Mr. Henshaw//**. In his letters to his favorite author, ten-year-old Leigh reveals his problems in coping with his parents' divorce, being the new boy in school, and generally finding his own place in the world. Cleary, Beverly: **//Ramona Quimby, Age 8//**. With her father returning to college and her mother working full time, Ramona muddles through the hard times at school and home and proves to be big enough for her family to depend on. Clements, Andrew: **//Frindle//**. When he decides to turn his fifth-grade teacher's love of the dictionary around on her, clever Nick Allen invents a new word and begins a chain of events that quickly moves beyond his control. Clements, Andrew: **//No Talking//**. The noisy fifth grade boys of Laketon Elementary School challenge the equally loud fifth grade girls to a "no talking" contest. Clements, Andrew: **//The Report Card//**. Fifth-grader Nora Rowley has always hidden the fact that she is a genius from everyone because all she wants is to be normal, but when she comes up with a plan to prove that grades are not important, things begin to get out of control. Creech, Sharon: **//Walk Two Moons//**. 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. Davies, Jacqueline: **//The Lemonade War//**. Evan and his younger sister, Jesse, react very differently to the news that they will be in the same class for fourth grade and as the end of summer approaches, they battle it out through lemonade stands, each trying to be the first to earn 100 dollars. Includes mathematical calculations and tips for running a successful lemonade stand. DiCamillo, Kate: **//Because of Winn Dixie//**. 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. Dowell, Frances O’Roark: **//Phineas L. Maguire – Erupts!//**. Fourth-grade science whiz Phineas MacGuire is forced to team up with the new boy in class on a science fair project, but the boy's quirky personality causes Phineas to wonder if they have any chance of winning. Dowell, Frances O’Roark: **//The Secret Language of Girls//**. Marylin and Kate have been friends since nursery school, but when Marylin becomes a middle school cheerleader and Kate begins to develop other interests, their relationship is put to the test. Erskine, Kathryn: **//Mockingbird//**. Ten-year-old Caitlin, who has Asperger's Syndrome, struggles to understand emotions, show empathy, and make friends at school, while at home she seeks closure by working on a project with her father. Estes, Eleanor: **//The Hundred Dresses//**. In winning a medal she is no longer there to receive, a tight-lipped little Polish girl teaches her classmates a lesson. Fitzhugh, Louise: **//Harriet, the Spy//**. Eleven-year-old Harriet keeps notes on her classmates and neighbors in a secret notebook, but when some of the students read the notebook, they seek revenge. Gantos, Jack: **//Dead End in Norvelt//**. In the historic town of Norvelt, Pennsylvania, twelve-year-old Jack Gantos spends the summer of 1962 grounded for various offenses until he is assigned to help an elderly neighbor with a most unusual chore involving the newly dead, molten wax, twisted promises, Girl Scout cookies, underage driving, lessons from history, typewriting, and countless bloody noses. George, Jean Craighill: **//My Side of the Mountain//**. A young boy relates his adventures during the year he spends living alone in the Catskill Mountains including his struggle for survival, his dependence on nature, his animal friends, and his ultimate realization that he needs human companionship. Giff, Patricia Reilly: **//Pictures of Hollis Woods//**. A troublesome twelve-year-old orphan, staying with an elderly artist who needs her, remembers the only other time she was happy in a foster home, with a family that truly seemed to care about her. Green, Tim: **//Baseball Great//**. Twelve-year-old Josh LeBlanc, having learned that the brutal coach of his traveling baseball team is handing out steroids, joins with a school newspaper reporter to get the story and expose the truth. Green, Tim: **//Football Genius//**. Troy has a great sense of what plays to call in football and the Atlanta Falcons use him to call plays. Gutman, Dan: **//The Homework Machine//**. Four fifth-grade students--a geek, a class clown, a teacher's pet, and a slacker--as well as their teacher and mothers, each relate events surrounding a computer programmed to complete homework assignments. Gutman, Dan: **//The Million Dollar Shot//**. Eleven-year-old Eddie gets a chance to win a million dollars by sinking a foul shot at the National Basketball Association finals. Henkes, Kevin: **//The Year of Billy Miller//**. Seven-year-old Billy Miller starts second grade with a bump on his head and a lot of worries, but by the end of the year he has developed good relationships with his teacher, his little sister, and his parents and learned many important lessons. Henry, Marguerite: **//Misty of Chincoteague//**. Two youngsters' determination to own a Chincoteague pony is greatly increased when the Phantom and her colt are among those rounded up for the yearly auction. Hiaasen, Carl: **//Hoot//**. Roy, who is new to his small Florida community, becomes involved in another boy's attempt to save a colony of burrowing owls from a proposed construction site. Jacobson, Jennifer Richard: **//Small as an Elephant//**. Abandoned by his mother in an Acadia National Park campground, Jack tries to make his way back to Boston before anyone figures out what is going on, with only a small toy elephant for company. Konigsburg, E.L.: **//From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler//**. Two suburban children run away from their Connecticut home and go to New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, where their ingenuity enables them to live in luxury. Korman, Gordon: **//Ungifted//**. Due to an administrative mix-up, troublemaker Donovan Curtis is sent to the Academy of Scholastic Distinction, a special program for gifted and talented students, after pulling a major prank at middle school. LaFleur, Suzanne: **//Eight Keys//**. When twelve-year-old Elise, orphaned since age three, becomes disheartened by middle school, with its bullies, changing relationships, and higher expectations, keys to long-locked rooms and messages from her late father help her cope. Lin, Grace: **//The Year of the Dog//**. Frustrated at her seeming lack of talent for anything, a young Taiwanese American girl sets out to apply the lessons of the Chinese Year of the Dog, those of making best friends and finding oneself, to her own life. Lord, Cynthia: **//Rules//**. Frustrated at life with an autistic brother, twelve-year-old Catherine longs for a normal existence but her world is further complicated by a friendship with a young paraplegic. Mass, Wendy: **//Finally//**. After her twelfth birthday, Rory checks off a list of things she is finally allowed to do, but unexpected consequences interfere with her involvement in the movie being shot at her school, while a weird prediction starts to make sense. Naylor, Phyllis Reynolds: **//Shiloh//**. Marty finds a lost beagle in the hills behind his West Virginia home, and tries to hide it from his family and the dog's real owner, a mean-spirited man known to shoot deer out of season and to mistreat his dogs. O’Connor, Barbara: **//Greetings from Nowhere//**. In North Carolina's Great Smoky Mountains, a troubled boy and his mother, a happy family seeking adventure, a man and his lonely daughter, and the widow who must sell the run-down motel that has been her home for decades, meet and are transformed by their shared experiences. Palacio, R.J.: **//Wonder//**. August (Auggie) Pullman was born with a facial deformity that prevented him from going to a mainstream school—until now. He's about to start 5th grade at Beecher Prep, and if you've ever been the new kid then you know how hard that can be. The thing is Auggie's just an ordinary kid, with an extraordinary face. But can he convince his new classmates that he's just like them, despite appearances? Park, Barbara: **//Mick Harte Was Here//**. Thirteen-year-old Phoebe recalls the death of her younger brother Mick in a bicycle accident, which might not have been fatal had he been wearing his helmet, and how she and her family reacted to the tragedy. Paterson, Katherine: **//Bridge to Terabithia//**. Jess Aarons' greatest ambition is to be the fastest runner in his grade. He's been practicing all summer and can't wait to see his classmates' faces when he beats them all. But on the first day of school, a new girl boldly crosses over to the boys' side and outruns everyone. That's not a very promising beginning for a friendship, but Jess and Leslie Burke become inseparable. Together they create Terabithia, a magical kingdom in the woods where the two of them reign as king and queen, and their imaginations set the only limits. Paulsen, Gary: **//Hatchet//**. After a plane crash, thirteen-year-old Brian spends fifty-four days in the Canadian wilderness, learning to survive with only the aid of a hatchet given him by his mother, and learning also to survive his parents' divorce. Pennypacker, Sara: **//Clementine//**. While sorting through difficulties in her friendship with her neighbor Margaret, eight-year-old Clementine gains several unique hairstyles while also helping her father in his efforts to banish pigeons from the front of their apartment building. Rawls, Wilson: **//Where the Red Fern Grows//**. A young boy living in the Ozarks achieves his heart's desire when he becomes the owner of two redbone hounds and teaches them to be champion hunters. Rockwell, Thomas: **//How to Eat Fried Worms//**. Because of a bet, Billy is in the uncomfortable position of having to eat 15 worms in 15 days. Robinson, Barbara: **//The Best School Year Ever//**. Sequel to: **//The best Christmas pageant ever//**. Worst is crossed off in the title. The six horrible Herdmans, the worst kids in the history of the world, cause mayhem throughout the school year. Sachar, Lewis: **//Holes//**. Stanley Yelnats begins a journey of self-discovery when he is sent to a juvenile detention center in Texas and suspects the motives of a warden who forces him and the other boys to dig five-foot-deep holes as punishment. Spinelli, Jerry: **//Loser//**. Even though his classmates from first grade on have considered him strange and a loser, Daniel Zinkoff's optimism and exuberance and the support of his loving family do not allow him to feel that way about himself. Spinelli, Jerry: **//Maniac Magee//**. Jeffrey Lionel "Maniac" Magee might have lived a normal life if a freak accident hadn't made him an orphan. After living with his unhappy and uptight aunt and uncle for eight years, he decides to run--and not just run away, but run. This is where the myth of Maniac Magee begins, as he changes the lives of a racially divided small town with his amazing and legendary feats. Spinelli, Jerry: **//Stargirl//**. Stargirl, a teen who animates quiet Mica High with her colorful personality, suddenly finds herself shunned for her refusal to conform. Warner, Gertrude: **//The Boxcar Children//**. The Aldens begin their adventure by making a home in a boxcar. Their goal is to stay together, and in the process they find a grandfather. Weeks, Sarah: **//Pie//**. Alice's Aunt Polly passes away and entrusts the recipe for her world-famous pie crust to her cat, which she leaves in Alice's care, and as everyone, including Alice, tries to discover the secret ingredients, Alice learns some important lessons about faith, love, and family. Wiles, Deborah: **//Each Little Bird that Sings//**. Comfort Snowberger is well acquainted with death since her family runs the funeral parlor in their small southern town, but even so the ten-year-old is unprepared for the series of heart-wrenching events that begins on the first day of Easter vacation with the sudden death of her beloved great-uncle Edisto. Wiles, Deborah: **//Love, Ruby Lavender//**. When her quirky grandmother goes to Hawaii for the summer, nine-year-old Ruby learns to survive on her own in Mississippi by writing letters, befriending chickens as well as the new girl in town, and finally coping with her grandfather's death.

Warner, Gertrude: **//The Boxcar Children//**. The Aldens begin their adventure by making a home in a boxcar. Their goal is to stay together, and in the process they find a grandfather.

Based on extending physical laws and scientific principles to their logical outcomes, usually futuristic. Describes worlds that are plausible and could exist someday.
 * Science Fiction **

Anderson, Kevin: **//Star Wars//**: any in the series. Applegate, Katherine: **//The Invasion//**. Jake and his friends are given the power to morph into animals by a dying alien who tells them the Earth is under attack by the invading Yeerks, and they are called upon to test their new abilities almost immediately when they learn that Vissar Three, deadliest of the Yeerks, is after them. Asimov, Isaac: **//Fantastic Voyage//**. Five people are miniaturized and sent on a rescue mission through a man's body where they have sixty minutes to reach and break up a blood clot in his brain. Clayton, Emma: **//The Roar//**. In an overpopulated world where all signs of nature have been obliterated and a wall has been erected to keep out plague-ridden animals, twelve-year-old Mika refuses to believe that his twin sister was killed after being abducted, and continues to search for her in spite of the dangers he faces in doing so. Clements, Andrew: **//Things Not Seen//**. When fifteen-year-old Bobby wakes up and finds himself invisible, he and his parents and his new blind friend Alicia try to find out what caused his condition and how to reverse it. Colfer, Eoin: **//The Supernaturalist//**. In futuristic Satellite City, fourteen-year-old Cosmo Hill escapes from an abusive orphanage and teams up with three other people who share his unusual ability to see supernatural creatures, and together they determine the nature and purpose of the swarming blue Parasites that are invisible to most humans. Coville, Bruce: **//Aliens Ate my Homework//**. Rod is surprised when a miniature spaceship lands in his school science project and reveals five tiny aliens, who ask for his help in apprehending an interstellar criminal. DuPrau, Jeanne: **//City of Ember.//** In the year 241, twelve-year-old Lina trades jobs on Assignment Day to be a messenger, to run to new places in her beloved but decaying city, perhaps even to glimpse Unknown Regions. Evans, Richard Paul: **//Michael Vey: The Prisoner of Cell 25//**. Fourteen-year-old Michael discovers he has special electrical powers and, with the help of his best friends, becomes aware that there are other teens with similar powers, but something or someone is hunting them and, after Michael's mother is kidnapped, he will need to rely on his powers and his friends to rescue his mom, protect himself, and save the others. Falls, Kat: **//Dark Life//**. When fifteen-year-old Ty, who has always lived on the ocean floor, joins Topside girl Gemma in the frontier's underworld to seek and stop outlaws who threaten his home, they learn that the government may pose an even greater threat. Haddix, Margaret Peterson: **//Among the Hidden//**. In a future where the Population Police enforce the law limiting a family to only two children, Luke has lived all his twelve years in isolation and fear on his family's farm, until another "third" convinces him that the government is wrong. Hahn, Mary Downing: **//A Doll in the Garden: a ghost story//**. After Ashley and Kristi find an antique doll buried in old Miss Cooper's garden, they discover that they can enter a ghostly turn-of-the century world by going through a hole in the hedge. Hahn, Mary Downing: **//Time for Andrew: A Ghost Story//**. When he goes to spend the summer with his great-aunt in the family's old house, eleven-year-old Drew is drawn eighty years into the past to trade places with his great-great-uncle who is dying of diphtheria. Hobbs, Will: **//Go Big or Go Home//**. Fourteen-year-old Brady and his cousin Quinn love extreme sports, but nothing could prepare them for the aftermath of Brady's close encounter with a meteorite after it crashes into his Black Hills, South Dakota, bedroom. L’Engle, Madeleine: **//A Wrinkle in Time//**. Meg Murry, her brother Charles, and their friend Calvin, embark on a journey through space and time, assisted by three otherworldly women, to find Meg's father, a physicist who disappeared while experimenting with time travel. Lowry, Lois: **//Gathering Blue//**. Lame and suddenly orphaned, Kira is mysteriously removed from her squalid village to live in the palatial Council Edifice, where she is expected to use her gifts as a weaver to do the bidding of the all-powerful Guardians. Lowry, Lois: **//The Giver//**. Given his lifetime assignment at the Ceremony of Twelve, Jonas becomes the receiver of memories shared by only one other in his community and discovers the terrible truth about the society in which he lives. Mass, Wendy: **//Pi in the Sky//**. Joss, the seventh son of the Supreme Overlord of the Universe, must team up with a human girl to re-create Earth, when the planet is accidentally erased from existence. Pullman, Philip: **//Clockwork: or all wound up//**. Long ago in Germany, a storyteller's story and an apprentice clockwork-maker's nightmare meet in a menacing, lifelike figure created by the strange Dr. Kalmenius. Verne, Jules: **//Journey to the Center of the Earth//**. A team of explorers makes an expedition into an Icelandic crater which leads to the centre of the earth and to incredible and horrifying discoveries. Wells, H. G.: **//The War of the Worlds//**. After Martians land on Earth just outside of London in the late nineteenth century, an Englishman tries to find his wife while the British military and human technology fail in their efforts to stop the Martians, which have begun to kill and feed off of humans. Wright, Betty Ren: **//Christina's Ghost//**. Christina's summer in a spooky, isolated Victorian house with her grumpy uncle turns into a ghostly adventure.


 * Myths and Legends **

Ardagh, Philip: **//Ancient Greek Myths & Legends//**. Retells some of the most famous Greek myths about gods, goddesses, humans, heroes, and monsters, explaining the background of the tales and how they have survived. Claybourne, Anna**: //The Adventures of Ulysses//.** Across perilous seas and strange lands inhabited by man-eating giants and fearsome monsters, cunning Ulysses, Latin name for Odysseus, struggles to return home from the Trojan War - only to find he has another battle on his hands and a kingdom to reclaim. Clayton, Sally: **//Persephone//**. Based on the Greek myth, this classic brings alive one of the world’s most ancient legends – the origins of the seasons. Colich, Abby: **// Unicorns //**. Explores references to unicorns in ancient texts, describing their physical features, their behaviors, the powers attributed to their horns, and their religious symbolism in medieval times, and discusses animals that may have been mistaken for the creature. Curlee, Lynn : **Mythological Creatures.** Provides and introduction to gods and goddesses, Chimeras, phoenixes, Centaurs, heroes, and many other legendary figures from the world of mythology. Evslin, Bernard: **//Heroes, Gods and Monsters of the Greek Myths//**. Retelling of the ancient Greek Myths, arranged in four sections: the Gods, Nature Myths, Demigods, and Fables. Includes a brief section on words from the Greek Myths which are part of the English Language. Gates, Doris: **//Lord of the sky: Zeus//**. A retelling of the Greek Myths that center around Zeus, including the tales of Europa, King Minos, and others. Napoli, Donna Jo : **//Treasury of Egyptian Mythology.//** Colorful illustrations help relay stories of Egyptian myths, including those of pharaohs, queens, the boisterous Sun God Ra, and legendary creatures like the Sphinx. Osborne, Mary Pope: **//Favorite Greek Myths.//** Retells twelve tales from Greek mythology, including the stories of King Midas. Echo and Narcissus. The Golden Apples, and Cupid and Psyche.