Spinelli, Jerry
Realistic Fiction
Maniac Magee
(grades 6 & up; 180 pgs)
An orphan accomplishes athletic and other feats which
awe his contemporaries.
YOUTH
Thaler, Mike.
Humorous Fiction
The Class Trip from the Black Lagoon
(grades 2-3; 64 pgs)
As he gets ready for a field trip, a boy worries about all the
things that might go wrong.
Tolan, Stephanie S.
Family/Humorous Fiction
Surviving the Applewhites
(grades 5-9; 216 pgs)
A budding juvenile delinquent discovers an untapped talent
after being homeschooled by the eccentric Applewhites.
Turnage, Sheila
Mystery Fiction
Three Times Lucky
(grades 4-8; 256 pgs)
An 11-year-old orphan turns detective when her best friend
Dale and forgetful foster father are accused of murder.
Vande Velde, Vivian
Fantasy Fiction
A Hidden Magic
(grades 4-6; 176 pgs)
Lost in a magic forest, Princess Jennifer seeks help from a
kindly young sorcerer in battling an evil witch.
Wiles, Deborah
Family/Realistic Fiction
Each Little Bird That Sings
(grades 4-7; 247 pgs)
Although 10-year-old Comfort’s family runs a funeral parlor,
a relative’s sudden death catches her by surprise.
Wiles, Deborah
Family/Realistic Fiction
Love, Ruby Lavender
(grades 4-7; 212 pgs)
9-year-old Ruby writes letters to her grandmother in
Hawaii.
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Anderson, Laurie Halse
Historical Fiction
Fever 1793
(grades 5+; 251 pgs)
In 1793 Philadelphia, 16-year-old Matilda Cook copes with
the horrors of a yellow fever epidemic.
Avi
Sports Fiction
S.O.R. Losers
(grades 3-7; 90 pgs)
A school’s winning streak is threatened by a soccer team
of seventh-graders who excel at everything but soccer.
Barrow, Randi G.
Historical Fiction
Saving Zasha
(grades 4-8; 160 pgs)
In 1945 Russia, 13-year-old Mikhail finds a German
shepherd and tries to keep her safe from those who
believe that owning a German dog is traitorous.
Balliett, Blue
Mystery Fiction
Chasing Vermeer
(grades 5-8; 254 pgs)
th
Two brainy 6 graders from Chicago investigate the
mysterious disappearance of a Vermeer painting.
Birdsall, Jeanne
Humorous/Realistic Fiction
The Penderwicks: a Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two
Dogs, and a Very Interesting Boy
(grades 3-6; 262 pgs)
Four lovable sisters befriend a local boy to the horror of his
uppity mother.
Cheng, Andrea
Realistic Fiction
The Year of the Book
(grades 2-4; 160 pgs)
th
A 4 grade Asian-American girl navigates relationships
with family and classmates, and finds a true best friend.
Clements, Andrew
Realistic Fiction
Extra Credit
(grades 3-7; 183 pgs)
th
A 6 -grade in Illinois corresponds with two kids in
Afghanistan.
Collins, Suzanne
Adventure/Fantasy Fiction
Gregor the Overlander
(grades 3-7; 308 pgs)
11-year-old Gregor becomes a hero when he follows his
baby sister into an underground world full of talking bats,
rats, cockroaches, and spiders.
Paterson, Katherine
Realistic Fiction
The Bridge to Terabithia
(grades 5-8; 163 pgs)
The friendship between a 10-year-old country boy and the
"city girl" from the farmhouse down the road opens doors to
culture and imaginative play. But then tragedy strikes.
Peck, Richard
Realistic Fiction
Strays Like Us
(grades 5-8; 155 pgs)
While her mother copes with drug addiction, 12-year-old
Molly stays with her great-aunt and wonders where she
belongs.
Prineas, Sarah
Fantasy Fiction
The Magic Thief
(grades 4-6; 417 pgs)
A local pickpocket is drawn into a magical world when he
tries to steal from a wizard.
Raskin, Ellen
Mystery Fiction
The Westing Game
(grades 5-9; 182 pgs)
Potential heirs gather to identify a millionaire’s killer before
they can claim their inheritance.
Schmidt, Gary D.
Historical Fiction
Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy
(grades 6+; 219 pgs)
In 1911, a girl from a poor island community a boy adjust to
life in Phippsburg, Maine.
Shusterman, Neal
Realistic Fiction
The Schwa Was Here
(grades 6+; 228 pgs)
A Brooklyn eighth-grader befriends an "invisible-ish" boy
who is tired of going unnoticed by nearly everyone.
Snyder, Zilpha Keatley
Mystery Fiction
The Egypt Game
(grades 5-8; 215 pgs)
A group of children play their own Egypt game, are visited
by a secret oracle, and become involved in a murder.
Levine, Gail Carson
Fantasy Fiction
The Wish
(grades 4-8; 243 pgs)
th
8 -grader Wilma learns to “be careful what you wish for”
when her wish to be popular is granted.
Levine, Kristin
Historical Fiction
The Lions of Little Rock
(grades 5+; 304 pgs)
In 1958 Little Rock, Arkansas, shy 12-year-old Marlee’s
city and family are divided over school integration, but a
new friendship helps her find her voice and fight racism.
Lowry, Lois
Science Fiction
The Giver (Giver Quartet, book 1)
(grades 6+; 180 pgs)
Jonas learns that his community uses drugs to prevent
citizens from experiencing “color, pain, or past.”
Mah, Adeline Yeh
Autobiography
Chinese Cinderella
(grades 5-8; 199 pgs)
This memoir recounts the true story of the neglect and
injustice inflicted upon a young girl by her stepmother.
Creech, Sharon
Realistic Fiction
Granny Torrelli Makes Soup
(grades 4-7; 141 pgs)
12-year-old Rosie’s grandmother helps her make peace
with her best friend, Bailey.
Crilley, Mark
Adventure/Science Fiction
Akiko on the Planet Smoo
(grades 3-7; 162 pgs)
The quest to rescue a kidnapped prince takes 10-year-old
Akiko to a faraway planet.
Curtis, Christopher Paul
Historical Fiction
The Watsons Go to Birmingham, 1963
(grades 6 & up; 210 pgs)
A quirky African-American family travels from Michigan to
Alabama during the Civil Rights era.
Dahl, Roald
Humorous Fiction
Fantastic Mr. Fox
(grades 2-4; 62 pgs)
Clever Mr. Fox must use his wits to outsmart the farmers
and feed his family.
DiCamillo, Kate
Fairy Tales
The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane
(grades 2-5; 228 pgs)
A cold-hearted toy rabbit learns about love.
Martin, Ann M.
The Doll People
Fantasy Fiction
(grades 3-6; 256 pgs)
A porcelain doll befriends a plastic doll in order to solve a
45-year-old mystery.
McSwigan, Marie
Historical Fiction
Snow Treasure
(grades 3-6; 179 pgs)
In 1940 Norway, a group of kids protect the local bank’s
holdings from the invading Nazis. Based on a true story.
Mercado, Nancy (editor)
Humor/Short Stories
Tripping Over the Lunch Lady and Other School
Stories
(grades 4-7; 177 pgs)
This anthology collects ten funny stories about school by
popular authors including Avi and Sarah Weeks.
DiCamillo, Kate
Fairy Tales
The Tale of Despereaux
(grades 3-6; 269 pgs)
A small mouse with big ears learns about the wrath of rats
and the power of soup as he falls in love with a princess.
Giff, Patricia Reilly
Family/Realistic Fiction
Pictures of Hollis Woods
(grades 4-7; 166 pgs)
After a string of foster families, 12-year-old Hollis tries to
make things work with her latest guardian.
Grabenstein, Chris
Suspense Fiction
Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library
(grades 4-7; 304 pgs)
Following a lock-in at the library, students find that they
must team up and solve puzzles in order to escape.
Gutman, Dan
Realistic Fiction
The Homework Machine
(grades 4-6; 176 pgs)
th
Four 5 -graders are in for an eventful year when one of
them invents a homework-completing dream machine.
Haddix, Margaret Peterson
Science Fiction
Among the Hidden (Shadow Children, book 1)
(grades 5-8; 153 pgs)
The government permits only 2 children per family. Luke, a
rd
3 child, lives in hiding. Are there others like him?
Haddix, Margaret Peterson
Mystery Fiction
Running Out of Time
(grades 4-7; 184 pgs)
13-year-old Jessie learns that her 1840 village is actually a
1995 tourist site run by scientists.
Hannigan, Katherine
Realistic Fiction
Ida B.: and Her Plans to Maximize Fun, Avoid Disaster,
and (Possibly) Save the World
(grades 4-6; 246 pgs)
th
4 -grader Ida B. declares war on her new teacher and
classmates when she is forced to attend public school after
being homeschooled on a Wisconsin orchard.
Holm, Jennifer
Family/Historical Fiction
Our Only May Amelia
(grades 4-7; 247 pgs)
A Finnish American girl with seven brothers resents having
to act like a lady in Washington State in 1899. Holt,
Kimberly Willis
Realistic Fiction
My Louisiana Sky
(grades 4-8; 200 pgs)
Growing up in 1950s Louisiana, 12-year-old Tiger Ann
struggles with her feelings about her her mentally slow
parents and her good friend and neighbor, Jesse.
Howe, Deborah and James
Mystery Fiction
Bunnicula
(grades 4-7; 98 pgs)
Harold the dog and Chester the cat try to warn their human
family that their foundling baby bunny must be a vampire.
Kehret, Peg
Nonfiction
Shelter Dogs: Amazing Stories of Adopted Strays
(grades 3-8; 133 pgs)
Eight short stories relate the true adventures of unwanted
dogs that go on to do great things.
Kehret, Peg
Autobiography
Small Steps: The Year I Got Polio
(grades 3-8; 174 pgs)
In this moving memoir set in 1949, the author recalls
contracting polio at the age of twelve.
Kindl, Patrice
Fantasy/Humorous Fiction
Goose Chase
(grades 6-9; 214 pgs)
Rather than marry a cruel king or a daft prince, an
enchanted goose girl contends with imprisonment.
Korman, Gordon
Adventure/Survival Fiction
Shipwreck (Island, book 1)
(grades 3-8; 129 pgs)
6 kids together while stranded in the middle of the ocean
with no food, no water, and almost no hope for survival.
Korman, Gordon
Humorous/Sports Fiction
The Toilet Paper Tigers
(grades 3-7; 195 pgs)
th
7 –grader Corey’s Little League team is taken over by a
clueless coach with a pushy granddaughter.
LaFaye, A.
Historical Fiction
Worth
(grades 3-7; 144 pgs)
th
In 19 -century Nebraska, 11-year-old Nate feels useless
when an injury keeps him from working on the family farm
and his father hires an orphan boy to help with chores.
Lai, Thanha
Realistic Fiction
Inside Out & Back Again
(grades 4-7; 262 pgs)
A young girl uses poetry to chronicle pivotal year of 1975,
when she, her mother, and brothers move from war-torn
Vietnam to Alabama.
Larson, Kirby
Historical Fiction
Hattie Big Sky
(grades 6+; 289 pgs)
16-year-old orphan Hattie Brooks travels from Iowa in 1917
to fend for herself on a Montana homestead.