F VAN	Smart Dog (age 8-11) by Vivian Vande Velde brilliant protagonist ... friendship ... school ... animals Fifth grader Amy Prochenko is wildly unpopular. Then one day Amy meets Sherlock, a dog on the run from a university lab. Sherlock is not like other dogs: He can talk, he's smarter than most of Amy's classmates--and he needs Amy's help. Suddenly Amy's life is full of danger and excitement, and she finds she is becoming, of all things, popular. Best of all, she discovers in Sherlock the sort of friend she's always longed for--and one she must protect no matter what the cost.
F REI	The Golden Hamster Saga (age 8-11) by Dietlof Reiche humor ... adventure ... brilliant protagonist Freddy is not happy with his boring treadmill life at the pet store. He continaully embarrasses himself in an attempt to get adopted. Freddy believes he will have a more civilized and exciting life as soon as he has a home. After a series of funny misadventures (including encounters with a fierce tomcat and two guinea pigs who speak in Shakespearean couplets) he teaches himself to read and write. He then pens his witty and heartwarming autobiography that tells of his journey to self discovery. A hamster has never been smarter or funnier in telling the tale of his exceptional life. title: I, Freddy title: Freddy in Peril title: Freddy to the Rescue title: The Haunting of Freddy: Book Four in the Golden Hamster Saga
F DAV	The Lemonade War Series (age 8-11) by Jacqueline Davies friendship ... brilliant protagonist ... enterprise ... math/science/technology Evan Treski is people-smart. He is good at talking with people, even grownups. His younger sister, Jessie, on the other hand, is math-smart...but not especially good at understanding people. She knows that feelings are her weakest subject. So when their lemonade war begins, there really is no telling who will win...and even more important, if their fight will ever end. title: The Lemonade War
F FIT	The Great Brain Series (age 8-11) by John D. Fitzgerald adventure ... humor ... brilliant protagonist ... enterprise The best con man in the Midwest is only ten years old. Tom, a.k.a., the Great Brain, is a silver-tongued genius with a knack for turning a profit. When the Jenkins boys get lost in Skeleton Cave, the Great Brain saves the day. Whether it's saving the kids at school, or helping out Peg-leg Andy, or Basil, the new kid at school, the Great Brain always manages to come out on top ... and line his pockets in the process. title: The Great Brain title: Me and My Little Brain title: The Return of the Great Brain
F CLE	The Report Card (age 8-11) by Andrew Clements friendship ... brilliant protagonist ... school catalog: 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.
F CUR	The Flint Future Detectives Series (age 8-11) by Christopher Curtis brilliant protagonist ... mystery ... enterprise ... humor In the first book, Mr. Chickee's Funny Money, Mr. Chickee, the genial blind man in the neighborhood, gives 9-year-old Steven a mysterious bill with 15 zeros on it and the image of a familiar but startling face. Could it be a quadrillion dollar bill? Could it be real? Well, Agent Fondoo of the U.S. Treasury Department and his team of Secret Government Agents are determined to get that money back! But Steven and his best friends, Russell and Zoopy the giant dog, are more than a match for the Feds. After all, Steven is the president of the Flint Future Detectives Club, and the inventor of fantastic spying and detecting equipment such as the Snoopeeze 9000! title: Mr. Chickee's Funny Money
F CAR	Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (age 8-11) by Lewis Carroll math/science/technology ... brilliant protagonist ... poetry ... fantasy The Mad Hatter, the Ugly Duchess, the Mock Turtle, the Queen of Hearts, the Cheshire Cat-characters each more eccentric than the last. In these two brilliant novels Lewis Carroll created the most famous and fantastic novels of all time, that not only stirred our imagination but revolutionized literature.
F KON	The View From Saturday (age 8-11) by E. L. Konigsburg realistic ... identity ... friendship ... brilliant protagonist Four students, with their own individual stories, develop a special bond and attract the attention of their teacher, who chooses them to represent their sixth-grade class in the Academic Bowl competition.
F SOB	The Encyclopedia Brown Series (age 8-11) by Donald Sobol mystery ... brilliant protagonist Whenever ten-year-old Leroy (nicknamed ``Encyclopedia'') Brown's father, Chief of Police of Idaville, had a difficult case, Encyclopedia always managed to solve it at the dinner table. So, he decided to open his own detective agency. title: Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective title: Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of Pablo's Nose title: Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Dead Eagles title: Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Jumping Frogs title: Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Sleeping Dog title: Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Secret Pitch title: Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Two Spies title: Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Disgusting Sneakers title: Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Slippery Salamander title: Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Mysterious Handprints title: Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Treasure Hunt title: Encyclopedia Brown Finds the Clues title: Encyclopedia Brown Saves the Day title: Encyclopedia Brown Gets His Man title: Encyclopedia Brown Lends a Hand title: Encyclopedia Brown Shows the Way title: Encyclopedia Brown Solves Them All title: Encyclopedia Brown Takes the Case title: Encyclopedia Brown Tracks Them Down
F MCC	Homer Price (age 8-11) by Robert McCloskey math/science/technology ... humor ... enterprise ... brilliant protagonist 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, pushing out donuts just as regular as a clock can tick. sequel: Centerburg Tales
F KIN	Babe: The Gallant Pig (age 8-11) by Dick King-Smith brilliant protagonist ... enterprise ... humor A piglet destined for eventual butchering arrives at the farmyard, is adopted by an old sheep dog, and discovers a special secret to success.
F DAH	Matilda (age 8-11) by Roald Dahl identity ... brilliant protagonist ... school ... humor Publisher comments: Matilda is a genius. Unfortunately, her family treats her like a dolt. Her crooked car-salesman father and loud, bingo-obsessed mother think Matilda's only talent is as a scapegoat for everything that goes wrong in their miserable lives. But it's not long before the sweet and sensitive child decides to fight back. Faced with practical jokes of sheer brilliance, her parents don't stand a chance.
F CLE	The School Story (age 8-11) by Andrew Clements authorship ... school ... brilliant protagonist Publisher comments: Twelve-year-old Natalie Nelson has written a powerful school story. It's a short novel called "The Cheater," and her best friend Zoe is certain it should be published. All Natalie has to do is give the manuscript to her mom, an editor at a big publishing house. However Natalie doesn't want any favors from her mom. Spurred into action, Natalie invents a pen name for herself and Zoe becomes a self-styled literary agent. Will the girls succeed?
F CLE	The Landry News (age 8-11) by Andrew Clements authorship ... realistic ... school ... brilliant protagonist Publisher comments: Cara Landry is a budding journalist. When she posts a scathing editorial about her burned-out teacher on the bulletin board one afternoon, everything changes. Prodded into action for the first time in years, Mr. Larson challenges his fifth-grade students to create a real newspaper. Soon The Landry News gets more attention than either Cara or her teacher bargained for.
F CLE	Frindle (age 8-11) by Andrew Clements brilliant protagonist ... realistic ... school Catalog: 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.

Addison Elementary School, Sat Aug 25 11:55:24 2012 Other themes and genres