F URB	A Crooked Kind of Perfect (age 9-12) by Linda Urban enterprise ... humor ... the arts ... family Ten-year-old Zoe Elias has perfect piano dreams. She can practically feel the keys under her flying fingers; she can hear the audience's applause. All she needs is a baby grand so she can start her lessons, and then she'll be well on her way to Carnegie Hall. But when Dad ventures to the music store and ends up with a wheezy organ instead of a piano, Zoe's dreams hit a sour note. Learning the organ versions of old TV theme songs just isn't the same as mastering Beethoven on the piano. And the organ isn't the only part of Zoe's life that's off-kilter, what with Mom constantly at work, Dad afraid to leave the house, and that odd boy, Wheeler Diggs, following her home from school every day. Yet when Zoe enters the annual Perform-O-Rama organ competition, she finds that life is full of surprises, and that perfection may be even better when it's just a little off center.
F DEF	The Apprenticeship of Lucas Whitaker (age 9-12) by Cynthia C. DeFelice historical ... illness/loss ... enterprise It's 1849, and twelve-year-old, Lucas Whitaker is all alone after his whole family dies of a disease called consumption which has swept through the community. Lucas is grief-stricken and filled with guilt. He might have saved his mother, who was the last to die, if only he had listened to news of a strange cure for this deadly disease. Unable to manage the family farm by himself, Lucas finds work as an apprentice to Doc Beecher, doctor, dentist, barber and undertaker. Doc amputates a leg as easily as he pulls a tooth, yet when it comes to consumption, he remains powerless, unwilling to try the cure he calls nonsense. Lucas can't accept Doc's disbelief, and he joins others in the dark ritual they believe is their only hope. The startling results teach Lucas a great deal about fear, desperation, and the scientific reasoning that offers hope for a true cure.
F KAR	The Great Turkey Walk (age 9-12) by Kathleen Karr enterprise ... humor ... historical Big, brawny Simon Green, who's just completed third grade (for the fourth time), may not be book smart, but he's nobody's fool. When it's time to be done with school and make his way in the world, Simon hatches a plan that could earn him a bundle. He intends to herd a huge flock of bronze turkeys all the way from his home in eastern Missouri to the boomtown of Denver, where they'll fetch a mighty price. In the year 1860, the hazards of such a trek are many - how does one shepherd the birds across a river, for instance? - but Simon is undaunted. Accompanied by a faithful drover, and eventually to be joined by two boon companions, he undertakes the biggest journey of his young life, in this high-spirited Wild Wild West adventure.
F MYE	The Young Landlords (age 9-12) by Walter Dean Myers friendship ... enterprise If you were looking for a real dump, you couldn't beat The Stratford Arms. There was Askia Ben Kenobi throwing karate chops upstairs, Petey Darden making booze downstairs, and Mrs. Brown grieving for Jack Johnson, whod died for the third time in a month...and not a rent payer in the bunch. Still, when Paul Williams and the Action Group got the Arms for one dollar, they thought they had it made. But when their friend Chris was arrested for stealing stereos and Dean's dog started biting fire hydrants and Gloria started kissing, being a landlord turned out to be a lot more work than being a kid.
F GUT	The Homework Machine (age 9-12) by Dan Gutman brilliant protagonist ... enterprise ... humor ... friendship ... school Meet the D Squad, a foursome of fifth graders at the Grand Canyon School made up of a geek, a class clown, a teacher's pet, and a slacker. They are bound together by one very big secret: the homework machine. Because the machine, code-named Belch, is doing their homework for them, they start spending a lot of time together, attracting a lot of attention. And attention is exactly what you don't want when you are keeping a secret. Before long, things start to get out of control, and Belch becomes much more powerful than they ever imagined. Now the kids are in a race against their own creation, and the loser could end up in jail...or worse!
F CUR	The Great Smith House Hustle (age 9-12) by Jane Louise Curry enterprise ... family ... mystery Just after moving into their grandmother's house in Pittsburgh, the five Smith children must uncover a long-standing scam to steal the houses of old people before Grandma Smith loses her home.
F BRI	The Wish Giver: Three Tales of Coven Tree (age 9-12) by Bill Brittain enterprise ... fantasy ... magic When a strange little man comes to the Coven Tree Church Social promising he can give people exactly what they ask for, three young believers-in-magic each make a wish that comes true in the most unexpected way. sequel: Dr. Dredd's Wagon of Wonders
F NIX	Young Americans Series (age 9-12) by Joan Lowery Nixon enterprise ... historical Each volume tells a personal story about life and work in Colonial Williamsburg. title: Ann's Story, 1747 title: Caesar's Story, 1759
F ROD	Finders Keepers (age 9-12) by Emily Rodda enterprise ... science fiction While playing a computer game, Patrick is transported to a parallel world and invited to participate in a game show in which he must find three lost items to win several fabulous prizes.
F NAY	Beetles, Lightly Toasted (age 9-12) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor humor ... enterprise ... authorship Andy's entering the fifth-grade essay contest stirs his imagination to creative heights as he competes with his know-it-all cousin by making recipes with some unusual food sources and testing them on unaware friends and family.
F FLE	Seedfolks (age 9-12) by Paul Fleischman enterprise ... nature ... friendship A vacant lot, rat-infested and filled with garbage, looked like no place for a garden. Especially to a neighborhood of strangers where no one seems to care. Until one day, a young girl clears a small space and digs into the hard-packed soil to plant her precious bean seeds. Suddenly, the soil holds promise: To Curtis, who believes he can win back Lateesha's heart with a harvest of tomatoes; to Virgil's dad, who sees a fortune to be made from growing lettuce; and even to Maricela, sixteen and pregnant, wishing she were dead. Thirteen very different voices, old, young, Haitian, Hispanic, tough, haunted, and hopeful, tell one amazing story about a garden that transforms a neighborhood.
F BYA	McMummy (age 9-12) by Betsy Cromer Byars spooky ... humor ... science fiction ... enterprise Looking after an eccentric scientist's greenhouse does not seem any stranger than the other odd jobs taken by Mozie and his partner Battie--until Mozie discovers a large, mummy-shaped pod on one of the plants.
F SMI	Bobby Baseball (age 9-12) by Robert Kimmel Smith identity ... enterprise ... sports Ten-year-old Bobby Ellis loves everything about baseball, from the hits to the hot dogs. That's why he calls himself Bobby Baseball! Every day he dreams of becoming a major league pitcher and joining the stars in the Baseball Hall of Fame. And what better place to start his career than right here on his own Kids Club team, the Hawks? But the Hawks' coach happens to be Bobby's father, who has other ideas.
F NAP	The King of Mulberry Street (age 9-12) by Donna Jo Napoli adventure ... enterprise ... survival ... historical In 1892, nine-year-old Dom's mother puts him on a ship leaving Italy, bound for America. He is a stowaway, traveling alone and with nothing of value except for a new pair of shoes from his mother. In the turbulent world of homeless children in Manhattan's Five Points, Dom learns street smarts, and not only survives, but thrives by starting his own business. A vivid, fascinating story of an exceptional boy, based in part on the author's grandfather.
F WOO	The Christmas Doll (age 9-12) by Elvira Woodruff traditions ... magic ... enterprise ... historical Lucy and her sister Glory have only each other to lean on as they labor day after day in the workhouse. When they flee to escape a deadly fever, they find an old, discarded doll...but this is no ordinary toy. This story of love, hope, and redemption finds magic in the least likely places.
F NES	The Story of the Treasure Seekers (age 9-12) by E. Nesbit family ... enterprise ... adventure The Bastable children combine their considerable wit and experience to seek a fortune.
F RIT	The Boy Who Saved Baseball (age 9-12) by John Ritter enterprise ... humor ... sports Tom Gallagher finds himself in a tight spot. The fate of Dillontown rests on the outcome of one baseball game, winner take all. Maybe Tom has one hope: Cruz de la Cruz, the mysterious boy who has just ridden into town on horseback claiming to know the secret of hitting.
F ROB	Henry Reed Adventures (age 9-12) by Keith Robertson realistic ... adventure ... humor ... enterprise Henry Reed has a talent for making things happen, and with his neighbor Midge in on the action, there's nothing they can't do. title: Henry Reed, Inc. title: Henry Reed's Baby-sitting Service
F GUT	The Kid Who Ran for President (age 9-12) by Dan Gutman enterprise ... humor With his friend as campaign manager and his former babysitter as running mate, twelve-year-old Judson Moon sets out to become President of the United States. sequel: The Kid Who Became President
F FLE	By the Great Horn Spoon! (age 9-12) by Sid Fleischman historical ... adventure ... enterprise A gentleman's gentleman from Boston flees to the wilds of California during the Gold Rush and becomes a hero.
F DEJ	The Wheel on the School (age 9-12) by Meindert DeJong school ... nature ... animals ... enterprise Why do the storks no longer come to the little Dutch fishing village of Shora to nest? It was Lina, one of the six schoolchildren who first asked the question, and she set the others to wondering. And sometimes when you begin to wonder, you begin to make things happen. So the children set out to bring the storks back to Shora. The force of their vision put the whole village to work until at last the dream began to come true.
F CAR	The Big Bazoohley (age 9-12) by Peter Carey family ... enterprise When his family runs low on funds while on a trip to Toronto, nine-year-old Sam allows himself to be ``borrowed'' and entered in a contest to find the Perfecto Kiddo, hoping to win $10,000.
F BUR	The Copper Treasure (age 9-12) by Melvin Burgess enterprise ... adventure Jamie, Ten Tons and Davies are mudlarks. To live, they sell bits of coal, rope and copper scavenged from the cold, foul mud of the River Thames. When only they see a valuable piece of copper fall off a ship, Ten Tons comes up with a daring plan to retrieve it. But it is a plan filled with great danger.

Barron Park Elementary School, Sat Aug 25 11:55:26 2012 Other themes and genres