F LOR	In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson (age 9-12) by Bette Bao Lord friendship ... humor ... identity ... sports ... school Shirley Temple Wong sails from China to America with a heart full of dreams. Her new home is Brooklyn, New York. America is indeed a land full of wonders, but Shirley doesn't know any English, so it's hard to make friends. Then a miracle happens...baseball. It is 1947, and Jackie Robinson, star of the Brooklyn Dodgers, is everyone's hero. Jackie Robinson is proving that a black man, the grandson of a slave, can make a difference in America and for Shirley as well, on the ball field and off, America becomes the land of opportunity.
F BAR	Go Long! (age 9-12) by Tiki Barber school ... sports Publisher comments: It's Tiki and Ronde's second year on their junior high school football team, the Hidden Valley Eagles. The eighth-grade season is here, and the boys have come together as a team. Now key starters, Tiki and Ronde are ready for a great season, and with hard work and determination, maybe they will even go all the way to the State Championship! But when Coach Spangler announces that he has been asked to move up to the high school team, and Mr. Wheeler, the science teacher, is tapped for the head coaching job, the season seems over before it begins. Sure, Coach Wheeler played college football until he was benched by an injury, but it just isn't the same. Tiki wants to give Coach Wheeler a chance, yet the team's loyalties are divided. What does a science teacher know about the game of football? Can the team work together, get behind their new coach, and play smart?
F BAR	Wild Card (age 9-12) by Tiki Barber school ... sports Publisher comments: The Hidden Valley Eagles' eighth-grade season is looking strong, but the team's star kicker is put on academic probation for poor grades in biology and math. As Tiki and Ronde's mom always says, Grades come first. Maybe it's time to work together off the field as well as on.
F MAR	Belle Teal (age 9-12) by Ann M. Martin school ... family ... illness/loss ... historical Publisher comments: Belle Teal's life isn't easy, but she gets by. She lives with her mother and grandmother far out in the country. They don't have much money, but Belle Teal feels rich with their love. As school begins, Belle Teal faces unexpected challenges. Her best friends are up against some big problems. And there are two new students in Belle Teal's class: a shy boy caught in the town's furor over desegregation, and a snob who has problems of her own. As her world falls apart, Belle Teal discovers the importance of sticking together.
F KIN	Diary of a Wimpy Kid Series (age 9-12) by Jeff Kinney letters/journal ... growing up ... humor ... school ... friendship It's a new school year, and Greg Heffley finds himself thrust into middle school, where undersized weaklings share the hallways with kids who are taller, meaner, and already shaving. The hazards of growing up before you're ready are uniquely revealed through words and drawings as Greg records them in his diary. title: Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Greg Heffley's Journal title: Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules title: Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw title: Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days
F MCK	Stargone John (age 9-12) by Ellen Kindt McKenzie authorship ... school Six-year-old John, emotionally withdrawn and resistant to traditional teaching methods, experiences ridicule and punishment at his one-room schoolhouse, until an old retired teacher reaches out from her blindness to share with him the world of reading and writing.
F MOR	The Butterfly Lion (age 9-12) by Michael Morpurgo animals ... school ... adventure Trying to run away from boarding school in England, a boy encounters a mysterious old woman who tells him the story of her late husband Bertie and the beautiful white lion cub that he rescued as a boy.
F O'D	Agnes Parker Series (age 9-12) by Kathleen O'Dell growing up ... friendship ... school Agnes Parker isn't the class outcast or its queen bee-which is okay except that sometimes the middle just seems . . . really . . . ordinary. So Agnes sets out to be a different version of the girl she's always been. Someone who won't always get clobbered by bullies, who can some-times be cool and confident-and maybe catch the eye of that new boy in class? title: Agnes Parker, Girl in Progress title: Agnes Parker, Happy Camper?
F PAT	Colder Than Ice (age 9-12) by David Patneaude school ... action ... friendship Josh isn't happy to be starting at a new school. But maybe it's a chance to be somebody--not so easy for a kid who's been pretty average and is overweight besides. So when big-shot Corey Kitchens wants Josh to join him and his friends for ice hockey on Poor Rooney's pond, Josh is pumped. He can see himself out there, with the cool seventh graders, a natural success for the first time in his life. He can hardly wait for the ice to get thick. But why is it that Skye, the girl with the warm smile, doesn't trust Corey? And why does Mark, the strange kid who has Asperger syndrome (a form of autism), put up an umbrella to protect himself from the snow?
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 COL	Weirdo's War (age 9-12) by Michael Coleman friendship ... school Publisher comments: Daniel is known as Weirdo because he enjoys doing things at school that others think strange, like working out mathematical formulas for everything and being on his own. Tosh couldn't be more different - hanging around with his 'friends' who use him as a butt of their jokes and picking on others, such as Daniel. So when they find themselves sharing lodgings on a school trip neither is too happy.
F BUT	Trading Places With Tank Talbott (age 9-12) by Dori Hillestad Butler school ... humor ... friendship ... identity Publisher comments: When dorky Jason Pfeiffer, who hates to swim, and athletic Tank Talbott, who hates ballroom dancing, trade places, the mismatched pair learn some surprising things about friendship and courage. See also, "Tank Talbott's Guide to Girls".
F BAW	Granny the Pag (age 9-12) by Nina Bawden school ... family Originally abandoned by her actor parents to be raised by her unconventional grandmother, twelve-year-old Cat (Catriona Brooke) wages a spirited campaign against their efforts to regain custody.
F CAS	Lucie Babbidge's House (age 9-12) by Sylvia Cassedy family ... school ... growing up Having found a dollhouse full of dolls in the orphanage where she leads an unhappy existence, Lucie creates a secret life for herself.
F YAT	Prudence Crandall: Woman of Courage (age 9-12) by Elizabeth Yates bigotry ... school ... historical This is the story of a Quaker schoolmistress who in 1833 opened her school to Negro girls and fought to maintain this stand despite the intolerance and abuse of her neighbors.
F WAR	Catty-Cornered (age 9-12) by Cheryl Ware growing up ... letters/journal ... school ... family Writing in her diary, twelve-year-old Venola Mae Cutright describes her trials and tribulations as she is forced to go live with her grandmother while she starts the seventh grade.
F WAR	Dog Years (age 9-12) by Sally Warner authorship ... friendship ... school After his father is imprisoned, twelve-year-old Case switches to a new school, where he makes some important discoveries about friendship and honesty.
F TOL	Save Halloween! (age 9-12) by Stephanie S. Tolan traditions ... identity ... authorship ... folklore ... school Eleven-year-old Johnna, who is deeply involved in the sixth grade Halloween pageant although her family views it as a celebration of an un-Christian holiday, decides that she must follow her own beliefs.
F SHA	Getting Something on Maggie Marmelstein (age 9-12) by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat school ... realistic ... humor ... friendship After Thad embarrasses Maggie and she retaliates by embarrassing him even more, he plots revenge. sequel: Maggie Marmelstein For President
F SAC	Dogs Don't Tell Jokes (age 9-12) by Louis Sachar friendship ... humor ... school Twelve-year-old jokester Gary Boone knows he was born to be a comedian, it's the kids in his class who think he's just a goon. Winning the school talent show would be Gary's dream come true, but on the big night his dream nearly backfires--with hilarious results.
F ROS	A School for Pompey Walker (age 9-12) by Michael J. Rosen historical ... school Pompey Walker dreams of going to school, but as a slave in the 1830s, this is only a dream, until slavery-hating Jeremiah Walker, son-in-law of the plantation owner, buys Pompey's freedom. Together, they devise and carry out a plan to get money to found a school for black children.
F GOR	The Miraculous Makeover of Lizard Flanagan (age 9-12) by Carol Gorman humor ... school ... friendship ... growing up As she enters middle school, athletic twelve-year-old Lizard is dismayed to see her friends change into weird strangers and struggles with her own transition from tomboy to "girly-girl."
F WAL	Ferret in the Bedroom, Lizards in the Fridge (age 9-12) by Bill Wallace friendship ... school ... humor ... animals Liz's house is like a zoo. Thanks to her dad, a zoologist, there are turtles in the kitchen, an ibex in the backyard, a hawk in the shed, a sun porch full of lizards, and Fred the ferret. Liz has had enough! At school, her nickname is Lizard. Her classmates think she's weird and her friends are afraid to go to her house. With problems like those, how is she ever going to win the election for class president? Liz tries her hardest, but she runs into one disaster after another. So she makes the startling decision, the animals must go. Even Fred, her pet ferret. That will make all the difference in the world...won't it?
F DUF	Utterly Yours, Booker Jones (age 9-12) by Betsy Duffey authorship ... school ... family Middle school student and aspiring author Booker Jones is evicted from his bedroom when his grandfather moves in, creating problems both at home and at school.
F CLE	The Janitor's Boy (age 9-12) by Andrew Clements family ... school It was the perfect crime. Unfortunately, it also led to the perfect punishment. When Jack Rankin gets busted for defacing a school desk with a huge wad of disgusting, watermelon bubble gum, the principal sentences him to three weeks of after-school gum cleanup for the chief custodian. The problem is, Jack's anger at the chief custodian was the reason for his gum project in the first place. The chief custodian happens to be Jack's dad. But doing time in the school basement after hours reveals some pretty surprising things: about the school, about Jack's father, and about Jack himself.
F CLE	Strider (age 9-12) by Beverly Cleary school ... friendship ... growing up ... letters/journal Strider has a new habit. Whenever we stop, he places his paw on my foot. It isn't an accident because he always does it. I like to think he doesn't want to leave me. Can a stray dog change the life of a teenage boy? It looks as if Strider can. He's a dog that loves to run; because of Strider, Leigh Botts finds himself running, well enough to join the school track team. Strider changes Leigh on the inside, too, as he finally begins to accept his parents' divorce and gets to know a redheaded girl he's been admiring. With Strider's help, Leigh finds that the future he once hated to be asked about now holds something he never expected: hope.
F BAN	Alice by Accident (age 9-12) by Lynne Reid Banks identity ... family ... school ... authorship It's Just so stupid, asking us to write our life for homework. It's not even a weekend! Alice Williamson-Stone doesn't see how she can write her life story as a class assignment. What's interesting in her life is not the "family and pets" stuff her teacher asked for. Her pets have died, and the only family she has is her mother. Until recently she had a beloved, interfering grandmother--Gene--but she's gone from Alice's life. Besides, as Alice discovered ages ago, she was born by accident, and that's the sort of private thing you don't write about for school. Alice does the assignment but she thinks it's pretty boring, until in doing it she discovers a need to write about her true life--the exciting, complicated, private parts.
F HAN	Ida B: and Her Plans to Maximize Fun, Avoid Disaster, and (Possibly) Save the World (age 9-12) by Katherine Hannigan illness/loss ... humor ... school ... growing up Who is Ida B. Applewood? She is a fourth grader like no other, living a life like no other, with a voice like no other, and her story will resonate long after you have put this book down. How does Ida B cope when outside forces (life, really) attempt to derail her and her family and her future? She enters her Black Period, and it is not pretty. But then, with the help of a patient teacher, a loyal cat and dog, her beloved apple trees, and parents who believe in the same things she does (even if they sometimes act as though they don't), the resilience that is the very essence of Ida B triumph...and Ida B. Applewood takes the hand that is extended and starts to grow up.
F STO	The Noonday Friends (age 9-12) by Mary Stolz humor ... school ... friendship ... realistic Eleven-year-old Franny Davis and her best friend share school and family problems in this realistic, often humorous story set in New York's Greenwich Village.
F ROW	The Harry Potter Series (age 9-12) by J. K. Rowling fantasy ... adventure ... family ... school ... magic As the first book, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone opens, all Harry Potter knows is a miserable life with the Dursleys, his horrible aunt and uncle, and their abominable son, Dudley, a great big swollen spoiled bully. Harry's room is a closet at the foot of the stairs, and he hasn't had a birthday party in eleven years. But all that is about to change when a mysterious letter arrives by owl messenger: a letter with an invitation to an incredible place that Harry (and anyone who reads about him) will find unforgettable. title: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone title: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets title: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban title: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire title: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix title: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince title: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
F PIN	Mister Fred (age 9-12) by Jill Pinkwater humor ... school The children of class 6-A suspect their new teacher of being a telepathic space alien.
F KOR	Something Fishy at MacDonald Hall (age 9-12) by Gordon Korman humor ... mystery ... school Just as the Headmaster of Macdonald Hall is on the verge of retirement, a wave of practical jokes hits the school, and roommates Bruno and Boots become prime suspects. Will they find the real culprit? Or will these two known jokers take the fall? sequel: This Can't be Happening at Macdonald Hall
F DEC	The Pickle Song (age 9-12) by Barthe DeClements friendship ... school Paula would like to befriend Sukey Parsons, the new girl in her class, but Sukey isn't making it easy. Sukey keeps to herself and disappears immediately after school. But Paula discovers that she eats very strange lunches, washes her hair in the creek, sings and plays the guitar, and knows how to get money by pawning her belongings. Eventually, Paula also learns that Sukey and her mother are homeless, waiting for Sukey's father to find work in California and send for them. As Paula looks for ways to help, she learns what real generosity means.
F YOL	Wizard's Hall (age 9-12) by Jane Yolen fantasy ... magic ... school Poor Henry. It's not enough that his mother has sent him away from home to learn magic. It's not enough that everyone at his new school calls him Thornmallow because he's ``prickly on the outside, squishy within''. It's not enough that the only talent he shows at Wizard's Hall is an ability to make messes of even the simplest spells. He finds himself with more responsibility than he knows how to bear.
F SAC	There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom (age 9-12) by Louis Sachar identity ... friendship ... school ... humor An unmanageable, but lovable, eleven-year-old misfit learns to believe in himself when he gets to know the new school counselor, who is a sort of misfit too.
F NIM	Children of the Red King (Charlie Bone) Series (age 9-12) by Jenny Nimmo adventure ... fantasy ... school This series chronicles Charlie's mysterious adventures at Bloor's Academy. title: Midnight for Charlie Bone title: Charlie Bone and the Castle of Mirrors title: Charlie Bone and the Hidden King title: Charlie Bone and the Invisible Boy title: Charlie Bone and the Time Twister
F KOR	The Zucchini Warriors (age 9-12) by Gordon Korman humor ... school ... sports Roommates Bruno and Boots find obstacles in their way as they attempt to lead the Macdonald Hall Zucchini Warriors to a victorious football season and earn the reward of a new recreation center.
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 CLE	A Week in the Woods (age 9-12) by Andrew Clements identity ... survival ... adventure ... school The fifth-grade Week in the Woods is a beloved tradition of Hardy Elementary, where Mark Chelmsley (the Fourth) is pretty much killing time before his parents send him off to an exclusive prep school. But then Mark realizes the Week might be a chance to prove to Mr. Maxwell that he's not just another of the slacker kids the teacher can't stand.

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