F DEF	The Ghost of Fossil Glen (age 9-12) by Cynthia C. DeFelice letters/journal ... mystery ... friendship ... spooky Allie Nichols knows she's being pursued by a ghost. But her friend Karen calls her a liar and doesn't want to hear stuff like that. It is Allie's old pal Dub who listens eagerly as Allie tells him about a voice that guides her safely down a steep cliff side, the face in her mind's eye of a girl who begs ``Help me,'' and a terrible nightmare in which that girl falls to her death. Who is the girl? Is she the ghost? And what does the ghost want from Allie? As Allie discovers that her role is to avenge a murder, she also learns something about friendship, false and true, in this gripping ghost story and murder mystery.
F IRV	Rip Van Winkle (age 9-12) by Washington Irving spooky ... identity ... folklore The adventures of henpecked farmer Rip Van Winkle who escapes to the hills for a day of hunting. After sleeping for twenty years, he awakens to find a changed world.
F LES	The Old African (age 9-12) by Julius Lester folklore ... historical ... spooky No one on the plantation had ever heard the Old African's voice, yet he had spoken to all of them in their minds. For the Old African had the power to see the color of a person's soul and read his thoughts as if they were words on a page. Now it was time to act ... time to lead his fellow slaves to the Water-That-Stretched-Forever, and from there back to Africa. Back to their home.
F STE	Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (age 9-12) by Robert Louis Stevenson identity ... spooky A kind and well-respected doctor is transformed into a murderous madman by taking a secret drug of his own creation.
F STE	The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (age 9-12) by Robert Louis Stevenson identity ... spooky A kind and well-respected doctor is transformed into a murderous madman by taking a secret drug of his own creation.
F DIC	A Christmas Carol (age 9-12) by Charles Dickens traditions ... growing up ... folklore ... spooky A miser learns the true meaning of Christmas when three ghostly visitors review his past and foretell his future.
F SAI	Varjak Paw (age 9-12) by S. F. Said adventure ... action ... spooky ... magic Varjak Paw is a Mesopotamian Blue kitten. He lives high up in an old house on a hill. He's never left home, until his grandfather tells him about the Way ... a secret martial art for cats. Now Varjak must use the Way to survive in a city full of dangerous dogs, cat gangs, and strangest of all, the mysterious Vanishings. sequel: The Outlaw Varjak Paw
F ALM	Skellig (age 9-12) by David Almond magic ... family ... spooky Ten-year-old Michael was looking forward to moving into a new house. But now his baby sister is ill, his parents are frantic, and Doctor Death has come to call. Michael feels helpless. Then he steps into the crumbling garage....What is this thing beneath the spiders' webs and dead flies? A human being, or a strange kind of beast never before seen? The only person Michael can confide in is his new friend, Mina. Together, they carry the creature out into the light, and Michael's world changes forever.
F VIV	Chills Run Down My Spine (age 9-12) by Jackie Vivelo spooky ... short stories A Summer to last forever -- Cradle song -- The good neighbor policy -- Chills run down my spine -- Nick of time -- The ghost of Fiddler's elbow -- Can you top that? -- The bell-ringer -- The creature in the doorway.
F VAN	Ghost of a Hanged Man (age 9-12) by Vivian Vande Velde historical ... spooky An outlaw condemned to be hanged threatens to wreak vengeance from the grave on those responsible for his death.
F SNY	The Trespassers (age 9-12) by Zilpha Keatley Snyder adventure ... mystery ... spooky It all starts the summer after Neely finishes fifth grade. She is trying to entertain her little brother, Grub, when they accidentally find a way to sneak into Halcyon House, a magnificent mansion that has been deserted for years. Inside they discover a wonderful surprise, a playroom full of fabulous old-fashioned toys. Despite the spookiness of the house and the rumors about a ghost that haunts it, and despite the fact that they don't belong there, the playroom becomes their secret hideaway.
F SNY	The Witches of Worm (age 9-12) by Zilpha Keatley Snyder friendship ... magic ... spooky A lonely twelve-year-old is convinced that the cat she finds is possessed by a witch and is responsible for her own strange behavior.
F NAY	Bernie and the Bessledorf Ghost (age 9-12) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor spooky ... mystery Living at the Bessledorf Hotel, where his father works as the manager, Bernie tries to solve the mystery of a troubled, young ghost who wanders the halls of the hotel at night. sequel: The Face in the Bessledorf Funeral Parlor
F VAN	There's a Dead Person Following My Sister Around (age 9-12) by Vivian Vande Velde historical ... mystery ... spooky When Ted's five-year-old sister Vicki invents an imaginary friend, no one is too concerned . . . until they realize that her friend can move things. Ted is sure that Vicki's ``friend'' Marella is a ghost. But why would a ghost haunt Vicki? And why does Marella seem to be terrified of another ghost-a dark figure that is haunting Ted?
F SCH	The Shadow Children (age 9-12) by Steven Schnur war ... spooky ... historical While spending the summer on his grandfather's farm in the French countryside, eleven-year-old Etienne discovers a secret dating back to World War II and encounters the ghosts of Jewish children who suffered a dreadful fate under the Nazis.
F MED	Haunts: Five Hair-Raising Tales (age 9-12) by Angela Shelf Medearis folklore ... spooky ... short stories These short ghost stories are based on folk tales, all the more menacing for their familiar themes.
F MCK	The Dark-Thirty: Southern Tales of the Supernatural (age 9-12) by Patricia C. McKissack historical ... spooky ... short stories The Dark-Thirty: Southern Tales of the Supernatural is a collection of ten spine-tingling tales, all with a foundation in African-American culture and history, from the time of slavery through the civil rights era.
F IRV	The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (age 9-12) by Washington Irving folklore ... spooky A superstitious schoolmaster, in love with a wealthy farmer's daughter, has a terrifying encounter with a headless horseman.
F COV	The Ghost Wore Gray (age 9-12) by Bruce Coville war ... historical ... spooky ... mystery Sixth-grader Nina Tanleven convinced her architect father to let her best friend Chris go with them to stay in the old inn he's restoring. On the afternoon they arrive, the girls find a faded Civil War photograph of a very handsome Confederate soldier. Nina and Cris are stunned when the ghost of the young soldier suddenly appears at the dinner table that night! They realize he's the ghost who they've heard haunts the inn. When he appears to them again--no one else can see him--Nina and Chris know that the ghost is trying to tell them something. But what? To find out, the girls begin investigating the old country inn. And soon they are swept up in a frightening mystery that began more than one hundred years ago--a mystery involving danger, greed, a hidden room... and a buried treasure!
F CAS	Behind the Attic Wall (age 9-12) by Sylvia Cassedy growing up ... family ... spooky In the bleak, forbidding house of her great-aunts, neglected twelve-year-old orphan Maggie hears ghostly voices and finds magic that awakens in her the capacity to love and be loved.
F CAR	Don't Open the Door After the Sun Goes Down: Tales of the Real and Unreal (age 9-12) by Al Carusone spooky ... short stories A collection of nine scary stories about a woman who is turned into a dog, a joke that makes people disappear, and other unusual situations.
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 STR	The Specter from the Magician's Museum (age 9-12) by Brad Strickland magic ... adventure ... spooky When the evil sorceress Belle Frisson ensnares Rose Rita Pottinger in a magic web in order to steal her life force, Lewis Barnavelt must risk his own life to save his friend.
F COO	The Boggart (age 9-12) by Susan Cooper folklore ... humor ... spooky ... adventure When Emily and Jess Volnik's family inherits a remote, crumbling Scottish castle, they also inherit the Boggart: an invisible, mischievous spirit who's been playing tricks on residents of Castle Keep for generations. Then the Boggart is trapped in a rolltop desk and inadvertently shipped to the Volniks' home in Toronto, where nothing will ever be the same, for the Volniks or the Boggart. In a world that doesn't believe in magic, the Boggart's pranks wreak havoc. And even the newfound joys of peanut butter and pizza and fudge sauce eventually wear thin for the Boggart. He wants to go home, but his only hope lies in a risky and daring blend of modern technology and ancient magic.
F WRI	The Dollhouse Murders (age 9-12) by Betty Ren Wright spooky ... family ... mystery Catalog: 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.
F WRI	Haunted Summer (age 9-12) by Betty Ren Wright family ... mystery ... spooky Catalog: Shy nine-year-old Abby surprises herself, her equally timid babysitter, and her older brother when they are haunted by a ghost that is trying to reclaim a stolen music box.
F SNY	The Headless Cupid (age 9-12) by Zilpha Keatley Snyder spooky ... mystery ... magic ... friendship When the four Stanley children meet Amanda, their new stepsister, they're amazed to learn that she studied witchcraft. They're stunned to see her dressed in a strange costume, carrying a pet crow, and surrounded by a pile of books about the supernatural. It's not long before Amanda promises to give witchcraft lessons to David, Janie, and the twins. But that's when strange things start happening in their old house. David suspects Amanda of causing mischief, until they learn that the house really was haunted a long time ago. Legend has it that a ghost cut the head off a wooden cupid on the stairway. Has the ghost returned to strike again? sequel: The Famous Stanley Kidnapping Case
F FLE	The Ghost in the Noonday Sun (age 9-12) by Sid Fleischman adventure ... spooky Twelve-year-old Oliver tries to escape from pirates who take him to an island to find the ghost and treasure of Gentleman Jack.
F AND	The Game of Sunken Places (age 9-12) by M. T. Anderson spooky ... mystery ... adventure When Brian and Gregory receive an invitation to stay at a distant relative's strange manse . . . well, they should know better than to go, since this is a middle-grade adventure novel. But they go anyway. Why not? Once there, they stumble upon The Game of Sunken Places, a board game that mirrors a greater game in which they have suddenly become players. Soon the boys are dealing with attitudinal trolls, warring kingdoms, and some very starchy britches. Luckily, they have wit, deadpan observation, and a keen sense of adventure on their side.
F BEL	The House With a Clock in Its Walls (age 9-12) by John Bellairs spooky ... magic ... mystery A boy goes to live with his magician uncle in a mansion that has a clock hidden in the walls which is ticking off the minutes until doomsday. sequel: The Figure in the Shadows sequel: The Ghost in the Mirror
F BOS	The Children of Green Knowe (age 9-12) by L. M. Boston spooky ... adventure ... fantasy This is the first thrilling and chilling tale of Green Knowe, a haunted manor deep in an overgrown garden in the English countryside. sequel: The River at Green Knowe sequel: A Stranger at Green Knowe

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