F GAI	Odd and the Frost Giants (age 8-11) by Neil Gaiman magic ... adventure ... folklore ... traditions Publisher comments: In this inventive, short, yet perfectly formed novel inspired by traditional Norse mythology, Neil Gaiman takes readers on a wild and magical trip to the land of giants and gods and back. In a village in ancient Norway lives a boy named Odd, and he's had some very bad luck: His father perished in a Viking expedition; a tree fell on and shattered his leg; the endless freezing winter is making villagers dangerously grumpy. Out in the forest Odd encounters a bear, a fox, and an eagle—three creatures with a strange story to tell. Now Odd is forced on a stranger journey than he had imagined—a journey to save Asgard, city of the gods, from the Frost Giants who have invaded it.
F LIN	Where the Mountain Meets the Moon (age 8-11) by Grace Lin traditions ... folklore ... fantasy Publisher comments: In the valley of Fruitless Mountain, a young girl named Minli lives in a ramshackle hut with her parents. In the evenings, her father regales her with old folktales of the Jade Dragon and the Old Man on the Moon, who knows the answers to all of life's questions. Inspired by these stories, Minli sets off on an extraordinary journey to find the Old Man on the Moon to ask him how she can change her family's fortune. She encounters an assorted cast of characters and magical creatures along the way, including a dragon who accompanies her on her quest for the ultimate answer. A fantasy crossed with Chinese folklore, Where the Mountain Meets the Moon is a timeless story reminiscent of The Wizard of Oz.
F ALE	The Wizard in the Tree (age 8-11) by Lloyd Alexander fantasy ... magic ... folklore When Mallory notices that there's something funny about an old oak tree, she takes a closer look and breaks a magical spell. Arbican the wizard has been trapped in the oak for thousands of years and his powers are gone. Will he get them back in time to save Mallory's village from greedy Squire Scrupner?
F BAB	Kneeknock Rise (age 8-11) by Natalie Babbitt folklore ... mystery From the moment young Egan arrives in Instep, he senses the spell cast over the villagers by the Megrimum--the mysterious something that lurks on the mist-wreathed peak of Kneeknock Rise. Everyone shudders in horror--delicious horror--whenever the Megrimum's unearthly wail floats down to the village. Before long, Egan is climbing the Rise to find a practical explanation for those wails.
F KAY	The Ordinary Princess (age 8-11) by M. M. Kaye princesses ... fantasy ... folklore Along with Wit, Charm, Health, and Courage, Princess Amy of Phantasmorania receives a special fairy christening gift: Ordinariness. Unlike her six beautiful sisters, she has brown hair and freckles, and would rather have adventures than play the harp, embroider tapestries . . . or become a Queen. When her royal parents try to marry her off, Amy runs away and, because she's so ordinary, easily becomes the fourteenth assistant kitchen maid at a neighboring palace. And there . . . much to everyone's surprise . . . she meets a prince just as ordinary (and special) as she is!
F KIP	The Beginning of the Armadillos (age 8-11) by Rudyard Kipling folklore ... animals A tortoise and a hedgehog combine their natural assets and transform themselves into armadillos to escape the hungry attention of a young jaguar.
F LEV	The Fairy's Return (age 8-11) by Gail Carson Levine princesses ... humor ... fantasy ... folklore Boy meets princess, and it's love at first sight. Both laugh at the same jokes. Both are named after birds. His name is Robin, hers is Lark. Could there ever have been a more perfect match? But alas! King Harrumphrey won't let Lark marry a baker's son. And Robin is betrothed to someone else. Now toss in Robin's nonsense-talking brothers, Nat and Matt, their versifying father, and Ethelinda, the fairy who wrought havoc in The Fairy's Mistake, and you've got a "nutcrazical" situation!
F LEV	The Princess Test (age 8-11) by Gail Carson Levine princesses ... humor ... fantasy ... folklore King Humphrey has decided its time for his son, Prince Nicholas, to marry. But he must make sure the bride is a real princess. So he devises a series of princess tests, designed to weed out the phonies and the fakes. Meanwhile, Nicholas has fallen in love with Lorelei, a mere blacksmith's daughter. She's no princess, but he wants to marry her all the same--but how will she ever pass the terrible tests?
F MOR	I Believe In Unicorns (age 8-11) by Michael Morpurgo folklore ... authorship ... war Eight-year-old Tomas hates reading. He would much rather be clambering around his beloved mountains. But when his mother forces him to visit the library, he can't help but listen to the enchanting tales the librarian spins as she sits on a lifelike wooden unicorn. When war comes to their village, it is Tomas's newfound love of books that helps save the library's holdings from destruction. Set against a backdrop of encroaching war, I BELIEVE IN UNICORNS is an eloquent reminder of the power of storytelling to alter our lives.
F LIN	Ronia, the Robber's Daughter (age 8-11) by Astrid Lindgren family ... adventure ... action ... folklore Ronia, who lives with her father and his band of robbers in a castle in the woods, causes trouble when she befriends the son of a rival robber chieftain.
F KIP	The Elephant's Child (age 8-11) by Rudyard Kipling animals ... folklore Because of his "satiable curtiosity" about what the crocodile has for dinner, the elephant's child and all elephants thereafter have long trunks. One of Kipling's "Just So Stories".
F KAS	My First Nowruz (age 8-11) by Riahi Kashani family ... identity ... folklore ... letters/journal My First Nowruz chronicles an 8-year-old girl's first celebration of the Persian New Year. These joyous traditions might be unfamiliar to many of us.
F FLE	The Whipping Boy (age 8-11) by Sid Fleischman folklore ... humor ... adventure ... growing up A Prince and a Pauper. Jemmy, once a poor boy living on the streets, now lives in a castle. As the whipping boy, he bears the punishment when Prince Brat misbehaves, for it is forbidden to spank, thrash, or whack the heir to the throne. The two boys have nothing in common and even less reason to like one another. But when they find themselves taken hostage after running away, they are left with no choice but to trust each other.
F LEV	The Fairy's Mistake (age 8-11) by Gail Carson Levine fantasy ... humor ... folklore In this humorous retelling of a Perrault tale, the fairy Ethelinda rewards one twin sister for good behavior and punishes the other for bad, only to discover that her punishment is more pleasing than her reward.
F LEV	Princess Sonora and the Long Sleep (age 8-11) by Gail Carson Levine princesses ... fantasy ... humor ... folklore A spiteful fairy. A beautiful princess. An outstretched finger. A spindle. A hundred-year snooze. A charming prince. A kiss. All the familiar ingredients. But wait! Where did that extra prince come from? And those fairy gifts that were never there before? And what does a flock of balding sheep have to do with anything? Gail Carson Levine has waved her magic wand over the old standby of "Sleeping Beauty" and presto! It reappears, transformed, sparkling and hilarious.
F LEV	Cinderellis and the Glass Hill (age 8-11) by Gail Carson Levine princesses ... fantasy ... humor ... folklore In this humorous retelling of a Perrault tale, a lonely young farm lad uses his unusual inventive ability to pass a nearly impossible test and win the hand of the neighboring princess.
F LEV	Fairest (age 8-11) by Gail Carson Levine folklore ... humor The fairy Lucinda has once again given a dreadful gift. This time it's a mysterious magical mirror. The gift is disastrous when it falls into the hands of Aza, who never looks in a mirror if she can help it. In the Kingdom of Ayortha, Aza is most definitely not the fairest of them all. Many spurn her. Many scoff at her. She keeps out of sight. But in a land of singers, Aza has her own gift, one she's come by without fairy intervention: a voice that can do almost anything, a voice that captivates all who hear it. In Ontio Castle, merry Prince Ijori is drawn to it, and vain Queen Ivi wants to use it for her own ends. Queen Ivi would do anything to remain the fairest in the land.
F YOL	The Young Merlin Trilogy (age 8-11) by Jane Yolen magic ... growing up ... fantasy ... folklore A boy is abandoned in the woods of medieval England. A year passes--a year of terror and hunger, of sleeping in trees and foraging for food, of outrunning packs of wild dogs--until one day a falconer captures and tames the boy as he would any passager, a young bird caught in the wild and trained. The falconer adopts the boy and teaches him all of the things he's forgotten, including the boy's true name--and the legacy of magic that will be his when he comes of age. title: Passager: the Young Merlin Trilogy, Book One title: Hobby: the Young Merlin Trilogy title: Merlin: the Young Merlin Trilogy, Book Three
F COL	The Adventures of Pinocchio (age 8-11) by Carlo Collodi identity ... adventure ... folklore Catalog: Pinocchio, a wooden puppet full of tricks and mischief, with a talent for getting into and out of trouble, wants more than anything else to become a real boy.
F COE	Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes (age 8-11) by Eleanor Coerr war ... folklore ... historical ... illness/loss Publisher comments: When Hiroshima-born Sadako falls gravely ill with leukemia, she recalls a Japanese legend that holds that if a sick person folds one thousand cranes, the gods will grant her wish and make her healthy again.
F COA	The Cat Who Went to Heaven (age 8-11) by Elizabeth Jane Coatsworth animals ... folklore ... the arts Catalog: A little cat comes to the home of a poor Japanese artist and, by humility and devotion, helps to bring about a miracle.
F ROC	Strudel Stories (age 8-11) by Joanne Rocklin traditions ... folklore ... short stories ... historical ... family Imagine a cozy kitchen in another time and place. A family is baking apple strudel together. And while they work, they tell each other stories of the past. There are the boy who danced with ghosts, the apple that turned to gold, the greatest baseball moment ever, and the almost-a-disaster day. This warm and touching novel follows a Jewish family through seven generations as they brave war, immigration, and enjoy the simple pleasures of friendship, sports, and a life together.
F OSB	Tales From the Odyssey (age 8-11) by Mary Pope Osborne adventure ... voyages/journeys ... folklore Publisher comments: When Odysseus must leave his home to fight the Trojan War, he never imagines that he'll be away from his family for so many years. Now, at long last, he is leading his men home across the seas. But many dangers await them ... and none is more terrifying than Polyphemus, the one-eyed giant. title: Sirens and Sea Monsters title: The Gray-Eyed Goddess

Duveneck Elementary School, Sat Aug 25 11:55:27 2012 Other themes and genres