GER |
Little Women
(age 8-11) by Jane Gerver historical ... growing up ... family This retelling of Louisa May Alcott's classic novel chronicles the joys and sorrows of the four March sisters as they grow into young ladies in nineteenth-century New England. |
CRE |
Heartbeat
(age 8-11) by Sharon Creech poetry ... growing up ... identity ... friendship ... family Twelve-year-old Annie ponders the many rhythms of life the year that her mother becomes pregnant, her grandfather begins to falter, and her best friend and running partner grows distant. |
CRE |
Bloomability
(age 8-11) by Sharon Creech identity ... growing up ... family ... school Thirteen-year-old Domenica Santolina Doone, better known as Dinnie, is accustomed to change. Her family is constantly moving from town to town as her father searches for ``opportunity''. But when her aunt and uncle whisk her far away to an international school in Switzerland, she's not sure she's ready to face this ``opportunity'' alone. |
Samantha: an American Girl Series (age 8-11) growing up ... family ... historical Stories of Samantha, an orphan living with her grandmother in 1904. title: Meet Samantha: an American Girl by Susan S. Adler F ADL title: Samantha Learns a Lesson: a School Story by Susan S. Adler F ADL title: Changes for Samantha: a Winter Story by Valerie Tripp F TRI title: Happy Birthday, Samantha!: a Springtime Story by Valerie Tripp F TRI title: Samantha Saves the Day: a Summer Story by Valerie Tripp F TRI title: Samantha's Surprise: a Christmas Story by Maxine Rose Schur F SCH | |
TRI |
Molly: an American Girl Series (age 8-11) by Valerie Tripp growing up ... family ... historical Stories of Molly and her family during World War II. title: Meet Molly: an American Girl title: Changes for Molly: a Winter Story title: Happy Birthday, Molly!: a Springtime Story title: Molly Learns a Lesson: a School Story title: Molly Saves the Day: a Summer Story title: Molly's Surprise: a Christmas Story |
TRI |
Kit: an American Girl Series (age 8-11) by Valerie Tripp growing up ... family ... historical Stories about Kit and her family, running a boardinghouse during the Great Depression. title: Kit Saves the Day!: a Summer Story, 1934 |
SHA |
Kirsten: an American Girl Series (age 8-11) by Janet Shaw growing up ... family ... historical Stories about Kirsten and her family, settling the frontier in Minnesota. title: Meet Kirsten: an American Girl title: Changes for Kirsten: a Winter Story title: Happy Birthday, Kirsten!: a Springtime Story title: Kirsten Learns a Lesson: a School Story title: Kirsten Saves the Day title: Kirsten's Surprise: a Christmas Story |
SHA |
Kaya: an American Girl Series (age 8-11) by Janet Shaw growing up ... family ... historical Stories about Kaya and her family, members of the Nez Perce tribe in the Pacific Northwest in the 1760s.. title: Changes for Kaya: a Story of Courage title: Kaya's Escape!: a Survival Story |
TRI |
Felicity: an American Girl Series (age 8-11) by Valerie Tripp growing up ... family ... historical Stories about Felicity and her family, living in Williamsburg during the revolutionary war. title: Meet Felicity: an American Girl title: Changes for Felicity: a Winter Story title: Felicity Saves the Day: a Summer Story title: Felicity's Surprise: a Christmas Story title: Happy Birthday, Felicity!: a Springtime Story |
POR |
Addy: an American Girl Series (age 8-11) by Connie Porter growing up ... family ... historical Stories about Addy and her mother, freed slaves living in Philadelphia during the Civil War. title: Addy Learns a Lesson: a School Story title: Addy Saves the Day: a Summer Story title: Addy's Surprise: a Christmas Story title: Changes for Addy: a Winter Story |
TRI |
Josefina: an American Girl Series (age 8-11) by Valerie Tripp growing up ... family ... historical Stories about Josefina and her sisters, in New Mexico before the Mexicn-American War. title: Meet Josefina: an American Girl title: Josefina Learns a Lesson: a School Story title: Josefina's Surprise: a Christmas Story |
LOO |
Alvin Ho Series (age 8-11) by Lenore Look friendship ... growing up ... school Publisher comments: Alvin Ho is an Asian American second grader who is afraid of everything--elevators, tunnels, girls, and, most of all, school. He's so afraid of school that, while he's there, he never, ever, says a word. But at home he's a very loud superhero named Firecracker Man, a brother to Calvin and Anibelly, and a gentleman-in-training, so he can be just like his dad. title: Alvin Ho: Allergic to Girls, School, and Other Scary Things title: Alvin Ho: Allergic to Camping, Hiking, and Other Natural Disasters |
BUC |
The Big Wave
(age 8-11) by Pearl S. Buck survival ... growing up ... family ... illness/loss Kino lives on a farm on the side of a mountain in Japan. His friend, Jiya, lives in a fishing village below. Everyone, including Kino and Jiya, has heard of the big wave. No one suspects it will wipe out the whole village and Jiya's family, too. As Jiya struggles to overcome his sorrow, he understands it is in the presence of danger that one learns to be brave, and to appreciate how wonderful life can be. |
BYA |
The Computer Nut
(age 8-11) by Betsy Byars growing up ... math/science/technology ... science fiction ... humor Ten-year-old Kate begins a communication exchange on a computer with someone purporting to be from outer space, who says he is going to pay a visit to Earth soon. |
KIN |
Pigs Might Fly: a Novel
(age 8-11) by Dick King-Smith enterprise ... humor ... growing up Daggie Dogfoot, the runt of the litter, is in danger. The pigman, who takes all runts from their pens, is coming for him! But Daggie is a pig of remarkable qualities, and he's not about to let the Pigman get him. Instead, he runs away and decides to learn how to fly. But when he tries leaping off a cliff, he discovers another talent, a talent he'll need to save the entire farm. |
GIF |
Poopsie Pomerantz, Pick Up Your Feet
(age 8-11) by Patricia Reilly Giff growing up ... sports ... the arts Poopsie Pomerantz is sure that ballet lessons will make her slim and graceful. But her friend Tracy Matson makes fun of Poopsie's efforts, saying there's no hope for chubby Poopsie. Tracy is surprised when Poopsie announces she's getting the starring role in her dance school's ballet. And Poopsie's surprised, too, because it's not true! She didn't mean to say that. Now she has to pray that Tracy doesn't come to the ballet, because guess which part Poopsie really has? |
HUR |
A Llama in the Library
(age 8-11) by Johanna Hurwitz growing up ... humor Fifth-grader Adam Fine thinks that his two llamas will be a hit at the grand reopening of the town's library. |
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. |
MEA |
Junebug
(age 8-11) by Alice Mead family ... growing up An inquisitive young boy who lives with his mother and younger sister in a rough housing project in New Haven, Connecticut, approaches his tenth birthday with a mixture of anticipation and worry. |
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 |
COW |
How to Train Your Dragon Series (age 8-11) by Cressida Cowell growing up ... humor ... knights/castles/dragons Meet Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, heir of the Viking chiefdom, but a boy with one very big problem: a hero he is not. How to Train Your Dragon is the riotous story of Hiccup's quest to hunt down the fiercest dragon, bring it into submission, and (hopefully) pass his initiation. Instead, he ends up with the smallest, most ornery dragon ... it's even toothless! Thus begins the hijinx of the world's most lovable, unlikely hero and a most reluctant "beast." title: How to Train Your Dragon title: How to Speak Dragonese title: How to Twist a Dragon's Tale title: A Hero's Guide to Deadly Dragons title: How to Cheat a Dragon's Curse: the Heroic Misadventures of Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III |
TRA |
Mary Poppins Series (age 8-11) by P. L. Travers growing up ... magic ... humor ... fantasy An extraordinary English nanny blows in on the East Wind with her parrot-headed umbrella and magic carpetbag and introduces her charges, Jane and Michael, to some delightful people and experiences. title: Mary Poppins |
WHI |
The Trumpet of the Swan
(age 8-11) by E. B. White friendship ... growing up ... the arts A voiceless trumpeter swan named Louis, attempting to win the love of a beautiful swan named Serena, learns to play a trumpet stolen for him by his father, and then finds himself far from his wilderness home when he sets out to become a trumpeter and pay his father back. |
WAL |
Justin and the Best Biscuits in the World
(age 8-11) by Mildred Pitts Walter identity ... family ... growing up Suffering in a family full of females, ten-year-old Justin feels that cleaning and keeping house are women's work until he spends time on his beloved grandfather's ranch. |
SIE |
Doing Time Online
(age 8-11) by Jan Siebold growing up ... friendship ... math/science/technology After he is involved in a prank that led to an elderly woman's injury, twelve-year-old Mitchell must make amends by participating in a police program in which he chats online with a nursing home resident. |
COD |
Sahara Special
(age 8-11) by Esme Raji Codell growing up ... humor ... authorship ... school Struggling with school and her feelings since her father left, Sahara gets a fresh start with a new and unique teacher who supports her writing talents and the individuality of each of her classmates. |
BYA |
The Summer of the Swans
(age 8-11) by Betsy Cromer Byars growing up ... family A teen-age girl gains new insight into herself and her family when her mentally handicapped brother gets lost. |
KEL |
Lucy Rose Series (age 8-11) by Katy Kelly growing up ... friendship ... family ... school ... letters/journal Here's the thing about Lucy Rose: she has an extremely interesting take on life, and has an extremely lot to do to keep things together. This series is a good friend to have. title: Lucy Rose: Here's the Thing About Me |
LOW |
Sam Krupnik Series (age 8-11) by Lois Lowry growing up ... realistic ... humor ... family Sam Krupnik enters school with some very strong ideas about what he wants to be and how. Fans of this series will enjoy the same author's books about Anastasia, his big sister, as well. title: All About Sam title: Attaboy, Sam! |
SPI |
Wringer
(age 8-11) by Jerry Spinelli identity ... friendship ... nature ... growing up For as long as he can remember, Palmer LaRue has dreaded the day he turns ten, the day he'll take his place beside all the other ten-year-old boys in town, the day he'll be a wringer. But Palmer doesn't want to be a wringer. It's one of the first things he learned about himself and it's one of the biggest things he has to hide. |
MOS |
The Amelia Series (age 8-11) by Marissa Moss realistic ... humor ... letters/journal ... growing up Like spending recess with your best friend, Marissa Moss keeps us up to date with everything that's going on in Amelia's life. title: Amelia Writes Again title: Amelia's Notebook title: Amelia's Boredom Survival Guide: First Aid for Rainy Days, Boring Errands, Waiting Rooms, Whatever! title: Amelia's Bully Survival Guide |
JAR |
Slump
(age 8-11) by Dave Jarzyna growing up ... realistic ... family ... school When thirteen-year-old Mitch finds himself at odds with everyone in his life: brother, sister, friends, teachers, and coach, he worries that the situation will never change. |
BLU |
Freckle Juice
(age 8-11) by Judy Blume growing up ... humor If Andrew had an amazing number of freckles like Nicky, his mother would never know if his neck was dirty. One day after school, Andrew works up enough courage to ask Nicky where he got his freckles. When know-it-all Sharon overhears, she offers Andrew her secret freckle juice recipe, for fifty cents. It's a lot of money, but Andrew is desperate. At home he carefully mixes the strange combination of ingredients. Then the unexpected happens... |
DIC |
Because of Winn-Dixie
(age 8-11) by Kate Dicamillo growing up ... family ... friendship ... animals Publisher comments: Opal spends all one sweet summer collecting stories about her new friends and thinking about her mother. But because of her dog, Winn-Dixie, or perhaps because she has grown, Opal learns to let go, just a little, and that friendship and forgiveness can sneak up on you like a sudden summer storm. |
DAN |
Amber Brown Series (age 8-11) by Paula Danziger realistic ... family ... friendship ... growing up Amber Brown faces complications at school, with her friends, and with her family. title: Amber Brown Goes Fourth title: Amber Brown Is Feeling Blue title: Amber Brown Is Green With Envy title: Amber Brown Is Not a Crayon title: Amber Brown Sees Red title: Amber Brown Wants Extra Credit title: Forever Amber Brown title: I, Amber Brown title: You Can't Eat Your Chicken Pox, Amber Brown |