SNY |
Fool's Gold
(age 10+) by Zilpha Keatley Snyder realistic ... adventure ... friendship Publisher comments: For as long as he can remember, people have warned fourteen-year-old Rudy and other kids in the neighborhood not to play in Pyramid Hill's abandoned gold mines. Even Rudy's best friend, Barney, a true daredevil, won't go near those cavernous death traps. That is, until Tyler Lewis moves in from L.A. Ty's determined to go in, and he's got a map. |
PER |
Marleen: The Horror Queen
(age 10+) by Lila Perl school ... friendship Catalog: After moving to a new neighborhood, Marleen fights those who don't appreciate her by setting herself up as a "ruler of hideous forces" but soon wonders if revenge is what she really wants. |
TOL |
Surviving the Applewhites
(age 10+) by Stephanie S. Tolan humor ... growing up ... school ... friendship Publisher comments: Will anyone take on Jake Semple? Jake Semple is notorious. Rumor has it he burned down his old school and got kicked out of every school in his home state. Only one place will take him now, and that's a home school run by the Applewhites, a chaotic and hilarious family of artists. The only one who doesn't fit the Applewhite mold is E.D., a smart, sensible girl who immediately clashes with the unruly Jake. Jake thinks surviving this one will be a breeze, but is he really as tough or as bad as he seems? |
PIE |
Circle of Magic Series (age 10+) by Tamora Pierce adventure ... friendship ... magic ... fantasy Publisher comments: Here begins the tale of Daja, Briar, Tris, and Sandry--four children brought to Winding Cirle Temple for training in crafts and magic. They are outcasts in their homeland. But in this magical place, they are valued and respected for their special powers. title: Sandry's Book title: Tris's Book title: Daja's Book title: Briar's Book |
CHO |
If a Tree Falls at Lunch Period
(age 10+) by Gennifer Choldenko realistic ... humor ... friendship ... school Publisher comments: Kirsten's parents are barely speaking to each other, and her best friend has fallen under the spell of the school's queen bee, Brianna. It seems like only Kirsten's younger science-geek sister is on her side. Walker's goal is to survive at the new white private school his mom has sent him to because she thinks he's going to screw up like his cousin. But he's a good kid. So is his friend Matteo, though no one knows why he'll do absolutely anything that hot blond Brianna asks of him. But all of this feels almost trivial when Kirsten and Walker discover a secret that shakes them both to the core. Fast paced, marvelously funny, and brutally honest, If a Tree Falls at Lunch Period touches on universal truths about human nature. |
BAS |
Basketball (or Something Like It)
(age 10+) by Nora Raleigh Baskin realistic ... friendship ... family ... sports Publisher comments: Ever since his sudden move from the city to the suburbs, the one place Jeremy feels at home is on the basketball court. But North Bridge is not like any place Jeremy has ever played before. Back home, there would be twenty or thirty kids and maybe three or four balls. He'd wait for a ball, pick a spot, and shoot. Here the kids didn't have to wait at all. Balls were flying everywhere. Jeremy even saw two jerks get hit in the head because there were so many balls. And the parents. They were always there, and there were so many of them, at the clinics, at the tryouts, everywhere. Who's playing anyway? Maybe if Jeremy wasn't displaced and living with his grandmother, he'd feel as though he fit in. Jeremy figures the only way out is to take the car and leave. Just walk away from his teammates, Hank and Nathan, and Anabel. It's just a game, after all, isn't it? |
HOL |
When Zachary Beaver Came to Town
(age 10+) by Kimberly Willis Holt growing up ... friendship ... historical Publisher comments: Nothing ever happens in Toby's small Texas town. Nothing much until this summer that's full of big changes. It's tough for Toby when his mother leaves home to become a country singer. And Toby takes it hard when his best friend Cal's older brother goes off to fight in Vietnam. But now their sleepy town is about to get an even bigger jolt with the arrival of Zachary Beaver, billed as the fattest boy in the world. Toby is in for a summer unlike any other, a summer sure to change his life. |
LUP |
The Big Field
(age 10+) by Mike Lupica action ... friendship ... sports ... family Publisher comments: For Hutch, shortstop has always been home. It's where his father once played professionally, before injuries relegated him to watching games on TV instead of playing them. And it's where Hutch himself has always played and starred. Until now. The arrival of Darryl "D-Will" Williams, the top shortstop prospect from Florida since A-Rod, means Hutch is displaced, in more ways than one. Second base feels like second fiddle, and when he sees his father giving fielding tips to D-Will...the same father who can't be bothered to show up to watch his son play. Hutch feels betrayed. With the summer league championship on the line, just how far is Hutch willing to bend to be a good teammate? |
LOW |
Rabble Starkey
(age 10+) by Lois Lowry family ... friendship Many things change for twelve-year-old Rabble Starkey, her mother, and her best friend, Veronica Bigelow when Veronica's mother becomes mentally incapacitated and the Starkeys move in with the Bigelows. |
CLE |
Things Not Seen
(age 10+) by Andrew Clements science fiction ... the arts ... friendship Fifteen-year-old Bobby thinks he knows what it's like to be invisible; he's used to being ignored by the popular kids at school (especially the girls). Even his parents hardly seem to notice whether he's home or not. Then one morning, Bobby wakes up to find that he IS invisible. For real. He can't stop wondering if he'll ever reappear, especially when his parents wreck their car and wind up in the hospital. Now Bobby is all alone. How can he survive in a world where he can't be seen? One thing's for sure: Bobby's not going to just wait around to see if his body will decide to show up again on its own. He's got to take action. Fast. sequel: Things Hoped For |
VAN |
Flipped
(age 10+) by Wendelin Van Draanen humor ... friendship ... growing up The first time she saw him, she flipped. The first time he saw her, he ran. That was the second grade, but not much has changed by the seventh. She says: "My Bryce. Still walking around with my first kiss." He says: "It's been six years of strategic avoidance and social discomfort." But in the eighth grade everything gets turned upside down. And just as he's thinking there's more to her than meets the eye, she's thinking that he's not quite all he seemed. This is a classic romantic comedy of errors told in alternating chapters by two fresh, funny new voices. Wendelin Van Draanen is at her best here with a knockout cast of quirky characters and a hilarious series of misunderstandings and missed opportunities. But underlying the humor are two teens in transition. They are each learning to look beyond the surface of people, both figuring out who they are, who they want to be, and who they want to be with. |
STE |
The Mysterious Benedict Society Series (age 10+) by Trenton Lee Stewart friendship ... science fiction ... brilliant protagonist ... adventure ... school "Are you a gifted child looking for special opportunities?" When this peculiar ad appears in the newspaper, dozens of children enroll to take a series of mysterious, mind-bending tests. (And you, dear reader, can test your wits right alongside them.) But in the end just four very special children will succeed. Their challenge: to go on a secret mission that only the most intelligent and resourceful children could complete. To accomplish it they will have to go undercover at the Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened, where the only rule is that there are no rules. As our heroes face physical and mental trials beyond their wildest imaginations, they have no choice but to turn to each other for support. But with their newfound friendship at stake, will they be able to pass the most important test of all? title: The Mysterious Benedict Society |
SPI |
Stargirl
(age 10+) by Jerry Spinelli growing up ... friendship ... school ... identity In this story about the perils of popularity, the courage of nonconformity, and the thrill of first love, an eccentric student named Stargirl changes Mica High School forever. sequel: Love, Stargirl |
MCK |
A Friendship for Today
(age 10+) by Pat McKissack bigotry ... friendship ... historical In 1954 Missouri, 12-year-old Rosemary Patterson is about to make history as one of the first African-American students to enter the all-white school in her town. When the girl who has shown her the most cruelty becomes an unlikely confidante, Rosemary learns important truths about the power of friendship to overcome prejudice. |
KAD |
Kira-kira
(age 10+) by Cynthia Kadohata bigotry ... family ... friendship ... illness/loss kira-kira (kee ra kee ra): glittering; shining. Glittering. That's how Katie Takeshima's sister, Lynn, makes everything seem. The sky is kira-kira because its color is deep but see-through at the same time. The sea is kira-kira for the same reason. And so are people's eyes. When Katie and her family move from a Japanese community in Iowa to the Deep South of Georgia, it's Lynn who explains to her why people stop on the street to stare. And it's Lynn who, with her special way of viewing the world, teaches Katie to look beyond tomorrow. But when Lynn becomes desperately ill, and the whole family begins to fall apart, it is up to Katie to find a way to remind them all that there is always something glittering, kira-kira, in the future. |
DIC |
The Tiger Rising
(age 10+) by Kate DiCamillo illness/loss ... growing up ... friendship Walking through the misty Florida woods one morning, twelve-year-old Rob Horton is stunned to encounter a tiger ... a real-life, very large tiger ... pacing back and forth in a cage. What's more, on the same extraordinary day, he meets Sistine Bailey, a girl who shows her feelings as readily as Rob hides his. As they learn to trust each other, and ultimately, to be friends, Rob and Sistine prove that some things ... like memories, and heartaches, and tigers ... can't be locked up forever. |
BLU |
Here's to You, Rachel Robinson
(age 10+) by Judy Blume brilliant protagonist ... school ... family ... friendship It's the end of seventh grade, and the stress of trying to be perfect is getting to Rachel. She's tired of being the straight-A student on every teacher's wish list. Plus she's busy dealing with her sister's junior prom mishaps, and harboring a secret crush on her brother's tutor. But most importantly, she's working to keep her friendship with Stephanie and Alison strong. Could it be that real life is much more interesting than perfect life? If you're equipped with a good sense of humor, it is! |
BLU |
Just as Long as We're Together
(age 10+) by Judy Blume school ... family ... friendship Rachel is Stephanie's best friend. Since the second grade they have shared all their secrets, good and bad. So when Alison moves in, Stephanie hopes that the three of them can be best friends because Stephanie really likes Alison. After all, they have even more to share now, including seventh grade and Jeremy Dragon, the cutest boy in junior high. Even though the three of them live in a quiet Connecticut neighborhood, there's a lot going on in their lives. Stephanie wishes her father didn't have to work so far from home and she worries that Rachel's talents will get in the way of their friendship. Rachel and Alison have to deal with the changes in their own lives, yet Stephanie is sure everything will work out fine--"just as long as we're together...." |
BLU |
BFF: Best Friends Forever: Two Novels
(age 10+) by Judy Blume school ... family ... friendship Contains two novels by Judy Blume including "Just as Long as We're Together," in which Stephanie's relationship with her best friend, Rachel, changes during her first year in junior high as she tries to hide a family problem and meets a new girl from California; and "Here's to You, Rachel Robinson," in which Rachel's life is disrupted when her brother Charles is expelled from boarding school and returns home. |
SNY |
The Changeling
(age 10+) by Zilpha Keatley Snyder growing up ... friendship Ivy Carson belonged to the notorious Carson family, which lived in a run-down house in suburban Rosewood. But Ivy was not a typical Carson. There was something wonderful about her. Ivy explained it by saying that she was a changeling, a child of supernatural parents who had been exchanged for the real Ivy Carson at birth. |
SAC |
The Boy Who Lost His Face
(age 10+) by Louis Sachar school ... growing up ... friendship David is only trying to be cool when he helps some of the popular kids steal Old Lady Bayfield's cane. But when the plan backfires, he's the one the "old witch" curses. Now David can't seem to do anything right. Is it the Bayfield curse at work? Or is David simply turning into a total loser? |
HOL |
The Broadway Ballplayers (age 10+) by Haureen Holohan friendship ... sports Meet the Ballplayers, a fearless five with a passion for sports, hanging with friends, and life on Broadway Avenue. As the new summer basketball league kicks off, these five friends team up to form the Broadway Ballplayers. But Molly and the others run into some serious competition both on and off the court. Can they bring the championship home to Broadway Avenue? title: The Broadway Ballplayers: Friday Nights by Molly |
HAL |
Princess Academy
(age 10+) by Shannon Hale princesses ... fantasy ... friendship ... school Miri lives on a mountain where, for generations, her ancestors have quarried stone and lived a simple life. Then word comes that the king's priests have divined her small village the home of the future princess. In a year's time, the prince himself will come and choose his bride from among the girls of the village. The king's ministers set up an academy on the mountain, and every teenage girl must attend and learn how to become a princess. Miri soon finds herself confronted with a harsh academy mistress, bitter competition among the girls, and her own conflicting desires to be chosen and win the heart of her childhood best friend. But when bandits seek out the academy to kidnap the future princess, Miri must rally the girls together and use a power unique to the mountain dwellers to save herself and her classmates. |
FLE |
Flying Solo
(age 10+) by Ralph Fletcher friendship ... school ... illness/loss Rachel, having chosen to be mute following the sudden death of a classmate, shares responsibility with the other sixth-graders who decide not to report that the substitute teacher failed to show up. |
WAU |
Space Race
(age 10+) by Sylvia Waugh friendship ... family ... science fiction Every night before going to sleep, 11-year-old Thomas Derwent says to his father, "Nallytan, Vateelin mesht." It's the one thing he remembers from the language of The Other Place, and Thomas has never thought much about it. Until now. Now, because his father has told him that they're leaving. Not just the small town in England where they live, but Earth. They're returning to The Other Place, the planet of Ormingat, from which they came five years before. It was so long ago, though, that Thomas can't remember anything about his life there. All he knows is his life on Earth, and he can't imagine leaving the places and people he loves so much. But the only other option is to stay behind. Alone. |
SPI |
Crash
(age 10+) by Jerry Spinelli family ... friendship ... growing up Seventh-grader John "Crash" Coogan has always been comfortable with his tough, aggressive behavior, until his relationship with an unusual Quaker boy and his grandfather's stroke make him consider the meaning of friendship and the importance of family. |
SAC |
Holes
(age 10+) by Louis Sachar humor ... mystery ... friendship Stanley Yelnats is under a curse. A curse that began with his no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather and has since followed generations of Yelnats. Now Stanley has been unjustly sent to a boys' detention center, Camp Green Lake, where the warden makes the boys ``build character'' by spending all day, every day, digging holes: five feet wide and five feet deep. It doesn't take long for Stanley to realize there's more than character improvement going on at Camp Green Lake. The boys are digging holes because the warden is looking for something. Stanley tries to dig up the truth in this inventive and darkly humorous tale of crime and punishment, and redemption. sequel: Small Steps |
SNY |
The Egypt Game
(age 10+) by Zilpha Keatley Snyder spooky ... adventure ... friendship The first time Melanie Ross meets April Hall, she's not sure they'll have anything in common. But she soon discovers that they both love anything to do with ancient Egypt. When they stumble upon a deserted storage yard behind the A-Z Antiques and Curio Shop, Melanie and April decide it's the perfect spot for Egypt Game. Before long there are six Egyptians instead of two. Everyone thinks it's just a game, until strange things begin happening to the players. Has the Egypt Game gone too far? sequel: The Gypsy Game |
PAT |
The Same Stuff as Stars
(age 10+) by Katherine Patterson growing up ... friendship ... family When Angel's self-absorbed mother leaves her and her younger brother with their poor great-grandmother, the eleven-year-old girl worries not only about her mother and brother, her imprisoned father, the frail old woman, but also about a mysterious man who begins sharing with her the wonder of the stars. |
TAY |
The Cay
(age 10+) by Theodore Taylor voyages/journeys ... friendship ... bigotry ... adventure ... historical When the freighter on which they are traveling is torpedoed by a German submarine during World War II, an adolescent white boy, blinded by a blow on the head, and an old black man are stranded on a tiny Caribbean island where the boy acquires a new kind of vision, courage, and love from his old companion. sequel: Timothy of the Cay |
SPI |
Maniac Magee : a Novel
(age 10+) by Jerry Spinelli folklore ... humor ... bigotry ... realistic ... friendship ... sports After his parents die, Jeffrey Lionel Magee's life becomes legendary, as he accomplishes athletic and other feats which awe his contemporaries. |
PAT |
Bridge to Terabithia
(age 10+) by Katherine Paterson realistic ... friendship Jess Aaron's greatest ambition is to be the fastest runner in the fifth grade. He's been practicing all summer and can't wait to see his classmates' faces when he beats them all. But on the first day of school, a new kid, a new girl, boldly crosses over to the boys' side of the playground and outruns everyone. That's not a very promising beginning for a friendship, but Jess and Leslie Burke become inseparable. It doesn't matter to Jess that Leslie dresses funny, or that her family has a lot of money, but no TV. Leslie has amazing imagination. |
LOW |
Number the Stars
(age 10+) by Lois Lowry survival ... bigotry ... friendship ... historical In 1943, during the German occupation of Denmark, ten-year-old Annemarie learns how to be brave and courageous when she helps shelter her Jewish friend from the Nazis. |
HOE |
Hermux Tantamoq Adventures (age 10+) by Michael Hoeye the arts ... mystery ... adventure ... friendship Hermux Tantamoq is an average mouse who works in his watch shop by day and spends his evenings at home. Nothing extraordinary has ever happened to him, but that changes when Linka Perflinger, daredevil aviatrix, drops off her watch to be repaired and steals his heart. But when a shady-looking rat tries to claim the repaired watch instead of Linka, Hermux knows something's gone wrong. Before long, Hermux is entangled in the convoluted schemes of an eccentric cosmetics tycoon, a sinister plastic surgeon, and a squad of ruthless lab rats. Hermux is caught up in a deadly race against time. title: Time Stops for No Mouse title: The Sands of Time: a [new] Hermux Tantamoq Adventure title: No Time Like Show Time: a Hermux Tantamoq Adventure |
CRE |
Walk Two Moons
(age 10+) by Sharon Creech illness/loss ... identity ... growing up ... friendship ... voyages/journeys ... family As Salamanca travels cross-country with her eccentric grandparents, she tells the story of Phoebe Winterbottom, who received mysterious messages, who met a ``potential lunatic,'' and whose mother disappeared--just like Sal's. |
BYN |
Molly Moon Series (age 10+) by Georgia Byng identity ... mystery ... magic ... adventure ... friendship ... family Molly Moon is no ordinary orphan. When she finds a mysterious old book on hypnotism, she discovers she can make people do whatever she wants. But a sinister stranger is watching her every move, and he'll do anything to steal her hypnotic secret... title: Molly Moon's Incredible Book of Hypnotism title: Molly Moon Stops the World title: Molly Moon's Hypnotic Time Travel Adventure title: Molly Moon, Micky Minus, and the Mind Machine |