F ALC	Louisa May Alcott's Little Women Books (age 10+) by Louisa May Alcott historical ... growing up ... family Chronicles the joys and sorrows of the four March sisters as they grow into young ladies in nineteenth-century New England. title: Little Women title: Little Men: Life at Plumfield With Jo's Boys
F VAN	Dear Mom, You're Ruining My Life (age 10+) by Jean Van Leeuwen realistic ... growing up ... family Samantha Slayton's eleventh year includes losing her last baby teeth, towering over every boy in dance school, and being mortified by everything her mother does.
F BAU	Hope Was Here (age 10+) by Joan Bauer growing up ... family ... humor Catalog: When sixteen-year-old Hope and the aunt who has raised her move from Brooklyn to Mulhoney, Wisconsin, to work as waitress and cook in the Welcome Stairways diner, they become involved with the diner owner's political campaign to oust the town's corrupt mayor.
F JIM	Breaking Through (age 10+) by Francisco Jimenez historical ... family ... growing up Publisher comments: "Breaking Through" chronicles the author's teenage years. At the age of 14, Francisco and his family are caught by "la migra" (immigration officers) and forced to leave their California home, but soon find their way back. Jiminez explores the prejudice and challenges they face while also relaying universal adolescent experiences of school, dances and romances.
F LAW	Scumble (age 10+) by Ingrid Law growing up ... fantasy ... family Publisher comments: It's nine years after Savvy, and Mibs' cousin Ledge is on the verge of turning thirteen. More than anything, he wants the power to run like the wind. But when his birthday comes, he discovers that his savvy is actually making things fall apart. It starts out with small things, but then it gets worse. To top it all off, someone outside the family has witnessed his destruction. Now, in addition to trying to figure out how to control - or scumble - his savvy, he's got to worry about how to protect the family secrets. Over the course of one amazing summer, Ledge learns a lot about himself and his family, makes a new - and very unlikely - friend, and learns to appreciate his newfound skills.
F LAW	Savvy (age 10+) by Ingrid Law growing up ... fantasy ... family Publisher comments: For generations, the Beaumont family has harbored a magical secret. They each possess a "savvy", a special supernatural power that strikes when they turn thirteen. Grandpa Bomba moves mountains, her older brothers create hurricanes and spark electricity...and now it's the eve of Mibs's big day. As if waiting weren't hard enough, the family gets scary news two days before Mibs's birthday: Poppa has been in a terrible accident. Mibs develops the singular mission to get to the hospital and prove that her new power can save her dad. So she sneaks onto a salesman's bus...only to find the bus heading in the opposite direction. Suddenly Mibs finds herself on an unforgettable odyssey that will force her to make sense of growing up and of other people, who might also have a few secrets hidden just beneath the skin.
F PEC	Fair Weather: a Novel (age 10+) by Richard Peck family ... humor ... historical In 1893, thirteen-year-old Rosie and members of her family travel from their Illinois farm to Chicago to visit Aunt Euterpe and attend the World's Columbian Exposition which, along with an encounter with Buffalo Bill and Lillian Russell, turns out to be a life-changing experience for everyone.
F GAI	Coraline (age 10+) by Neil Gaiman family ... fantasy ... spooky When Coraline steps through a door to find another house strangely similar to her own (only better), things seem marvelous. But there's another mother there, and another father, and they want her to stay and be their little girl. They want to change her and never let her go. Coraline will have to fight with all her wit and courage if she is to save herself and return to her ordinary life.
F TAN	The Arrival (age 10+) by Shaun Tan family ... identity ... voyages/journeys In a heartbreaking parting, a man gives his wife and daughter a last kiss and boards a steamship to cross the ocean. He's embarking on the most painful yet important journey of his life; he's leaving home to build a better future for his family. Shaun Tan evokes universal aspects of an immigrant's experience through a singular work of the imagination. He does so using brilliantly clear and mesmerizing images.
F MAC	Journey (age 10+) by Patricia MacLachlan family ... illness/loss Two children, left by their mother with their grandparents, feel as if their past has been erased until Grandfather finds a way to restore it to them.
F GEO	Charlie's Raven (age 10+) by Jean Craighead George family ... nature ... animals Charlie, having heard from his Teton Sioux Indian friend that ravens can cure people, brings home a baby raven in hopes of helping his ailing grandfather, and sets the stage for a learning experience that brings new life to everyone in his family.
F FRE	The Mother-Daughter Book Club (age 10+) by Heather Vogel Frederick authorship ... family ... friendship Even if Megan would rather be at the mall, Cassidy is late for hockey practice, Emma's already read every book in existence, and Jess is missing her mother too much to care, the new book club is scheduled to meet every month. But what begins as a mom-imposed ritual of reading Little Women soon helps four unlikely friends navigate the drama of middle school. From stolen journals, to secret crushes, to a fashion-fiasco first dance, the girls are up to their Wellie boots in drama. They can't help but wonder: What would Jo March do? sequel: Much Ado About Anne
F HOL	Penny From Heaven (age 10+) by Jennifer Holm growing up ... family ... historical As she turns twelve during the summer of 1953, Penny gains new insights into herself and her family while also learning a secret about her father's death. It's 1953 and 11-year-old Penny dreams of a summer of butter pecan ice cream, swimming, and baseball. But nothing's that easy in Penny's family. For starters, she can't go swimming because her mother's afraid she'll catch polio at the pool. To make matters worse, her favorite uncle is living in a car. Her Nonny cries every time her father's name is mentioned. And the two sides of her family aren't speaking to each other!
F COU	Getting Near to Baby (age 10+) by Audrey Couloumbis illness/loss ... family Although 13-year-old Willa Jo and her Aunt Patty seem to be constantly at odds, staying with her and Uncle Hob helps Willa Jo and her younger sister come to terms with the death of their family's baby.
F COL	My Brother Sam is Dead (age 10+) by James Lincoln Collier war ... family ... historical Publisher comments: All his life, Tim Meeker has looked up to his brother Sam. Sam's smart and brave, and is now a part of the American Revolution. Not everyone in town wants to be a part of the rebellion. Most are supporters of the British, including Tim and Sam's father. With the war soon raging, Tim know he'll have to make a choice ... between the Revolutionaries and the Redcoats ... and between his brother and his father.
F CAM	The Secret Life of Amanda K. Woods (age 10+) by Ann Cameron growing up ... identity ... historical ... family Amanda Woods is discovering that there are some things in life that you just can't change, like who your parents are or how your older sister treats you, but she is determined to change what she can. To begin with, she's not going to be just plain Amanda Woods (the girl her mother seems to think is just average). She's going to be Amanda K. Woods - someone who is proud and strong and sure of herself, someone who can have a French pen pal and a best friend of her own choosing, someone who finds four-leaf clovers and can get perfect scores on her math homework. There is more to Amanda than anyone else can see, things about her that Amanda herself doesn't even know yet, but she's finding out.
F YEP	Dragonwings (age 10+) by Laurence Yep historical ... family ... enterprise In the early twentieth century a young Chinese boy joins his father in San Francisco and helps him realize his dream of making a flying machine.
F RYL	The Islander: a Novel (age 10+) by Cynthia Rylant growing up ... fantasy ... family Living with his grandfather on an island off British Columbia, orphaned ten-year-old Daniel feels deep loneliness until the night he meets a mermaid whose identity he tries to learn.
F 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.
F 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.
F HEN	The Birthday Room (age 10+) by Kevin Henkes growing up ... family Benjamin Hunter gets two things for his twelfth birthday: a freshly renovated room in the attic from his parents and a letter from his uncle, Ian, whom he hasn't seen in nearly ten years. Ben isn't sure what he thinks about the room . . . but the letter! It's an invitation to visit, and Ben has an unexplainable urge to see, and know, this man who's been estranged from the family for so long. That is, if Ben's mother can let go of an old grudge long enough to let him have his wish.
F CHO	Al Capone Does My Shirts (age 10+) by Gennifer Choldenko growing up ... historical ... family Publisher comments: Moose Flannagan moves with his family to Alcatraz so his dad can work as a prison guard and his sister, Natalie, can attend a special school. But Natalie has autism, and when she's denied admittance to the school, the stark setting of Alcatraz begins to unravel the tenuous coping mechanisms Moose's family has used for dealing with her disorder. When Moose meets Piper, the cute daughter of the Warden, he knows right off she's trouble. But she's also strangely irresistible. All Moose wants to do is protect Natalie, live up to his parents? expectations, and stay out of trouble. But on Alcatraz, trouble is never very far away. sequel: Al Capone Shines My Shoes
F VOI	Homecoming (age 10+) by Cynthia Voigt growing up ... survival ... family In the first book of Cynthia Voigt's Tillerman cycle, the four Tillerman children, abandoned by their emotionally ill mother, undertake a difficult journey in search of a place to call home. sequel: Dicey's Song
F TAY	Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry (age 10+) by Mildred D. Taylor family ... bigotry ... historical The story of one African American family fighting to stay together and strong in the face of brutal racist attacks, illness, poverty, and betrayal in the Deep South of the 1930s.
F RYL	Missing May (age 10+) by Cynthia Rylant illness/loss ... family After the death of the beloved aunt who has raised her, twelve-year-old Summer and her uncle Ob leave their West Virginia trailer in search of the strength to go on living.
F RIN	Amelia's War (age 10+) by Ann Rinaldi war ... family ... historical As the Civil War rages, Amelia's Maryland town is beset by divisions. Even she and her best friend Josh disagree. Amelia vows not to take sides, until the Confederate troops march into town...led by Josh's uncle.
F PAT	Jacob Have I Loved (age 10+) by Katherine Patterson identity ... realistic ... growing up ... family Sara Louise Bradshaw is sick and tired of her beautiful twin Caroline. Ever since they were born, Caroline has been the pretty one, the talented one, the better sister. Even now, Caroline seems to take everything: Louise's friends, their parents' love, her dreams for the future. For once in her life, Louise wants to be the special one. But in order to do that, she must first figure out who she is, and find a way to make a place for herself outside her sister's shadow.
F HOR	Everything on a Waffle (age 10+) by Polly Horvath growing up ... family ... humor Eleven-year-old Primrose, living in a small fishing village in British Columbia, recounts with surprising humor her experiences and all she learns about human nature and the unpredictability of life after her parents are lost at sea.
F HEN	Protecting Marie (age 10+) by Kevin Henkes family ... animals ... growing up ``Fanny sensed that from the moment she was born she was meant to have a dog. It was as though some unique and independent organ deep inside her, like a tiny heart, couldn't thrive properly without one.'' With humor and compassion Kevin Henkes tells Fanny's story. But this is not just a dog story. This is a story about a girl and her father. This is a story about growing up. This is a story about wanting and getting and realizing that nothing is simple or easy.
F FIT	Sport (age 10+) by Louise Fitzhugh realistic ... family Eleven-year-old Sport Rocque is living a happy life, keeping his father's absentmindedness under control, and managing the family budget. When Kate, Sport's new (and nice) stepmother enters the picture, things couldn't be better. Then comes the news: Sport's wealthy grandfather has just died and Sport is a multimillionaire. But millions of dollars equals millions of problems, as Sport soon discovers when his mother returns and kidnaps him to double her share of the inheritance! Life at the Plaza Hotel is no fun when you're a prisoner. Will Sport manage to escape and return his life to normal?
F BLO	Tangerine (age 10+) by Edward Bloor adventure ... humor ... family ... sports Paul Fisher plays soccer despite the thick glasses he wears because of a mysterious eye injury. When his family moves to Tangerine, Florida, strange things start to happen, but nothing is stranger than the secrets Paul finds out about his older brother, his new friends, and his own dangerous past.
F HOL	Following Fake Man (age 10+) by Barbara Ware Holmes identity ... illness/loss ... mystery ... family Homer Aldrich Winthrop was a neurologist who died of a neurological illness. That's all Homer Jr.'s mother will say about his father, who died when he was two. On an unexpected trip to Maine, 12-year-old Homer realizes there may be a reason his father is such a secret.
F 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.
F TUR	Maroo of the Winter Caves (age 10+) by Ann Turnbull family ... historical ... survival ... nature Maroo, a girl of the late Ice Age, must take charge after her father is killed, and lead her little brother, mother, and aged grandmother to the safety of the winter camp before the first blizzards strike.
F RYA	Esperanza Rising (age 10+) by Pam Munoz Ryan identity ... historical ... family Esperanza Ortega has fancy dresses, a beautiful home filled with servants, and the promise of one day rising to her mother's position presiding over all of Rancho de las Rosas. But tragedy shatters that dream, forcing Esperanza and Mama to flee from Mexico to California and settle in a farm labor camp. There, Esperanza must confront the challenges that come with her difficult circumstances.
F PEC	A Year Down Yonder (age 10+) by Richard Peck short stories ... historical ... family During the recession of 1937, fifteen-year-old Mary Alice is sent to live with her feisty, larger-than-life grandmother in rural Illinois and comes to a better understanding of this fearsome woman.
F 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.
F CRE	Absolutely Normal Chaos (age 10+) by Sharon Creech authorship ... family Mary Lou Finney grudgingly begins writing a journal as a summer project for school. Then her cousin Carl Ray comes to stay, and what started out as a dull assignment quickly becomes an amazing record of first love and family intrigue. But what if her teacher actually does read her journal?
F 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
F NIM	Griffin's Castle (age 10+) by Jenny Nimmo family ... fantasy After years of having moved around, eleven-year-old Dinah determines to make a huge, dilapidated old mansion into a home for her mother and herself, but the wild beasts she summons from a stone wall to protect her may also imprison her.

Escondido Elementary School, Sat Aug 25 11:55:29 2012 Other themes and genres