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HOW
Pinky and Rex Series (age 7-10)
by James Howe
adventure ... friendship
Publisher comments: Pinky has twenty-seven stuffed animals, and Rex has twenty-seven dinosaurs. They have everything the same, and that's the way it should be with best friends. So what do they do when there's only one pink dinosaur in the museum gift shop, and they both want it? Could Pinky's pesky little sister Amanda have the answer?
title: Pinky and Rex
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COX
Mean, Mean, Maureen Green (age 7-10)
by Judy Cox
friendship ... school
With help from Adam, a boy in her third grade class, Lilley gains enough confidence to stand up to the school bus bully, Mean Maureen Green.
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KRE
The Arthur Series (age 7-10)
by Stephen Krensky
school ... friendship
Arthur and his friends deal with school, friends, and family...just like you!
title: Arthur and the Popularity Test
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BIR
The World According to Humphrey (age 7-10)
by Betty Birney
animals ... school ... friendship
Humphrey, pet hamster at Longfellow School, learns that he has an important role to play in helping his classmates and teacher.
title: Summer According to Humphrey
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BLU
The Pain and the Great One Series (age 7-10)
by Judy Blume
friendship ... family
Catalog: A six-year-old (The Pain) and his eight-year-old sister (The Great One) see each other as troublemakers and the best-loved in the family.
title: Friend or Fiend? with the Pain and the Great One
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JEN
Toys Go Out: Being the Adventures of a Knowledgeable Stingray, a Toughy Little Buffalo, and Someone Called Plastic (age 7-10)
by Emily Jenkins
friendship ... adventure ... short stories
Publisher comments: Lumphy is a stuffed buffalo. StingRay is a stuffed stingray. And Plastic... well, Plastic isn't quite sure what she is. They all belong to the Little Girl who lives on the high bed with the fluffy pillows. Together is best for these three best friends. Together they look things up in the dictionary, explore the basement, and argue about the meaning of life. And together they face dogs, school, television commercials, the vastness of the sea and the terrifying bigness of the washing machine.
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MYE
Wings (age 7-10)
by Christopher Myers
identity ... friendship
Ikarus Jackson, the new boy in school, is outcast because he has wings. But his resilient spirit inspires one girl to speak up for him in this thought provoking story about celebrating individuality.
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PET
I Hate Company (age 7-10)
by P. J. Petersen
humor ... family ... friendship
When his mother offers to share their apartment temporarily with an old friend and her three-year-old son, Dan finds himself resenting the loss of space, privacy, and peace and quiet.
F
YIN
Brothers (age 7-10)
by Yin
historical ... bigotry ... friendship
Having arrived in San Francisco from China to work in his brother's store, Ming is lonely until an Irish boy befriends him.
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MIL
The Puppy Place Series (age 7-10)
by Ellen Miles
friendship ... animals
Charles and Lizzie Peterson love puppies. They have a puppy of their own named Buddy, but they also foster dogs that need help finding new homes.
title: Shadow
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GAU
A Girl, a Boy, and a Monster Cat (age 7-10)
by Gail Gauthier
animals ... friendship ... humor
Sam's house would have been the perfect place for Brandon to go after school. The big-screen TV is on all the time, and Sam is a boy. Instead, Brandon's mom sends him to Hannah's, where he is forced to play imaginary games in which Hannah is always the hero. Even the cat, Buttercup, gets more exciting roles than Brandon. Then a new neighbor moves in with a tiny dog who is actually quite fierce. He gives Hannah lots of material for games, but when Buttercup defends her territory with some malicious tactics, reality becomes much more exciting than fiction.
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CAP
A Christmas Memory (age 7-10)
by Truman Capote
traditions ... friendship ... folklore
A reminiscence of a Christmas shared by a seven-year-old boy and a sixtyish childlike woman, with enormous love and friendship between them.
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BYA
The Seven Treasure Hunts (age 7-10)
by Betsy Cromer Byars
adventure ... humor ... friendship
Two boys make up a series of treasure hunts for each other, with disastrous and hilarious results.
F
BAR
Ivy Plus Bean Series (age 7-10)
by Annie Barrows
realistic ... humor ... friendship
Publisher comments: The moment they saw each other, Bean and Ivy knew they wouldn't be friends. But when Bean plays a joke on her sister, Nancy, and has to hide, Ivy comes to the rescue, proving that sometimes the best of friends are people never meant to like each other.
title: Ivy + Bean
title: Ivy and Bean Bound to be Bad
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WEL
Lassie Come-Home (age 7-10)
by Rosemary Wells
friendship ... animals
A collie undertakes a 1000-mile journey in order to once again meet her former master at the school gate. Retelling of Eric Knight's classic tale.
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DUF
How to Be Cool in the Third Grade (age 7-10)
by Betsy Duffey
friendship ... school
When Robbie York is marked as a target by a bully at school, he decides that the only way to survive the third grade is by being cool.
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PEN
The Clementine Series (age 7-10)
by Sara Pennypacker
friendship ... humor ... school
Clementine notices everything...especially when adults would prefer her not to. This chapter book finds her sorting through all kinds of trouble, in her own hilarious way.
title: Clementine
title: The Talented Clementine
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MON
Get Ready for Gabi Series (age 7-10)
by Marisa Montes
humor ... friendship ... school
With her friends and familia by her side, Gabi is ready for anything--sort of. Maritza Gabriela Morales Mercado (Gabi for short) has big problemas. Her worst enemy, Johnny Wiley, is driving her crazy. He makes fun of her name. He picks on her friends. And now Gabi has to spend an entire month working with him on a school project! Gabi is so upset she can't even talk straight. Her English words keep getting jumbled up with her Spanish words. Now she's speaking a crazy mix of both, and no one knows what she's saying! Will Gabi ever make sense again?
title: A Crazy Mixed-up Spanglish Day
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RYL
The Cobble Street Cousins Series (age 7-10)
by Cynthia Rylant
friendship
Nine-year-old cousins Rosie, Lily, and Tess make a neighborhood newspaper celebrating all their friends on Cobble Street.
title: In Aunt Lucy's Kitchen
title: Special Gifts
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CLE
Jake Drake Series (age 7-10)
by Andrew Clements
friendship ... school
Kidalog: Jake Drake takes on bullies, boring classes, science fairs, and more!
title: Jake Drake, Bully Buster
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DAH
Esio Trot (age 7-10)
by Roald Dahl
humor ... friendship
Mr. Hoppy is in love with Mrs. Silver, but her heart belongs to Alfie, her pet tortoise. Then, one day Mr. Hoppy comes up with a brilliant idea to win her heart--involving 140 tortoises, an ancient spell, and a little bit of magic.
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CAR
The Family Under the Bridge (age 7-10)
by Natalie Savage Carlson
family ... friendship
This is the delightfully warm and enjoyable story of an old Parisian named Armand, who relished his solitary life. Children, he said, were like starlings, and one was better off without them. But the children who lived under the bridge recognized a true friend when they met one, even if the friend seemed a trifle unwilling at the start. And it did not take Armand very long to realize that he had gotten himself ready-made family; one that he loved with all his heart, and one for whom he would have to find a better home than the bridge.
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BER
The Berenstain Bear Scouts (age 7-10)
by Stan Berenstain
friendship ... school ... humor
The Berenstain Bears take on scouting, in their own hilarious way.
title: The Berenstain Bear Scouts In Giant Bat Cave
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WOJ
The Beany Adventures (age 7-10)
by Susan Wojciechowski
humor ... growing up ... friendship
Beany worries about everything whether she is at home or school.
title: Beany and the Meany
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PET
The Littles Series (age 7-10)
by John Peterson
adventure ... fantasy ... friendship
Meet the Littles, a tiny family with a big heart.
sequel: The Littles
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NAG
Dear Whiskers (age 7-10)
by Ann Whitehead Nagda
letters/journal ... realistic ... friendship
Jenny is initially discouraged when her second grade pen pal turns out to be a new student from Saudi Arabia who does not speak English very well, but as she works with her they slowly develop a true friendship.
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MCD
The Stink Series (age 7-10)
by Megan McDonald
realistic ... enterprise ... friendship ... humor
Meet Judy Moody's little brother Stink. Whether he's corresponding with candy companies to get free samples or drawing special inspiration from a visit to the Gross-Me-Out exhibit at the science museum, Stink Moody is always up to something.
title: Stink and the Great Guinea Pig Express
title: Stink and the Incredible Super-Galactic Jawbreaker
title: Stink and the World's Worst Super-Stinky Sneakers
title: Stink: The Incredible Shrinking Kid
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MCD
Judy Moody Series (age 7-10)
by Megan McDonald
realistic ... friendship ... humor
Publisher comments: "Judy Moody was in a mood. Not a good mood. A bad mood. A mad-faced mood." Judy also has an abundance of individuality and attitude, and when Mr. Todd assigns a very special class project, she really gets a chance to express herself! The mercurial Judy Moody will delight any kid who's known a bad mood or a bad day--and managed to laugh anyway.
title: Judy Moody
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KLI
Horrible Harry Series (age 7-10)
by Suzy Kline
humor ... friendship ... school
Horrible Harry of classroom 2B is known for his mischievous pranks, and his unexpected moments of insight into the elementary school experience.
title: Horrible Harry and the Green Slime
title: Horrible Harry and the Dungeon
title: Horrible Harry's Secret
title: Horrible Harry and the Ant Invasion
title: Song Lee and the Hamster Hunt
title: Song Lee and the Leech Man
title: Song Lee in Room 2B
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CHR
Peach Street Mudders Series (age 7-10)
by Matt Christopher
growing up ... friendship ... sports
The Peach Street Mudders learn a lot about sportsmanship, and a lot about life.
title: The Hit-Away Kid
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GAN
My Father's Dragon Series (age 7-10)
by Ruth Stiles Gannett
adventure ... friendship ... knights/castles/dragons
A young boy determines to rescue a poor baby dragon who is being used by a group of lazy wild animals to ferry them across the river on Wild Island.
title: Elmer and the Dragon
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EST
The Hundred Dresses (age 7-10)
by Eleanor Estes
identity ... friendship ... school
Publisher comments: Wanda Petronski is an immigrant girl in an American school, who is ridiculed for wearing the same faded blue dress every day. When she tells her classmates that she has one hundred dresses at home, she unwittingly triggers a game of teasing that eventually ends in a lesson for all.

Escondido Elementary School, Sat Aug 25 11:55:29 2012
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