F
HUT
The Mona Lisa Mystery (age 8-11)
by Pat Hutchins
the arts ... mystery
Class 3 of Hampstead Primary School takes a school trip to Paris and lands right into the middle of a mystery.
F
LOV
The Puppeteer's Apprentice (age 8-11)
by D. Anne Love
adventure ... the arts ... historical
Mouse, a timid orphan growing up in medieval England, has little happiness in the world. But then, when she comes across a puppeteer so talented that he can make the puppets talk and dance as if they were little humans, Mouse realizes that true happiness is within reach ... and the key is learning how to make the puppets dance! What she doesn't realize, however, is just how much she and her prospective mentor have in common and how much, one day, they will share.
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
CLE
The Last Holiday Concert (age 8-11)
by Andrew Clements
enterprise ... the arts ... school
Publisher comments: It all started when Hart Evans zinged a rubber band that hit Mr. Meinert, the chorus director. Actually, it started before that, when Mr. Meinert learned he was out of a job because the town budget couldn't afford music and art teachers. Mr. Meinert got so mad at Hart that he told the sixth graders he'd had it ... they could produce the big holiday concert on their own. Or not. It was all up to them. What happens when a teacher steps aside and lets the kids run the show? Not what Mr. Meinert would have predicted. And not what Hart Evans would have guessed, not at all.
F
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.
F
CLE
Ellen Tebbits (age 8-11)
by Beverly Cleary
the arts ... school ... realistic ... friendship
Ellen was eight years old and wore bands on her teeth. Her best friend had just moved away and she missed her. Still, as she walked to the Spofford School of the Dance one Saturday, she was almost glad she had no best friend. Best friends do not have secrets from each other, and Ellen had a secret she did not want to share with anyone. But by the time the dancing lesson was over (surely the most devastating dancing lesson on record), Ellen had found a best friend and shared her secret. The best friend was Austine, and the secret was that Ellen was wearing woolen underwear. So was Austine!
F
GIF
Pictures of Hollis Woods (age 8-11)
by Patricia Reilly Giff
the arts ... friendship ... family
A troublesome twelve-year-old orphan, staying with an elderly artist who needs her, remembers the only other time she was happy in a foster home, with a family that truly seemed to care about her.

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