F DIT	The Search for WondLa (age 10+) by Tony DiTerlizzi identity ... adventure ... science fiction Publisher comments: When a marauder destroys the underground sanctuary that Eva Nine was raised in by the robot Muthr, the twelve-year-year-old girl is forced to flee above ground. Eva Nine is searching for anyone else like her: She knows that other humans exist because of an item she treasures—a scrap of cardboard on which is depicted a young girl, an adult, and a robot, with the strange word, "WondLa."
F SAL	Under the Blood-Red Sun (age 10+) by Graham Salisbury war ... identity ... friendship ... historical Publisher comments: Tomi was born in Hawaii. His grandfather and parents were born in Japan, and came to America to escape poverty. World War II seems far away from Tomi and his friends, who are too busy playing ball on their eighth-grade team, the Rats. But then Pearl Harbor is attacked by the Japanese, and the United States declares war on Japan. Japanese men are rounded up, and Tomi's father and grandfather are arrested. It's a terrifying time to be Japanese in America. But one thing doesn't change: the loyalty of Tomi's buddies, the Rats.
F FAR	The House of the Scorpion (age 10+) by Nancy Farmer adventure ... action ... science fiction ... identity Publisher comments: Matteo Alacrán was not born; he was harvested. His DNA came from El Patron, lord of a country called Opium--a strip of poppy fields lying between the United States and what was once called Mexico. Matt's first cell split and divided inside a petri dish. Then he was placed in the womb of a cow, where he continued the miraculous journey from embryo to fetus to baby. He is a boy now, but most consider him a monster--except for El Patron. El Patron loves Matt as he loves himself, because Matt is himself. As Matt struggles to understand his existence, he is threatened by a sinister cast of characters, including El Patron's power-hungry family, and he is surrounded by a dangerous army of bodyguards. Escape is the only chance Matt has to survive. But escape from the Alacrán Estate is no guarantee of freedom, because Matt is marked by his difference in ways he doesn't even suspect.
F PER	Criss Cross (age 10+) by Lynne Rae Perkins identity ... spooky Publisher comments: She wished something would happen. Something good. To her. Checking her wish for loopholes, she found one. Hoping it wasn't too late, she thought the word soon. Meanwhile, in another part of town, he felt as if the world was opening. Life was rearranging itself; bulging in places, fraying in spots. He felt himself changing, too, but into what? So much can happen in a summer.
F DUR	The Beaded Moccasins: The Story of Mary Campbell (age 10+) by Lynda Durrant identity ... historical Publisher comments: May 11, 1759. On the morning of Mary Campbell's 12th birthday, her life takes a terrifying turn for the worse. She is kidnapped by the fearsome Delaware Indians and taken from her family in Pennsylvania, all the way to Delaware on foot. Mary refuses to adopt any of the Delaware ways and holds on to the memory of her family as tightly as she does her dreams for escape. But in order to survive, Mary pretends to be learning and not planning her escape. As the seasons change, Mary realizes with surprise that she is no longer pretending. When the chance comes for Mary to leave, she is not sure that she wants to return to her old life. Is she Mary Campbell or Woman-Who-Saved-The-Corn?
F MAS	Every Soul a Star: a Novel (age 10+) by Wendy Mass identity ... friendship ... growing up Publisher comments: And as streams of light fan out behind the darkened sun like the wings of a butterfly, I realize that I never saw real beauty until now. At Moon Shadow, an isolated campground, thousands have gathered to catch a glimpse of a rare and extraordinary total eclipse of the sun. It's also were three lives are about to be changed forever: Ally likes the simple things in life--labyrinths, star-gazing, and comet-hunting. Her home, the Moon Shadow campground, is a part of who she is, and she refuses to imagine it any other way. Popular and gorgeous (everybody says so), Bree is a future homecoming queen for sure. Bree wears her beauty like a suit of armor. But what is she trying to hide? Overweight and awkward, Jack is used to spending a lot of time alone. But when opportunity knocks, he finds himself in situations he never would have imagined and making friends in the most unexpected situations. Told from three distinct voices and perspectives, Wendy Mass weaves an intricate and compelling story about strangers coming together, unlikely friendships, and finding one's place in the universe.
F BAK	Wings: A Fairy Tale (age 10+) by E. D. Baker identity ... fantasy Publisher comments: When Tamisin discovers real wings growing from her back she wants to know what is making her supposedly normal life so weird. But before she can piece together the facts, she is kidnapped by goblins and brought to the land of fairies, goblins and many other magical creatures, including her real mother, Titania, the fairy queen. As she falls in love with Jak, who’s half goblin, and realizes the depth of her human parents’ love for her, she finds that having a set of beautiful wings suddenly sprout from your shoulder blades isn’t all bad, and there are many good reasons to fly.
F ABB	Firegirl (age 10+) by Tony Abbott illness/loss ... identity ... friendship Publisher comments: Tom's a normal seventh-grader, negotiating a slightly prickly stage in his long friendship with Jeff...The arrival of new girl Jessica Feeney, however, changes everything; Jessica, who is attending a local hospital for treatment, has been badly burned by a fire, and her terrible disfigurement shocks the class into confusion. This isn't the usual book about adjustment to difference; instead, Abbott brilliantly explores the kids' struggle to manage the intrusion of abnormality in their lives...this is a thoughtful exploration of a brief interlude's lasting impact.
F STO	Five Ancestors Series (age 10+) by Jeff Stone identity ... adventure ... action ... historical Twelve-year-old Fu and his temple brothers Malao, Seh, Hok, and Long don’t know who their parents were. Raised from infancy by their grandmaster, they think of their temple as their home and their fellow warrior monks as their family. Then one terrible night, the temple is destroyed by an army led by a former monk named Ying, whose heart is bent on revenge. Fu and his brothers are the only survivors. Charged by their grandmaster to uncover the secrets of their past, the five flee into the countryside and go their separate ways. Somehow, Grandmaster has promised, their pasts are connected to Ying’s. Understanding that the past is the key to shaping the future, the first book in the series follows Fu as he struggles to find out more and prove himself in the process. Fu’s name literally means “tiger,” for he is the youngest-ever master of the fierce fighting style modeled after that animal. title: Tiger title: Monkey title: Snake title: Crane title: Eagle title: Mouse title: Dragon
F 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.
F MAS	A Mango-Shaped Space: A Novel (age 10+) by Wendy Mass school ... growing up ... illness/loss ... identity Afraid that she is crazy, thirteen-year-old Mia, who sees a special color with every letter, number, and sound, keeps this a secret until she becomes overwhelmed by school, changing relationships, and the death of her beloved cat, Mango.
F LUP	Heat (age 10+) by Mike Lupica family ... identity ... sports Michael Arroyo has a pitching arm that throws serious heat. But his firepower is nothing compared to the heat Michael faces in his day-to-day life. Newly orphaned after his father led the family's escape from Cuba, Michael's only family is his seventeen-year-old brother Carlos. If Social Services hears of their situation, they will be separated in the foster-care system or worse, sent back to Cuba. Together, the boys carry on alone, dodging bills and anyone who asks too many questions. But then someone wonders how a twelve-year-old boy could possibly throw with as much power as Michael Arroyo throws. With no way to prove his age, no birth certificate, and no parent to fight for his cause, Michael's secret world is blown wide open, and he discovers that family can come from the most unexpected sources.
F LOW	Messenger (age 10+) by Lois Lowry fantasy ... identity ... science fiction Strange changes are taking place in Village. Once a utopian community that prided itself on its welcome to new strangers, Village will soon be closed to all outsiders. As one of the few people able to travel through the dangerous Forest, Matty must deliver the message of Village's closing and try to convince Seer's daughter to return with him before it's too late. But Forest has become hostile to Matty as well, and he must risk everything to fight his way through it, armed only with an emerging power he cannot yet explain or understand. The characters from Lowry's The Giver and Gathering Blue meet in this shocking novel of utopia gone wrong.
F KAD	Weedflower (age 10+) by Cynthia Kadohata friendship ... bigotry ... historical ... war ... identity Twelve-year-old Sumiko feels her life has been made up of two parts: before Pearl Harbor and after it. The good part and the bad part. Raised on a flower farm in California, Sumiko is used to being the only Japanese girl in her class. Even when the other kids tease her, she always has had her flowers and family to go home to. That all changes after the horrific events of Pearl Harbor. Other Americans start to suspect that all Japanese people are spies for the emperor, even if, like Sumiko, they were born in the United States As suspicions grow, Sumiko and her family find themselves being shipped to an internment camp in one of the hottest deserts in the United States. The vivid color of her previous life is gone forever, and now dust storms regularly choke the sky and seep into every crack of the military barrack that is her new home. Sumiko soon discovers that the camp is on an Indian reservation and that the Japanese are as unwanted there as they'd been at home. But then she meets a young Mohave boy who might just become her first real friend...if he can ever stop being angry about the fact that the internment camp is on his tribe's land.
F COO	Sam I Am (age 10+) by Ilene Cooper traditions ... family ... growing up ... identity Twelve-year-old Sam Goodman knows the holidays are going to be difficult when his dog knocks over the Hanukkah bush/Christmas tree. His Jewish father and Christian mother have never quite figured out how to celebrate both holidays, and when the tree goes down, their resentments, simmering for so long, boil over. His older sister and younger brother don't seem to have any solutions for the family's predicament; his best friend Avi seems to know who he is as he prepares for his Bar Mitzvah; his secret crush, Heather, knows who she is and who she wants to associate with.
F YOL	The Devil's Arithmetic (age 10+) by Jane Yolen identity ... war ... historical Hannah dreads going to her family's Passover Seder ... she's tired of hearing her relatives talk about the past. But when she opens the front door to symbolically welcome the prophet Elijah, she's transported to a Polish village in the year 1942, where she becomes caught up in the tragedy of the time.
F COL	Who Is Carrie? (age 10+) by James Lincoln Collier mystery ... identity ... historical Publisher comments: Carrie has been a kitchen slave in Sam Fraunces's tavern in New York City for as long as she can remember. But after she narrowly escapes a kidnapper, Carrie becomes more curious about her mysterious past. After all, she doesn't even know her own last name. When her friend Dan Arabus comes to town, he talks about his dream of buying his mother's freedom with the Continental notes his father left him. Following his lead, Carrie eventually stumbles on the startling truth about her own family.
F CLA	Secret of the Andes (age 10+) by Ann Nolan Clark historical ... identity Catalog: An Indian boy who tends llamas in a hidden valley in Peru learns the traditions and secrets of his Inca ancestors.
F UCH	Journey to Topaz: a Story of the Japanese-American Evacuation (age 10+) by Yoshiko Uchida identity ... survival ... bigotry ... historical After the Pearl Harbor attack, an eleven-year-old Japanese-American girl and her family are forced to go to an aliens camp in Utah.
F PAT	Jip: His Story (age 10+) by Katherine Paterson identity ... historical After tumbling off back of a wagon, Jip was brought to live at the town poor farm. He has been content to do chores and tend animals; until the day the lunatic arrives. He seems terrifying and less than human, but as the weeks pass. Jip sees the man he truly is. So, when a menacing stranger comes to town, claiming to have been sent by Jip's grieving father, Jip turns to his new friend to make sense of his past.
F PAR	Project Mulberry (age 10+) by Linda Sue Park identity ... enterprise ... bigotry ... authorship Julia Song and her friend Patrick would love to win a blue ribbon, maybe even two, at the state fair. Can they come up with the right plan? Can they see it through? What surprising truths will they discover along the way? We might think we know, but then we wouldn't ask the right questions.
F YEP	Ribbons (age 10+) by Laurence Yep identity ... the arts ... family A promising young ballet student cannot afford to continue lessons when her Chinese grandmother emigrates from Hong Kong, creating jealousy and conflict among the entire family.
F RIC	The Light in the Forest (age 10+) by Conrad Richter identity ... historical ... family Though reared as a Lenni Lenape Indian, fifteen-year-old True Son, once called John Camera Butler, was ordered back to the white man. It was impossible for True Son to believe that his people were white and not Indian. He had learned to hate the white man. And now he learned to hate his new father, his new house, his new family. He hated the name John Butler. Where did he belong now--and where could he go?
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 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 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 NAY	The Alice Series (age 10+) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor friendship ... school ... identity ... realistic ... growing up Eleven-year-old, motherless Alice decides she needs a gorgeous role model who does everything right. Denied her wish to be in lovely Miss Cole's class, she learns that what she needs is not always what she expects. title: The Agony of Alice title: Alice in April
F LOW	The Giver (age 10+) by Lois Lowry science fiction ... fantasy ... identity Jonas' world is perfect. Everything is under control. There is no war or fear of pain. There are no choices. Every person is assigned a role in the community. When Jonas turns 12 he is singled out to receive special training from The Giver. The Giver alone holds the memories of the true pain and pleasure of life. Now, it is time for Jonas to receive the truth. There is no turning back.
F GEO	Julie of the Wolves (age 10+) by Jean Craighead George identity ... survival ... nature ... adventure To her small Eskimo village, she is known as Miyax; to her friend in San Francisco, she is Julie. When her life in the village becomes dangerous, Miyax runs away, only to find herself lost in the Alaskan wilderness.
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 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

Fairmeadow Elementary School, Sat Aug 25 11:55:30 2012 Other themes and genres