F LAI	Inside Out and Back Again (age 8-11) by Thanhha Lai historical ... identity ... war Publisher comments: No one would believe me but at times I would choose wartime in Saigon over peacetime in Alabama. For all the ten years of her life, Ha has only known Saigon: the thrills of its markets, the joy of its traditions, the warmth of her friends close by, and the beauty of her very own papaya tree. But now the Vietnam War has reached her home. Ha and her family are forced to flee as Saigon falls, and they board a ship headed toward hope. In America, Ha discovers the foreign world of Alabama: the coldness of its strangers, the dullness of its food, the strange shape of its landscape, and the strength of her very own family. This is the moving story of one girl's year of change, dreams, grief, and healing as she journeys from one country to another, one life to the next.
F CLE	Troublemaker (age 8-11) by Andrew Clements identity ... humor ... school Publisher comments: There's a folder in Principal Kelling's office that's as thick as a phonebook and it's growing daily. It's filled with the incident reports of every time Clayton Hensley broke the rules. There's the minor stuff like running in the hallways and not being where he was suppose to be when he was supposed to be there. But then there are also reports that show Clay's own brand of troublemaking, like the most recent addition: the art teacher has said that the class should spend the period drawing anything they want and Clay decides to be extra "creative" and draw a spot-on portrait of Principal Kellings, as a donkey. It's a pretty funny joke, but really, Clay is coming to realize that the biggest joke of all may be on him. When his big brother, Mitchell, gets in some serious trouble, Clay decides to change his own mischief making ways, but he can't seem to shake his reputation as a troublemaker.
F KES	Philippa Fisher Series (age 8-11) by Liz Kessler humor ... identity ... fantasy Publisher comments: Philippa Fisher would like nothing more than to summon a fairy. Still, she is taken aback when Daisy, the new girl at school, announces that she is Philippa's fairy godmother — or godsister, since they're both the same age. Though the fairy is none too pleased with her mission, she is obliged to see it through and grant her human charge the customary three wishes. Now, if only Philippa would wish for something that makes her life better, not worse! With warmth and whimsy, the creator of Emily Windsnap whisks a traditional theme into a contemporary setting to tell a story of friendship, luck, and how we decide what we really want. title: Philippa Fisher's Fairy Godsister
F RYA	Becoming Naomi Le n (age 8-11) by Pam Munoz Ryan identity ... family Publisher comments: Naomi Soledad Leon Outlaw has had a lot to contend with in her young life, her name for one. Then there are her clothes (sewn in polyester by Gram), her difficulty speaking up, and her status at school as "nobody special." But according to Gram, most problems can be overcome with positive thinking. And with Gram and her little brother, Owen, Naomi's life at Avocado Acres Trailer Rancho in California is happy and peaceful...until their mother reappears after seven years of being gone, stirring up all sorts of questions and challenging Naomi to discover and proclaim who she really is.
F BIR	Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs (age 8-11) by Betty Birney family ... identity ... adventure When Eben McAllister reads about the Seven Wonders of the World, he longs to escape the small farming community of Sassafras Springs and do some exploring o his own. No one else ever seems to want to leave Sassafras even his best pal, Jeb...and so, for now, Eben figures he's stuck on the farm with Pa and Aunt Pretty until he grows up. All that changes when his pa, tired of Eben's moping, challenges him to find Seven Wonders in Sassafras Springs that can stang up to the real Seven Wonders of the World. And if he does? Then Eben will get the adventure he's been craving for ... a trip out West. Eben doesn't reckon he'll have any luck ... he can't think of even one thing that would be called interesting, let alone wonderous, in Sassafras, but he figures he'll give it a try; there's nothing else to do in Sassafras anyway. But what he finds will take him on the adventure of his life.
F CRE	Heartbeat (age 8-11) by Sharon Creech poetry ... growing up ... identity ... friendship ... family Twelve-year-old Annie ponders the many rhythms of life the year that her mother becomes pregnant, her grandfather begins to falter, and her best friend and running partner grows distant.
F CRE	Bloomability (age 8-11) by Sharon Creech identity ... growing up ... family ... school Thirteen-year-old Domenica Santolina Doone, better known as Dinnie, is accustomed to change. Her family is constantly moving from town to town as her father searches for ``opportunity''. But when her aunt and uncle whisk her far away to an international school in Switzerland, she's not sure she's ready to face this ``opportunity'' alone.
F ALE	The Cat Who Wished to Be a Man (age 8-11) by Lloyd Alexander identity ... magic When he begins dealing with humanity, Lionel the cat begins to understand why his wizard master was reluctant to change him into a man.
F BAR	Tree Girl (age 8-11) by T. A. Barron survival ... identity ... spooky ... fantasy Nine-year-old Anna lives by the sea with a grumpy old fisherman. She yearns to discover the truth about her past. If only she could get to the far side of the forest where she was found as a baby. However, she's been told the forest is haunted by tree ghouls--the same ghouls that probably killed her mother.
F CLE	Extra Credit (age 8-11) by Andrew Clements school ... friendship ... identity Publisher comments: It isn't that Abby Carson can't do her schoolwork. She just doesn't like doing it. And consequently, Abby will have to repeat sixth grade, unless she meets some specific conditions, including taking on an extra credit project: find a pen pal in a distant country. But when Abby's first letter arrives at a small school in Afghanistan, complications arise. The elders agree that any letters going back to America must be written well, but the only qualified English-speaking student is a boy. And in this village, it's not proper for a boy to correspond with a girl. So, Sadeed's sister will dictate and sign the letters for him. But what about the villagers who believe that girls should not be anywhere near a school? And what about those who believe that any contact with Americans is...unhealthy? As letters flow back and forth between the prairies of Illinois and the mountains of central Asia, across cultural and religious divides, through the minefields of different lifestyles and traditions, a small group of children begin to speak and listen to each other. And in just a few short weeks, they make important discoveries about their communities, about their world, and most of all, about themselves.
F CLE	Lost and Found (age 8-11) by Andrew Clements humor ... identity ... school Publisher comments: Although it's a drag to be constantly mistaken for each other, in truth, during those first days at a new school, there's nothing better than having a twin brother there with you. But on day one of sixth grade, Ray stays home sick, and Jay is on his own. No big deal. It's a pretty nice school, good kids, too. But Jay quickly discovers a major mistake: No one seems to know a thing about his brother. Ray's not on the attendance lists, doesn't have a locker, doesn't even have a student folder. Jay almost tells the school (almost) but then decides that this lost information could be very...useful. And fun. As Ray and Jay exploit a clerical oversight, they each find new views on friendship, honesty, what it means to be a twin, and what it means to be yourself. Entertaining, thought-provoking, and true-to-life, this clever novel is classic Andrew Clements times two: twins!
F UMA	Solomon Snow and the Silver Spoon (age 8-11) by Kaye Umansky identity ... adventure ... humor Prepare, dear reader, for the tale of Solomon Snow, his bossy friend Prudence, and the insufferable Infant Prodigy as they set out in search of Solly's rightful inheritance, despite some woeful misadventures along the way.
F MAR	The Jade Dragon (age 8-11) by Carolyn Marsden identity ... friendship A Chinese-American girl longs for friendship with a classmate adopted from China in this subtle, insightful middle-grade novel. Ginny is sure the new girl in her second-grade class will be her best friend. After all, Stephanie is Chinese, just like Ginny. But Ginny soon discovers some puzzling things about Stephanie: she doesn't like Chinese food, she hates her straight black hair, and even more surprisingly, her parents are not Chinese. At Ginny's house, MaMa cooks delicious Chinese dishes as the family prepares for their big holiday party and Stephanie spies Ginny's most prized possession, a hand-carved jade dragon, and asks to take it home. Much as Ginny yearns for a best friend, is it worth the risk of losing her special keepsake and angering MaMa? Drawing on Virginia Loh's real life story, the authors poignantly capture Ginny's dilemma as she navigates with difficulty between her culture and her friendship.
F LIN	The Year of the Dog (age 8-11) by Grace Lin realistic ... growing up ... humor ... identity This funny and profound novel tells the story of young Pacy who, as she celebrates the Chinese New Year with her family, discovers this is the year she is supposed to "find herself." sequel: The Year of the Rat
F KES	The Emily Windsnap Series (age 8-11) by Liz Kessler identity ... friendship ... family ... fantasy This story about a girl who learns she is half mermaid lures readers into a glorious undersea world--an enchanting fantasy about family secrets, loyal friendship, and the power of love. . title: The Tail of Emily Windsnap title: Emily Windsnap and the Monster from the Deep title: Emily Windsnap and the Castle in the Mist title: Emily Windsnap and the Siren's Secret
F CAR	Sarah and the Naked Truth (age 8-11) by Elisa Lynn Carbone identity ... friendship While ten-year-old Sarah faces some challenges after losing most of her hair in a bubble gum accident, her closest friends Christina and Olivia deal with identity issues of their own, and in the end all learn to stand up to others in order to be true to themselves.
F KIN	Three Terrible Trins (age 8-11) by Dick King-Smith action ... identity Three mice brothers, ignoring the class system separating the four clans of rodents in their farmhouse, befriend a lower class mouse and form a team to fight cats.
F STR	Ballet Shoes (age 8-11) by Noel Streatfeild identity ... the arts Publisher comments: In this story, three orphan girls vow to make a name for themselves and find their own special talents. With hard work, fame just may be in the stars!
F COL	The Adventures of Pinocchio (age 8-11) by Carlo Collodi identity ... adventure ... folklore Catalog: Pinocchio, a wooden puppet full of tricks and mischief, with a talent for getting into and out of trouble, wants more than anything else to become a real boy.
F BRA	One-of-a-kind Mallie (age 8-11) by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley war ... identity ... historical Living in Indiana during World War I, ten-year-old Mallie longs to be seen as different from her identical twin and finds an example of individuality in the gypsies who moved into her community.
F BRI	Caddie Woodlawn (age 8-11) by Carol Ryrie Brink family ... identity ... adventure ... historical Caddie Woodlawn is a real adventurer. She'd rather hunt than sew and plow than bake, and tries to beat her brothers' dares every chance she gets. Caddie is friends with Indians, who scare most of the neighbors...neighbors who, like her mother and sisters, don't understand her at all. sequel: Magical Melons
	My Name Is America Series (age 8-11) war ... identity ... letters/journal ... historical Each volume in the My Name is America series recounts an exciting slice of life from America's history, told in the voice of a boy living in that time and place. title: The Journal of Biddy Owens: the Negro Leagues, Birmingham, Alabama, 1948 by Walter Dean Myers F MYE title: The Journal of Ben Uchida: Citizen 13559, Mirror Lake Internment Camp, California, 1942 by Barry Denenberg F DEN title: The Journal of Sean Sullivan: a Transcontinental Railroad Worker, Nebraska and Points West, 1867 by William Durbin F DUR title: The Journal of Jasper Jonathan Pierce: a Pilgrim Boy, Plymouth 1620 by Ann Rinaldi F RIN title: The Journal of Jesse Smoke: a Cherokee Boy, Trail of Tears, 1838 by Joseph Bruchac F BRU title: The Journal of William Thomas Emerson: a Revolutionary War Patriot, Boston, Massachusetts, 1774 by Barry Denenberg F DEN title: The Journal of Scott Pendleton Collins: a World War II Soldier, Normandy, France, 1944 by Walter Dean Myers F MYE title: The Journal of Douglas Allen Deeds: the Donner Party Expedition by Rodman Philbrick F PHI
	Dear America Series (age 8-11) war ... identity ... letters/journal ... historical Each volume in the Dear America series recounts an exciting slice of life from America's history, told in the voice of a girl living in that time and place. title: A Coal Miner's Bride: the Diary of Annetka Kaminski, Lattimer, Pennsylvania, 1896 by Susan Campbell Bartoletti F BAR title: A Light in the Storm: the Civil War Diary of Amelia Martin, Fenwick Island, Delaware, 1861 by Karen Hesse F HES title: A Time for Courage: the Suffragette Diary of Kathleen Bowen, Washington, D.C., 1917 by Kathryn Lasky F LAS title: Across the Wide and Lonesome Prairie: the Oregon Trail Diary of Hattie Campbell, Booneville, Missoura, 1847 by Kristiana Gregory F GRE title: Color Me Dark: the Diary of Nellie Lee Love, the Great Migration North, Chicago, Illinois, 1919 by Patricia C. McKissack F MCK title: Early Sunday Morning: the Pearl Harbor Diary of Amber Billows, Hawaii, 1941 by Barry Denenberg F DEN title: Christmas After All: the Diary of Minnie Swift by Kathryn Lasky F LAS title: Seeds of Hope: the Gold Rush Diary of Susanna Fairchild, California Territory, 1849 by Kristiana Gregory F GRE title: I Thought My Soul Would Rise and Fly: the Diary of Patsy,a Freed Girl, Mars Bluff, South Carolina, 1865 by Joyce Hansen F HAN title: Land of the Buffalo Bones: the Diary of Mary Elizabeth Rodgers, an English Girl in Minnesota, New Yeovil, Minnesota, 1873 by Marion Dane Bauer F BAU title: My Face to the Wind: the Diary of Sarah Jane Price, a Prairie Teacher, Broken Bow, Nebraska, 1881 by Jim Murphy F MUR title: My Secret War: the World War II Diary of Madeline Beck, Long Island, New York, 1941 by Mary Pope Osborne F OSB title: Standing in the Light: the Captive Diary of Catherine Carey Logan, Delaware Valley, Pennsylvania, 1763 by Mary Pope Osborne F OSB title: The Girl Who Chased Away Sorrow: the Diary of Sarah Nita, a Navajo Girl, New Mexico, 1864 by Ann Turner F TUR title: Voyage on the Great Titanic: the Diary of Margaret Ann Brady, R.M.S. Titanic, 1912 by Ellen Emerson White F WHI title: When Will This Cruel War Be Over?: the Civil War Diary of Emma Simpson, Gordonsville, Virginia, 1864 by Barry Denenberg F DEN
F WAL	Justin and the Best Biscuits in the World (age 8-11) by Mildred Pitts Walter identity ... family ... growing up Suffering in a family full of females, ten-year-old Justin feels that cleaning and keeping house are women's work until he spends time on his beloved grandfather's ranch.
F UCH	A Jar of Dreams (age 8-11) by Yoshiko Uchida bigotry ... identity ... historical ... family Eleven-year-old Rinko grows up in a closely-knit Japanese American family in Northern California during the Depression, a time of great prejudice.
F TES	Some Kind of Pride (age 8-11) by Maria Testa identity ... family ... sports Eleven-year-old Ruth is the star shortstop in her small Maine town, and now a reporter is coming to interview her for Sports Illustrated magazine. She's at the top of her game. Then she overhears her father in the crowd: ``Real major-league talent. But I can't help thinking what a shame it is that it's all wasted on a girl.'' Suddenly Ruth is doubting herself, her dream, and the game she loves. In search of answers, she looks to those closest to her: her best friend, Ellie, a self-proclaimed feminist; her father, a famous sportswriter; and her mother, a firefighter hero, who died eight years ago. But Ruth knows the truth lies within herself.
F SPI	Wringer (age 8-11) by Jerry Spinelli identity ... friendship ... nature ... growing up For as long as he can remember, Palmer LaRue has dreaded the day he turns ten, the day he'll take his place beside all the other ten-year-old boys in town, the day he'll be a wringer. But Palmer doesn't want to be a wringer. It's one of the first things he learned about himself and it's one of the biggest things he has to hide.
F SPI	Loser (age 8-11) by Jerry Spinelli identity ... realistic ... school ... family Just like other kids, Zinkoff rides his bike, hopes for snow days, and wants to be like his dad when he grows up. But Zinkoff also raises his hand with all the wrong answers, trips over his own feet, and falls down with laughter over a word like ``Jabip.'' Other kids have their own word to describe him, but Zinkoff is too busy to hear it. He doesn't know he's not like everyone else. And one winter night, Zinkoff's differences show that any name can someday become ``hero.''
F KON	The View From Saturday (age 8-11) by E. L. Konigsburg realistic ... identity ... friendship ... brilliant protagonist Four students, with their own individual stories, develop a special bond and attract the attention of their teacher, who chooses them to represent their sixth-grade class in the Academic Bowl competition.
F DAH	Matilda (age 8-11) by Roald Dahl identity ... brilliant protagonist ... school ... humor Publisher comments: Matilda is a genius. Unfortunately, her family treats her like a dolt. Her crooked car-salesman father and loud, bingo-obsessed mother think Matilda's only talent is as a scapegoat for everything that goes wrong in their miserable lives. But it's not long before the sweet and sensitive child decides to fight back. Faced with practical jokes of sheer brilliance, her parents don't stand a chance.

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