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LOV
Bess's Log Cabin Quilt (age 8-11)
by D. Anne Love
family ... historical ... the arts
With her father away and her mother ill with fever, ten-year-old Bess works hard on a log cabin quilt to save the family farm.
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GIF
Poopsie Pomerantz, Pick Up Your Feet (age 8-11)
by Patricia Reilly Giff
growing up ... sports ... the arts
Poopsie Pomerantz is sure that ballet lessons will make her slim and graceful. But her friend Tracy Matson makes fun of Poopsie's efforts, saying there's no hope for chubby Poopsie. Tracy is surprised when Poopsie announces she's getting the starring role in her dance school's ballet. And Poopsie's surprised, too, because it's not true! She didn't mean to say that. Now she has to pray that Tracy doesn't come to the ballet, because guess which part Poopsie really has?
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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!
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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.
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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.
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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.
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NIC
Beethoven Lives Upstairs (age 8-11)
by Barbara Nichol
historical ... friendship ... letters/journal ... the arts
The letters that ten-year-old Christoph and his uncle exchange show how Christoph's feelings for Mr. Beethoven, the eccentric boarder that shares his house, change from anger and embarrassment to compassion and admiration.
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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!
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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.
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KIN
A Mouse Called Wolf (age 8-11)
by Dick King-Smith
adventure ... enterprise ... the arts
Wolfgang Amadeus Mouse (``Wolf,'' for short) has a big name for such a little mouse. But the name fits. His favorite pastime is listening to Mrs. Honeybee, the lady of the house, play the piano. If only he could sing along to the music! One day, to his surprise, out of his mouth comes a perfect melody. It's not long before Wolf is singing everything he can imagine, all to Mrs. Honeybee's accompaniment. Then an accident leaves Mrs. Honeybee in danger, and it's up to Wolf to save her...the only way he knows how.

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