F WEB	Daddy-Long-Legs (age 9-12) by Jean Webster school ... growing up ... letters/journal Publisher comments: A kind woman who was always deeply interested in the problems of the downtrodden, Jean Webster made an orphan girl a major character in one of her most charming and popular books--Daddy-Long-Legs. The oldest at a dreary home for foundlings, Judy Abbott finds her life completely changed when, with the help of a mysterious benefactor, she is granted her wish to be able to go to college. In return for this great favor, Judy has to write her anonymous sponsor each month about her activities at the New England school, which she does in letters addressed to "Daddy-Long-Legs." A meeting with the rich, handsome uncle of her snobbish roommate sets Judy and readers alike on the road to uncovering the secrets surrounding her secret friend.
F BRO	The New Class (age 9-12) by Lauren Brooke animals ... school Publisher comments: Welcome to Chestnut Hill, a prestigious boarding school with a rich tradition of academics, horses, and rivalry. This year, five girls from different backgrounds will challenge the Chestnut Hill stereotype. There's witty, spunky Dylan; secretive Malory; western tomboy Lani; Honey, the soft-spoken Brit; and polished New Yorker Razina. None is prepared for the social or riding rigors, and they all doubt they will fit in -- certainly not if queen bee Lynsey and her clique have any say. But if this unlikely fivesome can band together, they may prove themselves the true stars of Chestnut Hill.
F BOW	Touchdown Trouble (age 9-12) by Fred Bowen school ... sports Publisher comments: Sam loves football. Most of all he loves the feeling he gets when his team, the Cowboys, are working together-moving closer and closer to the end zone. But Sam's pride in his team begins to fade. In an important game, the Cowboys beat the Giants to remain undefeated, thanks to a touchdown by Sam in the final play of the game. But later, watching a video of the game, Sam and his teammates realize that the winning touchdown was scored illegally. The Giants should have won the game. Now the team is divided. Should they keep quiet or give the Giants the win? It is only when Sam's father tells the Cowboys about a famous football game-and similar dilemma-from the past that that Sam knows what to do. But will his teammates agree?
F CUL	The Backyard Ghost (age 9-12) by Lynn Cullen war ... school ... friendship ... spooky Eleanor's desperate attempts to break into the popular crowd at her new school are complicated by her discovery that her back yard is haunted by a Civil War ghost.
F LOR	In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson (age 9-12) by Bette Bao Lord friendship ... humor ... identity ... sports ... school Shirley Temple Wong sails from China to America with a heart full of dreams. Her new home is Brooklyn, New York. America is indeed a land full of wonders, but Shirley doesn't know any English, so it's hard to make friends. Then a miracle happens...baseball. It is 1947, and Jackie Robinson, star of the Brooklyn Dodgers, is everyone's hero. Jackie Robinson is proving that a black man, the grandson of a slave, can make a difference in America and for Shirley as well, on the ball field and off, America becomes the land of opportunity.
F ANG	The Strange Case of Origami Yoda (age 9-12) by Tom Angleberger humor ... school ... mystery Publisher comments: In this funny, uncannily wise portrait of the dynamics of a sixth-grade class and of the greatness that sometimes comes in unlikely packages, Dwight, a loser, talks to his classmates via an origami finger puppet of Yoda. If that weren't strange enough, the puppet is uncannily wise and prescient. Origami Yoda predicts the date of a pop quiz, guesses who stole the classroom Shakespeare bust, and saves a classmate from popularity-crushing embarrassment with some well-timed advice. Dwight's classmate Tommy wonders how Yoda can be so smart when Dwight himself is so clueless. With contributions from his puzzled classmates, he assembles the case file that forms this novel.
F BUN	Sixth-Grade Sleepover (age 9-12) by Eve Bunting growing up ... school Catalog: Janey worries that the sixth grade Rabbit Reading Club's all-night sleepover will expose her fear of the dark, but it turns out that she is not the only member with a secret.
F MAR	Boys Are Dogs (age 9-12) by Leslie Margolis humor ... school ... friendship ... growing up Publisher comments: Middle-school boys act like wild animals. Thats what Annabelle discovers on her first day in her brand-new life. Birchwood Middle School is totally different from her old all-girls elementary. In fact, lots of things in Annabelles life are totally different now that shes back from summer camp. There's mom's new boyfriend, a new house, new friends; even a new puppy that likes to chew on Annabelles clothes. Well, at least the puppy comes with a leash and a training manual! If only she could say the same for the boys . . . Featuring Annabelles hilarious take on friendship, boys, and her all-new life, this novel / survival guide perfectly captures the joy and agony of junior high school. And it might just teach you how to tame the wildest beast of all, the teenage boy.
F LUP	Two-Minute Drill (age 9-12) by Mike Lupica friendship ... sports ... school Publisher comments: Chris Conlan is the coolest kid in sixth grade...the golden-armed quarterback of the football team and the boy all the others look up to. Scott Parry is the new kid, the boy with the huge brain, but with feet that trip over themselves. These two boys may seem like an odd couple, but each has a secret that draws them together, and proves that the will to succeed is even more important than raw talent.
F FER	Cricket and the Crackerbox Kid (age 9-12) by Alane Ferguson growing up ... friendship ... school Pampered eleven-year-old rich kid Cricket thinks she has finally found a friend in Dominic, who lives in the low-income houses called crackerboxes, until they quarrel over ownership of a dog and their classroom becomes a courtroom to decide who is right.
F BAR	The Great Gradepoint Mystery (age 9-12) by Barbara Bartholomew math/science/technology ... school ... mystery When the grades of twelve-year-old Ricky and his friends inexplicably drop at the beginning of junior high, they suspect someone may be tampering with the school computer during a competition with a rival junior high.
F KIN	Diary of a Wimpy Kid Series (age 9-12) by Jeff Kinney letters/journal ... growing up ... humor ... school ... friendship It's a new school year, and Greg Heffley finds himself thrust into middle school, where undersized weaklings share the hallways with kids who are taller, meaner, and already shaving. The hazards of growing up before you're ready are uniquely revealed through words and drawings as Greg records them in his diary. title: Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Greg Heffley's Journal title: Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules title: Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw title: Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days title: Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Ugly Truth
F KAY	A Friend Like Phoebe: a Novel (age 9-12) by Marilyn Kaye school ... friendship Wishing to equal the achievements of her three sisters, twelve-year-old Phoebe hopes to be chosen for a television interview discussing her school, while at the same time she tries to help a friend who recently lost her mother.
F PEC	The Dreadful Future of Blossom Culp (age 9-12) by Richard Peck fantasy ... school ... friendship ... spooky Blossom, not the most popular member of her freshman class in 1914, travels ahead seventy years, and returns in time to make Halloween a memorable night for her classmates and teachers.
F KEL	Desdemona, Twelve Going on Desperate (age 9-12) by Beverly Keller friendship ... humor ... school It's one disaster after another as Desdemona Blank tries to make friends at her new junior high, salvage her single-parent father's budding romance, and not think too much about Mike Harbinger, the fifteen-year-old blond school heartthrob. Then several extraordinary things happen...including getting to know Mike...and Desdemona's desperate life becomes a delirious one.
F JOH	Ellie Brader Hates Mr. G (age 9-12) by Janet Johnston friendship ... humor ... school Compared to nice Ms. Simpson, Mr. Garrett, Ellie's substitute teacher, seems mean and unfair, until his handling of several class crises changes Ellie's feelings towards him.
F HAW	The Cat That Could Spell Mississippi (age 9-12) by Laura Hawkins identity ... friendship ... school Anxious to prove that she is special at her new school, fourth-grader Linda makes everything more difficult for herself when she cheats on a spelling bee.
F MCK	Stargone John (age 9-12) by Ellen Kindt McKenzie authorship ... school Six-year-old John, emotionally withdrawn and resistant to traditional teaching methods, experiences ridicule and punishment at his one-room schoolhouse, until an old retired teacher reaches out from her blindness to share with him the world of reading and writing.
F GUT	The Homework Machine (age 9-12) by Dan Gutman brilliant protagonist ... enterprise ... humor ... friendship ... school Meet the D Squad, a foursome of fifth graders at the Grand Canyon School made up of a geek, a class clown, a teacher's pet, and a slacker. They are bound together by one very big secret: the homework machine. Because the machine, code-named Belch, is doing their homework for them, they start spending a lot of time together, attracting a lot of attention. And attention is exactly what you don't want when you are keeping a secret. Before long, things start to get out of control, and Belch becomes much more powerful than they ever imagined. Now the kids are in a race against their own creation, and the loser could end up in jail...or worse!
F CLE	Mitch and Amy (age 9-12) by Beverly Cleary school ... family Publisher comments: Mitch and Amy both think being twins is fun, but that doesn't stop them from squabbling. Amy is good at reading. Mitch is a math whiz. Amy likes to play pretend. Mitch would rather skateboard. They never want to watch the same television show. And they always try to get the better of each other. Then the school bully starts picking on Mitch and on Amy, too. Now the twins have something rotten in common: Alan Hibbler. This twosome must set aside their squabbles and band together to defeat a bully!
F CAS	Lucie Babbidge's House (age 9-12) by Sylvia Cassedy family ... school ... growing up Having found a dollhouse full of dolls in the orphanage where she leads an unhappy existence, Lucie creates a secret life for herself.
F CLE	The Janitor's Boy (age 9-12) by Andrew Clements family ... school It was the perfect crime. Unfortunately, it also led to the perfect punishment. When Jack Rankin gets busted for defacing a school desk with a huge wad of disgusting, watermelon bubble gum, the principal sentences him to three weeks of after-school gum cleanup for the chief custodian. The problem is, Jack's anger at the chief custodian was the reason for his gum project in the first place. The chief custodian happens to be Jack's dad. But doing time in the school basement after hours reveals some pretty surprising things: about the school, about Jack's father, and about Jack himself.
F CLE	Strider (age 9-12) by Beverly Cleary school ... friendship ... growing up ... letters/journal Strider has a new habit. Whenever we stop, he places his paw on my foot. It isn't an accident because he always does it. I like to think he doesn't want to leave me. Can a stray dog change the life of a teenage boy? It looks as if Strider can. He's a dog that loves to run; because of Strider, Leigh Botts finds himself running, well enough to join the school track team. Strider changes Leigh on the inside, too, as he finally begins to accept his parents' divorce and gets to know a redheaded girl he's been admiring. With Strider's help, Leigh finds that the future he once hated to be asked about now holds something he never expected: hope.
F HAN	Ida B: and Her Plans to Maximize Fun, Avoid Disaster, and (Possibly) Save the World (age 9-12) by Katherine Hannigan illness/loss ... humor ... school ... growing up Who is Ida B. Applewood? She is a fourth grader like no other, living a life like no other, with a voice like no other, and her story will resonate long after you have put this book down. How does Ida B cope when outside forces (life, really) attempt to derail her and her family and her future? She enters her Black Period, and it is not pretty. But then, with the help of a patient teacher, a loyal cat and dog, her beloved apple trees, and parents who believe in the same things she does (even if they sometimes act as though they don't), the resilience that is the very essence of Ida B triumph...and Ida B. Applewood takes the hand that is extended and starts to grow up.
F ROW	The Harry Potter Series (age 9-12) by J. K. Rowling fantasy ... adventure ... family ... school ... magic As the first book, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone opens, all Harry Potter knows is a miserable life with the Dursleys, his horrible aunt and uncle, and their abominable son, Dudley, a great big swollen spoiled bully. Harry's room is a closet at the foot of the stairs, and he hasn't had a birthday party in eleven years. But all that is about to change when a mysterious letter arrives by owl messenger: a letter with an invitation to an incredible place that Harry (and anyone who reads about him) will find unforgettable. title: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone title: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets title: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban title: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire title: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix title: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince title: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
F NIM	Children of the Red King (Charlie Bone) Series (age 9-12) by Jenny Nimmo adventure ... fantasy ... school This series chronicles Charlie's mysterious adventures at Bloor's Academy. title: Midnight for Charlie Bone title: Charlie Bone and the Castle of Mirrors title: Charlie Bone and the Hidden King title: Charlie Bone and the Invisible Boy title: Charlie Bone and the Time Twister

Hoover Elementary School, Sat Aug 25 11:55:31 2012 Other themes and genres