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ROY
Max Quigley: Technically Not a Bully (age 8-11)
by James Roy
humor ... school ... friendship ... brilliant protagonist
Catalog: After playing a prank on one of his "geeky" classmates, sixth-grader Max Quigley's punishment is to be tutored by him.
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HIC
The Alvin Fernald Series (age 8-11)
by Clifford B. Hicks
math/science/technology ... adventure ... humor ... brilliant protagonist
Alvin Fernald: politician, environmentalist, television personality, inventor. Alvin Fernald: 12 year old kid. Watch his ``Magnificent Brain'' get him, his sister, and his best friend into trouble, action, and fun.
title: Alvin's Secret Code
title: Alvin's Swap Shop
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VAN
Smart Dog (age 8-11)
by Vivian Vande Velde
brilliant protagonist ... friendship ... school ... animals
Fifth grader Amy Prochenko is wildly unpopular. Then one day Amy meets Sherlock, a dog on the run from a university lab. Sherlock is not like other dogs: He can talk, he's smarter than most of Amy's classmates--and he needs Amy's help. Suddenly Amy's life is full of danger and excitement, and she finds she is becoming, of all things, popular. Best of all, she discovers in Sherlock the sort of friend she's always longed for--and one she must protect no matter what the cost.
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REI
The Golden Hamster Saga (age 8-11)
by Dietlof Reiche
humor ... adventure ... brilliant protagonist
Freddy is not happy with his boring treadmill life at the pet store. He continaully embarrasses himself in an attempt to get adopted. Freddy believes he will have a more civilized and exciting life as soon as he has a home. After a series of funny misadventures (including encounters with a fierce tomcat and two guinea pigs who speak in Shakespearean couplets) he teaches himself to read and write. He then pens his witty and heartwarming autobiography that tells of his journey to self discovery. A hamster has never been smarter or funnier in telling the tale of his exceptional life.
title: Freddy in Peril
title: Freddy's Final Quest: Book Five in the Golden Hamster Saga
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DAV
The Lemonade War Series (age 8-11)
by Jacqueline Davies
friendship ... brilliant protagonist ... enterprise ... math/science/technology
Evan Treski is people-smart. He is good at talking with people, even grownups. His younger sister, Jessie, on the other hand, is math-smart...but not especially good at understanding people. She knows that feelings are her weakest subject. So when their lemonade war begins, there really is no telling who will win...and even more important, if their fight will ever end.
title: The Lemonade War
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FIT
The Great Brain Series (age 8-11)
by John D. Fitzgerald
adventure ... humor ... brilliant protagonist ... enterprise
The best con man in the Midwest is only ten years old. Tom, a.k.a., the Great Brain, is a silver-tongued genius with a knack for turning a profit. When the Jenkins boys get lost in Skeleton Cave, the Great Brain saves the day. Whether it's saving the kids at school, or helping out Peg-leg Andy, or Basil, the new kid at school, the Great Brain always manages to come out on top ... and line his pockets in the process.
title: The Great Brain
title: More Adventures of the Great Brain
title: Me and My Little Brain
title: The Return of the Great Brain
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CLE
The Report Card (age 8-11)
by Andrew Clements
friendship ... brilliant protagonist ... school
catalog: Fifth-grader Nora Rowley has always hidden the fact that she is a genius from everyone because all she wants is to be normal, but when she comes up with a plan to prove that grades are not important, things begin to get out of control.
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CUR
The Flint Future Detectives Series (age 8-11)
by Christopher Curtis
brilliant protagonist ... mystery ... enterprise ... humor
In the first book, Mr. Chickee's Funny Money, Mr. Chickee, the genial blind man in the neighborhood, gives 9-year-old Steven a mysterious bill with 15 zeros on it and the image of a familiar but startling face. Could it be a quadrillion dollar bill? Could it be real? Well, Agent Fondoo of the U.S. Treasury Department and his team of Secret Government Agents are determined to get that money back! But Steven and his best friends, Russell and Zoopy the giant dog, are more than a match for the Feds. After all, Steven is the president of the Flint Future Detectives Club, and the inventor of fantastic spying and detecting equipment such as the Snoopeeze 9000!
title: Mr. Chickee's Funny Money
title: Mr. Chickee's Messy Mission
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CAR
Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass (age 8-11)
by Lewis Carroll
math/science/technology ... brilliant protagonist ... poetry ... fantasy
The Mad Hatter, the Ugly Duchess, the Mock Turtle, the Queen of Hearts, the Cheshire Cat-characters each more eccentric than the last. In these two brilliant novels Lewis Carroll created the most famous and fantastic novels of all time, that not only stirred our imagination but revolutionized literature.
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CAR
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (age 8-11)
by Lewis Carroll
math/science/technology ... brilliant protagonist ... poetry ... fantasy
The Mad Hatter, the Ugly Duchess, the Mock Turtle, the Queen of Hearts, the Cheshire Cat-characters each more eccentric than the last. In these two brilliant novels Lewis Carroll created the most famous and fantastic novels of all time, that not only stirred our imagination but revolutionized literature.
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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.
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SOB
The Encyclopedia Brown Series (age 8-11)
by Donald Sobol
mystery ... brilliant protagonist
Whenever ten-year-old Leroy (nicknamed ``Encyclopedia'') Brown's father, Chief of Police of Idaville, had a difficult case, Encyclopedia always managed to solve it at the dinner table. So, he decided to open his own detective agency.
title: Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective
title: Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of Pablo's Nose
title: Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Dead Eagles
title: Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Jumping Frogs
title: Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Sleeping Dog
title: Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Midnight Visitor
title: Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Secret Pitch
title: Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Two Spies
title: Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Disgusting Sneakers
title: Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Slippery Salamander
title: Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Mysterious Handprints
title: Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Treasure Hunt
title: Encyclopedia Brown Finds the Clues
title: Encyclopedia Brown Keeps the Peace
title: Encyclopedia Brown Saves the Day
title: Encyclopedia Brown Gets His Man
title: Encyclopedia Brown Lends a Hand
title: Encyclopedia Brown Shows the Way
title: Encyclopedia Brown Solves Them All
title: Encyclopedia Brown Takes the Case
title: Encyclopedia Brown Tracks Them Down
title: Encyclopedia Brown Carries On
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MCC
Homer Price (age 8-11)
by Robert McCloskey
math/science/technology ... humor ... enterprise ... brilliant protagonist
Six episodes in the life of Homer Price including one in which he and his pet skunk capture four bandits and another about a donut machine on the rampage, pushing out donuts just as regular as a clock can tick.
sequel: Centerburg Tales
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KIN
Babe: The Gallant Pig (age 8-11)
by Dick King-Smith
brilliant protagonist ... enterprise ... humor
A piglet destined for eventual butchering arrives at the farmyard, is adopted by an old sheep dog, and discovers a special secret to success.
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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.
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CLE
The School Story (age 8-11)
by Andrew Clements
authorship ... school ... brilliant protagonist
Publisher comments: Twelve-year-old Natalie Nelson has written a powerful school story. It's a short novel called "The Cheater," and her best friend Zoe is certain it should be published. All Natalie has to do is give the manuscript to her mom, an editor at a big publishing house. However Natalie doesn't want any favors from her mom. Spurred into action, Natalie invents a pen name for herself and Zoe becomes a self-styled literary agent. Will the girls succeed?
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CLE
The Landry News (age 8-11)
by Andrew Clements
authorship ... realistic ... school ... brilliant protagonist
Publisher comments: Cara Landry is a budding journalist. When she posts a scathing editorial about her burned-out teacher on the bulletin board one afternoon, everything changes. Prodded into action for the first time in years, Mr. Larson challenges his fifth-grade students to create a real newspaper. Soon The Landry News gets more attention than either Cara or her teacher bargained for.
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CLE
Frindle (age 8-11)
by Andrew Clements
brilliant protagonist ... realistic ... school
Catalog: When he decides to turn his fifth grade teacher's love of the dictionary around on her, clever Nick Allen invents a new word and begins a chain of events that quickly moves beyond his control.

Juana Briones Elementary School, Sat Aug 25 11:55:27 2012
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