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BUC
The Sisters Grimm Series (age 9-12)
by Michael Buckley
fantasy ... folklore ... humor ... mystery
In the tradition of Lemony Snicket's Series of Unfortunate Events and The Spiderwick Chronicles comes a new humorous mystery of fantastic circumstances. The Sisters Grimm Book One: The Fairy Tale Detectives introduces us to two orphaned sisters, Sabrina and Daphne, who are sent to live with their mysterious grandmother, Relda Grimm. Grandmother Grimm lives in a strange town in New York State, known for it's extraordinary number of unexplained and unusual crimes. As soon as the sisters arrive, they begin to unravel a mystery that leads to their ancestors' magical beginnings. Sabrina and Daphne learn they are descendants of the Brothers Grimm, who were actually detectives of the magical phenomenon perpetrated by the Everafters, a parallel race of magical beings. They soon discover it is the Grimm family's legacy to keep the Everafters in line and the two sisters are the sole heirs to this challenge!
title: The Fairy-Tale Detectives
title: The Unusual Suspects
title: The Problem Child
title: Once Upon a Crime
title: Magic and Other Misdemeanors
title: Tales From the Hood
title: The Everafter War
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HAN
King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table (age 9-12)
by Joshua Hanft
magic ... knights/castles/dragons ... folklore
A specially adapted version of a story of kings and knights in a time of magic, evil and witchcraft.
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IRV
Rip Van Winkle (age 9-12)
by Washington Irving
spooky ... identity ... folklore
The adventures of henpecked farmer Rip Van Winkle who escapes to the hills for a day of hunting. After sleeping for twenty years, he awakens to find a changed world.
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MAC
The Light Princess (age 9-12)
by George MacDonald
princesses ... magic ... fantasy ... folklore
The princess at her christening is cursed by a wicked witch with lightness. She floats blissfully about the castle all day long and, as one can imagine, gets into all sorts of adventures. Gravity, weight, sorrow, suffering ... all of this the princess misses, but with all of these she misses love, for what is love without weight, without falling?
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DIC
A Christmas Carol (age 9-12)
by Charles Dickens
traditions ... growing up ... folklore ... spooky
A miser learns the true meaning of Christmas when three ghostly visitors review his past and foretell his future.
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SPR
Tales of Rowan Hood Series (age 9-12)
by Nancy Springer
folklore ... adventure ... fantasy ... identity
Rosemary has nowhere to go when her beloved mother dies. She has never met her father--the outlaw Robin Hood. So she changes her name to Rowan, disguises herself as a boy, and make a perilous journey to Sherwood Forest in search of her lost father.
title: Rowan Hood: Outlaw Girl of Sherwood Forest
title: Lionclaw: a Tale of Rowan Hood
title: Outlaw Princess of Sherwood: a Tale of Rowan Hood
title: Rowan Hood Returns: the Final Chapter
title: Wild Boy: a Tale of Rowan Hood
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CLE
The Nutcracker (age 9-12)
by David Clement-Davies
traditions ... magic ... folklore
Catalog: After hearing how the toy nutcracker that she and her brother received for Christmas got his ugly face, Marie helps break the spell he is under and watches him change into a handsome prince. Illustrated notes throughout the text explain the historical background of the story.
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SPE
Call It Courage (age 9-12)
by Armstrong Sperry
adventure ... survival ... folklore
Relates how Mafatu, a young Polynesian boy whose name means Stout Heart, overcomes his terrible fear of the sea and proves his courage to himself and his people.
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SHE
Thor's Hammer (age 9-12)
by Will Shetterly
adventure ... fantasy ... folklore
In 1876 San Francisco, three boys from very different backgrounds are rescued from drowning by a magical ship which takes them on a quest to Asgard, home of the Norse gods.
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SER
The White Stag (age 9-12)
by Kate Seredy
voyages/journeys ... historical ... folklore
Retells the legendary story of the Huns' and Magyars' long migration from Asia to Europe where they hope to find a permanent home.
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SAI
The Little Prince (age 9-12)
by Antoine de Saint-Exupery
folklore ... voyages/journeys ... fantasy ... science fiction
A flier is forced to make a landing in the Sahara Desert where he meets a little prince from a distant asteroid, who describes for the pilot his strange adventures on various planets.
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PUL
I Was a Rat! (age 9-12)
by Philip Pullman
magic ... folklore ... humor
I Was a Rat! So insists a scruffy boy named Roger. Maybe it's true. But what is he now? A terrifying monster running wild in the sewers? The Daily Scourge is sure of it. A victim of Rodent Delusionâ The hospital nurse says yes. A lucrative fairground freak? He is to Mr. Tapscrew. A champion wriggler and a budding thief? That's what Billy thinks. Or just an ordinary small boy, though a little ratty in his habits? Only three people believe this version of the story. And it may take a royal intervention, and a bit of magic, to convince the rest of the world.
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IRV
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (age 9-12)
by Washington Irving
folklore ... spooky
A superstitious schoolmaster, in love with a wealthy farmer's daughter, has a terrifying encounter with a headless horseman.
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COO
The Boggart (age 9-12)
by Susan Cooper
folklore ... humor ... spooky ... adventure
When Emily and Jess Volnik's family inherits a remote, crumbling Scottish castle, they also inherit the Boggart: an invisible, mischievous spirit who's been playing tricks on residents of Castle Keep for generations. Then the Boggart is trapped in a rolltop desk and inadvertently shipped to the Volniks' home in Toronto, where nothing will ever be the same, for the Volniks or the Boggart. In a world that doesn't believe in magic, the Boggart's pranks wreak havoc. And even the newfound joys of peanut butter and pizza and fudge sauce eventually wear thin for the Boggart. He wants to go home, but his only hope lies in a risky and daring blend of modern technology and ancient magic.
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ARM
Whittington (age 9-12)
by Alan Armstrong
authorship ... folklore ... family ... fantasy
Abby and Ben come to the barn every day to help feed the animals. Abby shares her worry that Ben can't really read yet and that he refuses to go to Special Ed. Whittington the cat and the Lady, the leader of the barnyard animals, decide that Abby should give Ben reading lessons in the barn. It is a balm for Ben when, having toughed out the daily lesson, Whittington comes to tell, in tantalizing installments, the story handed down to him from his nameless forebearer, Dick Whittington's cat: the legend of the lad born into poverty in rural England during the Black Death, who runs away to London to seek his fortune. This is an unforgettable tale about how learning to read saves one little boy. It is about the healing, transcendent power of storytelling and how, if you have loved ones surrounding you and good stories to tell, to listen to, and to read, you have just about everything of value in this world.
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KEL
The Trumpeter of Krakow (age 9-12)
by Eric Kelley
adventure ... folklore ... historical
A Polish family in the Middle Ages guards a great secret treasure and a boy's memory of an earlier trumpeter of Krakow makes it possible for him to save his father.
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LEV
Ella Enchanted (age 9-12)
by Gail Carson Levine
folklore ... fantasy
In this novel based on the story of Cinderella, Ella struggles against the childhood curse that forces her to obey any order given to her.

LM Nixon Elementary School, Sat Aug 25 11:55:32 2012
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