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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.
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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.
Samantha: an American Girl Series (age 8-11)
growing up ... family ... historical
Stories of Samantha, an orphan living with her grandmother in 1904.
title: Meet Samantha: an American Girl by Susan S. Adler F ADL
title: Samantha Learns a Lesson: a School Story by Susan S. Adler F ADL
title: Changes for Samantha: a Winter Story by Valerie Tripp F TRI
title: Happy Birthday, Samantha!: a Springtime Story by Valerie Tripp F TRI
title: Samantha Saves the Day: a Summer Story by Valerie Tripp F TRI
title: Samantha's Surprise: a Christmas Story by Maxine Rose Schur F SCH
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Molly: an American Girl Series (age 8-11)
by Valerie Tripp
growing up ... family ... historical
Stories of Molly and her family during World War II.
title: Meet Molly: an American Girl
title: Changes for Molly: a Winter Story
title: Happy Birthday, Molly!: a Springtime Story
title: Molly Learns a Lesson: a School Story
title: Molly Saves the Day: a Summer Story
title: Molly's Surprise: a Christmas Story
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Kit: an American Girl Series (age 8-11)
by Valerie Tripp
growing up ... family ... historical
Stories about Kit and her family, running a boardinghouse during the Great Depression.
title: Meet Kit: an American Girl
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Kirsten: an American Girl Series (age 8-11)
by Janet Shaw
growing up ... family ... historical
Stories about Kirsten and her family, settling the frontier in Minnesota.
title: Meet Kirsten: an American Girl
title: Changes for Kirsten: a Winter Story
title: Happy Birthday, Kirsten!: a Springtime Story
title: Kirsten Learns a Lesson: a School Story
title: Kirsten Saves the Day
title: Kirsten's Surprise: a Christmas Story
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Felicity: an American Girl Series (age 8-11)
by Valerie Tripp
growing up ... family ... historical
Stories about Felicity and her family, living in Williamsburg during the revolutionary war.
title: Meet Felicity: an American Girl
title: Changes for Felicity: a Winter Story
title: Felicity Learns a Lesson: a School Story
title: Felicity Saves the Day: a Summer Story
title: Felicity's Surprise: a Christmas Story
title: Happy Birthday, Felicity!: a Springtime Story
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Addy: an American Girl Series (age 8-11)
by Connie Porter
growing up ... family ... historical
Stories about Addy and her mother, freed slaves living in Philadelphia during the Civil War.
title: Meet Addy: an American Girl
title: Addy Learns a Lesson: a School Story
title: Addy Saves the Day: a Summer Story
title: Addy's Surprise: a Christmas Story
title: Changes for Addy: a Winter Story
title: Happy Birthday, Addy!: a Springtime Story
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Josefina: an American Girl Series (age 8-11)
by Valerie Tripp
growing up ... family ... historical
Stories about Josefina and her sisters, in New Mexico before the Mexicn-American War.
title: Meet Josefina: an American Girl
title: Changes for Josefina: a Winter Story
title: Happy Birthday, Josefina!: a Springtime Story
title: Josefina Learns a Lesson: a School Story
title: Josefina Saves the Day: a Summer Story
title: Josefina's Surprise: a Christmas Story
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Alvin Ho Series (age 8-11)
by Lenore Look
friendship ... growing up ... school
Publisher comments: Alvin Ho is an Asian American second grader who is afraid of everything--elevators, tunnels, girls, and, most of all, school. He's so afraid of school that, while he's there, he never, ever, says a word. But at home he's a very loud superhero named Firecracker Man, a brother to Calvin and Anibelly, and a gentleman-in-training, so he can be just like his dad.
title: Alvin Ho: Allergic to Girls, School, and Other Scary Things
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The Big Wave (age 8-11)
by Pearl S. Buck
survival ... growing up ... family ... illness/loss
Kino lives on a farm on the side of a mountain in Japan. His friend, Jiya, lives in a fishing village below. Everyone, including Kino and Jiya, has heard of the big wave. No one suspects it will wipe out the whole village and Jiya's family, too. As Jiya struggles to overcome his sorrow, he understands it is in the presence of danger that one learns to be brave, and to appreciate how wonderful life can be.
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Tangles (age 8-11)
by Errol Broome
growing up ... friendship
When she takes money from her neighbor's wallet in order to buy a kitten, Sophie finds that she cannot live with the guilt.
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The Computer Nut (age 8-11)
by Betsy Byars
growing up ... math/science/technology ... science fiction ... humor
Ten-year-old Kate begins a communication exchange on a computer with someone purporting to be from outer space, who says he is going to pay a visit to Earth soon.
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Runt (age 8-11)
by Marion Dane Bauer
survival ... nature ... growing up ... animals
Deep in the Minnesota forest, where only the strong survive, four regular-sized pups ... Leader, Sniffer, Runner, and Thinker ... are pushed into the world. Then one last, very small pup is born into the wolf pack. He is called Runt. From the very start, Runt struggles in the harsh wild world of the wolves. He tries learning along with his brothers and sisters, but makes serious mistakes. It's hard pleasing his father, King, and the other wolves. If only Runt could prove himself to his powerful father and family...
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Pigs Might Fly: a Novel (age 8-11)
by Dick King-Smith
enterprise ... humor ... growing up
Daggie Dogfoot, the runt of the litter, is in danger. The pigman, who takes all runts from their pens, is coming for him! But Daggie is a pig of remarkable qualities, and he's not about to let the Pigman get him. Instead, he runs away and decides to learn how to fly. But when he tries leaping off a cliff, he discovers another talent, a talent he'll need to save the entire farm.
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Wingwalker (age 8-11)
by Rosemary Wells
growing up ... historical
Once upon a time in America, half the people lost every dime they ever had. Then the coming of the Dust Bowl hit as hard as a prairie tornado. Reuben, just completing second grade in Ambler, Oklahoma, has grown up knowing the richness of farm life. Now his father, desperate to make ends meet, takes a job as a wingwalker in a traveling county fair. Uprooted from the life he's loved and afraid of his own shadow, Reuben needs a full measure of love and courage to get by.
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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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A Llama in the Library (age 8-11)
by Johanna Hurwitz
growing up ... humor
Fifth-grader Adam Fine thinks that his two llamas will be a hit at the grand reopening of the town's library.
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How to Steal a Dog (age 8-11)
by Barbara O'Connor
growing up ... family ... enterprise
Georgina Hayes is desperate. Ever since her father left and they were evicted from their apartment, her family has been living in their car. With her mama juggling two jobs and trying to make enough money to find a place to live, Georgina is stuck looking after her younger brother, Toby. And she has her heart set on improving their situation. When Georgina spots a missing-dog poster with a reward of five hundred dollars, the solution to all her problems suddenly seems within reach. All she has to do is ``borrow'' the right dog and its owners are sure to offer a reward. What happens next is the last thing she expected.
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The Whipping Boy (age 8-11)
by Sid Fleischman
folklore ... humor ... adventure ... growing up
A Prince and a Pauper. Jemmy, once a poor boy living on the streets, now lives in a castle. As the whipping boy, he bears the punishment when Prince Brat misbehaves, for it is forbidden to spank, thrash, or whack the heir to the throne. The two boys have nothing in common and even less reason to like one another. But when they find themselves taken hostage after running away, they are left with no choice but to trust each other.
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Junebug (age 8-11)
by Alice Mead
family ... growing up
An inquisitive young boy who lives with his mother and younger sister in a rough housing project in New Haven, Connecticut, approaches his tenth birthday with a mixture of anticipation and worry.
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The Young Merlin Trilogy (age 8-11)
by Jane Yolen
magic ... growing up ... fantasy ... folklore
A boy is abandoned in the woods of medieval England. A year passes--a year of terror and hunger, of sleeping in trees and foraging for food, of outrunning packs of wild dogs--until one day a falconer captures and tames the boy as he would any passager, a young bird caught in the wild and trained. The falconer adopts the boy and teaches him all of the things he's forgotten, including the boy's true name--and the legacy of magic that will be his when he comes of age.
title: Passager: the Young Merlin Trilogy, Book One
title: Hobby: the Young Merlin Trilogy
title: Merlin: the Young Merlin Trilogy, Book Three
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How to Train Your Dragon Series (age 8-11)
by Cressida Cowell
growing up ... humor ... knights/castles/dragons
Meet Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, heir of the Viking chiefdom, but a boy with one very big problem: a hero he is not. How to Train Your Dragon is the riotous story of Hiccup's quest to hunt down the fiercest dragon, bring it into submission, and (hopefully) pass his initiation. Instead, he ends up with the smallest, most ornery dragon ... it's even toothless! Thus begins the hijinx of the world's most lovable, unlikely hero and a most reluctant "beast."
title: How to Train Your Dragon
title: How to Speak Dragonese
title: How to Twist a Dragon's Tale
title: A Hero's Guide to Deadly Dragons
title: How to Cheat a Dragon's Curse: the Heroic Misadventures of Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III
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Mary Poppins Series (age 8-11)
by P. L. Travers
growing up ... magic ... humor ... fantasy
An extraordinary English nanny blows in on the East Wind with her parrot-headed umbrella and magic carpetbag and introduces her charges, Jane and Michael, to some delightful people and experiences.
title: Mary Poppins
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Angel Series (age 8-11)
by Judy Delton
growing up ... family
Although Angel loves her little brother, Rags, dearly, the constant responsibility of caring for him weighs heavily on her young shoulders
title: Back Yard Angel
title: Angel's Mother's Baby
title: Angel's Mother's Boyfriend
title: Angel's Mother's Wedding
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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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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.
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The Summer of the Swans (age 8-11)
by Betsy Cromer Byars
growing up ... family
A teen-age girl gains new insight into herself and her family when her mentally handicapped brother gets lost.
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Sam Krupnik Series (age 8-11)
by Lois Lowry
growing up ... realistic ... humor ... family
Sam Krupnik enters school with some very strong ideas about what he wants to be and how. Fans of this series will enjoy the same author's books about Anastasia, his big sister, as well.
title: All About Sam
title: See You Around, Sam!
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Sees Behind Trees (age 8-11)
by Michael Dorris
growing up ... historical
By turns lyrical, wise, and funny, this compelling novel, set in 16th-century America, tells the story of how one Native American boy turns handicap into an advantage as he crosses the often blurred boundaries between being a child and becoming a man.
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The Amelia Series (age 8-11)
by Marissa Moss
realistic ... humor ... letters/journal ... growing up
Like spending recess with your best friend, Marissa Moss keeps us up to date with everything that's going on in Amelia's life.
title: Amelia Hits the Road
title: Amelia Works it Out
title: Amelia Writes Again
title: Amelia's Notebook
title: Amelia's Bully Survival Guide
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Freckle Juice (age 8-11)
by Judy Blume
growing up ... humor
If Andrew had an amazing number of freckles like Nicky, his mother would never know if his neck was dirty. One day after school, Andrew works up enough courage to ask Nicky where he got his freckles. When know-it-all Sharon overhears, she offers Andrew her secret freckle juice recipe, for fifty cents. It's a lot of money, but Andrew is desperate. At home he carefully mixes the strange combination of ingredients. Then the unexpected happens...
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Because of Winn-Dixie (age 8-11)
by Kate Dicamillo
growing up ... family ... friendship ... animals
Publisher comments: Opal spends all one sweet summer collecting stories about her new friends and thinking about her mother. But because of her dog, Winn-Dixie, or perhaps because she has grown, Opal learns to let go, just a little, and that friendship and forgiveness can sneak up on you like a sudden summer storm.
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Amber Brown Series (age 8-11)
by Paula Danziger
realistic ... family ... friendship ... growing up
Amber Brown faces complications at school, with her friends, and with her family.
title: Amber Brown Goes Fourth
title: Amber Brown Is Feeling Blue
title: Amber Brown Is Not a Crayon
title: Amber Brown Sees Red
title: You Can't Eat Your Chicken Pox, Amber Brown

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