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Trixie Belden Mysteries (age 8-11) realistic ... mystery Trixie and her friends team up to investigate. title: The Red Trailer Mystery by Julie Campbell F CAM title: The Secret of the Mansion by Julie Campbell F CAM | |
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OCO |
The Small Adventure of Popeye and Elvis
(age 8-11) by Barbara Oconnor realistic ... adventure ... humor Publisher comments: Nothing ever happens in Fayette, South Carolina. That's what Popeye thinks, anyway. His whole life, everything has just been boring, boring, boring. But things start to look up when the Jewell's Holiday Rambler makes a wrong turn and gets stuck in the mud, trapping Elvis and his five rowdy siblings in Fayette for who knows how long. Popeye has never met anyone like Elvis Jewell. Hes so good at swearing he makes Uncle Dooley look like a harp-strumming angel, and he says "So what?" like he really means it. Then something curious comes floating down the creek, a series of boats with secret messages, and it sends Popeye and Elvis into the big world on the hunt for a small adventure. |
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CAB |
Allie Finkle's Rules for Girls Series (age 8-11) by Meg Cabot realistic ... family ... humor ... friendship Publisher comments: When nine-year-old Allie Finkle's parents announce that they are moving her and her brothers from their suburban split-level into an ancient Victorian in town, Allie's sure her life is over. She's not at all happy about having to give up her pretty pink wall-to-wall carpeting for creaky floorboards and creepy secret passageways-not to mention leaving her modern, state-of-the-art suburban school for a rundown, old-fashioned school just two blocks from her new house. With a room she's half-scared to go into, the burden of being "the new girl," and her old friends all a half-hour car ride away, how will Allie ever learn to fit in? title: Moving Day |
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CLE |
No Talking
(age 8-11) by Andrew Clements friendship ... realistic ... humor ... school The fifth-grade girls and the fifth-grade boys at Laketon Elementary don't get along very well. But the real problem is that these kids are loud and disorderly. That's why the principal uses her red plastic bullhorn. A lot. Then one day Dave Packer, a certified loudmouth, bumps into an idea ... a big one that makes him try to keep quiet for a whole day. But what does Dave hear during lunch? A girl, Lynsey Burgess, jabbering away. So Dave breaks his silence and lobs an insult. And those words spark a contest: Which team can say the fewest words during two whole days? And it's the boys against the girls. How do the teachers react to the silence? What happens when the principal feels she's losing control? And will Dave and Lynsey plunge the whole school into chaos? This funny and surprising book is about language and thought, about words unspoken, words spoken in anger, and especially about the power of words spoken in kindness...with or without a bullhorn. |
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MCK |
Fourth Grade Is a Jinx
(age 8-11) by Colleen O'Shaughnessy McKenna realistic ... school ... family When fourth grader Collette sees her own mother take over the job of teaching her class, life becomes more embarrassing and chaotic than she can stand. |
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HIL |
The McGurk Mystery Series (age 8-11) by E.W. Hildick realistic ... mystery The McGurk Detective Organization is on the case! It's up to Willie, Wanda, and Joey to step in, and when they do, you can be sure that trouble is just around the corner. title: The Case of the Condemned Cat title: The Case of the Bashful Bank Robber title: The Case of the Four Flying Fingers title: The Case of the Invisible Dog title: The Case of the Nervous Newsboy title: The Case of the Purloined Parrot title: The Case of the Secret Scribbler title: The Case of the Slingshot Sniper title: The Case of the Snowbound Spy title: Deadline for McGurk title: The Great Rabbit Rip-Off title: The Nose Knows |
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SPI |
Fourth Grade Rats
(age 8-11) by Jerry Spinelli school ... humor ... realistic ... friendship Suds faces the transition to fourth grade with a bit of uncertainty, but soon finds that he has what it takes in this funny and touching school story. |
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CLE |
Socks
(age 8-11) by Beverly Cleary humor ... realistic ... friendship ... family ... animals Socks is one happy cat. He lives with a nice young couple called Brickers who play with him, pet him, feed him treats, and always have a warm lap for him to sit in. Then a new baby joins the family Suddenly, the Brickers are sharing their laps and love with Charles William, and Socks is getting into trouble. He runs from a phantom dog, wrestles with Nana's best wig, and fights Old Taylor the tomcat for his territory. But as Charles William grows, Socks discovers that he has a new friend and a new way to be a part of the family. |
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CLE |
Otis Spofford
(age 8-11) by Beverly Cleary humor ... school ... realistic ... friendship There was nothing Otis Spofford liked better than stirring up a little excitement, particularly at school. A less resourceful teacher than Mrs. Gitler would have found him pretty hard to take. But even Mrs. Gitler did not entirely relish the bullfight at the fiesta arranged for the P.T.A. meeting. Otis was disappointed at not being the toreador, but as the front half of the bull he managed to steal the whole show, to the annoyance of his classmates and his teacher. It was then that Mrs. Gitler suggested that Otis might someday get his comeuppance. |
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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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LOW |
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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MOS |
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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KVA |
One Lucky Summer
(age 8-11) by Laura McGee Kvasnosky realistic ... friendship ... sports Moving from Santa Cruz, California, to Sacramento, Steven, a ten-year-old baseball player, spends the summer trying to make friends with his next-door neighbor, ballet-loving Lucinda. Will this unlikely pair find common ground? The outcome will surprise them both. |
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HES |
Just Juice
(age 8-11) by Karen Hesse realistic ... school ... family Letters and numbers still don't make sense to Juice Faulstich. She'd rather skip school and spend the day at home in the North Carolina hills. But when the bank threatens to repossess her family's home, Juice faces her first life-sized problem. |
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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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ROC |
How to Eat Fried Worms
(age 8-11) by Thomas Rockwell realistic ... friendship ... school ... humor Billy makes a bet, then has to make good on it...fifteen worms in fifteen days. As hilarious as it is disgusting, Billy stands up for what's right in his own way. |
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DAN |
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 |
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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. |
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CLE |
Henry Huggins
(age 8-11) by Beverly Cleary adventure ... animals ... realistic Publisher comments: Henry Huggins feels that nothing very interesting ever happens to him. But from the moment a stray dog in the drugstore begs for a taste of his ice-cream cone and downs it in one gulp, everything is different. Henry names the dog Ribsy and decides to keep him. Before Henry even reaches home with Ribsy he spends all of his money, gets kicked off three buses, and enjoys a hair-raising ride in a police car. And that's only the beginning of Henry's exciting new life! See also the rest of the Henry Huggins series. sequel: Henry and Beezus sequel: Henry and Ribsy sequel: Ribsy sequel: Henry and the Paper Route sequel: Henry and the Clubhouse |
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CLE |
Beezus and Ramona
(age 8-11) by Beverly Cleary humor ... realistic ... family Publisher comments: It is not that Ramona deliberately sets out to make trouble for other people. She simply has more imagination than is healthy for any one person. In this first book of the Ramona series, our heroine establishes herself as one of the strongest and funniest characters in print. sequel: Ramona the Pest sequel: Ramona the Brave sequel: Ramona and Her Father sequel: Ramona and Her Mother sequel: Ramona Forever sequel: Ramona Quimby, Age 8 |
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CHR |
Matt Christopher's Sports Series (age 8-11) by Matt Christopher realistic ... friendship ... sports The thrill of victory, the agony of defeat, the importance of good sportsmanship and playing as part of a team. You'll find all this and more in Matt Christopher's exciting books. title: Catch That Pass! title: Catcher With a Glass Arm title: Centerfield Ballhawk title: Crackerjack Halfback title: The Diamond Champs title: Dirt Bike Racer title: Dirt Bike Runaway title: The Fox Steals Home title: Glue Fingers title: Ice Magic title: The Kid Who Only Hit Homers title: Man Out at First title: No Arm in Left Field title: Skateboard Tough title: Soccer Halfback title: The Spy on Third Base title: Tough to Tackle title: Wild Pitch title: The Winning Stroke title: Football Fugitive |