F CRA	Malu's Wolf (age 9-12) by Ruth Craig survival ... animals ... historical Publisher comments: Malu is permitted to raise a wolf pup which eventually is instrumental in bringing about significant changes to the lives and traditions of the young girl's Stone Age clan.
F ALC	The Monster Garden (age 9-12) by Vivien Alcock animals ... fantasy ... science fiction Frankie isn't exactly sure what her scientist dad does in his top-secret laboratory, but her neighbors tease her that it must be something awful ... like developing germ warfare. So when Frankie's older brother steals a bit of mysterious goo from their father's lab, she makes sure she gets some to conduct her own experiment. But Frankie never could have anticipated the results...
F AHL	Woof! (age 9-12) by Allan Ahlberg humor ... animals Relates the extraordinary events that take place when, on an ordinary summer's evening, ten-year-old Eric Banks is turned into a Norfolk terrier.
F BRO	The Heartland Series (age 9-12) by Lauren Brooke growing up ... animals Heartwarming stories of Amy's life at the Heartland Horse Farm. title: Heartland: Coming Home title: Come What May title: Out of the Darkness title: Taking Chances title: Thicker Than Water title: A Holiday Memory title: New Beginnings
F SEI	Gully's Travels (age 9-12) by Tor Seidler voyages/journeys ... humor ... animals Publisher comments: After his master falls in love with a woman who is allergic to dogs, Gulliver, a refined Lhasa Apso, finds himself with a new master--Carlos, the doorman of his Manhattan apartment building. Carlos takes Gulliver to his home in Queens, where Gulliver finds himself among raucous humans and three deplorable mutts.
F APP	The Underneath (age 9-12) by Kathi Appelt friendship ... animals Publisher comments: There is nothing lonelier than a cat who has been loved, at least for a while, and then abandoned on the side of the road. A calico cat, about to have kittens, hears the lonely howl of a chained-up hound deep in the backwaters of the bayou. She dares to find him in the forest, and the hound dares to befriend this cat, this feline, this creature he is supposed to hate. They are an unlikely pair, about to become an unlikely family. Ranger urges the cat to hide underneath the porch, to raise her kittens there because Gar-Face, the man living inside the house, will surely use them as alligator bait should he find them. But they are safe in the Underneath...as long as they stay in the Underneath. Kittens, however, are notoriously curious creatures. And one kitten's one moment of curiosity sets off a chain of events that is astonishing, remarkable, and enormous in its meaning. For everyone who loves Sounder, Shiloh, and The Yearling, for everyone who loves the haunting beauty of writers such as Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, Flannery O'Connor, and Carson McCullers, Kathi Appelt spins a harrowing yet keenly sweet tale about the power of love, and its opposite, hate, the fragility of happiness and the importance of making good on your promises.
F FAR	Phantom Stallion Series (age 9-12) by Terri Farley adventure ... animals Publisher comments: When 13-year-old Samantha returns home to her family's cattle ranch in Nevada, she's worried. She moved away two years ago to recover from a bad fall off her beloved mustang, Blackie, and she's still not sure she can get back in the saddle. Her new colt doesn't seem to like her, and the other ranchers treat her like the boss's spoiled daughter, and Blackie has been missing since that fateful day. But that's just the beginning. When Sam suddenly finds the fate of a mysterious mustang who may or may not be the missing Blackie, resting in her hands, she has to learn to be a real cowgirl, ready or not. The classic theme of a girl and her horse is set against a backdrop of mustangs, tumbleweeds, and a West that's still Wild. title: The Wild One title: Mustang Moon title: Dark Sunshine title: Gift Horse title: Free Again
F BUR	The Incredible Journey (age 9-12) by Sheila Every Burnford nature ... animals ... adventure ... survival Publisher comments: Instinct told them that the way home lay to the west. And so the doughty young Labrador retriever, the roguish bull terrier and the indomitable Siamese set out through the Canadian wilderness. Separately, they would soon have died. But, together, the three house pets faced starvation, exposure, and wild forest animals to make their way home to the family they love.
F NUZ	The Leanin' Dog (age 9-12) by K. A. Nuzum friendship ... animals ... illness/loss Publisher comments: More than anything, Dessa Dean needed a friend. A friend to love and confide in, a friend with whom she could share her heart. A friend who would delight in all the beauty and joy and fun of Christmas, only four days away. Hope had just about run out, but then . . . there came a scratchin' at the door and Dessa Dean's life was forever changed.
F WAL	No Dogs Allowed! (age 9-12) by Bill Wallace illness/loss ... animals After losing the old horse she had grown up with, Kristine decides she can never get close to another pet again. But when she receives a new pup, Kristine learns what it means to love, to lose, and to open one's heart to new friendships and fresh love.
F TAM	The Junkyard Dog (age 9-12) by Erika Tamar growing up ... family ... animals With the advice of her stepfather, eleven-year-old Katie takes on the job of feeding an abused junkyard dog and building it a doghouse for shelter during the hard winter.
F SAL	Bambi: a Life in the Woods (age 9-12) by Felix Salten nature ... animals ... growing up Describes the life of a deer in the forest as he grows into a beautiful stag. Bambi's life in the woods begins happily. But winter comes, and Bambi learns that the woods hold danger ... and things he doesn't understand. The first snowfall makes food hard to find. Bambi's father, a handsome stag, roams the forest, but leaves Bambi and his mother alone. Then there is Man. He comes to the forest with weapons that can wound an animal. He does terrible things to Gobo, to Bambi's mother, and even to Bambi. But He can't keep Bambi from growing into a handsome stag himself and becoming...the Prince of the Forest.
F LOF	The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle (age 9-12) by Hugh Lofting animals ... adventure ... fantasy When his colleague Long Arrow disappears, Dr. Dolittle sets off with his assistant, Tommy Stubbins, his dog, Jip, and Polynesia the parrot on an adventurous voyage over tropical seas to floating Spidermonkey Island.
F KJE	Snow Dog (age 9-12) by Jim Kjelgaard survival ... adventure ... animals The steel-gray Husky Chiri was just a puppy when he watched the black wolf kill his mother and two brothers. Left alone inthe snow-covered land of the coyote, caribou, and gizzly, Chiri learned to fend for himself, to hunt and survive by his keen instinct and natural intelligence. Now full-grown and full of courage and cunning, Chiri forms a tentative bond with trapper Link Stevens, the only human he's ever learned to trust. But the Husky knows that one day soon he will have to face the black wolf again--and this time only one of them will survive.
F MAR	A Dog's Life: the Autobiography of a Stray (age 9-12) by Ann Matthews Martin adventure ... survival ... animals Squirrel and her brother Bone begin their lives in a toolshed behind a summer house. Their mother nurtures them and teaches them the many skills they will need to survive as stray dogs. But when their mother is suddenly taken from them, the puppies are forced to make their own way in the world, facing humans both gentle and brutal, busy highways, other animals, and the changing seasons. When Bone and Squirrel become separated, Squirrel must fend for herself, and in the process makes two friends who in very different ways define her fate.
F MOR	Gentle Ben (age 9-12) by Walt Morey friendship ... nature ... animals The Alaskan wilderness is a lonely place for Mark Andersen, especially after the death of his older brother, Jamie. But in time Mark finds someone else to love--Ben, an Alaskan brown bear so huge that no one else dares come near him.
F FAR	The Black Stallion Series (age 9-12) by Walter Farley survival ... adventure ... animals A shipwreck leaves young Alec stranded on a deserted island with a wild stallion. Dependent on each other for survival, boy and horse learn to trust and love each other as they establish an amazing friendship that lasts a lifetime. title: The Black Stallion
F STE	Trouble for Lucy (age 9-12) by Carla Stevens historical ... animals As she and her family travel the Oregon Trail in 1843, Lucy's puppies persist in creating trouble.
F SEW	Black Beauty: the Autobiography of a Horse (age 9-12) by Anna Sewell historical ... animals A horse in nineteenth-century England recounts his experiences with both good and bad masters.
F RAW	Where the Red Fern Grows (age 9-12) by Wilson Rawls adventure ... animals ... illness/loss A young boy living in the Ozarks achieves his heart's desire when he becomes the owner of two redbone hounds and teaches them to be champion hunters.
F WAL	Coyote Autumn (age 9-12) by Bill Wallace family ... nature ... animals You Can't Keep A Coyote! They're Wild! Brad has always wanted a dog, so when he catches the little coyote, he decides to keep it. He couldn't have a dog when his family lived in a Chicago apartment, but now that they've moved to rural Oklahoma anything seems possible. Even rescuing an orphaned coyote pup...and keeping it a secret from his parents. With his friend Nolan's help, Brad is determined to tame Scooter, train him, play with him, and hide him in an old dog pen behind the barn. It almost works...until Mom and Dad discover his secret, and Scooter steals their hearts and gives them all a coyote's-eye view of what it's like to live in the dangerous world of men.
F SMI	The Captain's Dog: My Journey With the Lewis and Clark Tribe (age 9-12) by Roland Smith adventure ... historical ... animals Born the runt of his litter and gambled away to a rusty old riverman, the Newfoundland pup Seaman doesn't imagine his life will be marked by any kind of glory-beyond chasing down rats. But when he meets Captain Meriwether Lewis, Seaman finds himself on a path that will make history. Sharing the curiosity and strength of spirit of his new master, Seaman proves himself a valuable companion at every turn. This is the thrilling tale of America's greatest journey of discovery, as seen through the keen, compassionate eyes of a remarkable dog.
F AVI	The Good Dog (age 9-12) by Avi family ... adventure ... animals McKinley, a malamute, is torn between the domestic world of his human family and the wild world of Lupin, a wolf that is trying to recruit dogs to replenish the dwindling wolf pack. As McKinley and his boy try to save the wolf from a vicious man, no one can foresee what will happen.
F APP	Animorphs Series (age 9-12) by K. A. Applegate action ... growing up ... animals ... science fiction ... adventure This fantastic, unpredictable, edge-of-your-seat series can best be described as an ``X-Files'' for kids--plus a whole lot more! Jake, Rachel, Cassie, Tobias, and Marco are the Animorphs--five kids who can change into any animal they touch. title: The Invasion title: The Visitor title: The Encounter title: The Message title: The Capture title: The Stranger title: The Alien title: The Secret title: The Android title: The Reaction title: The Change title: The Unknown title: The Warning title: The Underground title: The Suspicion title: The Attack title: The Conspiracy title: The Illusion title: The Predator title: The Extreme title: The Escape title: The Solution
F GEO	My Side of the Mountain (age 9-12) by Jean Craighead George survival ... animals ... nature ... adventure Runaway Sam Gribley is surviving in the Catskill Mountains with only a penknife, a ball of cord, 40 dollars, and some flint and steel. Along the way, he learns about courage, danger, and independence during his year in the wilderness, a year that will change his life forever. sequel: On the Far Side of the Mountain sequel: Frightful's Mountain
F NAY	Shiloh (age 9-12) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor friendship ... animals One summer Sunday, Marty comes across a young beagle on the road just past the old Shiloh schoolhouses and the trouble begins. What do you do when a dog you suspect is being mistreated runs away and comes to you? When it is someone else's dog? Marty puts his courage on the line, and discovers in the process that it is not always easy to separate right from wrong. Sometimes, however, you do almost anything to save a dog. sequel: Saving Shiloh
F EST	Ginger Pye (age 9-12) by Eleanor Estes animals ... family Meet Ginger Pye, the smartest dog you'll ever know. Jerry Pye and his sister, Rachel, feel pretty smart themselves for buying Ginger. It was the best dollar they ever spent. Ginger steals everybody's heart . . . until someone steals him!

Palo Verde Elementary School, Sat Aug 25 11:55:34 2012 Other themes and genres