F AIK	Nightbirds on Nantucket (age 10+) by Joan Aiken animals ... humor ... fantasy ... adventure Having had enough of life on board the ship that saved her from a watery grave, Dido Twite wants nothing more than to sail home to England. Instead, Captain Casket's ship lands in Nantucket, where Dido and the captain's daughter, Dutiful Penitence, are left in the care of Dutiful's sinister Aunt Tribulation. In Tribulation's farmhouse, life is unbearable. When mysterious men lurk about in the evening fog, the resourceful Dido rallies against their shenanigans with help from Dutiful, a cabinboy named Nate, and a pink whale.
F KAD	Cracker! The Best Dog in Vietnam (age 10+) by Cynthia Kadohata historical ... adventure ... friendship ... animals ... war CRACKER IS ONE OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY'S MOST VALUABLE WEAPONS: a German shepherd trained to sniff out bombs, traps, and the enemy. The fate of entire platoons rests on her keen sense of smell. She's a Big Deal, and she likes it that way. Sometimes Cracker remembers when she was younger, and her previous owner would feed her hot dogs and let her sleep in his bed. That was nice, too. Rick Hanski is headed to Vietnam. There, he's going to whip the world and prove to his family and his sergeant (and everyone else who didn't think he was cut out for war) wrong. But sometimes Rick can't help but wonder that maybe everyone else is right. Maybe he should have just stayed at home and worked in his dad's hardware store. When Cracker is paired with Rick, she isn't so sure about this new owner. He's going to have to prove himself to her before she's going to prove herself to him. They need to be friends before they can be a team, and they have to be a team if they want to get home alive.
F GEO	Charlie's Raven (age 10+) by Jean Craighead George family ... nature ... animals Charlie, having heard from his Teton Sioux Indian friend that ravens can cure people, brings home a baby raven in hopes of helping his ailing grandfather, and sets the stage for a learning experience that brings new life to everyone in his family.
F FOX	One-Eyed Cat: a Novel (age 10+) by Paula Fox growing up ... animals ... historical Ned fired the forbidden rifle just once, at a flickering shadow in the autumn moonlight. But someone ... a face, fleetingly seen staring at him from an attic window ... was watching. And when a one-eyed cat turns up at an elderly neighbor's woodshed, Ned is caught in a web of guilt, fear, and shame that he cannot escape ... until another moonlit night, come spring, brings redemption and surprising revelations.
F MAR	The Fledglings (age 10+) by Sandra Markle nature ... family ... illness/loss ... animals Orphaned after the death of her mother, fourteen-year-old Kate runs away to live with her grandfather, a Cherokee Indian who is fighting the poaching of predator birds.
F LON	The Call of the Wild (age 10+) by Jack London historical ... adventure ... nature ... animals The Call of the Wild centers on Buck, a dog bred for a life of ease on a California estate, who is kidnapped and sold to Klondike gold hunters. To survive the biting cold and his ruthless masters, Buck must listen to the Call and learn the ways of his wolf-ancestors who guide him from within.
F LON	White Fang (age 10+) by Jack London adventure ... nature ... animals White Fang tells the story of a half-wolf, half-dog nearly destroyed by the vicious cruelty of mankind. Brought to the very brink of his existence, White Fang is lucky enough to experience the one thing that can save him ... human love. Slowly, the ferocious White Fang grows into a creature capable of bravery, loyalty, and affection.
F RAW	Summer of the Monkeys (age 10+) by Wilson Rawls historical ... animals In rural Oklahoma at the turn of the century, fourteen-year-old Jay Berry Lee discovers a tree full of monkeys, a discovery that leads to a summer that teaches him about life.
F RAW	The Yearling (age 10+) by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings nature ... growing up ... animals A young boy living in the Florida backwoods is forced to decide the fate of a fawn he has lovingly raised as a pet.
F GEO	Vulpes, the Red Fox (age 10+) by Jean Craighead George adventure ... nature ... animals Vulpes is the smartest pup of the litter and he grows into a fast, quick-witted fox whose abilities become legend among the forest's hunters. He leads them on hopeless chases, slipping away at the last moment--then he comes face to face with the hunter who is his greatest enemy.
F GEO	Dipper of Copper Creek (age 10+) by Jean Craighead George growing up ... adventure ... nature ... animals Doug is spending the summer in the Colorado Rockies, prospecting for gold with his grandfather. One day, he comes across the strangest bird he has ever seen--the water ouzel, who nests behind waterfalls. Soon Doug is fascinated with the Dipper of Copper Creek and, after an avalance, finds himself raising an ouzel of his own.

Walter Hays Elementary School, Sat Aug 25 11:55:30 2012 Other themes and genres