F LIN	Where the Mountain Meets the Moon (age 8-11) by Grace Lin traditions ... folklore ... fantasy Publisher comments: In the valley of Fruitless Mountain, a young girl named Minli lives in a ramshackle hut with her parents. In the evenings, her father regales her with old folktales of the Jade Dragon and the Old Man on the Moon, who knows the answers to all of life's questions. Inspired by these stories, Minli sets off on an extraordinary journey to find the Old Man on the Moon to ask him how she can change her family's fortune. She encounters an assorted cast of characters and magical creatures along the way, including a dragon who accompanies her on her quest for the ultimate answer. A fantasy crossed with Chinese folklore, Where the Mountain Meets the Moon is a timeless story reminiscent of The Wizard of Oz.
F BAN	The Adventures of King Midas (age 8-11) by Lynne Reid Banks adventure ... humor ... folklore ... magic King Midas' obsession with gold takes some unexpected turns in this fun retelling of the classic Greek myth.
F ASI	The Heavenly Host (age 8-11) by Isaac Asimov traditions ... folklore ... science fiction Newly arrived on Planet Anderson Two just before Christmas, Jonathan is warned about the dangerous native inhabitants but an accidental meeting with one of the natives convinces him that they are friendly and peaceful.
F ALE	The Wizard in the Tree (age 8-11) by Lloyd Alexander fantasy ... magic ... folklore When Mallory notices that there's something funny about an old oak tree, she takes a closer look and breaks a magical spell. Arbican the wizard has been trapped in the oak for thousands of years and his powers are gone. Will he get them back in time to save Mallory's village from greedy Squire Scrupner?
F BAB	Kneeknock Rise (age 8-11) by Natalie Babbitt folklore ... mystery From the moment young Egan arrives in Instep, he senses the spell cast over the villagers by the Megrimum--the mysterious something that lurks on the mist-wreathed peak of Kneeknock Rise. Everyone shudders in horror--delicious horror--whenever the Megrimum's unearthly wail floats down to the village. Before long, Egan is climbing the Rise to find a practical explanation for those wails.
F ENS	Cinderella (As If You Didn't Already Know the Story) (age 8-11) by Barbara Ensor family ... humor ... folklore Publisher comments: I know, I know. You've heard the story a million times before. Mean stepmother. Lots of sweeping. Fancy ball. You remember. Or do you? Did you remember that Cinderella was such a nice girl, so smart and funny? You probably would've liked her. Did you know that "Cinderella" was just a nickname? And that her handsome prince loved Jell-o and was a wonderful dancer? Readers will delight in following Cinderella through all the usual happenings, presented in a most unusual way. And they’ll finally see what becomes of her after she marries the prince. So maybe you should hear the story one last time. Because it's actually way different than you might have thought.
F KAY	The Ordinary Princess (age 8-11) by M. M. Kaye princesses ... fantasy ... folklore Along with Wit, Charm, Health, and Courage, Princess Amy of Phantasmorania receives a special fairy christening gift: Ordinariness. Unlike her six beautiful sisters, she has brown hair and freckles, and would rather have adventures than play the harp, embroider tapestries . . . or become a Queen. When her royal parents try to marry her off, Amy runs away and, because she's so ordinary, easily becomes the fourteenth assistant kitchen maid at a neighboring palace. And there . . . much to everyone's surprise . . . she meets a prince just as ordinary (and special) as she is!
F KIP	The Beginning of the Armadillos (age 8-11) by Rudyard Kipling folklore ... animals A tortoise and a hedgehog combine their natural assets and transform themselves into armadillos to escape the hungry attention of a young jaguar.
F LEV	For Biddle's Sake (age 8-11) by Gail Carson Levine humor ... fantasy ... folklore The young maiden, Parsley, will eat nothing but parsley, which in Snettering-on-Snoakes grows only in the fairy Bombina's garden. All is well, until Bombina is released from the fairy queen's dungeon. Her crime? Failing to get along with humans. And turning them into toads! Meanwhile, twin princes Randolph and Rudolph are causing trouble at Biddle Castle and pinning everything on their younger brother, Tansy. Prince Tansy cares about Biddle. Randolph and Rudolph don't. But one of the twins will be king, unless Prince Tansy accepts help from a green Biddlebum Toad!
F LEV	The Fairy's Return (age 8-11) by Gail Carson Levine princesses ... humor ... fantasy ... folklore Boy meets princess, and it's love at first sight. Both laugh at the same jokes. Both are named after birds. His name is Robin, hers is Lark. Could there ever have been a more perfect match? But alas! King Harrumphrey won't let Lark marry a baker's son. And Robin is betrothed to someone else. Now toss in Robin's nonsense-talking brothers, Nat and Matt, their versifying father, and Ethelinda, the fairy who wrought havoc in The Fairy's Mistake, and you've got a "nutcrazical" situation!
F LEV	The Princess Test (age 8-11) by Gail Carson Levine princesses ... humor ... fantasy ... folklore King Humphrey has decided its time for his son, Prince Nicholas, to marry. But he must make sure the bride is a real princess. So he devises a series of princess tests, designed to weed out the phonies and the fakes. Meanwhile, Nicholas has fallen in love with Lorelei, a mere blacksmith's daughter. She's no princess, but he wants to marry her all the same--but how will she ever pass the terrible tests?
F CAT	The Chocolate Touch (age 8-11) by Patrick Skene Catling folklore ... humor John Midas loves chocolate. He loves it so much that he'll eat it any hour of any day. He doesn't care if he ruins his appetite. He thinks chocolate is better than any other food! But one day, after wandering into a candy store and buying a piece of their best chocolate, John finds out that there might just be such a thing as too much chocolate....
F CHO	A Very Special Kwanzaa (age 8-11) by Debbi Chocolate traditions ... school ... folklore Charlie, an African-American fourth-grader, is embarrassed when his class is asked to organize a school-wide Kwanzaa celebration, but as everyone prepares for the festivities, Charlie comes to understand what the holiday is all about.
F BAK	The Tales of the Frog Princess (age 8-11) by E. D. Baker princesses ... humor ... folklore ... magic ... fantasy ... action After reluctantly kissing a frog, an awkward, fourteen-year-old princess suddenly finds herself a frog, too, and sets off with the prince to seek the means--and the self-confidence--to become human again. title: The Frog Princess title: Dragon's Breath title: No Place for Magic title: Once Upon a Curse title: The Salamander Spell: A Prequel to the Tales of the Frog Princess title: Dragon Kiss title: The Dragon Princess title: A Prince Among Frogs
F LIN	Ronia, the Robber's Daughter (age 8-11) by Astrid Lindgren family ... adventure ... action ... folklore Ronia, who lives with her father and his band of robbers in a castle in the woods, causes trouble when she befriends the son of a rival robber chieftain.
F KIP	How the Camel Got His Hump (age 8-11) by Rudyard Kipling animals ... folklore Once upon a time, when the world was new-and-all, Man turned to the animals for help--to the horse for carrying, the dog for fetching, the ox for plowing. But the camel refused to do a lick of work, haughtily replying Humpf! to all requests. The other animals complained of the inequity to the Djinn of all the Deserts, who used his powerful magic to punish the lazy camel.
F KIP	The Elephant's Child (age 8-11) by Rudyard Kipling animals ... folklore Because of his "satiable curtiosity" about what the crocodile has for dinner, the elephant's child and all elephants thereafter have long trunks. One of Kipling's "Just So Stories".
F GRA	The Ugly Princess and the Wise Fool (age 8-11) by Margaret Gray princesses ... growing up ... magic ... humor ... folklore Can a seafaring fairy godmother, a wise fool, and an enchanted hairstyle keep Princess Rose out of trouble? "A very long time ago, when all the countries you've ever heard of were in different places on the map, a princess was born who was not beautiful. She wasn't even remotely pretty, and the whole kingdom was in deep shock about it." Princess Rose doesn't get any prettier as she grows up, but the kingdom does get over its shock. Everyone adores the skinny, buck-toothed princess, and she doesn't mind her appearance-until the handsomest prince in the world comes looking for a bride. Despite warnings from her seafaring fairy godmother and a wise fool named Jasper, reckless Rose wishes for beauty. She gets her wish, and the prince, but finds neither is as nice as she had expected.
F KIP	The Jungle Book: the Mowgli Stories (age 8-11) by Rudyard Kipling folklore ... animals ... short stories Selected stories from Kipling's two "Jungle Books" chronicle the adventures of Mowgli, the boy reared by a pack of wolves in an Indian jungle. Also includes "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi."
F FLE	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.
F LEV	Princess Sonora and the Long Sleep (age 8-11) by Gail Carson Levine princesses ... fantasy ... humor ... folklore A spiteful fairy. A beautiful princess. An outstretched finger. A spindle. A hundred-year snooze. A charming prince. A kiss. All the familiar ingredients. But wait! Where did that extra prince come from? And those fairy gifts that were never there before? And what does a flock of balding sheep have to do with anything? Gail Carson Levine has waved her magic wand over the old standby of "Sleeping Beauty" and presto! It reappears, transformed, sparkling and hilarious.
F LEV	Cinderellis and the Glass Hill (age 8-11) by Gail Carson Levine princesses ... fantasy ... humor ... folklore In this humorous retelling of a Perrault tale, a lonely young farm lad uses his unusual inventive ability to pass a nearly impossible test and win the hand of the neighboring princess.
F LEV	Fairest (age 8-11) by Gail Carson Levine folklore ... humor The fairy Lucinda has once again given a dreadful gift. This time it's a mysterious magical mirror. The gift is disastrous when it falls into the hands of Aza, who never looks in a mirror if she can help it. In the Kingdom of Ayortha, Aza is most definitely not the fairest of them all. Many spurn her. Many scoff at her. She keeps out of sight. But in a land of singers, Aza has her own gift, one she's come by without fairy intervention: a voice that can do almost anything, a voice that captivates all who hear it. In Ontio Castle, merry Prince Ijori is drawn to it, and vain Queen Ivi wants to use it for her own ends. Queen Ivi would do anything to remain the fairest in the land.
F COL	The Adventures of Pinocchio (age 8-11) by Carlo Collodi identity ... adventure ... folklore Catalog: Pinocchio, a wooden puppet full of tricks and mischief, with a talent for getting into and out of trouble, wants more than anything else to become a real boy.
F COE	Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes (age 8-11) by Eleanor Coerr war ... folklore ... historical ... illness/loss Publisher comments: When Hiroshima-born Sadako falls gravely ill with leukemia, she recalls a Japanese legend that holds that if a sick person folds one thousand cranes, the gods will grant her wish and make her healthy again.

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