F AVI	Man From the Sky (age 10+) by Avi friendship ... enterprise ... adventure Everyone knows that Jamie is a dreamer. When he looks up at the sky, instead of clouds he sees knights and dragons from centuries past and fabulous creatures from far-off lands. But one day he looks up and sees something even more incredible: a man in a business suit parachuting from a plane.
F MIL	Miss Spitfire: Reaching Helen Keller (age 10+) by Sarah Elizabeth Miller enterprise ... historical Annie Sullivan was little more than a half-blind orphan with a fiery tongue when she arrived at Ivy Green in 1887. Desperate for work, she'd taken on a seemingly impossible job: teaching a child who was deaf, blind, and as ferocious as any wild animal. But Helen Keller needed more than a teacher. She needed someone daring enough to work a miracle. And if anyone was a match for Helen, it was the girl they used to call Miss Spitfire. For Annie, reaching Helen's mind meant losing teeth as raging fists flew. It meant standing up when everyone else had given up. It meant shedding tears at the frustrations and at the triumphs. By telling this inspiring story from Annie Sullivan's point of view, Sarah Miller's debut novel brings an amazing figure to sharp new life. Annie's past, her brazen determination, and her connection to the girl who would call her Teacher have never been clearer.
F BER	The Puzzling World of Winston Breen (age 10+) by Eric Berlin mystery ... enterprise ... math/science/technology Winston Breen finds puzzles everywhere, even on pizzas, and solving them is what he does best. But when his sister uncovers mysterious wooden strips with words and letters that even Winston can't figure out, the entire family is obsessed. It turns out the strips are part of a scavenger hunt that a town patriarch set up for his children. If all four sets are put together, they will lead to a ring worth thousands of dollars. Cooperating seems like a no-brainer to Winston, but to solve the puzzle, the group has to overcome mysterious threats, mutual mistrust, 25-year-old clues, and participants who will do anything to keep the treasure for themselves.
F ALE	The El Dorado Adventure (age 10+) by Lloyd Alexander action ... enterprise ... adventure Lloyd Alexander's classic heroine Vesper Holly learns she owns a volcano in the tiny republic of El Dorado. She and her guardian Brinnie respond to the mysterious telegram by sailing to Central America, and almost as soon as they arrive, they are thrust into danger.
F KAR	Oh Those Harper Girls! or, Young and Dangerous (age 10+) by Kathleen Karr enterprise ... humor ... historical In West Texas in 1869, Lily and her five older sisters participate in a series of misguided schemes to save their father's ranch.
F YEP	Dragonwings (age 10+) by Laurence Yep historical ... family ... enterprise In the early twentieth century a young Chinese boy joins his father in San Francisco and helps him realize his dream of making a flying machine.
F PIE	Protector of the Small Series (age 10+) by Tamora Pierce enterprise ... fantasy ... knights/castles/dragons In the first book, First Test, Ten-year-old Keladry of Mindalen, daughter of nobles, serves as a page but must prove herself to the males around her if she is ever to fulfill her dream of becoming a knight. title: First Test title: Page title: Squire title: Lady Knight
F PAT	Lyddie (age 10+) by Katherine Paterson enterprise ... historical Impoverished Vermont farm girl Lyddie Worthen is determined to gain her independence by becoming a factory worker in Lowell, Massachusetts, in the 1840s.
F MYE	The Righteous Revenge of Artemis Bonner (age 10+) by Walter Dean Myers enterprise ... historical ... mystery ... adventure Artemis Bonner wants to set the record straight. He's just arrived in Tombstone, Arizona, to avenge the murder of his uncle Ugly Ned Bonner. And if he happens to stumble across the gold mine his uncle described on his deathbed, then would be just fine, too. The murderous scalawag Catfish Grimes and his equally odious campaignion Lucy Featherdip are on the loose. They're desperate to find the gold mine and claim it for themselves as Artemis and his sidekick, Frolic, chase the pair from Mexico to the Alaskan Territory and back again. Artemis and Catfish are headed for a showdown in front of the Bird Cage Saloon...the exact spot where Uncle Ugly met his Untimely Demise. Here's the whole story; and the Truth as well.
F GAN	Jack's Black Book (age 10+) by Jack Gantos growing up ... humor ... enterprise ... authorship According to his new motto - A WRITER'S JOB IS TO TURN HIS WORST EXPERIENCES INTO MONEY - Jack Henry is going to be filty rich even before he gets out of junior high, for his life is filled with the worst experiences imaginable. In the course of the few months covered in this cycle of interlinked stories, Jack is humiliated by a gorgeous syncronized swimmer, gets a tattoo the size of an ant on his big toe, flubs an IQ test and nearly fails wood shop, and has to dig up his dead dog not once but twice. And that's not the half of it.
F PAR	Project Mulberry (age 10+) by Linda Sue Park identity ... enterprise ... bigotry ... authorship Julia Song and her friend Patrick would love to win a blue ribbon, maybe even two, at the state fair. Can they come up with the right plan? Can they see it through? What surprising truths will they discover along the way? We might think we know, but then we wouldn't ask the right questions.
F PAT	The Master Puppeteer (age 10+) by Katherine Patterson the arts ... historical ... enterprise Who is the man called Sabura, the mysterious bandit who robs the rich and helps the poor? And what is his connection with Yosida, the harsh and ill-tempered master of feudal Japan's most famous puppet theater? Young Jiro, an apprentice to Yosida, is determined to find out, even at risk to his own life.
F PAR	A Single Shard (age 10+) by Linda Sue Park the arts ... voyages/journeys ... historical ... enterprise Tree-ear is an orphan boy in a 12th-century Korean potters' village. For a long time he is content living with Crane-man under a bridge barely surviving on scraps of food. All that changes when he sees master potter Min making his beautiful pottery. Tree-ear sneaks back to Min's workplace and dreams of creating his own pots someday. When he accidentally breaks a pot, he must work for the master to pay for the damage. Though the work is long and hard, Tree-ear is eager to learn. Then he is sent to the King's Court to show the master's pottery. Little does Tree-ear know that this difficult and dangerous journey will change his life forever.
F MCC	The Glorious Adventures of the Sunshine Queen (age 10+) by Geraldine McCaughrean enterprise ... historical ... the arts Publisher comments: Ever since the magnificent Miss Loucien gave up teaching to join the Bright Lights Theater Company, school days have lacked a certain . . . drama . . . especially for Cissy, who longs for a life in show business, and Kookie, who craves adventure. But when a diphtheria outbreak interrupts the dull routine, Cissy and Kookie are evacuated to the doubtful safety of the Bright Lights¿ summer home¿a shipwrecked paddle steamer on the flooded Missouri River. Thus begins a wild and unpredictable journey downstream serving up grand performances, aggrieved river gamblers, irate lawmen, and perilous races. And when at long last Cissy steps into the limelight, the stakes are higher than she ever imagined.
F MCC	Stop the Train! (age 10+) by Geraldine McCaughrean enterprise ... historical Cissy Sissney and her family are staking their claim. Along with a handful of other entrepreneurs, they've stepped off the train into the brand-new town of Florence, Oklahoma, and started building a future. But the president of the railroad says no more trains will stop in Florence, ever. Without the railroad, the town can't survive. So it's up to Cissy, her family, friends, and neighbors to stop the train any way they can.
F MER	The Pushcart War (age 10+) by Jean Merrill war ... humor ... enterprise A satire on modern city life depicting an outbreak of war between truck drivers and pushcart peddlers.

Sat Aug 25 11:55:25 2012 Other themes and genres