F WEB	Daddy-Long-Legs (age 9-12) by Jean Webster school ... growing up ... letters/journal Publisher comments: A kind woman who was always deeply interested in the problems of the downtrodden, Jean Webster made an orphan girl a major character in one of her most charming and popular books--Daddy-Long-Legs. The oldest at a dreary home for foundlings, Judy Abbott finds her life completely changed when, with the help of a mysterious benefactor, she is granted her wish to be able to go to college. In return for this great favor, Judy has to write her anonymous sponsor each month about her activities at the New England school, which she does in letters addressed to "Daddy-Long-Legs." A meeting with the rich, handsome uncle of her snobbish roommate sets Judy and readers alike on the road to uncovering the secrets surrounding her secret friend.
F WEL	My Havana: Memories of a Cuban Boyhood (age 9-12) by Rosemary Wells identity ... growing up ... historical Publisher comments: "You're always drawing in that notebook of yours," Dino's friend teases. To the small boy, 1950s Havana is alive with color, music, and glamour, and he itches to capture it on paper. When Fidel Castro and the Communist Party take over the Cuban government, Dino's family must move to New York, where the lonely boy pours his heart into making a model of Havana’s archways and balconies, buildings and streets. Rosemary Wells composes a tender ode to an immigrant boy who grew up to be a U.S. architect, while Peter Ferguson's atmospheric paintings evoke two vibrant cities as they were half a century ago.
F ZUC	Callie's Rules (age 9-12) by Naomi Zucher realistic ... growing up ... traditions ... school Publisher comments: Callie Jones is excited about her first day of sixth grade, but from the moment she arrives and is greeted by dirty looks (apparently, you don't ride your bike to middle school), she realizes that there are a set of unwritten rules that everyone seems to know—everyone except her. So Callie decides she'll write a list of the rules, and she'll never go wrong again. At home, Callie's close-knit family is making big Halloween plans, until the parents of snotty Valeri Van Dine convince the Town Council to cancel Halloween and replace it with Autumn Fest, a celebration of wholesome "American" values. Callie doesn't think their arguments make much sense, and the Council keeps making rules so they don't have to listen. So Callie decides it's time to make some rules of her own.
F LAF	Eight Keys (age 9-12) by Suzanne LaFleur growing up ... identity ... friendship Publisher comments: Elise and Franklin have always been best friends. Elise has always lived in the big house with her loving Uncle and Aunt, because Elise's parents died when she was too young to remember them. There's always been a barn behind the house with eight locked doors on the second floor. When Elise and Franklin start middle school, things feel all wrong. Bullying. Not fitting in. Franklin suddenly seems babyish. Then, soon after her 12th birthday, Elise receives a mysterious key left for her by her father. A key that unlocks one of the eight doors upstairs in the bar.
F BAN	Goodbye, Coolsville! Hello, Nerdtown! (age 9-12) by Jennifer Bancroft illness/loss ... letters/journal ... identity ... family ... growing up Publisher comments: Andi, after the loss of her mother, feels like her world has all but fallen apart. She finds herself constantly being influenced by friends that her dad doesn't approve of. So one day he decides that enough is enough and makes a decision that radically changes their lives. He quits his job and they move out of the city to a small town in the mountains. Andi is horrified! Upon their arrivial at their new home, Andi begins unpacking and discovers her mother's old journal from when she was Andi's age. As she reads the journals, Andi soon begins to realize that her mother experienced some of the same situations.
F MAS	13 Gifts (age 9-12) by Wendy Mass friendship ... traditions ... growing up Publisher comments: When Tara, a self-proclaimed shrinking violet, steals the school mascot, a goat, in order to make some friends with the popular crowd and gets caught, she gets herself in a heap of trouble. In addition, her parents decide that instead of taking her on their summer trip to Madagascar to study the courtship rituals of the Bamboo Lemur, she must go stay with her aunt, uncle, and bratty cousin Emily St. Claire in Willow Falls. Tara thinks it's a good time to start over; she'll be turning 13 after all, so she might as well make the best of it and perhaps even attempt to break out of her shell (in a non-criminal manner). What Tara doesn't know is that this charmed town has something big in store for her on her 13th birthday. It's not a typical birthday. But then again, nothing is Willow Falls is exactly typical!
F HOL	Turtle in Paradise (age 9-12) by Jennifer Holm adventure ... growing up ... historical Publisher comments: Life isn't like the movies, and eleven-year-old Turtle is no Shirley Temple. She's smart and tough and has seen enough of the world not to expect a Hollywood ending. After all, it's 1935, and jobs and money and sometimes even dreams are scarce. So when Turtle's mama gets a job housekeeping for a lady who doesn't like kids, Turtle says goodbye without a tear and heads off to Key West, Florida, to stay with relatives she's never met. Florida's like nothing Turtle has ever seen. It's hot and strange, full of wild green peeping out between houses, ragtag boy cousins, and secret treasure. Before she knows what's happened, Turtle finds herself coming out of the shell she has spent her life building, and as she does, her world opens up in the most unexpected ways.
F DAH	Shadow of the Lighthouse (age 9-12) by Marden Dahlstedt family ... growing up During the eventful year in which she turns thirteen, Jane comes to grips with the conflict between the things she enjoys doing and what her mother thinks is proper for a young lady.
F CRE	Chasing Redbird (age 9-12) by Sharon Creech growing up ... identity ... family ... illness/loss It started out as an ordinary summer. But the minute thirteen-year-old Zinny uncovered the old, overgrown trail that ran through the woods behind her family's house, she realized that things were about to change. Right from the start, Zinny knew that uncovering the trail would be more than just a summer project. It was her chance to finally make people notice her, and to have a place she could call her very own. But more than that, Zinny knew that the trail somehow held the key to all kinds of questions. And that the only way to understand her family, her Aunt Jessie's death, and herself, was to find out where it went.
F SLO	The Trading Game (age 9-12) by Alfred Slote family ... growing up ... sports Publisher comments: What's So Special About Ace 459? Andy Harris's fabulous baseball card collection, left to him by his father, is the envy of every baseball fan in town. Still, Andy would rather play ball than collect cards. He's got a natural talent for the game, like his grandfather, pro ball player Jim Harris. And Jim Harris, Ace 459, is the one card Andy would give anything to own -- he'd even trade his priceless 1952 Micky Mantle card. Then Grandpa comes to town for a visit and offers to coach Andy's ragtag team. For the first time, Andy and his friends really look good, really feel like a team. But Grampa's rules for playing the game contradict everything Andy believes about friendship and good sportsmanship. And Andy begins to wonder if Ace 459 is such a hero after all.
F BUN	The In-Between Days (age 9-12) by Eve Bunting growing up ... family Why doesn't Caroline Best stay off the island and leave his family alone? George doesn't want somebody from the mainland thinking she can suddenly become a replacement for his dead mother. So when George comes up with a mean prank that he hopes will get rid of Caroline, he is sure that he has found the perfect way to return their family to the way it should be.
F DOW	The Secret Language of Girls (age 9-12) by Frances O'Roark Dowell identity ... growing up ... school ... friendship Publisher comments: In the old days, when Kate had no interest in romance, she never cared what other people thought. Now, it appeared, love was turning her into a rotten human being. Eleven-year-old Kate Faber wishes she could talk to her best friend, Marylin, about this. But Marylin is no longer her best friend. Or is she? Kate and Marylin were always the kind of best friends who lived on the same block for their entire lives, and who agreed on what kinds of boys were worth kissing and who should be invited to their sleepover. The kind of best friends who didn't need words to talk, but who always just knew. But lately Marylin has started to think that Kate can be a bit babyish. And Kate thinks Marylin is acting like a big snob. Somehow nothing is the same, but secretly Kate and Marylin both wish it could be. sequel: The Kind of Friends We Used to Be
F BUN	Sixth-Grade Sleepover (age 9-12) by Eve Bunting growing up ... school Catalog: Janey worries that the sixth grade Rabbit Reading Club's all-night sleepover will expose her fear of the dark, but it turns out that she is not the only member with a secret.
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: After the Storm title: Breaking Free title: Come What May title: Darkest Hour title: Every New Day title: Everything Changes title: One Day You'll Knew title: Out of the Darkness title: Sooner or Later title: Taking Chances title: Thicker Than Water title: Tomorrow's Promise title: True Enough title: A Holiday Memory title: New Beginnings
F BLO	A Gathering of Days: a New England Girl's Journal, 1830-32, a Novel (age 9-12) by Joan W. Blos historical ... growing up ... letters/journal Catalog: The journal of a fourteen-year-old girl, kept the last year she lived on the family farm, records daily events in her small New Hampshire town, her father's remarriage, and the death of her best friend.
F EME	Carlos Is Gonna Get It (age 9-12) by Kevin Emerson school ... friendship ... growing up Publisher comments: How strange is Carlos? REALLY strange. He scratches himself all the time, and he talks about aliens in this weird shaky voice, and he breaks up the class and gets everyone else in trouble when it's *his* fault he's such a freak. So Trina, Donte, Thea, Sara, and Frankie decide to use the upcoming 7th-grade class trip to "get" Carlos and scare him into acting normal. But when Trina has to work with Carlos on a class project, she discovers both his sweetness and the full extent of his troubles. Will she pull out of the plan or go through with it? And what will happen if--when--Carlos gets it?
F HOR	My One Hundred Adventures (age 9-12) by Polly Horvath family ... growing up ... adventure Publisher comments: Jane is 12 years old, and she is ready for adventures, to move beyond the world of her siblings and single mother and their house by the sea, and step into the "know-not what." And, over the summer, adventures do seem to find Jane, whether it's a thrilling ride in a hot-air balloon, the appearances of a slew of possible fathers, or a weird new friendship with a preacher and psychic wannabe. Most important, there's Jane's discovery of what lies at the heart of all great adventures: that it's not what happens to you that matters, but what you learn about yourself.
F KUH	The Last Invisible Boy (age 9-12) by Evan Kuhlman illness/loss ... growing up ... humor ... letters/journal Publisher comments: My name is Finn Garrett and this is my story. I don't want to give anything away, so I'll tell you what you could probably guess from looking at the cover and flipping through the book. 1. It's about an invisible boy. Obviously. That's me. Actually, I'm not totally invisible. Yet. But I'm getting there. 2. There are a bunch of my drawings. 3. There are some really funny, really happy moments. 4. Just so you know, there are also some sad moments. 5. Everything in here is the truth. So if you like stories about true things, you might like this book. That's all I'm going to tell you. All the stuff about my dad and my mom and my brother Derek and my friend Meli and whether or not I actually turn invisible or become completely visible again or figure out how to use my invisibility for the good of all mankind or just disappear altogether, you're going to have to read to find out. So, let's get started. Just remember: This is my story, and anything can happen.
F MAR	Boys Are Dogs (age 9-12) by Leslie Margolis humor ... school ... friendship ... growing up Publisher comments: Middle-school boys act like wild animals. Thats what Annabelle discovers on her first day in her brand-new life. Birchwood Middle School is totally different from her old all-girls elementary. In fact, lots of things in Annabelles life are totally different now that shes back from summer camp. There's mom's new boyfriend, a new house, new friends; even a new puppy that likes to chew on Annabelles clothes. Well, at least the puppy comes with a leash and a training manual! If only she could say the same for the boys . . . Featuring Annabelles hilarious take on friendship, boys, and her all-new life, this novel / survival guide perfectly captures the joy and agony of junior high school. And it might just teach you how to tame the wildest beast of all, the teenage boy.
F MYR	Ten (age 9-12) by Lauren Myracle school ... realistic ... humor ... friendship ... growing up Publisher comments: Winnie Perry is turning ten and ten is BIG. It means double digits, more responsibility, and being an almost-middle-schooler. Ten means that Winnie can handle anything, even a three-year-old baby brother and a practically teenage (and acting like it) older sister. And with her best friend, Amanda, by her side, Winnie plans on enjoying every last second of her last year in grade school.
F MYR	Eleven (age 9-12) by Lauren Myracle realistic ... humor ... friendship ... growing up Publisher comments: Eleven-year-old Winnie knows that change isn't all it's cracked up to be, especially when it means her best friend might be dropping her for someone else and her crush may have a nasty case of pinkeye.
F WHI	Little Audrey (age 9-12) by Ruth White growing up ... historical ... family ... illness/loss Publisher comments: "What else would you wish for?" Daddy says. "If you could have anything in the world, what would you wish for?" I shrug. "Oh, I don’t know. Maybe . . ." "Maybe what?" "For us to live better than we do." He does not say anything. In 1948, author Ruth White lived in Jewell Valley, a coal camp nestled between the hills of southwestern Virginia, with her mother, still mourning for a baby who died four years earlier; her father, who spent the weekends and most of his pay out drinking; and her three older sisters, Audrey, Yvonne, and Eleanor. Told in Audrey's voice, this is how the author imagines Audrey's experiences during a time of great trauma for the White family – and what happened before they were able to live a better life.
F COW	Dar and the Spear-Thrower (age 9-12) by Marjorie Cowley growing up ... historical Catalog: A young boy living 15,000 years ago in southeastern France is initiated into manhood by his clan and sets off on a journey to trade his valuable fire rocks for an ivory spear thrower.
F GIF	Eleven (age 9-12) by Patricia Reilly Giff realistic ... growing up ... family ... mystery ... identity Publisher comments: Sam is almost 11 when he discovers a locked box in the attic above his grandfather Mack’s room, and a piece of paper that says he was kidnapped. There are lots of other words, but Sam has always had trouble reading. He’s desperate to find out who he is, and if his beloved Mack is really his grandfather. At night he’s haunted by dreams of a big castle and a terrifying escape on a boat. Who can he trust to help him read the documents that could unravel the mystery? Then he and the new girl, Caroline, are paired up to work on a school project, building a castle in Mack’s woodworking shop. Caroline loves to read, and she can help. But she’s moving soon, and the two must hurry to discover the truth about Sam.
F LEV	Underwater (age 9-12) by Debbie Levy growing up ... identity Publisher comments: Twelve-year-old Gabe has ambitions to be the next Jacques Cousteau. . . or Bill Gates . . . or who? Gabe's anxiety about growing up is matched by his fear that he'll be crazy (like his brother). But he finds some relief in his underwater computer game, setting up his own aquarium, and swimming on the local team. Could it be that some things will just take care of themselves?
F MOR	My Dog Skip (age 9-12) by Willie Morris historical ... growing up ... friendship ... animals Publisher comments: In 1943 in a sleepy town on the banks of the Yazoo River, a boy fell in love with a puppy with a lively gait and an intellingent way of listening. The two grew up together having the most wonderful adventures. A classic story of a boy, a dog, and small-town America.
F BUR	Sara Crewe: Or, What Happened at Miss Minchin's (age 9-12) by Frances Hodgson Burnett growing up ... friendship ... fantasy When she is orphaned, the star pupil of Miss Minchin's boarding school in London becomes a penniless, friendless ward of the cruel Miss Minchin.
F FER	Cricket and the Crackerbox Kid (age 9-12) by Alane Ferguson growing up ... friendship ... school Pampered eleven-year-old rich kid Cricket thinks she has finally found a friend in Dominic, who lives in the low-income houses called crackerboxes, until they quarrel over ownership of a dog and their classroom becomes a courtroom to decide who is right.
F ROC	How to Fight a Girl (age 9-12) by Thomas Rockwell growing up ... friendship Joe and Alan's plan to get revenge on Billy backfires when their secret weapon, the prettiest girl in their fifth grade class, becomes Billy's friend instead.
F SPI	The Library Card (age 9-12) by Jerry Spinelli growing up ... short stories ... authorship Mongoose, Brenda, Sonseray, and April have nothing in common...until a mysterious blue card appears as if by magic and begins to change each of their lives. None of them guesses it at first, but that strange blue card will be their ticket to the past--and to a future that they never imagined. In stories that range from humorous to heartbreaking, Newbery-award-winner Jerry Spinelli reveals the amazing possibilities lurking behind library doors.
F WOO	Feathers (age 9-12) by Jacqueline Woodson growing up ... school "Hope is the thing with feathers" starts the poem Frannie is reading in school. Frannie hasn't thought much about hope. There are so many other things to think about. Each day, her friend Samantha seems a bit more "holy." There is a new boy in class everyone is calling the Jesus Boy. And although the new boy looks like a white kid, he says he's not white. Who is he? During a winter full of surprises, good and bad, Frannie starts seeing a lot of things in a new light: her brother Sean's deafness, her mother's fear, the class bully's anger, her best friend's faith, and her own desire for "the thing with feathers."
F TWA	The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (age 9-12) by Mark Twain adventure ... growing up ... humor The adventures of a mischievous young boy and his friends growing up in a Mississippi River town in the nineteenth century.
F RYA	Paint the Wind (age 9-12) by Pam Munoz Ryan family ... animals ... illness/loss ... growing up Maya is a captive. In Grandmother's house in California, every word and action is strictly monitored, and even Maya's memories of her mother have been erased, except within the imaginary world she has created. A world away, in the rugged Wyoming wilderness, a tobiano Paint horse called Artemisia runs free, belonging only to the stars. She embodies the spirit of the wild, and she holds the key to Maya's memories. How Maya's and Artemisia's lives intertwine, like a braided rein, is at the heart of this richly drawn adventure about captivity and freedom, about holding on and letting go.
F POT	Olivia Kidney Series (age 9-12) by Ellen Potter growing up ... fantasy ... humor Olivia Kidney's new apartment building is crazy! Talking lizards crawling everywhere. A tropical rainforest growing in 7B. Even an apartment made entirely of glass! Maybe her father will get fired from his job as the building super, and they can leave. But Olivia is tired of moving from place to place, from school to school. What she wouldn't give for a little slice of sanity. And maybe a friend to share it with. This remarkable debut novel is quirky, magical, and completely genuine. Ellen Potter offers us a world where even the oddest of characters feel right at home. Olivia Kidney has all the makings of a classic. title: Olivia Kidney title: Olivia Kidney and the Exit Academy title: Olivia Kidney and the Secret Beneath the City title: Olivia Kidney Stops for No One
F LOI	Wings (age 9-12) by William Loizeaux illness/loss ... animals ... growing up At first it looks like a small gray ball of fluff, its head a cloud of frizzy feathers, fine as dandelion seeds. The baby bird isn’t even strong enough to spread its wings, but ten-year-old Nick is determined to save it. Together with his best friend, he coaxes the wild bird he names Marcy to eat worms and take rides on their fingers. Then he watches, amazed, as she finally opens her wings, and flies! As Marcy grows, so does Nick, forced to make some hard choices about friends and family. And for the first time he dares to ask questions about the death of his soldier father. But other questions loom in the air: Will Marcy try to fly away? And will Nick be able to let her go?
F KIN	Diary of a Wimpy Kid Series (age 9-12) by Jeff Kinney letters/journal ... growing up ... humor ... school ... friendship It's a new school year, and Greg Heffley finds himself thrust into middle school, where undersized weaklings share the hallways with kids who are taller, meaner, and already shaving. The hazards of growing up before you're ready are uniquely revealed through words and drawings as Greg records them in his diary. title: Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Greg Heffley's Journal title: Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules title: Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw title: Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days title: Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Ugly Truth title: Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever
F GAT	Sauce Azul (age 9-12) by Doris Gates family ... growing up A little girl, who wants most of all to have a real home and to go to a regular school, hopes that the valley her family has come to, which so resembles the pattern on her treasured blue willow plate, will be their permanent home.
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 LOW	Your Move, J.P.! (age 9-12) by Lois Lowry growing up ... friendship Lovestruck J.P. finds himself doing all sorts of weird things to impress his new interest but his life becomes very complicated when a simple lie gets out of control.
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 NAY	Night Cry (age 9-12) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor growing up ... family ... mystery Often left alone on their five-acre Mississippi farm by her traveling-salesman father, Ellen learns, through a terrifying experience, to distinguish between real and false fears.
F KON	About the B'nai Bagels (age 9-12) by E. L. Konigsburg realistic ... family ... sports ... growing up Mark Seltzer thought he had enough aggravation studying for his Bar Mitzvah and losing his best friend. It's the last straw when his mother becomes the new manager of his Little League baseball team and drags his older brother, Spencer, along as the coach. No one knows what to expect with a mother for a manager, but soon Mark and the other players are surprised to see how much they're improving due to coach Spencer's strategy and helpful hints from "Mother Bagel." It looks like nothing can stop them from becoming champs--until Mark hears some startling news!
F HUN	Up a Road Slowly (age 9-12) by Irene Hunt family ... growing up After her mother's death, Julie goes to live with Aunt Cordelia, a spinster schoolteacher, where she experiences many emotions and changes as she grows from seven to eighteen.
F DAN	The Cat Ate My Gymsuit (age 9-12) by Paula Danziger growing up ... humor ... school When the unconventional English teacher who helped her conquer many of her feelings of insecurity is fired, a junior high student uses her new found courage to campaign for the teacher's reinstatement.
F EAS	I Am the Ice Worm (age 9-12) by MaryAnn Easley growing up ... adventure ... survival While traveling to visit her mother in the Arctic a California girl learns the meaning of hardship and survival when she is taken in by an Inupiat family.
F FOR	The Most Wonderful Movie in the World (age 9-12) by Barbara Ford the arts ... historical ... growing up It's 1941, and the movie Gone With the Wind is playing at all the theaters. Everyone is loving it, but Moira struggles with growing up Catholic, and respecting the Church's advice to avoid this nationwide hit.
F HOO	Only Child (age 9-12) by H. M. Hoover growing up ... adventure ... science fiction Twelve-year-old Cody discovers that the Terran Corporation, in colonizing the planet Patma, is illegally destroying the intelligent native inhabitants, giant insectlike creatures with their own language and religion.
F O'D	Agnes Parker Series (age 9-12) by Kathleen O'Dell growing up ... friendship ... school Agnes Parker isn't the class outcast or its queen bee-which is okay except that sometimes the middle just seems . . . really . . . ordinary. So Agnes sets out to be a different version of the girl she's always been. Someone who won't always get clobbered by bullies, who can some-times be cool and confident-and maybe catch the eye of that new boy in class? title: Agnes Parker, Girl in Progress title: Agnes Parker, Happy Camper? title: Agnes Parker, Keeping Cool in Middle School
F WIL	Double Act (age 9-12) by Jacqueline Wilson letters/journal ... family ... growing up ... identity Ten-year-old Ruby and Garnet are identical twins who do everything together. Especially since their mother died three years earlier. They dress alike, wear their hair the same, and sit together in every class. In fact, everything about them is the same--except their personalities. Ruby is funny and outgoing, Garnet is sensitive and shy. Together they're the perfect double act--and that's just the way they like it. But soon the twins' life is turned upside down, and the twins must find a different way to relate to one another.
F PAT	The Hard Pan Trilogy (age 9-12) by Susan Patron humor ... growing up ... survival ... illness/loss ... friendship ... family Publisher comments: Lucky, age ten, can't wait another day. The meanness gland in her heart and the crevices full of questions in her brain make running away from Hard Pan, California (population 43), the rock-bottom only choice she has. It's all Brigitte's fault ... for wanting to go back to France. Guardians are supposed to stay put and look after girls in their care! Instead Lucky is sure that she'll be abandoned to some orphanage in Los Angeles. She'll have to lose her friends Miles and Lincoln. Just as bad, she'll have to give up eavesdropping on twelve-step anonymous programs where the interesting talk is all about Higher Powers. Lucky needs her own ... and quick. But she hadn't planned on a dust storm. Or needing to lug the world's heaviest survival-kit backpack into the desert. title: The Higher Power of Lucky title: Lucky Breaks title: Lucky for Good
F LOR	Rules (age 9-12) by Cynthia Lord growing up ... friendship ... family Twelve-year-old Catherine just wants a normal life. Which is near impossible when you have a brother with autism and a family that revolves around his disability. She's spent years trying to teach David the rules-from "a peach is not a funny-looking apple" to "keep your pants on in public"-in order to stop his embarrassing behaviors. But the summer Catherine meets Jason, a paraplegic boy, and Kristi, the next-door friend she's always wished for, it's her own shocking behavior that turns everything upside down and forces her to ask: What is normal?
F MCE	The Daydreamer (age 9-12) by Ian McEwan adventure ... short stories ... growing up In these seven exquisitely interlinked episodes, the grown-up protagonist Peter Fortune reveals the secret journeys, metamorphoses, and adventures of his childhood. Living somewhere between dream and reality, Peter experiences fantastical transformations: he swaps bodies with the wise old family cat; exchanges existences with a cranky infant; encounters a very bad doll who has come to life and is out for revenge; and rummages through a kitchen drawer filled with useless objects to discover some not-so-useless cream that actually makes people vanish. Finally, he wakes up as an eleven-year-old inside a grown-up body and embarks on the truly fantastic adventure of falling in love.
F DIC	A Christmas Carol (age 9-12) by Charles Dickens traditions ... growing up ... folklore ... spooky A miser learns the true meaning of Christmas when three ghostly visitors review his past and foretell his future.
F KRU	...and Now Miguel (age 9-12) by Joseph Krumgold growing up The story of Miguel Chavez who yearned to go with the men of his family to the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and trade boyhood for manhood.
F KJE	Big Red (age 9-12) by Jim Kjelgaard growing up ... nature ... animals From the moment Danny sees the beautiful Irish setter, he knows Red is the dog for him. Fast and smart, strong and noble, Red is the only dog Danny wants by his side. Soon, neither boy nor dog can stand to be apart. Together Danny and Red face many dangers in the harsh Wintapi wilderness that they call home. But the greatest test of their courage and friendship will come from an enemy more cunning than any they've known before--a bear who is the undisputed king of the wilderness, a savage killer called Old Majesty.
F BYA	After the Goat Man (age 9-12) by Betsy Cromer Byars family ... identity ... growing up Catalog: An overweight, sensitive boy gains the insight and strength to overcome his problems through his search for and discovery of a friend's grandfather, known as the Goat Man.
F CUS	The Midwife's Apprentice (age 9-12) by Karen Cushman growing up ... historical In medieval England, a nameless, homeless girl is taken in by a sharp-tempered midwife and, in spite of obstacles and hardship, eventually gains the three things she most wants: a full belly, a contented heart, and a place in this world.
F DEL	Salsa Stories (age 9-12) by Lulu Delacre growing up ... short stories ... family A collection of stories within the story of a family celebration where the guests relate their memories of growing up in various Latin American countries.
F CAR	The Basketball Player (age 9-12) by Roch Carrier growing up ... sports ... school Away from home and off to a seminary boarding school for the first time, Roch finds he is expected to play basketball. It's seen as an important tool for facing life's challenges if he is to go very far on the road of life. And so begins the latest in Roch's sports misadventures as fear of failure sends him running into the night and terrors worse than those on the basketball court. It all leads to a surprise ending as he finds his own way of making his mark.
F CAS	Lucie Babbidge's House (age 9-12) by Sylvia Cassedy family ... school ... growing up Having found a dollhouse full of dolls in the orphanage where she leads an unhappy existence, Lucie creates a secret life for herself.
F WOL	Toby Lived Here (age 9-12) by Hilma Wolitzer growing up ... family Toby's hope that she, her mother, and sister would be reunited on her thirteenth birthday, at the latest, is not met and she enters her teens in a foster home.
F WIS	Jericho's Journey (age 9-12) by G. Clifton Wisler family ... growing up ... historical As his family makes the long and difficult journey from Tennessee to their new home in Texas in 1852, twelve-year-old Jericho Wetherby, teased by his sister and brothers about his size, learns there are many ways to grow.
F WIG	Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (age 9-12) by Kate Douglas Smith Wiggin historical ... growing up ... family Talkative, ten-year-old Rebecca goes to live with her spinster aunts, one harsh and demanding, the other soft and sentimental, with whom she spends seven difficult but rewarding years growing up.
F WES	With Love From Spain, Melanie Martin (age 9-12) by Carol Weston humor ... growing up ... friendship ... family ... voyages/journeys ... letters/journal On spring break in Spain, fifth-grader Melanie Martin decides to spy on her mother for her father when her mother starts spending a lot of time with her old boyfriend, Antonio, but when she meets Antonio's cute twelve-year-old son, her plans go out the window.
F WAR	Catty-Cornered (age 9-12) by Cheryl Ware growing up ... letters/journal ... school ... family Writing in her diary, twelve-year-old Venola Mae Cutright describes her trials and tribulations as she is forced to go live with her grandmother while she starts the seventh grade.
F SNY	Black and Blue Magic (age 9-12) by Zilpha Keatley Snyder growing up ... magic You'd think that someone with a name like Harry Houdini Marco would be deft and skillful, but Harry could only occasionally catch even an easy fly ball without making some dumb error. On top of that, most of his friends' families were moving to the suburbs. It would have been a long, dreary summer, but then a Mr. Mazeeck showed up and turned out to be more than he seemed.
F SAL	Jungle Dogs (age 9-12) by Graham Salisbury growing up ... family ... animals While worrying about the wild dogs that supposedly lurk in the jungle along his paper route, Hawaiian sixth-grader Boy Regis also seeks to stop his older brother, Damon, from fighting all his battles for him.
F HUN	Across Five Aprils (age 9-12) by Irene Hunt war ... family ... growing up ... historical Young Jethro Creighton grows from a boy to a man when he is left to take care of the family farm in Illinois during the difficult years of the Civil War.
F HIL	The Burnt Stick (age 9-12) by Anthony Hill growing up ... family Growing up in Australia, in a missionary home run by white men, John Jagamarra, who is part aborigine and part white, misses the mother from whom he's been separated and the culture of his own people.
F GRI	The Way of Our People (age 9-12) by Arnold A. Griese illness/loss ... historical ... growing up In 1838 in the village of Anvik a young Indian boy, unable to overcome his fear of hunting alone, tries to find other ways of helping his tribe.
F GOR	The Miraculous Makeover of Lizard Flanagan (age 9-12) by Carol Gorman humor ... school ... friendship ... growing up As she enters middle school, athletic twelve-year-old Lizard is dismayed to see her friends change into weird strangers and struggles with her own transition from tomboy to "girly-girl."
F GIP	Old Yeller (age 9-12) by Fred Gipson adventure ... historical ... growing up ... friendship In the late 1860s in the Texas hill country, a big yellow dog and a fourteen-year-old boy form a close, loving relationship.
F GLA	Box Top Dreams (age 9-12) by Miriam Glassman friendship ... growing up When her best friend, Danny, moves away, leaving eleven-year-old Ariadne alone on the "brink of adolescence," she discovers that change is a part of growing.
F SOT	Baseball in April (age 9-12) by Gary Soto sports ... friendship ... growing up ... short stories In this unique collection of short stories, the small events of daily life reveal big themes--love and friendship, youth and growing up, success and failure. Calling on his own experiences of growing up in California's Central Valley, poet Gary Soto brings to life the joys and pains of young people everywhere. The smart, tough, vulnerable kids in these stories are Latino, but their dreams and desires belong to all of us.
F DAN	P.S. Longer Letter Later (age 9-12) by Paula Danziger and Ann Martin growing up ... friendship ... letters/journal Twelve-year-old best friends Elizabeth and Tara-Starr continue their friendship through letter-writing after Tara-Starr's family moves to another state.
F CRE	Replay: a New Book (age 9-12) by Sharon Creech family ... growing up ... the arts Leo's papa stood in the doorway, gazing down at him. "Leo, you make gold from pebbles," and the way he said it, Leo could tell that this was a good thing. He may have been given a bit part in the school play ... but Leo dreams he is the biggest star on Broadway. Sure, his big, noisy family makes him feel like a sardine squashed in a tin ... but in his fantasy he gets all the attention he wants. Yes, his papa seems sad and distracted ... but Leo imagines him as a boy, tap-dancing and singing with delight. That's why they call Leo "fog boy." He's always dreaming, always replaying things in his brain. He fantasizes about who he is in order to discover who he will become. As an actor in the school play, he is poised and ready for the curtain to open. But in the play that is his life, Leo is eager to discover what part will be his.
F CRE	Granny Torrelli Makes Soup (age 9-12) by Sharon Creech growing up ... family ... friendship Bailey, who is usually so nice, Bailey, my neighbor, my friend, my buddy, my pal for my whole life, knowing me better than anybody, that Bailey, that Bailey I am so mad at right now, that Bailey, I hate him today. Twelve-year-old Rosie and her best friend, Bailey, don't always get along, that's true. But Granny Torrelli seems to know just how to make things right again with her warm words and family recipes. She understands from experience that life's twists and turns can't rattle the unique bond between two lifelong pals.
F CLE	Strider (age 9-12) by Beverly Cleary school ... friendship ... growing up ... letters/journal Strider has a new habit. Whenever we stop, he places his paw on my foot. It isn't an accident because he always does it. I like to think he doesn't want to leave me. Can a stray dog change the life of a teenage boy? It looks as if Strider can. He's a dog that loves to run; because of Strider, Leigh Botts finds himself running, well enough to join the school track team. Strider changes Leigh on the inside, too, as he finally begins to accept his parents' divorce and gets to know a redheaded girl he's been admiring. With Strider's help, Leigh finds that the future he once hated to be asked about now holds something he never expected: hope.
F CAS	Behind the Attic Wall (age 9-12) by Sylvia Cassedy growing up ... family ... spooky In the bleak, forbidding house of her great-aunts, neglected twelve-year-old orphan Maggie hears ghostly voices and finds magic that awakens in her the capacity to love and be loved.
F BYA	The Burning Questions of Bingo Brown (age 9-12) by Betsy Cromer Byars school ... family ... friendship ... growing up When Bingo has to keep a notebook for school, all he can come up with are questions. Like how could I fall in love with three girls in three minutes? But not even his teacher, Mr. Mark, has the answers. In fact Mr. Mark has been acting pretty weird lately, and he's getting weirder. Is there more wrong with Mr. Mark than Bingo can handle?
F BYA	Bingo Brown and the Language of Love (age 9-12) by Betsy Cromer Byars family ... friendship ... growing up As twelve-year-old Bingo Brown strives for the triumphs of today and steels himself against the tribulations of tomorrow, he discovers that he will have to undergo a few more trials and triumphs before growing up.
F BAU	On My Honor (age 9-12) by Marion Dane Bauer illness/loss ... growing up ... friendship On your honor?" Joel's father said. "You won't go anywhere except the park?" "On my honor," Joel repeated. During a bicycle trip to the state park, Joel dares his best fried Tony to a swimming race in the dangerous Vermillion River. The boys have been warned never to go near the river, but Tony can't let Joel think he's scared. Both boys jump in. When Joel reaches the sandbar, he turns and looks for Tony and finds that he has vanished. Joel is stunned. How can he face their parents and the terrible truth?
F HAN	Ida B: and Her Plans to Maximize Fun, Avoid Disaster, and (Possibly) Save the World (age 9-12) by Katherine Hannigan illness/loss ... humor ... school ... growing up Who is Ida B. Applewood? She is a fourth grader like no other, living a life like no other, with a voice like no other, and her story will resonate long after you have put this book down. How does Ida B cope when outside forces (life, really) attempt to derail her and her family and her future? She enters her Black Period, and it is not pretty. But then, with the help of a patient teacher, a loyal cat and dog, her beloved apple trees, and parents who believe in the same things she does (even if they sometimes act as though they don't), the resilience that is the very essence of Ida B triumph...and Ida B. Applewood takes the hand that is extended and starts to grow up.
F FIT	Harriet the Spy (age 9-12) by Louise Fitzhugh brilliant protagonist ... growing up ... realistic ... friendship Harriet M. Welsch is a spy. In her notebook, she writes down everything she knows about everyone, even her classmates and her best friends. Then Harriet loses track of her notebook, and it ends up in the wrong hands. Before she can stop them, her friends have read the always truthful, sometimes awful things she's written about each of them. Will Harriet find a way to put her life and her friendships back together? sequel: The Long Secret
F WOJ	Shadow of a Bull (age 9-12) by Maia Wojciechowska identity ... family ... growing up Manolo Olivar has to make a decision: to follow in his famous father's shadow and become a bullfighter, or to follow his heart and become a doctor.
F WHI	Belle Prater's Boy (age 9-12) by Ruth White illness/loss ... growing up ... friendship ... family When Woodrow's mother suddenly disappears, he moves to his grandparents' home in a small Virginia town where he befriends his cousin and together they find the strength to face the terrible losses and fears in their lives.
F STO	A Dog on Barkham Street (age 9-12) by Mary Stolz growing up ... adventure ... animals Edward Frost wants a dog of his own. And he doesn't want to be bullied by big, mean Martin Hastings anymore. Neither wish seems very likely to come true, until one day wandering Uncle Josh arrives with a beautiful collie named Argess. Suddenly everything begins to change. sequel: The Bully of Barkham Street
F SAC	Johnny's in the Basement (age 9-12) by Louis Sachar family ... growing up When Johnny has his eleventh birthday, his parents decide he is old enough for dancing classes, but too old for his life's work: The World's Greatest Bottle Cap Collection. How will Johnny manage such sudden, and mostly unwelcome, changes?
F RYL	A Fine White Dust (age 9-12) by Cynthia Rylant friendship ... growing up The visit of the traveling Preacher Man to his small North Carolina town gives new impetus to thirteen-year-old Peter's struggle to reconcile his own deeply felt religious belief with the beliefs and non-beliefs of his family and friends.
F LOW	Anastasia Series (age 9-12) by Lois Lowry growing up ... realistic ... humor ... family To Anastasia Krupnik, being ten is very confusing. For one thing, she has this awful teacher who can't understand why Anastasia doesn't capitalize or punctuate her poems. Then, there's Washburn Cummings, a very interesting sixth-grade boy who doesn't even know she is alive. Even her parents have become difficult. On top of that, they're going to have a baby, at their age! It's enough to make a kid want to do something terrible. Anastasia knows that if she didn't have her secret green notebook to write in, she would never make it to her eleventh birthday. Fans of Anastasia will enjoy this author's books about her little brother Sam as well. title: Anastasia Krupnik title: Anastasia Again! title: Anastasia, Absolutely title: Anastasia at This Address title: Anastasia at Your Service title: Anastasia Has the Answers title: Anastasia, Ask Your Analyst title: Anastasia on Her Own title: Anastasia's Chosen Career
F APP	Animorphs Megamorphs Series (age 9-12) by K. A. Applegate action ... growing up ... animals ... science fiction ... adventure Fans of the original Animorphs series will love these heart-pounding adventures, told from each character's point of view. title: The Andalite's Gift title: In the Time of Dinosaurs title: Elfangor's Secret title: The Andalite Chronicles title: The Hork-Bajir Chronicles
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 Forgotten title: The Reaction title: The Change title: The Unknown title: The Warning title: The Underground title: The Decision title: The Departure title: The Pretender title: The Suspicion title: The Attack title: The Exposed title: The Experiment title: The Sickness title: The Reunion title: The Conspiracy title: The Separation title: The Illusion title: The Proposal title: The Weakness title: The Revelation title: The Predator title: The Prophecy title: The Extreme title: The Escape title: The Discovery title: The Solution title: The Threat title: The First Journey title: The Ellimist Chronicles title: El Visitante title: El Extrano title: La Invasion title: The Arrival title: The Familiar title: The Beginning title: The Absolute title: The Answer title: The Diversion title: The Sacrifice title: The Ultimate
F OPP	The Silverwing Trilogy (age 9-12) by Kenneth Oppel growing up ... action ... adventure Shade is a young Silverwing bat, the runt of his colony. But he's determined to prove himself on the long, dangerous winter migration to Hibernaculum, millions of wingbeats to the south. During a fierce storm, he loses the others and soon faces the most incredible journey of his young life. Desperately searching for a way to rejoin his flock, Shade meets a remarkable cast of characters. But which ones are friends and which ones are enemies? In this epic story of adventure and suspense, Shade is going to need all the help he can find, if he hopes to ever see his family again. title: Silverwing title: Sunwing title: Firewing
F HAM	M.C. Higgins, the Great (age 9-12) by Virginia Hamilton growing up ... family Mayo Cornelius Higgins sits on his gleaming, forty-foot steel pole, towering over his home on Sarah's Mountain. Stretched before him are rolling hills and shady valleys. But behind him lie the wounds of strip mining, including a mountain of rubble that may one day fall and bury his home. M.C. dreams of escape for himself and his family. And, one day, atop his pole, he thinks he sees it, two strangers are making their way toward Sarah's Mountain. One has the ability to make M.C.'s mother famous. And the other has a kind of freedom that M.C. has never even considered.
F NAY	The Alice Prequels (age 9-12) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor friendship ... school ... identity ... realistic ... growing up Well, a pet and pierced ears and really long hair would be nice, too ¿ and most of all, Alice wishes she still had a mother. But starting third grade in a new school in a new town can be lonely, especially if the closest thing you have to a friend is weird Donald Sheavers from next door. But even making new friends can't solve all of Alice's problems. Somehow she manages to get into trouble for a stupid lie, and to get on the wrong side of a bullying crossing guard and three snooty girls whom Alice calls "the Terrible Triplets." Will Alice ever feel at home in Takoma Park? This series introduce the younger Alice, leading up to the older series The Agony of Alice. title: Starting With Alice title: Lovingly Alice title: Alice in Blunderland
F CUS	The Ballad of Lucy Whipple (age 9-12) by Karen Cushman growing up ... historical In 1849, a twelve-year-old girl who calls herself Lucy is distraught when her mother moves the family from Massachusetts to a small California mining town, where Lucy helps run a rough boarding house and looks for comfort in books while trying to find a way to get ``home.''
F CON	Trout Summer (age 9-12) by Jane Leslie Conley growing up ... family A sister and brother spend a summer in a cabin near a river, where they try to come to terms with their parents' failing marriage and make decisions about their own lives.
F BUR	A Little Princess (age 9-12) by Frances Hodgson Burnett growing up ... friendship ... fantasy A Little Princess tells the story of Ann, whose comfortable life as the daughter of a wealthy and loving father is destroyed when he goes missing. Though she faces many challenges, we find that her strength of character makes her special indeed.
F BLU	Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret (age 9-12) by Judy Blume identity ... friendship ... growing up For Margaret, everything is different this year. She's just moved from New York City to the suburbs and is anxious to fit in with her new friends. When the girls form a secret club to talk about private subjects, Margaret is happy to belong. But in Farbrook, everybody joins the Y or the Jewish Community Center. Margaret doesn't have a religion, so what's she supposed to do? Suddenly life is very confusing. Maybe it's all part of growing up, but Margaret could really use some answers.
F AND	Wild at Heart: American Girl Series (age 9-12) by Laurie Halse Anderson animals ... realistic ... growing up There is never a dull moment for the volunteers at Dr. Mac's Wild at Heart Veterinary Clinic. sequel: Fight for Life sequel: Homeless sequel: The Trickster sequel: Manatee Blues sequel: Say Good-bye sequel: Teacher's Pet sequel: Storm Rescue sequel: Fear of Falling sequel: Time to Fly sequel: Masks sequel: End of the Race sequel: Trapped

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