F BOO	Small Persons With Wings (age 10+) by Ellen Booraem humor ... adventure ... fantasy Publisher comments: Mellie has been trying, unsuccessfully, to live down the day she told her kindergarten class she had a fairy living in her bedroom. Years later, she is still teased. So when her parents inherit her grandfather's inn and their family moves to a new town, Mellie believes she'll leave all that fairy nonsense behind - only to discover that her family members have been fairy guardians for generations and the inn is overrun with small persons with wings (they hate to be called fairies). Before she knows it, the family and fairies are all facing an evil temptress in disguise who wants the fairy magic all for her own. Can Mellie set things right and save the day?
F BED	Looking Glass Wars Trilogy (age 10+) by Frank Beddor humor ... fantasy ... adventure ... action Publisher comments: The Myth: Alice was an ordinary girl who stepped through the looking glass and entered a fairy-tale world invented by Lewis Carroll in his famous storybook. The Truth: Wonderland is real. Alyss Heart is the heir to the throne, until her murderous aunt Redd steals the crown and kills Alyss? parents. To escape Redd, Alyss and her bodyguard, Hatter Madigan, must flee to our world through the Pool of Tears. But in the pool Alyss and Hatter are separated. Lost and alone in Victorian London, Alyss is befriended by an aspiring author to whom she tells the violent, heartbreaking story of her young life. Yet he gets the story all wrong. Hatter Madigan knows the truth only too well, and he is searching every corner of our world to find the lost princess and return her to Wonderland so she may battle Redd for her rightful place as the Queen of Hearts. title: The Looking Glass Wars title: Seeing Redd title: ArchEnemy
F KOR	Schooled (age 10+) by Gordon Korman realistic ... humor ... adventure ... brilliant protagonist ... school Publisher comments: Capricorn "Cap" Anderson has never watched television. He's never tasted a pizza. Never even heard of a wedgie. Since he was little, his only experience has been living on a farm commune and being home schooled by his hippie grandmother, Rain. But when Rain falls out of a tree while picking plums, and has to stay in the hospital, Cap is forced to move in with a guidance counselor and her cranky teen daughter and attend the local middle school. While Cap knows a lot about tie-dyeing and Zen Buddhism, no education could prepare him for the politics of public school.
F ALE	The Marvelous Misadventures of Sebastian; Grand Extravaganza, Including a Performance by the Entire Cast of the Gallimaufry-Theatricus (age 10+) by Lloyd Alexander adventure ... voyages/journeys ... humor ... the arts When he loses his place as fourth fiddler in a noble household, Sebastian sets out into the world to seek his fortune.
F ALE	The Iron Ring (age 10+) by Lloyd Alexander action ... voyages/journeys ... humor ... magic ... adventure ... fantasy Driven by his sense of "dharma," or honor, young King Tamar sets off on a perilous journey, with a significance greater than he can imagine, during which he meets talking animals, villainous and noble kings, demons, and the love of his life.
F AVI	Never Mind!: a Twin Novel (age 10+) by Avi family ... school ... humor Twelve-year-old New York City twins Meg and Edward have nothing in common, so they are just as shocked as everyone else when Meg's hopes for popularity and Edward's mischievous schemes coincidentally collide in a hilarious showdown.
F AIK	Black Hearts in Battersea (age 10+) by Joan Aiken humor ... fantasy ... adventure Simon, the foundling from The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, arrives in London to meet an old friend and pursue the study of painting. Instead he finds himself unwittingly in the middle of a wicked crew's fiendish caper to the good King James and the Duke and Duchess of Battersea. With the help of his friend Sophie and the resourceful waif Dido, Simon narrowly escapes a series madcap close calls and dangerous run-ins. In a time and place where villains do nothing halfway, Simon is faced with wild wolves, poisoned pies, kidnapping, and a wrecked ship. This is a cleverly contrived tale of intrigue and misadventure.
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 AIK	The Cuckoo Tree (age 10+) by Joan Aiken humor ... fantasy ... adventure Publisher comments: When Dido Twite sets foot back on English soil, more mischief awaits. As her friend Captain Hughes recovers from a carriage accident, Dido stays at the Dogkennel Cottages and meets the odd inhabitants of Tegleaze Manor: strange old Lady Tegleaze, her nephew, Tobit, and his wizened, witchy nurse, Sannie. Soon suspicious things happen. A priceless miniature is stolen. Tobit is framed and then kidnapped. A twin sister is found. And when Dido catches a glimpse of her rascally father in Petworth, she is sure shes in the midst of another Hanoverian plot. Can she get to London to warn the king and save St. Paul's Cathedral from sliding into the Thames?
F AIK	The Wolves of Willoughby Chase (age 10+) by Joan Aiken humor ... fantasy ... adventure Bonnie and her cousin Sylvia don't know the trouble in store for them when Bonnie's parents leave them in the care of the terrible Miss Slighcarp.
F KON	The Outcasts of 19 Schuyler Place (age 10+) by E. L. Konigsburg realistic ... brilliant protagonist ... humor ... the arts ... identity Publisher comments: "I Prefer Not To...." That's Margaret Rose Kane's response to every activity she's asked to participate in at the summer camp to which she's been exiled while her parents are in Peru. So Margaret Rose is delighted when her beloved uncles rescue her from Camp Talequa, with its uptight camp director and cruel cabinmates, and bring her to stay with them at their wonderful house at 19 Schuyler Place. But Margaret Rose soon discovers that something is terribly wrong at 19 Schuyler Place. People in their newly gentrified neighborhood want to get rid of the three magnificent towers the uncles have spent forty-five years lovingly constructing of scrap metal and shards of glass and porcelain. Margaret Rose is outraged, and determined to strike a blow for art, for history, and for individuality...and no one is more surprised than Margaret Rose at the allies she finds for her mission.
F VEG	Click Here (To Find Out How I Survived Seventh Grade): A Novel (age 10+) by Denise Vega humor ... school ... letters/journal ... friendship Catalog: Seventh-grader Erin Swift writes about her friends and classmates in her private blog, but when it accidentally gets posted on the school Intranet site, she learns some important lessons about friendship.
F HAN	Godesses Series (age 10+) by Clea Hantman growing up ... humor ... fantasy ... folklore Publisher comments: Three goddesses, banished to earth by their dad, Zeus (yeah, that Zeus). Era, on mortal boys: "Look at him. Even the gods back home aren't that cute." Polly, on Nova High gossip: "I'm simply not in the mood to chatter on about silly spiteful girlsor cute Johnny Jims or sauerkraut breath." Thalia, on earth: "I mean, we don't know what earth is like. Maybe it's all leprechaunsand roses. Maybe it's an adventure every day. Maybe it's space-age." Polly, Era, and Thalia are stuck on earth, and to get back to Olympus, they've got to prove they've learned their lesson. And they've got to get through high school in the meantime. Which would be hard enough without the horribly evil Furies threatening to destroy their chances of ever seeing home again. title: Heaven Sent title: Three Girls and a God title: Muses on the Move title: Love or Fate
F TOL	Surviving the Applewhites (age 10+) by Stephanie S. Tolan humor ... growing up ... school ... friendship Publisher comments: Will anyone take on Jake Semple? Jake Semple is notorious. Rumor has it he burned down his old school and got kicked out of every school in his home state. Only one place will take him now, and that's a home school run by the Applewhites, a chaotic and hilarious family of artists. The only one who doesn't fit the Applewhite mold is E.D., a smart, sensible girl who immediately clashes with the unruly Jake. Jake thinks surviving this one will be a breeze, but is he really as tough or as bad as he seems?
F FRE	In the Cards Series (age 10+) by Mariah Fredericks school ... humor ... friendship Publisher comments: What if, for once, the losers won out against the uber-cools? GeekGirl gets GreekGod? It'd turn the school upside down. But that's what Zoe's World, a website that Eberly's eighth-grade girls check out daily, is suggesting. Only Anna, Eve, and Syd know that the cards, the mysterious tarot deck elderly Mrs. Rosemont left Anna (along with a psycho cat, Mouli) are responsible. Or may be responsible...if you believe in that sort of thing. title: Fame title: Love
F BRO	Martyn Pig (age 10+) by Kevin Brooks humor ... friendship ... family ... illness/loss Publisher comments: Meet Martyn Pig. His name may be bad, but his life is worse. His mother is gone, his father hates him, but things can't get any worse--or so he thinks until his father dies in a sudden accident.
F BAU	Stand Tall (age 10+) by Joan Bauer realistic ... growing up ... friendship ... family ... humor Publisher comments: Size matters, but Tree needs convincing. At six feet, three and a half inches, he's the tallest seventh grader in the history of his school, and people expect big things. But he's not good at basketball, he looks much older than he feels, and his parents' divorce is all too new. He copes by helping people like his grandpa, a Vietnam vet who's just had part of a leg amputated, and Sophie, a new girl who's being taunted at school. Taking things apart helps, too. He learned that from Grandpa. And in the process of seeing how lamps get rewired and laser pens work, in Grandpa's powerful memories of the Vietnam War, in helping an old soldier learn to walk again, in Sophie's insistence that Tree be himself, he begins to heal from the divorce and learns to stand tall. But when a flood threatens his home, Tree's newfound confidence is put to the test.
F BAR	Science Fair: A Story of Mystery, Danger, International Suspense, and a Very Nervous Frog (age 10+) by Dave Barry mystery ... school ... adventure ... humor Publisher comments: Grdankl the Strong, president of Kprshtskan, is plotting to take over the American government. His plan is to infiltrate the science fair at Hubble Middle School, located in a Maryland suburb just outside Washington. The rich kids at Hubble cheat by buying their projects every year, and Grdankl's cronies should have no problem selling them his government-corrupting software. But this year, Toby Harbinger, a regular kid with Discount Warehouse shoes, is determined to win the $5,000 prize-even if he has to go up against terrorists to do it. With the help of his best friends, Tamara and Micah, Toby takes on Assistant Principal Paul Parmit, aka The Armpit, a laser-eyed stuffed owl, and two eBay buyers named Darth and the Wookiee who seem to think that the Harrison-Ford-signed BlasTech DL-44 blaster Toby sold them is a counterfeit. What transpires is a hilarious adventure filled with mystery, suspense, and levitating frogs.
F DUA	Young Wizards Series (age 10+) by Diane Duane action ... adventure ... humor ... magic ... fantasy Publisher comments: Something stopped Nita's hand as it ran along the bookshelf. She looked and found that one of the books had a loose thread at the top of its spine. It was one of those So You Want to Be a . . . books, a series on careers. So You Want to Be a Pilot, and a Scientist . . . a Writer. But his one said, So You Want to Be a Wizard. I don't believe this, Nina thought. She shut the book and stood there holding it in her hand, confused, amazed, suspicious--and delighted. If it was a joke, it was a great one. If it wasn't . . . ? title: So You Want To Be a Wizard title: Deep Wizardry title: High Wizardry title: A Wizard Abroad title: The Wizard's Dilemma title: A Wizard Alone title: Wizards Holiday title: Wizards at War
F MYR	Twelve (age 10+) by Lauren Myracle realistic ... humor ... friendship ... growing up Publisher comments: The only thing more exciting than being eleven . . . is turning twelve! Winnie Perry went through a lot when she was eleven, from shifting friendships to her teenage sister's mood swings. But now that Winnie is twelve and one step closer to being a teenager herself, there is so much more to deal with. Will her new friendship with Dinah last? Can she handle the pressures of junior high? And, most important, will Winnie survive bra shopping (in public!) with Mom? Bestselling author Lauren Myracle again sharply observes a year in the life of a winning young heroine whose humor, daring, and compassion for others is infectious and unforgettable.
F MYR	Thirteen (age 10+) by Lauren Myracle realistic ... humor ... friendship ... growing up Publisher comments: Winnie Perry is a teenager at last! And its a really big deal. A "ginormous" deal, which, wouldnt you know it, brings ginormous problems along with it. Winnies bff #1 is growing up too slowly, while her bff #2 is growing up too fast, leaving Winnie stuck in the middle. Winnies boyfriend, Lars, is fabulous except when he's not. And as for Winnies family, well, BIG changes are in the air. Bestselling author Lauren Myracle concludes her enormously popular trilogy about a winning young heroine whose humor, daring, and compassion for others is infectious and unforgettable.
F HIG	The Saint of Dragons (age 10+) by Jason Hightman humor ... adventure ... action ... fantasy ... knights/castles/dragons Publisher comments: You've been taught to believe they are dead. Figments of an ancient imagination. But one lonely schoolboy at the Lighthouse School for Boys, who has never known his family, and who has never known adventure, is about to have a rude awakening. Dragons are real. And they have ... evolved. Two descendants remain of the legendary St. George. One is just a teenager. And only they can destroy the dragons that plague the world.
F HUL	The Seems Series (age 10+) by John Hulme humor ... fantasy ... science fiction Publisher comments: Twelve-year-old Becker Drane has definitely got the coolest job of any seventh grader in Highland Park, New Jersey. He works as a Fixer for The Seems. From the Department of Weather to the Department of Sleep, The Seems is a secret organization that makes sure our world keeps running--and more importantly, sticks to The Plan that's been made for it. But The Plan, and The Seems for that matter, would be nothing without the people in it, and that's where Becker Drane comes in. When a Glitch is reported in the Department of Sleep, Becker is dispatched to Fix it, but he's not so sure this is a routine mission. Could the Bed Bugs, who are behind our Worst Nightmares, be responsible for the problems? Or maybe it's The Tide, an underground organization bent on destroying The Seems? No matter what, Becker's in for quite an adventure, and it'll take all his training, a little luck, and the coolest Tools(TM) known in (or out of) the Seems to Fix the problem. title: The Glitch in Sleep title: The Split Second
F KOR	No More Dead Dogs (age 10+) by Gordon Korman the arts ... school ... humor Eighth-grade football hero Wallace Wallace is sentenced to detention attending rehearsals of the school play where, in spite of himself, he becomes wrapped up in the production and begins to suggest changes that improve not only the play but his life as well.
F PEC	Fair Weather: a Novel (age 10+) by Richard Peck family ... humor ... historical In 1893, thirteen-year-old Rosie and members of her family travel from their Illinois farm to Chicago to visit Aunt Euterpe and attend the World's Columbian Exposition which, along with an encounter with Buffalo Bill and Lillian Russell, turns out to be a life-changing experience for everyone.
F VAN	Flipped (age 10+) by Wendelin Van Draanen humor ... friendship ... growing up The first time she saw him, she flipped. The first time he saw her, he ran. That was the second grade, but not much has changed by the seventh. She says: "My Bryce. Still walking around with my first kiss." He says: "It's been six years of strategic avoidance and social discomfort." But in the eighth grade everything gets turned upside down. And just as he's thinking there's more to her than meets the eye, she's thinking that he's not quite all he seemed. This is a classic romantic comedy of errors told in alternating chapters by two fresh, funny new voices. Wendelin Van Draanen is at her best here with a knockout cast of quirky characters and a hilarious series of misunderstandings and missed opportunities. But underlying the humor are two teens in transition. They are each learning to look beyond the surface of people, both figuring out who they are, who they want to be, and who they want to be with.
F SCH	The Wednesday Wars (age 10+) by Gary Schmidt school ... humor ... growing up ... historical Meet Holling Hoodhood, a seventh-grader at Camillo Junior High, who must spend Wednesday afternoons with his teacher, Mrs. Baker, while the rest of the class has religious instruction. Mrs. Baker doesn't like Holling, he's sure of it. Why else would she make him read the plays of William Shakespeare outside class? But everyone has bigger things to worry about, like Vietnam. His father wants Holling and his sister to be on their best behavior: the success of his business depends on it. But how can Holling stay out of trouble when he has so much to contend with? A bully demanding cream puffs; angry rats; and a baseball hero signing autographs the very same night Holling has to appear in a play in yellow tights! As fate sneaks up on him again and again, Holling finds Motivation...the Big M...in the most unexpected places and musters up the courage to embrace his destiny, in spite of himself.
F SCH	Princess from Another Planet (age 10+) by Mindy Schanback princesses ... humor ... science fiction Fourteen-year-old Gracie escapes her impoverished life by impersonating her rich cousin at an exclusive summer camp, until a series of weird events convinces her that her mother's delusions about being the deposed queen of a distant planet just might be true.
F MAS	Twice Upon a Time Series (age 10+) by Wendy Mass folklore ... humor Retellings of familiar fairy tales, relating events from the young protagonists' very teenage, and very funny, point of view. title: Sleeping Beauty: The One Who Took the Really Long Nap title: Rapunzel: The One With All the Hair
F KRE	Alex and the Ironic Gentleman: a Novel (age 10+) by Adrienne Kress humor ... fantasy ... adventure This smart, funny mixture of fantasy and high adventure is the story of Alex Morningside, an inquisitive girl who is often mistaken for a boy because of her bowl haircut. A student at the prestigious Wigpowder-Steele Academy, Alex discovers one of her teachers has a mysterious family secret which leads her to a pirate ship called "The Ironic Gentleman."
F IBB	The Beasts of Clawstone Castle (age 10+) by Eva Ibbotson humor ... spooky ... mystery When their parents go to America, Madlyn and Rollo are sent to their relatives at Clawstone Castle, home of the legendary Wild White Cattle of Clawstone Park. Times are hard at Clawstone, so Madlyn and Rollo audition a cast of ghosts to add some thrills to the Clawstone tours. Then a very real mystery arises.
F HOL	Middle School Is Worse Than Meatloaf: a Year Told Through Stuff (age 10+) by Jennifer Holm growing up ... humor ... school ... letters/journal Told entirely through notes, grocery receipts, report cards, bottle caps, newspaper clippings, and other pieces of a young girls life, Newbery Honor winner Holm delivers the story of Ginnys seventh-grade year using all the things that "really" matter.
F PRA	The Wee Free Men (age 10+) by Terry Pratchett growing up ... brilliant protagonist ... humor ... adventure ... fantasy ... magic Tiffany, a young witch-to-be in the land of Discworld, teams up with the Wee Free Men, a clan of six-inch-high blue toughs, to rescue her baby brother and ward off a sinister invasion from Fairyland. sequel: A Hat Full of Sky sequel: Wintersmith sequel: I Shall Wear Midnight
F COO	The Runaway Princess (age 10+) by Kate Coombs princesses ... humor ... adventure ... folklore ... knights/castles/dragons ... magic "A dragon darkens our dells. A witch haunts our woods. Bandits roam our moors" . . . King Stromgard swept on. "In the tradition of so many monarchs, I offer my daughter's hand in marriage and half my kingdom to the prince who can rid us of these evils, restoring peace and prosperity to our realm." And so the contest in the Kingdom of Greeve begins. But Princess Margaret is not your traditional princess. Meg firmly objects to her parents' giving her away, and she certainly has no intention of remaining in the tower where she is sequestered. Instead, she sets out to win the contest herself by enlisting the help of her good friend, her loyal maid, an eager guardsman, a young wizard, and a tenacious witch. Does Meg find her distinct place in the kingdom, or is she doomed to fulfill her royal duties?
F ALL	The Gilda Joyce Series (age 10+) by Jennifer Allison humor ... spooky ... mystery ... family Gilda Joyce uses her detective skills, and her psychic powers, to bravely face the difficult problems that come her way. title: Gilda Joyce, Psychic Investigator title: Gilda Joyce: the Ghost Sonata title: Gilda Joyce: the Ladies of the Lake
F SWI	Gulliver's Travels (age 10+) by Jonathan Swift fantasy ... humor The unusual voyages of Englishman Lemuel Gulliver carry him to such strange locales as Lilliput, where the inhabitants are six inches tall; Brobdingnag, a land of giants; an island of sorcerers; and a nation ruled by horses.
F TWA	Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (age 10+) by Mark Twain adventure ... humor While floating down the Mississippi River in the nineteenth century, a boy and a runaway slave experience many adventures, involving a feuding family, two scoundrels pretending to be royalty, and Tom Sawyer's aunt, who mistakes him for Tom. Sequel to The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.
F KAY	The Divide Series (age 10+) by Elizabeth Kay humor ... fantasy ... adventure ... illness/loss When Felix's parents take him to "The Divide" ... a spot in Costa Rica where the waters that run down to the Pacific and Atlantic oceans separate ... Felix finds himself in a bizarre parallel world where mythical creatures and magic are a reality. There, he meets Betony, a tangle child and herbalist who becomes his friend in this strange land. As Felix explores this new world he soon discovers that its mythical beasts and fairy folk think Felix is a legendary creature who uses practical science instead of magic! Will Felix ever find his way back home...and will he want to? title: The Divide title: Back to the Divide title: Jinx on the Divide
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 CON	The Frog Princess of Pelham (age 10+) by Ellen Conford princesses ... friendship ... folklore ... humor When a kiss from Danny turns Chandler, a wealthy but lonely orphan, into a frog, Danny's humorous attempts to change her back into a human land the pair on a television talk show.
F GLI	Pure Dead Series (age 10+) by Debi Gliori fantasy ... humor ... spooky ... magic Things are not right at the Strega-Borgia castle. Signor Luciano Strega-Borgia has been kidnapped. Signora Baci Strega-Borgia is struggling with her spells at the Advanced Witchcraft Institute. Titus and Pandora don't like their suspiciously cheerful and fearless new nanny. Baby Damp has been accidentally shrunk, e-mailed, and lost on the World Wide Web. And to top it off, there's a gangster in a bunny suit lurking about. . . . This seriously over-the-top, gothic romp is sure to have readers clamoring for the next Strega-Borgia adventure. title: Pure Dead Magic title: Pure Dead Batty title: Pure Dead Brilliant title: Pure Dead Wicked title: Pure Dead Trouble
F HIA	Flush (age 10+) by Carl Hiaasen humor ... adventure ... nature Noahs dad is sure that the owner of a casino boat is flushing raw sewage into the harbor. Now Noah is determined to succeed where his dad had failed, and do whatever it takes to prove that the boat owner is dumping illegally.
F PUL	Count Karlstein (age 10+) by Philip Pullman humor ... family ... adventure ... spooky In the mountains of Switzerland the wicked Count Karlstein plots to abandon his two nieces in a hunting lodge as prey for the Demon Huntsman and his ghostly hounds.
F SAC	Holes (age 10+) by Louis Sachar humor ... mystery ... friendship Stanley Yelnats is under a curse. A curse that began with his no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather and has since followed generations of Yelnats. Now Stanley has been unjustly sent to a boys' detention center, Camp Green Lake, where the warden makes the boys ``build character'' by spending all day, every day, digging holes: five feet wide and five feet deep. It doesn't take long for Stanley to realize there's more than character improvement going on at Camp Green Lake. The boys are digging holes because the warden is looking for something. Stanley tries to dig up the truth in this inventive and darkly humorous tale of crime and punishment, and redemption. sequel: Small Steps
F HOR	The Happy Yellow Car (age 10+) by Polly Horvath historical ... humor ... family Gunther Grunt buys a new car with the money his wife has been saving to send their twelve-year-old daughter, Betty, to college. To make matters worse, Betty has been elected Pork-Fry Queen by her classmates and now she doesn't have the money needed to buy flowers for the teacher. What follows is a comedic chain of events that teaches the Grunts about the value of family. Set in the Great Depression.
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 GAN	Heads or Tails: Stories From the Sixth Grade (age 10+) by Jack Gantos growing up ... letters/journal ... family ... humor Jack's life is a crazy roller-coaster ride. At his fifth school in six years, he has a crackpot teacher who won't give him a break about his lousy handwriting and a secret crush who wants to be a policewoman. At home, he has a pesty little brother with a knack for breaking an arm whenever Jack's supposed to be looking after him, a terror for an older sister, all sorts of weird neighbors, and, last but not least, ferocious alligators in the canal behind his house.
F GAN	Jack on the Tracks: Four Seasons of Fifth Grade (age 10+) by Jack Gantos growing up ... letters/journal ... family ... humor Inspired by the author's childhood diaries, this new collection of Jack Henry stories depicts a fifth-grade year to end all fifth-grade years. Living in a Miami rental home with a busy railroad track running a stone's throw from the backyard, the author's alter ego is plagued by a know-it-all older sister, a bizarre Francophile teacher, a series of crazed cats, a slightly off-kilter father, a tapeworm, and a pair of escaped convicts ... to name just a few of his antagonists. But for Jack Henry, hailed by School Library Journal as "an 'everyboy' whose world may be wacko but whose heart and spirit are eminently sane," no matter how rough the ride, there is always light at the end of the tunnel.
F PRA	The Johnny Maxwell Trilogy (age 10+) by Terry Pratchett action ... war ... science fiction ... humor ... adventure The alien spaceship is in his sights. His finger is on the Fire button. Johnny Maxwell is about to set the new high score on the computer game Only You Can Save Mankind. Suddenly: ``We wish to talk.'' Huh? ``We surrender.'' The aliens aren't supposed to surrender. Now what is Johnny going to do with a fleet of alien prisoners who know their rights under the international rules of war and are demanding safe-conduct? It's hard enough trying to save Mankind from the Galactic Hordes. It's even harder trying to save the Galactic Hordes from Mankind. But it's just a game, isn't it? Isn't it? title: Only You Can Save Mankind title: Johnny and the Dead title: Johnny and the Bomb
F RAS	The Westing Game (age 10+) by Ellen Raskin humor ... mystery When an eccentric millionaire dies mysteriously, sixteen very unlikely people are gathered together for the reading of the will...and what a will it is!
F NEL	Ruby Electric (age 10+) by Theresa Nelson the arts ... family ... humor ... authorship Ruby is a dreamer, bringing a better kind of reality to the silver screen, at least in her mind. When the lights dim and the world she writes takes over, Ruby comes to see her own life's story more clearly.
F MOW	Owls in the Family (age 10+) by Farley Mowat humor ... family ... realistic ... animals ... nature A young boy's life gets considerably more interesting when he adopts a pair of owlets as pets.
F HOR	Everything on a Waffle (age 10+) by Polly Horvath growing up ... family ... humor Eleven-year-old Primrose, living in a small fishing village in British Columbia, recounts with surprising humor her experiences and all she learns about human nature and the unpredictability of life after her parents are lost at sea.
F ENZ	The Number Devil: a Mathematical Adventure (age 10+) by Hans Magnus Enzensberg math/science/technology ... fantasy ... humor In twelve dreams, Robert, a boy who hates math, meets a Number Devil, who leads him to discover the amazing world of numbers: infinite numbers, prime numbers, Fibonacci numbers, numbers that magically appear in triangles, and numbers that expand without. As we dream with him, we are taken further and further into mathematical theory, where ideas eventually take flight, until everyone...from those who fumble over fractions to those who solve complex equations in their heads...winds up marveling at what numbers can do.
F BLO	Tangerine (age 10+) by Edward Bloor adventure ... humor ... family ... sports Paul Fisher plays soccer despite the thick glasses he wears because of a mysterious eye injury. When his family moves to Tangerine, Florida, strange things start to happen, but nothing is stranger than the secrets Paul finds out about his older brother, his new friends, and his own dangerous past.
F SPI	Maniac Magee : a Novel (age 10+) by Jerry Spinelli folklore ... humor ... bigotry ... realistic ... friendship ... sports After his parents die, Jeffrey Lionel Magee's life becomes legendary, as he accomplishes athletic and other feats which awe his contemporaries.
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.
F JON	Howl's Moving Castle (age 10+) by Diana Wynne Jones humor ... adventure ... fantasy In the land of Ingary, such things as spells, invisible cloaks, and seven-league boots were everyday things. The Witch of the Waste was another matter. In this giant jigsaw puzzle of a fantasy, people and things are never quite what they seem. Destinies are intertwined, identities exchanged, lovers confused. The Witch has placed a spell on the Wizard Howl. Does the clue to breaking it lie in a famous poem? And what will happen to Sophie Hatter when she enters Howl's castle? sequel: Castle in the Air
F MOO	Redwall: the Graphic Novel (age 10+) by Stuart Moore fantasy ... humor ... adventure A graphic novel adaptation of Brian Jacques's novel in which the peaceful life of ancient Redwall Abbey is shattered by the arrival of the evil rat Cluny and his villainous hordes; and Matthias, a young mouse, determines to find the legendary sword of Martin the Warrior which, he is convinced, will help Redwall's inhabitants destroy the enemy.
F JAC	The Redwall Series (age 10+) by Brian Jacques fantasy ... humor ... adventure Each dazzling story in the Redwall series is packed with wit, wisdom, humor, and blood-curdling adventure. title: Redwall title: Mossflower title: Mattimeo title: Mariel of Redwall title: Salamandastron title: Martin the Warrior title: The Bellmaker title: Outcast of Redwall title: The Pearls of Lutra title: Pearls of Lutra title: The Long Patrol: a Tale from Redwall title: Marlfox: a Tale of Redwall title: The Legend of Luke title: Lord Brocktree title: Triss: a Tale From Redwall title: Loamhedge: a Tale of Redwall title: Taggerung: a Tale From Redwall title: Loamhedge: a Tale From Redwall title: Rakkety Tam title: High Rhulain title: Eulalia!
F HON	Don't Pat the Wombat! (age 10+) by Elizabeth Honey school ... humor Mark Ryder gives us the good, the bad, and the messy in this antic account of his friends' misadventures during a week of school-camp in the Australian Outback. Camp is everything the boys expect and more...there are caves to explore, mud fights, bad showers, great food, hidden candy, wombats, and leeches. Then disaster strikes: Mr. Cromwell (a.k.a. Crom the Bomb) arrives as a substitute chaperon.
F HIA	Hoot (age 10+) by Carl Hiaasen mystery ... nature ... humor If Dana hadn't been sinking his thumbs into Roy's temples and mashing his face against the school-bus window, Roy might never have spotted the running boy. And the running boy is intriguing: he was running away from the school bus, carried no books, and...here's the odd part...wore no shoes. Sensing a mystery, Roy sets himself on the boy's trail. The chase introduces him to potty-trained alligators, a fake-fart champion, some burrowing owls, a renegade eco-avenger, and several extremely poisonous snakes with unnaturally sparkling tails.
F ALE	The Prydain Chronicles (age 10+) by Lloyd Alexander folklore ... humor ... fantasy ... adventure In the first book of the Prydain Chronicles, Taran, Assistant Pig-Keeper to a famous oracular sow, sets out on a hazardous mission to save Prydain from the forces of evil. title: The Book of Three title: The Black Cauldron title: The Castle of Llyr title: Taran Wanderer title: The High King

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