2005-2006 Master Lists
Master List: Grades 3-5
Buchanan, Jane. The Berry-Picking Man. New York, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2003.
Hardback ISBN: 0374406103
Paperback unknown
Subject Areas: Old age, Family life, Christmas, Empathy
Synopsis: Nine-year-old Meggie resents spending time with a strange, smelly old man who calls her mother whenever he needs a ride, but when Christmas finds him in the hospital she knows what she must do.
Clark, Clara Gillow. Hill Hawk Hattie. Cambridge, MA, Candlewick Press, 2003.
Hardback ISBN: 0763619639
Paperback planned September, 2004
Subject Areas: Fathers and daughters, Death, Rafting, Logging, Sex role
Synopsis: Angry and lonely after her mother dies, eleven-year-old Hattie pretends to be a boy and joins her father on an adventure-filled rafting trip down the Delaware River in the late 1800s to transport logs from New York to Philadelphia.
Codell, Esme Raji. Sahara Special. New York, Hyperion Books for Children, 2003. (Mature Reading/Language)*
Hardback ISBN: 0786807938 (trade)
Paperback ISBN: 0786816112
Other formats: Cassette tape, Compact disc
Subject areas: Teacher-student relationships, African Americans, Self esteem, School, Authorship, Chicago
Synopsis: Struggling with school and her feelings since her father left, Sahara gets a fresh start with a new and unique teacher who supports her writing talents and the individuality of each of her classmates.
Dowell, Frances O’Roark. Where I’d Like To Be. New York, Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2003.
Hardback ISBN: 0689844204
Paperback ISBN: 0689870671
Other formats: Cassette tape, Large print
Subject Areas: Foster home care, Orphans, Home.
Synopsis: A group of foster children build a home of their own.
Farris, Christine King. My brother Martin; A Sister Remembers Growing Up With Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. New York, Simon and Schuster Books For Young Readers, 2003.
Hardback ISBN: 0689843879
Paperback planned January, 2006
Subject Areas: Biography, African Americans, Christine King Farris, King Family, Race Relations
Synopsis: Looks at the early life of Martin Luther King, Jr., as seen through the eyes of his older sister.
Fleming, Candace. Boxes for Katje. New York, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2003.
Hardback ISBN: 0374309221
Paperback unknown
Other formats: Cassette tape, Compact disc
Subject Areas: Generosity, World War II Civilian Relief, Netherlands
Synopsis: After a young Dutch girl writes to her new American friend in thanks for the care package sent after World War II, she begins to receive increasingly larger boxes.
Gordon, Amy. The Gorillas of Gill Park. New York, Holiday House, 2003.
Hardback ISBN: 0823417514
Paperback not planned
Subject areas: Parks, Friendship, Music, Baseball, Aunts, Eccentrics and eccentricities
Synopsis: While spending the summer before seventh grade with his aunt, Willy Wilson finds his first friends ever in the colorful characters who all love the neighborhood park owned by an eccentric old man.
Hicks, Betty. Animal House and Iz. Brookfield, Ct., Roaring Brook Press, 2003.
Hardback ISBN: 0761318917 (trade) 0761327460 (library binding)
Paperback unknown
Subject areas: Stepfamilies, families, pets
Synopsis: Iz, formerly known as Elizabeth, has begun to enjoy the pandemonium of a spacey stepmother, mischievous stepbrothers, and an assortment of odd and unreliable pets.
Kinsey-Warnock, Natalie. Gifts From the Sea. New York, Knopf, distributed by Random House, 2003.
Hardback ISBN: 0375822577 (trade) 0375922571 (library binding)
Paperback planned July, 2005
Subject areas: Fathers and daughters, Babies, Lighthouses, Maine history
Synopsis: Quila and her father, living alone in a remote Maine lighthouse in the 1850s, find their lives profoundly changed when a baby washes ashore and they decide to keep her as part of their family.
Krull, Kathleen. Harvesting Hope; The Story of Cesar Chavez. New York, Harcourt, 2003.
Hardback ISBN: 0152014373
Paperback unknown
Other Formats: Braille, Cassette tape, Spanish
Subject Areas: Biography, Mexican Americans, Labor leaders, United Farm Workers, Migrant labor
Synopsis: A biography of Cesar Chavez, from age ten when he and his family lived happily on their Arizona ranch, to age thirty-eight when he led a peaceful protest against California migrant workers’ miserable working conditions.
Kurtz, Jane. Bicycle Madness. New York, Henry Holt, 2003.
Hardback ISBN: 080506981X
Paperback not planned
Subject areas: Biography, Frances Willard, Sex role, Bicycles and bicycling, Spelling bees, Friendship
Synopsis: In the late nineteenth century, Lillie gains friendship and help with a spelling bee from a neighbor, Frances Willard, who braves criticism to speak about women’s rights and learn to ride a bicycle. Includes historical notes.
Love, D. Anne. The Puppeteer’s Apprentice. New York, Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2003.
Hardback ISBN: 0689844247
Paperback ISBN: 0689844255
Subject areas: Puppets, Orphans, Middle Ages, England
Synopsis: A medieval orphan girl called Mouse gains the courage she needs to follow her dreams of becoming a puppeteer’s apprentice.
O’Connor, Barbara. Fame and Glory in Freedom, Georgia. New York, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2003.
Hardback ISBN: 0374322589
Paperback planned
Other formats: Cassette tape, Large print
Subject Areas: Interpersonal relations, School, Contests, Popularity
Synopsis: Unpopular sixth-grader Burdette “Bird” Weaver persuades the new boy at school, who everyone thinks is mean and dumb, to be her partner for a spelling bee that might win her everything she’s ever wanted.
Patterson, Nancy Ruth. A Simple Gift. New York, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2003
Hardback ISBN: 0374369240
Paperback unknown
Subject areas: Theater, Authorship, Conduct of life
Synopsis: A small-town community theater production based on one of her mother’s books brings Carrie a glimpse of her mother’s past and a new understanding of giving to others.
Stauffacher, Sue. Donuthead. New York, Alfred A. Knopf, Distributed by Random House, 2003.
Hardback ISBN: 0375824685 (trade) 037592468X (library binding)
Paperback planned July, 2005
Subject areas: Courage, Fear, Friendship, Mothers and sons, Single parent families
Synopsis: Franklin Delano Donuthead, a fifth grader obsessed with hygiene and safety, finds an unlikely friend and protector in Sarah Kervick, the tough new student who lives in a dirty trailer, bonds with his mother, and is an “irregular” as he is. CAUTION: LANGUAGE
Master List: Grades 6-8
Ayres, Katherine. Macaroni Boy. New York, Delacorte Press, 2003.
Hardback ISBN: 0385730160
Paperback ISBN: 0440418844
Subject Areas: Historical fiction, Catholic schools, Family life, Great Depression, Food poisoning.
Synopsis: In Pittsburgh in 1933, sixth grader Mike Costa notices a connection between several strange occurrences, but the only way he can find out the truth about what’s happening is to be nice to the class bully. Includes historical facts.
Collins, Suzanne. Gregor the Overlander. New York, Scholastic Press, 2003.
Hardback ISBN: 0439435366
Paperback planned
Subject Areas: Brothers and sisters, Animals, Missing persons, Fantasy
Synopsis: When eleven-year-old Gregor and his two-year-old sister are pulled into a strange underground world, they trigger an epic battle involving men, bats, rats, cockroaches, and spiders while on a quest foretold by ancient prophecy.
Cushman, Karen. Rodzina. New York, Clarion Books, 2003.
Hardback ISBN: 0618133518
Paperback planned
Other formats: Cassette tape, compact disc
Subject Areas: Polish Americans, Orphans, Orphan trains, Survival, U. S. West history.
Synopsis: A twelve-year old Polish girl is boarded onto an orphan train in Chicago with fears about traveling to the West and a life of unpaid slavery.
DeFelice, Cynthia C. Under the Same Sky. New York, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2003.
Hardback ISBN: 0374380325
Paperback planned
Subject Areas: Farm life, Migrant labor, Mexicans, Father and son
Synopsis: While trying to earn money for a motor bike, fourteen-year-old Joe Pedersesn becomes involved with the Mexicans who work on his family’s farm and develops a better relationship with his father.
DuPrau, Jeanne. The City of Ember. New York, Random House, 2003.
Hardback ISBN: 0375822739 (trade) and 0375922741 (library binding)
Paperback ISBN: 0375822747
Other formats: Cassette tape, Compact disc
Subject Areas: Fantasy
Synopsis: In the year 241, twelve-year-old Lina trades jobs on Assignment Day to be a messenger, to run to new places in her beloved but decaying city, perhaps even to glimpse Unknown Regions.
Hesse, Karen. Aleutian Sparrow. New York, Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2003.
Hardback ISBN: 0689861893
Paperback: Planned July, 2005
Other formats: Braille, Cassette tape, Compact disc
Subject areas: Aleuts, Racially mixed people, World War II, Concentration camps
Synopsis: An Aleutian Islander recounts her suffering during World War II in American internment camps designed to “protect” the population from the invading Japanese.
Hobbs, Will. Jackie’s Wild Seattle. New York, HarperCollins, 2003.
Hardback ISBN: 0688174744; 0060516313 (library binding)
Paperback planned
Other formats: Cassette tape
Subject areas: Wildlife rescue, Uncles, Brothers and sisters, Seattle
Synopsis: Fourteen-year-old Shannon and her little brother, Cody, spend the summer with their uncle, helping at a wildlife rescue center named Jackie’s Wild Seattle.
Korelitz, Jean. Interference Powder. New York, Cavendish Children’s Books, 2003.
Hardback ISBN: 0761451390
Paperback: No plans for a paperback
Subject Areas: Magic, School, Contests, Drawing, Mothers and daughters
Synopsis: Fifth-grader Nina Cabin happens upon a strange powder that causes events in her life to change, and not always for the better, as the School’s Brain Buster Extravaganza approaches and she takes her best friend’s place as representative for their class.
Murphy, Jim. An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793. New York, Clarion Books, 2003.
Hardback ISBN: 0395776082
Paperback: No plans for a paperback
Other formats: Cassette tape, Compact disc
Subject Areas: Yellow Fever, Pennsylvania history
Synopsis: It’s 1793, and there’s an invisible killer roaming the streets of Philadelphia. The city’s residents are fleeing in fear. This killer has a name – yellow fever – but everything else about it is a mystery. Its cause is unknown and there is no cure. This powerful dramatic account by award-winning author Jim Murphy traces the devastating course of the epidemic. An American Plague offers a fascinating glimpse into the conditions in American cities at the time of our nation’s birth while drawing thought-provoking parallels to modern-day epidemics.
Paulsen, Gary. How Angel Peterson Got His Name. New York, Wendy Lamb Books, 2003.
Hardback ISBN: 0385729499 (trade) and 0385900902 (library binding)
Paperback ISBN: 0440229359
Other formats: Compact disc
Subject Areas: Biography, American authors
Synopsis: Author Gary Paulsen relates tales from his youth in a small town in northwestern Minnesota in the late 1940s and early 1950s, such as skiing behind a souped-up car and imitating daredevil Evil Kneivel.
NOTE: Mature readers. Language.
Ray, Delia. Ghost Girl. New York, Clarion Books, 2003.
Hardback ISBN: 0618333770
Paperback: Unknown
Subject areas: School, Teachers, Grief, Skyline Drive in Virginia history
Synopsis: Eleven-year-old April is delighted when President and Mrs. Hoover build a school near her Madison County, Virginia home but her family’s poverty, grief over the accidental death of her brother, and other problems may mean that April can never learn to read from the wonderful teacher, Miss Vest.
Swallow, Pamela Curtis. It Only Looks Easy. Brookfield, Ct., Roaring Brook Press, 2003.
Hardback ISBN: 0761317902 (trade) 0761328661 (library binding)
Paperback: Unknown
Subject Areas: Interpersonal relations, Schools, Conduct of life, Alzheimer’s disease
Synopsis: On the first day of seventh grade when Kat “borrows” a bicycle to go see her dog who was hit the day before by a woman with Alzheimer’s disease, she learns about the serious consequences of impetuous actions and manages to make some new friends in the process.
White, Ruth. Tadpole. New York, Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 2003.
Hardback ISBN: 0374310025
Paperback: Unknown
Other formats: Cassette tape, Compact disc, Large print
Subject Areas: Child abuse, Orphans, Cousins, Family life
Synopsis: In rural Kentucky in 1955, Sheridan Collins, single mother of four lively girls, discovers that her orphaned nephew is being subject to brutality.
Woodruff, Elvira. The Ravenmaster’s Secret. New York, Scholastic Press, 2003.
Hardback ISBN: 0439281334
Paperback: No plans for a paperback
Subject Areas: Jacobites, Ravens, Prisoners, Tower of London, Historical fiction
Synopsis: The eleven-year-old son of the Ravenmaster at the Tower of London befriends a Jacobite rebel being held prisoner there.
Woodson, Jacqueline. Locomotion. New York, G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 2003
Hardback ISBN: 0399231153
Paperback ISBN: 04396497
Other formats: Cassette tape, Compact disc
Subject areas: Poetry, African American boys, Brothers and sisters, Foster home care, Orphans, School
Synopsis: In a series of poems, eleven-year-old Lonnie writes about his life, after the death of his parents, separated from his younger sister, living in a foster home, and finding his poetic voice at school.