2008-2009
Master List: Grades 3-5
Corbett, Sue. Free baseball. New York, Dutton Children’s Books, 2006.
Hardback ISBN: 0525471200 (hardcover) 9780525471202 (hardcover)
Paperback: Planned, no date
Other formats: CD
Subject areas: Minor league baseball; Baseball; Mothers and sons; Single parent families; Cuban Americans – Florida; Florida
Synopsis: Angry with his mother for having too little time for him, eleven-year-old Felix takes advantage of an opportunity to become batboy for a minor league baseball team, hoping to someday be like his father, a famous Cuban outfielder.
Dowell, Frances O’Roark. Phineas L. MacGuire…erupts!: the first experiment. New York, Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2006.
Hardback ISBN: 9781416901952
Paperback: 2007
Paperback ISBN: 1416901957
Other formats: Large Print
Subject areas: Schools; Science – Experiments; Friendship
Synopsis: Fourth grade science whiz Phineas L. MacGuire is forced to team up with the new boy in class on a science fair project, but the boy’s quirky personality causes Phineas to wonder if they have any chance of winning.
Ferber, Brenda A. Julia’s kitchen. New York, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2006.
Hardback ISBN: 0374399328 9780374399320
Paperback: No
Other formats: No
Subject areas: Grief; Fathers and daughters; Death; Cookery; Fires; Jews— United States.
Synopsis: When her mother and younger sister are killed in a house fire, eleven-year-old Cara struggles to find a way to deal with her emotions and to reach out to her grieving father.
Grimes, Nikki. The road to Paris. New York, G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 2006
Hardback ISBN: 0399245375 9780399245374
Paperback: Planned. No date.
Other formats: Cassette, CD
Subject areas: Foster home care: African Americans; Brothers and sisters
Synopsis: Inconsolable at being separated from her older brother, eight-year-old Paris is apprehensive about her new foster family but just as she learns to trust them, she faces a life-changing decision.
Jenkins, Emily. Toys go out; being the adventures of a knowledgeable Stingray, a toughy little buffalo, and someone called Plastic. New York, Schwartz & Wade Books, 2006.
Hardback ISBN: 0375836047 (hardcover) 9780375836046 (hardcover) 0375936041 (lib. bdg.) 9780375936043 (lib. bdg.) 9780375836046 9780375936043
Paperback: Planned Fall 2008.
Other formats: Cassette, CD, Ebook
Subject areas: Toys; Best friends; Friendship; Adventure and adventurers
Synopsis: Six stories relate the adventures of three best friends who happen to be toys.
Loizeaux, William. Wings. New York, Farrar, Strauss and Giroux, 2006.
Hardback ISBN: 0374348022 9780374348021
Paperback: No
Other formats: No
Subject areas: Mockingbirds; Wildlife rescue; Human-animal relationships; Loss (Psychology)
Synopsis: Ten-year-old Nick, who misses his father, finds companionship after rescuing an injured baby mockingbird.
Lombard, Jenny. Drita, my homegirl. New York, G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 2006.
Hardback ISBN: 0399243801 9780399243806
Paperback: 2006 Scholastic
Paperback ISBN: 9780439020060 9780545008778 0545008778 0439020069
Other formats: No
Subject areas: Refugees; Emigration and immigration; Albanian Americans; Family life – New York (State); Friendship; Schools; New York (N.Y.)
Synopsis: When ten-year-old Drita and her family, refugees from Kosovo, move to New York, Drita is teased about not speaking English well, but after a popular student named Maxine is forced to learn about Kosovo as a punishment for teasing Drita, the two girls soon bond.
Lubar, David. Punished! Plain City, OH, Darby Creek Publishing, 2006.
Hardback ISBN: 1581960425 (hardcover) : 9781581960426 (hardcover) 9781581960631 1581960638
Paperback: 2007Scholastic
Paperback ISBN: 0439026105 (pbk.) 9780439026109 (pbk.)
Other formats: No
Subject areas: Boys; Friendship; Word games
Synopsis: Logan and his friend Benedict are playing tag in the library. Logan gets caught when he runs into a mysterious man. When Logan doesn’t apologize sincerely, the mysterious gentleman punishes him by causing him to speak in puns. Only finding seven examples each of oxymorons, anagrams and palindromes within the time limits will return Logan to normal.
Mackall Dandi Daley. Larger-than-life Lara. New York, Dutton Children’s Books, 2006.
Hardback ISBN: 0525477268 9780525477266
Paperback: Planned. No date
Other formats: No
Subject areas: Authorship; Bullies; Prejudices; Obesity; Family problems; Schools
Synopsis: Using the writing techniques she has learned in school, fourth grader Laney relates how an obese girl new to the class changes the lives of those around her, despite being bullied by her peers.
Park, Linda Sue. Archer’s quest. New York, Clarion Books, 2006.
Hardback ISBN: 9780618596317 0618596313
Paperback: Planned. 2008 by Random House
Other formats: CD, Ebook
Subject areas: Tongmyong Wang, King of Korea, 58-19 B. C.; Time travel; Magic; Kings, queens, rulers, etc.: Korea – History – To 935; Korean Americans
Synopsis: Twelve-year-old Kevin Kim helps Chu-mong, a legendary King of ancient Korea, return to his own time.
Pennypacker, Sara. Clementine. New York, Hyperion Books for Children, 2006.
Hardback ISBN: 0786838825 9780786838820
Paperback: Planned January, 2008
Other formats: Cassette; CD; Ebook
Subject areas: Friendship; Family; Apartment houses; Schools; Humorous stories
Synopsis: While sorting through difficulties in her friendship with her neighbor, Margaret, eight-year-old Clementine gains several unique hairstyles while also helping her father in his efforts to banish pigeons from the front of their apartment building.
Master List: Grades 6-8
Auch, Mary Jane. One-handed catch. New York, Henry Holt and Company, 2006.
Hardback ISBN: 0805079009 (hardcover : acid-free paper) 9780805079005 (hardcover : acid-free paper)
Paperback: No
Other formats: No
Subject areas: Amputees; Self-reliance; People with disabilities; Family life – New York (State); New York (State) – History – 20 th Century
Synopsis: After losing his hand in an accident in his father’s butcher shop in 1946, sixth-grader Norman uses hard work and humor to learn to live with his disability and to succeed at baseball, art and other activities.
Balliett, Blue. The Wright 3. New York, Scholastic Press, 2006.
Hardback ISBN: 0439693675 (hardcover) 9780439693677
Paperback ISBN: 0439929253 (pbk.) 9780439929257 (pbk.)
Other formats: Cassette, CD, Ebook, Large print
Subject areas: Robie House ( Chicago, ILL); Wright, Frank Lloyd, 1867-1959; Schools; Chicago (ILL); Mystery and detective stories
Synopsis: In the midst of a series of unexplained accidents and mysterious coincidences, sixth graders Calder, Petra and Tommy lead their classmates in an attempt to keep Frank Lloyd Wright’s famous Robie House from being demolished.
Larson, Kirby. Hattie big sky. New York, Delacorte Press, 2006.
Hardback ISBN: 0385733135 (trade) 0385903324 (reinforced) 9780385733137 9780385903325
Paperback: Planned Summer 2008
Other formats: Braille, CD, Ebook, Large print
Subject areas: Self-reliance; Frontier and pioneer life; Orphans; Montana – History – 20 th Century; World War, 1914-1918 – United States
Synopsis: After inheriting her uncle’s homesteading claim in Montana, sixteen-year-old orphan Hattie Brooks travels from Iowa in 1917 to make a home for herself and encounters some unexpected problems related to the war being fought in Europe.
Lord, Cynthia. Rules. New York, Scholastic Press, 2006.
Hardback ISBN: 0439443822 (hdbk.) 9780439443821 (hdbk.)
Paperback ISBN: 0545036402 (pbk.) 9780545036405 (pbk.)
Other formats: Cassette, CD, Ebook, Large print
Subject areas: Autism; Brothers and sisters; People with disabilities
Synopsis: Frustrated at life with an autistic brother, twelve-year-old Catherine longs for a normal existence but her world is further complicated by a friendship with a young paraplegic.
Lowry, Lois. Gossamer. Boston, Houghton Mifflin Co., 2006
Hardback ISBN: 0618685502 (hardcover) 9780618685509
Paperback: No
Other formats: Cassette, CD, Ebook, Large print
Subject areas: Dreams; Nightmares; Foster home care; Child abuse
Synopsis: While learning to bestow dreams, a young dream giver tries to save an eight-year-old boy from the effects of both his abusive past and the nightmares inflicted on him by the frightening Sinisteeds.
Myers, Anna. Confessions from the principal’s chair. New York, Walker and Company, 2006.
Hardback ISBN: 0802795609 9780802795601
Paperback: No
Other formats: CD
Subject areas: Bullying; Schools; Friendship; Mothers and daughters; Oklahoma
Synopsis: After participating in a cruel prank, her mother moves them to Oklahoma, where fourteen-year-old Robin is mistaken for the substitute principal and gets to see a new perspective on bullying.
Pearsall, Shelley. All of the above. New York, Little, Brown and Company, 2006.
Hardback ISBN: 031611524X 9780316115247
Paperback: Planned January, 2008
Other formats: No
Subject areas: Interpersonal relations; Self-confidence; Family problems; City and town life; Geometry; Schools
Synopsis: Four urban middle school students, their teacher and other community members relate how a school project to build the world’s largest tetrahedron affects the lives of everyone involved.
Ray, Delia. Singing hands. New York, Clarion Books, 2006.
Hardback ISBN: 0618657622 9780618657629
Paperback: No
Other formats: No
Subject areas: Conduct of life; Deaf; People with disabilities; American Sign Language; Family life – Alabama; Clergy; Alabama – History – 20 th Century
Synopsis: In the late 1940’s, twelve-year-old Gussie, a minister’s daughter, learns the definition of integrity while helping with a celebration at the Alabama School for the Deaf – her punishment for misdeeds against her deaf parents and their boarders.
Roy, Jennifer. Yellow star. Tarrytown, NY. Marshall Cavendish, 2006.
Hardback ISBN: 076145277X 9780761452775
Paperback: Planned. No date.
Other formats: Cassette, CD, Ebook
Subject areas: Jews – Persecutions – Poland – Lodz; Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945) – Poland; Jews- Poland; Family life – Poland; Poland – History – Occupation, 1939-1945
Synopsis: From 1939, when Syvia is four and a half years old, to 1945 when she has just turned ten, a Jewish girl and her family struggle to survive in Poland’s Lodz ghetto during the Nazi occupation.
Shafer, Audrey. The mailbox. New York, Delcaorte Press, 2006.
Hardback ISBN: 0385733445 (trade) 9780385733441 (trade) 0385903618 (glb) 9780385903615 (glb)
Paperback: Planned. No date.
Other formats: Cassette, CD
Subject areas: Foster home care; Uncles; Death
Synopsis: When twelve-year-old Gabe tries to hide his uncle’s death from the local authorities, he is not prepared for what happens when this secret is discovered.
Tolan, Stephanie. Listen! New York, Harper Collins, 2006.
Hardback ISBN: 9780060579357 (trade bdg.) 0060579358 (trade bdg.) 9780060579364 (lib. bdg.) 0060579366 (lib. bdg.)
Paperback: Planned June, 2008
Other formats: Large print
Subject areas: Dogs – Training; Accidents; Mothers; Death; Charlotte (N.C.)
Synopsis: During her solitary convalescence from a crippling accident, twelve-year-old Charley finds a wild dog, and the arduous process of training him leads her to explore her feelings about her mother’s death two years earlier.
Weeks, Sarah. Jumping the scratch. New York, Laura Geringer, 2006.
Hardback ISBN: 9780060541095 (trade bdg.) 0060541091 (trade bdg.) 9780060541101 (lib. bdg.) 0060541105 (lib. bdg.)
Paperback ISBN: 9780060541118 0060541113 Harper Trophy
Other formats: Cassette, CD, Ebook
Subject areas: Memory; Aunts; Child sexual abuse
Synopsis: After moving with his mother to a trailer park to care for an injured aunt, eleven-year-old Jamie Reardon struggles to cope with a deeply buried secret.
Winthrop, Elizabeth. Counting on Grace. New York, Wendy Lamb Books, 2006.
Hardback ISBN: 0385908784 (lib. bdg.) 9780385908788 (lib. bdg.) 038574644X (hardcover) : 9780385746441 (hardcover)
Paperback: 9780553487831 (pbk.) 0553487833 (pbk.)
Other formats: CD, Ebook
Subject areas: Child labor; Cotton manufacture; Friendship; Pownal (VT)
Synopsis: It’s 1910 in Pownal, VT. At twelve Grace and her friend Arthur must go to work in the mill, helping their mothers work the looms. Together Grace and Arthur write a secret letter to the Child Labor Board about underage children working in the mill. A few weeks later, Lewis Hine, a famous reformer arrives undercover to gather evidence. Grace meets him and appears in some of his photographs changing her life forever.