For Rising Sixth Graders--(scroll down for other grade levels)
Angelberger: The Strange Case of Origami Yoda c2010 realistic fiction
Sixth-grader Tommy and his friends
describe their interactions with a paper finger puppet of Yoda, worn by their
weird classmate Dwight, as they try to figure out whether or not the puppet can
really predict the future. Includes instructions for making Origami Yoda.
Cushman: The Ballad of
Lucy Whipple c1996 historical fiction
In 1849, twelve-year-old California Morning, who renames herself Lucy, is distraught when her mother moves the family from Massachusetts to a rough California mining town.
Di Camillo: The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup and a Spool of Thread c2003 fantasy
The adventures of Despereaux Tilling, a small mouse of unusual talents, the princess that he loves, the servant girl who longs to be a princess and a devious rat determined to bring them all to ruin.
DuPrau: City of Ember
c2003 science fiction
In the year 241, twelve-year-old
Lina trades jobs on Assignment Day to be a Messenger to run to new places in
her decaying but beloved city, perhaps even to glimpse Unknown Regions.
Fleischman: Escape! The Story of the Great Houdini c2006 biography
A biography of the magician, ghost chaser, aviator and king of escape artists whose amazing feats are remembered long after his death in 1926. Profiling his early years, personal life and great accomplishments in show business, the story of the famous magician, Harry Houdini, comes to life through a review of his greatest tricks and most amazing feats, complete with index, photos and author's notes.
Friedman: Freedom
Walkers: The Story of the Montgomery Bus Boycott c2006 narrative nonfiction
Covers the events surrounding and
including the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the end of segregation on buses.
Golding: The Secret Within c2002 realistic fiction
Carly Chambers spends her summer
days delivering mysterious packages for her harsh father but when she sneaks
out at night to find some freedom, she faces danger from all sides.
Thirteen-year-old Bonnie has a
feeling of foreboding on the very day that her six-year-old brother Matt and
their dog Pookie are abducted, and she becomes involved in a major search
effort as well as a frightening adventure.
Levine: Hana’s Suitcase: A True Story c2002 biography, narrative nonfiction
A biography of a Czech girl who
died in the Holocaust, told in alternating chapters with an account of how the
curator of a Japanese Holocaust center learned about her life after Hana's
suitcase was sent to her.
Lourie: The Manatee
Scientist: Saving Vulnerable Species c2011 nonfiction
Scientists in Florida, West Africa
and the Amazon Basin share information with the goal of protecting the docile
and sometimes elusive manatee.
Potter: Slob c2009 realistic fiction, mystery
Picked on, overweight genius Owen
tries to invent a television that can see the past to find out what happened
the day his parents were killed.
Rhodes: Ninth Ward
c2010 realistic fiction
In New Orleans' Ninth Ward,
twelve-year-old Lanesha, who can see spirits, and her adopted grandmother have
no choice but to stay and weather the storm as Hurricane Katrina bears down
upon them.
Ryan: Esperanza Rising c2000 realistic fiction
Esperanza and her mother are forced
to leave their life of wealth and privilege in Mexico to go work in the labor
camps of Southern California, where they must adapt to the harsh circumstances
facing Mexican farm workers on the eve of the Great Depression.
Sachar: Holes
c1998 realistic fiction
Stanley is falsely accused of a
crime and ends up in a juvenile detention center where he is forced to dig
holes everyday. It is supposed to build his character, but he suspects there
are ulterior motives.
Selznick: The Invention of Hugo Cabret: A Novel in Words and Pictures c2007 historical fiction
When twelve-year-old Hugo, an
orphan living and repairing clocks within the walls of a Paris train station in
1931, meets a mysterious toyseller and his goddaughter, his undercover life and
his biggest secret are jeopardized.
Smith: Peak c2007 realistic fiction, adventure
A fourteen-year-old boy attempts to
be the youngest person to reach the top of Mount Everest.
Spinelli: Stargirl c2000 realistic fiction
In this story about the perils of
popularity, the courage of nonconformity and the thrill of first love, an
eccentric student named Stargirl changes Mica High School forever.
Vanderpool: Moon over
Manifest c2010 historical fiction
Twelve-year-old Abilene Tucker is
the daughter of a drifter who, in the summer of 1936, sends her to stay with an
old friend in Manifest, Kansas, where he grew up and where she hopes to find
out some things about his past.
For Rising Seventh Graders
Anderson: Fever, 1793
c2000 historical fiction
In 1793 Philadelphia,
sixteen-year-old Matilda Cook, separated from her sick mother, learns about
perseverance and self-reliance when she is forced to cope with the horrors of a
yellow fever epidemic.
Bodeen: The Compound
c2008 suspense
After his parents, two sisters, and
he have spent six years in a vast underground compound built by his wealthy
father to protect them from a nuclear holocaust, fifteen-year-old Eli, whose
twin brother and grandmother were left behind, discovers that his father has
perpetrated a monstrous hoax on them all.
Caputo: 10,000 Days of
Thunder: A History of the Vietnam War c2005 nonfiction
Provides an in-depth examination of
the significant events and battles of the Vietnam War, discusses the resulting
social unrest in the United States, and offers profiles of the major political
players of the period.
Collins: The Hunger Games c2008 science fiction [series:
Hunger Games trilogy]
In a future North America, where
the rulers of Panem maintain control through an annual televised survival
competition pitting young people from each of the twelve districts against one
another, sixteen-year-old Katniss's skills are put to the test when she
voluntarily takes her younger sister's place.
Ellis: The Breadwinner
c1990 historical fiction [series: Breadwinner trilogy]
Because the Taliban rulers of
Kabul, Afghanistan, impose strict limitations on women's freedom and behavior,
eleven-year-old Parvana must disguise herself as a boy so that her family can
survive after her father's arrest.
Erskine: Mockingbird
(Mok'ing'burd) c2008 realistic fiction
Ten-year-old Caitlin, who has
Asperger's Syndrome, struggles to understand emotions, show empathy, and make
friends at school, while at home she seeks closure by working on a project with
her father.
Fleming: The Great and
Only Barnum: The Tremendous, Stupendous Life of Showman P.T. Barnum c2009
biography
Biography of P.T. Barnum, showman
and founder of the Barnum & Bailey Circus. Readers can visit Barnum's
American Museum; meet Tom Thumb, the miniature man (39 in. tall) and his tinier
bride (32 in.); experience the thrill Barnum must have felt, at age 60, he
joined the circus.
Funke: The Thief Lord
c2001 suspense
Two brothers, having run away from
the aunt who plans to adopt the younger one, are sought by a detective hired by
their aunt, but they have found shelter with -- and the protection of --
Venice's "Thief Lord."
Goodman: Other Side of
the Island c2008 science fiction
Born in the eighth year of
Enclosure, ten-year-old Honor lives in a highly regulated colony with her
defiant parents, but when they have an illegal second child and are taken away,
it is up to Honor and her friend Helix, another "Unpredictable," to
uncover a terrible secret about their Island and the Corporation that runs
everything.
Green: Football Genius
c2007 realistic fiction
Troy, a sixth-grader with an
unusual gift for predicting football plays before they occur, attempts to use
his ability to help his favorite team, the Atlanta Falcons, but he must first
prove himself to the coach and players.
Haddix: Double
Identity c2005 science fiction, suspense
Thirteen-year-old Bethany's parents
have always been overprotective, but when they suddenly drop out of sight with
no explanation, leaving her with an aunt she never knew existed, Bethany
uncovers shocking secrets that make her question everything she thought she
knew about herself and her family.
Hampton: September 11,
2001: Attack on New York City c2003 nonfiction
Describes the September 11 attacks
in the United States and presents several personal stories of tragedy told by
New Yorkers who lived through the collapse of the World Trade Center.
Horowitz: Stormbreaker
2000 suspense [series: Alex Rider Adventures]
Investigating the death of his
uncle, fourteen-year-old orphan Alex Rider learns that his uncle was actually a
spy and was preparing Alex to be a spy as well. He is then unwillingly
recruited by the British intelligence service MI6 to carry on his uncle's assignment.
He continues to track down villains to stop their plots towards power and
revenge.
Pfeffer: Life As We
Knew It c2006 science fiction [series: Life as We Knew It]
When a meteor hits the moon and
knocks it closer to Earth’s orbit, 16-year-old Miranda’s life is turned
upside-down. Miranda, through her diary entries, shows her family’s struggle
for survival in a world where food, warmth, sunlight, and hope are scarce. Even
though life goes from bad to worse, Miranda finds strength and courage in
herself and in her family to continue living.
Riordan: The Lost Hero
c2010 fantasy, adventure [series: Heroes of Olympus]
Jason, Piper and Leo, three
students from a school for "bad kids," find themselves at Camp
Half-Blood, where they learn that they are demigods and begin a quest to free
Hera, who has been imprisoned by Mother Earth herself.
Teigemeier: Smile c2010
nonfiction, graphic format
An autobiography in graphic novel
format describes how the author lost two of her front teeth in an accident when
she was twelve, and her subsequent struggles with various corrective dental
techniques throughout adolescence.
Weeks: So Be It
c2004 realistic fiction
After spending her life with her
mentally retarded mother and agoraphobic neighbor, twelve-year-old Heidi sets
out from Reno, Nevada, to New York to find out who she is.
Westerfeld: Uglies c2005
science fiction [series: Uglies]
Just before their sixteenth
birthdays, when they will be transformed into beauties whose only job is to
have a great time, Tally's best friend runs away and Tally must find her and
turn her in, or never become pretty at all.
For Rising Eighth Graders
Bartoletti: Hitler
Youth: Growing Up in Hitler’s Shadow c2005 nonfiction
Against the backdrop of Hitler’s
world, we follow German young people through the many different organizations
which formed them into soldiers faithful to the fatherland.
Carson: Gifted Hands:
The Story of Ben Carson c1990 autobiography
Captures the physician's fight to
beat the odds, the secret behind his outstanding accomplishments, and what
drives him to take risks.
Condie: Matched c2010
science fiction [series: Matched trilogy]
Cassia has always trusted the
Society to make the right choices for her, so when Xander appears on-screen at
her Matching ceremony, Cassia knows he is her ideal mate--until Ky Markham's
face appears for an instant before the screen fades to black.
Cooney: Code Orange
c2005 realistic fiction, suspense
While conducting research for a
school paper on smallpox, Mitty finds an envelope containing 100-year-old
smallpox scabs and fears that he has infected himself and all of New York.
Cummings: Red Kayak
c2004 realistic fiction
Living near the water on Maryland's
Eastern Shore, thirteen-year-old Brady and his best friends J.T. and Digger
become entangled in a tragedy which tests their friendship and their ideas
about right and wrong.
Dashner: The Maze
Runner c2009 science fiction [series: Maze Runner trilogy]
Sixteen-year-old Thomas wakes up
with no memory in the middle of a maze and realizes he must work with the
community in which he finds himself if he is to escape.
Giblin: Good Brother,
Bad Brother: The Story of Edwin Booth and John Wilkes Booth c2005
collective biography
Through a review of their family
and an examination of their political ideologies, a biography presents a look
at two who stood on opposing sides during the Civil War and how one, John Wilkes
Booth, became the infamous assassin of President Abraham Lincoln.
Gorman: Games c2007 realistic fiction
When fourteen-year-old rivals Boot
Quinn and Mick Sullivan fight once too often, the new principal devises the
punishment of having to play games together at his office, where they learn
which battles are worth fighting.
Herlong: The Great
Wide Sea c2008 adventure
Still mourning the death of their
mother, three brothers go with their father on an extended sailing trip off the
Florida Keys and have a harrowing adventure at sea.
Klavan: The Last Thing
I Remember c2009 suspense
High school student Charlie West
awakens bloody and bruised in a concrete bunker, only to discover that he has
lost a year of his life and remembers nothing about escaping from prison after
being convicted of murdering his former best friend, or why he is being pursued
by both the law and a group of terrorists trying to bring down the government
of the United States.
Lupica: Million Dollar
Throw c2009 realistic fiction
Eighth-grade star quarterback Nate
Brodie's family is feeling the stress of the troubled economy, and Nate is
frantic because his best friend Abby is going blind, so when he gets a chance
to win a million dollars if he can complete a pass during the halftime of a New
England Patriot's game, he is nearly overwhelmed by the pressure to succeed.
McWhorter: A Dream of
Freedom: The Civil Rights Movement from 1954 to 1968 c2004 nonfiction
Explores the sacrifices and
triumphs of African Americans in their pursuit of social and political
equality, and examines the often violent resistance they met from white
Americans.
Mulligan: Trash
c2010 mystery
A group of fourteen year old boys,
who make a living picking garbage from the outskirts of a large city, find
something special and mysterious that brings terrifying consequences.
Paolini: Eragon
c2003 fantasy [series: Inheritance Cycle]
In Alagaesia, a fifteen-year-old
boy of unknown lineage called Eragon finds a mysterious stone that weaves his
life into an intricate tapestry of destiny, magic and power, peopled with
dragons, elves and monsters.
Park: When My Name was
Keoko c2002 historical fiction
With national pride and occasional
fear, a brother and sister face the increasingly oppressive occupation of Korea
by Japan during World War II, which threatens to suppress Korean culture
entirely.
Patent: Buffalo and
the Indians: A Shared Destiny c2006 nonfiction
Provides a review of the bond
between Native Americans and buffaloes throughout history and examines how
European settlers disrupted nature's balance and nearly caused the extinction
of an animal so highly respected by the native tribes.
Rinaldi: A Break with
Charity: A Story about the Salem Witch Trials c1992 historical fiction
In 1706, the town of Salem is in an
uproar due to the Salem witch trials. The story is told from the perspective of
Susanna English, who is caught between her desire to join the malicious group
of girls who are spreading the mischief and her fear of what they are doing.
Van Draanen: Runaway c2006
realistic fiction
After running away from her fifth
foster home, Holly, a twelve-year-old orphan, travels across the country, keeping
a journal of her experiences and struggle to survive.
Werlin: The Rules of
Survival c2005 realistic fiction
Seventeen-year-old Matthew recounts
his attempts, starting at a young age, to free himself and his sisters from the
grip of their emotionally and physically abusive mother.
White: Surviving
Antarctica: Reality TV 2083 c2005 science fiction, adventure
In the year 2083, five
fourteen-year-olds who were deprived by chance of the opportunity to continue
their educations reenact Scott's 1910-1913 expedition to the South Pole as
contestants on a reality television show, secretly aided by a Department of
Entertainment employee.
