Bateman,
Teresa.April Foolishness.Illustrated by Nadine Bernard Westcott. Albert
Whitman, 2004. Grades 1-3 Grandma, Grandpa, and the grandkids enjoy April Fools' Day on the farm. Broach,
Elise.Wet DogIllustrated
by David Catrow.Dial, 2005. Grades
Pre-K-1, AR Level 3.3 A dog'sattempts to cool
off on a hot day get him into trouble with a series of
people and finally lead him to interrupt a country wedding. Bruel,
Nick.Bad Kitty.Roaring
Brook Press, 2005. Grades Pre-K-2, AR Level 2.2 When a kitty
discovers there is no cat food in the house, she decides to become
very, very bad.
Crimi,
Carolyn.Henry and the Buccaneer Bunnies.Illustrated
by John Manders. Candlewick
Press, 2005.Grades 1-3, AR
Level 3.8 Captain Barnacle Black Ear, baddest of the BuccaneerBunnies, is ashamed of
his book-loving son, Henry,
until the day a great storm approaches.
Hest,
Amy.Mr. George Baker.Illustrated
by Jon J. Muth.Candlewick Press, 2004.
K-3,
Harry sits on the porch with Mr. GeorgeBaker,
an African American who is one hundred years old but can still
dance
and play the drums, waiting for the school bus that will take them both
to the class where they are learning to read. Hills, Tad.Duck
and Goose.Schwartz and Wade
Books,
2006.Grades
Pre-K-1, AR Level 2.6
Goose and Duck learn to work together to take care of a ball, which
they think is an egg
Hines,
Anna
Grossnickle.Winter Lights: A Season
in Poems and Quilts.Greenwillow Books, 2005. Grades 1-4 Hines celebrates winter in thoughtful poems and pictures of
gorgeous quilts full of bright, beautiful colors. Hoopey,
Tim.Tito, the Firefighter.Illustrated by Kimberly Hoffman.Raven Tree Press, 2004.Grades 1-3. AR Level 2.0 Tito, who admires his neighborhood bomberos (firefighters) and dreams of becoming a one himself,
is happy that his ability to speak both English and Spanish actually
helps the firefighters save the day. Hopkinson,
Deborah.Apples to Oregon.Illustrated by Nancy Carpenter. Antheneum
Books for Young Readers, 2004. Grades 1-4, AR Level 4.1
This book details the "slight true" story of a poineer who brought
apples, pears, grapes, and other fruit trees with him along the Oregon
Trail.
Johnson,
Angela.A Sweet Smell of Roses.Illustrated by Eric Velasquez. Simon & Schuster, 2005. Grades
K-3. AR Level 3.0 A jubilant glimpse of the youth involvement that played an
invaluable role in the Civil Rights movement Krosoczka,
Jarrett.Punk Farm.Alfred A. Knopf, 2005. Grades Pre-K-1
At the end of the day, while Farmer Joe gets ready for bed, his animals
tune their instruments to perform in a big concert as a rock band
called PunkFarm. Lewis,
E.B.This Little Light of
Mine.Simon
& Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2005. Grades Pre-K-1 Lewisillustrates the text of the
traditional African-American spiritual with luminous watercolors that
follow a young boy through his day in what appears to be the rural
South.
Moss,
Marissa.Mighty
Jackie, The
Strike Out Queen.Illustrated by C. F. Payne. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2004. Grades 1-4, AR Level 5.0,
Lexile 770 In 1931, seventeen-year-old Jackie Mitchell pitches against
Babe Ruth
and Lou Gehrig in an exhibition game, becoming the first professional
female pitcher in baseball history. Murawski,
Darlyne.Spiders
and Their Webs.National Geographic, 2004. Grades 2-5, AR Level 5.1 Photographs capture the natural beauty of spider webs while the
text discusses a characteristics shared by all spiders.
Pearson,
Susan.Who Swallowed
Harold?and
other poems about pets.Illustrated by
David Slonim. Marshall
Cavendish Children’s Books, 2005.
Grades K-4, AR Level 3.3
A collection of whimsical poems about animals. Polacco,
Patricia.Emma Kate.Penguin
Putnam Books for Young Readers, 2005. Grades
Pre-K-2, AR Level 2.0 EmmaKate
and her best friend, a toy elephant, share many activities, such as
homework and soccer practice, and even have their tonsils out at the
same time. Raven,
Margot
Theis.America’s White
Table.Illustrated by
Mike Benny. Sleeping
Bear Press, 2005.Grades 1-4 AR Level 3.8 Three children set a special whitetable in memory of
service members fallen or missing in action, and especially in honor of
their Uncle Jim, a POW in Vietnam. Smith,
Charles.I Am America.Scholastic, 2003. Grades 1-4, Through a series of pictures accompanied by simple text, this
book
explains that all children have similar appearances, feelings, likes,
dislikes and cultures. Woodson,
Jacqueline.Show Way.Illustrated by
Hudson Talbott.G.P. Putnam's
Sons, 2005. Grades 2-5 AR Level 3.8,
Lexile 770 The making of Showways,
or quilts which once served as secret maps for freedom-seeking slaves,
is a tradition passed from mother to daughter in the author's family. Grades 4-6
(Intermediate Division)
Amato, Mary. The Naked Mole-Rat
Letters.Holiday House, 2005. Grades 4-6, AR Level 4.3, Lexile 670 When her father begins a long-distance romance with a
Washington, D.C.
zookeeper, twelve-year-old Frankie sends fabricated emailletters to the
zookeeper in an attempt to end the relationship. Ashby, Ruth. Rocket Man: the Mercury
Adventure of John Glenn.Peachtree,
2004.
Grades 4-6, AR Level 6.1, Lexile 870 The author limits her biography to the historic orbital
flight made byJohnGlenn in February of
1962.
Auch, M.J.Wing Nut.Henry Holt, 2005.
Grades 5-7, AR level 4.4 When twelve-year-old Grady and his mother relocate yet
again, they find
work taking care of an elderly man, who teaches Grady about cars,
birds, and what it means to have a home.
Balliett, Blue. Chasing Vermeer.Scholastic,
2004.
Grades 5-8, AR Level 5.4, Lexile 770 When strange and seemingly unrelated events start to
happen and a precious Vermeer
painting disappears, eleven-year-olds Petra and Calder combine their
talents to solve an international art scandal. Birney, Betty. The Seven Wonders of
Sassafras Springs.Atheneum, 2005.
Grades 4-6, AR Level 4.8 Eben McAllister searches his small town to see if hecan find anything comparable to
the real SevenWonders of the World. Broach, Elise. Shakespeare’s Secret.Henry Holt, 2005. Named after a character in a Shakespeare
play, misfit sixth-grader Hero becomes interested in exploring this
unusual connection because of a valuable diamond supposedly hidden in
her new house, an intriguing neighbor, and the unexpected attention of
the most popular boy in school. Crisp, Marty. White Star: a Dog on
the
Titanic.Holiday House, 2004. Grades 4-6, AR Level 4.7 Twelve-year-old Sam, a passenger on the Titanic's maiden
sea voyage,
volunteers to help care for the dogs in the ocean liner's kennel and
becomes fast friends with the Irish setter of J. Bruce Ismay, the
ship's owner. Dalberg, Maurine. Escape to West Berlin.Farrar,
Straus and Giroux, 2004. Grades 5-8, AR Level 5.3, Lexile 830 In 1961 East Berlin, thirteen-year-old Heidi copes with the
stress of a crisis with her best friend, government pressure on her
father to leave his WestBerlin job, her mother's pregnancy, and the
ever-present threat of the closing of the border with WestBerlin. DiCamillo, Kate. The Miraculous Journey
of Edward Tulane.Candlewick, 2006.
Grades 3-6, AR Level 4.4, Lexile 700
EdwardTulane,
a cold-hearted and proud toy rabbit, loves only himself until he is
separated from the little girl who adores him and travels across the
country, acquiring new owners and listening to their hopes, dreams, and
histories. Hale, Shannon. Princess
Academy.Bloomsbury,
2005. Grades 5-8, AR Level 6.0, Lexile 890 While attending a strict academy for potential princesses
with the other girls from her mountain village, fourteen-year-old Miri
discovers unexpected talents and connections to her homeland. Hart, Alison. Anna’s Blizzard.Peachtree,
2005. Grades 3-5, AR Level 4.0 Having never excelled at schoolwork, twelve-year-old Anna discovers
that she may know a few things about survival when the 1888 Children's Blizzard traps her and
her classmates in their Nebraska schoolhouse. Hobbs, Valerie. Defiance.
Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2005. Grades 4-6, AR Level 4.0, While vacationing in the country, eleven-year-old Toby, a cancer
patient, learns some important lessons about living and dying from an
elderly poet and her cow. Kehret, Peg. The Ghost’s Grave.Dutton, 2005. Grades 4-6, AR Level 5.0 Apprehensive about spending the summer in Washington State
with his
Aunt Ethel when his parents get an overseas job, twelve-year-old Josh
soon finds adventure when he meets the ghost of a coal miner. Kinsey-Warnock, Natalie. Gifts from the
Sea.Knopf, 2003. Grades 3-6, AR Level, Lexile 970 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. Park, Linda Sue. Project Mulberry.Clarion,
2005. Grades 4-7, AR Level 4.3, Lexile 690 While working on a project for an
after-school club, Julia, a Korean-American girl, and her friend
Patrick learn not just about silkworms, but also about tolerance,
prejudice, friendship, patience, and more. Vande Velde, Vivian. Three Good Deeds.Harcourt,
2005. Grades 3-5, AR Level 5.3, Lexile 890 Caught stealing some goose eggs from a witch, Howard is
cursed for his
heartlessness and turned into a goose himself, and he can only become
human again by performing three good deeds. Wait, Lea. Wintering Well.Simon
& Schuster, 2004. Grades 5-8, AR Level 4.9, Lexile 790 Twelve-year-old Will Ames and his sister Cassie go to stay
with their
sister in nearby Wiscasset, Maine, after a disabling accident ruins
Will's plans for a career in farming. Weston, Elise. The Coastwatcher.
Peachtree, 2005. Grades 4-6, AR Level 4.0
During WWII, a young boy in Charleston, South Carolina spends his days
looking for the German Navy.
Wiles, Deborah.Each Little Bird That
Sings.Harcourt, 2005. Grades
4-6 AR Level 4.5, Lexile 760 Comfort Snowberger is well acquainted with death since her
family runs
the funeral parlor in their small southern town, but even so the
ten-year-old is unprepared for the series of heart-wrenching events thatbegins on the
first day of Easter vacation with the sudden death of her beloved
great-uncle. Wilson, Diane Lee.Black Storm Comin’.Margaret
K. McElderry, 2005. Grades 5-8 AR Level 5.5, Lexile 880 Twelve-year-old Colton, son of ablack
mother and a white father, takes a job with the Pony Express in 1860
after his father abandons the family on their California-bound wagon
train, and risks his life to deliver an important letter that may
affect the growing conflict between the North and South. Grades 7-12 (Young Adult)
Abrahams,
Peter. Down
the Rabbit Hole.
Laura Geringer, 2005. Grades 7 & up.
Like her idol Sherlock Holmes, eighth grader Ingrid Levin-Hill uses her
intellect to solve a murder case in her hometown of Echo Falls. Alphin, Elaine Marie. The Perfect Shot.Carolrhoda,
2005. Grades 8 & up.
Brian uses basketball to block out memories of his girlfriend and her
family who were gunned down a year ago, but the upcoming murder trial
and a high school history assignment force him to face the past and
decide how far he should go to see justice served. Auseon, Andrew. Funny Little Monkey.
Harcourt, 2005. Grades 9 & up
Arty, an abnormally short fourteen-year-old boy, enlists the help of a
group of students, known at school as the "pathetic losers," to take
revenge against his abusive, tall fraternal twin brother.
Draper, Sharon. Copper Sun.
Atheneum, 2006. Grades 8 & up.
Two fifteen-year-old girls--one a slave and the other an indentured
servant--escape their Carolina plantation and try to make their way to
Fort Moses, a Spanish colony that gives sanctuary to slaves.
Ehrenhaft, Daniel. Tell It To Naomi.
Delacorte,
2004. Grades 7 & up
In a harebrained scheme concocted by his neurotic older sister to forge a romantic
relationship with the
girl of his dreams, fifteen-year-old Dave Rosen pretends to be a female
advice columnist for his
school newspaper.
Flinn, Alex. Fade to Black.
Harper Tempest, 2005. Grades 8 & up
An HIV-positive high school student hospitalized after being attacked,
the bigot accused of the crime, and the only witness, a classmate with
Down Syndrome, reveal how the assult has changed their lives as they
tell of its aftermath.
Green, John. Looking for Alaska. Dutton, 2005. Grades 10
& up.
Sixteen-year-old Miles' first year at Culver Creek Preparatory School
in Alabama includes good friends and great pranks, but is defined by
the search for answers about life and
death after a fatal car crash.
Hautman, Pete. Invisible. Simon and
Schuster,
2005. Grades 7 & up
Doug and Andy are unlikely best friends--one a loner obsessed by his
model trains, the other a popular student involved in football and
theater--who grew up together and share a bond that nothing can sever. Hoose, Phillip. The Race to Save the
Lord God Bird.
Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2004. Grades 6 & up
This book tells the story of the ivory-billed woodpecker's extinction
in the United States, describing the encounters between this species
and humans and discussing what these encounters have taught us about
preserving endangered creatures
Johnson, Maureen. 13 Little Blue Envelopes.
HarperCollins, 2005. Grades 8 & up
When seventeen-year-old Ginny receives a packet of mysterious envelopes from her
favorite aunt, she leaves New Jersey to criss-cross Europe on a sort of
scavenger hunt that transforms her life. Lester, Julius. Day of Tears. Hyperion, 2005. Grades 7 & up
Told from multiple perspectives and in dialogue, Day of Tears details
the largest sell of slaves in American history. Lubar, David. Sleeping Freshmen Never
Lie.
Dutton,
2005. Grades 8 & up.
While navigating his first year of high school and awaiting the birth
of his new baby brother, Scott loses old friends and gains some
unlikely new ones as he hones his skills as a writer.
Lyon, George Ella. Sonny’s House of Spies.
Atheneum, 2004. Grades 7 & up.
In a small Alabama town in 1947-1956, Sonny searches for
answers about his father's
disappearance, "Uncle Marty," who looks after the family, and Mamby,
their black housekeeper.
Meyer, Stephanie. Twilight. Megan Tingley, 2005. Grades
8 & up.
When seventeen-year-old Bella leaves Phoenix to live with her father in
Forks, Washington, she meets an exquisitely handsome boy at school for
whom she feels an overwhelming attraction and who she comes to realize
might be a vampire.
Morgenroth, Kate. Jude.
Simon
and Schuster, 2004. Grades 9 & up.
Still reeling from his drug-dealing father's murder, moving in with the
wealthy mother he never knew, and transferring to a private school,
fifteen-year-old Jude
is tricked into
pleading guilty to a crime he did not commit. Murdock, Catherine Gilbert. Dairy Queen.
Houghton
Mifflin, 2006. Grades 7 & up
After spending her summer running the family farm and training the
quarterback for her school's rival football team, sixteen-year-old D.J.
decides to go out for the sport herself, not anticipating the reactions
of those around her.
Myers, Walter Dean. Autobiography of My
Dead Brother.
HarperTempest/Amistad, 2005. Grades 8 & up.
Jesse uses his sketchbook and comic strips to make sense of his home in
Harlem and the loss of a close friendship.
Pearson, Mary E. A Room on Lorelei Street. Henry
Holt, 2005. Grades 10 & up.
To escape a miserable existence taking care of her alcoholic mother,
seventeen-year-old Zoe rents a room
from an eccentric woman, but her earnings as a waitress after school
are minimal and she must go to extremes to cover expenses.
Shusterman, Neal. The Schwa Was Here.
Dutton, 2004. Grades 6-8
8th grader Antsy befriends the Schwa,
an "invisible-ish" boy who is tired of blending into his surroundings
and going unnoticed by nearly everyone. Sonnenblick,
Jordan. Drums, Girls and
Dangerous Pie.Scholastic,
2005. Grades 6-8
When his younger brother is diagnosed with leukemia, thirteen-year-old
Steven tries to deal with his complicated emotions, his school life,
and his desire to support his family.
Staples, Suzanne Fisher. Under the Persimmon Tree.
Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2005. Grades 7 and up
During the 2001 Afghan War, the lives of a young refugee from
Afghanistan and an American-Muslim teacher intersect at a school
in Peshawar, Pakistan.
Volponi, Paul. Black and White. Viking, 2005. Grades 9 &
up
Two star high school basketball players, one black and one white, experience the
justice system differently after getting caught in a series of armed
robberies.
Weaver, Will. Full Service.
Farrar, Straus and
Giroux, 2005 Grades 8 & up
In the summer of 1965, teenager Paul Sutton, a Minnesota farm
boy, takes a job at a gas station in town, where his strict religious
upbringing is challenged by new people and experiences.
Weeks, Sarah. So B. It: A Novel.
Laura Geringer,
2004. Grades 5-8
After spending her life with her mentally handicapped mother and
agoraphobic neighbor, twelve-year-old Heidi sets out from Reno, Nevada,
to New York to find out who she is. Westerfeld, Scott.Peeps.
Razorbill, 2005. Grades 9 & up
Cal Thompson is a carrier of a parasite that causes vampirism and must
hunt down all of the girlfriends he has unknowingly infected.