Book Lists
Adventure
Fantasy
Historical Fiction
Humor
Mystery
Graphic Novel
Adventure
Title: The Adventures of Granny Clearwater & Little Critter
Author: Kimberly Willis Holt
Summary: As the Clearwaters travel west, fearless Granny and Little Critter are jolted from the horse-drawn wagon and have many exotic adventures before being reunited with the rest of their family.
Title: I, Q: Independence Hall
Author: Roland Smith
Summary: Thirteen-year-old Q and fifteen-year-old Angela expect their lives to become complicated when his mother and her father, wildly popular musicians, marry, but not that they will face spies and terrorists in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Title: Heaven Eyes
Author: David Almond
Summary: Having escaped from their orphanage on a raft, Erin, January, and Mouse float down into another world of abandoned warehouses and factories, meeting a strange old man and an even stranger girl with webbed fingers and little memory of her past.
Title: The Hidden Boy
Author: Jon Berkeley
Summary: When Bea and her family are transported aboard an underwater bus to a strange land, her younger brother Theo is lost during the voyage, and somehow it falls to Bea to find out what has become of him.
Title: Paws off, Cheddarface!
Author: Geronimo Stilton
Summary: When an impostor attempts to take over “The Rodent’s Gazette,” Geronimo Stilton enlists the aid of his sister, Thea, and his cousin, Trap, to reverse the scheme.
Title: Smells Like Treasure
Author: Suzanne Selfors
Summary: Farm boy Homer faces another challenger for his uncle’s spot in the society of Legends, Objects, Secrets, and Treasures but Dog’s hidden ability to smell treasure guides the duo as clues lead them to fantastic mansions and hidden islands.
Title: So Yesterday: A Novel
Author: Scott Westerfeld
Summary: Hunter Braque, a New York City teenager who is paid by corporations to spot what is “cool,” combines his analytical skills with girlfriend Jen’s creative talents to find a missing person and thwart a conspiracy directed at the heart of consumer culture.
Title: Standard Hero Behavior
Author: John David Anderson
Summary: When fifteen-year-old Mason Quayle finds out that their town of Darlington is about to be attacked by orcs, goblins, ogres, and trolls, he goes in search of some heroes to save the day.
Title: The Whipping Boy
Author: Sid Fleischman
Summary: A bratty prince and his whipping boy have many adventures when they inadvertently trade places after becoming involved with dangerous outlaws.
Title: Captain Flynn and the Pirate Dinosaurs
Author: Giles Andreae
Summary: When Flinn enters the classroom art closet for supplies, his imagination sends him on a high-seas adventure filled with pirates, dinosaurs, mystery, and swordfights.
Fantasy
Title: The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore
Author: William Joyce
Summary: Morris Lessmore loves words, stories and books, and after a tornado carries him to another land, dreary and colorless, he finds a single book in color that leads him to an amazing library where, he learns, the books need him as much as he needs them.:
Title: Dragons & Fantasy
Author: Kythera of Anevern
Summary: This book, Dragons & fantasy, introduces fundamentals of drawing dragons and fantasy subjects to new artists — particularly those with real interest in skill development. Included is an emphasis on helping students find their “inner” artist.
Title: Fantasy Encyclopedia
Author: Judy Allen
Summary: A guide to fabulous beasts and magical beings-from elves and dragons to vampires and wizards
Title: No Passengers Beyond this Point
Author: Gennifer Choldenko
Summary: With their house in foreclosure, sisters India and Mouse and brother Finn are sent to stay with an uncle in Colorado until their mother can join them, but when the plane lands, the children are welcomed by cheering crowds to a strange place where each of them has a perfect house and a clock that is ticking down the time.:
Title: Fire World
Author: Chris D’Lacey
Summary: On the planet Co:pern:ica, which is a parallel world to that of Crescent Lane, David is twelve years old and is trying to save a firebird that has been turned to evil by the malevolent.
Title: A World Without Heroes
Author: Brandon Mull
Summary: Fourteen-year-old Jason Walker is transported to a strange world called Lyrian, where he joins Rachel, who was also drawn there from our world, and a few rebels, to piece together the Word that can destroy the malicious wizard emperor, Surroth.
Title: Darkest Mercy
Author: Melissa Marr
Summary: The political and romantic tensions that began when Aislin became Summer Queen threaten to boil over as the Faerie Courts brace against the threat of all-out war.:
Title: Zara the Starlight Fairy
Author: Daisy Meadows
Summary: Without Zara the Starlight Fairy’s magic, the stars are dimming. The night sky could be ruined forever. Rachel and Kirsty know that Camp Stargaze won’t be the same without any stars in the sky, so helping their fairy friends is a number one priority!:
Title: Wizards, Witches & Dragons
Author: Ann Becker
Summary: Witches and wizards — Draw a wizard — Dragons — Draw a dragon — Magical items — Draw a magic wand — Magical creatures — Draw a fairy
Title: Fell
Author: David Clement-Davies
Summary: In Transylvania during the Middle Ages, Fell, a lone wolf with unusual abilities, learns that his destiny is entwined with that of one human, fifteen-year-old Alina, whose mysterious origins have villagers believing she is a changeling.
Historical Fiction
Title: Abe’s Fish: A Boyhood Tale of Abraham Lincoln
Author: Jennifer Bryant
Summary: Young Abe Lincoln learns the meaning of selflessness and freedom when he encounters a soldier on a country road and gives up his prized possession: a fish he caught for the family’s evening meal. Includes author’s note on the early life of the sixteenth president.:
Title: Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom
Author: Carole Boston Weatherford
Summary: Describes Tubman’s spiritual journey as she hears the voice of God guiding her north to freedom on that very first trip to escape the brutal practice of forced servitude. Tubman would make nineteen subsequent trips back south, never being caught, but none as profound as this first one.:
Title: Red Moon at Sharpsburg: A Novel
Author: Rosemary Wells
Summary :As the Civil War breaks out, India, a young Southern girl, summons her sharp intelligence and the courage she didn’t know she had to survive the war that threatens to destroy her family, her Virginia home, and the only life she has ever known.
Title: The Traitor in the Tunnel
Author: Y. S. Lee
Summary: “Queen Victoria has a problem: there’s a petty thief at work in Buckingham Palace. Charged with discretion, the Agency assigns quick-witted Mary Quinn to the case. Posing as a domestic in the royal household and fending off the attentions of a feckless Prince of Wales are challenge enough, but when the prince witnesses a murder in an opium den — and scandal threatens the royal family — Mary learns that the accused killer may be someone very close to her.”
Title: The Inquistor’s Apprentice
Author: Chris Moriarty
Summary: In early twentieth-century New York, Sacha Kessler’s ability to see witches earns him an apprenticeship to the police department’s star Inquisitor, Maximillian Wolf, to help stop magical crime and, with fellow apprentice Lily Astral, Sacha investigates who is trying to kill Thomas Edison, whose mechanical witch detector that could unleash the worst witch-hunt in American history.
Title: The Bombing of Pearl Harbor, 1941
Author: Lauren Tarshis
Summary: I Survived the bombing of Pearl Harbor, 1941
Title: My Life with the Lincolns
Author: Gayle Brandeis
Summary: In 1966 Illinois, twelve-year-old Wilhelmina, convinced that she, her parents, and sisters are Abraham Lincoln’s family reincarnated, determines to keep them from suffering the same fates, which is complicated when she and her father become involved in the civil rights movement.
Title: Then
Author: Morris Gleitzman
Summary: In early 1940s Poland, ten-year-old Felix and his friend Zelda escape from a cattle car headed to the Nazi death camps and struggle to survive, first on their own and then with Genia, a farmer with her own reasons for hating Germans.
Title: Burn my Heart
Author: Beverly Naidoo
Summary: Two boys—one white, one black—share an uneasy friendship in Kenya in the 1950s, a country shaken by a rebellion of Africans against white landowners, but suspicions and accusations are escalating, and an act of betrayal could change everything.
Title: All the Broken Pieces
Author: Ann E. Burg
Summary: Two years after being airlifted out of Vietnam in 1975, Matt Pin is haunted by the terrible secret he left behind and, now, in a loving adoptive home in the United States, a series of profound events forces him to confront his past.
Humor
Title: Seriously, Norman!
Author: Chris Raschka
Summary: Why are grown-ups so insane? That’s the question Leonard, Norman, Anna and Emma (the twins) try to answer with the help of Norman’s new tutor, Balthazar Birdsong (who is also fairly nuts).
Title: Roar of a Snore
Author: Marsha Diane Arnold
Summary: Disturbed by a deafening snore, Jack wakes up the family and animals one by one in search of the noisy culprit.
Title: Mr. Putney’s Quacking Dog
Author: Jon Agee
Summary: Invites young readers to guess the names of Mr. Putney’s unusual animal friends as he crosses paths with each of them during a humorous and eventful day.
Title: Uncle John’s Creature Feature Bathroom Reader for Kids
Author: The Bathroom Reader’s Insitute
Summary: Collects fun, factual, strange, and interesting trivia about animals, including the most dangerous animal in Africa, the world’s longest dog ears, and the fastest shark in the ocean.
Title: Bras & Broomsticks
Author: Sarah Mlynowski
Summary: Living in New York City with her mother and her younger sister, Miri, fourteen-year-old Rachel tries to persuade Miri, who has recently become a witch, to help her become popular at school and to try to stop their divorced father’s wedding.
Title: Charlie Joe Jackson’s Guide to Not Reading
Author: Tommy Greenwald
Summary: Middle schooler Charlie Joe is proud of his success at avoiding reading, but eventually his schemes go too far.
Title: The Chocolate Touch
Author: Patrick Skene Catling
Summary: When John Midas acquires a magical gift, everything his lips touch turns into chocolate.
Title: The Cheese
Author: Margie Palatini
Summary: After they all agree to ignore the story of “The Farmer in the Dell,” the rat, cat, dog, child, farmer, and his wife have a party featuring the tempting hunk of cheese.
Title: Okay for Now
Author: Gary D. Schmidt
Summary: As a fourteen-year-old who just moved to a new town, with no friends, an abusive father, and a louse for an older brother, Doug Swieteck has all the stats stacked against him until he finds an ally in Lil Spicer—a fiery young lady. Together, they find a safe haven in the local library, inspiration in learning about the plates of John James Audubon’s birds, and a hilarious adventure on a Broadway stage.
Title: Bink & Gollie
Author: Kate DiCamillo
Summary: Two roller-skating best friends—one tiny, one tall—share three comical adventures involving outrageously bright socks, an impromptu trek to the Andes, and a most unlikely marvelous companion.
Mystery
Title: The Billionaire’s Curse
Author: Richard Newsome
Summary: When thirteen-year-old Gerald finds himself the heir to twenty billion pounds from an aunt he never met, he inherits with it a mystery surrounding his aunt’s death and various artifacts in the British Museum.
Title: School of Fear
Author: Gitty Daneshvari
Summary: Twelve-year-olds Madeleine, Theo, and Lulu, and thirteen-year-old Garrison, are sent to a remote Massachusetts school to overcome their phobias, but tragedy strikes and the quartet must work together—with no adult assistance—to face their fears.
Title: The Emperor’s Code
Author: Gordon Korman
Summary: As the race to find the 39 Clues builds to its explosive finish, Amy and Dan must explore an ancient culture and steal a Clue guarded by thousands of the world’s best-trained soldiers. It’s the most dangerous Clue search yet … and it may mean the end for Amy and Dan.
Title: Legacies
Author: Lackey and Rosemary Edghill
Summary: After her family is killed, Spirit White is taken to Oakhurst Academy, a combination orphanage and school for those with magical powers, where she and her new friends investigate when students start mysteriously disappearing.
Title: Walls Within Walls
Author: Maureen Sherry
Summary: When the Smithfork family moves into a lavish Manhattan apartment building, they discover clues to a decades-old mystery hidden behind the walls of their new home.
Title: Skullduggery
Author: Pete Hautman and Mary Logue
Summary: During a field trip in the local woods, Roni and Brian find the local archaeology professor, Andrew Dart, knocked unconscious in a cave, which leads them to investigate a land development scheme.
Title: Among the Ghosts
Author: Amber Benson
Summary: While spending the summer at The New Newbridge Academy where she will soon begin sixth grade, Noleen finds strange things happening and discovers the special talent her aunts saw in her when she was a motherless infant.
Title: Nancy Clancy, Super Sleuth
Author: Jane O’Connor
Summary: “In her chapter book debut, Nancy Clancy must find the culprit when a prized possession goes missing at school”
Title: My Life as a Book
Author: Janet Tashjian
Summary: Dubbed a “reluctant reader” by his teacher, twelve-year-old Derek spends summer vacation learning important lessons even though he does not complete his summer reading list.
Title: Reality Leak
Author: Joni Sensel
Summary: Train noises without trains and mysterious explosions baffle the residents of South Wiggot as eleven-year-old Bryan and his friend Spot try to connect the strange happenings with the town’s newest industry and its president, Mr. Keen.
Graphic Novel
Title: The Adventures of Mal and Chad: The Biggest, Bestest Time Ever
Author: Stepehn McCranie
Summary: Fourth-grade genius Mal and his talking dog Chad shrink themselves to microscopic size and travel through time, but girls and the school bully present bigger challenges.
Title: Balloon Toons: Adopt a Glurb
Author: Elise Gravel
Summary: Describes the habits, behavior, and care of a glurb (a noisy, mischievous little monster with smelly feet).
Title: The Meeting
Author: Brigitte Luciani
Summary: Having lost their home, a fox and her daughter move in with a badger and his three children, but when the youngsters throw a big party hoping to prove that they are incompatible, their plan backfires.
Title: The Muppet Show: Meet the Muppets
Author: Roger Langridge
Summary: A comic book featuring famous Muppet show characters.
Title: Seekers: Kallik’s Adventure
Author: Erin Hunter
Summary: When polar bear cub Kallik and her brother Taqqiq wander away from their mother, they discover startling new things about life in the wild, and make a new friend, whose life may be in danger.
Title: Shadow Guy and Gamma Gal: Heroes Unite
Author: Arie Kaplan
Summary: Presents the origin stories of Shadow Guy and Gamma Girl, the crime-fighting superhero duo that keeps Club Penguin safe.
Title: Tinker Bell, the Perfect Fairy
Author: Paola Mulazzi
Summary: Contains four stories in graphic novel format featuring Tinker Bell, Dulcie, Prilla, Vidia and the rest of the Fairies of Pixie Hollow in which Tinker Bell learns a valuable lesson about not taking things for granted; turns purple after discovering a magical shell; receives a visit from Peter Pan.
Title: Your & My Secret: Volume 1
Author: Ai Morinaga
Summary: Nanako is the belle of her high school—just as long as she stays quiet. Once she shows her true self, guys’ dreams are shattered because she is a tomboy! Meanwhile, Akira has the looks and brains—but his personality is so dull nobody notices him. But one day Nanako’s grandfather comes up with crazy, life-altering invention and Nanako and Akira are forced to keep a very big secret: When they switch bodies with each other, will they ever want to go back?!
Title: Cowa!
Author: Akira Toriyama
Summary: A contagious Monster Flu is spreading around town like wildfire. Can the town’s troublemaker, a half-vampire, half-werekoala and his friends get the medicine in time to save everyone?!:
Title: That One Spooky Night
Author: Dan Bar-el
Summary: Three strange tales occur on a dark, spooky night and include the stories of a broom that goes in search of a witch, mermaids who swim in a bathtub, and a house party that turns unexpectedly batty.
Printer-friendly version