Looking for a Good Book to Read? Try One of These!

Unraveling Freedom: The Battle for Democracy on the Homefront during World War I. By Ann Bausum. Gr. 8–11. This informative and provocative book looks closely at the American home front during WWI, when government propaganda led to the persecution of German Americans and the erosion of civil liberties.

Kakapo Rescue: Saving the World’s Strangest Parrot. By Sy Montgomery. Gr. 4–7. Another stunning entry in the Scientists in the Field series from the multi-award-winning collaborators, this title follows New Zealand researchers working to save the magnificent, honey-scented kakapo parrot from extinction.

After Ever After. By Jordan Sonnenblick. Gr. 5–8. Having survived cancer, Jeffrey and his friend Tad battle the aftereffects of chemotherapy as well as the more universal perils of eighth-grade life in this hilarious and heartrending follow-up to Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie (2005).

Countdown. By Deborah Wiles. Gr. 5–7. Wiles takes her historical novel about 11-year-old Franny Chapman’s experiences during the Cuban missile crisis to an impressive new level by adding snippets of songs, speeches, and contemporaneous black-and-white photos to the mix.

The Dreamer. By Pam Muñoz Ryan. Gr. 4–8. Elegantly illustrated, accessible, and deeply rewarding, this stirring, fictionalized portrait of poet Pablo Neruda’s Chilean childhood has the feel of a classic.

The Last Best Days of Summer. By Valerie Hobbs. Gr. 4–8. Twelve-year-old Lucy faces difficulties when her beloved grandmother becomes more forgetful and her neighbor Eddie, who has Down syndrome, threatens Lucy’s plans to be popular. Hobbs’ bittersweet novel features real-life scenarios and memorable characters.

Meanwhile. By Jason Shiga. Gr. 4–9. First readers choose between chocolate or vanilla ice cream, and then they leap back and forth through pages tangled with tubes and panels in this mad-genius, choose-your-own-adventure graphic novel, with the fate of humankind in their hands.

One Crazy Summer. By Rita Williams-Garcia. Gr. 4–7. Set during the summer of 1968, Williams-Garcia’s vibrant, humorous novel follows 11-year-old Delphine and her two sisters to Oakland, California, where they try to reconnect with their estranged mother, a poet with ties to the Black Panthers.

Take Me with You. By Carolyn Marsden. Gr. 4–7. Set in an Italian orphanage after WWII, this unique and intricately crafted novel tells the story of two very different girls who both want to be adopted.

Turtle in Paradise. By Jennifer L. Holm. Gr. 4–6. Holm draws on her own family’s stories for 11-year-old Turtle’s tale about moving in with relatives in the Florida Keys. Part romp, part steely-eyed look at the Depression era.

The Unsinkable Walker Bean. By Aaron Renier. Gr. 5–8. With panels bursting at the borders with clever takes on seafaring adventure elements, this graphic novel sends a plucky boy hero into a maelstrom of lovable pirates, creepy crustacean sea-witches, and an ancient, cursed skull.

Zora and Me. By Victoria Bond and T. R. Simon. Gr. 5–8. Told in the voice of 10-year-old Carrie, Zora Neale Hurston’s best childhood friend, this first novel evokes the famous African American writer’s early years in turn-of-the-last-century Eatonville, Florida.

Lafayette and the American Revolution. By Russell Freedman. Gr. 6–9. Excellent research, writing, and illustrations create a vivid portrait of Lafayette as he matures from an impetuous young man and an inexperienced soldier to a leader capable of wisdom as well as valor.

Basketball Belles:How Two Teams and One Scrappy Player Put Women’s Hoops on the Map . By Sue Macy.Gr. 3–5. The story of the first women to play in an all-female intercollegiate basketball game is made even more sprightly and immediate in Collins’ paintings.

Score!The Action and Artistry of Hockey’s Magnificent Moment . By Mark Stewart. This chatty, photo-packed tour of ice- rink heroics is a gold mine for hockey fans as well as young skaters looking to perfect their own slap-shot techniques. Looking for a Good Book to Read? Try One of These!

The Hole in the Wall. By Lisa Rowe Gr. 5–8. Set in a community devastated by strip mining, Fraustino’s novel about 11- year-old Sebby and his twin combines fantastical elements with urgent environmental warnings. Winner of the Milkweed Prize for Children’s Literature.

Kakapo Rescue: Saving the World’s Strangest Parrot. By Sy Montgomery. Gr. 4–7. Winner of the 2011 Sibert Medal, Montgomery and Bishop’s latest Scientists in the Field title offers an exciting account of efforts to save the nearly extinct kakapo parrot on a remote New Zealand island.

The Cruisers. By Walter Dean Myers. Gr. 5–8. In Myers’ fast, clever novel, a Civil War project in a Harlem school divides a class into Confederate and Union sympathizers—and a group of student slackers are tasked with mediating peace.

Finding Family. By Tonya Bolden. Gr. 4–7. Bolden uses real-life period photos to frame this richly imagined novel set in 1905 West Virginia about a girl who goes on a quest to find the truth about her African American family.

One Crazy Summer. By Rita Williams-Garcia. Gr. 4–7. Set during the summer of 1968, Williams-Garcia’s vibrant, humorous novel follows 11-year-old Delphine and her two sisters to Oakland, California, where they try to reconnect with their estranged mother, a poet with ties to the Black Panthers.

Zora and Me. By Victoria Bond and T. R. Simon. Gr. 5–8. Told in the immediate voice of 10-year-old Carrie, Zora Neale Hurston’s best childhood friend, this first novel evokes the famous African American writer’s early years.

Elijah of Buxton. By Christopher Paul Curtis. Gr. 6–8. A community of freed slaves living in Ontario in 1849 forms a richly imagined backdrop for 11-year-old Elijah’s first-person narrative. Curtis’ rare combination of humor, suspense, and emotional depth approaches the subject of slavery obliquely at first but gradually leads Elijah to the human tragedy at its core. (Top of the List winner—Youth Fiction.)

The Land of the Silver Apples. By Nancy Farmer. Atheneum, Gr. 6–9. In a pell-mell adventure laced with the folklore elements and thoughtful themes that distinguished The Sea of Trolls (2004), apprentice bard Jack embarks upon a second quest that takes him deep within the fairies’ realm.

Red Moon at Sharpsburg. By Rosemary Wells. Gr. 6–9. As the Civil War grinds on, its harsh realities threaten the educational ambitions of India Moody, a Southern teen. This lyrical coming-of-age portrait explores the conflict between intellectual curiosity and the traditional role of women on the home front.

The Wednesday Wars. By Gary D. Schmidt. Gr. 6–9. Holling, a Long Island seventh-grader, hates his weekly Wednesday tutoring sessions, until his teacher gives him Shakespeare and helps him discover his strengths. Holling’s distinctive voice narrates this gentle, moving story, set during the Vietnam War.

The Black Book of Secrets. By F. E. Higgins. Gr. 5–7. In this smart, richly atmospheric thriller, Ludlow Fitch finds himself apprenticed to a “secret pawnbroker,” who relieves the townsfolk of their darkest secrets—which young Ludlow records in a mysterious black book.

Candyfloss. By Jacqueline Wilson. Gr. 4–7. Flossie makes the difficult decision to stay with her father and his failing café after her mother and stepfather move to Australia. A poignant, gently humorous, and totally satisfying family story.

Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat. By Lynne Jonell. Gr. 3–6. Emily’s parents don’t seem interested in her anymore, and a cruel nanny is running the show. Then a rat starts speaking to her. What’s going on? Jonell takes readers on a merry, sometimes scary romp with wonderfully distinctive characters. Looking for a Good Book to Read? Try One of These!

Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! By Laura Amy Schlitz. Gr. 5–8. Vivid, interconnected monologues and dialogues provide glimpses of young people living in a medieval English manor. Though the characters are distinctly of their time, today’s readers will still relate to their well-drawn personalities, emotions, and concerns.

Jack Plank Tells Tales. By Natalie Babbitt. Gr. 3–6. Former pirate Jack Plank lives in a seaside boardinghouse, where he regales his housemates with tales that explain why he can’t take up the careers they suggest. Strong, sure storytelling and wry wit make this a standout.

The Mysterious Benedict Society. By Trenton Lee Stewart. Gr. 4–7. “Are you a gifted child looking for special opportunities?” This curious newspaper ad attracts four children, chosen by the mysterious Mr. Benedict for an important mission. Serious issues permeate a rich story with immediate kid appeal.

Pocket Babies and Other Amazing Marsupials. By Sneed Collard. Gr. 4–7. Clarity is the hallmark here, from the color photos to the lively text, as Collard introduces a variety of marsupials, beginning with the baby opossum he raised during his teens.

Snow Baby: The Arctic Childhood of Robert E. Peary’s Daring Daughter. By Katherine Kirkpatrick.Gr. 5–8. Kirkpatrick frames the story of Marie Peary against a larger backdrop: the repeated struggles of her father to reach the North Pole. The attractive design helps show how appealing biography can be.

Way Down Deep. By Ruth White. Gr. 4–7. Set in Appalachia in the 1950s, this story about orphaned Ruby is as tender as a breeze and as sharp as a tack. It deals with important questions: Who makes up a family? What do you owe them?

Avi. S.O.R. Losers. Each member of the South Orange River seventh-grade soccer team has qualities of excellence, but not on the soccer field.

Bledsoe, Lucy Jane. Hoop Girlz. When ten-year-old River, who is crazy about basketball, is not chosen to play in the tournament set up in the town of Azalea, Oregon, she decides to organize a team of her own and accepts the help of her older brother.

Chabon, Michael. Summerland. Ethan Feld, the worst baseball player in the history of the game, finds himself recruited by a 100-year-old scout to help a band of fairies triumph over an ancient enemy.

Fitzgerald, Dawn. Soccer Chick Rules. While trying to focus on a winning soccer season, thirteen-year-old Tess becomes involved in local politics when she learns that all sports programs at her school will be stopped unless a tax levy is passed.

Green, Tim. Baseball Great. All twelve-year-old Josh wants to do is play baseball but when his father, a minor league pitcher, signs him up for a youth championship team, Josh finds himself embroiled in a situation with potentially illegal consequences.

Gutman, Dan. The Million Dollar Kick. Thirteen-year-old Whisper, who hates sports, is torn when she gets a chance to win a million dollars by kicking a goal against a local soccer hero.

Gutman, Dan. Shoeless Joe and Me: A Baseball Card Adventure. Joe Stoshack travels back to 1919, where he meets Shoeless Joe Jackson and tries to prevent the fixing of the World Series in which Jackson was wrongly implicated.

Harkrader, Lisa. Airball: My Life in briefs. Uncoordinated Kansas seventh-grader Kirby Nickel braves his coach's ire and becomes captain of the basketball team in order to help him prove that NBA star Brett McGrew is the father he has never known.

Korman, Gordon. The Zucchini Warriors. Roommates Bruno and Boots find obstacles in their way as they attempt to lead the Macdonald Hall Zucchini Warriors to a victorious football season and earn the reward of a new recreation center.

Lay-ups and Long Shots: An anthology of short stories. A collection of nine short stories about middle-schoolers and sports. They range from a game of "H-O-R-S-E" to running, ping pong, dirt biking, surfing, place kicking, soccer, and basketball. Looking for a Good Book to Read? Try One of These!

Lupica, Mike. Travel Team. After he is cut from his travel basketball team--the very same team that his father once led to national prominence--twelve-year-old Danny Walker forms his own team of cast-offs that might have a shot at victory.

Lupica, Mike. Hot Hand. In the wake of his parents' separation, ten-year-old Billy seems to have continual conflicts with his father, who is also his basketball coach, but his quiet, younger brother Ben, a piano prodigy, is having even more trouble adjusting, and only Billy seems to notice.

Mackel, Kathy. Madcat. Fast-pitch softball catcher MadCat Campione's love for the sport--and her relationship with her best friends--is strained when her team competes on a national level.

Myers, Walter Dean. Slam! "Slam" Harris is counting on his noteworthy basketball talents to get him out of the inner city.

Preller, James. Six Innings: A Game in the Life. The heart stopping action of a little league baseball game frames a personal introduction to the players, the strategies, and twelve-year-old Sam, sidelined by cancer.

Ritter, John H. The Boy Who Saved Baseball. The fate of a small California town rests on the outcome of one baseball game. Tom Gallagher hopes to lead his team to victory with the secrets of the now disgraced player, Dante Del Gato. Read the prequel: The Desperado Who Stole Baseball!

Soto, Gary. Taking Sides. (J So) Fourteen-year-old Lincoln Mendoza, an aspiring basketball player, must come to terms with his divided loyalties when he moves from the Hispanic inner city to a white suburban neighborhood.

Spurr, Elizabeth. Surfer Dog. After moving to a new California beach town, eleven-year-old Pete feels lonely until he meets a dog that shares his passion for surfing.

Alexander, Lloyd. The Book of Three.* Taran, the assistant pig-keeper, goes on a dangerous mission to save his beloved homeland.

Barry, Dave. Peter and the Starcatchers.* Soon after Peter, an orphan, sets sail from England on the ship Never Land, he befriends and assists Molly, a young Starcatcher, whose mission is to guard a trunk of magical stardust from a greedy pirate and the native inhabitants of a remote island.

Colfer. Artemis Fowl. * When a twelve-year-old evil genius tries to restore his family fortune by capturing a fairy and demanding a ransom in gold, the fairies fight back with magic, technology, and a particularly nasty troll.

Cooper, Susan. The Dark Is Rising. Will Stanton finds that he is one of the Old Ones, and must seek the six Signs to triumph over the Dark.

Coville, Bruce. The Monsters of Morley Manor. Anthony and his younger sister discover that the monster figures he got in an unusual box at an estate sale are alive, but they have no way of knowing that the "monsters" will lead them on fantastical adventures to other worlds in an effort to try to save Earth.

Dahl, Roald. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Join Charlie and his grandfather on a tour through the candy factory of the mysterious Willy Wonka.

Eager, Edward. Knight's Castle. Four children find a way to go back into the time of Ivanhoe and Robin Hood.

Farmer, Nancy. The Sea of Trolls. After Jack becomes apprenticed to a Druid bard, he and his sister Lucy are captured by Viking Berserkers and taken to the home of King Ivar the Boneless and his half-troll queen, leading Jack to undertake a vital quest to Jotunheim, home of the trolls.

Funke, Cornelia. Inkheart. * Twelve-year-old Meggie learns that her father, who repairs and binds books for a living, can "read" fictional characters to life when one of those characters abducts them and tries to force him into service.

Gaiman, Neil. The Graveyard Book. After the grisly murder of his entire family, a toddler wanders into a graveyard where the ghosts and other supernatural residents agree to raise him as one of their own. Looking for a Good Book to Read? Try One of These!

Gardner, Sally. I, Coriander. In 17th century London, Coriander, a girl who has inherited magic from her mother, must find a way to use this magic in order to save both herself and an inhabitant of the fairy world where her mother was born.

Helgerson, Joseph. Horns and Wrinkles. Along a magic-saturated stretch of the Mississippi River near Blue Wing, Minnesota, twelve-year-old Claire and her bullying cousin Duke are drawn into an adventure involving Bodacious Deepthink the Great Rock Troll, a helpful fairy, and a group of trolls searching for their fathers.

Johnson, Gillian. Thora: A Half-Mermaid Tale. Ten-year-old Thora, daughter of a mermaid mother and a human father, must save her mother who has been captured by the greedy real estate developer, Frooty de Mare.

Jones, Diana Wynne. Howl's Moving Castle. Sophie is resigned to a dull life - until she becomes a wizard's cleaning lady.

Law, Ingrid. Savvy. Recounts the adventures of Mibs Beaumont, whose thirteenth birthday has revealed her "savvy"--a magical power unique to each member of her family--just as her father is injured in a terrible accident.

Le Guin, Ursula K. A Wizard of Earthsea. Ged unleashes a terrible evil - is he a good enough wizard to stop it?

Levine, Gail Carson. Ella Enchanted *.In this novel based on the story of Cinderella, Ella struggles against the childhood curse that forces her to obey any order given to her.

McKinley, Robin. The Hero and the Crown. Aerin, with the guidance of the wizard Luthe and the help of the blue sword, wins the birthright due her as the daughter of the Damarian king and witchwoman of the mysterious, demon-haunted North.

Morris, Gerald. The Squire's Tale. In medieval England, fourteen-year-old Terence finds his tranquil existence suddenly changed when he becomes the squire of the young Gawain of Orkney and accompanies him on a long quest, proving Gawain's worth as a knight and revealing an important secret about his own true identity.

Oppel, Kenneth. Airborn. Matt, a young cabin boy aboard an airship, and Kate, a wealthy young girl traveling with her chaperone, team up to search for the existence of mysterious winged creatures reportedly living hundreds of feet above the Earth's surface.

Pratchett, Terry. Wee Free Men. A young witch-to-be named Tiffany teams up with the Wee Free Men, a clan of six-inch- high blue men, to rescue her baby brother and ward off a sinister invasion from Fairyland.

Pullman, Philip. The Golden Compass.* Can Lyra and her animal daemon rescue the children kidnapped by the evil Gobblers?

Riordan, Rick. The Lightning Thief* Twelve-year-old Percy Jackson learns he is a demigod, the son of a mortal woman and Poseidon, god of the sea. His mother sends him to a summer camp for demigods where he and his new friends set out on a quest to prevent a war between the gods.

Stanley, Diane. Bella at Midnight: The Thimble, The Ring, and The Slippers of Glass. Raised by peasants, Bella discovers that she is actually the daughter of a knight and finds herself caught up in a terrible plot that will change her life and the kingdom forever.

Stroud, Jonathan. Amulet of Samarkand.* Nathaniel, a magician's apprentice, summons up the djinni Bartimaeus and instructs him to steal the Amulet of Samarkand from the powerful magician Simon Lovelace.

Wrede, Patricia C. Dealing With Dragons.* Here's one Princess that would rather live with dragons than be rescued.

Avi. Crispin: the Cross of Lead. Falsely accused of theft and murder, an orphaned peasant boy in fourteenth-century England flees his village and meets a larger-than-life mummer who helps him discover a powerful secret about his past. Winner of the Newbery Medal. Look for more historical fiction titles by this author. Looking for a Good Book to Read? Try One of These!

Choldenko Gennifer. Al Capone Does My Shirts. Twelve-year-old Moose moves to Alcatraz Island in 1935 when guards' families were housed there, and has to contend with his extraordinary new environment in addition to life with his autistic sister. A Newbery Honor Book.

Cushman, Karen. Rodzina. A twelve-year-old Polish American girl is boarded onto an orphan train in Chicago with fears about traveling to the West and a life of unpaid slavery. Look for more historical fiction titles by this author. You might also like other historical novels by this author, Catherine Called Birdy or The Midwife's Apprentice.

Dorris, Michael. Morning Girl. Morning Girl, who loves the day, and her younger brother Star Boy, who loves the night, take turns describing their life on an island in pre-Columbian America; in Morning Girl's last narrative, she witnesses the arrival of the first Europeans to her world. Look for more historical fiction titles by this author.

Erdrich, Louise. The Birchbark House. Omakayas, a seven-year-old Native American girl of the Ojibwa tribe, lives through the joys of summer and the perils of winter on an island in Lake Superior in 1847.

Garfield, Leon. Smith. Moments after he steals a document from a man's pocket, an illiterate young pickpocket in eighteenth-century London witnesses the man's murder by two men who want the document. Look for more historical fiction titles by this author.

Giff, Patricia Reilly. Nory Ryan's Song.* When a terrible blight attacks Ireland's potato crop in 1845, twelve-year-old Nory Ryan's courage and ingenuity help her family and neighbors survive.

Hathaway, Barbara. Missy Violet & Me. During the early 1900s, eleven-year-old Viney spends her summer working for the local midwife and learns firsthand about birth, death, and "catchin' babies." Winner of the Coretta Scott King Award.

Holm, Jennifer. Penny from Heaven. As she turns twelve during the summer of 1953, Penny gains new insights into herself and her Italian-American family while also learning a secret about her father's death.

Levine, Ellen. Catch a Tiger by the Toe. In the Bronx, during the McCarthy era, twelve-year-old Jamie keeps a terrible secret about her family, but when the truth is exposed, her parents lose their jobs and she is fired from the school newspaper.

Lowry, Lois. Number the Stars. In 1943, during the German occupation of Denmark, ten-year-old Annemarie learns how to be brave and courageous when she helps shelter her Jewish friend from the Nazis. Winner of the Newbery Medal.

McCaughrean, Geraldine. Stop the Train! Despite the opposition of the owner of the Red Rock Runner railroad in 1893, the new settlers of Florence, Oklahoma, are determined to build a real town.

Park, Linda Sue. Kite Fighters. In Korea in 1473, eleven-year-old Young-sup overcomes his rivalry with his older brother Kee-sup and combines his kite-flying skill with Kee-sup's kite-making skill in an attempt to win the New Year kite-fighting competition for the emperor. If you like this title you may also like A Single Shard, and When My Name was Keoko by the same author.

Paterson, Katherine. Lyddie. Impoverished Vermont farm girl Lyddie Worthen is determined to gain her independence by becoming a factory worker in Lowell, Massachusetts, in the 1840s.

Peck, Richard. The Ghost Belonged to Me.* Set at the turn of the 20th Century in the Midwest, a quartet of delightful characters, including the incomparable Blossom Culp, share adventures from exploding steamboats to "exorcizing" a ghost.

Ryan, Pam Munoz. Esperanza Rising. 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. Looking for a Good Book to Read? Try One of These!

Speare, Elizabeth George. The Witch of Blackbird Pond. In 1687 in Connecticut, Kit Tyler, feeling out of place in the Puritan household of her aunt, befriends an old woman considered a witch by the community and suddenly finds herself standing trial for witchcraft. Winner of the Newbery Medal.

Bergman, Tamar. Along the Tracks.A young Jewish boy is driven from his home by the German invasion, becoming a refugee.

Bishop, Claire H. Twenty and Ten.Twenty school children hide ten Jewish children from the Nazis occupying France during World War II

Degens, T. Transport 7-41-R. A girl describes her journey as a refugee from the Russian sector of defeated Germany to Cologne.

De Jong, Meindert. House of Sixty Fathers.(J Classics Dej) During the early days of the Japanese invasion, a Chinese boy searches for his parents.

Garrigue, Sheila. The Eternal Spring of Mr. Ito. An old Japanese-Canadian gardener resists being imprisoned in an internment camp after Pearl Harbor.

Heneghan, James. Wish Me Luck.Based on the true story of the sinking of a passenger liner by a German U-boat during World War II.

Lowry, Lois. Number the Stars.During the German occupation of Denmark, Annemarie helps shelter her Jewish friend from the Nazis.

Orlev, Uri. Lydia, Queen of Palestine.A Romanian Jewish girl struggles to understand her parents' divorce amid the chaos of the war.

Salisbury, Graham. Under the Blood-Red Sun. Tomikazu's biggest concerns are baseball, homework, and a bully, until the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

Tsuchiya, Yukio. Faithful Elephants.Three elephants in a Tokyo zoo must be put to death despite the pain of the elephants and their keepers.

Yolen, Jane. The Devil's Arithmetic.Time travel places Hannah in the middle of a small Jewish village in Nazi-occupied Poland.

Aaseng, Nathan. Navajo Code Talkers. The American military and Navajo Indians create an indecipherable code based on their native language.

Frank, Anne. Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl. The classic true story of a Jewish girl hiding in Nazi-occupied Amsterdam.

Greenfeld, Howard. The Hidden Children. The experiences of Jewish children who were forced to go into hiding during the Holocaust to survive.

Leitner, Isabella. The Big Lie. The author describes her experiences as a survivor of the Nazi death camp at Auschwitz.

Mochizuki, Ken. Passage to Freedom: The Sugihara Story. A Japanese diplomat in 1940 Lithuania uses his powers to assist Jews to escape the Holocaust.

Reiss, Johanna. The Upstairs Room. For over two years Sinni and Anni hide from the Germans in the Oostervelds' upstairs room.

Toll, Nelly S. Behind the Secret Window: A Memoir of a Hidden Childhood During World War II. The author and her mother are hidden from the Nazis by a Gentile couple in Lwow, Poland. Looking for a Good Book to Read? Try One of These!

Anderson, M.T. Whales on Stilts! Racing against the clock, shy middle-school student Lily and her best friends, Katie and Jasper, must foil the plot of her father's conniving boss to conquer the world using an army of whales.

Buckley-Archer, Linda. Gideon the Cutpurse: Being the First Part of the Gideon Trilogy.* Ignored by his father and sent to Derbyshire for the weekend, twelve-year-old Peter and his new friend, Kate, are accidentally transported back in time to 1763 England where they are befriended by a reformed cutpurse.

Cameron, Eleanor. The Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet.* Two boys build a space ship which takes them to the planet of Basidium to help the Mushroom People.

Corder, Zizou. Lion Boy.* In the near future, a boy with the ability to speak the language of cats sets out from London to seek his kidnapped parents and finds himself on a Paris-bound circus ship learning to train lions.

DuPrau, Jeanne. The City of Ember.* 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, and to glimpse Unknown Regions.

Elish, Dan. Attack of the Frozen Woodchucks. When extraterrestrial woodchucks attack, ten-year-old Jimmy, his two-and- a-half-year-old sister, friend William, and an eccentric classmate who has built a flying saucer in her Manhattan brownstone, join forces to save the universe.

Etchemendy, Nancy. The Power of Un. When he is given a device that will allow him to "undo" what has happened in the past, Gib Finney is not sure what event from the worst day in his life he should change in order to keep his sister from being hit by a truck.

Fardell, John. The Seven Professors of the Far North. Eleven-year-old Sam finds himself involved in a dangerous adventure when he and his new friends, brother and sister Ben and Zara, set off for the Arctic to try and rescue the siblings' great-uncle and five other professors from the mad scientist holding them prisoner.

Farmer, Nancy. The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm. In 2194 in Zimbabwe, General Matsika's three children are kidnapped and put to work in a plastic mine, while three mutant detectives use their special powers to search for them.

Gaiman, Neil. Interworld. At nearly fifteen years of age, Joey Harker learns that he is a Walker, able to travel between dimensions, and soon joins a team of different versions of himself, each from another dimension, to fight the evil forces striving to conquer all the worlds.

Grunwell, Jeanne Marie. Mind Games. Each of the six members of Mr. Ennis's Mad Science Club presents a report of his or her experiences working on a science fair project to investigate ESP, which resulted in their winning the Maryland lottery.

Haarsma, P.J. The Softwire: Virus on Orbis 1.* When twelve-year-old Johnny and his sister arrive on Orbis in a space ship of orphans, he finds he has a unique ability to communicate with computers.

Haddix, Margaret Peterson. Among the Hidden.* In a future where the Population Police enforce the law limiting a family to only two children, Luke has lived all his twelve years in isolation and fear on his family's farm, until another "third" convinces him that the government is wrong.

Hulme, John. The Glitch in Sleep.* When twelve-year-old Becker Drane is recruited by The Seems, a parallel universe that runs everything in The World, he must fix a disastrous glitch in the Department of Sleep that threatens everyone's ability to ever fall asleep again.

L'Engle, Madeleine. A Wrinkle in Time.* Meg Murry and her friends become involved with unearthly strangers and a search for Meg's father, who has disappeared while engaged in secret work for the government.

Lowry, Lois. The Giver. Given his lifetime assignment at the Ceremony of Twelve, Jonas becomes the receiver of memories shared by only one other in his community and discovers the terrible truth about the society in which he lives. Looking for a Good Book to Read? Try One of These!

Lynch, Christ. Cyberia In a future where electronic surveillance has taken the place of love, a veterinarian is putting computer chips in animals to control them, and those creatures choose young Zane, who understands their speech, to release captives and bring them to a technology-free safety zone.

Paulsen, Gary. The Time Hackers. When someone uses futuristic technology to play pranks on twelve-year old Dorso Clayman, he and his best friend set off on a supposedly impossible journey through space and time trying to stop the gamesters who are endangering the universe.

Pinkwater, Daniel. Hoboken Chicken Emergency. Arthur goes to pick up the turkey for Thanksgiving dinner but comes back with a 260-pound chicken.

Sanders, Scott Russell. The Engineer of Beasts. Thirteen-year-old Mooch runs afoul of the repressive authorities controlling her floating domed city, by helping an old engineer build realistic robot animals and by seeking her spiritual roots with the wild animals left on the outside.

Sanderson, Brandon. Alcatraz Smedry Versus the Evil Librarians. On his thirteenth birthday, foster child Alcatraz Smedry receives a bag of sand which is immediately stolen by the evil Librarians who are trying to take over the world.

Vande Velde, Vivian. The Heir Apparent. (While playing a total immersion virtual reality game of kings and intrigue, fourteen-year-old Giannine learns that demonstrators have damaged the equipment to which she is connected, and she must win the game quickly or be damaged herself.

Williams, Maiya. The Golden Hour. (Thirteen-year-old Rowan and his eleven-year-old sister Nina, still bereft by the death of their mother the year before, experience an unusual adventure through time when they come to stay with their two eccentric great-aunts in a small town on the Maine coast.