Abbott, Tony Firegirl

A middle school boy's life is changed when Jessica, a girl disfigured by burns, starts attending his Catholic school while receiving treatment at a local hospital.

Avi Crispin

Babbit, Natalie Tuck Everlasting

Welcome to the town of Treegap. The Tucks and Fosters are brought together by a magic water spring. Winnie Foster learns the importance of the life cycle and that it has a natural beauty and balance. She learns that this should not be disturbed by human greed.

Burnett, Frances Hodgson The Secret Garden

Ten-year-old Mary comes to live in a lonely house on the Yorkshire moors and discovers an invalid cousin and the mysteries of a locked garden.

Clements, Andrew The School Story

After twelve-year-old Natalie writes a wonderful novel, her friend Zoe helps her devise a scheme to get it accepted at the publishing house where Natalie's mother works as an editor.

Colfer, Eoin Artemis Fowl (series)

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.

Curtis, Chirtopher Paul Bud, Not Buddy

Ten-year-old Bud, a motherless boy living in Flint, Michigan, during the Great Depression, escapes a bad foster home and sets out in search of the man he believes to be his father, the renowned bandleader, H.E. Calloway of Grand Rapids.

Elijah of Buxton

Eleven-year-old Elijah Freeman, the first free-born child in Buxton, Canada, which is a haven for slaves fleeing the American South in 1859, uses his wits and skills to try to bring to justice the lying preacher who has stolen money that was to be used to buy a family's freedom.

#DiCamillo, Kate The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup, and a Spool of Thread

The adventures of Desperaux 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.

#DiTerlizzi, Tony The Spiderwick Chronicles – The Field Guide (series)

When the Grace children go to stay at their Great Aunt Lucinda's worn Victorian house, they discover a field guide to fairies and other creatures and begin to have some unusual experiences.

DuPrau, Jeanne 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, perhaps even to glimpse Unknown Regions.

#Durrant, Lynda Echohawk

A twelve-year-old white boy , adopted and raised by Mochicans in the Hudson River Valley during the 1730's, is sent with his younger brother to an English settlement for schooling.

Feinstein, John Last Shot

After winning a basketball reporting contest, eighth graders Stevie and Susan Carol are sent to cover the Final Four tournament, where they discover that a talented player is being blackmailed into throwing the final game.

Ferris, Jean Once Upon a Marigold

A young man with a mysterious past and a penchant for inventing things leaves the troll who raised him, meets an unhappy princess he has loved from afar, and discovers a plot against her and her father.

Funke, Cornelia Igraine the Brave

The daughter of two magicians, twelve-year-old Igraine wants nothing more than to be a knight, and when their castle is attacked by a treacherous neighbor bent on stealing their singing magic books, Igraine has an opportunity to demonstrate her bravery.

Gantos, Jack Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key (series)

To the constant disappointment of his mother and his teachers, Joey has trouble paying attention or controlling his mood swings when his prescription medications wear off and he starts getting worked up and acting wired.

Sniegoski, Thomas Outcast the Un-Magician

Timothy has spent his life on a remote hidden island. He is the only person in existence without magical powers. When he is able to return to his birthplace, he finds out he is marked for death. The government is watching his every move. He can’t imagine why, he wields no power. Or does he?

#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.

Hoobler, Dorothy and Thomas The Ghost in the Tokaido Inn (series)

While attempting to solve the mystery of a stolen jewel, Seikei, a merchant's son who longs to be a samurai, joins a group of kabuki actors in eighteenth-century Japan.

Horowitz, Anthony Stormbreaker (Alex Ryder series)

After the death of the uncle who had been his guardian, fourteen-year-old Alex Rider is coerced to continue his uncle's dangerous work for Britain's intelligence agency, MI6.

Horvath, Polly Everything on a Waffle

Eleven-year-old Primrose, who lives in a small fishing village in British Columbia, recounts her experiences and all that she learns about human nature and the unpredictability of life in the months after her parents are lost at sea.

Hunter, Erin Into the Wild (Warriors series)

Rusty, a bored house kitten, is apprenticed by the ThunderClan and must struggle to fit in when the group of feral cats is threatened by the enemy ShadowClan.

Ibbotson, Eva Dial-A-Ghost

A family of nice ghosts protects a British orphan from the diabolical plans of his evil guardians.

Jacques, Brian Redwall (Redwall series)

When the peaceful life of ancient Redwall Abbey is shattered by the arrival of the evil rat Cluny and his villainous hordes, Matthias, a young mouse, determines to find the legendary sword of Martin the Warrior which, he is convinced, will help Redwall's inhabitants destroy the enemy.

#Jones, Elizabeth McDavid The Night Flyers

In 1918, caring for her family's homing pigeons while her father is away fighting in World War I, twelve-year-old Pam comes to suspect that a mysterious stranger in her small North Carolina town is a German spy.

Kehret, Peg Abduction

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.

Korman, Gordon No More Dead Dogs

Korman, Gordan Kidnapped (series)

Aiden teams up with the FBI to track down his sister Meg who was kidnapped while they were walking home from school.

Levine, Gail Carson Ella Enchanted

In this Cinderella based fantasy, Ella struggles against the childhood curse that forces her to obey any order given to her.

Lewis, C. S. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (series)

Four English schoolchildren find their way through the back of a wardrobe into the magic land of Narnia.

Lubar, David Wizards of the Game

Eighth grader Mercer, whose passion is the fantasy role-playing game Wizard of the Warrior World, hopes to use a fund raiser to bring a gaming convention to his middle school, but instead he attracts four genuine wizards who are trapped on Earth and want his help in returning to their own world.

#Lubar, David Punished!

After Logan receives a face full of magic dust from a man in the reference section of the library, he finds the only way to stop his incessant punning is to find oxymorons, anagrams, and palindromes to fulfill the requirements of three quests.

#Mikaelsen, Ben Rescue Josh McGuire

When thirteen-year-old Josh runs away to the mountains of Montana with an orphaned bear cub destined for laboratory testing, they both must fight for their lives in a sudden snowstorm.

Montgomery, L. M. Anne of Green Gables (series)

An orphan girl mistakenly sent to Prince Edward Island to live with a lonely old couple changes their lives.

Nix, Garth Mister Monday (series)

A key that saves Arthur Penhaligon's life also brings with it a plague and a stranger named Mister Monday who is set on destroying Arthur and everything around him.

Living in the family car in their small North Carolina town after their father leaves them virtually penniless, Georgina, desperate to improve their situation and unwilling to accept her overworked mother's calls for patience, persuades her younger brother to help her in an elaborate scheme to get money by stealing a dog and then claiming the reward that the owners are bound to offer.

O’Dell, Scott Sing Down the Moon

A young Navaho girl recounts the events of 1864 when her tribe was forced to march to Fort Sumner as prisoners of the white soldiers.

Osborne, Mary Pope Adaline Falling Star

The daughter of explorer, Kit Carson, and an Arapaho mother, Adaline runs away from her prejudiced cousins and faces a battle for survival in the wilderness.

Park, Barbara The Graduation of Jake Moon

Fourteen-year-old Jake tells about his last four years as his grandfather suffered the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.

Paterson, Katherine The Bridge To Terabithia

The life of a ten-year-old boy in rural Virginia expands when he becomes friends with a newcomer who subsequently meets an untimely death trying to reach their hideaway, Terabithia, during a storm.

Paulsen, Gary Lawn Boy

Things get out of hand for a twelve-year-old boy when a neighbor convinces him to expand his summer lawn mowing business.

Peck, Richard A Long Way From Chicago / A Year Down Yonder

Humorous account of two siblings’ annual summer trip to eccentric grandmother during the Great Depression.

Perkins, Lynne Rae All Alone in the Universe

Debbie is dismayed when her best friend Maureen starts spending time with ordinary, boring Glenna.

Philbrick, Rodman The Young Man and The Sea

After his mother's death, twelve-year-old Skiff Beaman decides that it is up to him to earn money to take care of himself and his father, so he undertakes a dangerous trip alone out on the ocean off the coast of Maine to try to catch a huge bluefin tuna.

Raskin, Ellen The Westing Game

The mysterious death of an eccentric millionaire brings together an unlikely assortment of heirs who must uncover the circumstances of his death before they can claim their inheritance.

Riordan, Rick Lightning Thief

Percy, expelled from six schools for being unable to control his temper, learns the truth from his mother that his father is the Greek god Poseidon, and is sent to Camp Half Blood where he is befriended by a satyr and the demigod daughter of Athena who join him in a journey to the Underworld to retrieve Zeus's lightning bolt and prevent a catastrophic war.

Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter

Harry lives in a tiny closet in his uncle, aunt and cousin’s house. He hasn’t celebrated his birthday in eleven years. All of that changes when he is invited to a wonderful, mysterious, magical place. Join Harry and his adventure to a place of broomsticks, invisibility cloaks and dragons.

Ruby, Lois Steal Away Home

Almost 150 years after a Quaker family in Kansas operated a station on the Underground Railroad, twelve-year-old Dana moves into the same house and finds a skeleton.

Ryan, Pam Munoz Esperanza Rising

Esperanza lived a wonderful life in Mexico with her family. However, a tragedy forces Esperanza and her mother to flee to California where they settle in a camp for Mexican farm workers. It’s the Great Depression and Esperanza must find a way to rise above her difficult circumstances.

Selznick, Brian The Invention of Hugo Cabret

When twelve-year-old Hugo, an orphan living and repairing clocks within the walls of a Paris train station in 1931, meets a mysterious toy seller and his goddaughter, his undercover life and his biggest secret are jeopardized.

Snicket, Lemony The Bad Beginning (A Series of Unfortunate Events)

After the sudden death of their parents, the three Baudelaire children must depend on each other and their wits when it turns out that the distant relative who is appointed their guardian is determined to use any means necessary to get their fortune.

Spinelli, Jerry Loser

Even though his classmates from first grade on have considered him strange and a loser, Daniel Zinkoff's optimism and exuberance and the support of his loving family do not allow him to feel that way about himself.

Springer, Nancy Enola Olmes Mystery (series)

Enola Holmes, much younger sister of detective Sherlock Holmes, must travel to London in disguise to unravel the disappearance of her missing mother.

Tolan, Stephanie Surviving the Applewhites

Jake, a budding juvenile delinquent, is sent for home schooling to the arty and eccentric Applewhite family's Creative Academy, where he discovers talents and interests he never knew he had.

VanDraanen, Wendelin Sammy Keyes (series)

Sammy continues to make life with her grandmother interesting as she tries to discover who is stealing from St. Mary's church, befriends a homeless girl, and plays in a softball tournament against a bitter rival.

Wrede, Patricia C. Dealing With Dragons (series)

Bored with traditional palace life, a princess goes off to live with a group of dragons and soon becomes involved with fighting against some disreputable wizards.

Allen, Thomas George Washington, Spymaster: How the Americans Outspied the British and Won the Revolutionary War

A biography of Revolutionary War general and first President of the United States, George Washington focusing on his use of spies to gather intelligence that helped the colonies win the war.

Blumberg, Rhoda Shipwrecked!: The True Adventures of a Japanese Boy

In 1841, rescued by an American whaler after a terrible shipwreck leaves him and his four companions castaways on a remote island, fourteen-year-old Manjiro learns new laws and customs as he becomes the first Japanese person to set foot in the United States.

Brewster, Hugh Anastasia’s Album

In a scrapbook derived from journals, letters, photographs, and watercolor paintings, the life of the last Russian princess is recreated, providing glimpes into her home life, the revolution, and her family's subsequent captivity.

Fleischman, John Phineas Gage: A Gruesome but True Story About Brain Science

Tells the story of Phineas Gage, a railroad construction foreman who survived eleven years years after an accident in which a thirteen-pound iron rod shot through his brain.

Fleischman, Sid Escape! The Story of The Great Houdini

A biography of the magician, ghost chaser, aviator, and king of escape artists whose amazing feats are remembered long after his death in 1926

Glover, Savion Savion!: My Life in Tap

Examines the life and career of the young tap dancer who speaks with his feet and who choreographed the Tony Award-winning Broadway show "Bring in da Noise, Bring in da Funk."

Macaulay, David Building Big

Focuses on the connections between the planning and design problems and the solutions that are finally reached when building bridges, tunnels, skyscrapers, domes, and dams.

Myers, Walter Dean U.S.S. Constellation: Pride of the American Navy

Examines the histories of the two American Navy ships called "USS Constellation" the first launched in 1797 and the second in 1854, discussing the role of the vessel in suppressing the illegal slave trade and in the Civil War, looking at what life was like for a sailor on the ship, and discussing its restoration in the 1990s.

Poole, Josephine Joan of Arc

A biography of the fifteenth-century peasant girl who led a French army to victory against the English, witnessed the crowning of King Charles VII, and was later burned at the stake for witchcraft.

Watkins, Richard Ross Gladiator

Describes the history of gladiators, including types of armor, use of animals, amphitheaters, and how the practice fit into Roman society for almost 700 years.