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Applegate, Katherine
Home of the
Brave
(Grades 7 and up)
10-year-old Kek moves from Sudan to Minnesota after violence tears his
family apart. Free-verse poems relate Kek’s view of America, hope, and
kindness.
Babbitt, Natalie
Jack Plank
Tells Tales
(Grades 2-6)
Avast, me hearties! Plundering just isn’t what it used to be, so former
pirate Jack Plank sets out to find a new career on Saltwash Island.
Carey, Janet Lee
Dragon’s Keep
(Grades 6-10)
Princess Rosalind, who is destined for greatness but was born with a
dragon talon on her left hand, wears golden gloves to conceal her dooming
deformity.
Clements, Andrew
No Talking
(Grades 3-6)
Chatterbox Dave challenges his classmates to a “no talking” contest that
pits the boys against the girls.
Curtis, Christopher Paul
Elijah of
Buxton
(Grades 4-8)
Elijah, the first freeborn child in a Canadian town of ex-slaves, takes
his freedom for granted until he sets off after a thief and finds much
more.
Winner of the Coretta Scott King Award.
A 2008 Newbery Honor Book.
Frazier, Sundee T.
Brendan
Buckley’s Universe and Everything in It
(Grades 5-7)
Brendan, 10, is ecstatic to finally meet the grandfather that his mom has
always refused to see. Grandpa DeBose shares Brendan’s passion for rock
collecting, but his skin is pink—not brown like Brendan’s!
Winner of the 2008 John Steptoe New Talent Award.
Goscinny, Rene
Nicholas and
the Gang
(Grades 4-6)
Like a French Dennis the Menace, Nicholas never fails to stir up trouble
and fun.
A 2008 Batchelder Honor Book.
Hale, Shannon
Book of a
Thousand Days
(Grades 7-10)
After Lady Saren refuses to marry a man she despises, she and her maid are
shut in a tower. When the outside world appears to vanish, the young
women face the task of saving the eight realms—and their own lives.
Kinney, Jeff
Diary of a
Wimpy Kid
(Grades 3-8)
Greg, a 7th-grade misfit, records his adventures in middle
school in a comically illustrated diary.
Kostick, Connor
Epic
(Grades 7-10)
In
a world where violence has been outlawed, arguments are settled in a
virtual-reality game. Erik sends his avatar on a dangerous mission to
overthrow the powers behind the game.
O’Connor, Barbara
How to Steal
a Dog
(Grades 3-7)
How
far would you go to get your family out of a bind? For Georgina, the
plucky heroine of this novel, "The day I decided to steal a dog was the
same day my best friend, Luanne Godfrey, found out I lived in a car.”
Rex, Adam
The True
Meaning of Smekday
(Grades 3-8)
The
quest to save life as we know it finds twelve-year-old Tip traveling
across the country with her outlaw alien companion.
Richter, Jutta
The Cat: or,
How I Lost Eternity
(Grades 1 and up)
Christine, 8, meets a talking cat on the way to school. The cat claims
that life is all about looking out for oneself, but Christine thinks
there’s more to it than that.
A 2008 Batchelder Honor Book.
Rorby, Ginny
Hurt Go Happy
(Grades 7-12)
With the help of a signing chimpanzee, a lonely deaf girl grows into a
mature animal rights activist.
Winner of the 2008 Schneider Family Book Award for Teens.
Schlitz, Laura Amy
(Youth Nonfiction,
812.6/SCH)
Good Masters!
Sweet Ladies!: Voices from a Medieval Village
(Grades 5 and up)
A
collection of 19 dramatic vignettes channels the lives of children in 13th
century England.
Winner of the 2008 Newbery Award.
Schmidt, Gary D.
The Wednesday
Wars
(Grades 7 and up)
As
the lone Presbyterian in his class, Holling spends Wednesday afternoons
with a teacher (who hates him) while his classmates are in religion class.
A 2008 Newbery Honor Book.
Selznick, Brian
The Invention
of Hugo Cabret
(Grades 3-8)
In
this generously illustrated tale, a boy living within the walls of the
Paris train station finds mysteries and intrigues everywhere he turns.
A 2007 National Book Award Finalist.
Winner of the 2008 Caldecott Medal.
Sís, Peter
(Youth Nonfiction, 943.7/SIS)
The Wall:
Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain
(Grades 5 and up)
An
autobiographical graphic novel recalls the author’s experiences in
Czechoslovakia under Soviet rule.
Winner of the 2008 Sibert Medal.
A 2008 Caldecott Honor Book.
Smith, Roland
Peak
(Grades 5-9)
A
fourteen-year-old boy attempts to be the youngest person to reach the top
of Mount Everest.
Stewart, Trenton Lee
The
Mysterious Benedict Society
(Grades 5-9)
Are
you a gifted child looking for special opportunities? 4 precocious kids
respond to this intriguing ad and enter the
Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened where their gifts are put to
the test in a race to save the world.
Tarshis, Lauren
Emma-Jean
Lazarus Fell Out of a Tree
(Grades 3-7)
Emma-Jean, an ultra-rational but socially-challenged seventh grader, uses
her analytical abilities to navigate mean girls, friendships, and other
middle school drama.
Thompson, Kate
The New
Policeman
(Grades 7-10)
In
the Irish village of Kinvara, music is life—but the townsfolk are too busy
to make much of it. When his mother requests “more time” for her
birthday, 15-year-old J.J. Liddy journeys into the heart of fairyland on a
quest to find out where the missing minutes have gone.
Wells, Rosemary
Red Moon at
Sharpsburg
(Grades 7 and up)
A
12-year-old girl rides out the Civil War years while holding onto her
dream of attending college.
Woodson, Jacqueline
Feathers
(Grades 4-8)
Frannie learns a lesson about hope and change when a white boy joins her
all-black 6th grade class in 1971.
A 2008 Newbery Honor Book.
Zimmer, Tracie Vaughn
Reaching for
Sun
(Grades 6 and up)
Free-verse poems narrate Josie’s unforgettable seventh grade year, during
which she befriends an unusual new boy and comes to terms with her
cerebral palsy.
Winner of the 2008 Schneider Family Book Award for Middle Grades.
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