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Crossing the Wire by Will Hobbs
When falling crop prices threaten his family with starvation, fifteen-year-old Victor Flores heads north in an attempt to “cross the wire” from Mexico into the United States so he can find work and send money home. But with no coyote money to pay the smugglers who sneak illegal workers across the border, Victor must struggle to survive as he jumps trains, stows away on trucks, and hikes grueling miles through the Arizona desert.
Victor’s journey is fraught with danger, freezing cold, scorching heat, hunger and dead ends. It’s a gauntlet run by millions attempting to cross the border. Through Victor’s often desperate struggle, Will Hobbs brings to life one of the great human dramas of our time. From: Will Hobbs Official Website
The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron
Lucky, age ten, can’t wait another day. The meanness gland in her heart and the crevices full of questions in her brain make running away from Hard Pan, California (population 43), the rock-bottom only choice she has.
It’s all Brigitte’s fault — for wanting to go back to France. Guardians are supposed to stay put and look after girls in their care! Instead Lucky is sure that she’ll be abandoned to some orphanage in Los Angeles where her beloved dog, HMS Beagle, won’t be allowed. She’ll have to lose her friends Miles, who lives on cookies, and Lincoln, future U.S. president (maybe) and member of the International Guild of Knot Tyers. Just as bad, she’ll have to give up eavesdropping on twelve-step anonymous programs where the interesting talk is all about Higher Powers. Lucky needs her own — and quick.
But she hadn’t planned on a dust storm.
Or needing to lug the world’s heaviest survival-kit backpack into the desert. From: Simon and Schuster
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter has never played a sport while flying on a broomstick. He’s never worn a cloak of invisibility, befriended a giant, or helped hatch a dragon. All Harry knows is a miserable life with the Dursleys, his horrible aunt and uncle, and their abominable son, Dudley. Harry’s room is a tiny closet at the foot of the stairs, and he hasn’t had a birthday party in eleven years.
But all that is about to change when a mysterious letter arrives by owl messenger: a letter with an invitation to a wonderful place he never dreamed existed. There he finds not only friends, aerial sports, and magic around every corner, but a great destiny that’s been waiting for him…if Harry can survive the encounter. Bloomsbury Publisher
Adam Canfield of the Slash by Michael Winerip
As co-editors of the Slash, their middle school newspaper, Adam and Jennifer investigate a story and uncover fraud and corruption in their school and in the city’s government. Phoebe, a smart, plucky third grader on the newspaper staff, is determined to report a story of her own, and unwittingly leads them straight into scandal with her innocent piece about Eddie the janitor. From: Rebecca Caudill Young Readers’ Book Award
Skellig by David Almond
In the book, a young boy named Michael, aged 10, finds a mysterious man-like creature living in the garage of his new house that Michael wants to know if he is an angel, a bird, or a man. In the midst of a turbulent life (moving, having a sick baby sister, losing old friends) Michael becomes increasingly obsessed and upset by the fate of this creature. Appropriately, the move is one that takes him from Random Road to Falconer Road. In other words, he has moved from the chaos of youthful bliss and ignorance into a new world of adulthood, which brings order and structure to his life. With the help of a new friend, Mina, who is home schooled, they move the creature to a place of safety and discover that he has wings. From: Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skellig
Chicken Boy by Frances O’Roark Dowell
Tobin Mccauley’s got a near-certifiable grandmother, a pack of juvenile-delinquent siblings, and a dad who’s not going to win father of the year any time soon. To top it off, Tobin’s only friend truly believes that the study of chickens will reveal…the meaning of life? Getting through seventh grade isn’t easy for anyone, son, but when the first day of school starts out with your granny’s arrest, you know you’ve got real problems. Throw on five-day suspension (for defending your English teacher’s honor), a chicken that lays green eggs, and a family feud that’s tearing everyone to pieces, and you’re in for one heck of a ride.
With her remarkable ability to create characters you wish could be part of your life forever, Frances O’Roark Dowell introduces Tobin McCauley, Chicken Boy. From: Simon & Schuster http://www.simonsays.com/content/book.cfm?tab=25&pid=507704
Listening for Lions by Gloria Whelan
Thirteen-year-old Rachel Sheridan is left an orphan after influenza takes the lives of her missionary parents in British East Africa in 1919. When cruel neighbors take her in, Rachel suspects their intentions may not be honest. Soon, Rachel becomes entangled in a shocking and nefarious plot that takes her away from her beloved East Africa on a lonely and treacherous journey across the ocean. Surrounded by greed and lies, Rachel must rely on her irrepressible spirit and extraordinary wit to weather her incredible adventure. And somewhere along the way, between deception and hope, the truth sets Rachel free and Africa calls her home.
National Book Award-winning author Gloria Whelan crafts a wickedly delicious story of treachery and triumph, in which one young woman must claim her true identity in order to forge her own future and transform herself from victim to heroine.
Princess Academy by Shannon Hale
High on the side of rocky Mount Eskel, far from the valleys where gardens are green and lush, where lowlanders make laws, Miri�s family has lived forever, pounding a living from the stone of the mountain itself. For as long as she can remember, Miri has dreamed of working alongside the other villagers in the quarries of her beloved mountainside. But Miri has never been allowed to work there, perhaps, she thinks, because she is so small.
Then word comes from the valley that the king’s priests have divined Mount Eskel to be the home of the prince�s bride-to-be—the next princess. The prince himself will travel to the village to choose her, but first all eligible girls must attend a makeshift mountain academy to prepare themselves for royal lowlander life.
At the school, Miri soon finds herself confronted by bitter competition among the girls and her own conflicting desires to be chosen by the prince. Yet when danger comes to the academy and threatens all their lives, it is Miri, named for a tiny mountain flower, who must find a way to save her classmates—and the one chance to leave the mountain each of them is determined to secure as her own.
From acclaimed author Shannon Hale comes the Newbery Honor-winning novel about would-be princesses and one small but determined girl’s destiny. From: Official Site of Sharon Hale
The Homework Machine by Dan Gutman
DOING HOMEWORK BECOMES A THING OF THE PAST
The unlikely foursome made up of a geek, a class clown, a teacher’s pet, and a slacker — Brenton, Sam “Snick,”, Judy and Kelsey, respectively, — are bound together by one very big secret: the homework machine. Because the machine, code named Belch, is doing their homework for them, they start spending a lot of time together, attracting a lot of attention. And attention is exactly what you don’t want when you are keeping a secret.
Before long, members of the D Squad, as they are called at school are getting strange Instant Messages from a shady guy named Milner; their teacher, Miss Rasmussen, is calling private meetings with each of them and giving them pop tests that they are failing; and someone has leaked the possibility of a homework machine to the school newspaper. Just when the D Squad thinks things can’t get any more out of control, Belch becomes much more powerful than they ever imagined. Soon the kids are in a race against their own creation, and the loser could end up in jail…or worse! From: Simon & Schuster http://www.simonsays.com/content/book.cfm?tab=1&pid=515235
Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
ORPHAN, CLOCK KEEPER, AND THIEF, twelve-year-old Hugo lives in the walls of a busy Paris train station, where his survival depends on secrets and anonymity. But when his world suddenly interlocks with an eccentric girl and the owner of a small toy booth in the train station, Hugo’s undercover life, and his most precious secret, are put in jeopardy. A cryptic drawing, a treasured notebook, a stolen key, a mechanical man, and a hidden message all come together…in The Invention of Hugo Cabret.This 526-page book is told in both words and pictures. The Invention of Hugo Cabret is not exactly a novel, and it’s not quite a picture book, and it’s not really a graphic novel, or a flip book, or a movie, but a combination of all these things. Each picture (there are nearly three hundred pages of pictures!) takes up an entire double page spread, and the story moves forward because you turn the pages to see the next moment unfold in front of you. From: The Invention of Hugo Cabret Website http://www.theinventionofhugocabret.com/about_hugo_intro.htm
Breadwinner by Deborah Ellis
Parvana lives in Afghanistan under strict Taliban rule. She lives in a one room apartment with her father, mother, two sisters and baby brother. Under the Taliban rule, women are not allowed to leave their homes without a male escort. Because she is only eleven, Parvana breaks that rule by pretending to be a boy and then can escort her crippled father to the market where he writes and reads letters for money.
Without warning one evening, Parvana’s father is taken to jail. The family must figure out how to survive without any men or boys to earn money. Mrs. Weera, Parvana’s former school teacher, suggests that they can survive only if Parvana dresses as a boy and does her father’s work at the market.
At first Parvana is hesitant and scared that she will be caught, but as the days wear on she becomes more confident with her disguise. Her confidence increases even more after she meets another girl like her. Shauzia is the sole breadwinner and she also dresses as a boy in order to support her family. Soon Parvana and Shauzia become good friends and work together to earn more money to support themselves and their families.
Shauzia dreams of going to France to live a better life and asks Parvana to join her. Should Parvana leave Afghanistan and her family? What if her father gets released from jail, but Parava has already left? What will happen if Parvana stays in Afghanistan, but can no longer disguise herself as a boy? How could her family live if no one is allowed to work?
As the days pass, Parvana must continue to make difficult decisions, support her family, and hope that her father will come back. What will be the fate of Parvana and her Afghanistan? From: One Book Two Villages http://www.onebooktwovillages.org/kidsummary.php?bookid=43847118
The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo
Prepare yourself for a miraculous journey with Newbery Medalist Kate DiCamillo. Someone will come for you, but first you must open your heart... Once, in a house on Egypt Street, there lived a china rabbit named Edward Tulane. The rabbit was very pleased with himself, and for good reason: he was owned by a girl named Abilene, who treated him with the utmost care and adored him completely. And then, one day, he was lost.
Kate DiCamillo takes us on an extraordinary journey, from the depths of the ocean to the net of a fisherman, from the top of a garbage heap to the fireside of a hoboes’ camp, from the bedside of an ailing child to the bustling streets of Memphis. And along the way, we are shown a true miracle — that even a heart of the most breakable kind can learn to love, to lose, and to love again.
A timeless tale by the incomparable Kate DiCamillo, complete with stunning full-color plates by Bagram Ibatoulline, honors the enduring power of love. From: Candlewick Press http://www.candlewick.com/cat.asp?mode=book&isbn=0763625892&browse=Title
The Birchbark House
For as long as Omakayas can remember, she and her family have lived on the land her people call the Island of the Golden-Breasted Woodpecker. Although the chimookoman, white people, encroach more and more on their land, life continues much as it always has. Every summer the family builds a new birchbark house; every fall they go to ricing camp to harvest and feast; they move to the cedar log house before the first snows arrive, and celebrate the end of the long, cold winters at maple-sugaring camp. In between, Omakayas fights with her annoying little brother, Pinch, plays with the adorable baby, Neewo, and tries to be grown-up like her beautiful older sister, Angeline. But the satisfying rhythms of their lives are shattered when a visitor comes to their lodge one winter night, bringing with him another invisible enemy that will change things forever.
Worth by A. LaFaye
After Nathaniel’s leg is crushed in an accident, his father brings home an orphan boy, John Worth, to help work the fields. Worth has come to Nebraska from New York City on the Orphan Train, which brings homeless children west to find new lives.
Nathaniel feels increasingly jealous of the boy who has taken over not only his work but the attention of his father, who has barely spoken to him since his injury. In school for the first time he is far behind even his youngest classmates, and he feels as useless there as he does at home.
Meanwhile, Worth is still grieving for his family and his old life. As the farm chores prevent him from going to school, he also resents losing his dream of an education and a good job. And for all the work he does, he knows he will never inherit the farm that he’s helping to save.But a battle between ranchers and farmers — and a book of Greek mythology that Nathaniel reads aloud each evening — forges a connection between the two boys, who begin to discover that maybe there is enough room on the farm, and in the family, for both of them.
A. LaFaye’s dynamic portrayal of two boys longing for something they no longer have — and finding the resources to face the future — offers a fresh perspective on the thousands of children who moved west via the Orphan Trains in the late nineteenth century.
Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor
The Logan children are starting a new school year. As they go to school, they are met by their friends from other families, including Jeremy Simms, a white boy, who walks part of the way to school with them. When at the school, segregated from the all white county school, they are greeted by the announcement that they are to receive new books this year. When Little Man, the youngest Logan finds that the ‘new’ books are ten year old castoffs from the white school, he refuses to take his. His older sister Cassie does the same. Their mother, who teaches grade seven, solves the dilemma by pasting a piece of paper into each book to cover its history of ownership. She does the same with all her grade seven books. Later, the whole family is working in their cotton fields when their father arrives home unexpectedly. He brings with him a Mr. Morrison, who is a huge man. He injured a white man in a fight and needs somewhere to live. Mr. Logan brings him to his farm both to offer him work and to provide some protection for the family against an as yet unnamed danger. On their way to school in the rain on foot, the Logans are splashed by the county school bus full of whites. The driver delights in this and the white children enjoy the joke. After other occasions, the Logans get revenge by digging a washout which breaks the school bus’s axle, putting it out of commission for two weeks. The children hear of night riders who are about to settle a score with the black community. The children hear of a recent incident in which the night riders set fire to four black men, and think that the night riders are out to avenge the damage to the school bus.
The Old Willis Place by Mary Downing Hahn
Diana and her little brother, Georgie, are ghosts living in the woods surrounding old Miss Lilian’s place. They cannot go beyond the gate at the end of the lane, they are not to enter the crumbling mansion, and they can’t let anyone see them. Then Lissa moves into the trailer out back. Her father is the new caretaker and Diana decides having a new friend is more important than the rules. The main voice is Diana’s, but readers know Lissa’s side of the story through her diary entries, which Diana steals and reads. In the end, with Lissa’s help, the children confront nasty Miss Lilian’s ghost. Their remains are found in the basement room where Miss Lilian locked them, to teach them a lesson. Unfortunately, Miss Lilian had a stroke before she could release them, and their spirits are reunited with their parents. Even nasty Miss Lilian’s spirit is forgiven and can move on. Author Mary Downing Hahn still has quite a way with characters. These children and even the ghosts all seem real and the reader comes to care about them. The horror here is not bloody or gory, but nonetheless will make readers shiver with sympathy and suspense. Give this to your Betty Ren Wright fans or those looking for a more realistic feel to their ghost stories. Library Media Connection (January 2005)
Thunder from the Sea by Joan Hiatt Harlow
Grade 4-7–In this novel set in Newfoundland in 1929, 13-year-old Tom Campbell, an orphan, travels to Back o’ the Moon Island to live with and work for Enoch and Fiona Murray. On his first fishing trip, he rescues a young Newfoundland dog from the sea during a storm and names him Thunder. A local boy, Bert Bosworth, and his father, Amos, also want the animal, and they go to great lengths to find his original owner out of spite. Thunder is a kind, intelligent creature who several times saves the islanders from danger. After a harrowing episode in which Amos shoots and slightly injures the Newfoundland while he tries to pull villagers away from a pending tidal wave, the Bosworths realize that the dog truly belongs with Tom. When Fiona needs help with a difficult birth, Tom and Thunder prove their courage by taking her across the ice by sled during a blizzard. The book concludes with Enoch and Fiona officially adopting Tom and with Thunder’s original owner giving the dog to the boy and his new family. The episodic chapters are fast paced and the narrative creates a real sense of time and place. Tom’s growing affection for the Murrays and his feelings about his pet are clearly delineated. Fans of Harlow’s Star in the Storm (McElderry, 2000), dog lovers, and readers yearning for a cozy tale will enjoy curling up with this story.–Shawn Brommer, South Central Library System, Madison, WI
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Inkheart by Cornelia Funke
The book is about a girl named Meggie whose life changes dramatically when she realizes that her father, a bookbinder named Mortimer (nicknamed Mo), has an unusual ability: when he reads aloud, he can bring characters from books into the real world. Meggie and Mo’s adventure takes them throughout Europe, particularly Italy, and brings them into contact with many unusual characters.
The sequel, Inkspell, was released on October 1, 2005, and the third book in the trilogy, Inkdeath, is set to be released in 2008.
