Summer 2008
*Diary of a wimpy kid : Rodrick rules
Jeff
Kinney. New York : Amulet Books, 2008. 216 p.
Fiction K55d
Ages 8 and up
It's a new school year, and Greg Heffley finds himself thrust into middle school,
where undersized weaklings share the hallways with kids who are taller, meaner,
and already shaving. The hazards of growing up before you're ready are uniquely
revealed through words and drawings as Greg records them in his diary.
*Ramona Quimby, age 8
Beverly Cleary.
New York : Dell , c1981. 190 p.
Fiction C623r
Ages 8 to 11
Ramona Quimby, one of the most loved characters in children's fiction, has now
reached third grade. At school, she acquires a new teacher, Mrs. Whaley, who
addresses the class as "you guys." At home, she helps the family "squeak by" as
her father returns to college to become an art teacher.
*The return of the dragon
Rebecca Rupp. Cambridge, Candlewick Press, 2005. 150 p.
Fiction R946r
Ages 8 to 11
With their parents off to London on a special trip, Hannah, Zachary, and Sarah
Emily are thrilled to be going back to Aunt Mehitabel's house on Lonely Island.
Though their favorite aunt can't join them, they know their tummies will soon be
filled with Mrs. Jone's mouth-watering cookies and their minds full of Fafnyr,
the fabulous creature they befriended last summer. A glittering three-headed
dragon who loves to tell stories and has a memory spanning 20,000 years, Fafnyr
remains safely hidden in a cave high above the ocean, waiting for the children
to return.
*Maniac Magee : a novel
Jerry Spinelli. Toronto, Little, Brown, c1990. 184 p.
Fiction S757m
Ages 9 to 12
He wasn’t born with the name Maniac Magee. He came into this world named Jeffrey
Lionel Magee, but when his parents died and his life changed, so did his name.
And Maniac Magee became a legend. Even today kids talk about how fast he could
run; about how he hit an inside-the-park “frog” homer; how no knot, no matter
how snarled, would stay that way once he began to untie it. But the thing Maniac
Magee is best known for is what he did for the kids from the East Side and those
from the West Side.
*Mr. Popper's Penguins
Richard Atwater.
Little, Brown &
Company, 1992. 138 p.
Fiction M887m
Ages 9 to 12
The unexpected delivery of a large crate containing an Antarctic penguin changes the life and fortunes of Mr. Popper, a house painter obsessed by dreams of the Polar regions.
*Inkheart
Cornelia Funke. New York, The Chicken House, 2003. 534 p.
Fiction F982i
Ages 8 to 12
One cruel night, Meggie's father reads aloud from a book called INKHEART-- and
an evil ruler escapes the boundaries of fiction and lands in their living room.
Suddenly, Meggie is smack in the middle of the kind of adventure she has only
read about in books. Meggie must learn to harness the magic that has conjured
this nightmare. For only she can change the course of the story that has changed
her life forever. This is INKHEART--a timeless tale about books, about
imagination, about life. Dare to read it aloud.
*The tale of Despereaux : being the story of a mouse, a
princess, some soup, and a spool of thread
Kate DiCamillo.
Cambridge, Candlewick Press, 2003. 267 p.
Fiction D545t
Ages 7 to 12
Welcome to the story of Despereaux Tilling, a mouse who is in love with music,
stories, and a princess named Pea. It is also the story of a rat called Roscuro,
who lives in the darkness and covets a world filled with light. And it is the
story of Miggery Sow, a slow-witted serving girl who harbors a simple,
impossible wish. These three characters are about to embark on a journey that
will lead them down into a horrible dungeon, up into a glittering castle, and,
ultimately, into each other's lives. What happens then? As Kate DiCamillo would
say: Reader, it is your destiny to find out.
*Moving day
Meg Cabot. New York, Scholastic Press, 2008. 228 p.
Fiction C116m
Ages 8 to 12
When nine-year-old Allie Finkle's parents announce that they are moving her and
her brothers from their suburban split-level into an ancient Victorian in town,
Allie's sure her life is over. She's not at all happy about having to give up
her pretty pink wall-to-wall carpeting for creaky floorboards and creepy secret
passageways-not to mention leaving her modern, state-of-the-art suburban school
for a rundown, old-fashioned school just two blocks from her new house.
With a room she's half-scared to go into, the burden of being "the new girl,"
and her old friends all a half-hour car ride away, how will Allie ever learn to
fit in?
*The Willoughbys
Lois Lowry.
Boston, Houghton Mifflin, 2008. 174 p.
Fiction L921w
Ages 6 to 10
Abandoned by their ill-humored parents to the care of an odious nanny, Tim, the
twins, Barnaby A and Barnaby B, and their sister, Jane, attempt to fulfill their
roles as good oldfashioned children. Following the models set in lauded tales
from A Christmas Carol to Mary Poppins, the four Willoughbys hope to attain
their proscribed happy ending too, or at least a satisfyingly maudlin one.
However, it is an unquestionably ruthless act that sets in motion the
transformations that lead to their salvation and to happy endings for not only
the four children, but their nanny, an abandoned baby, a candy magnate, and his
long-lost son too.
*My dog may be a genius : poems
Jack Prelutsky.
New York, Greenwillow Books, c2008. 159 p.
Non fiction 811.54 P924m
Have you ever encountered an underwater marching band, a pig in a bathing suit,
a pet orangutan, or a witch in a hardware store? Have you ever sat with a skunk
in a courtroom, shopped for a dinosaur, or conversed with a Bupple, a Wosstrus,
a Violinnet, or a Celloon? You will have, once you've read this exuberant
collaboration from Jack Prelutsky and his "partner in crime"* James Stevenson.
The "reigning czars of silliness"* have once again teamed up to bring readers an
irresistible collection of poems that will have tongues twisting, imaginations
soaring, and sides aching with laughter.
*Jeremy thatcher, dragon thatcher : a magic shop book
Bruce Coville. San Diego, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, c1991. 148 p.
Fiction C873j
Ages 8 to 12
Small for his age but artistically talented, twelve-year-old Jeremy Thatcher unknowingly buys a dragon's egg.
*Gossamer Lois Lowry. Boston, Houghton Mifflin, 2006. 140 p. Fiction L921g Ages 9 to 12
Littlest One is a tiny creature slowly learning her job of giving dreams to humans. Each night she and her teacher, Thin Elderly, visit an
old woman’s home where she softly touches beloved objects, gathering happy memories, and drops of old scents and sounds. Littlest One pieces
these bits together and presents them to her sleeping human in the form of pleasant dreams. But the dreaded Sinisteeds, dark fearsome creatures
that plague their victims with nightmares, are always at work against the dreamgivers. When the old woman takes in John, an angry foster child
with a troubled past, the Sinisteeds go after him with their horrifying nightmares. Can Littlest One, and her torch light as gossamer, protect
John’s heart and soul from the nightmare of his dark past?
*Small steps Louis Sachar. Toronto, Doubleday Canada, c2006. 257 p. Fiction S121s
Ages 12
Two years after being released from Camp Green Lake, Armpit is home in Austin, Texas, trying to turn his life around. But it’s hard
when you have a record, and everyone expects the worst from you. The only person who believes in him is Ginny, his 10-year old disabled neighbor.
Together, they are learning to take small steps. And he seems to be on the right path, until X-Ray, a buddy from Camp Green Lake, comes up
with a get-rich-quick scheme. This leads to a chance encounter with teen pop sensation, Kaira DeLeon, and suddenly his life spins out of control,
with only one thing for certain. He’ll never be the same again.
*The miraculous journey of Edward Tulane
Kate DiCamillo.
Cambridge, Candlewick Press, 2006. 198 p.
Fiction D545m
Ages 7 to 10
"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.
*Eleven Lauren Myracle. New York, Dutton Children's Books, c2004. 201 p. Fiction M998e Ages 12Winnie Perry went through a lot when she was eleven, from shifting friendships to her teenage sister's mood swings. But now that Winnie is twelve, and one step closer to being a teenager herself, there is so much more to deal with. Will her new friendship with Dinah last? Can she handle the pressures of junior high? And, most important, will Winnie survive bra shopping (in public!) with Mom?
*The Sisters Club Megan McDonald. Middleton, American Girl, 2003. 196 p.
Fiction M135s
Ages 8 to 11
In Acton, Oregon, sisters Alex, Stevie, and Joey take turns telling about their lives, including their long line of actor ancestors, creative family dinners, toe marshmallows, swearing in Shakespeare, and the Sisters Club.
*Reference :
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/subjects/children/index.asp?PID=16966&cds2Pid=16451&linkid=1160221
