Special Collections
Teacher Recommended Reading: Grades 6-8
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Across Five Aprils
by Irene HuntThe unforgettable story of young Jethro Creighton who comes of age during the turbulent years of the Civil War.
Newbery Award Honors book
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
by Mark TwainMark Twain's classic story of a young boy's life in a small town on the Mississippi River. [This text is listed as an example that meets Common Core Standards in English language arts in grades 6-8 at http://www.corestandards.org.]
Anne Frank
by Anne FrankA teenage Jewish girl's recorded thoughts and impressions while she and her family were being hidden in a safe house during the Nazi occupation of Holland.
The Book of Three
by Lloyd Alexander(From the Book Jacket) Blending rich elements of Welsh legend and universal mythology, Lloyd Alexander creates the imaginary kingdom of Prydain to tell a tale of enchantment, both good and evil, and of the Assistant Pig-Keeper who wants to become a hero...Taran, Assistant Pig-Keeper to a famous oracular sow, sets out on a hazardous mission to save Prydain from the forces of evil. He meets adventures in which humor and high valor are blended in a way that will keep readers of many ages completely absorbed-for this is fantasy that is rooted in reality and truth. For, as Mr. Alexander says..."Most of us are called on to perform tasks far beyond what we believe we can do. Our capabilities seldom match our aspirations, and we are often woefully unprepared. To this extent, we are all Assistant Pig-Keepers at heart."
Bridge to Terabithia
by Katherine Paterson and Donna DiamondAll summer, Jess pushed himself to be the fastest boy in the fifth grade, and when the year's first school-yard race was run, he was going to win.
But his victory was stolen by a newcomer, by a girl, one who didn't even know enough to stay on the girls' side of the playground.
Then, unexpectedly, Jess finds himself sticking up for Leslie, for the girl who breaks rules and wins races.
The friendship between the two grows as Jess guides the city girl through the pitfalls of life in their small, rural town, and Leslie draws him into the world of imaginations world of magic and ceremony called Terabithia.
Here, Leslie and Jess rule supreme among the oaks and evergreens, safe from the bullies and ridicule of the mundane world. Safe until an unforeseen tragedy forces Jess to reign in Terabithia alone, and both worlds are forever changed.
In this poignant, beautifully rendered novel, Katherine Paterson weaves a powerful story of friendship and courage.
Newbery Medal Winner
Call It Courage
by Armstrong SperryMaftu was afraid of the sea. It had taken his mother when he was a baby, and it seemed to him that the sea gods sought vengeance at having been cheated of Mafatu. So, though he was the son of the Great Chief of Hikueru, a race of Polynesians who worshipped courage, and he was named Stout Heart, he feared and avoided tha sea, till everyone branded him a coward. When he could no longer bear their taunts and jibes, he determined to conquer that fear or be conquered-- so he went off in his canoe, alone except for his little dog and pet albatross. A storm gave him his first challenge. Then days on a desert island found him resourceful beyond his own expectation. This is the story of how his courage grew and how he finally returned home. This is a legend. It happened many years ago, but even today the people of Hikueru sing this story and tell it over their evening fires.
Newbery Medal winner
The Call of the Wild
by Jack LondonFirst published in 1903, The Call of the Wild is regarded as Jack London's masterpiece. Based on London's experiences as a gold prospector in the Canadian wilderness and his ideas about nature and the struggle for existence, The Call of the Wild is a tale about unbreakable spirit and the fight for survival in the frozen Alaskan Klondike.
Canyons
by Gary PaulsenTwo boys, separated by the canyons of time and two vastly different cultures, face the challenges by which they will become men.Coyote Runs, an Apache boy, takes part in his first raid. But he is to be a man for only a short time.More than a hundred years later, while camping near Dog Canyon, 15-year-old Brennan Cole becomes obsessed with a skull that he finds, pierced by a bullet. He learns that it is the skull of an Apache boy executed by soldiers in 1864. A mystical link joins Brennan and Coyote Runs, and Brennan knows that neither boy will find peace until Coyote Runs' skull is carried back to an ancient sacred place.In a grueling journey through the canyon to return the skull, Brennan confronts the challenge of his life.From the Paperback edition.
Catherine, Called Birdy
by Karen CushmanCatherine, a spirited and inquisitive young woman of good family, narrates in diary form the story of her fourteenth year—the year 1290. A Newbery Honor Book.
Child of the Owl
by Laurence YepA young girl is sent to live with her grandmother in Chinatown and finds her Chinese heritage for the first time.
Dandelion Wine
by Ray BradburyA young boy's summer in 1928 when he starts to see the world in a new light and faces the beauties and sorrows of life.
D'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths
by Ingri D'Aulaire and Edgar Parin D'AulaireHere are the stories of the gods, goddesses, and legendary figures of ancient Greece!
The Double Life of Pocahontas
by Jean FritzPocahontas was the special favorite of her father, the great chief Pawhatan. And when the English settlers came to Virginia, she became a "sister" to Captain John Smith, who was "adopted" into her tribe. She was permitted to move freely between the Indian and white worlds, and her life seemed perfect. But soon there was trouble. Pocahontas was kidnapped by the settlers, who forced her to live like a white woman. She yearned for her father to meet the colonists' demands so all would be well again. But before Pocahontas made peace, she would be asked to turn her back on everything she loved-and to leave her Indian world behind forever. Highly acclaimed and winner of multiple awards, this book is recommended for Grades 4 and up.
Dragonwings
by Laurence YepMoon Shadow is eight years old when he sails from China to join his father, Windrider, in America. Windrider lives in San Francisco and makes his living doing laundry. Father and son have never met.
But Moon Shadow grows to love and respect his father and to believe in his wonderful dream. And Windrider, with Moon Shadow's help, is willing to endure the mockery of the other Chinese, the poverty, the separation from his wife and country, even the great earthquake, to make his dream come true.
Inspired by the account of a Chinese immigrant who made a flying machine in 1909, Laurence Yep's historical novel beautifully portrays the rich traditions of the Chinese community as it made its way in a hostile new world.
Newbery Honor Book
Jane Addams Children’s Book Award Honor Book
Flour Babies
by Anne FineSimon's class is sick of taking care of their six-pound flour babies. But for Simon, the pack of flour provides an understanding of his fatherless life.
Forbidden City
by William BellHistorical fiction of the great events that swept China in the spring of 1989, after the Tian An Men Square uprising.
The Forgotten Door
by Alexander KeyLost in an unfamiliar world, a traveler searches for understandingAt night, Little Jon's people go out to watch the stars. Mesmerized by a meteor shower, he forgets to watch his step and falls through a moss-covered door to another land: America. He awakes hurt, his memory gone, sure only that he does not belong here. Captured by a hunter, Jon escapes by leaping six feet over a barbed-wire fence. Hungry and alone, he staggers through the darkness and is about to be caught when he is rescued by a kind family known as the Beans. They shelter him, feed him, and teach him about his new home. In return, he will change their lives forever. Although the Beans are kind to Little Jon, the townspeople mistrust the mysterious visitor. But Jon has untold powers, and as he learns to harness them, he will show his newfound friends that they have no reason to be afraid.
The Gift of the Magi and Other Short Stories
by O. HenryHere are sixteen of the best stories by one of America's most popular storytellers. For nearly a century, the work of O. Henry has delighted readers with its humor, irony and colorful, real-life settings. The writer's own life had more than a touch of color and irony. Born William Sidney Porter in Greensboro, North Carolina in 1862, he worked on a Texas ranch, then as a bank teller in Austin, then as a reporter for the Houston "Post." Adversity struck, however, when he was indicted for embezzlement of bank funds. Porter fled to New Orleans, then to Honduras before he was tried, convicted and imprisoned for the crime in 1898. In prison he began writing stories of Central America and the American Southwest that soon became popular with magazine readers. After his release Porter moved to New York City, where he continued writing stories under the pen name O. HenryThough his work earned him an avid readership, O. Henry died in poverty and oblivion scarcely eight years after his arrival in New York. But in the treasury of stories he left behind are such classics of the genre as "The Gift of the Magi," "The Last Leaf," "The Ransom of Red Chief," "The Voice of the City" and "The Cop and the Anthem" — all included in this choice selection. A selection of the Common Core State Standards Initiative.
The Giver
by Lois LowryThis haunting story centers on twelve-year-old Jonas, who lives in a seemingly ideal, if colorless, world of conformity and contentment. Not until he is given his life assignment as the Receiver of Memory does he begin to understand the dark, complex secrets behind his fragile community.
Lois Lowry has written three companion novels to The Giver, including Gathering Blue, Messenger, and Son.
Newbery Medal Winner
Winner of Pacific Northwest Library Association’s Young Reader’s Choice Senior Award
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
by J. K. RowlingA teenager pitching headfirst into the world of near-adulthood, Harry returns to Hogwarts for his fourth year. The fourth book in the series.
Hatchet
by Gary PaulsenThis award-winning contemporary classic is the survival story with which all others are compared--and a page-turning, heart-stopping adventure, recipient of the Newbery Honor.
Thirteen-year-old Brian Robeson is on his way to visit his father when the single-engine plane in which he is flying crashes. Suddenly, Brian finds himself alone in the Canadian wilderness with nothing but a tattered Windbreaker and the hatchet his mother gave him as a present--and the dreadful secret that has been tearing him apart since his parent's divorce. But now Brian has no time for anger, self pity, or despair--it will take all his know-how and determination, and more courage than he knew he possessed, to survive.
Homesick
by Jean FritzThis heartwarming fictionalized autobiography tells the story of what it is like for a little girl to be growing up in an unfamiliar place.
While other girls her age were enjoying childhood in America, Jean Fritz was in China in the midst of political unrest. During this time, foreigners were becoming more and more unpopular, and evacuation at a moment's notice was imminent. Although Jean appreciated the beauty of China - the mountains, the countryside, the sea - she knew she belonged in America and longed to make her home there.
Newbery Honor Book
Winner of the National Book Award
The Hundred Penny Box
by Sharon Bell MathisMichael loves his great-great-aunt Dew, even if she can't always remember his name. He especially loves to spend time with her and her beloved hundred penny box, listening to stories about each of the hundred years of her life. Michael's mother wants to throw out the battered old box that holds the pennies, but Michael understands that the box itself is as important to Aunt Dew as the memories it contains.
Newbery Medal Honor book
I Heard the Owl Call My Name
by Margaret CravenA novel about the clash of the ancient culture versus the modern culture of the Indians of the Pacific Northwest.