Special Collections

Browse by Lexile: 1000L - 1090L

Description: Find books that match your lexile measure. Browse these novels and non-fiction reads written at the 1000L through 1090L. All Lexile measures verified by MetaMetrics. #teacher


Showing 51 through 75 of 101 results
 

Funny in Farsi

by Firoozeh Dumas

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Finalist for the PEN/USA Award in Creative Nonfiction, the Thurber Prize for American Humor, and the Audie Award in Biography/MemoirThis Random House Reader’s Circle edition includes a reading group guide and a conversation between Firoozeh Dumas and Khaled Hosseini, author of The Kite Runner!“Remarkable . . . told with wry humor shorn of sentimentality . . . In the end, what sticks with the reader is an exuberant immigrant embrace of America.”—San Francisco ChronicleIn 1972, when she was seven, Firoozeh Dumas and her family moved from Iran to Southern California, arriving with no firsthand knowledge of this country beyond her father’s glowing memories of his graduate school years here. More family soon followed, and the clan has been here ever since. Funny in Farsi chronicles the American journey of Dumas’s wonderfully engaging family: her engineer father, a sweetly quixotic dreamer who first sought riches on Bowling for Dollars and in Las Vegas, and later lost his job during the Iranian revolution; her elegant mother, who never fully mastered English (nor cared to); her uncle, who combated the effects of American fast food with an army of miraculous American weight-loss gadgets; and Firoozeh herself, who as a girl changed her name to Julie, and who encountered a second wave of culture shock when she met and married a Frenchman, becoming part of a one-couple melting pot. In a series of deftly drawn scenes, we watch the family grapple with American English (hot dogs and hush puppies?—a complete mystery), American traditions (Thanksgiving turkey?—an even greater mystery, since it tastes like nothing), and American culture (Firoozeh’s parents laugh uproariously at Bob Hope on television, although they don’t get the jokes even when she translates them into Farsi). Above all, this is an unforgettable story of identity, discovery, and the power of family love. It is a book that will leave us all laughing—without an accent.

Date Added: 08/01/2018


Category: 1030L

His Majesty's Dragon

by Naomi Novik

The Napoleonic Wars. . . with dragons. An historical fantasy with bite. This deliciously addictive debut novel from Naomi Novik captures the Napoleonic period perfectly and skilfully layers history with imagination by adding a Dragon Air Force to the battle for England. As Napoleon's infantry rampages across Europe and his armada lies in wait for Nelson's smaller fleet, the war does not rage on land and water alone. Squadrons of aviators swarm the skies.

Date Added: 08/01/2018


Category: 1030L

Freedom Stone

by Jeffrey Kluger

Lillie's papa believed in freedom-for him, his family, and all the slaves on the Greenfog plantation. So when the Confederate Army promised freedom to the family of every slave who served in the Civil War-whether they came home or not-Lillie's papa decided he had to take the chance. But when Lillie's family got the news that her papa was killed, they weren't freed. The army claimed that Lillie's papa was a thief. Lillie knew that couldn't be true! Even worse, the master started making plans to sell off Lillie's little brother, Plato. With the help of an old slave, Bett, who bakes bread that bends time, Lillie travels to the battle during which her father died to find out the true story. Using a little magic of her own, Lillie rights a few wrongs and buys her family their freedom. This is a beautiful tale filled with magic and hope and love. .

Date Added: 08/01/2018


Category: 1030L

Brian's Return

by Gary Paulsen

As millions of readers of Hatchet, The River, and Brian's Winter know, Brian Robeson survived alone in the wilderness by finding solutions to extraordinary challenges. But now that's he's back in civilization, he can't find a way to make sense of high school life. He feels disconnected, more isolated than he did alone in the North. The only answer is to return-to "go back in"-for only in the wilderness can Brian discover his true path in life, and where he belongs. "From the Paperback edition. "

Date Added: 08/01/2018


Category: 1030L

Ferris Beach

by Jill McCorkle

BONUS! Read a preview of Jill McCorkle's new novel, HIEROGLYPHICS, in the Ferris Beach e-book. "An amazing novel."— Sarah Dessen Ferris Beach is a place where excitement and magic coexist. Or so Mary Katherine "Katie" Burns, the only child of middle-aged Fred and Cleva Burns, believes. Shy and self-conscious, she daydreams about Ferris Beach, where her beautiful cousin, Angela, leads a romantic, mysterious life. It is the early 1970s, and when the land across the road from the Burns's historic house is sold to developers, Misty Rhodes—also from Ferris Beach—and her flamboyant parents move into the nearest newly built split-level. In contrast to Katie&’s composed, reserved, practical mother, Misty and her mother are everything Katie wants to be: daring, outrageous, fun. The two girls become inseparable, sharing every secret, every dream—until one fateful Fourth of July, when their lives change in a way they could never have imagined. In this classic McCorkle novel, the author's shrewd grasp of human nature creates characters that resonate with truth and emotion, and a story perfect for mothers and daughters to share and cherish.  

Date Added: 08/01/2018


Category: 1030L

Like Water for Chocolate

by Laura Esquivel

INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER • Earthy, magical, and utterly charming, this tale of family life in turn-of-the-century Mexico blends poignant romance, bittersweet wit, and delicious recipes. This classic love story takes place on the De la Garza ranch, as the tyrannical owner, Mama Elena, chops onions at the kitchen table in her final days of pregnancy. While still in her mother's womb, her daughter to be weeps so violently she causes an early labor, and little Tita slips out amid the spices and fixings for noodle soup. This early encounter with food soon becomes a way of life, and Tita grows up to be a master chef, using cooking to express herself and sharing recipes with readers along the way.

Date Added: 08/01/2018


Category: 1030L

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

by Jules Verne

ENDURING LITERATURE ILLUMINATED BY PRACTICAL SCHOLARSHIP A group of men set sail to solve the mystery of a sea monster in this amazing underwater adventure. EACH ENRICHED CLASSIC EDITION INCLUDES: A concise introduction that gives readers important background information A chronology of the author's life and work A timeline of significant events that provides the book's historical context An outline of key themes and plot points to help readers form their own interpretations Detailed explanatory notes Critical analysis, including contemporary and modern perspectives on the work Discussion questions to promote lively classroom and book group interaction A list of recommended related books and films to broaden the reader's experience Enriched Classics offer readers affordable editions of great works of literature enhanced by helpful notes and insightful commentary. The scholarship provided in Enriched Classics enables readers to appreciate, understand, and enjoy the world's finest books to their full potential. SERIES EDITED BY CYNTHIA BRANTLEY JOHNSON

Date Added: 08/01/2018


Category: 1030L

Helen Keller

by Grace Norwich

Meet the extraordinary young woman who learned to read, write, and speak—even though she was deaf and blind.I am two years old when I become deaf and blind. I live in a world of darkness. I am finally able to read and write with the help of my teacher Annie Sullivan. I am Helen Keller.Learn all about this remarkable young woman whose accomplishments are truly inspiring, with this biography including:illustrations throughouta timelinean introduction to the other people you’ll meet in the book, including Helen’s amazing teacher and the men who fell in love with hermapssidebarsa top ten list of important things to know, and more

Date Added: 08/01/2018


Category: 1040L

The War of the Worlds

by H. G. Wells

When hostile Martians land on Earth, mankind must fight back—or be destroyed—in this science fiction masterpiece At the turn of the twentieth century, few would believe that mankind is being watched from above. But millions of miles from Earth, the lords of the Red Planet prepare their armies for invasion, waiting for the moment to strike. When they land in the English countryside, baffled humans approach, waving white flags, and the Martians burn them to a crisp. The war has begun, and mankind doesn’t stand a chance. As Martian armies roll across England, one man fights to keep his family safe, risking his life—and his sanity—on the front lines of the greatest war in galactic history. H. G. Wells’s groundbreaking novel, adapted to radio and film, among other mediums, by visionary artists from Orson Welles to Steven Spielberg, remains one of the most chilling, unforgettable works of science fiction ever written. This ebook has been professionally proofread to ensure accuracy and readability on all devices.

Date Added: 08/01/2018


Category: 1040L

Farewell to Manzanar

by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston and James D. Houston

The powerful true story of life in a Japanese American internment camp.During World War II the community called Manzanar was hastily created in the high mountain desert country of California, east of the Sierras. Its purpose was to house thousands of Japanese American internees.One of the first families to arrive was the Wakatsukis, who were ordered to leave their fishing business in Long Beach and take with them only the belongings they could carry. For Jeanne Wakatsuki, a seven-year-old child, Manzanar became a way of life in which she struggled and adapted, observed and grew. For her father it was essentially the end of his life.In Farewell to Manzanar, Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston recalls life at Manzanar through the eyes of the child she was. She tells of her fear, confusion, and bewilderment as well as the dignity and great resourcefulness of people in oppressive and demeaning circumstances. Jeanne delivers a powerful first-person account that reveals her search for the meaning of Manzanar.Farewell to Manzanar has become a staple of curriculum in schools and on campuses across the country. Named one of the twentieth century’s 100 best nonfiction books from west of the Rockies by the San Francisco Chronicle.

Date Added: 08/01/2018


Category: 1040L

Journey to the Center of the Earth

by Jules Verne

A classic of nineteenth-century French literature, this science fiction tale delves into the depths of the Earth, and by so doing, reveals the staggeringly long history of our planet. THIS ENRICHED CLASSIC EDITION INCLUDES: ¥ A concise introduction that gives the reader important background information ¥ A chronology of the author's life and work ¥ A timeline of significant events that provides the book's historical context ¥ An outline of key themes and plot points to guide the reader's own interpretations ¥ Detailed explanatory notes ¥ Critical analysis, including contemporary and modern perspectives on the work ¥ Discussion questions to promote lively classroom and book group interaction ¥ A list of recommended related books and films to broaden the reader's experience

Date Added: 08/01/2018


Category: 1040L

A Hope More Powerful Than the Sea

by Melissa Fleming

The stunning story of a young woman, an international crisis, and the triumph of the human spirit.

Adrift in a frigid sea, no land in sight—just debris from the ship's wreckage and floating corpses all around—nineteen-year-old Doaa Al Zamel floats with a small inflatable water ring around her waist and clutches two children, barely toddlers, to her body. The children had been thrust into Doaa's arms by their drowning relatives, all refugees who boarded a dangerously overcrowded ship bound for Sweden and a new life. For days, Doaa floats, prays, and sings to the babies in her arms. She must stay alive for these children. She must not lose hope.

Doaa Al Zamel was once an average Syrian girl growing up in a crowded house in a bustling city near the Jordanian border. But in 2011, her life was upended. Inspired by the events of the Arab Spring, Syrians began to stand up against their own oppressive regime. When the army was sent to take control of Doaa's hometown, strict curfews, power outages, water shortages, air raids, and violence disrupted everyday life. After Doaa's father's barbershop was destroyed and rumors of women being abducted spread through the community, her family decided to leave Syria for Egypt, where they hoped to stay in peace until they could return home. Only months after their arrival, the Egyptian government was overthrown and the environment turned hostile for refugees.

In the midst of this chaos, Doaa falls in love with a young opposition fighter who proposes marriage and convinces her to flee to the promise of safety and a better future in Europe. Terrified and unable to swim, Doaa and her young fiance hand their life savings to smugglers and board a dilapidated fishing vessel with five hundred other refugees, including a hundred children. After four horrifying days at sea, another ship, filled with angry men shouting insults, rams into Doaa's boat, sinking it and leaving the passengers to drown.

That is where Doaa's struggle for survival really begins.A Hope More Powerful Than the Sea is an emotionally charged, eye-opening true story that represents the millions of unheard voices of refugees who risk everything in a desperate search for the promise of a safe future. Melissa Fleming sheds light on the most pressing humanitarian crisis of our time and paints a vivid, unforgettable portrait of the triumph of the human spirit.

Winner of the 2018 Alex Award (10 best adult books that appeal to teen audiences)

Date Added: 08/01/2018


Category: 1040L

Out of the Dust

by Karen Hesse

This gripping story, written in sparse first-person, free-verse poems, is the compelling tale of Billie Jo's struggle to survive during the dust bowl years of the Depression. With stoic courage, she learns to cope with the loss of her mother and her grieving father's slow deterioration. There is hope at the end when Billie Jo's badly burned hands are healed, and she is able to play her beloved piano again.

The 1998 Newbery Medal winner.

Winner of the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction

Date Added: 08/01/2018


Category: 1040L

The Grim Grotto

by Lemony Snicket and Brett Helquist and Michael Kupperman

Warning: Your day will become very dark - and possibly damp - if you read this book.

Plan to spend this spring in hiding. Lemony Snicket is back with the eleventh book in his New York Times bestselling A Series of Unfortunate Events.

Lemony Snicket's saga about the charming, intelligent and grossly unlucky Baudelaire orphans continues to provoke suspicion and despair in readers the world over.

In the eleventh and most alarming volume yet in the bestselling phenomenon A Series of Unfortunate Events, the intrepid siblings delve further into the dark mystery surrounding the death of their parents and the baffling VFD organisation.

Date Added: 08/01/2018


Category: 1040L

The Reptile Room

by Lemony Snicket and Brett Helquist and Michael Kupperman

Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire are intelligent children. They are charming, and resourceful, and have pleasant facial features. Unfortunately, they are exceptionally unlucky.

In the first two books alone, the three youngsters encounter a greedy and repulsive villain, itchy clothing, a disastrous fire, a plot to steal their fortune, a lumpy bed, a deadly serpent, a large brass reading lamp, a long knife, and a terrible odour.

In the tradition of great storytellers, from Dickens to Dahl, comes an exquisitely dark comedy that is both literary and irreverent, hilarious and deftly crafted. Never before has a tale of three likeable and unfortunate children been quite so enchanting, or quite so uproariously unhappy.

Date Added: 08/01/2018


Category: 1040L

How to Train Your Dragon

by Cressida Cowell

Read the HILARIOUS books that inspired the HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON films! Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third is a smallish Viking with a longish name. Hiccup's father is chief of the Hairy Hooligan tribe which means Hiccup is the Hope and the Heir to the Hairy Hooligan throne - but most of the time Hiccup feels like a very ordinary boy, finding it hard to be a Hero. Trapped on The American Dream II with his friends Fishlegs and Camicazi, Hiccup must ESCAPE the barbarian Norbert the Nutjob, and somehow dodge the cruel Polar-serpents in the icy waters below. If ONLY Hiccup hadn't promised to help the Wanderer slaves on board escape too! HOW will Hiccup save himself, his friends and a hundred and twenty-two Wanderers off a ship WITHOUT their terrifying captors noticing?How to Train Your Dragon is now a major DreamWorks franchise starring Gerard Butler, Cate Blanchett and Jonah Hill and the TV series, Riders of Berk, can be seen on CBeebies and Cartoon Network.

Date Added: 08/01/2018


Category: 1040L

Bee Season

by Myla Goldberg

Eliza Naumann, a seemingly unremarkable nine-year-old, expects never to fit into her gifted family: her autodidact father, Saul, absorbed in his study of Jewish mysticism; her brother, Aaron, the vessel of his father's spiritual ambitions; and her brilliant but distant lawyer-mom, Miriam. But when Eliza sweeps her school and district spelling bees in quick succession, Saul takes it as a sign that she is destined for greatness. In this altered reality, Saul inducts her into his hallowed study and lavishes upon her the attention previously reserved for Aaron, who in his displacement embarks upon a lone quest for spiritual fulfillment. When Miriam's secret life triggers a familial explosion, it is Eliza who must order the chaos. Myla Goldberg's keen eye for detail brings Eliza's journey to three-dimensional life. As she rises from classroom obscurity to the blinding lights and outsized expectations of the National Bee, Eliza's small pains and large joys are finely wrought and deeply felt. Not merely a coming-of-age story, Goldberg's first novel delicately examines the unraveling fabric of one family. The outcome of this tale is as startling and unconventional as her prose, which wields its metaphors sharply and rings with maturity. The work of a lyrical and gifted storyteller, Bee Season marks the arrival of an extraordinarily talented new writer.

Date Added: 08/01/2018


Category: 1050L

Star Wars

by Ryder Windham

The full story of Anakin Skywalker, from his birth in slavery to his death as the powerful Darth Vader ... told for the first time in its entirety by NYT bestselling Star Wars author Ryder Windham. The full story of Anakin Skywalker, from his birth in slavery to his death as the powerful Darth Vader ... told for the first time in its entirety by NYT bestselling Star Wars author Ryder Windham. Spanning all six Star Wars movie and including the pieces of the story that fill in the gaps, this novel will be a must-have for any Star Wars fan.

Date Added: 08/01/2018


Category: 1050L

Blue Moon

by Alyson Noël

Eager to learn everything she can about her new abilities as an Immortal, Ever turns to her beloved Damen to show her the way, but just as her powers are increasing, his are in decline.

Date Added: 08/01/2018


Category: 1050L

The Trouble Begins At 8

by Sid Fleischman

"Mark Twain was born fully grown, with a cheap cigar clamped between his teeth." So begins Sid Fleischman's ramble-scramble biography of the great American author and wit, who started life in a Missouri village as a barefoot boy named Samuel Clemens. Abandoning a career as a young steamboat pilot on the Mississippi River, Sam took a bumpy stagecoach to the Far West. In the gold and silver fields, he expected to get rich quick. Instead, he got poor fast, digging in the wrong places. His stint as a sagebrush newspaperman led to a duel with pistols. Had he not survived, the world would never have heard of Tom Sawyer or Huckleberry Finn-or red-headed Mark Twain. Samuel Clemens adopted his pen name in a hotel room in San Francisco and promptly made a jumping frog (and himself) famous. His celebrated novels followed at a leisurely pace; his quips at jet speed. "Don't let schooling interfere with your education," he wrote. Here, in high style, is the story of a wisecracking adventurer who came of age in the untamed West; an ink-stained rebel who surprised himself by becoming the most famous American of his time.

Date Added: 08/01/2018


Category: 1050L

Brisingr

by Christopher Paolini

Perfect for fans of Lord of the Rings, the New York Times bestselling Inheritance Cycle about the dragon rider Eragon has sold over 35 million copies and is an international fantasy sensation.Oaths sworn . . . loyalties tested . . . forces collide. Following the colossal battle against the Empire's warriors on the Burning Plains, Eragon and his dragon, Saphira, have narrowly escaped with their lives. Still there is more at hand for the Rider and his dragon, as Eragon finds himself bound by a tangle of promises he may not be able to keep. First is Eragon's oath to his cousin Roran: to help rescue Roran's beloved, Katrina, from King Galbatorix's clutches. But Eragon owes his loyalty to others, too. The Varden are in desperate need of his talents and strength--as are the elves and dwarves. When unrest claims the rebels and danger strikes from every corner, Eragon must make choices-- choices that take him across the Empire and beyond, choices that may lead to unimagined sacrifice. Eragon is the greatest hope to rid the land of tyranny. Can this once-simple farm boy unite the rebel forces and defeat the king?From the Hardcover edition.

Date Added: 08/01/2018


Category: 1050L

The Hero and the Crown

by Robin McKinley

An outcast princess must earn her birthright as a hero of the realm—in this &“utterly engrossing&” Newbery Medal–winning fantasy (The New York Times). Aerin is an outcast in her own father&’s court, daughter of the foreign woman who, it was rumored, was a witch, and enchanted the king to marry her. She makes friends with her father&’s lame, retired warhorse, Talat, and discovers an old, overlooked, and dangerously imprecise recipe for dragon-fire-proof ointment in a dusty corner of her father&’s library. Two years, many canter circles to the left to strengthen Talat&’s weak leg, and many burnt twigs (and a few fingers) secretly experimenting with the ointment recipe later, Aerin is present when someone comes from an outlying village to report a marauding dragon to the king. Aerin slips off alone to fetch her horse, her sword, and her fireproof ointment . . . But modern dragons, while formidable opponents fully capable of killing a human being, are small and accounted vermin. There is no honor in killing dragons. The great dragons are a tale out of ancient history. That is, until the day that the king is riding out at the head of an army. A weary man on an exhausted horse staggers into the courtyard where the king&’s troop is assembled: &“The Black Dragon has come . . . Maur, who has not been seen for generations, the last of the great dragons, great as a mountain. Maur has awakened.&”

Date Added: 08/01/2018


Category: 1050L

Ash

by Malinda Lo

In the wake of her father's death, Ash is left at the mercy of her cruel stepmother. Consumed with grief, her only joy comes by the light of the dying hearth fire, rereading the fairy tales her mother once told her. In her dreams, someday the fairies will steal her away, as they are said to do. When she meets the dark and dangerous fairy Sidhean, she believes that her wish may be granted. The day that Ash meets Kaisa, the King's Huntress, her heart begins to change. Instead of chasing fairies, Ash learns to hunt with Kaisa. Though their friendship is as delicate as a new bloom, it reawakens Ash's capacity for love-and her desire to live. But Sidhean has already claimed Ash for his own, and she must make a choice between fairy tale dreams and true love. Entrancing, empowering, and romantic, Ash is about the connection between life and love, and solitude and death, where transformation can come from even the deepest grief..

Date Added: 08/01/2018


Category: 1050L

Seventeenth Summer

by Maureen Daly

Until the summer before college, Angie Morrow didn't really date. Her mother didn't like her to go out much. But no one -- not even Angie's mother -- can resist the charm of strikingly handsome Jack Duluth.

His good looks grab Angies's attention from the moment in June when Jack throws Angie a smile at McKight's drugstore. And on their first date sailing under the stars -- when Jack leans in and whispers to Angie, "You look nice with the wind in your hair," the strange new feeling s begin.

Tingles, prickles, warmth: the tell-tale signs of romance. It's the beginning of an unforgettable summer for Angie, full of wonder, warmth, tears, challenge, and love.

Maureen Daly had created a love story so honest that it has withstood the test of time, winning new fans for more than six decades.

Today, this classic is enjoyed by many who think of it as the quintessential love story, and as a glimpse of love in the 1940's; a refreshing alternative to modern love stories, reflecting the beauty and innocence of new love.

Date Added: 08/01/2018


Category: 1050L

Weetamoo

by Patricia Clark Smith

In her first book for The Royal Diaries, Patricia Clark Smith introduces the teenage Weetamoo, who will succeed her father to become chief of the Pocassets in seventeenth-century New England.

Date Added: 08/01/2018


Category: 1050L


Showing 51 through 75 of 101 results