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Accelerated Reader Middle Grade Collection
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So Far from Home
by Barry DenenbergCritically acclaimed author Barry Denenberg turns a sharp eye on life for a young Irish immigrant at the Lowell Mill.
A Solitary Blue
by Cynthia VoigtA Newbery Honor–winning installment of the Cynthia Voigt’s classic Tillerman series.
Jeff Greene was only seven when he came home from school to find a note from his mother. She felt that the world needed her more than her “grown up” son did. For someone who believed she could see the world’s problems so clearly, she was blind to the heartache and difficulties she pushed upon her son, leaving him with his reserved, undemonstrative father.
So when, years later, she invites Jeff to spend summers with her in Charleston, Jeff is captivated by her free spirit and warmth, and a happiness he’s been missing fills him. But Jeff's second visit ends with a devastating betrayal and an aching feeling of loneliness. In life, there can be emotional pits so deep that seemingly nothing will grow—but if he digs a little deeper, Jeff might just come out on the other side.
Something in Between
by Melissa de la CruzShe had her whole life planned. She knew who she was and where she was going. Until the truth changed everything.
Jasmine de los Santos has always done what's expected of her. She's studied hard, made her Filipino immigrant parents proud and is ready to reap the rewards in the form of a full college scholarship to the school of her dreams.
And then everything shatters. Her parents are forced to reveal the truth: their visas expired years ago. Her entire family is illegal. That means no scholarships, maybe no college at all and the very real threat of deportation.
As she's trying to make sense of who she is in this new reality, her world is turned upside down again by Royce Blakely. He's funny, caring and spontaneous--basically everything she's been looking for at the worst possible time--and now he's something else she may lose. Jasmine will stop at nothing to protect her relationships, family and future, all while figuring out what it means to be an immigrant in today's society.
Sondok
by Sheri HolmanDuring the seventh century in the land which is now Korea, 14-year-old Sondok is the eldest daughter of King Chinp-yong, ruler of Silla. It is an era of political and religious intrigue for this princess living in a tumultuous time.
Song Lee and the Leech Man
by Suzy KlineHarry plots revenge against Sidney, the class tattletale, when Miss Mackle's second graders go on a field trip to the pond. Independent readers will enjoy this chapter book, which is written in short, simple, chatty sentences. --Booklist
Son of Slappy
by R. L. StineThe infamous, Most Wanted Goosebumps characters are out on the loose and they're coming after you! Catch them undead or alive!
Hello dummy! The evil puppet you hate to love is back for a brand new scare.
Jackson Stander is every parent's dream. He doesn't get into trouble, he always does his homework, and he never, ever lies. His teachers all trust him completely. He even volunteers at the local Youth Center. But that was all before Jackson came across an evil ventriloquist dummy. Now he must deal with Slappy and the son of Slappy as they wreak havoc on his family and friends. Jackson will soon see that two Slappy's are not better than one!
Splat The Cat And The Hotshot
by Rob ScottonSplat goes on a Cat Scouts trip in this hilarious I Can Read book from New York Times bestselling author-artist Rob Scotton.
Splat can hardly wait to put on his uniform, tie knots, and build a fire. But when a new member of the group does everything just a bit better than everyone else, Splat wishes he could have a chance to shine. Thanks to some sticky mud, he might get to show what a great outdoors-cat he really is!
Beginning readers will practice the -ot sound in this easy-to-read addition to the Splat series. Splat the Cat and the Hotshot is a Level One I Can Read book, which means it's perfect for children learning to sound out words and sentences.
Splat The Cat Sings Flat
by Rob ScottonSplat's class is preparing to sing on Parents' Night, but Splat has stage fright! What will it take for him to overcome his fear?
Splendors And Glooms
by Laura Amy SchlitzThe master puppeteer, Gaspare Grisini, is so expert at manipulating his stringed puppets that they appear alive. Clara Wintermute, the only child of a wealthy doctor, is spellbound by Grisini's act and invites him to entertain at her birthday party. Seeing his chance to make a fortune, Grisini accepts and makes a splendidly gaudy entrance with caravan, puppets, and his two orphaned assistants.
Lizzie Rose and Parsefall are dazzled by the Wintermute home. Clara seems to have everything they lack -- adoring parents, warmth, and plenty to eat. In fact, Clara's life is shadowed by grief, guilt, and secrets. When Clara vanishes that night, suspicion of kidnapping falls upon the puppeteer and, by association, Lizzie Rose and Parsefall.
As they seek to puzzle out Clara's whereabouts, Lizzie and Parse uncover Grisini's criminal past and wake up to his evil intentions. Fleeing London, they find themselves caught in a trap set by Grisini's ancient rival, a witch with a deadly inheritance to shed before it's too late. Newberry Honor Book
Spring According to Humphrey
by Betty G. BirneySpring is in the air, and lots of things are growing--including the Room 26 family!
Signs of spring are very exciting to everyone at Longfellow School. Mrs. Brisbane's class has seen flowers poking out of snow and baby birds hatching, and Just-Joey even brought in tadpoles that are growing into frogs.
It also means Family Fun Night is coming up, and all of the students' families are involved in making amazing activities. Humphrey helps in many ways, of course, but he can't stop wondering about his own family. He doesn't know anything about his mom or dad.
Luckily, all of his wonderful friends help him see that families come in many shapes and sizes, and Humphrey's might be the biggest (and best!) one of all.
Squid-napped!
by Aaron Blecha and Davy OceanWhen Harry Hammer decides to leave Shark Point for better waters, he finds squid-tastic trouble instead in this Shark School (mis)adventure.
Instead of a super-cool celebration, Harry Hammer's birthday party turns into a super-colossal embarrassment! Why do his parents always make him feel like a big baby hammerhead in front of his friends--and his arch rival, Rick Reef?
Harry decides he'd be better off alone and leaves Shark Point for faraway waters. But he comes face-to-face with a giant squid who hasn't had his lunch yet! Uh-oh...is the birthday boy on the menu?
The Stars Beneath Our Feet
by David Barclay MooreA boy tries to steer a safe path through the projects in Harlem in the wake of his brother’s death in this outstanding debut novel that’s been described as a “fast and furious read in which we meet some amazing people, people that stay with us” by Newbery Honor and National Book Award–winning author Jacqueline Woodson.
It’s Christmas Eve in Harlem, but twelve-year-old Lolly Rachpaul and his mom aren’t celebrating. They’re still reeling from his older brother’s death in a gang-related shooting just a few months earlier.
Then Lolly’s mother’s girlfriend brings him a gift that will change everything: two enormous bags filled with Legos. Lolly’s always loved Legos, and he prides himself on following the kit instructions exactly. Now, faced with a pile of building blocks and no instructions, Lolly must find his own way forward.
His path isn’t clear—and the pressure to join a “crew,” as his brother did, is always there. When Lolly and his friend are beaten up and robbed, joining a crew almost seems like the safe choice. But building a fantastical Lego city at the community center provides Lolly with an escape—and an unexpected bridge back to the world.
David Barclay Moore paints a powerful portrait of a boy teetering on the edge—of adolescence, of grief, of violence—and shows how Lolly’s inventive spirit helps him build a life with firm foundations and open doors.
Stella by Starlight
by Sharon M. DraperWhen the Ku Klux Klan's unwelcome reappearance rattles Stella's segregated southern town, bravery battles prejudice in this Depression-era tour de force from Sharon Draper, the New York Times bestselling author of Out of My Mind.
Stella lives in the segregated South--in Bumblebee, North Carolina, to be exact about it. Some stores she can go into. Some stores she can't. Some folks are right pleasant. Others are a lot less so. To Stella, it sort of evens out, and heck, the Klan hasn't bothered them for years.
But one late night, later than she should ever be up, much less wandering around outside, Stella and her little brother see something they're never supposed to see, something that is the first flicker of change to come, unwelcome change by any stretch of the imagination.
As Stella's community--her world--is upended, she decides to fight fire with fire. And she learns that ashes don't necessarily signify an end.
Step Fourth, Mallory!
by Laurie FriedmanMallory McDonald enters the fourth grade, but her high hopes for the new school year tumble when she finds herself on the wrong foot of her new teacher. To make matters worse, both she and her best friend are interested in the same boy.
Stink
by Megan McdonaldShrink, shrank, shrunk! Every morning, Judy Moody measures Stink and it's always the same: three feet, eight inches tall. Stink feels like even the class newt is growing faster than he is. Then, one day, the ruler reads -- can it be? -- three feet, seven and three quarters inches! Is Stink shrinking?
He tries everything to look like he's growing, but wearing up-and-down stripes and spiking his hair aren't fooling anyone into thinking he's taller. If only he could ask James Madison -- Stink's hero, and the shortest person ever to serve as President of the United States.
In Stink's first solo adventure, his special style comes through loud and strong.
Stink And The Freaky Frog Freakout
by Megan McdonaldCroak! Squeenk! Ribbet! After a close encounter with a mutant amphibian makes him freaky for frogs, water-shy Stink becomes a swimming success.
Stink may be super smart, and Stink may be uber clever, but he’s been in the Polliwog swim class frog-ever and he still can’t bear to put his face in the water. Why would he want a geyser up his nose, on purpose?
But then something weird happens: Stink starts to see frogs everywhere — in the locker room, in his boot, in the bathtub. And when a freaky blue frog licks his arm, his froggy senses start tingling! He has an urge to slurp up raisins (that look like flies). He can’t wait to play in the rain and mud.
He’s a wiz at identifying frog calls. And he has become very interested in the local frog population.
Could it be that Stink is turning into . . . the amazing Stink-Frog, fighter of slime? Pree-eep! Craw-awk!
Stink and the Incredible Super-Galactic Jawbreaker
by Megan McdonaldSpurred by a new found awareness of false advertising, Stink Moody becomes the proverbial kid in a candy store as his letter-writing campaign yields him heaps of free rewards.
When Stink buys a mammoth jawbreaker that doesn't break his jaw, he writes a letter of complaint to the manufacturer -- and receives a ten-pound box of 21,280 jawbreakers for his trouble!
This unexpected benefit of acing the art of letter-writing in school sure gets Stink thinking. Soon Stink is so preoccupied with getting free stuff sent to him that he overlooks a scribbly envelope in the mail pile -- until his best friend, Webster, starts acting standoffish and looks as mad as a hornet.
Stink and the Shark Sleepover
by Megan McdonaldShark-tastic! Stink gets to sleep with the fishes after his parents win an aquarium sleepover.
When Stink and his friends get to sleep over at the aquarium, it's a science freak's dream come true. Stink loves the sea-creature scavenger hunt, the jellyfish light show, and the sand tiger sharks with razor-sharp teeth.
But after some spooky stories around the virtual campfire, can he manage to fall asleep thinking about Bloody Mary, the mutant Frankensquid that's supposed to be on the prowl?
Stink and the World's Worst Super-Stinky Sneakers
by Megan McdonaldFollow your nose to a hilarious Stink-fest no kid will want to miss! Gross Me Out! Stink-o! Skunksville! Stink Moody's class is going on a field trip to the Gross-Me-Out exhibit at the science museum, and he can't wait to see the Vomit Machine, the Burp-O-Meter, and the Musical Farts.
Best of all, when he gets to the Everybody Stinks exhibit, Stink discovers that his very own nose has amazing sniffing abilities -- and he learns that some people have real jobs sniffing stuff for NASA!
Soon the junior olfactory wiz is engrossed in toilet water, corpse flowers, and all things smelly, and he and Sophie of the Elves are set to go toe-to-toe in a stinky sneaker contest. Will Stink's fetid footwear be foul enough to earn him a Golden Clothespin Award?
Stink's loyal fans will be holding their breath for his latest outrageous solo adventure.
Stone Fox
by John Reynolds Gardiner and Greg HargreavesJohn Reynolds Gardiner's action-packed canine adventure story of a thrilling dogsled race has captivated readers for more than thirty years.
Based on a Rocky Mountain legend, Stone Fox tells the story of Little Willy, who lives with his grandfather in Wyoming. When Grandfather falls ill, he is no longer able to work the farm, which is in danger of foreclosure. Little Willy is determined to win the National Dogsled Race—the prize money would save the farm and his grandfather. But he isn't the only one who desperately wants to win. Willy and his brave dog Searchlight must face off against experienced racers, including a Native American man named Stone Fox, who has never lost a race.
Exciting and heartwarming, this novel has sold millions of copies and was named a New York Times Outstanding Children's Book.
The Story of Owen
by E. K. JohnstonListen! For I sing of Owen Thorskard: valiant of heart, hopeless at algebra, last in a long line of legendary dragon slayers. Though he had few years and was not built for football, he stood between the town of Trondheim and creatures that threatened its survival.
There have always been dragons. As far back as history is told, men and women have fought them, loyally defending their villages. Dragon slaying was a proud tradition.
But dragons and humans have one thing in common: an insatiable appetite for fossil fuels. From the moment Henry Ford hired his first dragon slayer, no small town was safe. Dragon slayers flocked to cities, leaving more remote areas unprotected.
Such was Trondheim's fate until Owen Thorskard arrived. At sixteen, with dragons advancing and his grades plummeting, Owen faced impossible odds armed only with a sword, his legacy, and the classmate who agreed to be his bard.
Listen! I am Siobhan McQuaid. I alone know the story of Owen, the story that changes everything. Listen!
Story Thieves
by James RileyA hilarious, action-packed series launches with a story-within-a-story, from the bestselling author of the Half Upon a Time trilogy.
Life is boring when you live in the real world, instead of starring in your own book series. Owen knows that better than anyone, what with the real world's homework and chores. But everything changes the day Owen sees the impossible happen--his classmate Bethany climb out of a book in the library.
It turns out Bethany's half-fictional and has been searching every book she can find for her missing father, a fictional character. Bethany can't let anyone else learn her secret, so Owen makes her a deal: All she has to do is take him into a book in Owen's favorite Kiel Gnomenfoot series, and he'll never say a word. Besides, visiting the book might help Bethany find her father... ...
Or it might just destroy the Kiel Gnomenfoot series, reveal Bethany's secret to the entire world, and force Owen to live out Kiel Gnomenfoot's final (very final) adventure.
Stowaway
by Karen HesseIn the summer of 1768, an eleven-year-old butcher's apprentice named Nicholas Young climbed aboard a ship, hid himself from captain and crew, and waited to be carried far away from the life he hated in London. Nick didn't know it, but the ship he chose -- H.M.S. Endeavour -- was bound for an astonishing adventure. Captained by James Cook, Endeavour was on a secret mission to discover an unknown continent at the bottom of the globe. During his three-year voyage, Nick encountered hardship and was awed by new discoveries; he weathered danger and proved himself brave when disaster struck; he earned the respect and trust of the gentlemen on board; he made a friend for life. And he made history. An eleven-year-old boy named Nicholas Young really did stow away on Cook's Endeavour. Based on exhaustive historical research and illustrated with evocative drawings by Robert Andrew Parker, Stowaway is Newbery winner Karen Hesse's extraordinary fictional account of the real Nicholas's journey.