Special Collections
Accelerated Reader (ATOS Level: 3.0-3.9)
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Wayside School is Falling Down
by Louis SacharA collection of wacky stories about the 29 kids in Mrs. Jewls's class at the crazy and adventurous Wayside School.
Towers Falling
by Jewell Parker RhodesFrom award-winning author Jewell Parker Rhodes, a powerful novel set fifteen years after the 9/11 attacks.
When her fifth-grade teacher hints that a series of lessons about home and community will culminate with one big answer about two tall towers once visible outside their classroom window, Deja can't help but feel confused.
She sets off on a journey of discovery, with new friends Ben and Sabeen by her side.
But just as she gets closer to answering big questions about who she is, what America means, and how communities can grow (and heal), she uncovers new questions, too.
Like, why does Pop get so angry when she brings up anything about the towers?
Award-winning author Jewell Parker Rhodes tells a powerful story about young people who weren't alive to witness this defining moment in history, but begin to realize how much it colors their every day.
It's the First Day of School...Forever!
by R. L. StineEverything goes wrong for eleven-year-old Artie on his first day at Ardmore Middle School, from the moment his alarm goes off until the next morning, when everything is repeated exactly the same way.
Mary Anne Saves the Day
by Ann M. MartinThe girls of the BSC are in a huge fight, and Mary Anne feels caught in the middle. She isn't usually a leader in their group, but when the club leaves her alone to deal with a sick child, Mary Anne knows it's time to take charge.
Mysteries According to Humphrey
by Betty G. BirneyMrs. Brisbane is missing! She just didn't show up in Room 26 one morning and no one told Humphrey why.
The class has a substitute teacher, called Mr. E., but he's no Mrs. Brisbane.
Humphrey has just learned about Sherlock Holmes, so he vows to be just as SMART-SMART-SMART about collecting clues and following leads to solve the mystery of Mrs. Brisbane (and a few others along the way).
Nominated for twenty-four state awards and the winner of seven, the Humphrey series is a hit across the country.
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.
The One and Only Ivan
by Katherine Applegate and Patricia CastelaoIvan is an easygoing gorilla. Living at the Exit 8 Big Top Mall and Video Arcade, he has grown accustomed to humans watching him through the glass walls of his domain. He rarely misses his life in the jungle. In fact, he hardly ever thinks about it at all.
Instead, Ivan thinks about TV shows he's seen and about his friends Stella, an elderly elephant, and Bob, a stray dog. But mostly Ivan thinks about art and how to capture the taste of a mango or the sound of leaves with color and a well-placed line.
Then he meets Ruby, a baby elephant taken from her family, and she makes Ivan see their home-and his own art-through new eyes. When Ruby arrives, change comes with her, and it's up to Ivan to make it a change for the better.
Katherine Applegate blends humor and poignancy to create Ivan's unforgettable first-person narration in a story of friendship, art, and hope.
Newbery Medal Winner
Superfudge
by Judy BlumeSometimes life in the Hatcher household is enough to make twelve-year-old Peter think about running away. His worst problem is still his younger brother, Fudge, who hasn't changed a bit since his crazy capers in Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing. If you ask Peter, Fudge is just an older — and bigger — pain.Then Peter learns that his mom is going to have a baby and the whole family is moving to Princeton for a year. It will be bad enough starting sixth grade in a strange place and going to the same school as Fudge. But Peter can imagine something even worse. How will he ever survive if the new baby is a carbon copy of Fudge?
Superfudge
by Judy BlumeSometimes life in the Hatcher household is enough to make twelve-year-old Peter think about running away. His worst problem is still his younger brother, Fudge, who hasn't changed a bit since his crazy capers in Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing. If you ask Peter, Fudge is just an older — and bigger — pain.Then Peter learns that his mom is going to have a baby and the whole family is moving to Princeton for a year. It will be bad enough starting sixth grade in a strange place and going to the same school as Fudge. But Peter can imagine something even worse. How will he ever survive if the new baby is a carbon copy of Fudge?
Superfudge
by Judy BlumeSometimes life in the Hatcher household is enough to make twelve-year-old Peter think about running away. His worst problem is still his younger brother, Fudge, who hasn't changed a bit since his crazy capers in Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing. If you ask Peter, Fudge is just an older -- and bigger -- pain.
Then Peter learns that his mom is going to have a baby and the whole family is moving to Princeton for a year. It will be bad enough starting sixth grade in a strange place and going to the same school as Fudge. But Peter can imagine something even worse. How will he ever survive if the new baby is a carbon copy of Fudge?
Winner of Pacific Northwest Library Association’s Young Reader’s Choice Award
Full of Beans
by Jennifer L. HolmNewbery Honor Book Turtle in Paradise is beloved by readers, and now they can return to this wonderful world through the eyes of Turtle's cousin Beans.
Grown-ups lie. That's one truth Beans knows for sure. He and his gang know how to spot a whopper a mile away, because they are the savviest bunch of barefoot conchs (that means "locals") in all of Key West. Not that Beans really minds; it's 1934, the middle of the Great Depression.
With no jobs on the island, and no money anywhere, who can really blame the grown-ups for telling a few tales?
Besides, Beans isn't anyone's fool. In fact, he has plans. Big plans. And the consequences might surprise even Beans himself.
Winner of the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction
Night of the Puppet People
by R. L. StineJust in time for the Goosebumps movie, in theaters October 16, 2015! Ben and Jenny Renfro are terrified of puppets and they don't know why. It's just been a fear that the twins have shared for as long as they can remember. Yes, they are creeped out by all kinds of puppets, but especially marionettes. Something about all of those wires is extra scary. The twins are determined to defeat their class rivals by winning their school's talent contest. And that means doing whatever it takes. Even if they have to surround themselves by the thing they hate most--puppets! But there is more to these guys than just string and glue. Something evil is hanging around. Will Ben and Jenny be able to take control?
Crazy Lady
by Jane Leslie ConlyReceiving less and less attention from his widowed father, Vernon joins with his friends as they ridicule the neighborhood outcasts--Maxine, an alcoholic prone to public displays of crazy behavior, and Ronald, her retarded son. Then the social service decides to put Ronald into a special home, and Vernon finds himself fighting the agency. 1994 Newbery Honor Book
Notable Children's Books of 1994 (ALA)
1994 Best Books for Young Adults (ALA)
1994 Young Adult Editors' Choices (BL)
1994 Books for the Teen Age (NY Public Library)
Young Adult Choices for 1995 (IRA)
Because of Mr. Terupt
by Rob BuyeaFeatures seven narrators, each with a unique story, and each with a different perspective on what makes their teacher so special.
It's the start of fifth grade for seven kids at Snow Hill School. There's Jessica, the new girl, smart and perceptive, who's having a hard time fitting in; Alexia, a bully, your friend one second, your enemy the next; Peter, class prankster and troublemaker; Luke, the brain; Danielle, who never stands up for herself; shy Anna, whose home situation makes her an outcast; and Jeffrey, who hates school.
Only Mr. Terupt, their new and energetic teacher, seems to know how to deal with them all. He makes the classroom a fun place, even if he doesn't let them get away with much . . . until the snowy winter day when an accident changes everything--and everyone.
Double Fudge
by Judy BlumeAny fan of Fudge knows that he never does anything halfway. And so it should come as no surprise that when he discovers the value of money, he goes whole hog-making his own "Fudge Bucks," dressing as a miser for Halloween, and thumbing through catalogs to choose his birthday presents years in advance. His older brother, Peter, who's just starting seventh grade, finds it all highly embarrassing, as usual. But things change when the Hatchers meet their long-lost relatives, the Howie Hatchers of Honolulu, Hawaii. With new cousins Flora, Fauna, and four-year-old Farley Drexel (yes, that's right, another Farley Drexel!), the stage is set for a wild and wacky beginning to a new school year. .
Double Fudge
by Judy BlumePart of the classic Fudge series from Judy Blume, bestselling author of Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing!Fudge is obsessed with money. He’s making his own “Fudge Bucks” and has plans to buy the entire world. But life gets really crazy when Fudge and his older brother, Peter, run into their long-lost relatives, the Howie Hatchers. Now they have to deal with annoying twin cousins and a weird younger cousin, coincidentally named Farley Drexel Hatcher—just like Fudge! Their names aren’t the only similarity, and before long, mini-Fudge is causing just as much trouble as Fudge always has!“As a kid, Judy Blume was my favorite author, and Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing was my favorite book.”—Jeff Kinney, author of the bestselling Wimpy Kid seriesLove Fudge, Peter, and Sheila? Read all the books featuring your favorite characters: Tales of a Fourth Grade NothingOtherwise Known as Sheila the Great Superfudge Fudge-a-Mania
There's A Boy in the Girl's Bathroom
by Louis SacharBradley Chalkers IS the oldest kid in the fifth grade. He tells enormous lies. He picks fights with girls. No one likes him--except Carla, the new school counselor. She thinks Bradley is sensitive and generous, and knows that Bradley could change, if only he weren't afraid to try. But when you feel like the most-hated kid in the whole school, believing in yourself can be the hardest thing in the world. . . .Winner of 19 Children's Choice AwardsFrom the Trade Paperback edition.
Dash
by Kirby LarsonNew from Newbery Honor author Kirby Larson, the moving story of a Japanese-American girl who is separated from her dog upon being sent to an incarceration camp during WWII.
Jake and Lily
by Jerry SpinelliThis is a story about me, Lily. And me, Jake. We're twins and we're exactly alike. Not exactly! Whatever. This is a book we wrote about the summer we turned eleven and Jake ditched me. Please. I just started hanging out with some guys in the neighborhood. Right. So anyway, this is a book about goobers and supergoobers bullies clubhouses true friends things getting built and wrecked and rebuilt and about figuring out who we are. We wrote this together (sort of) so you'll get to see both sides of our story. But you'll probably agree with my side. You always have to have the last word, don't you? Yes!
Dreambender
by Ronald KiddEveryone in the City is assigned a job by the choosers--keeper, catcher, computer. Callie Crawford is a computer. She works with numbers: putting them together, taking them apart. Her work is important, but sometimes she wants more. Jeremy Finn is a dreambender. His job is to adjust people's dreams. He and others like him quietly remove thoughts of music and art to keep people in the City from becoming too focused on themselves and their own feelings rather than on the world. They need to keep the world safe from another Warming. But Jeremy thinks music is beautiful, and when he pops into a dream of Callie singing, he becomes fascinated with her. He begins to wonder if there is more to life than being safe. Defying his community and the role they have established for him, he sets off to find her in the real world. Together, they will challenge their world's expectations. But how far will they go to achieve their own dreams?
Waiting for Normal
by Leslie ConnorAddie is waiting for normal.
But Addie's mom has an all-or-nothing approach to life: a food fiesta or an empty pantry, jubilation or gloom, her way or no way. All or nothing never adds up to normal. All or nothing can't bring you all to home, which is exactly where Addie longs to be, with her half sisters, every day. In spite of life's twists and turns, Addie remains optimistic. Someday, maybe, she'll find normal.
Leslie Connor has created an inspiring novel about one girl's giant spirit.
Schneider Family Award Winner
Double Take
by Carolyn KeeneIn Treasure Trouble, Nancy, George, and Bess are headed to Barnacle Beach for a pirate-themed birthday party. But when the treasure chest filled with party favors disappears, playtime is over. With the help of a mysterious treasure map, the Clue Crew needs to reclaim the missing loot before the party’s completely ruined. In Double Take, the Clue Crew has competition—one of their classmates has started a rival sleuthing club! Can Nancy and the girls solve the latest case before the phony detectives do?
Fish in a Tree
by Lynda Mullaly HuntA New York Times Bestseller!
The author of the beloved One for the Murphys gives readers an emotionally-charged, uplifting novel that will speak to anyone who’s ever thought there was something wrong with them because they didn’t fit in.
“Everybody is smart in different ways. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its life believing it is stupid.”
Ally has been smart enough to fool a lot of smart people. Every time she lands in a new school, she is able to hide her inability to read by creating clever yet disruptive distractions. She is afraid to ask for help; after all, how can you cure dumb? However, her newest teacher Mr. Daniels sees the bright, creative kid underneath the trouble maker. With his help, Ally learns not to be so hard on herself and that dyslexia is nothing to be ashamed of. As her confidence grows, Ally feels free to be herself and the world starts opening up with possibilities. She discovers that there’s a lot more to her—and to everyone—than a label, and that great minds don’t always think alike.
The Pet War
by Allan WoodrowTHE PET WAR is a hilarious story about the timeless battles of dog vs. cat, brother vs. sister, know-it-all vs. know-nothing. Eleven-year-old Otto wants a dog. His twelve-year-old perfect sister, Lexi, wants a cat. Their mother, who works very long hours as a nurse, wants neither. Pets are expensive so who's going to pay for everything? And what happens to the pet when the siblings are at their dad's for the weekend? Otto has an idea. What if he got a job and earned enough money to pay for the dog? Then Lexi has to open her big mouth. She proposes that whichever sibling can raise enough money first will decide which pet they get. Oddly enough, their mom and dad agree. With Otto and Lexi each out to defeat the other, their business plans become more elaborate and involved. As the competition gets fiercer, the stakes get higher, and the battle lines have been drawn, so let the Pet War begin. . . .
Three Times Lucky
by Sheila TurnageRising sixth grader Miss Moses LoBeau lives in the small town of Tupelo Landing, NC, where everyone's business is fair game and no secret is sacred. She washed ashore in a hurricane eleven years ago, and she's been making waves ever since. Although Mo hopes someday to find her "upstream mother," she's found a home with the Colonel--a café owner with a forgotten past of his own--and Miss Lana, the fabulous café hostess. She will protect those she loves with every bit of her strong will and tough attitude. So when a lawman comes to town asking about a murder, Mo and her best friend, Dale Earnhardt Johnson III, set out to uncover the truth in hopes of saving the only family Mo has ever known.
Full of wisdom, humor, and grit, this timeless yarn will melt the heart of even the sternest Yankee.
Newbery Medal Honor book