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Jefferson's Sons
by Kimberly Brubaker BradleyThis story of Thomas Jefferson's children by one of his slaves, Sally Hemings, tells a darker piece of America's history from an often unseen perspective-that of three of Jefferson's slaves-including two of his own children.
As each child grows up and tells his story, the contradiction between slavery and freedom becomes starker, calliing into question the real meaning of "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." This poignant story sheds light on what life was like as one of Jefferson's invisible offspring.
The War that Saved My Life
by Kimberly Brubaker BradleyAn exceptionally moving story of triumph against all odds set during World War 2, from the acclaimed author of Jefferson's Sons and for fans of Number the Stars. Nine-year-old Ada has never left her one-room apartment. Her mother is too humiliated by Ada's twisted foot to let her outside. So when her little brother Jamie is shipped out of London to escape the war, Ada doesn't waste a minute--she sneaks out to join him. So begins a new adventure of Ada, and for Susan Smith, the woman who is forced to take the two kids in. As Ada teaches herself to ride a pony, learns to read, and watches for German spies, she begins to trust Susan--and Susan begins to love Ada and Jamie. But in the end, will their bond be enough to hold them together through wartime? Or will Ada and her brother fall back into the cruel hands of their mother? This masterful work of historical fiction is equal parts adventure and a moving tale of family and identity--a classic in the making.
Winner of the Newbery Medal
Winner of the Schneider Family Book Award
Nominee for the 2018 Young Reader's Choice Award (Pacific Northwest Library Association)
The Last Kids on Earth and the Zombie Parade
by Max Brallier and Douglas Holgate"Terrifyingly fun! Delivers big thrills and even bigger laughs."--Jeff Kinney, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Diary of a Wimpy KidDiary of a Wimpy Kid meets The Walking Dead in this very funny post-apocalyptic graphic novel for middle-grade readers. The zombies are disappearing. This might seem like a good thing, since zombies eat your brains, but normal human kid Jack Sullivan is suspicious. He keeps hearing an eerie shrieking noise that seems to be almost summoning the zombies--but to where, and for what (probably) foul purpose? Jack, his three best friends (maybe the only people left on Earth), and their pet monster Rover need to get to the bottom of this. Along the way they encounter a lot more than they bargained for, including a giant Wormungulous, a pizza parlor monster hangout, an ancient evil who destroys worlds, and a stereo system that is totally the bomb. Can Jack figure out why the zombies are vanishing . . . before he and his friends are next?From the Hardcover edition.
Advisory: Bookshare has learned that this book offers only partial accessibility. We have kept it in the collection because it is useful for some of our members. Benetech is actively working on projects to improve accessibility issues such as these.
Flora And Ulysses
by K. G. Campbell and Kate DiCamilloWinner of the 2014 Newbery Medal. Holy unanticipated occurrences! A cynic meets an unlikely superhero in a genre-breaking new novel by master storyteller Kate DiCamillo. It begins, as the best superhero stories do, with a tragic accident that has unexpected consequences. The squirrel never saw the vacuum cleaner coming, but self-described cynic Flora Belle Buckman, who has read every issue of the comic book Terrible Things Can Happen to You!, is the just the right person to step in and save him. What neither can predict is that Ulysses (the squirrel) has been born anew, with powers of strength, flight, and misspelled poetry -- and that Flora will be changed too, as she discovers the possibility of hope and the promise of a capacious heart.
Newbery Medal Winner
Just a Drop of Water
by Kerry O'Malley CerraEver since he was little, Jake Green has longed to be a soldier and a hero like his grandpa, who died serving his country. Right now, though, he just wants to outsmart-and outrun-the rival cross country team, the Palmetto Bugs.
But then the tragedy of September 11 happens. It's quickly discovered that one of the hijackers lived nearby, making Jake's Florida town an FBI hot spot.
Two days later, the tragedy becomes even more personal when Jake's best friend, Sam Madina, is pummeled for being an Arab Muslim by their bully classmate, Bobby. According to Jake's personal code of conduct, anyone who beats up your best friend is due for a butt kicking, and so Jake goes after Bobby. But soon after, Sam's father is detained by the FBI and Jake's mom doubts the innocence of Sam's family, forcing Jake to choose between his best friend and his parents.
When Jake finds out that Sam's been keeping secrets, too, he doesn't know who his allies are anymore. But the final blow comes when his grandpa's real past is revealed to Jake. Suddenly, everything he ever knew to be true feels like one big lie. In the end, he must decide: either walk away from Sam and the revenge that Bobby has planned, or become the hero he's always aspired to be.
A gripping and intensely touching debut middle grade novel by Kerry O'Malley Cerra, Just a Drop of Water brings the events of September 11, which shook the world, into the lens of a young boy who is desperately trying to understand the ramifications of this life-altering event.
Tortilla Sun
by Jennifer CervantesWhen twelve-year-old Izzy discovers a beat-up baseball marked with the words "Because magic" while unpacking in yet another new apartment, she is determined to figure out what it means. What secrets does this old ball have to tell?
Her mom certainly isn't sharing any, especially when it comes to Izzy's father, who died before Izzy was born. But when she spends the summer in her Nana's remote New Mexico village, Izzy discovers long-buried secrets that come alive in an enchanted landscape of watermelon mountains, whispering winds, and tortilla suns.
Infused with the flavor of the southwest and sprinkled with just a pinch of magic, this heartfelt middle grade debut is as rich and satisfying as Nana's homemade enchiladas.
Summerlost
by Ally CondieA tender and compelling contemporary novel for young readers about facing loss and finding friendship, from Ally Condie, international bestselling author of the Matched series.
Sometimes it takes a new friend to bring you home. It's the first real summer since the accident that killed Cedar's father and younger brother, Ben. Cedar and what's left of her family are returning to the town of Iron Creek for the summer.
They're just settling into their new house when a boy named Leo, dressed in costume, rides by on his bike. Intrigued, Cedar follows him to the renowned Summerlost theatre festival.
Soon, she not only has a new friend in Leo and a job working concessions at the festival, she finds herself surrounded by mystery.
The mystery of the tragic, too-short life of the Hollywood actress who haunts the halls of Summerlost. And the mystery of the strange gifts that keep appearing for Cedar.
Infused with emotion and rich with understanding, Summerlost is the touching new novel from Ally Condie, the international bestselling author of the Matched series that highlights the strength of family and personal resilience in the face of tragedy.
Bunnicula
by James Howe and Deborah Howe and Alan DanielThis book is written by Harold. His fulltime occupation is dog. He lives with Mr. and Mrs. Monroe and their sons Toby and Pete. Also sharing the home are a cat named Chester and a rabbit named Bunnicula. It is because of Bunnicula that Harold turned to writing. Someone had to tell the full story of what happened in the Monroe household after the rabbit arrived.Was Bunnicula really a vampire? Only Bunnicula knows for sure. But the story of Chester's suspicions and their consequences makes uproarious reading.Since its first appearance in 1979, Bunnicula has been a hit with kids and their parents everywhere, selling over 8 million copies and winning numerous awards.
Amber Brown Is Feeling Blue
by Paula DanzigerAmber Brown has a big decision to make: spend Thanksgiving with Mom in Walla Walla, Washington, or with Dad in New York. Amber doesn't want to choose, but the grown-ups are leaving it up to her.
Things only get worse when she goes to school and meets the new girl, Kelly Green. No one in the class has ever had a two-color name like Amber Brown. Home. School. Nothing is going right! Amber Brown is most definitely feeling blue.
Amber Brown is Green With Envy
by Tony Ross and Paula DanzigerHaving her parents live in the same town isn't working out as well as Amber had hoped. Since she's staying at her dad's over Christmas vacation, she doesn't get to go to Disneyland with her mom and aunt Pam.
When her mom gets back, she tells Amber that she and Max are getting married soon and are going to look for a new house-maybe even in a new town! And then, when Amber is meant to see a movie with her dad, he goes out on a date instead.
Some kids have parents who are still together. Some kids don't ever have to move. Some kids seem to have no problems-making Amber Brown green with envy.
Chloe in India
by Kate DarntonA poignant and delightful story involving class, race, social customs, and a unique friendship that questions them all. Though they're divided by class, language, appearance--you name it--Chloe and Lakshmi have a lot in common. Both girls are new to Class Five at Premium Academy in New Delhi, India, and neither seems to fit in. But they soon discover how extraordinary an ordinary friendship can be and how celebrating our individuality can change the world."Whether describing the heat of a Delhi summer or the emotions of a homesick preteen in a strange land, Darnton gets the details right, bringing characters and story to life and also educating readers about the economic discrepancies rampant in India. Blonde American Chloe's perspective gives Western readers a way into this tale of inequality in a foreign culture."--Kirkus "A solid multicultural offering for middle grade collections."--SLJ "The heart of the story--standing up for others, despite social or economic class--can offer a good discussion for readers and hopefully get them thinking about those around them."--Booklist From the Hardcover edition.
The Lemonade War
by Jacqueline DaviesFor a full hour, he poured lemonade. The world is a thirsty place, he thought as he nearly emptied his fourth pitcher of the day. And I am the Lemonade King. Fourth grader Evan Treski is people-smart. He's good at talking with people, even grownups. His younger sister, Jessie, on the other hand, is math-smart, but not especially good with people. So when the siblings' lemonade-stand war begins, there really is no telling who will win--or even if their fight will ever end. Brimming with savvy marketing tips for making money at any business, definitions of business terms, charts, diagrams, and even math problems, this fresh, funny, emotionally charged novel subtly explores how arguments can escalate beyond anyone's intent. This book features a teaser chapter from book two of the Lemonade War series, The Lemonade Crime.
The Rhino in Right Field
by Stacy DeKeyserA boy who loves baseball must get past his hard-working immigrant parents—and the rhino in the outfield—to become a batboy in this laugh-out-loud middle grade novel in the tradition of The Sandlot.
Nick wants to change his life. For twelve whole years, he’s done what his hard-working, immigrant parents want him to do. Now he’s looking for his own American dream and he thinks he’s found it. The local baseball team is having a batboy contest. Nick’s goal—to be a Mudpuppy for a day! But the contest is on a Saturday—the day Nick has to work in his father’s shop. There’s one other tiny—well, not so tiny—problem. A 2,000-pound rhinoceros named Tank. Nick and his friends play ball right in the city zoo—and Tank lives just beyond the right field fence. Nick’s experience getting the ball out of Tank’s pen has left him frozen with fear whenever a fly ball comes his way. How’s a lousy fielder going to win the contest? One thing Nick knows how to do is work hard, and he practices every day with his best friend, Ace, and a new girl named Penny, who has an impressive throwing arm! But that’s not enough—to get to the contest, Nick resorts to a plan that has him lying to his parents and blackmailing his uncle. All while dodging the school bully, who’s determined to win even by playing dirty.
Nick will need to keep his eye on the ball and find the courage to face his fears—oh yeah, and stay one step ahead of Tank—in this fast, funny story about a game that can throw you some curveballs—just like life!
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.
The Tale of Despereaux
by Kate DiCamilloWelcome 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. Winner of the 2000 Newbery award, and from the master storyteller who brought us Because of Winn-Dixie. This is another classic, a fairy tale full of quirky, unforgettable characters.
Winner of the 2000 Newbery award.
Winner of Pacific Northwest Library Association’s Young Reader’s Choice Junior Award
Sammy Keyes and the Art of Deception
by Wendelin Van DraanenSammy Keyes has a lot of nerve, turning up in sneakers to a fancy art gallery reception and asking why a framed orange splat is worth $10,000. Eyebrows raise. Noses are turned up. But then Sammy tackles a thief who tries to break up the soiree with a stick-up. Now the patrons of the arts are glad she has a lot of nerve. Or are they?
Sammy may have stopped a criminal, but the real crime has yet to be discovered. The real crime is more subtle, more artful than anything Sammy has ever seen. Who would have thought art could be so dangerous?
Sammy Keyes and the Curse of Moustache Mary
by Wendelin Van DraanenWhat's supposed to be a quiet weekend in the country turns into a crossroads adventure when Sammy and her friends meet Lucinda Huntley walking her 200-pound pig down the middle of the road. She tells them a true tale of the Wild West, a story of tough times, wagon trains, her great-grandma Moustache Mary, and a century-old family feud.
But this feud is hardly ancient history. Past and present collide -- and combust! -- when Mary's pioneer cabin burns to the ground. Sammy thinks the cause of the fire may be a hundred years old, but still, the gas can she finds near the scene of the crime is shiny and new. . . .
Sammy Keyes and the Curse of Moustache Mary
by Wendelin Van Draanen"The most winning junior detective ever in teen lit. (Take that, Nancy Drew!)" --Midwest Children's Book ReviewWhen Sammy and her friends meet Lucinda Huntley walking her 200-pound pig down the middle of the road, their quiet weekend in the country quickly becomes an adventure. Lucinda tells them a true tale of the Wild West, her great-grandma Moustache Mary, and a century-old family feud.But this feud is hardly ancient history. Past and present collide--and combust!--when Mary's pioneer cabin burns to the ground. Sammy thinks the cause of the fire may be a hundred years old, but still, the gas can she finds near the scene of the crime is shiny and new. . . .The Sammy Keyes mysteries are fast-paced, funny, thoroughly modern, and true whodunits. Each mystery is exciting and dramatic, but it's the drama in Sammy's personal life that keeps readers coming back to see what happens next with her love interest Casey, her soap-star mother, and her mysterious father.From the Trade Paperback edition.
Sammy Keyes and the Dead Giveaway
by Wendelin Van DraanenThe bad news: Sammy's made a deadly mistake. The good news: No one knows she did it. The delicious dilemma: Everyone thinks her archenemy Heather is to blame.
Now Heather's in a major jam, and in some ways it's only fair--Heather's pinned more than a few crimes on Sammy. Besides, there are distractions galore to keep Sammy from confessing. Like the end of the school year. And the Farewell Dance. Especially the dance, because she's going with Heather's brother, Casey.
But Sammy knows that the truth has an uncanny way of resurfacing, and when it does, the stench can be more vile than the junior high cafeteria.
Sammy Keyes and the Psycho Kitty Queen
by Wendelin Van DraanenThis time the 13-year-old sleuth is up against a cat burglar - literally! Cats are disappearing and Sammy is finding some of them in neighborhood garbage cans - dead!
Just as Sammy discovers that her archenemy Heather is her "star" sister and shares her birthday, Sammy's mother arrives to inform her that she isn't really turning 14 - so it's another year of unlucky 13!
But the savvy sleuth has been up against a lot worse and come out on top so maybe this is the year Sammy's luck will change!
Sammy Keyes and the Search for Snake Eyes
by Wendelin Van DraanenIn her most dangerous mystery to date, Sammy is literally left "holding the bag"!
When a strange girl who is trying to escape from a scary looking guy at the mall asks her to watch her shopping bag and then flees, Sammy is alarmed to discover that inside the bag is a baby!
In her seventh adventure, the intrepid detective puts her life on the line as she confronts the seamy gang life of her hometown in her search for the baby's mother.
And, as usual, her attempts to solve the case are thwarted along the way by her high school nemesis Acosta and problems with her grandmother's nosy new neighbor in this edge-of-the seat mystery.
Sammy Keyes and the Wild Things
by Wendelin Van DraanenSammy Keyes trades in her hightops for hiking boots--and winds up with blisters.
This is not the summer camping trip of Sammy's dreams. She imagined shady glades, meandering streams, a deer or two. What she gets are scrubby shrubs, blazing sun, rattlesnakes, ticks, and scorpions. Her fellow campers are desperate to catch a rare glimpse of an endangered condor. To Sammy, the trip is nothing more than the painful in pursuit of the unspeakably ugly.
But when she and two other girls find an injured condor, Sammy's intrigued at last. As they track down a clue, they stumble onto two classmates and wind up lost. Which leaves three girls and two boys in a canyon with one tent and six billion biting flies. Oh--and an armed and dangerous high stakes poacher. S'mores anyone?
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.
Hour of the Bees
by Lindsay EagarWhat does it mean to be fully alive? Magic blends with reality in a stunning coming-of-age novel about a girl, a grandfather, wanderlust, and reclaiming your roots.
Things are only impossible if you stop to think about them. . . .
While her friends are spending their summers having pool parties and sleepovers, twelve-year-old Carolina -- Carol -- is spending hers in the middle of the New Mexico desert, helping her parents move the grandfather she's never met into a home for people with dementia.
At first, Carol avoids prickly Grandpa Serge. But as the summer wears on and the heat bears down, Carol finds herself drawn to him, fascinated by the crazy stories he tells her about a healing tree, a green-glass lake, and the bees that will bring back the rain and end a hundred years of drought.
As the thin line between magic and reality starts to blur, Carol must decide for herself what is possible -- and what it means to be true to her roots.
Readers who dream that there's something more out there will be enchanted by this captivating novel of family, renewal, and discovering the wonder of the world.
The Red Pencil
by Andrea Davis Pinkney and Shane W. Evans"Amira, look at me," Muma insists. She collects both my hands in hers. "The Janjaweed attack without warning. If ever they come-- run."
Finally, Amira is twelve. Old enough to wear a toob, old enough for new responsibilities. And maybe old enough to go to school in Nyala-- Amira's one true dream.
But life in her peaceful Sudanese village is shattered when the Janjaweed arrive. The terrifying attackers ravage the town and unleash unspeakable horrors. After she loses nearly everything, Amira needs to dig deep within herself to find the strength to make the long journey-- on foot-- to safety at a refugee camp. Her days are tough at the camp, until the gift of a simple red pencil opens her mind-- and all kinds of possibilities.
New York Times bestselling and Coretta Scott King Award-winning author Andrea Davis Pinkney's powerful verse and Coretta Scott King Award-winning artist Shane W. Evans's breathtaking illustrations combine to tell an inspiring tale of one girl's triumph against all odds.