Fiction for Upper Elementary and Middle Schoolers

My Basmati Bat Mitzvah - Paula J. Freedman
Tara Feinstein, proud of both her East Indian and Jewish heritage, questions what it means to have a bat mitzvah and deals with her own doubts about her faith.

Risked - Margaret Peterson Haddix
The Missing: Book 6. Jonah, thirteen, and Katherine, eleven, travel through time to 1918 Russia just as Alexei, Anastasia, and the rest of Tsar Nicholas II's family is about to be executed. Author's note includes facts about the Romanov's and the mystery surrounding their deaths

The Boundless - Kenneth Oppel
Aboard "The Boundless," the greatest train ever built, on its maiden voyage across Canada, teenaged Will enlists the aid of a traveling circus to save the train from villains.


Guys Read: Other Worlds - Jon Scieszka
An anthology of original science fiction and fantasy stories.


Code of Silence - Tim Shoemaker
When thirteen-year-olds Cooper, Hiro, and Gordy witness a robbery that leaves a man in a coma, they find themselves tangled in a web of mystery and deceit that threatens their lives.

New Nonfiction

Papa is a Poet: A Story About Robert Frost - Natalie S. Bober
When Robert Frost was a child, his family thought he would grow up to be a baseball player. Instead, he became a poet. His life on a farm in New Hampshire inspired him to write 'poetry that talked,' and today he is famous for his vivid descriptions of the rural life he loved so much. There was a time, though, when Frost had to struggle to get his poetry published. Told from the point of view of Lesley, Robert Frost's oldest daughter, this is the story of how a lover of language found his voice.

Mysterious Patterns: Finding Fractals in Nature - Sarah C. Campbell
A photographic introduction to shapes and fractal patterns in nature.
 

Gravity - Jason Chin
What keeps objects from floating out of your hand? What if your feet drifted away from the ground? What stops everything from floating into space? Gravity ... Jason Chin has taken a complex subject and made it brilliantly accessible to young readers in this unusual, innovative, and very beautiful book.


We Shall Overcome: The Story of a Song - Debbie Levy
Traces the history of the inspiring anthem and explains how it has come to represents the right for equality and freedom around the world.


Farmer Will Allen and the Growing Table - Jacqueline Briggs Martin
The story of former basketball star and current urban farmer and activist, Will Allen, whose vision of gardening from abandoned urban sites led to a grassroots feeding craze.

Prophet with Honor: The Billy Graham Story - William Martin
Abridgment of: "Prophet with Honor". An account of the famed evangelist's life and ministry, examining Graham's character, contributions, and influence on the world religious scene.

New Nonfiction Series

The following titles are from the "Seedlings" series for early elementary students by Kate Riggs. Each book provides a kindergarten-level introduction to the animal, covering its growth process, behaviors, habitat, and defining physical features.

Penguins









Sharks




Snakes






Tigers






U.S. Symbols series by Tyler Monroe - Simple text and full-color photographs briefly describe each its role as a national symbol.

The Pledge of Allegiance






The Star-Spangled Banner






The Statue of Liberty





Uncle Sam

Fiction for Elementary and Middle Grades

Lemonade War series - Jacqueline Davies

The Lemonade War - Evan and his younger sister, Jessie, react very differently to the news that they will be in the same class for fourth grade and as the end of summer approaches, they battle it out through lemonade stands, each trying to be the first to earn 100 dollars. Includes mathematical calculations and tips for running a successful lemonade stand.

The Lemonade Crime - When money disappears from fourth-grader Evan's pocket and everyone thinks that his annoying classmate Scott stole it, Evan's younger sister stages a trial involving the entire class, trying to prove what happened.

The Bell Bandit - Siblings Evan and Jessie must solve the mystery of a missing cherished
family treasure while coming to terms with their beloved grandmother's unsettling behavior.


The ACB with Honora Lee - Kate de Goldi
Perry's mother and father are busy people ... they're impatient, they're tired, they get cross easily. And they think that only children, like Perry, should be kept busy. On Saturday mornings Perry and her father visit her gran, Honora Lee, at the Santa Lucia rest home, but Gran never remembers them. 'Who is that man?' Honora Lee asks when Perry's father leaves the room. After movement class is abruptly cancelled, Perry is allowed to go to Santa Lucia on Thursday afternoons. She discovers her Gran has an unconventional interest in the alphabet, so Perry decides to make an alphabet book with the help of Honora and the others. Soon everyone is interested in Perry's book project.

Seven Wild Sisters: A Modern Fairy Tale - Charles de Lint
Sarah Jane Dillard discovers and helps an injured 'sangman fairy in the Tanglewood Forest, putting herself, her six sisters, and friends Aunt Lillian and the Apple Tree Man in the middle of a fairy feud.

New Picture Books

Pop-up Books:

The Little Mermaid: A Pop-up Adaptation of the Classic Fairy Tale - Robert Sabuda
A little sea princess, longing to be human, trades her mermaid's tail for legs, hoping to win the love of a prince.




Picture Books:

Violet the Pilot - Steve Breen
Young Violet's only friend is her dog, Orville, until one of her homemade flying machines takes her to the rescue of a Boy Scout troop in trouble.

Tug-of-War - John Burningham
Hippopotamus and Elephant bully Hare for being small in size and possessing a twitchy nose, until Hare demonstrates his wit when he challenges the large animals to a tug-of-war competition and claims he can win.

The Geese March in Step - Jean-Francois Dumont
Zita just can't seem to march to the same beat as the rest of the geese, but before long, she realizes, as do the other barnyard animals, that her own special rhythm is just right.

Duck to the Rescue - John Himmelman
When something goes wrong on the farm, Ernie the duck is determined to help out, but no matter how hard he tries, nothing goes quite as he plans.


Katie and the Puppy Next Door - John Himmelman
Katie the dog learns that sharing can be fun when she becomes friends with the playful puppy next door.

Warning: Do Not Open This Book! - Adam Lehrhaupt
Monkeys, toucans, and alligators unleash mayhem.

New YA Books

Prisoner of Night and Fog - Anne Blankman
In 1930s Munich, the favorite niece of rising political leader Adolph Hitler is torn between duty and love after meeting a fearless and handsome young Jewish reporter.

The Tyrant's Daughter - J.C. Carleson
Exiled to the United States after her father, a Middle Eastern dictator, is killed in a coup, fifteen-year-old Laila must cope with a completely new way of life, the truth of her father's regime, and her mother and brother's ways of adjusting.

Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant - Tony Cliff
"Lovable ne'er-do-well Delilah Dirk is an Indiana Jones for the 19th century. She has traveled to Japan, Indonesia, France, and even the New World. Using the skills she's picked up on the way, Delilah's adventures continue as she plots to rob a rich and corrupt Sultan in Constantinople. With the aid of her flying boat and her newfound friend, Selim, she evades the Sultan's guards, leaves angry pirates in the dust, and fights her way through the countryside. For Delilah, one adventure leads to the next in this thrilling and funny installment in her exciting life." -- from publisher's web site

The Selection Trilogy - Kiera Cass

The Selection - Sixteen-year-old America Singer is living in the caste-divided nation of Illéa, which formed after the war that destroyed the United States. America is chosen to compete in the Selection--a contest to see which girl can win the heart of Illéa's prince--but all she really wants is a chance for a future with her secret love, Aspen, who is a caste below her.


The Elite - Sixteen-year-old America Singer is one of only six girls still competing in the Selection--but before she can fight to win Prince Maxon and the Illean crown, she must decide where her own heart truly lies.


The One - As her Selection approaches its finish, America must decide where her heart truly lies--and Prince Maxon must pick one winner to wear the crown.

New Nonfiction

Spiders - Gail Gibbons
Examines the physical characteristics, behavior, habitats, and different kinds of spiders.


Who East What?: Food Chains and Food Webs - Patricia Lauber
Explains the concept of a food chain and how plants, animals, and humans are ecologically linked.


Roaring Rockets - Tony Mitton
A simple explanation of how space rockets work, where they travel, and what they do.



The Tapir Scientist: Saving South America's Largest Mammal - Sy Montgomery
If you've never seen a lowland tapir, you're not alone. Most of the people who live near tapir habitat in Brazil's vast Pantanal haven't seen the elusive snorkel-snouted mammal, either! Join a tapir-finding expedition led by the Brazilian field scientist Pati Medici, and learn about the fieldwork, and the high-tech science at play, from microchips to the camera traps that capture the "soap opera" of tapir life.

Thomas Jefferson Builds a Library - Barb Rosenstock
Thomas Jefferson loved to read and collect books on almost every subject. He built his first library as a young man, and kept on building until his book collection helped to create the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., the world's largest library.

Where Does the Garbage Go? - Paul Showers
Explains how people create too much waste and how waste is now recycled and put into landfills.


Secrets of Sound: Studying the Calls and Songs of Whales, Elephants, and Birds - April Pulley Sayre
Examines the work of several bioacousticians, scientists who study the sounds made by living creatures, discussing the results and importance of their research.

Secrets of the Seasons: Orbiting the Sun in Our Backyard - Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld
"Over the course of a year, a family learns about the role of the sun in the changing seasons."-- Provided by publisher

Upper Level Nonfiction

He Has Shot the President! - Don Brown
Explores the assassination of Abraham Lincoln and the manhunt that followed.

A Girl's Guide to Best Friends and Mean Girls - Dannah Gresh & Suzy Weibel
Friends can make or break the life of a tween girl. That's why bestselling author Dannah Gresh, popular speaker and creator of the Secret Keeper Girl events, and youth educator Suzy Weibel have developed this resource that targets the hearts of tween girls as they grow in and pursue friendships.

The Montgomery Bus Boycott - edited by Jeff Hay
Examines the boycott of city buses in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1956 by African-Americans who were protesting a policy that required African-Americans to sit in the back of a bus, or give up their seats for white people.

Hidden Like Anne Frank: 14 True Stories of Survival - Marcel Prins & Peter Henk Steenhuis
Fourteen unforgettable true stories of children hidden away during World War II. Jaap Sitters was only eight years old when his mother cut the yellow stars off his clothes and sent him, alone, on a fifteen-mile walk to hide with relatives. It was a terrifying night, one he would never forget. Before the end of the war, Jaap would hide in secret rooms and behind walls. He would suffer from hunger, sickness, and the looming threat of Nazi raids. But he would live. This is just one of the incredible stories told in HIDDEN LIKE ANNE FRANK, a collection of eye-opening first-person accounts that share what it was like to go into hiding during World War II. Some children were only three or four years old when they were hidden; some were teenagers. Some hid with neighbors or family, while many were with complete strangers. But all know the pain of losing their homes, their families, even their own names. They describe the secret network of brave people who kept them safe. And they share the coincidences and close escapes that made all the difference.

Jackie Robinson: American Hero - Sharon Robinson
A biography of Jackie Robinson, who was the first African American baseball player in National League of Major League Baseball.