BIBLIOGRAPHY – NOVELS

 

 

Aiken, Joan, The Wolves of Willoughby Chase , illus. by Pat Marriott, Doubleday, 1963.

Two London children are sent to a country estate while their parents are away. Here they outwit a wicked governess, escape from packs of hungry wolves, and restore the estate to its rightful owner.

 

Alexander, Lloyd, The Book of Three , Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1964.

The first of five books about the mythical land of Prydain finds Taran, an assistant pig keeper, fighting with Prince Gwydion against the evil which threatens the kingdom.

 

Antle, Nancy. Hard Times: A Story Of The Great Depression . Illustrated by James Watling. Viking, 1993.

An 11-year-old boy and his family survive the poverty of the Great Depression in Oklahoma .

 

Armstrong, William H., Sounder , illus. by James Barkley, Harper & Row, 1969.

Awarded the Newbery Medal in 1970, this is the story of a coon dog, Sounder, and his devotion to his master. It is also the story of humans: the father, a black sharecropper, who must steal to feed his children, the timid mother fighting for survival, the son who grows to maturity through his father's prison term, and the devotion of Sounder.

 

Avi, The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle , Orchard Books, 1990.

This Newbery Honor book has a female heroine who encounters an adventure like that of the Mutiny on the Bounty .

 

Babbitt, Natalie, Tuck Everlasting , Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1975.

This thought provoking book provides the reader with the idea of events that unfold because of the family secret. That secret is that they live forever. Other books by this author are outstanding, especially The Search for Delicious .

 

Bauer, Joan, Stand Tall , G. P. Putnam's Sons, 2002.

Adjusting to new situations, discovering that you have the strength to meet the challenge. Parents recently divorced, book is filled with grandparents who act as guides and heroes. Bauer offers her young readers a vision of life that includes both compassion for people's failings and realistic hope for their own futures.” (age 12+)

 

Brink, Carol Ryrie, Caddie Woodlawn , illus. by Trina Schart Hyman, Macmillan, 1973.

Set in 1864, Caddie was allowed to grow up a tomboy. Her capacity for adventure was practically limitless, and she found plenty of adventure on the Wisconsin frontier.

 

Bunting, Eve. The Blue & The Gray. Illustrated by Ned Bittinger. Scholastic, 1996.

A black boy and his white friend agree that their homes are monuments to the Civil War. They come to this decision as they watch construction of a house which will make them neighbors on the site of a Civil War battlefield.

 

 

 

Burch, Robert, Queenie Peavy , Viking, 1966.

Defiant, independent and intelligent, 13 year old Queenie idolized her father who was in jail and was neglected by her mother who had to work all the time. Growing up in the 1930's in Georgia , Queenie eventually understands her father's real character, herself, and her relationships to those about her.

 

Burnford, Sheila. The Incredible Journey . Illustrated by Carl Burger. Little, Brown, 1960; Dell, 1996.

Three animals retain their animal characteristics as they struggle for survival in a realistically depicted Canadian wilderness. A trained hunting dog leads his companions across 250 miles; an English bulldog, who is a cherished family pet, seeks people to give him food; and a Siamese cat retains her feline independence. The characteristics of animals who are trying to survive could be compared with those of people who find themselves in similar circumstances.

 

Cameron, Ann, Gloria Rising , pictures by Lis Toft, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2002.

This is the story of an Afro American girl, her classmates and the continuing conflict between the students and teacher. Gloria meets an astronaut in the grocery store, however, no one believes her. All hard feelings are resolved when the astronaut visits the classroom. Underlying message is “where you want to be is where you belong.”

 

Cleary, Beverly , Dear Mr. Henshaw, illus. by Paul Zelinsky, Morrow, 1983.

Awarded the Newbery Medal, 1984, a young boy writes letters to his favorite author. Through his writing he adjusts to new situations.

 

Curtis, Christopher Paul, Bud, Not Buddy, A Yearling Book, 1999.

This Newbery Award book brings comedy to characters trying to live through the Depression. This is a heart warming book of a young Afro American boy searching for family and his own identity. Wonderful read aloud.

 

DiCamillo, Kate, The Tale of Despereaux , illus. by Timothy Basil Ering, Candlewick Press, 2003.

This wonderful story is about a mouse in love with music, stories, and a princess named Pea. The author introduces new vocabulary in an effortless way, and creates a tale of adventure, battles with rats in a glittering castle.

 

Eager, Edward, Half Magic , drawings by N. M. Bodecker, Harcourt Brace, 1954.

Three sisters, a brother and a widowed mother made up the family. Jane, the eldest found a magic charm (an ancient coin) which granted half of any wish, after finding that out, and barring accidents, the children wished for twice as much as they wanted.

 

Forbes, Ester. Johnny Tremain . 2 vols. Houghton Mifflin, 1943. ISBN 0-395-06766-9. (1943 Newbery Award);

This classic work of historical fiction tells the story of a 14- year-old apprentice silversmith in Boston during the Revolutionary War. It follows Johnny from a tragic accident in a silversmith's shop to his dramatic involvement as a patriot in the days just before the American Revolution.

 

 

Fritz, Jean, Homesick: my Own Story , illus. by drawings by Margot Tomes, Putnam, 1982.

This is a fictionalized memoir of the author's childhood in China .

 

Funke, Cornelia, Thief Lord , The Chicken House/Scholastic Inc. 2002.

The plot of ‘The Thief Lord' hinges on a device that can put growing up in fast forward or reverse. There is magic here, but what lifts this radiant novel beyond run-of-the-mill fantasy is its palpable respect for both the struggle to grow up and the mixed blessings of growing old.

 

Hamilton , Virginia . Anthony Burns: The Defeat And Triumph Of A Fugitive Slave. Knopf, 1988.

1989 Jane Addams Children's Book Award; 1988 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, Nonfiction). In this narrative which combines history with fiction, Hamilton features the life of a runaway slave in the 1850s.

 

Hamilton , Virginia . The House Of Dies Drear . Illustrated by Eros Keith. Macmillan, 1968.

(1968 ALA 's Notable Children's Books; 1969 Edgar Allen Poe Award). In a suspenseful story, 13-year-old Thomas Small and his family live in an old home which Dies Drear owned. Drear was an abolitionist and the house was a station on the Underground Railroad. As they live in the house, they uncover secrets and dangers from the Civil War era. Students can also read The Mystery of Drear House: The Conclusion of the Dies Drear Chronicle, Greenwillow, 1987.

 

Hiaasen, Carl, Hoot , Alfred A. Knopf, 2002.

“Story of good versus evil: how o save a species of owl endangered by the imminent construction of the 49th Mother Paula's All-American House of Pancakes.”

 

Keith, Harold. Rifles For Watie . Harper, 1957; 1991.

(1958 Newbery Award). 7 Social Studies Center (SSC). Sixteen-year-old Jeff is eager to join the Union Army and fight in Civil War battles in the West against Stand Watie, leader of the Cherokee Indian rebels. The book stresses cultural as well as sectional conflict.

 

Kherdian, David. The Road From Home: The Story Of An Armenian Girl. Greenwillow, 1979.

(1980 Newbery Honor Book). Kherdian tells the story of his mother as a young girl. He recounts the hardships she suffered in Armenia and her trip to America as a mail-order bride.

 

Konigsburg, E. L. The View From Saturday . Simon & Schuster, 1996. ISBN 0-689-80993-X. (1997 Newbery Award).

Four sixth-grade students become the team for the Academic Bowl. The interactions of the students as they learn to cooperate and reach their final goal provides an excellent text for discussions. The author uses flashbacks about each member to provide additional characterization and to reveal how each student overcomes some obstacle in order to become a winning member of the team .

 

Lowry, Lois, The Giver, Houghton Mifflin, 1993.

Awarded the Newbery Medal, this is a book set in the future, and has provocative questions that will provide discussion topics for upper grade students. Other books by this author provide students with humor, and historical fiction. Also by this author: Autumn Street , is an engrossing story set in the 1940s with wonderfully humanized and memorable characters.

 

MacLachlan, Patricia. Sarah, Plain And Tall. Illustrated by Marcia Sewall. Harper, 1985.

(1986 Newbery Award; 1986 Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction; 1985 Golden Kite Award). The story describes life on the Plains for two children and their father who await the arrival of their new stepmother.

 

Myers, Walter Dean, Handbook for Boys: a Novel , illustrated by Matthew Bandsuch, Harper/Collins Publishers, 2002.

The author states: “Over the years it became clear to me that people who did well were, almost without exception, actively involved in pursuing their dreams. Conversely, the people who failed most were not involved in the process of affecting their own success. This the story of Jimmy, 16, and Kevin, 17, two African American boys, given a second chance at success by Duke and his friends at the barber shop. .The subtle stories of the choices you make are excellent. Duke said: “You know how people manage not to do the wrong thing? By not letting themselves forget that they know the right thing.”

 

Nixon, Joan Lowery. A Family Apart . Bantam, 1987.

The first in the “Orphan Train Series,” it tells the tale of Frances Mary and the other Kelly children. An immigrant and recently widowed, Mrs. Kelly sends her children west to St. Louis where they join other orphaned children headed to live with foster families on the Plains. This happened to more than 100,000 children between 1854 and 1929. Other books in the series include: IN THE FACE OF DANGER (1989); CAUGHT IN THE ACT (1989); A PLACE TO BELONG (1990); and A DANGEROUS PROMISE (1995).

 

Park , Linda Sue. A Single Shard . Clarion, 2001.

(2002 Newbery Award). A boy learns that work gives a person dignity, persistence results in gaining one's dream, and that courage and loyalty are important characteristics in a book set in 12th century Korea .

 

Paulsen, Gary. Hatchet . Houghton Mifflin, 1987; 1995.

(1988 BOOKLIST Editor's Choice Citation; 1989 Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award). This book shares the story of a 13-year-old boy stranded in the Canadian wilderness following an airplane crash, with only a hatchet for survival.

 

Rinaldi, Ann, Numbering all the Bones , Hyperion Books for Children, 2002.

The time is 1864 and the Civil War is almost over. Eulinda meets Clara Barton and helps identify the soldiers buried in the notorious Andersonville Prison. Ages 10+

 

O'Dell, Scott. Streams To The River, River To The Sea: A Novel Of Sacagawea . Houghton, 1986.

(1987 Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction). This book offers a fictional account of the life of the Indian woman who accompanied Lewis and Clark on their exploration in 1803.

 

Patterson, Katherine, Bridge to Terabithia , T. Y. Crowell, 1977.

Recounts the growing friendship between a country boy, Jesse, and an uprooted city girl, Leslie. This Newbery Award book about the death of a child is treated with tenderness.

 

Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter And The Sorcerer's Stone . Scholastic, 1998.

This is the first book in the Harry Potter series. Harry learns that he is from a family of wizards and is the target of an evil wizard's wrath. This book, set in England , offers the opportunity for children to discriminate between fact and fiction. Other books in the series include: Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets . Scholastic, 1999. ISBN 0-439-06486-4; Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban . Scholastic, 1999. ISBN 0-439-13635-0; Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire . Scholastic, 2000. ISBN 0-439-13959-7; Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix . Scholastic, 2003. ISBN 0-439-35806-X.

 

Siegal, Aranka. Upon The Head Of The Goat: A Childhood In Hungary , 1939-1944. Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1981.

(1982 Newbery Honor Book; 1982 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, Nonfiction).

This book describes childhood in Hungary during the period when Hitler rose to power.

 

Tanaka, Shelley, and Hugh Brewster, edited by. Anastasia's Album. Hyperion, 1996. Photographs from family albums of the Romanovs present a vivid description of Russian life during the early 20th century. Students could use this book as a model for preparing an album that represents their experiences.

 

Snyder, Zilpha Keatley. The Egypt Game . Illustrated by Alton Raible. Macmillan, 1967.

City children playing at a re-creation of an Egyptian ritual, encounter a violent lunatic in this outstanding mystery.

 

Speare, Elizabeth G. The Sign Of The Beaver. Houghton Mifflin, 1983; 1989.

(1984 Scott O'Dell Award). Matt's father leaves his family in Maine in 1768, and Matt, only 12 years old, must protect them. In the process, he learns to value another culture, that of the Native Americans. Students can compare Matt to Phillip in Theodore Taylor 's THE CAY, describing similarities and differences of the two books.

 

Staples, Suzanne Fisher . Shiva's Fire . Farrar Straus Giroux, 2000.

Parvati's story begins with the most destructive cyclone in India's history, two mysterious births, and many deaths. From this foreboding beginning, Staples weaves the spell-binding tale of a young girl, magical from birth, whose destiny is to perform with the passion and skill of Shiva, the Hindu god of dance, destruction, and re-creation.

 

Uchida, Yoshiko. The Bracelet . Illustrated by Joanna Yardley. Philomel Books (Putnam Pub. Group), 1993.

During World War II, Emi, a Japanese-American second grader, and her family are sent to an internment camp. Saddened at the loss of a bracelet that her friend gave her, Emi realizes she does not need the physical reminder of her friend to remember their friendship.