The Summer of the Swans

By Betsy Byars

Sara's fourteenth summer was turning out to be the most confusing time of her life. She wanted to fly away from everything and everyone. Then, in the night, Charlie, her mentally retarded younger brother whom she loved, disappeared. In Sara's frantic search for her brother, she began to realize what it means to care more about someone else than you care about yourself.

Dear Mr. Henshaw

By Beverly Cleary

In his letters to his favorite author, ten-year-old Leigh Botts reveals his problems in coping with his parents' divorce, being the new boy in school, and generally finding his own place in the world.

Strider

By Beverly Cleary

This is the long-awaited sequel to the Newbery award-winning classic Dear Mr. Henshaw.

Frindle

By Andrew Clements

When he decides to turn his fifth-grade teacher's love of the dictionary around on her, clever Nick Allen invents a new word and begins a chain of events that quickly moves beyond his control.

Ruby Holler

By Sharon Creech

After a series of disastrous foster home placements, orphan twins, Dallas and Florida, find a loving if unlikely home with an elderly, eccentric couple. A supremely satisfying story told with healthy doses of drama, suspense, and humor.

The Ballad of Lucy Whipple

By Karen Cushman

California, who renames herself Lucy, is upset when her family moves from Massachusetts to a rough California mining town.

Nothing's Fair in Fifth Grade

By Barthe DeClements

Jenny knows one thing for sure - Elsie Edwards is a fat thief who steals people's lunch money to buy candy. So when the book club money disappears, why is the whole class punished? Nothing's fair! But soon Jenny realizes some things aren't fair for Elsie either.

Because of Winn-Dixie

By Kate DiCamillo

Ten-year-old India Opal Buloni describes her first summer in the town of Naomi, Florida, and all the good things that happen to her because of her big ugly dog Winn-Dixie.

Hoot

By Carl Hiaasen

New to Florida, Roy spots the running boy - running away from the school bus, carrying no books and wearing no shoes. Sensing a mystery, Roy sets himself on the boy's trail.

From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler

By E.L. Konigsburg

Claudia and her brother elude the security guards and live for a week in New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Strawberry Girl

By Lois Lenski

Ten-year-old Birdie Boyer can hardly wait to start picking strawberries. Her family has just moved to the Florida backwoods, and they haven't even begun their planting.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

By C.S. Lewis

Step through the wardrobe into the fantastic land of Narnia where a noble lion is under the spell of the White Witch.

Number the Stars

By Lois Lowry

In 1943, during the German occupation of Denmark, ten-year-old Annemarie learns how to be brave when she helps shelter a Jewish friend from the Nazis.

Shiloh

By Phyllis Reynold Naylor

When eleven-year-old Marty Preston finds a lost beagle, he tries to hide it from his family and the dog's real owner, a mean-spirited man known to mistreat his dogs. When his solution gets too big for him to handle, Marty finally puts his courage on the line and discovers in the process that it is not always easy to separate right from wrong.

Mrs. Frisby & the Rats of NIMH

By Robert O'Brien

Super-smart rats escape from the laboratory, set up their own government, and try to help a homeless mouse and her family.

Island of the Blue Dolphins

By Scott O'Dell

This is the story of Karana, the Indian girl who lived alone for years on the Island of the Blue Dolphins. Year after year, she watched one season pass into another and waited for a ship to take her away. This book is not only an unusual adventure of survival, but also a tale of natural beauty and personal discovery.

Bridge to Terabithia

By Katherine Paterson

During a storm, Jess's new friend, Leslie meets an unexpected tragedy while trying to reach their secret kingdom.

The Westing Game

By Ellen Raskin

The mysterious death of an eccentric millionaire brings together an unlikely assortment of heirs who must uncover the circumstances of his death before they can claim their inheritance.