Jayden and the Mysterious Mountain


Katrina Cope - 2013
    He is taken to a five star hotel – no, actually a school called The Sanctum, camouflaged in the mountains. The students build and operate high tech equipment, including surrogate robots all to fight against terrorism. Or are they? By the way, you don’t want to annoy Scarlet who runs the general operations of the building. She is one cheeky AI and plays nasty if you cross her.

Savvy


Ingrid Law - 2008
    They each possess a "savvy" -a special supernatural power that strikes when they turn thirteen. Grandpa Bomba moves mountains, her older brothers create hurricanes and spark electricity . . . and now it's the eve of Mibs's big day. As if waiting weren't hard enough, the family gets scary news two days before Mibs's birthday: Poppa has been in a terrible accident. Mibs develops the singular mission to get to the hospital and prove that her new power can save her dad. So she sneaks onto a salesman's bus . . . only to find the bus heading in the opposite direction. Suddenly Mibs finds herself on an unforgettable odyssey that will force her to make sense of growing up-and of other people, who might also have a few secrets hidden just beneath the skin.

Burly and Grum and the Secret City


Kate Tenbeth - 2011
    Burly and Grum show Max a secret city in the the middle of the forest but hunters are tracking them down. They knock out Burly, capture Max and want to turn the Secret City into a tourist attraction. Throw in some big cats, Grum's mother and brothers, Mike the Angel, a deer and a few ducks and the day becomes very exciting!

How I Survived Being a Girl


Wendelin Van Draanen - 1997
    To her great surprise, it turns out that's what being a girl is all about.

The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy


Jeanne Birdsall - 2005
    Best of all is Jeffrey Tifton, son of Arundel’s owner, the perfect companion for their adventures. Icy-hearted Mrs. Tifton is less pleased with the Penderwicks than Jeffrey, and warns the new friends to stay out of trouble. Is that any fun? For sure the summer will be unforgettable.

Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas


Tim Burton - 1993
    He's in charge of making Halloweenland the coolest creepy place around. But when Jack suddenly grows bored with tricks and treats, he goes searching for new ways to celebrate...and he finds them in Christmas Town! Christmas, Jack decides, is just what Halloweenland -- and the world -- needs! He sets out to take over the role of Santa. But can anything good come of a tall and lanky skeleton dressed up as everyone's favorite jolly old elf? Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas is one of the Walt Disney Company's most successful franchises, with a huge cult following and a loyal and growing fan base. This beautiful reissue of the book first released in 1993 is a surefire Halloween, Christmas, and year-round hit! The Nightmare Before Christmas is the first book that Tim Burton has written and illustrated.

The Search for Delicious


Natalie Babbitt - 1969
    Gaylan soon discovers that the entire kingdom is on the brink of civil war, and must enlist help to define "delicious" and save the country.

Doraemon: Gadget Cat from the Future, Vol. 5


Fujiko F. Fujio
    He rode a time machine all the way back from the 22nd century to help Nobita. He can pull all sorts of secret tools out of the "4-D (Fourth Dimensional) Pocket" on his tummy whenever Nobita needs them to get himself out of trouble.

Pigs Might Fly


Dick King-Smith - 1980
    Barleylove's litter, is in danger. Not even Mrs. Barleylove knows what the Pigman does with runts when he takes them away from the pen. But Daggie is a pig of remarkable qualities, and he's not about to let the Pigman get him. Instead, Daggie runs away and decides to learn how to fly. But when he tries leaping off a cliff, he discovers another talent--a talent he'll need to save the entire farm . . ."It's impossible to remain unmoved . . . a soaring, heartening fantasy."--Publishers Weekly

The Misfits


James Howe - 2001
    That's how it was with us. Skeezie Tookis and Addie Carle and Joe Bunch and me. We call ourselves the Gang of Five, but there are only four of us. We do it to keep people on their toes. Make 'em wonder. Or maybe we do it because we figure that there's one more kid out there who's going to need a gang to be a part of. A misfit, like us.Skeezie, Addie, Joe, and Bobby -- they've been friends forever. They laugh together, have lunch together, and get together once a week at the Candy Kitchen to eat ice cream and talk about important issues. Life isn't always fair, but at least they have each other -- and all they really want to do is survive the seventh grade.That turns out to be more of a challenge than any of them had anticipated. Starting with Addie's refusal to say the Pledge of Allegiance and her insistence on creating a new political party to run for student council, the Gang of Five is in for the ride of their lives. Along the way they will learn about politics and popularity, love and loss, and what it means to be a misfit. After years of getting by, they are given the chance to stand up and be seen -- not as the one-word jokes their classmates have tried to reduce them to, but as the full, complicated human beings they are just beginning to discover they truly are.

The Ghost of Opalina


Peggy Bacon - 1967
    A ghost cat tells three children, the latest inhabitants of an old house, all about the people who passed through and the events which took place in the house during her previous eight lives.

Do-It-Yourself Magic


Ruth Chew - 1987
    "I don't see Chester anywhere.""If Chester is running around loose, he might get stepped on," Scott said. "He's so tiny, I don't want anything to happen to him, Rachel."Rachel dug far down in her jeans pocket and pulled out the magic hammer. She began to tap the castle wall."Look," Scott whispered, "the castle is getting bigger!"

Middleworld


Jon Voelkel - 2007
    It transports the reader to a world in which the Maya deities still have power and influence, where time and space are in flux, but where even a fourteen-year-old from the outside can become aware, and find wisdom and love, if he can but open his eyes to the magic around him.