Julie of the Wolves


Jean Craighead George - 1972
    She runs away toward San Francisco, toward her pen pal, who calls her Julie. But soon Miyax is lost in the Alaskan wilderness, without food, without even a compass. Slowly she is accepted by a pack of Arctic wolves, and she comes to love them as though they were her brothers. With their help, and drawing on her father’s training, she struggles day by day to survive. In the process, she is forced to rethink her past, and to define for herself the traditional riches of Eskimo life: intelligence, fearlessness, and love.

All the Lovely Bad Ones


Mary Downing Hahn - 2008
    When they learn that their grandmother's quiet Vermont inn, where they re spending the summer, has a history of ghost sightings, they decide to do a little haunting of their own. Before long, their supernatural pranks have tourists flocking to the inn, and business booms. But Travis and Corey soon find out that they aren't the only ghosts at Fox Hill Inn. Their thoughtless games have awakened something dangerous, something that should have stayed asleep. Restless, spiteful spirits swarm the inn, while a dark and terrifying presence stalks the halls and the old oak grove on the inn s grounds. Only Travis and Corey can lay to rest the ghosts they've stirred. This means discovering the secret of Fox Hill and the horrors visited on its inhabitants years before... Once again, Mary Downing Hahn has created a chilling and gripping ghost story in the tradition of The Old Willis Place, Witch Catcher, and Deep and Dark and Dangerous.

InvestiGators


John Patrick Green - 2020
    MANGO and BRASH are the INVESTIGATORS:sewer-loving agents of S.U.I.T.* and scourge of supervillains everywhere!With their Very Exciting Spy Technology and their tried-and-true, toilet-based travel techniques, the InvestiGators are undercover and on the case! And on their first mission together, they have not one but two mysteries to solve! Can Mango and Brash uncover the clues, crack their cases, and corral the crooks—or will the criminals wriggle out of their grasp?*Special Undercover Investigation Teams

The Music of Dolphins


Karen Hesse - 1996
    When she is eventually spotted on an unpopulated island off Cuba, she is an adolescent and seems hardly human to her rescuers. Mila is taken to a child study center in Boston. Eager to please, she makes rapid progress in language and social skills. With her recorder, Mila finds she can even make music like the dolphin songs she yearningly remembers. But the more Mila discovers about what it means to be human--the locked doors, the rules, the betrayals--the more she longs for her watery home and gentle dolphin family. In an emotionally wracking conclusion, she returns to the world where her ears never want for song. Where, although she cannot stand on her tail or jump the waves, she is part of the music of dolphins.

What Elephants Know


Eric Dinerstein - 2016
    From his mysterious beginnings, fate delivers him to the King's elephant stable, where he is raised by unlikely parents-the wise head of the stable, Subba-sahib, and Devi Kali, a fierce and affectionate female elephant.When the king's government threatens to close the stable, Nandu, now twelve, searches for a way to save his family and community. A plan to reinvent the elephant stable could be the answer. But to succeed, they'll need a great tusker. Their future is in Nandu's hands as he sets out to find a bull elephant and bring him back to the Borderlands.In simple poetic prose, author Eric Dinerstein brings to life Nepal's breathtaking jungle wildlife and rural culture, as seen through the eyes of a young outcast, struggling to find his place in the world.

Replay


Sharon Creech - 2005
    Now with fresh and gorgeous new cover art, this touching tale has received many starred reviews, and was called a "warm, funny, philosophical novel" by Kirkus Reviews.With the backdrop of a large family and a theater as its frame, this is a story about twelve-year-old Leo, who has a talent for transforming the ordinary into the extraordinary. That's why he's called "fog boy." He's always dreaming, always replaying things in his brain. As an actor in the school play, he is poised and ready for the curtain to open. But in the play that is his life, he is eager to discover what part will be his.With the universal theme of finding one's true identity, and set amid a loud, noisy, memorable family, Leo's story is one that all kids will relate to. And there's a full play at the end of the book that kids and teachers can perform!

The Simple Art of Flying


Cory Leonardo - 2019
    He’d like nothing more than to fly away to a palm tree with his beloved sister, Aggie. But when Aggie is purchased by twelve-year-old Fritz, and Alastair is adopted by elderly dance-enthusiast and pie-baker Albertina Plopky, the future looks ready to crash-land.In-between anxiously plucking his feathers, eating a few books, and finding his own poetic voice, Alastair plots his way to a family reunion. But soon he’s forced to choose between the life he’s always dreamed of and admitting the truth: that sometimes, the bravest adventure is in letting go.

Meet Kit: An American Girl 1934


Valerie Tripp - 2000
    When Mother's friends lose their house and come to stay with her family, it's nothing but trouble for Kit. Then Kit's dad loses his business, and things go from bad to worse. Will life ever be the same again?

Saving Zasha


Randi Barrow - 2011
    It's dangerous -- some say traitorous -- to own a German dog after Germany attacked Russia, so Mikhail must keep Zasha a secret to keep her alive.But Mikhail's rival, Katia, is determined to find the dog she is sure he's hiding. At the same time, a soldier named Dimitri is breeding a new Russian dog at a nearby farm. So many dogs were lost in combat, to starvation, and in the slaughter of German dogs that the country is in dire need of every kind of dog.

Lucy Rose: Here's the Thing About Me


Katy Kelly - 2004
    According to my mom and my grandmother, I’m what they call a handful. And according to my dad, I am one smart cookie.I say I am one girl who is feeling not-so-sure about things on account of my parents got a separation. Plus my mom and I just moved to Washington, D.C. Plus I haven’t met any friends yet, but I do know someone who is not one and that is Adam Melon, who I call Melonhead.Here’s another thing about me: Most of the time, I am plain hilarious.

A Mouse Called Wolf


Dick King-Smith - 1997
    But the name fits. His favorite pastime is listening to Mrs. Honeybee, the lady of the house, play the piano. If only he could sing along to the music! One day, Wolf decides to try -- and to his surprise, out of his mouth comes a perfect melody.It's not long before Wolf is singing everything from "Three Blind Mice" to Chopin to the Beatles, all to Mrs. Honeybee's accompaniment. Then an accident leaves Mrs. Honeybee in danger, and it's up to Wolf to save her... the only way he knows how.

The Pain and the Great One


Judy Blume - 1974
    An eight-year-old girl, "The Great One," and her six-year-old brother, "The Pain," state their cases about each other and who is best loved by their parentsAn IRA-CBC Children's Choice.

Ginger


Kate Klimo - 2013
    Abruptly separated from her mother, littermates, and the wire cage that was her whole world, Ginger is shuttled from one harrowing situation to another until she finally escapes, living as an outlaw with a pack of wild dogs. But freedom doesn't feel so good once she becomes hungry and cold and sick. Will Ginger ever find a furever family to call her own? With realistic black-and-white illustrations by renowned illustrator Tim Jessel, and an appendix featuring information about puppy mills, breed rescue groups, animal shelters, choosing a pet, and the history of golden retrievers, dog-crazy early middle-grade readers will beg for more!

The Westing Game


Ellen Raskin - 1978
    Westing's will. And though no one knows why the eccentric, game-loving millionaire has chosen a virtual stranger—and a possible murderer—to inherit his vast fortune, one thing's for sure: Sam Westing may be dead ... but that won't stop him from playing one last game!

Horse Crazy


Bonnie Bryant - 1988
    So when Lisa Atwood joins their riding group, the girls aren't sure she's got what it takes. Lisa may be the smartest student in the classroom, but she's got a lot to learn when it comes to horses...