Special Collections
Read Your Way Across the U. S. of A.
Description: Buckle up and hit the road with this collection of middle grade novels. Visit your home state or explore one you've never been to with these novels set all over America. Ages 8 to 13. #kids
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Saving Lucas Biggs
by David Teague and Marisa de los SantosPerfect for fans of Margaret Peterson Haddix, When You Reach Me, and Savvy, this charming time-travel story from husband-and-wife team Marisa de los Santos and David Teague follows one girl's race to change the past in order to save her father's future.
Thirteen-year-old Margaret knows her father is innocent, but that doesn't stop the cruel Judge Biggs from sentencing him to death. Margaret is determined to save her dad, even if it means using her family's secret--and forbidden--ability to time travel.
With the help of her best friend, Charlie, and his grandpa Josh, Margaret goes back to a time when Judge Biggs was a young boy and tries to prevent the chain of events that transformed him into a corrupt, jaded man. But with the forces of history working against her, will Margaret be able to change the past? Or will she be pushed back to a present in which her father is still doomed?
Told in alternating voices between Margaret and Josh, this heartwarming story shows that sometimes the forces of good need a little extra help to triumph over the forces of evil.
River Runs Deep
by Jennifer BradburyWhen a boy is sent to Mammoth cave to fight a case of consumption, little does he know he'll also be fighting for the lives of a secret community of escaped slaves, who are hidden deep within the cave.
Twelve-year-old Elias has consumption, so he is sent to Kentucky's Mammoth Cave--the biggest cave in America--where the cool cave vapors are said to be healing. At first, living in a cave sounds like an adventure, but after a few days, Elias feels more sick of boredom than his illness.
So he is thrilled when Stephen, one of the slaves who works in the cave, invites him to walk further through its depths. But there are more than just tunnels and stalagmites waiting to be discovered; there are mysteries hiding around every turn.
The truths they conceal are far more stunning than anything Elias could ever have imagined, and he finds himself caught right in the middle of it all--while he's supposed to be resting. But how can he focus on saving his own life when so many others are in danger?
Revolution
by Deborah Wiles*A 2014 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST*
It's 1964, and Sunny's town is being invaded. Or at least that's what the adults of Greenwood, Mississippi, are saying. All Sunny knows is that people from up north are coming to help people register to vote. They're calling it Freedom Summer.
Meanwhile, Sunny can't help but feel like her house is being invaded, too. She has a new stepmother, a new brother, and a new sister crowding her life, giving her little room to breathe. And things get even trickier when Sunny and her brother are caught sneaking into the local swimming pool -- where they bump into a mystery boy whose life is going to become tangled up in theirs.
As she did in her groundbreaking documentary novel COUNTDOWN, award-winning author Deborah Wiles uses stories and images to tell the riveting story of a certain time and place -- and of kids who, in a world where everyone is choosing sides, must figure out how to stand up for themselves and fight for what's right.
Return To Sender
by Julia AlvarezAfter Tyler's father is injured in a tractor accident, his family is forced to hire migrant Mexican workers to help save their Vermont farm from foreclosure.
Tyler isn't sure what to make of these workers. Are they undocumented?
And what about the three daughters, particularly Mari, the oldest, who is proud of her Mexican heritage but also increasingly connected her American life.
Her family lives in constant fear of being discovered by the authorities and sent back to the poverty they left behind in Mexico.
Can Tyler and Mari find a way to be friends despite their differences?
In a novel full of hope, but no easy answers, Julia Alvarez weaves a beautiful and timely story that will stay with readers long after they finish it.
Winner of the Pura Belpre Medal
Prairie Winter
by Bonnie GeisertThe Cresbard school means a lot to sixth grader Rachel Johnson. It means classes with a beloved teacher, important band rehearsals for the upcoming concert in Chicago, and time to hang out with Winnie and Darren and the rest of the town kids.
For a twelve year-old living on a remote prairie farm with no phone, school means connection. And that connection is about to be severed. The most dangerous winter that Rachel has ever known is about to descend on Cresbard, marooning her on the farm and keeping her from the school she so desperately loves.
Then, in a surprising turn of events, Rachel's dad agrees to fly his three oldest daughters to town so they can continue the school year. Rachel will be boarding in a hotel with no parents, no rules, and no chores.
Her choice of desserts every night, two-stepping with Darren Baxter at the school dance . . .will Rachel ever be able to return to farm life after this?
P.K. Pinkerton and the Petrified Man
by Caroline Lawrence
Author Caroline Lawrence returns to the Wild West with another action-packed mystery starring Master-of-Disguise, P. K. Pinkerton.
After vanquishing three notorious Desperados, twelve-year-old P. K. Pinkerton opens a private-eye business in Virginia City. P. K. 's skills are quickly put to the test: When a maid named Martha witnesses a murder, she hires the young detective to track the killer before he finds her too.
P. K. enlists a trusted ally, Poker Face Jace, to help crack the case-but collecting clues and keeping Martha safe will not be easy. Cunning liars, rogue gunslingers and deadly foes lurk at every turn, and time is running out to bring the murderer to justice.
Sharp, thrilling and vividly imagined, P. K. Pinkerton's second action-packed adventure will keep your heart racing through the very last page. .
Philip Hall Likes Me. I Reckon Maybe.
by Bette GreeneBeth Lambert has a crush on Philip Hall, who is better than she is at just about everything--or is he? Philip Hall is the handsomest, smartest, fastest boy in Miss Johnson's class. He beats Beth Lambert in math, spelling, reading, sports... and she adores him.
Beth suspects Philip likes her too, only she can't quite get him to admit it. In fact, he won't even invite her to his birthday party because he's afraid the other boys will call him a sissy. But then Beth begins to wonder: Maybe Philip only wins because she's letting him. Maybe she could beat him at everything. That would show Philip Hall! Because if being friends with a girl is bad... getting beaten by a girl is much, much worse.
Newbery Medal Honor book
Phantoms in the Snow
by Kathleen Benner DubleIn this gripping journey, a fifteen-year-old pacifist must decide what he believes as he faces the reality of World War II.The year is 1944, and fifteen-year-old Noah Garrett's parents have died from smallpox. Without any other family nearby, Noah is sent to live with his uncle, whom he has never met, in Camp Hale, Colorado. There is one small problem with this decision: Noah has been raised a pacifist, and Camp Hale is a U.S. military base for a little-known division of winter warfare soldiers called Phantoms. Can a boy who's never seen snow and doesn't believe in war survive among these soldiers?Noah's struggle to resolve his upbringing with the horrors of World War II into a way of life he can believe in takes him on an incredible and riveting journey from the training camp to the frontlines of battle. Based on historical events, the story of Noah and the Phantoms of the Tenth Mountain Division is one of courage and conviction, brotherhood, and the joy in living.
Penny from Heaven
by Jennifer L. HolmJennifer Holm's New York Times bestselling, Newbery Honor Winner is the story of a summer of adventures and secrets that will change everything, at a time in America’s history, just after World War II, when being Italian-American meant confronting prejudice because you'd been the enemy not that long ago .
It’s 1953 and 11-year-old Penny dreams of a summer of butter pecan ice cream, swimming, and baseball. But nothing’s that easy in Penny’s family. For starters, she can’t go swimming because her mother’s afraid she’ll catch polio at the pool. To make matters worse, her dog, Scarlett O'Hara, is sick. Her favorite uncle is living in a car. Her best friend is turning into a criminal. And no one will tell Penny the truth about how her father died.
Inspired by three time Newbery Honor winner Jennifer Holm’s own Italian American family, Penny from Heaven is a story about families—about the things that tear them apart and the things that bring them back together.
Newbery Honor book
Palace Beautiful
by Sarah WilliamsWhen sisters Sadie and Zuzu Brooks move to Salt Lake City, they discover a secret room in the attic of their new house, with a sign that reads "Palace Beautiful" and containing an old journal.
Along with their neighbor, dramatic Belladonna Desolation (real name: Kristin Smith), they take turns reading the story of a girl named Helen living during the flu epidemic of 1918.
The journal ends with a tragedy that has a scary parallel to Sadie and Zuzu?s lives, and the girls become obsessed with finding out what happened to Helen after the journal ends.
Did she survive the flu? Is she still alive somewhere? Or could her ghost be lurking in the nearby graveyard?
Sarah DeFord Williams has created a gripping read that covers two time periods, many fantastic characters, and a can't-put-it-down ending, all with delightful, extraordinary prose.
Paint the Wind
by Pam Muñoz RyanA sheltered girl. A wild horse. An unforgettable journey.
Maya lives like a captive. At Grandmother's house in California, everything is forbidden: friends, fun, even memories. And her life is built on lies: lies Grandmother tells her about her dead mother, lies Maya tells to impress or manipulate.
But then she moves to the vast Wyoming wilderness where her mother's family awaits - kind, rugged people who have no tolerance for lies. They challenge Maya to confront the truth about who she is. And a mysterious mustang called Artemisia waits, too. She holds the key to Maya's freedom. But to find it, Maya will have to risk everything, including her life.
Out of the Dust
by Karen HesseThis gripping story, written in sparse first-person, free-verse poems, is the compelling tale of Billie Jo's struggle to survive during the dust bowl years of the Depression. With stoic courage, she learns to cope with the loss of her mother and her grieving father's slow deterioration. There is hope at the end when Billie Jo's badly burned hands are healed, and she is able to play her beloved piano again.
The 1998 Newbery Medal winner.
Winner of the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction
Orbiting Jupiter
by Gary D. SchmidtThe two-time Newbery Honor winner Gary D. Schmidt delivers the shattering story of Joseph, a father at thirteen, who has never seen his daughter, Jupiter.
After spending time in a juvenile facility, he's placed with a foster family on a farm in rural Maine.
Here Joseph, damaged and withdrawn, meets twelve-year-old Jack, who narrates the account of the troubled, passionate teen who wants to find his baby at any cost.
In this riveting novel, two boys discover the true meaning of family and the sacrifices it requires.
The One and Only Ivan
by Katherine Applegate and Patricia CastelaoIvan is an easygoing gorilla. Living at the Exit 8 Big Top Mall and Video Arcade, he has grown accustomed to humans watching him through the glass walls of his domain. He rarely misses his life in the jungle. In fact, he hardly ever thinks about it at all.
Instead, Ivan thinks about TV shows he's seen and about his friends Stella, an elderly elephant, and Bob, a stray dog. But mostly Ivan thinks about art and how to capture the taste of a mango or the sound of leaves with color and a well-placed line.
Then he meets Ruby, a baby elephant taken from her family, and she makes Ivan see their home-and his own art-through new eyes. When Ruby arrives, change comes with her, and it's up to Ivan to make it a change for the better.
Katherine Applegate blends humor and poignancy to create Ivan's unforgettable first-person narration in a story of friendship, art, and hope.
Newbery Medal Winner
The Night I Freed John Brown
by John Michael CummingsA haunting adventure, a brilliant new author.
Young Josh knows there is something about the tall Victorian House on the Harpers Ferry Hill, the one his father grew up in, that he can't quite put his finger on--ghosts he can't name, mysteries he can't solve.
And his impossible father won't give him any clues. He's hiding something.
And then there's the famous John Brown. The one who all the tourists come to hear about. The one whose statue looms over Josh's house. Why does he seem to haunt Josh and his whole family?
When the fancy Richmonds come to town and move right next door, their presence forces Josh to find the answers and stand up to the secrets of the House, to his father--and to John Brown, too!
The historic village of Harpers Ferry comes alive in this young boy's brave search for answers and a place of his own in this brilliant first novel by John Michael Cummings.
Nightbird
by Alice HoffmanTwig lives in a remote area of town with her mysterious brother and her mother, baker of irresistible apple pies.
A new girl in town might just be Twig's first true friend, and ally in vanquishing an ancient family curse.
A spellbinding tale of modern folklore set in the Berkshires, where rumours of a winged beast draw in as much tourism as the town's famed apple orchards.
Neil Armstrong Is My Uncle and Other Lies Muscle Man McGinty Told Me
by Nan MarinoIn the entire town of Massapequa Park, only I can see Muscle Man McGinty for what he really is.
A phony.
It's the summer of 1969, and things are not only changing in Tamara's little Long Island town, but in the world.
Perhaps Tamara could stand to take one small step toward a bit of compassion and understanding?
A terrific debut novel with truly vivid characters and a wonderful voice.
My Friend Flicka
by Mary O'HaraThe first time that Ken McLaughlin sees Flicka galloping past him on his family's Wyoming horse ranch, he knows she's the yearling he's been longing for.
But Flicka comes from a long line of wild horses, and taming her will take more than Ken could ever have imagined.
Soon, Ken is faced with an impossible choice: give up on his beautiful horse, or risk his life to fight for her.
Mudville
by Kurtis ScalettaWelcome to Moundville, where it’s been raining for longer than Roy McGuire has been alive. Most people say the town is cursed—right in the middle of their big baseball game against rival town Sinister Bend, black clouds crept across the sky and it started to rain.
That was 22 years ago . . . and it’s still pouring. Baseball camp is over, and Roy knows he’s in for a dreary, soggy summer.
But when he returns home, he finds a foster kid named Sturgis sprawled out on his couch. As if this isn’t weird enough, just a few days after Sturgis’s arrival, the sun comes out. No one can explain why the rain has finally stopped, but as far as Roy’s concerned, it’s time to play some baseball.
It’s time to get a Moundville team together and finish what was started 22 years ago. It’s time for a rematch.
The Mostly True Story of Jack
by Kelly BarnhillEnter a world where magic bubbles just below the surface. . . .
When Jack is sent to Hazelwood, Iowa, to live with his strange aunt and uncle, he expects a summer of boredom. Little does he know that the people of Hazelwood have been waiting for him for quite a long time.
When he arrives, three astonishing things happen: First, he makes friends -- not imaginary friends but actual friends. Second, he is beaten up by the town bully; the bullies at home always ignored him. Third, the richest man in town begins to plot Jack's imminent, and hopefully painful, demise. It's up to Jack to figure out why suddenly everyone cares so much about him. Back home he was practically, well, invisible.
The Mostly True Story of Jack is an eerie tale of magic, friendship, and sacrifice. It's about things broken and things put back together. Above all, it's about finding a place to belong.
Moon Shadow
by Chris PlattIn the rough-and-tumble Nevada landscape, where every day brings a new threat to the wild mustangs&’ natural way of life, can Callie save her dream horse when disaster strikes?Plucky thirteen-year-old Callie McLean loves nothing more than to watch the herd of wild mustangs frolic near her farm in the rocky desert of Northern Nevada. School&’s out for the summer, which means three months of hanging out with horses and her best friend, Billie—and three months of freedom from classmates teasing her about her hippie clothes, two-dollar words, and organic-farmer parents. Callie gets to study with their equine veterinarian all summer too.When Callie learns her favorite wild palomino mare, Moonbeam, is in foal, she&’s ecstatic. And Cloud Dancer, the golden buckskin stallion, is going to be a father. Callie can&’t imagine a more beautiful pairing. But her summer idyll is broken when the Bureau of Land Management rounds up the mustangs for penning and adoption. Callie is heartbroken that the majestic horses will no longer live in the wild. Maybe she can adopt Moonbeam herself. But when the trauma of the round-up leaves Moonbeam and her new foal, Moon Shadow, in trouble, it seems Callie might lose her dream horse and the new foal forever.
Moo
by Sharon CreechFans of Newbery Medal winner Sharon Creech's Love That Dog and Hate That Cat will love her newest tween novel, Moo. This uplifting tale reminds us that if we're open to new experiences, life is full of surprises.
Following one family's momentous move from the city to rural Maine, an unexpected bond develops between twelve-year-old Reena and one very ornery cow.
When Reena, her little brother, Luke, and their parents first move to Maine, Reena doesn't know what to expect. She's ready for beaches, blueberries, and all the lobster she can eat. Instead, her parents "volunteer" Reena and Luke to work for an eccentric neighbor named Mrs. Falala, who has a pig named Paulie, a cat named China, a snake named Edna--and that stubborn cow, Zora.
This heartwarming story, told in a blend of poetry and prose, reveals the bonds that emerge when we let others into our lives.
Me, Mop, and the Moondance Kid
by Walter Dean MyersThree orphans try to make their greatest wishes come true with a little luck and a lot of teamwork in this warm-hearted, funny story by Newbery Honor-winning author Walter Dean Myers.
Max the Mighty
by Rodman PhilbrickThis is the dramatic, heart-wrenching tale of Max (from Freak the Mighty) and Worm, two outsiders who turn to each other for survival.
Lovingly Alice
by Phyllis Reynolds NaylorIn this repackaged novel in a beloved series, Alice realizes she has a lot to learn about life!
Now that Alice is growing up, she is finding out answers to all sorts of interesting things--but the questions keep on coming. For instance: How exactly are babies made? Where has her best friend Sarah's family disappeared to? And why is her father going to a concert with a woman?!
Alice isn't too sure about any of these things--but on top of doing her homework, playing with Oatmeal, trying to keep Lester's girlfriends straight, and setting her dad up with the school nurse, she's going to have to find out!