Special Collections
Accelerated Reader Middle Grade Collection
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D.W. Flips!
by Marc BrownArthur's little sister, D.W., has her doubts about the gymnastics class she's taking. She's pretty sure she's better than most of the kids in the class. But when it's time to learn how to do a forward roll, she learns how hard it can be and how much practice it takes to really become good at it. Worse yet, Emily is better at flips than is D.W., and Emily knows it.
Arthur's Mystery Babysitter
by Marc BrownWhen Arthur's parents go out for the evening, they tell Arthur and D.W. that a mystery babysitter will take care of them.
Cat the Cat, Who Is That?
by Mo WillemsWith this brilliant new series, Willems introduces early concepts through vibrant art, very simple text, and repetition. Cat the Cat introduces youngsters to all her animal pals.
Are You Ready to Play Outside? (An Elephant and Piggie Book)
by Mo WillemsMeet Elephant Gerald and Piggie. Gerald is careful. Piggie is not. Piggie cannot help smiling. Gerald can. Gerald worries so that Piggie does not have to. Gerald and Piggie are best friends. In Are You Ready to Play Outside? Piggie can't wait to go play in the sunshine. But will a rainy day ruin all the fun?
Winner of the Theodore Seuss Geisel Medal
Gone Fishing
by Earlene R. LongA father and son go fishing with a big fishing rod for daddy and a little one for the child.
Elephants Cannot Dance! (An Elephant and Piggie Book)
by Mo WillemsMeet Elephant Gerald and Piggie.
Gerald is careful. Piggie is not.
Piggie cannot help smiling. Gerald can.
Gerald worries so that Piggie does not have to.
Gerald and Piggie are best friends.
In Elephants Cannot Dance! Piggie tries to teach Gerald some new moves. But will Gerald teach Piggie something even more important?
Advisory: This book offers only partial accessibility. We have kept it in the collection because it is useful for some of our members. Benetech is actively working on projects to improve accessibility issues such as these in the future.
Puppy Mudge Loves His Blanket
by Cynthia RylantMudge is Henry's puppy, a puppy who loves his blanket. Mudge brings his blanket everywhere. But when the blanket gets lost, it's up to Henry to find it...or Mudge might never go to sleep!
Biscuit Goes To School
by Alyssa Satin Capucilli and Pat SchoriesBrand new readers will love reading about the gentle, and often funny, daily adventures of the adorable family puppy, Biscuit, in these classic emergent readers.
Happy Pig Day! (An Elephant and Piggie Book)
by Mo WillemsMeet Elephant Gerald and Piggie winners of Theodor Seuss Geisel Medals for There Is a Bird on Your Head! and Are You Ready to Play Outside? and a Geisel Honor for We Are in a Book! Gerald is careful. Piggie is not. Piggie cannot help smiling. Gerald can. Gerald worries so that Piggie does not have to. Gerald and Piggie are best friends. In Happy Pig Day! Piggie celebrates her favorite day of the year! But will Gerald the Elephant be included in the festivities?
Can I Play Too? (An Elephant and Piggie Book)
by Mo WillemsMeet Elephant Gerald and Piggie, winners of Theodor Seuss Geisel Medals for There is a Bird on Your Head! and Are you Ready to Play Outside? Gerald is careful. Piggie is not. Piggie cannot help smiling. Gerald can. Gerald worries so that Piggie does not have to. Gerald and Piggie are best friends. In Can I Play Too? Gerald and Piggie meet a new friend, Snake, who wants to join in a game of catch. But don't you need arms to catch?
I Love My New Toy! (An Elephant and Piggie Book)
by Mo WillemsAges 4-8. Meet Elephant Gerald and Piggie. Gerald is careful. Piggie is not. Piggie cannot help smiling. Gerald can. Gerald worries so that Piggie does not have to. Gerald and Piggie are best friends. In I Love My New Toy! Piggie can't wait to show Gerald her brand-new toy. But will an accidentally broken toy break a friendship?
We Are in a Book!
by Mo WillemsGerald is careful. Piggie is not. Piggie cannot help smiling. Gerald can.
Gerald and Piggie are best friends.
In We Are in a Book! Gerald and Piggie discover the joy of being read. But what will happen when the book ends?
Using vocabulary perfect for beginning readers (and vetted by an early-learning specialist), Mo Willems has crafted a mind-bending story that is even more interactive than previous Elephant & Piggie adventures. Fans of the Geisel Award-winning duo won't be able to put this book down--literally!
Biscuit Meets the Class Pet
by Alyssa Satin Capucilli and Pat SchoriesHop, hop! There's someone new at Biscuit's house--Nibbles, the class pet, has come for a visit. Nibbles likes exploring Biscuit's home and wants to play with all of Biscuit's toys. Biscuit isn't sure if he is ready to share with Nibbles, but soon Biscuit realizes that he likes having a visitor after all! The youngest of readers will be delighted by the story of Biscuit's new friendship in this appealing, easy-to-read adventure. Other book about Biscuit are available in this library.
Biscuit Finds a Friend
by Alyssa Satin CapucilliBiscuit, the Puppy, finds a duckling under the house. The duckling is reunited with its family and the pond but still wants to follow Biscuit, its new friend.
My Friend Is Sad (An Elephant and Piggie Book)
by Mo WillemsMeet Elephant Gerald and Piggie. Gerald is careful. Piggie is not. Piggie cannot help smiling. Gerald can. Gerald worries so that Piggie does not have to. Gerald and Piggie are best friends. In My Friend is Sad, Gerald is sad. How can Piggie be happy if Gerald is sad?
Biscuit and the Little Pup
by Alyssa Satin CapucilliArf! Arf! When Biscuit finds a little pup in the park, he wants the pup to play with him. But the little pup won't come over to look at Biscuit's ball or to chew on a bone. In fact, he won't come out of his cozy hideaway at all! Is the little pup lost? How will Biscuit get the little pup to come out? Can he help his new friend's owner find the little pup too? Biscuit continues to charm the hearts of friends old and new in this, his twelfth adventure for the youngest of readers. Other books about Biscuit are available in this library.
The Pigeon Wants a Puppy!
by Mo WillemsThe Pigeon really, really, REALLY wants a puppy. Do you think it's a good idea? Read literary classics to your puppy, starting with these. Don't let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog! Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late! The Pigeon has Feelings, Too! The Pigeon Loves Things That Go!
Fish in a Tree
by Lynda Mullaly HuntA New York Times Bestseller!
The author of the beloved One for the Murphys gives readers an emotionally-charged, uplifting novel that will speak to anyone who’s ever thought there was something wrong with them because they didn’t fit in.
“Everybody is smart in different ways. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its life believing it is stupid.”
Ally has been smart enough to fool a lot of smart people. Every time she lands in a new school, she is able to hide her inability to read by creating clever yet disruptive distractions. She is afraid to ask for help; after all, how can you cure dumb? However, her newest teacher Mr. Daniels sees the bright, creative kid underneath the trouble maker. With his help, Ally learns not to be so hard on herself and that dyslexia is nothing to be ashamed of. As her confidence grows, Ally feels free to be herself and the world starts opening up with possibilities. She discovers that there’s a lot more to her—and to everyone—than a label, and that great minds don’t always think alike.
The Cod's Tale
by Mark KurlanskyThis illustrated incredible story, combined with Schindler's stunning watercolors, offers a unique look at a thousand years of human civilization as it relates to the codfish.
Bud, Not Buddy
by Christopher Paul Curtis"It's funny how ideas are, in a lot of ways they're just like seeds. Both of them start real, real small and then... woop, zoop, sloop... before you can say Jack Robinson, they've gone and grown a lot bigger than you ever thought they could."
So figures scrappy 10-year-old philosopher Bud--"not Buddy"--Caldwell, an orphan on the run from abusive foster homes and Hoovervilles in 1930s Michigan. And the idea that's planted itself in his head is that Herman E. Calloway, standup-bass player for the Dusky Devastators of the Depression, is his father. Guided only by a flier for one of Calloway's shows--a small, blue poster that had mysteriously upset his mother shortly before she died--Bud sets off to track down his supposed dad, a man he's never laid eyes on. And, being 10, Bud-not-Buddy gets into all sorts of trouble along the way, barely escaping a monster-infested woodshed, stealing a vampire's car, and even getting tricked into "busting slob with a real live girl."
Christopher Paul Curtis, author of The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963, once again exhibits his skill for capturing the language and feel of an era and creates an authentic, touching, often hilarious voice in little Bud.
Newbery Medal Winner and Winner of the Coretta Scott King Medal
Winner of Pacific Northwest Library Association’s Young Reader’s Choice Junior Award
The Breadwinner
by Deborah EllisYoung Parvana lives with her family in one room of a bombed-out apartment building in Kabul, Afghanistan. Because Parvana's father has a foreign education, he is arrested by the Taliban. The family becomes increasingly desperate until Parvana conceives a plan.
A Boy Called Slow
by Joseph BruchacHis father had earned the name Returns Again to Strike the Enemy, his uncle Four Horns--good, strong names.
But the boy, born many winters ago to the Hunkpapa band of the Lakota Sioux, was called Slow. Slow knew that until he performed some brave or powerful deed, this was the name by which he would be known.
When he reached his seventh winter, he was one of the strongest boys in his tribe. No one was more at ease riding a pony. And as he grew tall, his shoulders became broad and solid. Would the day ever come for him to prove his power?
Then one winter, when a group of Lakotas meet a Crow war party, Slow has the chance to earn his new name--the one you may know.
With great drama and poignancy Joseph Bruchac tells the true story about the childhood of the greatest Lakota hero--Sitting Bull.
Rocco Baviera's glowing paintings are filled with the energy and knowing of a young boy becoming a man, the energy and knowing that every young person carries on that journey from childhood to beyond.
Blister
by Susan ShreveAlyssa never really noticed the distance between her parents, or that her mom could be down a lot. And even when there was a strain between her parents, everything was going to be fine when Lila Rose, the new baby, arrived. But Lila Rose doesn't survive, nor does Alyssa's parents' marriage. That's when Alyssa decides to make things go her way--even if it hurts.
The Blackthorn Key
by Kevin SandsFollowing a series of murders, an apothecary's apprentice must solve puzzles and decipher codes in pursuit of a secret that could destroy the world in this suspenseful debut novel.
"Tell no one what I've given you." Until he got that cryptic warning, Christopher Rowe was happy, learning how to solve complex codes and puzzles and creating powerful medicines, potions, and weapons as an apprentice to Master Benedict Blackthorn--with maybe an explosion or two along the way. But when a mysterious cult begins to prey on London's apothecaries, the trail of murders grows closer and closer to Blackthorn's shop. With time running out, Christopher must use every skill he's learned to discover the key to a terrible secret with the power to tear the world apart. In his stunning debut novel, Kevin Sands brings readers on a heart-stopping adventure rich with suspense, mystery, and unforgettable characters.
Nominee for the 2018 Young Reader's Choice Award (Pacific Northwest Library Association)
Becoming Naomi Leon (Scholastic Gold)
by Pam Muñoz RyanA reissue of Pam Munoz Ryan's bestselling backlist with a distinctive author treatment and new cover art by Raul Colon.Naomi Soledad Leon Outlaw has had a lot to contend with in her young life, her name for one. Then there are her clothes (sewn in polyester by Gram), her difficulty speaking up, and her status at school as "nobody special." But according to Gram, most problems can be overcome with positive thinking. And with Gram and her little brother, Owen, Naomi's life at Avocado Acres Trailer Rancho in California is happy and peaceful...until their mother reappears after seven years of being gone, stirring up all sorts of questions and challenging Naomi to discover and proclaim who she really is.