The Middle School English
Annotated Booklist
2009 - 2010
The Middle School Book List offers a broad range of excellent literature for outside reading and book reports. Most of the books on the list are available in the Annenberg Library. Each student in the A, I, or II Form is required to read one book from a different category each term. Teachers will provide guidance in choosing a book that will fit the individual's taste, experience, and skill.
It is important to note that the categories provided are more limiting than the dynamic and rich works they organize. Many of these works could comfortably fit into many catergories.
The annotations provided are brief; we encourage students to investigate these books more thoroughly by talking with librarians, teachers, parents, and friends. Titles in GREEN are newly added.
This list has been compiled from many sources including Nancy Atwell's In The Middle, Kilpatrick, Wolfe, and Wolfe's Books That Build Character, the American Library Association's Nothing But the Best, the Pennsylvania Library Association's Books of Note, Amazon Books, The Horn Book Magazine, reviews from the Panel of Librarians from the Delaware Valley, The Baldwin School Book List, and The English Journal.
Click on the links in the table to jump to that section of the list.
| Biography |  |
Myths and Legends |
|
2nd Trimester Project Only |
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F ALC |
Alcott,
Louisa May
|
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F AUS |
Austen,
Jane |
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F BRO |
Bronte,
Charlotte |
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F |
Clark,
Walter Van Tilburg The Ox Bow Incident Set in 1895, this classic story is a searing portrait of frontier life and mob violence in the American West, focusing on the lynching of three innocent men and the tragedy that ensues when law and order are abandoned. (1940) |
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F DEF |
Defoe,
Daniel Robinson Crusoe Daniel Defoe, is generally credited with being one of the first novel writers in the English language: this is his tale of an English sailor marooned on a desert island for nearly three decades. (1719) |
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F DAN |
Dana,
Richard Henry Two Years before the Mast The remarkable story of life at sea, as told by a 19 year old, who has left the privileged world of Boston and harvard to become a common sailor. (1840) |
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F DIC |
Dickens,
Charles Great Expectations This is the story of David, an orphan boy, who grows up amongst a diverse and delightful cast of characters--termed "the most perfect of all of the Dickens novels by Virginia Woolf. (1850) |
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F KNO |
Knowles,
John A Separate Peace Against the backdrop of World War II, the rivalry of two roommates at a boys’ school turns into a private war. (1959) |
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833 HOM |
Lombardo,
Stanley [Homer] The Iliad This new translation of the classical Greek epic of love and war is here rendered into a contemporary American idiom in a colloquial, modern voice. |
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F POT |
Potok,
Chaim The Chosen Two Jewish boys in New York, one traditional and one liberal, learn the differences between their fathers' teachings. (1967) |
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F PYL |
Pyle, Howard Otto of the Silver Hand This story, set in medieval Germany, tells the tale of young Otto who was raised in a monastery following his mother's death and returned at age twelve to the bitter, feudal world of his loving father. (1888) |
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F RIC |
Richter,
Conrad The Light in the Forest A white boy, captured by Indians as a four-year-old, comes to understand and love the Indian culture over his own. (1953) |
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F ROB |
Roberts,
Kenneth ANY TITLE BY THIS AUTHOR |
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F SMI |
Smith,
Betty A Tree Grows in Brooklyn This story tells of the difficulties and delights of life for Francie and her Irish family in New York, in the early 1900's. (1945) |
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F SPR |
Spyri, Johanna Heidi A Swiss orphan is heartbroken when she must leave her beloved grandfather and their happy home in the mountains to go to school and to care for an invalid girl in the city. (1880) |
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F VER |
Verne, Jules Journey to the center of the earth An old, coded note that actually contains directions for reaching the Earth’s very core! And once he finds it, renowned geologist Professor Liedenbrock can’t resist setting out with his 16-year-old nephew to go where only one man has gone before. (1874) |
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F WIL |
Wilder,
Thornton The Bridge of San Luis Rey In search of the meaning of their deaths, the narrator tells the life stories of five people who die when a bridge collapses. (1927) |
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F AND |
Anderson, Laurie Halse Wintergirls Eighteen-year-old Lia comes to terms with her best friend's death from anorexia as she struggles with the same disorder. (2009) |
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F AGE |
Agee,
James A Death in the Family A sensitive account of a family's reaction to the death of one of its members, this novel examines the most delicate, private realms of emotion. (1956) |
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F BAL |
Baldwin,
James If Beale Street Could Talk A young black couple, separated by an unjust imprisonment, is bolstered by their love for each other and the young man's loyal family. (1974) |
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F BIN |
Bingham, Kelly Shark Girl After a shark attack causes the amputation of her right arm, fifteen-year-old Jane, an aspiring artist, struggles to come to terms with her loss and the changes it imposes on her day-to-day life and her plans for the future. (2009) |
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F BRA |
Bradford,
Richard Red Sky at Morning Joshua Arnold, a wise, wry man-child, must cope with an absent father and a sherry-tippling mother while learning to live in a new town, make friends, and finish growing up. (1968) |
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F BRO |
Brooks,
Bruce The Moves Make the Man As Jerome, a black athlete, shares his skills and interest in basketball with Bix, a white baseball player, their friendship grows and the game becomes a reflection of both their lives (1985). |
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F BUD |
Budhos, Marina Tamar Ask me no questions Fourteen-year-old Nadira, her sister, and their parents leave Bangladesh for New York City, but the expiration of their visas and the events of September 11, 2001, bring frustration, sorrow, and terror for the whole family. (2006) |
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F COR |
Cormier,
Richard |
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F CRU |
Crutcher,
Chris Ironman While training for a triathlon, Bo, a seventeen year old boy, attends an anger management group at school which leads him to examine his relationship with his father. (1995) |
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F FOR |
Forman, Gayle If I Stay While in a coma following an automobile accident that killed her parents and younger brother, seventeen-year-old Mia, a gifted cellist, weights whether to live with her grief or join her family in death. (2009) |
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F FRE |
Freymann-weyr,
Garrett My Heartbeat Narrator Ellen learns about love, family and "society's unwritten rules"--and the limits of what you can ever know about whom you love--in this sophisticated but gentle novel set in Manhattan. (2002) |
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F GAR |
Gardner,
Graham Inventing Elliot Elliot, a victim of bullying, invents a calmer, cooler self when he changes schools in the middle of freshman year, but soon attracts the wrong kind of attention from the Guardians who "maintain order" at the new school. (2004) |
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F HER |
Herlong, M. H. The great wide sea Still mourning the death of their mother, three brothers go with their father on an extended sailing trip off the Florida Keys and have a harrowing adventure at sea. (2008) |
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F HIC |
Hickam,
Jr., Homer October Sky The only flaw of Rocket Boys is that its plot seems just a shade too well made even for a work of fiction, let alone a memoir.... Yet if Hickam's plotting seems here and there manipulated, what always ring true are his adventures in rocketry. ( 1998 ) |
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F JAR |
Jaramillo, Ann La Linea Fifteen-year-old Miguel leaves his rancho deep in Mexico to migrate to California across la linea, the border, in a debut novel of life-changing, cliff-hanging moments. (2006) |
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F JEN |
Jen,
Gish Typical American This story is an account of the rise and sway of fortune in the life of a Chinese immigrant family and the collision between personal history and world history. (1991) |
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F KAD |
Kadohata, Cynthia Outside beauty Thirteen-year-old Shelby and her three sisters must go to live with their respective fathers while their mother, who has trained them to rely on their looks, recovers from a car accident that scarred her face. (2008) |
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F KEY |
Keys,
Daniel Flowers for Algernon Winner of both the Hugo Award (1959), as well as the Nebula Award in this expanded version, Flowers for Algernon is the journal of Charlie Gordon, a mentally retarded adult who becomes a genius after undergoing a brain operation. (1966) |
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F KIN |
Kinsella,
William Shoeless Joe This is a wonderful book about baseball, love, and the power of dreams. (1982) |
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F MUR |
Murdock, Catherine Gilbert Dairy Queen After spending her summer running the family farm and training the quarterback for her school's rival football team, sixteen-year-old D.J. decides to go out for the sport herself, not anticipating the reactions of those around her. (2006) |
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F NA |
Na, An A Step from Heaven In this 2002 Printz winning novel, a young girl recounts her bittersweet experience in the United States after her family immigrates from Korea. (2001) |
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F PEC |
Peck, Robert A Long Way from Chicago What happens when Joey and his sister, Mary Alice--two city slickers from Chicago--make their annual summer visit to Grandma Dowdel's seemingly sleepy Illinois town? In the tradition of American humorists Mark Twain and Flannery O'Connor, Richard Peck has created this memorable world filled with characters who, like Grandma herself, are larger than life and twice as entertaining. (1998) |
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F |
Schmidt, Gary D Trouble Fourteen-year-old Henry, wishing to honor his brother Franklin's dying wish, sets out to hike Maine's Mount Katahdin with his best friend and dog. But fate adds another companion--the Cambodian refugee accused of fatally injuring Franklin--and reveals troubles that predate the accident. (2008) |
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F SME |
Smelcer,
John The Trap Written in alternating chapters that relate the parallel stories of Johnny and his grandfather, this novel poignantly addresses the hardships of life in the far north, suggesting that the most dangerous traps need not be made of steel. (2006) |
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F SON |
Sonnenblick, Jordan Drums, Girls, & Dangerous Pie The life of eighth-grader Steven Alper, already complicated by his friendship with two girls and a prodigious talent for drumming, is turned upside down when his five-year-old brother Jeffrey is hospitalized, having fallen while Steven is watching him. (2004) |
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F AND |
Anderson, M.T. |
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F BAR |
Bartoletti, Susan Campbells The boy who dared In October, 1942, seventeen-year-old Helmuth Hubener, imprisoned for distributing anti-Nazi leaflets, recalls his past life and how he came to dedicate himself to bring the truth about Hitler and the war to the German people. (2008) |
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F BOY |
Boyle, John The Boy in the striped Pajamas Natty Bumpo is a rebel against the corruption in society. In this story, Cooper portrays a romantic brotherhood b |
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F COO |
Cooper,
James Fennimore The Last of the Mohicans Bored and lonely after his family moves from Berlin to a place called "Out-With" in 1942, Bruno, the son of a Nazi officer, befriends a boy in striped pajamas who lives behind a wire fence. (2006) . |
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F FOX |
Fox,
Paula The Slave Dancer Thirteen-year-old Jessie is kidnapped and shanghaied onto an illegal slave trading ship until he escapes with a new friend. This is a haunting tale of one of the most brutal chapters in American history. (1975) |
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F GRE |
Grey, Zane Riders of the Purple Sage In this, the first of Zane Grey's many Western-saga best sellers, a gunslinger named Lassiter helps a wealthy Mormon rancher protect her ranch from cattle rustlers and the church. (1912) |
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G HES |
Hesse,
Karen Out of the Dust A poem cycle that reads as a novel, Out of the Dust tells the story of Billie Jo, a girl who struggles to help her family survive the dustbowl years of the Depression. Fighting against the elements on her Oklahoma farm, Billie Jo takes on even more responsibilities when her mother dies in a tragic accident. (1997) |
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F HOF |
Hoffman,
Alice Incantation Hoffman tears a horrific page from history and melds it with mysticism to create a spellbinding tale told by Estrella, the youngest in a tight-knit family of Spanish Jews hiding as devout Catholics during the Inquisition. (2006) |
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F IBB |
Ibbotson,
Eva Journey to the River Sea Orphaned and living in London in the early 1900s, Maia finds herself on the adventure of a lifetime when she is sent with her new governess to live on a rubber plantation along the Amazon River in Brazil with relatives she's never met. (2001) |
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F KLA |
Klages, Ellen The green glass sea While her father works on the Manhattan Project, gadget lover and outcast Dewey Kerrigan lives in Los Alamos Camp, and becomes friends with Suze, another young girl who is shunned by her peers. (2006) |
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F LAR |
Larson, Kirby Hattie Big Sky After inheriting her uncle's homesteading claim in Montana, sixteen-year-old orphan Hattie Brooks travels from Iowa in 1917 to make a home for herself and encounters some unexpected problems related to the war being fought in Europe. (2006) |
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F MCK |
McKernan, Victoria The devil's paintbox AIn 1866, fifteen-year-old Aidan and his thirteen-year-old sister Maddy, penniless orphans, leave drought-stricken Kansas on a wagon train hoping for a better life in Seattle, but find there are still many hardships to be faced. (2009) |
F MEY |
Meyer,
Caroline |
|
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F NAP |
Napoli, Donna Jo The Smile A fictionalized biography that describes the life of Elisabetta, the woman who posed for Leonardo da Vinci's famous painting, the Mona Lisa. (2008) |
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F POL |
Polak, Monique What world is left Anneke Van Raalte and her family are taken to a concentration camp in 1942, and Anneke's father, a cartoonist, is coerced into helping a propaganda campaign falsely depicting the camp as an idyllic place for Jews; as time passes, Anneke struggles with her loyalty to her family and her sense of right and wrong. (2008) |
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F RIN |
Rinaldi,
Ann ANY TITLE BY THIS AUTHOR |
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F SHA |
Shaara,
Michael Killer Angels A great battle looms over Gettysburg as the Rebels face the Yanks. (1974) |
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F SMI |
Smith, Roland |
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F |
Smith, Sherri L. Flygirl During World War II, a light-skinned African American girl "passes" for white in order to join the Women Airforce Service Pilots. (2008) |
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F STE |
Stevenson,
Robert Louis ANY TITLE BY THIS AUTHOR |
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370.19 |
Beals,
Melba Warriors Don't Cry : Searing Memoir of Battle to Integrate Little Rock In 1957 Melba Pattillo turned sixteen, and it is also the year she entered the front lines of a civil rights firestorm. Her remarkable story, taken from the diary she kept at the time, chronicles her experience as one of nine teenagers chosen to integrate Little Rock's Central High School. (1995) |
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B FRANK |
Frank,
Anne Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl This is the actual diary of a teenage girl who spent the last two years of her life with her family in hiding from Nazis. (1952) |
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B GUNTHER |
Gunther,
John Death Be Not Proud For 15 months, Johnny Gunther fought courageously against a progressive brain tumor. His father poignantly tells his memorable story. (1949) |
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B HALEY |
Haley,
Alex Roots When Haley traced his family back to the days of slavery, his book raised national consciousness about the hatefulness of prejudice and the importance of family love. (1976) |
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B DARWIN |
Heiligman, Deborah Charles and Emma : the Darwins' leap of faith A biography of English naturalist Charles Darwin that provides an account of the personality behind evolutionary theory and the affect of his work on his personal life, such as his relationship with his religious wife. (2009) |
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B KELLER |
Keller,
Helen The Story of My Life This story sketches the remarkable woman who overcame blindness and deafness to become a dynamic citizen of the world. (1954) |
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B KAIULANI |
Linnea,
Sharon Princess Ka’iulani Using journal entries, letters, and black-and-white photographs, this book tells the story of the life and times of Princess Ka'iulani, heir to the Hawaiian throne, the most beloved figure in Hawaiian history, and one of America's most overlooked heroines. (1999) |
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B LOBEL |
Lobel,
Anita. No Pretty Pictures The author, an award-winning author of children's books, tells the story of her own early childhood years, first as a "hidden child", and subsequently as prisoner in a succession of concentration camps during the Second World War. (1998) |
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B ALI |
Myers,
Walter Dean The Greatest, Muhammad Ali A riveting portrayal of Ali, his spirit and courage, from childhood to the present, as well as the hazards of boxing--the sport which he loved, but which ultimately damaged him. (2001) |
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B SCOTT |
Scott, Robyn Twenty Chickens for a Saddle: The Story of an African Childhood The author's funny, moving memoir, told with clear-eyed unsentimental affection, is about an idyllic childhood and a family's enthusiasm for each other and the world around them, with the essence of Africa-both beautiful and challenging- infusing every page. (2008) |
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B |
Nelson, Marilyn Carver, a life in Poems An account of revered African-American botanist and inventor George Washington Carver, who was raised by white slave owners, went on to head the agricultural department at the Tuskegee Institute, and conducted research for innovative uses for such crops as cowpeas, sweet potatoes and peanuts. (2001) |
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F ALE |
Alexander,
Lloyd ANY TITLE BY THIS AUTHOR |
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F ASI |
Asimov,
Isaac Fantastic Voyage A miniaturized submarine carrying a team of doctors travels through the bloodstream of a brilliant scientist in order to save his life. (1966) |
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F AUG |
Augarde, Steve The Various While staying on her uncle's rundown farm in the countryside, Midge discovers that she has a special connection to the Various, a tribe of "strange, wild--and sometimes deadly" fairies struggling to maintain their existence in the nearby woods. (2004) |
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F BOO |
Booraem, Ellen The unnameables On an island in whose strict society only useful objects are named and the unnamed are ignored or forbidden, thirteen-year-old Medford encounters an unusual and powerful creature, half-man, half-goat, and together they attempt to bring some changes to the community. (2008) |
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F BRA |
Bradbury,
Ray Something Wicked This Way Comes An American treasure in which Jim and Will make a deal with Dr. Park at "Cooger and Park's Pandemonium Shadow Show". In the deal, they are granted their secret desires, but there is a price. (1990) |
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F CLA |
Clarke,
Arthur C. 2001: A Space Odyssey After the signal is discovered on the moon, astronauts set out in their ship Discovery to find out who left it there, only to have their plans changed by a computer gone berserk. (1969) |
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F COL |
Collins, Suzanne The Hunger Games Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen becomes a contender in the annual Hunger Games, a grave competition hosted by the Capitol where young boys and girls are pitted against one another in a televised mortal combat. (2008) |
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F FUN |
Funke,
Cornelia Dragon Rider Firedrake, a silver dragon, leads a mission to locate the Rim of Heaven, in response to the threat posed by humans who are scheming to flood the valley where his clan of dragons currently lives. Accompanied by a brownie named Sorrel and an orphan boy named Ben, Firedrake begins the quest with only scant information to go on. (2004) |
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F HER |
Herbert,
Frank Dune This is the first of the epic Science-Fiction series about a desert world and the immense struggle for wealth and power there. (1965) |
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F KER |
Kerr, Philip The Akhenaten Adventure When twelve-year-old twins Philippa and John discover that they are descended from a long line of djinn, their mother sends them away to their Uncle Nimrod, who takes them to Cairo where he starts to teach them about their extraordinary powers. (2004) |
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F KOS |
Kostick, Conor Epic On New Earth, a world based on a video role-playing game, fourteen-year-old Erik pursuades his friends to aid him in some unusual gambits in order to save Erik's father from exile and safeguard the futures of each of their families. (2004) |
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F LEV |
Levine,
Gail Carson Fairest In the kingdom of Ayortha, the people sing songs, and no one has a more beautiful voice than Aza. Aza also has the extraordinary ability to "throw" her voice, called illusing, to make it seem to come from places other than from Aza. This talent finds her in a deceitful arrangement with the new queen, an outsider who does not have the ability to sing in a kingdom that prizes singing. (2006) |
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F MAG |
Maguire, Gregory What-the-Dickens : the story of a rogue tooth fairy As a terrible storm rages, Dinah and her brother and sister listen to their cousin Gage's tale of a newly-hatched, orphaned, skibberee, or tooth fairy, called What-the-Dickens, who hopes to find a home among the skibbereen tribe, if only he can stay out of trouble. (2007) |
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F NIC |
Nicholson,
William The Wind Singer In this first volume of a planned trilogy, the focus is on Amaranth, where life is very structured: people live in color-coded rings around the city--white for best, gray for the gritty outer circle--and tests rule all. A rebellious trio sets the orderly city on its ear by escaping it’s walls and embarking on an adventure that takes them from city sewers to desert sandstorms, as they seek to save their people from their dreamless existence. (2000) |
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F NIX |
Nix, Garth Mr. Monday: Keys to the Kingdom During a running exercise at school, Arthur Penhaligon collapses from an asthma attack. Upon awakening, he meets a stranger, Mister Mondaywho hands him an unusual key which begins a wild adventure. Using the powers of the key, Arthur travels to another realm and battles many evil creatures in a struggle to save his world from a mysterious disease. (2003) |
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F OPP |
Oppell,
Kenneth |
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F PFE |
Pfeffer, Susan Beth Life as we Knew it A meteor is going to hit the moon, and 16-year-old Miranda, like the rest of her family and neighbors in rural Pennsylvania, intends to watch it from the comfort of a lawn chair in her yard. But the event is not the benign impact predicted. (2006) |
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F PUL |
Pullman,
Philip The Golden Compass Here Earth is one of only five planets in the solar system, every human has a daemon (the soul embodied as an animal familiar) and, in a time similar to our late 19th century, Oxford scholars and agents of the Church are in a race to unleash the power that will enable them to cross the bridge to a parallel universe. (1996) |
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F REE |
Reeve,
Philip Larklight, or, The revenge of the white spiders!, or, To Saturn's rings and back! : a rousing tale of dauntless pluck in the farthest reaches of space In an alternate Victorian England, young Arthur and his sister Myrtle, residents of Larklight, a floating house in one of Her Majesty's outer space territories, uncover a spidery plot to destroy the solar system. . (2006) |
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F SHE |
Shelley,
Mary Frankenstein As timely as ever, this is the classic take off of a scientist who tries to play God and create life. This is a profound and scary look at the realm of the human spirit. (1988 [1881]) |
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F SKE |
Skelton,
Matthew Endymion Spring Blake, an American teen visiting modern-day Oxford, stumbles upon Endymion Spring-- one portion of "the most legendary, sought-after book in the world." While he attempts to uncover the secrets of the book, and evade cutthroat members of an antiquarian book society, flashbacks reveal the book's fifteenth-century connections to the original printing press, recounted by an apprentice of Gutenberg himself. (2006) |
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F TOL |
Tolkien,
J. R. R. ANY TITLE BY THIS AUTHOR |
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F VAN |
Van de
Velde, Vivian Heir Apparent A near-future teenager trapped in a full-immersion virtual reality game finds herself racing the clock to beat non-virtual death in this plausible, suspenseful outing. (2002) |
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F ABR |
Abrahams,
Peter Down the Rabbit Hole An avid reader of Sherlock Holmes, Ingrid Levin-Hill, 13, is also a fleet-footed soccer player with a knack for stage acting–skills that come in handy when she finds herself caught in a police investigation following the murder of an eccentric woman. (2005) |
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F ALB |
Albert, Susan Wittig The Tale of Hill Top Farm It's England in 1905, Beatrix Potter has purchased Hill Top Farm in Near Sawrey in the Lake District. Local farmers are upset that the farm is now owned by an outsider and a woman at that. However, on arrival, Beatrix Potter finds the woman she was to board with, Abigail Tolliver, has died unexpectedly and foul play is suspected .(2004) |
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F BAU |
Bauer,
Joan Peeled In an upstate New York farming community, high school reporter Hildy Biddle investigates a series of strange occurrences at a house rumored to be haunted. (2008) |
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F CHR |
Christie,
Agatha |
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F DON |
Donnelly,
Jennifer A Northern Light Set in 1906, against the backdrop of a murder that actually took place in the Adirondacks, 16-year-old Mattie Gokey finds her voice as an author and the strength and determination to live her own life. (2003) |
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F DOY |
Doyle,
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle The Hound of the Baskervilles Sherlock Holmes and Watson set about to solve the most bewildering case of their careers, as they investigate the latest death to befall the Baskerville family. (1902) |
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F GAI |
Gaiman,
Neal Coraline Looking for excitement, Coraline ventures through a mysterious door into a world that is similar, yet disturbingly different from her own, where she must challenge a gruesome entity in order to save herself, her parents, and the souls of three others. (2002) |
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F BUC |
Buchan, John 39 Steps Young mining engineer Richard Hannay, having returned to England from South Africa just before World War I, is pursued by both foreign agents and British authorities as he investigates clues left by a murdered man in an effort to save his own life and the future of his country. (1915) |
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F FAL |
Falkner, Brian |
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F GIL |
Gilman, David The devil's breath After fifteen-year-old Max Gordon's environmentalist father goes missing while working in Namibia, Max finds he has become the target of a would-be assassin at his school in England, and decides he must find his father in Africa before they both are killed. (2007) |
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F |
Gratz, Alan Something rotten : a Horatio Wilkes mystery ThIn a contemporary story based on Shakespeare's play "Hamlet," Horatio Wilkes seeks to solve the murder of his friend Hamilton Prince's father in Denmark, Tennessee. (2007) |
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F KIN |
King, Laurie
R. The Beekeeper's Apprentice The year is 1914. Long retired, Sherlock Holmes quietly pursues his study of honeybee behavior on the Sussex Downs. While he never imagined he would encounter anyone whose intellect matched his own, Miss Mary Russell becomes Holmes' pupil and quickly hones her talent for deduction, disguises and danger. When an elusive villain enters the picture, their partnership is put to a real test. (1994) |
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F KON |
Konigsburg,
E. L. Father's Arcane Daughter When Caroline appears on her father's doorstep seventeen years after being kidnapped, the effect on the family is dramatic. (1976) |
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F LEN |
L'Engle,
Madeleine Dragons in the Waters A thirteen-year-old's trip to Venezuela with his cousin culminates in murder and the discovery of an unexpected bond with an Indian tribe, dating from the days of Simon Bolivar. (1976) |
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F PEN |
Mussi, Sarah The door of no return Zac Baxter travels to Africa after his grandfather is brutally murdered, hoping to learn the truth about his family's dark past and discover why someone was willing to kill his grandfather to learn the family secret. (2007) |
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F PET |
Peters,
Ellis Morbid Taste for Bones In the 12th-century Benedictine monastery of Shrewsbury, Brother Cadfael has settled down to a quiet life in charge of the herbarium. It is fortunate his prowess as a herbalist is matched by his detective skills - when his prior acquires the bones of a saint, the obstacles include murder. (1977) |
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F RAM |
Ramthun, Bonnie White Gates When his mother becomes the doctor in Snow Park, Colorado, Tor learns of a curse placed on the town's doctors many years before by an eccentric Ute woman, but suspects that a villain is hiding behind that curse. (2008) |
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F ROH |
Rohmer,
Sax The Insidious Dr. Fu-Manchu Sax Rohmer , a contemporary of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, created one of the greatest villans of mystery literature: this, the first in the popular Fu-Manchu mystery series, introduces English sleuth Denis Nayland Smith and his companion, Dr. Petrie, to the evil genius Dr. Fu-Manchu, a cunning Chinese criminal mastermind who means to rule the world. (1913) |
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F SAY |
Sayers,
Dorothy ANY TITLE BY THIS AUTHOR |
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F SEL |
Selznick,
Brian The Invention of Hugo Cabret Orphan, clock-keeper, and thief, Hugo lives in the walls of a busy Paris train station, where his survival depends on secrets and anonymity. But when his world suddenly interlocks with an eccentric, bookish girl and a bitter old man who runs a toy booth in the station, Hugo's undercover life, and his most precious secret, are put in jeopardy. (2007) |
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F WHI |
White,
Robb Deathwatch An exciting novel of suspense, based on a fight to the finish between an honest, courageous young man and a cynical business tycoon who believes that anything can be had for a price. Winner of an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America. (1972) |
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F APP |
Appelt, Kathi The underneath An old hound that has been chained up at his hateful owner's run-down shack, and two kittens born underneath the house, endure separation, danger, and many other tribulations in their quest to be reunited and free. (2008) |
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F BAK |
Bakker,
Robert Raptor Red This is the realistic survival story of a young raptor as it evolves over the course of a year. It is complete with a unique cast of characters set in a lush, exotic prehistoric world. (1995) |
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F BAG |
Bagnold,
Enid National Velvet This is a classic story about English family life, a girl, her horse, a village lottery, and the Steeplechase. (1935) |
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F CRE |
Crecraft,
Rick The Monarch of the Tall Pines: An Adirondack Adventure The author, an EA alumnus, recalls his own youth in this fictional account of a boy and his grandfather who go camping together, embarking on a quest to capture a trophy brook trout. (2002) |
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F CLE |
Clement-Davies,
David The Sight In Transylvania, a pack of wolves sets out on a perilous journey to prevent their enemy from calling upon a legendary evil one that will give her the power to control all animals. (2002) |
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F DIC |
DiCamillo,
Kate The Tale of Despereaux The adventures of Desperaux Tilling, a small mouse of unusual talents, the princess that he loves, the servant girl who longs to be a princess, and a devious rat determined to bring them all to ruin. (2003) |
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F GAL |
Gallico,
Paul The Abandoned This is the story of a boy who is transformed into a cat and his attempts to struggle for existence in a strange and unsympathetic world. (1950) |
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F JAC |
Jacques,
Brian ANY TITLE BY THIS AUTHOR |
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F LON |
London,
Jack Call of the Wild This is the amazing story of Buck, a dog who was stolen and then forced into a life of hardship and bitter cold in Alaska. (1903) |
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F MOW |
Mowat,
Farley Never Cry Wolf Mowat recounts his experience of living alone among wild wolf packs in the Canadian Tundra. His admiration for these maligned animals contrasts the growing fear of bounty hunters and federal exterminators. (1963) |
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F SEW |
Sewell,
Anna Black Beauty Black Beauty tells his own story: all about his early home, his "breaking in," and how he saved his master’s life. (1945) |
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F ZUC |
Zuckerman, Linda A taste for rabbit Quentin, a rabbit who lives in a walled compound run by a militaristic government, must join forces with Harry, a fox, to stop the sinister disappearances of outspoken and rebellious rabbit citizens. (2007) |
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F ADA |
Adams,
Douglas The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy This is the satiric, comic adventure of Arthur Dent, who finds himself traveling through space and time. (1982) |
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F FEI |
Feiffer,
Jules The Man in the Ceiling Both written and illustrated by cartoonist Feiffer, this is a funny, poignant and profoundly insightful look at the inner life of an artist; Jimmy, who happens to be a young boy, expresses himself by making comic books. (1995) |
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F LEV |
Levithan,
David. Boy meets Boy This is the story of Paul, a sophomore at a high school like no other. Written in energetic prose and sharp humor, Levithan has created a kind of utopia, where tolerance reigns and shame is banished, in which everyone loves without persecution, making this a provocative and important read. (2003) |
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F REN |
Rennison.
Louise Angus, Thongs and Full-frontal Snogging Presents the humorous journal of a year in the life of a fourteen-year-old British girl who tries to reduce the size of her nose, stop her mad cat from terrorizing the neighborhood animals, and win the love of handsome hunk Robbie. (2001) |
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F SAL |
Saldana,
Rene, Jr. The Jumping Tree Rey, a Mexican American living with his close knit family in a Texas town near the Mexican border, tells the story of his growing up, with lots of self-deprecating humor and an air of reminiscence, all the while remaining culturally specific, filled with Chicano language and customs. (2001) |
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F SHI |
Shipton,
Paul The Pig Scrolls Transformed by Circe into talking pig, Gryllus, who once traveled as a crewman with Odysseus, tells how he escaped rampaging monsters with the brave teen prophetess, Sybil, found himself, and saved the world. (2005) |
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F TOW |
Townsend,
Sue The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13 3/4 Adrian, a worrier, a loner, and self-proclaimed intellectual, confides his concerns and dreams within the pages of his diary. (1988) |
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F WIB |
Wibberly,
Leonard The Mouse that Roared This fantastic story describes the presumed take-over of America by the Duchy of Grand Fenwick, a sovereign territory five miles long and three wide, in the heart of the Alps. (1954) |
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591.52 ADA |
Adams,
Douglas and Mark Carwardine Last Chance to See The authors embark on a personal journey filled with humor, irony, and frustration, as they attempt to observe some of the earth's exotic endangered species. (1992) |
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919.98 ALE |
Alexander, Caroline Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage Published in conjunction with the American Museum of Natural History's landmark exhibition on Shackleton's journey, Endurance thrillingly recounts on of the last great adventures in the heroic age of exploration--perhaps the greatest of them all. (1998) |
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796.323 BLA |
Blais, Madeleine In these girls, hope is a muscle They were a talented highschool basketball team with a near-perfect record--but a reputation for choking in the crunch of the state playoffs. Finally, after five straight years of disappointments, the Amherst Lady Hurricanes found they just might have what it took to go all the way. (1995) |
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363.73 CAR |
Carson,
Rachel Silent Spring This book represents over four and one half years' work, during which Carson gathered data from all over America and around the world. It constitutes a biologist's warning about the possible effects of wide spread use of pesticides on the balance of nature. (1962) |
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920 FRE |
Freedman,
Russell The Wright Brothers Newberry Award winning account of the life and work of Orville and Wilbur Wright, this book traces their interests and experiences and records their progress with contemporary photographs. (1991) |
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791.3 HEL |
Helfer,
Ralph Modoc: The True Story of the Greatest Elephant That Ever Lived This is the true story of a remarkable animal, an elephant named Modoc, whose life spans eight decades and three continents. It is a tale of love, loss, and the spiritual bond between a man and his extraordinary nine thousand pound companion, accurately recounted by a well-known Hollywood animal behaviorist. (1997) |
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952.04 HER |
Hersey,
John Hiroshima Six individuals, survivors of the bombing of Hiroshima, reflect on life and why they were saved, in the midst of destruction. (1946) |
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910.4 HEY |
Heyerdahl,
Thor Kon-Tiki Six remarkable men set out on a forty-foot raft to prove the scientific theory that the ancient peoples of Peru discovered and populated these Islands of Polynesia. This book records their adventures, beginning with the building of their raft, and following them across the South Pacific. (1950) |
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798.4 HIL |
Hillenbrand,
Laura Seabiscuit A wonderfully written history of a horse and the misfit humans who cared for him, who saw his potential, and turned him into a horseracing legend for all time. (2001) |
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974.4 JUN |
Junger, Sebastian The perfect storm : a true story of men against the sea Uses interviews, memoirs, radio conversations, and technical research to recreate the last days of the crew of the Andrea Gail, a fishing boat that was lost in a storm off the coast of Nova Scotia in October 1991. (1997) |
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996.1 KRA |
Kraske,
Robert Marooned The true survival story of Alexander Selkirk, the man who inspired Defoe's novel Robinson Crusoe. (2005) |
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796.52 KRA |
Krakaur,
John Into Thin Air This is the definitive account of the deadliest season in the history of Everest by the acclaimed journalist and author of bestseller Into the Wild. (1997) |
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910.9 PHI |
Philbrick,
Nathaniel Revenge of the Whale or, In the Heart of the Sea Recounts the 1820 sinking of the whale ship "Essex" by an enraged sperm whale and how the crew of young men survived against impossible odds. The whale's attack on the Essex gave Herman Melville the idea for the climactic scene in Moby Dick. (2002) |
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614.57 PRE |
Preston, Richard Hot Zone A recent "best seller," this book recounts the events which identified the deadly Ebola virus in Africa, and traces the outbreak of a related strain here in the U.S. (1994) |
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F SHA |
Shanower,
Eric. Age of Bronze: A Thousand Ships A graphic novel, drawn from a variety of sources--ancient legends, medieval romances as well ascontemporary scholarship, and woven into a rich narrative--chronicles the events which started the Trojan War. Shanower won the Will Eisner Comics Industry Award for Best Writer/Artist for this extraordinary project. (2001) |
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812 BLI |
Blinn,
William Brian's Song This drama is based on the true story of courage and friendship between Brian Piccolo and Gayle Sayers, two players on the Chicago Bears football team. (1972) |
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812 GIB |
Gibson,
William The Miracle Worker This powerful play depicts the education of Helen Keller and her relationship with her extraordinary teacher, Annie Sullivan. (1956) |
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812 GUR |
Guerney,
A.R. The Dining Room This drama is a wry, compassionate portrait of family life in the American upper class, organized, both literally and metaphorically, around the family dining room. (1982) |
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812 SHA |
Laurents,
Arthur West Side Story One of the most popular musical dramas of our time, this play is based on Romeo and Juliet, but strikingly retold, set in the inner city in modern times. (1957) |
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812 MED |
Medoff,
Mark Children of a Lesser God The sensitive drama tells of the love and growth of James Leeds, a speech teacher at the State School for the Deaf, and Sarah Norman, one of his students. (1980) |
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822.33 SHA |
Shakespeare,
William The Taming of the Shrew A romantic comedy, this tale describes the "taming" of Katherine, whose sharp tongue and fiery temper make her impossible to wed. (c1593) |
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812 SHA |
Shaw, George
Bernard Androcles and the Lion Based on a medieval European legend and set in classical times, this is the story of a runaway slave who is saved by a lion. (1912) |
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812 SIM |
Simon,
Neil Brighton Beach Memoirs Meet Eugene Jerome and his family, fighting the hard times and sometimes each other - with laughter, tears, and love. It is 1937 in Brooklyn during the heart of the Depression. (1984) |
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812 ZIN |
Zindel,
Paul The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds This Pulitzer Prize-winning play centers on the Hunsdorfers: Tillie, her sister Ruth, and their mother Beatrice. Tillie studies the growth of flowers for a science project, in an effort to escape the bitterness of her family and surroundings. (1971) |
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F BEL |
Bell, Hilari The last knight : a knight and rogue novel In alternate chapters, eighteen-year-old Sir Michael Sevenson, an anachronistic knight errant, and seventeen-year-old Fisk, his street-wise squire, tell of their noble quest to bring Lady Ceciel to justice while trying to solve her husband's murder. (2007) |
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F BRO |
Browne, N. M Warriors of Alavna While walking through a yellow mist, two fifteen-year-old classmates are transported to a world that resembles Roman Britain during the first century A.D, where they witness real magic and join a tribe of Celtic warriors as they battle Roman invaders. (2000) |
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F GOL |
George, Jessica Day Princess of the midnight ball A retelling of the tale of twelve princesses who wear out their shoes dancing every night, and of Galen, a former soldier now working in the king's gardens, who follows them in hopes of breaking the curse. (2009) |
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398.2 LES |
Lester,
Julius The Tales of Uncle Remus Lively, humorous stories, this work represents a contemporary retelling of the adventures of Brer Rabbit and his friends. (1987) |
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F MAC |
MacDonald,
George The Princess and the Goblin Said to be a favorite of both Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, The Princess and the Goblin is the story of the young Princess Irene, her good friend Curdie--a miner's son--and Irene's mysterious and beautiful great-great grandmother, who lives in a secret room at the top of the castle stairs. (1872) |
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F ZEL |
Napoli,
Donna Jo Zel UpThis retelling of the story of Rapunzel is no simple fairy tale retold for the entertainment of children. Instead, it is a searing commentary on the evil that can result from human longings gone awry. Napoli sets the novel in 16th-century Switzerland and alternates the various characters' points of view. (1998) |
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F OWE |
Owen, James A. Here, there be dragons Three young men are entrusted with the Imaginarium Geographica, an atlas of fantastical places to which they travel in hopes of defeating the Winter King, whose bid for power is related to the First World War raging in the Real World. (2006) |
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398.2 PYL |
Pyle, Howard
The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood This is the classic tale of Sherwood Forest’s legendary hero, as told by a local author and illustrator. (1883) |
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F SPI |
Spinner,
Stephanie Quiver Greek gods and mortals spring to life in this riveting retelling of the myth of Atalanta, the fleet-footed girl warrior who could outrun any man in ancient Greece. (2002) |
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F SPR |
Springer,
Nancy I am Mordred Merlin, the great magician and prophet, has foretold the death of Arthur at the hands of his only son. When the boy Mordred discovers his own true identity, and the nature of his destiny, he struggles with feelings of hatred for his father, and also fights the fate, which determines that he should slay the good and gracious King of Camelot. (1998) |
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F STR |
Stroud, Jonathan Heroes of the valley Young Halli Sveinsson, a likable prankster, member of the House of Svein, embarks on what he dreams will be a quest for vengeance and glory equal to those of his ancestors, but he quickly comes to realize that legend and lore have little relation to reality. (2009) |
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F THO |
Thompson, Kate The new policeman Fifteen-year-old musician J.J. Liddy leaves his small, Irish town and travels to the land of the fairies to search for time so he can give it to his busy mother, but when he gets there, he discovers that the inhabitants are in trouble and learns about his family's secret history. (2005) |