Ozma of Oz
by. L. Frank Baum
The third Oz book, Ozma of Oz, where Baum and his illustrating partner, John R. Neill, produce the first Oz book that establishes the indelible tone and formula for the rest of the series. The successful approach in Ozma of Oz combines the best of the first two Oz books, starting with the return of the uniquely “American” Dorothy — who was absent in the second book — and integrating some of the darker fantasy elements and realistic illustrations of the sequel.
The Fighting Ground
by Avi
The compelling story of a young boy's first encounter with war and how it changes him. Ages 9-up.
Matilda
by Roald Dahl
Matilda is a genius who not only has to deal with loud, obnoxious, idiot parents who scapegoat her for everything but with "the Trunchbull"! "The Trunchbull" is actually Miss Trunchbull the ex-Olympic hammer-thrower, Head Mistress of Matilda's school who has terrorized generations of students and teachers. When "the Trunchbull" goes after Miss Honey, the one teacher, the one person, who supports and believes in Matilda, our heroine decides it's time to fight back. Her parents and "the Trunchbull" don't stand a chance! Ages 7-12.
Stargirl
by Jerry Spinelli
Stargirl Caraway, a new 10th grader at Arizona's Mica Area High School who wears pioneer dresses and kimonos to school, strums a ukulele in the cafeteria, laughs when there are no jokes, and dances when there is no music. The whole school, not exactly a "hotbed of nonconformity," is stunned by her, including our 16-year-old narrator Leo Borlock: "She was elusive. She was today. She was tomorrow. She was the faintest scent of a cactus flower, the flitting shadow of an elf owl."
Sounder
by William H. Armstrong
Sounder is no beauty. But as a coon dog, this loyal mongrel with his cavernous bark is unmatched. When the African American sharecropper who has raised Sounder from a pup is hauled off to jail for stealing a hog, his family must suffer their humiliation and crushing loss with no recourse. To make matters worse, in the fracas, Sounder is shot and disappears. The eventual return of a tattered and emaciated Sounder doesn't change the fact that the sharecropper's oldest son is forced to take on man's work to help support the family. His transition to adulthood is paved by the rocks and taunts hurled at him by convicts and guards as he searches for his father. But along this rough road he ultimately finds salvation as well.
The Bronze Bow
by Elizabeth George Speare
The story concerns Daniel, a young Jew at the time of Christ. He has an intense hatred of the Romans and lives with in an outlaw band in the hills. When his grandmother dies, he must move to the village to take care of his sister while trying to continue his life's mission of driving the Romans back to Rome. He is drawn to the miracle worker, but just doesn't know what he truly thinks about him. Is he the Messiah sent to free them from the Romans? And will his sister ever recover?
Amos Fortune
by Elizabeth Yates
Amos Fortune, Free Man is a biographical novel by Elizabeth Yates that won the Newbery Medal for excellence in American children's literature in 1951. It is about a young African prince, who when people come and attack his tribe, is captured and taken to America as a slave. He masters a trade, frees himself by his own efforts and dies a respected citizen.
The Goats
by Brock Cole
A boy and the girl have been chosen as "the goats" at summer camp. Stripped naked, they are marooned on Goat Island, as part of an annual prank played on campers who don't fit in. But the goats have much more spirit than their fellow campers expect, and they decide to disappear completelythey aren't going to go back to camp unless they absolutely have to. On the run, Howie and Laura meet many different people, some who help them, others who try to stop them but they soon learn how very strong they are themselves, and they come to depend on their own resourcefulness and cunning to evade those who are trying to find them. But Howie and Laura know that they must, at some point, face the world they've left behind. Cole has written and illustrated many picture books (The Winter Wren, The Giant's Toe), but this is his first work for older readers. Written with the mastery and sureness of a seasoned novelist, it is a gripping, startling and thought-provoking story about children who find inner strength when they are pushed to the edge. Ages 8-12.
Danny the Champion of the World
by Roald Dahl
"My father, without the slightest doubt, was the most marvelous and exciting father any boy ever had." Danny feels very lucky. He adores his life with his father, living in a gypsy caravan, listening to his stories, tending their gas station, puttering around the workshop, and occasionally taking off to fly home-built gas balloons and kites. His father has raised him on his own, ever since Danny's mother died when he was four months old. Life is peaceful and wonderful... until he turns 9 and discovers his father's one vice. Soon Danny finds himself the mastermind behind the most incredible plot ever attempted against nasty Victor Hazell, a wealthy landowner with a bad attitude. Can they pull it off? If so, Danny will truly be the champion of the world. Danny is right up to Roald Dahl's impishly brilliant standards. An intense and beautiful father-son relationship is balanced with sublegal high jinks that will have even the most rigid law-abider rooting them on. Dahl's inimitable way with words leaves the reader simultaneously satisfied and itching for more. (Ages 9 to 13)
The Clay Marble
by Minfong Ho
The Clay Marble is a 1991 children's novel by Minfong Ho. It is set in war-torn Cambodia after the fall of the Khmer Rouge in the late 1970s. It is about a girl named Dara and her friend Jantu, and illustrates the struggles they face. It also shows how brave a girl can be and all the effects and sufferings of the war.
The Chocolate Touch
by Patrick Catling
John midas loves chocolate. He loves it so much that he′ll eat it any hour of any day. He doesn′t care if he ruins his appetite. He thinks chocolate is better than any other food! But one day, after wandering into a candy store and buying a piece of their best chocolate, John finds out that there might just be such a thing as too much chocolate.
Canyon Winter
by Walt Morey
The private plane taking Peter to his wealthy father's ranch crashes in the Rockies, and its pilot is killed. Struggling to survive, and sure that no one will rescue him, Peter stumbles across rough and unforgiving Omar Pickett, who has lived in the mountains for years. Peter must rely on Omar--and learn to rely on himself.
The Borrowers
by Mary Norton
Pod, Homily, and daughter Arrietty of the diminutive Clock family outfit their subterranean quarters with the tidbits and trinkets they've "borrowed" from "human beans," employing matchboxes for storage and postage stamps for paintings. Readers will delight in the resourceful way the Borrowers recycle household objects. For example, "Homily had made her a small pair of Turkish bloomers from two glove fingers for 'knocking about in the mornings.'
The Black Pearl
by Scott O'Dell
A 16-year-old boy does battle with an enormous devilfish that guards a rare, black pearl. PW said this 1968 Newbery Honor Book reverberates with "proud admiration of the courage of the human spirit." Ages 10-up.
Narnia Books 4,5, and 6 (having read 1,2 and 3 last year)
by C.S. Lewis
The Family Under the Bridge
by Natalie Savage
The story of a Parisian tramp, Armand, who finds a ready-made family to live with him under the bridge, was a Newbery Honor book when it was first published more than 30 years ago. Ages 7-11.
Little Britches: Father and I Were Ranchers
by Ralph Moody
Ralph Moody was eight years old in 1906 when his family moved from New Hampshire to a Colorado ranch. Through his eyes we experience the pleasures and perils of ranching there early in the twentieth century. Auctions and roundups, family picnics, irrigation wars, tornadoes and wind storms give authentic color to Little Britches. So do adventures, wonderfully told, that equip Ralph to take his father's place when it becomes necessary.
