One Crazy Summer, by Rita Garcia-Williams

Moon over Manifest, by Clare Vanderpool

It's 1936, and Abilene Tucker feels abandoned. Her father has put her on a train, sending her off to live with an old friend for the summer while he works a railroad job. Armed only with a few possessions and her list of universals, Abilene jumps off the train in Manifest, Kansas, aiming to learn about the boy her father once was.

Visit Clare Vanderpool online to learn more about her work.

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My Life as a Book, by Janet Tashjian

The Emerald Atlas, by John Stephens

Shooting Kabul, by N.H. Senzai

The Night Fairy, by Laura Amy Schlitz

Mamba Point, by Kurtis Scaletta

The Magic Thief, by Sarah Prineas

Heart of a Samurai, by Margi Preus

The Candymakers, by Wendy Mass

Everything for a Dog, by Ann M. Martin

The Sixty-Eight Rooms, by Marianne Malone

Shoot-Out, by Mike Lupica

Touch Blue, by Cynthia Lord

Scumble, by Ingrid Law

Guinea Dog, by Patrick Jennings

Make Way for Dyamonde Daniel, by Nikki Grimes

Moxy Maxwell Does Not Love Practicing the Piano, by Peggy Gifford

The Robe of Skulls: The First Tale from the Five Kingdoms, by Vivian French

Falling In, by Frances O'Roark Dowell

The Golden Ghost, by Marion Dane Baeur



Delsie knows it isn't a good idea to dare Todd to explore the empty houses by the old mill. But once the words slip out of her mouth, she can't back down. So together the friends bike to the mill and try the door of each house. They are all locked...except one.

Roberto & Me, by Dan Gutman


When Stosh travels into the past to meet Roberto Clemente, a legendary ballplayer and a beloved humanitarian, he's got only one goal: warning Roberto not to get on the doomed plane that will end his life in a terrible crash. In the sixties, Stosh meets a free-spirited Sunrise, and together they travel across the country to a ballgame that leaves them breathless—and face-to-face with Roberto. But when the time comes for Stosh to return to the future, he finds that the adventure has only just begun...

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Turtle in Paradise, by Jennifer Holm


Life isn't like the movies, and eleven-year-old Turtle is no Shirley Temple. She's smart and tough and has seen enough of the world not to expect a Hollywood ending. After all, it's 1935, and jobs and money and sometimes even dreams are scarce. So when Turtle's mama gets a job housekeeping for a lady who doesn't like kids, Turtle says goodbye without a tear and heads off to Key West, Florida, to stay with relatives she's never met.

Florida's like nothing Turtle has ever seen. It's hot and strange, full of wild green peeping out between houses, ragtag boy cousins, and secret treasure. Before she knows what's happened, Turtle finds herself coming out of the shell she's spent her life building, and as she does, her world opens up in the most unexpected ways.

Visit Jennifer Holm online to find out more about her books and to see her blog.

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mockingbird, by Kathryn Erskine


Ten-year-old Caitlin's world had always been black and white. Anything else was confusing, but her brother, Devon, helped her understand. Then tragedy struck, and now nothing makes sense. As a girl with Asperger's syndrome, Caitlin turns to what she does know—textbooks and dictionaries. And after reading the definition of closure (`klō-zhər), she realizes that this is what everyone needs. In her search for closure, she discovers that black and white are surrounded by shades of gray, and that those are beautiful and necessary for healing.

Visit Kathryn Erskine online to learn more about her work.

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Because of Mr. Terupt, by Rob Buyea


It's the start of fifth grade for seven kids at Snow Hill School. There's Jessica, the new girl, smart and perceptive, who's having a hard time fitting in; Alexia, a bully, your friend one second, your enemy the next; Peter, class prankster and troublemaker; Luke, the brain; Anna, whose home situation makes her the outcast; and Jeffrey, who hates school.

Only Mr. Terupt, their new teacher, seems to know how to deal with them all. He makes the classroom a fun place, even if he doesn't let them get away with much...until the snowy winter day when an accident changes everything—and everyone.

Visit the author, Rob Buyea, online to learn more.

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