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Reading Circle Program

INTERMEDIATE 5-8

Baseball Treasures, by Steven Wong, photographs by Susan Einstein. HarperCollins, ©2007. An introduction to some of the finest private baseball collections in the world, featuring more than 100 rare photographs, such as the T206 Honus Wagner baseball card (the most expensive baseball card in the world). The book also features jerseys and bats from famous players, along with tips on how to start a personal collection of baseball memorabilia. [796.357]

Bearwalker, by Joseph Bruchac. HarperCollins, ©2007. Although he is a member of the Mohawk Bear Clan, 13-year-old Baron Braun has enough to deal with: new school, bullies, being short, a missing father and a mother in Iraq. He calls upon the strength and wisdom of his ancestors when he tries to help his classmates, who are being terrorized during a school trip in the Adirondacks. Fiction.

Beauty Shop for Rent…Fully Equipped, Inquire Within, by Laura Bowers. Harcourt, ©2007. Raised by a great-grandmother and a bunch of beauty-shop buddies, 14-year-old Abbey resolves to overcome her unhappy childhood and disillusionment with the mother who deserted her. A hilarious and heartbreaking story about family, both the one we are born to and the one we create for ourselves. Fiction.

Billy Creekmore, by Tracey Porter. HarperCollins, ©2007. In 1905, 10-year-old Billy, a boy with mystifying powers and the glorious gift of storytelling, is taken from an orphanage to live with relatives he never knew he had. He enjoys his first taste of family life until his work in a coal mine brings trouble. He then joins a circus hoping to find his father. With only a tin box that holds precious mementos of his beloved mother and mysterious father, he searches for his future and own true self. Fiction.

Booth's Daughter, by Raymond Wemmlinger. Boyds Mills Press, ©2007. In 19th-century New York City, Edwina is the daughter of the famous actor Edwin Booth, and niece of John Wilkes Booth. She finds it difficult to escape the family tragedy and to meet the needs of a demanding father while maintaining her independence. Fiction. Grade 7 and up.

The Castle Corona, by Sharon Creech, illustrated by David Diaz. HarperCollins, ©2007. Two orphaned peasant children discover a mysterious pouch dropped in the woods, which leads them to the majestic Castle Corona. This is an imaginative tale about a glittering castle, the spoiled royal family who lives there and two peasants who have the stolen pouch that has the power to unlock secrets and transform lives. Fiction.

Chase, by Jessie Haas. HarperCollins, ©2007. In the coal-mining region of 19th-century eastern Pennsylvania, Phin witnesses a murder by the Sleepers and he must run for his life, pursued by a mysterious man and a horse with the instincts of a bloodhound. Fiction.

Come Juneteenth, by Ann Rinaldi. Harcourt, ©2007. Fourteen-year-old Luli's Texas family fails to tell their slaves they have been freed by President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation. When Union soldiers arrive on their plantation to announce that slaves were freed nearly two years ago, Sis Goose is horrified the people she called family have lied to her. She runs away, but her new freedom has tragic consequences. Fiction.

Derby Girl, by Shauna Cross. Henry Holt and Co., ©2007. Sixteen-year-old rebel Bliss Cavendar, who is miserable living in a small Texas town with her beauty pageant-obsessed mother, secretly joins a roller derby team under the name "Babe Ruthless." Her life gets better, although more confusing. Fiction.

Do the Math: Secrets, Lies, and Algebra, by Wendy Lichtman. HarperCollins, ©2007. Tess has always loved math, and she uses mathematical concepts to help herself understand her life. She learns algebra can come in handy in and out of the classroom. She uses it as a secret code in her journal, as shorthand for social status and as a tool to help her solve two mysteries that she is smack in the middle of. Fiction.

Dragon's Egg, by Sarah L. Thomson. HarperCollins, ©2007. Mella, a young girl trained as a dragon keeper, learns the legends of old are true when she is entrusted with carrying a dragon's egg to the fabled Hatching Grounds. A knight's squire assists her on a dangerous journey. Fiction.

Duchessina: A Novel of Catherine de'Medici, by Carolyn Meyer. Harcourt, ©2007. While her tyrannical family is out of favor in Italy, young Catherine de'Medici is raised in convents. Then in 1533, when she is 14, her uncle Pope Clement VII arranges for her marriage to Prince Henri of France. With a fiancé who is destined to become king, the Duchessina is determined to find a way to have power over her life. From the Young Royals series. Fiction.

Elephant Run, by Roland Smith. Hyperion, ©2007. A thrilling adventure through the jungles of Burma ensues in 1941 as Nick arrives from London to work with the timber elephants that are raised and trained on the family's teak plantation. Fiction.

The Entertainer and the Dybbuk, by Sid Fleischman. HarperCollins, ©2007. The Great Freddie, a young American ventriloquist in post-World War II Europe, is possessed by a dybbuk, the mischievous spirit of a Jewish boy killed in the Holocaust. Author's note details the murder of more than one million children by the Nazis during the 1930s and 1940s. Fiction.

The Ever-After Bird, by Ann Rinaldi. Harcourt, ©2007. In 1851, after her father dies, 13-year-old CeCe has her eyes opened to the horrors of slavery when she accompanies her uncle — a doctor and ornithologist — on an expedition in search of the rare scarlet ibis. The slaves call it the Ever-After Bird because they say "when they sight it they will be free ever after." A gripping account of the horrors of slavery as the slaves find their way to the Underground Railroad.

Faith & Doubt; An Anthology of Poems, by Patrice Vecchione. Henry Holt and Co., ©2007. A collection of poems explores why we believe. This well-known anthologist finds the struggle between faith and doubt in many places, from religion to politics and war, to love and to the act of writing itself. [808.81]

The Feedsack Dress, by Carolyn Mulford. Cave Hollow Press, ©2007. The year 1949 is a scary but exciting for farm girl Gail Albright. When she begins junior high in town, her feedsack dress makes her the butt of jokes by the in-crowd. Missouri subject

Finn's Going, by Tom Kelly. HarperCollins, ©2007. A 10-year-old boy decides to run away after the sadness at home becomes unbearable following the death of his twin brother. Fiction. Ages 13–17. (Booklist starred)

Football Genius, by Tim Green. HarperCollins, ©2007. Troy is a sixth-grader with an unusual gift for predicting football plays before they happen. He attempts to use his ability to help his favorite team, the Atlanta Falcons, but must first prove himself to the coach and players. Unless he can convince the star linebacker he's telling the truth, the championship and Troy's mom's job are in serious jeopardy. Written by former NFL player and includes an interview. Fiction.

George Washington Carver, by Tonya Bolden. Abrams Books for Young Readers, ©2008. With imagination and intellect, George Washington Carver developed hundreds of unexpected products from everyday plants. This book reveals the trailblazing scholar, innovative scientist, pioneering conservationist and impassioned educator. Missouri subject

The Golden Dream of Carlo Chuchio, by Lloyd Alexander. Henry Holt and Co., ©2007. When 14-year-old orphan Carlo's daydreaming wreaks havoc in his uncle's warehouse, he is thrown out in disgrace. Naïve and bumbling, Carlo follows a treasure map through the deserts and cities of the infamous Gold Road with his shady camel-puller Baksheesh, and Shira, a girl determined to return home. An exuberant and compassionate tale of adventure, love and the treasures that matter most. Fiction. (Booklist starred)

The House of a Million Pets, by Ann Hodgman, illustrated by Eugene Yelchin. Henry Holt and Co., ©2007. Ann Hodgman's basement houses three guinea pigs, a cage of birds, a big gray rabbit, a hamster and 26 pygmy mice. And that's just the basement. This is a true story of what it is like to live with more animals than can be counted. Anyone who has ever owned or wanted a pet will love these stories. [636.088]

Iron Thunder, the Battle Between the Monitor and the Merrimac; A Civil War Novel, by Avi. Hyperion, ©2007. After his father is killed fighting in the Civil War, 13-year-old Tom Carroll has to take a job at an ironworks factory to support his family. Tom learns the Union army has important plans for the iron ship called the Monitor, which makes him a target of Confederate spies. Fiction. (Publisher's Weekly starred)

Kimchi & Calamari, by Rose Kent. HarperCollins, ©2007. Adopted from Korea by Italian parents, 14-year-old Joseph Calderaro makes important self-discoveries about race and family after his social studies teacher assigns an essay on cultural heritage and tracing the past. What Joseph writes leads to a catastrophe messier than he ever could have imagined. Fiction.

Leap, by Jane Breskin Zalben. Random House, ©2007. Although Daniel and Krista were best friends in elementary school, they grew apart after they began middle school. When Daniel is partially paralyzed by a reaction to anesthesia, Krista is torn between helping her longtime friend learn to swim again and her crush on Bobby, whose dad was Daniel's surgeon. Fiction.

Lobsterland, by Susan Carlton. Henry Holt and Co., ©2007. Sixteen-year-old Charlotte wants nothing more than to escape the tiny island off the Maine coast where she has spent her life. She works on applications to boarding schools while wondering if her parents and siblings are ready for her to leave, or if she is ready to leave her boyfriend. Fiction.

The Man with the Red Bag, by Eve Bunting. HarperCollins, ©2007. In the months following the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, 12-year-old Kevin, an aspiring mystery writer, travels cross-country with his grandmother on a sightseeing trip to national parks and monuments. He begins to suspect that a sinister-looking man in his tour group is carrying a bomb. Fiction.

Marley, a Dog Like No Other, by John Grogan. HarperCollins, ©2007. When the Grogan family is ready for a dog, they choose Marley, a yellow fur ball of a puppy who quickly grows into a large, rowdy Labrador retriever. Marley has an appetite for whatever he can get his paws on, from fine jewelry to underwear. Marley even gets kicked out of obedience school — can this rambunctious pup ever learn to behave?

Maude March on the Run! by Audrey Couloumbis. Random House, ©2007. Twelve-year-old Sallie and her older sister Maude try to settle down into a quiet, ordinary life, hoping not to be discovered as outlaws. Due to a misunderstanding over Maude's involvement in a botched robbery, they hide out at the home of an uncle. When she is arrested along with another notorious outlaw, the Black Hankie Bandit, the orphaned sister flees, trying to clear Maude's name. Sequel to The Misadventures of Maude March. Fiction.

Mercy on These Teenage Chimps, by Gary Soto. Harcourt, ©2007. At 13 years old, best friends Ronnie and Joey suddenly feel like chimps: long-armed, big-eared and gangly. When a coach humiliates Joe in front of a girl, he climbs up a tree and refuses to come down. Fiction.

The Middle of Somewhere, by J.B. Cheaney. Random House, ©2007. Twelve-year-old Ronnie loves organization, especially because her brother has attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. When their mother needs to recover from surgery, they travel with their grandfather, who is investigating wind power in Kansas, which brings some pleasant, if chaotic, surprises. Fiction. Missouri author

Nightmare Academy, by Dean Lorey. HarperCollins, ©2007. Rescued from a very sheltered life, 13-year-old Charlie learns the monsters of his nightmares are real when he attends Nightmare Academy, built from wrecked ships and set in the branches of an incredible tree fort. He begins training to harness his powers to fight terrible creatures and return them to the Netherworld, but he is far more powerful than anyone ever imagined. Fiction.

The Night of the Burning: Devorah's Story, by Linda Press Wulf. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, ©2007. Sad and frightened after living in Poland through World War I and the Russian Revolution, 12-year-old Devorah accompanies her younger sister and other Jewish orphans to South Africa to make a new start. There, Devorah is dealt the greatest blow — sister Nechama is adopted and taken away from her, but she realizes that she is not solely responsible for keeping the past alive, and she finds happiness again. Fiction.

Parade of Shadows, by Gloria Whelan. HarperCollins, ©2007. In 1907, 16-year-old Julia Hamilton is restless and happy to accompany her diplomat father on a tour of the Ottoman-controlled cities of Istanbul, Damascus, Palmyra and Aleppo. The journey grows hazardous as she uncovers her father's true mission and the secret motivations of the other travelers in their group. Julia must decide who she can trust…and what she is willing to fight for. Fiction.

Peak, by Roland Smith. Harcourt, ©2007. Fourteen-year-old Peak Marcello is invited by his father to climb Mount Everest with him. If Peak reaches the top before his birthday, he would be the youngest person ever to reach the summit. Fiction. (Booklist starred)

A Piece of the Sky, by David Patneaude. Albert Whitman and Co., ©2007. Fourteen-year-old Russell's summer seems doomed. He is stuck in a small Oregon town without a movie theater, baseball park or pizza parlor. Then a legend about an old meteorite envelops him and connects his grandfather's special rock to an old map. With his friend Phoebe and her brother Isaac, they search for the answers to the mysterious "piece of the sky." Fiction.

A Portrait of Pia, by Marisabina Russo. Harcourt, ©2007. Twelve-year-old artist Pia Crossley wants to gain control of her life as childhood friendships change, her brother's schizophrenia worsens, and her mother's latest boyfriend seems likely to become her stepfather. She contacts her father, who returned home to Italy before she was born, certain he will change her life completely. Fiction.

The Princess and the Peabodys, by Betty G. Birney. HarperCollins, ©2007. When a medieval princess appears out of a rusty box bought at a yard sale, 14-year-old tomboy Casey Peabody and her family are stuck with Her Royal Snobbiness until the wizard who trapped her there figures out the spell to send her home. Fiction.

Raining Sardines, by Enrique Flores-Galbis. Holtzbrinck, ©2007. The artistic Ernestina and the analytical Enriquito use their ingenuity to rescue lost treasures, save a herd of wild horses, and stop an evil landowner from spoiling their Cuban village by expanding his coffee plantation. Fiction.

Reality Leak, by Joni Sensel, illustrated by Christian Slade. Henry Holt and Co., ©2007. Residents of South Wiggot are baffled as they encounter train noises without trains, pants that walk by themselves, secret messages that pop up in the toaster and mysterious explosions. Eleven-year-old Bryan and his friend Spot try to connect the strange happenings to the town's new factory and its president, Mr. Keen. When he arrived in the dusty farm town in a wooden crate, strange things began to happen, and Bryan is determined to find out why. Fiction.

Remembering Raquel, by Vivian Vande Velde. Harcourt, ©2007. Fifteen-year-old Raquel Falcone is an unpopular, overweight freshman at Quail Run High School. She is, as one of her classmates puts it, the kind of kid who has a tendency to be invisible. That is until the night she is hit by a car and killed while walking home from the movies. In brief, moving chapters, we hear about Raquel from her classmates, her best friend, her family and the woman who was driving the car that struck her. Fiction.

Revolution is Not a Dinner Party, by Ying Chang Compestine. Henry Holt and Co., ©2007. Starting in 1972 when she is 8 years old, Ling, the daughter of two doctors, struggles to make sense of the communists' Cultural Revolution, which empties stores of food, homes of appliances and people of laughter. Her parents are demoted, and the family lives in fear about the future. When Ling's father saves a political poet, he is arrested and Ling and her mother must survive alone. Fiction. (Publisher's Weekly starred)

The Rising Star of Rusty Nail, by Lesley M.M. Blume. Random House, ©2007. In the small town of Rusty Nail, Minn., in the early 1950s, 10-year-old Franny wants to take advanced piano lessons from newcomer Olga Malenkov. Olga is a famous Russian musician suspected of being a communist spy by gossipy members of the community, but Franny is not so sure. Could this stranger be her ticket out of Rusty Nail? Fiction. (Booklist starred)

Rover, by Jackie French. HarperCollins, ©2007. Captured by vikings as a poor farm girl, Hekja is taken as a slave to Greenland by the daughter of Erik the Red. No one accompanies her but her loyal dog, who shares adventures with her mistress. Hekja's voyage to a new world is filled with intrigue, discovery and surprise. Fiction.

The Slippery Map, by N.E. Bode. HarperCollins, ©2007. Oyster R. Motel, a lonely boy raised as a foundling in a Baltimore nunnery, travels through a portal to the imaginary world of his parents, where he heroically confronts the villainous Dark Mouth. Fiction.

Sunset, by Erin Hunter. HarperCollins, ©2007. Amidst strife within and between the clans of warrior cats, Brambleclaw is tempted by the dark plans of his father and brother, and the meaning of Leafpool's ominous visions becomes clear. Book six of the Warriors: The New Prophecy series. Fiction.

Teen Manners: From Malls to Meals to Messaging and Beyond, by Cindy Post Senning and Peggy Post. HarperCollins, ©2007. A guide that answers questions that come up in real life from the most trusted name in etiquette: Emily Post. [395.1]

The Very Ordered Existence of Merilee Marvelous, by Suzanne Crowley. HarperCollins, ©2007. In the small town of Jumbo, Texas, 13-year-old Merilee, who has Asperger's Syndrome, tries to live a "very ordered existence." Disruptions begin when a boy and his father arrive in town and the youngster makes himself a part of the family. Fiction.

The Virtual Life of Lexie Diamond, by Victoria Foyt. HarperCollins, ©2007. Fourteen-year-old Lexie is at peace only while using her computer. When her mother dies suddenly, Lexie tries to connect with her online and not only discovers that her mother was murdered, but learns that her father's new girlfriend is big trouble. Fiction.

The Unmaking of Duncan Veerick, by Betty Levin. Boyds Mills Press, ©2007. Reluctantly, 13-year-old Duncan helps his neighbor, a widow recovering from a stroke, by hiding her valuable antiques and art objects that her husband had collected. Disaster strikes, and the secrets he has been asked to keep may mean big trouble. Fiction.

Yellow Flag, by Robert Lipsyte. HarperCollins, ©2007. Seventeen-year-old Kyle reluctantly succumbs to family pressure and replaces his injured brother in the family racecar. He struggles to keep up his trumpet playing while deciding how, or if, he can continue making music with a brass quintet and headlines as a NASCAR racer. Fiction. 12 +

Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze, by Elizabeth Foreman Lewis, illustrated by William Low. Henry Holt and Co., ©2007. The 75th anniversary edition of the Newbery Award-winner offers new illustrations. In the 1920s, a Chinese youth from the country comes to Chungking with his mother. The bustling city offers adventure, and his apprenticeship to a coppersmith brings good fortune. Fiction.