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Battle of the Books 2021-2022 |
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Rocket to the Moon!
by Don Brown
A graphic-novel history of rocket technology includes fact-filled, engaging coverage of such topics as ancient Chinese rockets, the "bombs bursting in air" during the War of 1812 and Russia's Sputnik program.
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Ugly
by Robert Hoge
Born with a large facial tumor and stunted legs, Robert Hoge shares how he refused to let what made him different stand in the way of leading a happy, successful life.
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Who is J.K. Rowling?
by Pam Pollack
The rags-to-riches story of Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling, tracing the inspiration for her famous series and her lifelong love of literature.
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The Strange Case of Origami Yoda
by Tom Angleberger
Sixth-grader Tommy and his friends describe their interactions with a paper finger puppet of Yoda, worn by their weird classmate Dwight, as they try to figure out whether or not the puppet can really predict the future.
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The One and Only Ivan
by Katherine Applegate
When Ivan, a gorilla who has lived for years in a down-and-out circus-themed mall, meets Ruby, a baby elephant that has been added to the mall, he decides that he must find her a better life.
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The Night Gardener
by Jonathan Auxier
Irish orphans Molly, fourteen, and Kip, ten, travel to England to work as servants in a crumbling manor house where nothing is quite what it seems to be, and soon the siblings are confronted by a mysterious stranger and secrets of the cursed house.
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Sweep: the Story of a Girl and Her Monster
by Jonathan Auxier
In nineteenth-century England, after her father's disappearance Nan Sparrow, ten, works as a "climbing boy," aiding chimney sweeps, but when her most treasured possessions end up in a fireplace, she unwittingly creates a golem.
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Chasing Vermeer
by Blue Balliett
When seemingly unrelated and strange events start to happen and a precious Vermeer painting disappears, eleven-year-olds Petra Andalee and Calder Pillay combine their talents to solve an international art scandal.
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The Terrible Two
by Mac Barnett
When master prankster Miles Murphy moves to sleepy Yawnee Valley, he challenges the local mystery prankster in an epic battle of tricks but soon the two join forces to pull off the biggest prank ever seen.
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The Thing About Jellyfish
by Ali Benjamin
Twelve-year-old Suzy Swanson wades through her intense grief over the loss of her best friend by investigating the rare jellyfish she is convinced was responsible for her friend's death.
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The World According to Humphrey
by Betty G. Birney
Sent to live in Room 26, Humphrey the class hamster begins to learn a lot about humans through simple observation from his cage, in an amusing tale about a curious creature who takes full advantage of his educational opportunities.
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Momentous Events in the Life of a Cactus
by Dusti Bowling
After navigating middle school, ninth-grader Aven, born without arms, struggles with the challenges of high school, which test her confidence, strength, and sense of self.
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The Mouse and the Motorcycle
by Beverly Cleary
A reckless young mouse named Ralph makes friends with a boy in room 215 of the Mountain View Inn and discovers the joys of motorcycling until he falls into a wastepaper basket.
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The Wishing Spell
by Chris Colfer
Using a mysterious book to travel to a land of wonder and magic, twins Alex and Connor meet a host of classic fairy tale characters and nefarious monsters before discovering that returning back home will be more difficult than anticipated.
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New Kid
by Jerry Craft
Enrolled in a prestigious private school where he is one of only a few students of color, talented seventh grade artist Jordan finds himself torn between the worlds of his Washington Heights apartment home and the upscale circles of Riverdale Academy.
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Because of Winn-Dixie
by Kate DiCamillo
Ten-year-old India Opal Buloni describes her first summer in the town of Naomi, Florida, and all the good things that happen to her because of her big ugly dog Winn-Dixie.
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Coraline
by Neil Gaiman
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.
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Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library
by Chris Grabenstein
Twelve-year-old Kyle gets to stay overnight in the new town library, designed by his hero (the famous gamemaker Luigi Lemoncello), with other students but finds that come morning he must work with friends to solve puzzles in order to escape.
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Ban This Book
by Alan Gratz
When her favorite book in the school library is challenged by a well-meaning parent, Amy Anne and her friends start a secret banned books locker library, using ridiculous reasons to ban every book in the library to make a point.
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Honus & Me
by Dan Gutman
Joey, who loves baseball but is not very good at it, finds a valuable 1909 Honus Wagner card and travels back in time to meet Honus.
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Best Friends
by Shannon Hale
A follow-up to Real Friends finds Shannon embarking on a promising sixth grade year before the constantly changing rules of her best friend’s in-crowd make her question whether popularity is worth the trouble.
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Sal & Gabi Break the Universe
by Carlos Alberto Pablo Hernandez
In order to heal after his mother's death, thirteen-year-old Sal learns to reach into time and space to retrieve things--and people--from other universes.
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The Fourteenth Goldfish
by Jennifer L Holm
Hating change and missing both her best friend and her dead goldfish, 11-year-old Ellie encounters a boy who strongly resembles her immortality-obsessed grandfather, in a story that introduces the work of famous historical scientists.
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Lifeboat 12
by Susan Hood
In 1940, a group of British children, their escorts, and some sailors struggle to survive in a lifeboat when the ship taking them to safety in Canada is torpedoed.
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Song for a Whale
by Lynne Kelly
Twelve-year-old Iris and her grandmother, both deaf, drive from Texas to Alaska armed with Iris's plan to help Blue-55, a whale unable to communicate with other whales.
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Diary of an Awesome Friendly Kid
by Jeff Kinney
In his first journal, middle schooler Rowley Jefferson, Greg Heffley's sidekick, records his experiences and misguided decision to write a biography of Greg, who, in his own mind, is destined to become rich and famous.
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From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
by E. L. Konigsburg
Having run away with her younger brother to live in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, twelve-year-old Claudia strives to keep things in order in their new home and to become a changed person and a heroine to herself.
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Restart
by Gordon Korman
When Chase returns to middle school after falling off the roof and losing his memory, he learns that the person he was before the amnesia is not someone he likes.
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The Season of Styx Malone
by Kekla Magoon
Caleb Franklin and his younger brother, Bobby Gene, spend an extraordinary summer with their new, older neighbor, Styx Malone, a foster boy from the city.
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The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl
by Stacy McAnulty
A lightning strike made Lucy, twelve, a math genius but, after years of homeschooling, her grandmother enrolls her in middle school and she learns that life is more than numbers.
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A Dash of Trouble
by Anna Meriano
Wanting to be a part of her family's Dia de los Muertos preparations, Leonora sneaks out of school to discover her mother, aunt, and older sisters have been keeping a secret.
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Here in the Real World
by Sara Pennypacker
Immersing himself in a fantasy world of knights and chivalry, introverted Ware is sent to a summer camp designed around social interactions and begins building a castle-like private space while clashing with a fellow misfit.
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We're Not From Here
by Geoff Rodkey
After a year on Mars, a young boy and his family migrate to the planet Choom, but the inhabitants of Choom, the Zhuri, who look like giant mosquitoes, don't really like humans and it is up to the boy and his family to change their minds if they hope to survive.
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Holes
by Louis Sachar
As further evidence of his family's bad fortune which they attribute to a curse on a distant relative, Stanley Yelnats is sent to a hellish correctional camp in the Texas desert where he finds his first real friend, a treasure, and a new sense of himself.
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The Sasquatch Escape
by Suzanne Selfors
Spending the summer in his grandfather's rundown town, ten-year-old Ben meets an adventurous local girl and together they learn that the town's veterinarian runs a secret hospital for imaginary creatures.
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The Bad Beginning
by Lemony Snicket
After the sudden death of their parents, the three Baudelaire children must depend on each other and their wits when it turns out that their guardian is determined to use any means necessary to get their fortune.
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Save Me a Seat
by Sarah Weeks
Ravi, who has just moved to America from India, and Joe, who is learning disabled, gain strength from each other as they struggle to navigate middle school, family relationships, and friendships.
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Nightbooks
by J. A White
A young boy is imprisoned by a witch in a New York apartment and must tell her a new scary story each night in order to stay alive.
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Front Desk
by Kelly Yang
After emigrating from China, ten-year-old Mia Tang's parents take a job managing a rundown motel, despite the nasty owner, Mr. Yao, who exploits them, while she works the front desk and tries to cope with fitting in at her school.
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