Have trouble viewing this newsletter? View online

Naperville Public Library

Home | Catalog | Contact Us | Subscribe to NextReads

Find a good read: Adult | Teens | Kids

Great Reads for Grades 5,6,7

Adventure
 

Racing the Moon - by Alan W. Armstrong

Check Library Catalog

Meeting an army scientist in 1947 who is a descendant of Captain John Smith, eleven-year-old Alexis and her impulsive brother, Chuck, build a rocket before a shared interest in space travel inspires a series of adventures including a sailing trip down the Potomac to an island on the Chesapeake, where a top secret rocket launch is about to take place.

Call Number: J ARMSTRON

Peter and the Starcatchers - by Dave Barry

Check Library Catalog

When young orphan Peter and his friends are sent away to an island ruled by the villainous King Zarboff and are forced to set sail aboard the Never Land, Peter decides he must take action into his own hands if he ever plans to escape and so decides to find out the mystery behind the cargo being carried deep within the ship.

Call Number: J BARRY

Table of Contents

Take Me to the River - by Will Hobbs

Check Library Catalog

When North Carolina fourteen-year-old Dylan Sands joins his fifteen-year-old cousin Rio in running the Rio Grande River, they face a tropical storm and a fugitive kidnapper.

Call Number: J HOBBS

Theodosia and the Staff of Osiris - by R. L. La Fevers

Check Library Catalog

When mummies go missing all over London, eleven-year-old Theodosia Throckmorton puts aside her fight against the Serpents of Chaos to save her father, who is suspected in the thefts, all the while avoiding a string of new governesses.

Call Number: J LAFEVERS

White Fang - by Jack London

Check Library Catalog

In the northern wilderness of the Yukon, a dog who is part wolf comes to make his peace with man.

Call Number: J/YA LONDON

The Red Pyramid - by Rick Riordan

Check Library Catalog

Brilliant Egyptologist Dr. Julius Kane unites his children, Sadie and Carter, for a "research experiment" at the British Museum, hoping to set things right for his family after the death of the children's mother. Instead, he awakens the gods of Egypt and unleashes the worst of them, the god Set, who banishes Julius to oblivion and forces the children to flee for their lives. Series: The Kane Chronicles

Call Number: J RIORDAN

Table of Contents

Storm Runners - by Roland Smith

Check Library Catalog

Twelve-year-old Chase Masters travels the country with his father, a "storm runner," but he is tested in ways he never could have imagined when he and a new friend are caught in a hurricane near St. Petersburg, Florida. Series: Storm Runners

Call Number: J SMITH

The Mysterious Benedict Society - by Trenton Lee Stewart

Check Library Catalog

As the only four children to pass the series of tests provided, Reynie, Kate, Sticky, and Constance are asked to go on a secret mission as undercover agents at the Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened and quickly realize they will have to use their collective wits to complete their important task.

Call Number: J STEWART

First Chapter Table of Contents

Fantasy
 

Gregor the Overlander - by Suzanne Collins

Check Library Catalog

When eleven-year-old Gregor and his two-year-old sister are pulled into a strange underground world, they trigger an epic battle involving men, bats, rats, cockroaches, and spiders while on a quest foretold by ancient prophecy. Series: Underland Chronicles

Call Number: J/YA COLLINS

Ghost Knight - by Cornelia Caroline Funke

Check Library Catalog

Relocating to a new boarding school only to be confronted by a group of vengeful ghosts, Jon and his friend, Ella, team up to uncover a centuries-old murder and summon the ghost of a medieval knight who they are not sure can be trusted.

Call Number: J FUNKE

The Graveyard Book - by Neil Gaiman

Check Library Catalog

Raised since he was a baby by ghosts, werewolves, and other residents of the cemetery in which he has always resided, Bod wonders how he will manage to survive amongst the living with only the lessons he has learned from the dead.

Call Number: J/YA GAIMAN

First Chapter Table of Contents

13 Treasures - by Michelle Harrison

Check Library Catalog

Tortured by evil fairies who rouse her from sleep night after night, Tanya is banished to her grandmother's secluded countryside manor and discovers dark secrets in a mysterious nearby wood that threaten to trap her in the fairy realm. Series: 13 Treasures Trilogy

Call Number: J/YA HARRISON

Redwall - by Brian Jacques

Check Library Catalog

When the peaceful life of Redwall Abbey is shattered by the arrival of the evil rat Cluny and his hordes, Matthias, a young mouse, vows to find the legendary sword which will help Redwall's inhabitants destroy the enemy. Series: Redwall Series

Call Number: J/YA JACQUES

The Phantom Tollbooth - by Norton Juster

Check Library Catalog

Discovering a large toy tollbooth in his room, bored ten-year-old Milo drives through the tollbooth's gates and begins a memorable journey to the Kingdom of Wisdom with a watchdog named Tuck.

Call Number: J JUSTER

Ella Enchanted - by Gail Carson Levine

Check Library Catalog

In this novel based on the story of Cinderella, Ella struggles against the childhood curse that forces her to obey any order given to her.

Call Number: J/YA LEVINE

The Sixty-Eight Rooms - by Marianne Malone

Check Library Catalog 0375957103

An adventure inspired by the Thorne Rooms, an exhibition of 68 exquisitely crafted miniature rooms in the Children's Galleries of the Chicago Art Institute, envisions a magical key that enables people to shrink to a small enough size to visit the rooms directly and discover hidden secrets and the mysterious activities of previous visitors.

Call Number: J MALONE

Fablehaven - by Brandon Mull

Publisher: Shadow Mountain
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 07/30/2006
ISBN-13: 9781590385814
ISBN-10: 1590385810

When Kendra and Seth go to stay at their grandparents' estate, they discover that it is a sanctuary for magical creatures and that a battle between good and evil is looming. Series: Fablehaven

Call Number: YA MULL

Table of Contents

Winterling - by Sarah Prineas

Publisher: Harper
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 01/03/2012
ISBN-13: 9780061921032
ISBN-10: 0061921033

Spirited young Fer travels through the Way to a magical world in which beings part human and part animal serve an evil ruler known as the Lady, and where Fer hopes to learn about her long-lost parents and her own identity.
Call Number: J PRINEAS

The Golden Compass - by Philip Pullman

Publisher: Random House Childrens Books
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 05/01/2001
ISBN-13: 9780440418320
ISBN-10: 0440418321

Accompanied by her daemon, Lyra Belacqua sets out to prevent her best friend and other kidnapped children from becoming the subject of gruesome experiments in the Far North. Series: Dark Materials

Call Number: YA PULLMAN

Magyk - by Angie Sage

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 03/01/2005
ISBN-13: 9780060577315
ISBN-10: 0060577312

After his son is kidnapped by the midwife, Septimus Heap stumbles upon an abandoned newborn in the snow and takes her home to raise her as his own daughter, but the mysteries surrounding his adopted child and missing son soon overwhelm him and lead him on a search for the truth with the help of magic characters and their spells, charms, and potions. Series: Septimus Heap

Call Number: J SAGE

The Alchemyst - by Michael Scott

Publisher: Delacorte Press
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 05/22/2007
ISBN-13: 9780385903721
ISBN-10: 0385903723

When the legend that Nicholas Flamel lives due to his ability to make the elixir for life is discovered to be true, Dr. John Dee begins his plot to steal the Book of Abraham the Mage from him in order to rule the world. Knowing that they are the only ones with the power to stop him, Josh and Sophie quickly set their plan in motion. Series: Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel

Call Number: YA SCOTT

The Hobbit, or, There and Back Again - by J. R. R. Tolkien

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 09/15/1999
ISBN-13: 9780618002214
ISBN-10: 0618002219

Chronicles the adventures of the inhabitants of Middle-earth and Bilbo Baggins, the hobbit who brought home to the Shire the One Ring of Power.

Call Number: J/YA TOLKIEN

First Chapter Table of Contents

Dealing with Dragons - by Patricia C. Wrede

Publisher: Scholastic
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 07/01/1992
ISBN-13: 9780590457224
ISBN-10: 0590457225

Determined not to be pushed into a marriage to a boring and proper prince, Princess Cimerene flees her kingdom and becomes an assistant to the dragon Kazul. Series: The Enchanted Forest Chronicles

Call Number: J/YA WREDE

Historical Fiction

The Lacemaker and the Princess - by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 05/22/2007
ISBN-13: 9781416919209
ISBN-10: 1416919201

In 1788, eleven-year-old Isabelle, living with her lacemaker grandmother and mother near the palace of Versailles, becomes close friends with Marie Antoinette's daughter, Princess Therese, and finds their relationship complicated not only by their different social class but by the growing political unrest and resentment of the French people.
Call Number: J BRADLEY

The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963: A Novel - by Christopher Paul Curtis

Publisher: Bantam Doubleday Dell Books for Young Readers
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 10/01/1997
ISBN-13: 9780440414124
ISBN-10: 0440414121

When his parents decide it is time to visit Grandma, ten-year-old Kenny and his siblings, including the "juvenile delinquent" Byron, journey to Alabama during a dark period in American history.

Call Number: J/YA CURTIS

The Door in the Wall - by Marguerite De Angeli

Publisher: Dell
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 05/01/1997
ISBN-13: 9780440402831
ISBN-10: 0440402832

The crippled son of a powerful nobleman sets out to prove his courage and his right to be recognized by the king.

Call Number: J DEANGELI

Dead End in Norvelt - by Jack Gantos

Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 09/13/2011
ISBN-13: 9780374379933
ISBN-10: 0374379939

In the historic town of Norvelt, Pennsylvania, 12-year-old Jack Gantos spends the summer of 1962 grounded for various offenses until he is assigned to help an elderly neighbor with a most unusual chore.

Call Number: J/YA GANTOS

Island of the Blue Dolphins - by Scott O'Dell

Publisher: Dell Pub. Co.
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 07/01/1994
ISBN-13: 9780440439882
ISBN-10: 0440439884

A young Indian girl learns the art of survival when she is stranded on an isolated Pacific island.

Call Number: J/YA ODELL

Woods Runner - by Gary Paulsen

Publisher: Wendy Lamb Books
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 01/12/2010
ISBN-13: 9780385738842
ISBN-10: 0385738846

Hunting for food to support his family on the frontier of an American colony far from the hostilities of the Revolutionary War, 13-year-old Samuel is astonished when his parents are arrested by soldiers, a situation that forces him to make his way to the British headquarters in New York City.

Call Number: YA PAULSEN

Heart of a Samurai: Based on the True Story of Nakahama Manjiro - by Margi Preus

Publisher: Amulet Books
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 08/01/2010
ISBN-13: 9780810989818
ISBN-10: 0810989816

In a fascinating work of historical fiction based on a true story of the first Japanese person to enter the United States, 14-year-old Manjiro, who dreams of becoming a samurai, is rescued in 1841 by an American whaler after a terrible shipwreck leaves him and his four companions stranded on a remote island.

Call Number: J/YA PREUS

A Drowned Maiden's Hair: A Melodrama - by Laura Amy Schlitz

Publisher: Candlewick Press
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 10/01/2006
ISBN-13: 9780763629304
ISBN-10: 0763629308

When Maud is chosen by the seemingly sweet Miss Hyacinth and her sister, she, excited to leave the orphanage, finds her new home a place of corruption and cruelty when she is forced to help stage elaborate seances to swindle wealthy patrons out of their money.

Call Number: J/YA SCHLITZ

Letters from Wolfie - by Patti Sherlock

Publisher: Viking
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 05/01/2004
ISBN-13: 9780670036943
ISBN-10: 0670036943

Thirteen-year-old Mark donates his dog, Wolfie, to the Army's scout program during the Vietnam War, but when the Army won't say when--or if--the dogs will be returned to their owners, Mark grows more unsure of his decision to send Wolfie, in a gripping story about loyalty, dissent, patriotism, and the heartbreaking contradictions of war.

Call Number: J SHERLOCK

The Witch of Blackbird Pond - by Elizabeth George Speare

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 03/26/2001
ISBN-13: 9780395913673
ISBN-10: 0395913675

Kit Tyler, a young girl from Barbados, visits her Puritan relatives in Connecticut only to become the object of a seventeenth-century witch hunt.
Call Number: J/YA SPEARE

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry - by Mildred D. Taylor

Publisher: Dial Press
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 10/01/1976
ISBN-13: 9780803774735
ISBN-10: 0803774737

A black family living in Mississippi during the Depression of the 1930s is faced with prejudice and discrimination which its children do not understand.

Call Number: J/YA TAYLOR

Moon over Manifest - by Clare Vanderpool

Publisher: Delacorte Press
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 10/12/2010
ISBN-13: 9780385738835
ISBN-10: 0385738838

Jumping off a train in Kansas to learn more about her father’s exciting past, Abilene Tucker is initially disappointed by the run-down Depression town she encounters before finding a hidden box of mementos and letters that mention a spy who played an important role in the town’s secret history.

Call Number: J VANDERPO

Crow - by Barbara Wright

Publisher: Random House
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 01/10/2012
ISBN-13: 9780375869280
ISBN-10: 037586928X

Struggling with early adolescence, family conflicts and distance from his best friend at the end of the 19th century, 11-year-old Moses begins teaching his grandmother how to read while learning about her experiences as a slave and witnessing important political changes unfolding in the country.

Call Number: J/YA WRIGHT

Humor

Darth Paper Strikes Back: An Origami Yoda Book - by Tom Angleberger

Publisher: Amulet Books
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 08/23/2011
ISBN-13: 9781419700279
ISBN-10: 1419700278

Harvey, upset when his Darth Paper finger puppet brings humiliation, gets Dwight suspended, but Origami Yoda asks Tommy and Kellan, now in seventh grade, to make a new casefile to persuade the School Board to reinstate Dwight.

Call Number: J ANGLEBER

The Bad Apple - by T. R. Burns

Publisher: Aladdin
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 04/24/2012
ISBN-13: 9781442440296
ISBN-10: 1442440295

After accidentally killing a substitute teacher with an apple, twelve-year-old Seamus Hinkle is sent to a detention facility called Kilter Academy only to discover that it is actually a school whose mission is to mold future troublemakers, where demerits are awarded as a prize for bad behavior and each student is tasked with pulling various pranks on teachers in order to excel.

Call Number: J BURNS

Funny Business - edited by Jon Scieszka

Publisher: Walden Pond Press
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 09/21/2010
ISBN-13: 9780061963742
ISBN-10: 0061963747

A collection of humorous stories featuring a teenaged mummy, a homicidal turkey and the world’s largest pool of chocolate milk includes works by such writers as Adam Rex, Eoin Colfer, Kate DiCamillo and David Lubar. Series: Guys Read
Call Number: J GUYSREAD

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Greg Heffley's Journal - by Jeff Kinney

Publisher: Amulet Books
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 04/01/2007
ISBN-13: 9780810993136
ISBN-10: 0810993139

Greg records his sixth-grade experiences in middle school with his best friend Rowley. They are undersized weaklings amid boys who need to shave twice daily, but when Rowley grows more popular, Greg must take drastic measures to save their friendship. Series: Diary of a Wimpy Kid

Call Number: J/YA KINNEY

Middle School, the Worst Years of My Life - by James Patterson

Publisher: Little, Brown
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 06/27/2011
ISBN-13: 9780316101875
ISBN-10: 0316101877

When Rafe Kane enters middle school, he teams up with his best friend, "Leo the Silent," to create a game to make school more fun by trying to break every rule in the school's code of conduct.

Call Number: YA PATTERSO

The Teacher's Funeral: A Comedy in Three Parts - by Richard Peck

Publisher: Dial Books
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 10/01/2004
ISBN-13: 9780803727366
ISBN-10: 0803727364

Set in a rural farm town in 1904, Russell is hopeful that they will close the school down now that their teacher has died, but when a replacement is named and it is Russell's sister, the two know that they are going to have quite an eventful year together as Russell tries to sabotage her plans at every turn.

Call Number: J/YA PECK

Nerd Girls: The Rise of the Dorkasaurus - by Alan Lawrence Sitomer

Publisher: Disney/Hyperion
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 07/05/2011
ISBN-13: 9781423139966
ISBN-10: 1423139968

Follow the story of three middle-school outcasts who, after being repeatedly tormented by a popular clique, enter a talent show as part of a strategic revenge plot.
Call Number: YA SITOMER

Smile - by Raina Telgemeier

Publisher: Graphix
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 02/01/2010
ISBN-13: 9780545132060
ISBN-10: 0545132061

In this coming-of-age true story, Raina just wants to be a normal sixth grader, but one night after Girl Scouts she trips and falls, severely injuring her two front teeth, and what follows is a long and frustrating journey with on-again, off-again braces, surgery, embarrassing headgear and even a retainer with fake teeth attached--on top of all that, there's a major earthquake, boy confusion and friends who turn out to be not so friendly.

Call Number: J 921 TEL

Mystery

Horton Halfpott, or, the Fiendish Mystery of Smugwick Manor, or, the Loosening of M'Lady Luggertuck's Corset - by Tom Angleberger

Publisher: Amulet Books
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 05/01/2011
ISBN-13: 9780810997158
ISBN-10: 0810997150

The author's latest, loopiest middle grade novel begins when M'Lady Luggertuck loosens her corset (it's never been loosened before!), thereby setting off a chain of events that result in the disappearance of a precious family heirloom, an occurrence which ends up embroiling Horton Halfpott, the good-natured but lowly kitchen boy who can't tell a lie, in the mystery surrounding a series of thefts.

Call Number: J ANGLEBER

The Danger Box - by Blue Balliett

Publisher: Scholastic Press
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 09/01/2010
ISBN-13: 9780439852098
ISBN-10: 0439852099

A science-enhanced historical tale by the Edgar Award- and Agatha Award-winning author of Chasing Vermeer follows the adventures of a sight-impaired boy from a small town whose life is upended by a mischievous girl, a mysterious notebook and a menacing stranger.

Call Number: J BALLIETT

Table of Contents

Summer at Forsaken Lake - by Michael D. Beil

Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 06/12/2012
ISBN-13: 9780375867422
ISBN-10: 0375867422

Spending the summer at their great-uncle's lake house while their father works in Africa with Doctors Without Borders, city kid Nicholas and his twin sisters enjoy their introduction to country life before making a new friend and investigating an unfinished movie their father made about a local legend.

Call Number: YA BEIL

Vanished - by Sheela Chari

Publisher: Disney/Hyperion Books
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 07/26/2011
ISBN-13: 9781423131632
ISBN-10: 1423131630

Eleven-year-old Neela must solve the mystery when her beautiful but cursed veena, a classical Indian musical instrument, goes missing.

Call Number: J CHARI

The London Eye Mystery - by Siobhan Dowd

Publisher: David Fickling Books
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 02/12/2008
ISBN-13: 9780375849763
ISBN-10: 0375849769

When Salim doesn't come back from his ride on the London Eye, his cousins Ted and Kat turn to the authorities for help, but when they offer no viable suggestions, the two use their sleuthing skills to figure out what actually happened.

Call Number: J DOWD

The Crossroads - by Chris Grabenstein

Publisher: Random House
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 05/27/2008
ISBN-13: 9780375846977
ISBN-10: 0375846972

When the family moves back to his father's hometown, Zack is told the story of the crazed killer and the accident at the crossroads that took forty lives, causing Zack to believe in the rumor of the evil spirit that lives in the tree and whose reign of terror is not yet over. Series: Haunted Mysteries

Call Number: J/YA GRABENST

Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer - by John Grisham

Publisher: Dutton Children's Books
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 05/25/2010
ISBN-13: 9780525423843
ISBN-10: 0525423842

At the age of thirteen, Theodore Boone dreamed of being a great trial lawyer someday. Little did he know he would be dragged into the middle of a sensational murder trial, where a cold-blooded killer is about to be released. Only Theo knows the truth and won't stop until justice is served. Series: Theodore Boone

Call Number: J GRISHAM

Closed for the Season: A Mystery Story - by Mary Downing Hahn

Publisher: Clarion Books
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 06/15/2009
ISBN-13: 9780547084510
ISBN-10: 054708451X

Determined to find out who killed Myrtle Donaldson and where all the money she managed for the Magic Forest has gone, friends Logan and Arthur enter the old amusement park to search for clues, causing them to investigate powerful families with long histories in their small Maryland town.

Call Number: J HAHN

The Westing Game - by Ellen Raskin

Publisher: Dutton Children's Books
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 10/01/2003
ISBN-13: 9780525471370
ISBN-10: 0525471375

The mysterious death of an eccentric millionaire brings together an unlikely assortment of heirs who must uncover the circumstances of his death before they can claim their inheritance.

Call Number: J/YA RASKIN

The Case of the Missing Marquess - by Nancy Springer

Publisher: Philomel Books
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 02/16/2006
ISBN-13: 9780399243042
ISBN-10: 0399243046

While searching for clues to her missing mother's whereabouts, fourteen-year-old Enola Holmes, the younger sister of Sherlock Holmes, suddenly gets involved in the kidnapping of a young Marquess and must put the search for her mother on hold in order to save the spoiled boy from his dangerous captors. Series: An Enola Holmes Mystery

Call Number: J SPRINGER

Realistic Fiction

Mockingbird - by Kathryn Erskine

Publisher: Philomel Books
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 04/15/2010
ISBN-13: 9780399252648
ISBN-10: 0399252649

Possessing an absolute view of the world that categorizes everything as good or bad, Caitlin, an 11-year-old with Asperger's syndrome, relies on her older brother to explain in-between things until his death forces her to cope with confusing feelings and develop greater self-reliance.

Call Number: YA ERSKINE

The Gollywhopper Games - by Jody Feldman

Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 03/01/2008
ISBN-13: 9780061214509
ISBN-10: 0061214507

Twelve-year-old Gil Goodson competes against thousands of other children at extraordinary puzzles, stunts, and more in hopes of a fresh start for his family, which has been ostracized since his father was falsely accused of embezzling from Golly Toy and Game Company.

Call Number: J/YA FELDMAN

Shug - by Jenny Han

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 04/25/2006
ISBN-13: 9781416909422
ISBN-10: 1416909427

Twelve-year-old Annemarie "Shug" Wilcox, who believes she is freakishly tall, freakishly flat-chested, and freakishly freckled, learns about friendship, first loves, and self-worth in a small town in the South.

Call Number: YA HAN

Junonia - by Kevin Henkes

Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 05/24/2011
ISBN-13: 9780061964183
ISBN-10: 0061964182

The week of her 10th birthday, Alice and her parents go to Sanibel Island, Florida, where Alice has friends and family to celebrate with her, and she knows that everything will be perfect--but what happens when things don't turn out exactly as she expects?

Call Number: J/YA HENKES

Chomp - by Carl Hiaasen

Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 03/27/2012
ISBN-13: 9780375868429
ISBN-10: 0375868429

Spending his days in a zoo beside his volatile animal wrangler father, Wahoo Cray struggles to control his father's temper when the latter takes a job with an egocentric reality nature show host.

Call Number: J/YA HIAASEN

Small as an Elephant - by Jennifer Jacobson

Publisher: Candlewick Press
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 03/08/2011
ISBN-13: 9780763641559
ISBN-10: 0763641553

Abandoned by his mother in an Acadia National Park campground, Jack tries to make his way back to Boston before anyone figures out what is going on, with only a small toy elephant for company.

Call Number: J/YA JACOBSON

Chained - by Lynne Kelly

Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 05/08/2012
ISBN-13: 9780374312374
ISBN-10: 0374312370

To settle a family debt, 10-year-old Hastin leaves his desert village in India to work as a circus elephant keeper but many challenges await him, including trying to keep Nandita, a sweet elephant, safe from the cruel circus owner.

Call Number: J KELLY

13 Gifts - by Wendy Mass

Publisher: Scholastic Press
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 09/01/2011
ISBN-13: 9780545310031
ISBN-10: 0545310032

When soon-to-be-13 Tara spends her summer with her bratty cousin Emily St. Claire in Willow Falls as punishment for a stunt-gone-wrong, she decides that it's time to break out of her shell.

Call Number: J MASS

Holes - by Louis Sachar

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 08/20/1998
ISBN-13: 9780374332655
ISBN-10: 0374332657

As further evidence of his family's bad fortune attributed 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.

Call Number: J/YA SACHAR

Wonderstruck: A Novel in Words and Pictures - by Brian Selznick

Publisher: Scholastic
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 09/13/2011
ISBN-13: 9780545027892
ISBN-10: 0545027896

Employing the form he created in his trailblazing debut novel, The Invention of Hugo Cabret , the Caldecott Medal-winning author/illustrator once again takes readers on an awe-inspiring journey that tells the story of 12-year-old Ben, who leaves his Minnesota home in 1977 to seek the father he never knew in New York City, and there meets Rose, who is also longing for something that is missing from her life.

Call Number: J SELZNICK

Drums, Girls, & Dangerous Pie - by Jordan Sonnenblick

Publisher: Scholastic
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 09/01/2006
ISBN-13: 9781417759460
ISBN-10: 1417759461

When his younger brother is diagnosed with leukemia, thirteen-year-old Steven tries to deal with his complicated emotions, his school life, and his desire to support his family.

Call Number: YA SONNENBL

Table of Contents

My Life as a Book - by Janet Tashjian

Publisher: Henry Holt
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 07/06/2010
ISBN-13: 9780805089035
ISBN-10: 0805089039

Dubbed a "reluctant reader" by his teacher, 12-year-old Derek Fallon spends summer vacation at Learning Camp, learning important lessons even though he does not complete his summer reading list.

Call Number: YA TASHJIAN

Science Fiction

The White Mountains - by John Christopher

Publisher: Macmillan
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 04/01/1967
ISBN-13: 9780027183603
ISBN-10: 0027183602

Young Will Parker and his companions make a perilous journey toward an outpost of freedom where they hope to escape from the ruling Tripods, who capture mature human beings and make them docile, obedient servants. Series: Tripods Trilogy

Call Number: J CHRISTOP

The Maze Runner - by James Dashner

Publisher: Delacorte Press
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 10/06/2009
ISBN-13: 9780385737944
ISBN-10: 0385737947

Sixteen-year-old Thomas wakes up with no memory in the middle of a maze and realizes he must work with the community in which he finds himself if he is to escape. Series: Maze Runner

Call Number: YA DASHNER

The Search for WondLa - by Tony DiTerlizzi

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 09/21/2010
ISBN-13: 9781416983101
ISBN-10: 1416983104

Living in isolation with her robot Muthr on what appears to be an alien world populated by bizarre life forms, a 12-year-old human girl called Eva Nine sets out on a journey to find others like herself.

Call Number: J DITERLIZ

H.I.V.E.: Higher-Institute-of-Villainous-Education - by Mark Walden

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 05/22/2007
ISBN-13: 9781416935711
ISBN-10: 1416935711

Kidnapped and taken to H.I.V.E. where he will be trained in everything villainous by Dr. Nero and his staff, Otto finds himself on an island far away from his family, friends, and home and so must work with a group of other kidnapped students to break out before it's too late. Series: H.I.V.E.

Call Number: YA WALDEN

Science Fiction (Time Travel)

Found - by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 04/22/2008
ISBN-13: 9781416954170
ISBN-10: 1416954171

When thirteen-year-olds Jonah and Chip, who are both adopted, learn they were discovered on a plane that appeared out of nowhere, full of babies with no adults on board, they realize that they have uncovered a mystery involving time travel and two opposing forces, each trying to repair the fabric of time. Series: Missing

Call Number: J HADDIX

A Year without Autumn - by Liz Kessler

Publisher: Candlewick Press
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 10/01/2011
ISBN-13: 9780763655952
ISBN-10: 0763655953

Twelve-year-old Jenni's much-anticipated vacation with her family and best friend Autumn goes awry when an old elevator transports her to a future in which everything has changed, and she must not only return to her time but find a way to prevent what she has seen from coming true.

Call Number: J KESSLER

A Wrinkle in Time - by Madeleine L'Engle

Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 01/31/2012
ISBN-13: 9780374386160
ISBN-10: 0374386161

Meg Murry and her friends become involved with unearthly strangers and a search for Meg's father, who has disappeared while engaged in secret work for the government.

Call Number: J/YA LENGLE

When You Reach Me - by Rebecca Stead

Publisher: Wendy Lamb Books
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 07/14/2009
ISBN-13: 9780385906647
ISBN-10: 0385906641

As her mother prepares to be a contestant on the 1980s television game show, "The $20,000 Pyramid," a twelve-year-old New York City girl tries to make sense of a series of mysterious notes received from an anonymous source that seems to defy the laws of time and space.

Call Number: J STEAD

Sports

Beyond Lucky - by Sarah Aronson

Publisher: Dial Books for Young Readers
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 06/30/2011
ISBN-13: 9780803735200
ISBN-10: 0803735200

Believing his luck has changed for the better after finding a rare soccer card, aspiring young goalie Ari Fish finds his athletic skills floundering in the face of a dispute between his best friend and the new girl on the team, who accuse each other of stealing the card.

Call Number: J ARONSON

Last Shot - by John Feinstein

Publisher: Knopf
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 02/08/2005
ISBN-13: 9780375831683
ISBN-10: 0375831681

After winning a press pass to New Orleans to watch the Final Four, Steven and his fellow winner, Susan, delight in all the behind-the-scenes activities. When they overhear a blackmail plot involving an MSU star player that could result in the big game being thrown, the two junior guest reporters know that it is up to them to break the story and put a stop to the devious plan.

Call Number: J/YA FEINSTEI

Unstoppable - by Tim Green

Publisher: Harper
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 09/18/2012
ISBN-13: 9780062089564
ISBN-10: 0062089560

A tale inspired by interviews with real-life cancer survivors and the author's experiences as a defensive end for the Atlanta Falcons traces the challenges faced by foster kid and aspiring NFL athlete Harrison, who receives a devastating diagnosis after a routine sports injury.
Call Number: J GREEN

The Batboy - by Mike Lupica

Publisher: Philomel Books
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 03/09/2010
ISBN-13: 9780399250002
ISBN-10: 039925000X

Landing a dream summer job as a batboy for his hometown's major-league team, fourteen-year-old Brian longs to win back the baseball-loving father who abandoned the family, a circumstance that is complicated by his unlikely friendship with a player who was banned for using steroids.

Call Number: J LUPICA

Mudville - by Kurtis Scaletta

Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 02/24/2009
ISBN-13: 9780375855795
ISBN-10: 0375855793

When the non-stop rain that has been falling on the town of Moundville for the past twenty-two years finally stops one summer day, Roy is certain that the time has come for his baseball team to call for a rematch with their greatest rivals, Sinister Bend, in order to finish what was started over two decades ago!

Call Number: J SCALETTA

Maniac Magee: A Novel - by Jerry Spinelli

Publisher: Little, Brown and Co.
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 11/01/1999
ISBN-13: 9780316809061
ISBN-10: 0316809063

The classic award-winning story about a young boy, who finds himself when he escapes an unbearable situation, is filled with humor and truth.

Call Number: J/YA SPINELLI

lk 08/12

If you are having trouble unsubscribing to this newsletter, please contact the Naperville Public Library at
630-961-4100, 200 West Jefferson Ave, Naperville, IL 60540

Subscribe to NextReads / More Readers' Services / Text A Librarian

© 2014 EBSCO Information Services, Powered by The Title Source TM