The book lists below are in two parts: First List: in chronological order and historical fiction. All available at CVES library. Second list: great reads from the Georgia Book Awards and other sites. Many books are linked to author sites for further investigation. Third List: there are links to the Reading Bowl Team's reading list. Great Books for any middle grade's reader! Civil War Books All their Names Were Courage by Sharon Phillips Denslow Turn Homeward, Hannalee by Patricia Beatty (book has Roswell, GA in it) Dear America:When Will This Cruel War Be Over by Barry Denenberg Run the Blockade by G. Clifton Wisler Dear Ellen Bee: A Civil War Scrapbook of Two Union Spies by Mary e. Lyons and Muriel M. Branch Shades of Gray by Carolyn Reeder# The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg by Rodman Philbrick# Soldier's Heart by Gary Paulson I Survived the Battle of Gettysburg, 1863 by Lauren Tarshis Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis Chasing Lincoln's Killer by James Swanson Lincoln's Grave Robbers by Steve Sheinkin
Industrial Age and Immigration Dragon Wings by Laurence Yep (Newberry Honor Book) part of the Golden Mountain Chronicles Earth Dragon Awakes by Laurence Yep# Rodzinza by Karen Cushman Billy Creekmore by Tracey Porter
Depression Era Stella by Starlight by Sharon Draper# Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis (Newberry Award Book) A Long Way from Chicago by Richard Peck Turtle in Paradise by Jennifer L. Holm# Luck of the Buttons by Anne Ylvisaker
World War II Don’t You Know There’s a War On?By AVI Hiroshima by Laurence Yep The Boy Who Dared by Susan Campbell Bartoletti Molly’s Fire by Janet Lee Carey On the Wings of Heroes by Richard Peck American Girl: The Night Flyers(mystery) by Elizabety McDavid Jones The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne The Boy on the Wooden Box by Leon Leyson Prisoner B-3087 by Alan Gratz The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Bradley Project 1065 by Alan Gratz Wolf Hollow by Lauren Wolk Once Was a time by Leila Sales
Cold War Civil Rights, and Vietnam Era Yankee Girl by Mary Ann Rodman The Rising Star of Rusty Nail by Lesley M.M. Blume Charlie Pippin by Candy Dawson Boyd Shooting the Moon by Frances O’Roark Dowell Cracker by Kadohata Riding to the Bus Rider Blues by Harriet Robinet The Lions of Little Rock by Kristin Levine The Apothecary by Mailey Meloy One crazy summer (see below) As Brave as you by Jason Reynolds
Internet Age, Current topics The Saturday Boy by Fleming Crenshaw by Katherine Applegate The Fourteenth Goldfish by Jennifer Holm Pax by Sara Pennypacker Best Man by Richard Pack Waiting for Augusta by Jessica Lawson House arrest by K.A. Holt Lily and Duncan by Donna Gephart The Infinity Year of Avalon James by Dana Middleton
Some favorite authors: Dana Middleton, Andrew Clements, Laurence Yep, AVI, Gary Paulsen, Carl Hiassen, and Sharon Creech.
Other favorites: After ever after. (2010). Jordan Sonnenblick.Scholastic Press Although Jeff and Tad, encouraged by a new friend, Lindsey, make a deal to help one another overcome aftereffects of their cancer treatments in preparation for eighth-grade graduation, Jeff still craves advice from his older brother Stephen, who is studying drums in Africa. http://www.jordansonnenblick.com/
All Shook Up. (2008). Shelley Pearsall. Yearling. When thirteen-year-old Josh goes to stay with his father in Chicago for a few months, he discovers--to his horror--that his dad has become an Elvis impersonator.
Anything But Typical .(2010). Nora Raleigh Baskin. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers Jason, a twelve-year-old autistic boy who wants to become a writer, relates what his life is like as he tries to make sense of his world. http://www.norabaskin.com/ Countdown, (2010). Deborah Wiles.Scholastic Press. Includes bibliographical references. As eleven-year-old Franny Chapman deals with drama at home and with her best friend in 1962, she tries to understand the larger problems in the world after President Kennedy announces that Russia is sending nuclear missiles to Cuba. Features historic quotations and photographs. http://deborahwiles.com/ Dying to Meet You ..(2009) Kate Klise. Houghton Mifflin "Sandpiper." In this story told mostly through letters, children's book author, I. B. Grumply, gets more than he bargained for when he rents a quiet place to write for the summer. http://kateandsarahklise.com/
Extra Credit (2009) .Andrew Clements. .Atheneum Books for Young Readers, http:/www.andrewclements.com/ The Fantastic Secret of Owen Jester . .(2010).Barbara O'Connor. Farrar Straus and Giroux, After Owen captures an enormous bullfrog, names it Tooley Graham, then has to release it, he and two friends try to use a small submarine that fell from a passing train to search for Tooley in the Carter, Georgia, pond it came from, while avoiding nosy neighbor Viola. http://www.barboconnor.com/
Mockingbird : (Mok'ing-burd). (2010).Kathryn Erskine. Puffin Books, . Ten-year-old Caitlin, who has Asperger's Syndrome, struggles to understand emotions, show empathy, and make friends at school, while at home she seeks closure by working on a project with her father.
http://www.kathyerskine.com/ The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg. (2009) Rodman Philbrick. Scholastic, Includes bibliographical references. Homer P. Figg escapes from his wretched foster home in Pine Swamp, Maine, and sets out to find his beloved older brother, Harold, who has been illegally sold into the Union Army. http://www.rodmanphilbrick.com/ One Crazy Summer.(2010). Rita Williams-Garcia. Amistad . In the summer of 1968, after traveling from Brooklyn to Oakland, California, to spend a month with the mother they barely know, eleven-year-old Delphine and her two younger sisters arrive to a cold welcome as they discover that their mother, a dedicated poet and printer, is resentful of the intrusion of their visit and wants them to attend a nearby Black Panther summer camp. http://www.ritawg.com/ Out of my Mind. (2010).Sharon M. Draper. Atheneum Books for Young Readers, Considered by many to be mentally retarded, a brilliant, impatient fifth-grader with cerebral palsy discovers a technological device that will allow her to speak for the first time. Alvarez http://sharondraper.com/ Return to Sender. (2009). Julia Alvarez. Yearling. After an accident injures Tyler's father, their farm is in danger of folding--until a family of Mexican immigrants (some illegal) comes to help. Tyler befriends Mari, the oldest daughter, and helps the family reunite with Mari's mother, to whom Mari writes heartfelt letters. Horn Book http://www.juliaalvarez.com/
Scat.(2009) Carl Hiaasen .Alfred A. Knopf. Nick and Marta are both suspicious when their biology teacher, the feared Mrs. Bunny Starch, disappears, and try to uncover the truth despite the police and headmaster's insistence that nothing is wrong. http://www.carlhiaasen.com/ The Strange Case of Origami Yoda. (2010).Tom Angleberger. Amulet Books . 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. Includes instructions for making Origami Yoda. http://www.goodreads.com/author/.../3172535.Tom_Angleberger/
Swindle. (2009). Gordon Korman. Scholastic, After unscrupulous collector S. Wendell Palomino cons him out of a valuable baseball card, sixth-grader Griffin Bing puts together a band of misfits to break into Palomino's heavily guarded store and steal the card back, planning to use the money to finance his father's failing invention, the Smart Pick fruit picker. http://www.gordonkorman.com/
Waiting for Normal Leslie Connor. Katherine Tegen Books. Twelve-year-old Addie tries to cope with her mother's erratic behavior and being separated from her beloved stepfather and half-sisters when she and her mother go to live in a small trailer by the railroad tracks on the outskirts of Schenectady, New York. http://www.leslieconnor.com/
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon .(2009.) Grace Lin. Little, Brown and Co. Books for Young Readers . Includes bibliographical references. Minli, an adventurous girl from a poor village, buys a magical goldfish, and then joins a dragon who cannot fly on a quest to find the Old Man of the Moon in hopes of bringing life to Fruitless Mountain and freshness to Jade River. http://www.gracelin.com/
READING BOWL TEAM Links for more reads! This includes the Reading Bowl and Georgia Award Winners for this upcoming school year. Looking for competition-minded readers for this team. Great books even if you aren't wanting to compete. About HRRB Elementary Booklist