The Middle School English
Annotated Booklist
2007 - 2008
The Middle School Book List offers a broad range of excellent literature for outside reading and book reports. Most of the books on the list are available in the Annenberg Library. Each student in the A, I, or II Form is required to read one book from a different category each term. Teachers will provide guidance in choosing a book that will fit the individual's taste, experience, and skill.
It is important to note that the categories provided are more limiting than the dynamic and rich works they organize. Many of these works could comfortably fit into many categories.
The annotations provided are brief; we encourage students to investigate these books more thoroughly by talking with librarians, teachers, parents, and friends.
This list has been compiled from many sources including Nancy Atwell's In The Middle, Kilpatrick, Wolfe, and Wolfe's Books That Build Character, the American Library Association's Nothing But the Best, the Pennsylvania Library Association's Books of Note, Amazon Books, The Horn Book Magazine, reviews from the Panel of Librarians from the Delaware Valley, The Baldwin School Book List, and The English Journal.
Click on the links in the table to jump to that section of the list.
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Alcott,
Louisa May |
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Austen,
Jane |
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Buck,
Pearl |
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Burnett,
Frances Hodgson The Secret Garden Mary, a self-centered girl, and Colin, a pampered invalid boy come to understand compassion and generosity within a mysterious abandoned garden. (1911) |
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Bronte,
Charlotte |
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Clark,
Walter Van Tilburg The Ox Bow Incident Set in 1895, this classic story is a searing portrait of frontier life and mob violence in the American West, focusing on the lynching of three innocent men and the tragedy that ensues when law and order are abandoned. (1940) |
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Defoe,
Daniel Robinson Crusoe Daniel Defoe, is generally credited with being one of the first novel writers in the English language: this is his tale of an English sailor marooned on a desert island for nearly three decades. (1719) |
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Dana,
Richard Henry Two Years before the Mast The remarkable story of life at sea, as told by a 19 year old, who has left the privileged world of Boston and harvard to become a common sailor. (1840) |
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Dickens,
Charles David Copperfield This is the story of David, an orphan boy, who grows up amongst a diverse and delightful cast of characters--termed "the most perfect of all of the Dickens novels by Virginia Woolf. (1850) |
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Hilton,
James Lost Horizon Four Westerners are hijacked and kidnapped in the Tibetan mountains, where they are held in a hidden valley, known as Shangli-La. (1933) |
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Knowles,
John A Separate Peace Against the backdrop of World War II, the rivalry of two roommates at a boys’ school turns into a private war. (1959) |
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Lombardo,
Stanley [Homer] The Iliad This new translation of the classical Greek epic of love and war is here rendered into a contemporary American idiom in a colloquial, modern voice. |
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McCaughrean,
Geraldine Cyrano Staying true to Edmond Rostand's original tale, McCaughrean introduces a new generation to the swashbuckling hero. All his life, Cyrano has loved his beautiful young cousin, Roxanne, and she cannot see beyond his ugly face with its huge nose. (2006) |
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Montgomery,
Lucy Anne of Green Gables This is the story of Anne Shirley, a scrawny, red-haired, eleven-year-old orphan. She is adopted by an elderly couple and changes their lives forever. (1908) |
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Potok,
Chaim The Chosen Two Jewish boys in New York, one traditional and one liberal, learn the differences between their fathers' teachings. (1967) |
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Pyle, Howard Otto of the Silver Hand This story, set in medieval Germany, tells the tale of young Otto who was raised in a monastery following his mother's death and returned at age twelve to the bitter, feudal world of his loving father. (1888) |
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Richter,
Conrad The Light in the Forest A white boy, captured by Indians as a four-year-old, comes to understand and love the Indian culture over his own. (1953) |
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Roberts,
Kenneth ANY TITLE BY THIS AUTHOR |
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Smith,
Betty A Tree Grows in Brooklyn This story tells of the difficulties and delights of life for Francie and her Irish family in New York, in the early 1900's. (1945) |
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Steinbeck,
John Of Mice and Men This tragic story, a masterpiece of literature, explores the complex bond between two migrant laborers, George Milton and Lennie Small, itinerant ranch hands who dream of one day owning a small farm. (1937) |
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Wilder,
Thornton The Bridge of San Luis Rey In search of the meaning of their deaths, the narrator tells the life stories of five people who die when a bridge collapses. (1927) |
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Agee,
James A Death in the Family A sensitive account of a family's reaction to the death of one of its members, this novel examines the most delicate, private realms of emotion. (1956) |
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Baldwin,
James If Beale Street Could Talk A young black couple, separated by an unjust imprisonment, is bolstered by their love for each other and the young man's loyal family. (1974) |
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Bauer,
Joan Rules of the Road Hired by Madeline Gladstone, the president of a shoe company, to help her prevent a corporate take-over, 16-year-old Jenna Boller embarks on an eye-opening adventure that teaches both of them the rules of the road--and the rules of life. (1998) |
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Bradford,
Richard Red Sky at Morning Joshua Arnold, a wise, wry man-child, must cope with an absent father and a sherry-tippling mother while learning to live in a new town, make friends, and finish growing up. (1968) |
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Brooks,
Bruce The Moves Make the Man As Jerome, a black athlete, shares his skills and interest in basketball with Bix, a white baseball player, their friendship grows and the game becomes a reflection of both their lives (1985). |
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Cormier,
Richard |
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Crutcher,
Chris Ironman While training for a triathlon, Bo, a seventeen year old boy, attends an anger management group at school which leads him to examine his relationship with his father. (1995) |
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Freymann-weyr,
Garrett My Heartbeat Narrator Ellen learns about love, family and "society's unwritten rules"--and the limits of what you can ever know about whom you love--in this sophisticated but gentle novel set in Manhattan. (2002) |
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Gardner,
Graham Inventing Elliot Elliot, a victim of bullying, invents a calmer, cooler self when he changes schools in the middle of freshman year, but soon attracts the wrong kind of attention from the Guardians who "maintain order" at the new school. (2004) |
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Glenn,
Mel Split Image: a Story in Poems This series of sharply focused vignettes in verse centers on Chinese American high school student Laura Li, stunning, smart, and rebellious, who is chafing under her mother's tight rein and her obligations to her disabled older brother. Each poem takes the point of view and the voice of various characters that work like acid on copperplate to etch the outlines of Laura's life. (2000) |
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Herrera,
Juan Felipe CrashBoomLove: a Novel in Verse Sixteen-year-old Cesar Garcia is careening. His father, Papi Cesar, has left the migrant circuit in California for his other wife and children in Denver. Sweet Mama Lucy tries to provide for her son with dichos and tales of her own misspent youth. But at Rambling West High School in Fowlerville, the sides are drawn: Hmongs vs. Chicanos vs. everybody vs. Cesar, the new kid on the block. (1999) |
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Hickam,
Jr., Homer October Sky The only flaw of Rocket Boys is that its plot seems just a shade too well made even for a work of fiction, let alone a memoir.... Yet if Hickam's plotting seems here and there manipulated, what always ring true are his adventures in rocketry. ( 1998 ) |
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Hinton,
S.E. The Outsiders Ponyboy, a fourteen-year-old boy, describes the feud between the "greasers" and the "socs" - a gang conflict that ends in tragedy. (1967) |
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Holt, Kimberly
Willis When Zachary Beaver Came to Town During the summer of 1971, thirteen year old Toby and his best friend Carl meet the star of a sideshow act, 600 pound Zachary, the fattest boy in the world (1999). |
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Jaramillo La Linea Fifteen-year-old Miguel leaves his rancho deep in Mexico to migrate to California across la linea, the border, in a debut novel of life-changing, cliff-hanging moments. (2006) |
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Jen,
Gish Typical American This story is an account of the rise and sway of fortune in the life of a Chinese immigrant family and the collision between personal history and world history. (1991) |
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Johnson,
Maureen 13 Little Blue Envelopes When seventeen-year-old Ginny receives a packet of mysterious envelopes from her favorite aunt, she leaves New Jersey to criss-cross Europe on a sort of scavenger hunt that transforms her life. (2005) |
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Keys,
Daniel Flowers for Algernon Winner of both the Hugo Award (1959), as well as the Nebula Award in this expanded version, Flowers for Algernon is the journal of Charlie Gordon, a mentally retarded adult who becomes a genius after undergoing a brain operation. (1966) |
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Kinsella,
William Shoeless Joe This is a wonderful book about baseball, love, and the power of dreams. (1982) |
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Murdock,
Catherine Gilbert Dairy Queen After spending her summer running the family farm and training the quarterback for her school's rival football team, sixteen-year-old D.J. decides to go out for the sport herself, not anticipating the reactions of those around her. (2006) |
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Na, An A Step from Heaven In this 2002 Printz winning novel, a young girl recounts her bittersweet experience in the United States after her family immigrates from Korea. (2001) |
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Patron,
Susan The Higher Power of Lucky Lucky lives in tiny Hard Pan, California (population 43), with her dog and the young French woman who is her guardian. The heroine in this Newberry Medal winning novel is totally contemporary, teetering between bravado in daily life and fear that her guardian will leave her to return to France. She determines to find her "higher power", to get herself through the tough times. (2006) |
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Paulsen,
Gary Dogsong An excellent blend of old and new cultures as an Eskimo boy goes off on his own to find his own "song" and recapture the culture of the past that seems to be missing in today's life. (1985) |
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Peck, Robert A Long Way from Chicago What happens when Joey and his sister, Mary Alice--two city slickers from Chicago--make their annual summer visit to Grandma Dowdel's seemingly sleepy Illinois town? In the tradition of American humorists Mark Twain and Flannery O'Connor, Richard Peck has created this memorable world filled with characters who, like Grandma herself, are larger than life and twice as entertaining. (1998) |
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Perkins,
Lynne Rae Criss Cross Teenagers in a small town in the 1960s experience new thoughts and feelings, question their identities, connect, and disconnect as they search for the meaning of life and love. (2005) |
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Smelcer,
John The Trap Written in alternating chapters that relate the parallel stories of Johnny and his grandfather, this novel poignantly addresses the hardships of life in the far north, suggesting that the most dangerous traps need not be made of steel. (2006) |
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Sones,
Sonya Stop Pretending: What Happened When My Big Sister Went Crazy An intense and brutally honest story, told in a succession of powerful poems, in which a younger sister reacts and adjusts to life after her older sister has a mental breakdown. (1999) |
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Sonnenblick,
Jordan Drums, Girls, & Dangerous Pie The life of eighth-grader Steven Alper, already complicated by his friendship with two girls and a prodigious talent for drumming, is turned upside down when his five-year-old brother Jeffrey is hospitalized, having fallen while Steven is watching him. (2004) |
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Van Draanen,
Wendolyn Flipped In alternating chapters, two teenagers describe how their feelings about themselves, each other, and their families have changed over the years. (2001) |
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Avi |
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Berry,
James Ajeemah and His Son Parallel stories evolve from the capture of an African father and son early in the nineteenth century. Slave traders shipped them to Jamaica and sold them to separate plantations. (1991) |
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Boyne,
John The Boy in the Striped Pajamas Through the eyes of an innocent nine-year-old boy named Bruno, listeners become complicit bystanders, observing some of the horrors of the Holocaust. (2006) |
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Cooper,
James Fennimore The Last of the Mohicans Natty Bumpo is a rebel against the corruption in society. In this story, Cooper portrays a romantic brotherhood between Native Americans and European settlers. (1826) |
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Fox,
Paula The Slave Dancer Thirteen-year-old Jessie is kidnapped and shanghaied onto an illegal slave trading ship until he escapes with a new friend. This is a haunting tale of one of the most brutal chapters in American history. (1975) |
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Green,
Bette Summer of My German Soldier In this sensitive novel set in a small southern town during World War II, a Jewish girl helps a German prisoner of war escape. (1973) |
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Grey, Zane Rides of the Purple Sage In this, the first of Zane Grey's many Western-saga best sellers, a gunslinger named Lassiter helps a wealthy Mormon rancher protect her ranch from cattle rustlers and the church. (1912) |
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Hesse,
Karen Out of the Dust A poem cycle that reads as a novel, Out of the Dust tells the story of Billie Jo, a girl who struggles to help her family survive the dustbowl years of the Depression. Fighting against the elements on her Oklahoma farm, Billie Jo takes on even more responsibilities when her mother dies in a tragic accident. (1997) |
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Hoffman,
Alice Incantation Hoffman tears a horrific page from history and melds it with mysticism to create a spellbinding tale told by Estrella, the youngest in a tight-knit family of Spanish Jews hiding as devout Catholics during the Inquisition. (2006) |
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Ibbotson,
Eva Journey to the River Sea Orphaned and living in London in the early 1900s, Maia finds herself on the adventure of a lifetime when she is sent with her new governess to live on a rubber plantation along the Amazon River in Brazil with relatives she's never met. (2001) |
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Meyer,
Caroline Mary, Bloody Mary Mary Tudor, who would reign very briefly as Queen of England during the mid-sixteenth century, tell the story of her troubled childhood as the eldest daughter of King Henry VIII (1999). |
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Paterson,
Katherine Lyddie In this novel set in the 1840’s, Lyddie Worthen leaves her home and family in Vermont to find work in a Massachusetts mill. She becomes a successful mill worker, but the hardship of being a "wage slave" takes its toll on her. (1991) |
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Paulsen,
Gary Soldier’s Heart Battle by battle, Gary Paulsen shows readers one boy's war through one boy's eyes and one boy's heart, and gives a voice to all the anonymous young men who fought in the Civil War. (1998) |
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Rinaldi,
Ann ANY TITLE BY THIS AUTHOR |
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Shaara,
Michael Killer Angels A great battle looms over Gettysburg as the Rebels face the Yanks. (1974) |
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Stevenson,
Robert Louis ANY TITLE BY THIS AUTHOR |
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Wallis,
Velma Two Old Women The retelling of a classic Alaskan legend about two elderly women abandoned by their tribe during a severe winter famine depicts their friendship, fierce determination, desperate struggle for survival, and ultimate need to forgive. (1993) |
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Beals,
Melba Warriors Don't Cry : Searing Memoir of Battle to Integrate Little Rock In 1957 Melba Pattillo turned sixteen, and it is also the year she entered the front lines of a civil rights firestorm. Her remarkable story, taken from the diary she kept at the time, chronicles her experience as one of nine teenagers chosen to integrate Little Rock's Central High School. (1995) |
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Dahl, Roald Going Solo Roald Dahl outdoes himself as he brilliantly portrays the horrors of war, along with the wonderful details that made up his life as a young soldier during WWII. (1999) |
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Dyer, Daniel Jack London, a Biography Jack London, known as one of the great American adventure story authors, led a life as exciting and colorful as the fiction he created, trying his hand at everything from the Klondike gold rush, to sailing around the world. (1997) |
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Edwards,
Nicholas Stand and Deliver Based on a true story, Jaime Escalante inspires a group of potential school drop-outs to learn calculus to pass the Advanced Placement exam. (1989) |
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Frank,
Anne Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl This is the actual diary of a teenage girl who spent the last two years of her life with her family in hiding from Nazis. (1952) |
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Gunther,
John Death Be Not Proud For 15 months, Johnny Gunther fought courageously against a progressive brain tumor. His father poignantly tells his memorable story. (1949) |
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Haley,
Alex Roots When Haley traced his family back to the days of slavery, his book raised national consciousness about the hatefulness of prejudice and the importance of family love. (1976) |
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Keller,
Helen The Story of My Life This story sketches the remarkable woman who overcame blindness and deafness to become a dynamic citizen of the world. (1954) |
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Linnea,
Sharon Princess Ka’iulani Using journal entries, letters, and black-and-white photographs, this book tells the story of the life and times of Princess Ka'iulani, heir to the Hawaiian throne, the most beloved figure in Hawaiian history, and one of America's most overlooked heroines. (1999) |
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Lobel,
Anita. No Pretty Pictures The author, an award-winning author of children's books, tells the story of her own early childhood years, first as a "hidden child", and subsequently as prisoner in a succession of concentration camps during the Second World War. (1998) |
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Lu Chi
Fa with Becky White Double Luck: Memoirs of a Chinese Orphan Orphaned in 1944 at age three, Chi Fa had no real home. Passed among Chinese relatives and even sold to strangers, he grew up amid abuse, poverty, and family betrayal. But through it all, he found hope and sustenance in small things. His story is a heartfelt, intimate glimpse at tragedy, triumph, and the Asian experience during a time of political change. (2001) |
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Myers,
Walter Dean The Greatest, Muhammad Ali A riveting portrayal of Ali, his spirit and courage, from childhood to the present, as well as the hazards of boxing--the sport which he loved, but which ultimately damaged him. (2001) |
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Watkins,
Paul Stand Before Your God Watkins tells of his upsetting and hilarious days at Dragon and Eton, two prestigious boys' schools in England. (1994) |
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Alexander,
Lloyd ANY TITLE BY THIS AUTHOR |
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Asimov,
Isaac Fantastic Voyage A miniaturized submarine carrying a team of doctors travels through the bloodstream of a brilliant scientist in order to save his life. (1966) |
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Bradbury,
Ray Something Wicked This Way Comes An American treasure in which Jim and Will make a deal with Dr. Park at "Cooger and Park's Pandemonium Shadow Show". In the deal, they are granted their secret desires, but there is a price. (1990) |
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Clarke,
Arthur C. 2001: A Space Odyssey After the signal is discovered on the moon, astronauts set out in their ship Discovery to find out who left it there, only to have their plans changed by a computer gone berserk. (1969) |
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Cooper,
Susan King of Shadows While in London as part of an all-boy acting company preparing to perform in a replica of the famous Globe Theatre, Nat Field suddenly finds himself transported back to 1599 and performing in the original theater under the tutelage of Shakespeare himself. (1999) |
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Dickinson,
Peter The Tears of the Salamander Burning questions about the twin influences of nature and nurture, the true meaning of family, and the possibility of guiding one's fate, to name a few blaze below the surface of this engrossing, almost operatic novel, set in long-ago Italy. (2003) |
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DuPrau,
Jeanne The Prophet of Yonwood Set about 50 years before the previous books in the Embers series, this novel focuses on 11-year-old Nickie, who believes her great-grandfather's old mansion in Yonwood, North Carolina, may be a haven from the city wracked with fear of impending war. (2006 ) . |
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Funke,
Cornelia Dragon Rider Firedrake, a silver dragon, leads a mission to locate the Rim of Heaven, in response to the threat posed by humans who are scheming to flood the valley where his clan of dragons currently lives. Accompanied by a brownie named Sorrel and an orphan boy named Ben, Firedrake begins the quest with only scant information to go on. (2004) |
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Herbert,
Frank Dune This is the first of the epic Science-Fiction series about a desert world and the immense struggle for wealth and power there. (1965) |
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Kerr, Philip The Akhenaten Adventure When twelve-year-old twins Philippa and John discover that they are descended from a long line of djinn, their mother sends them away to their Uncle Nimrod, who takes them to Cairo where he starts to teach them about their extraordinary powers. (2004) |
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Levine,
Gail Carson Fairest In the kingdom of Ayortha, the people sing songs, and no one has a more beautiful voice than Aza. Aza also has the extraordinary ability to "throw" her voice, called illusing, to make it seem to come from places other than from Aza. This talent finds her in a deceitful arrangement with the new queen, an outsider who does not have the ability to sing in a kingdom that prizes singing. (2006) |
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MacDonald,
George The Princess and the Goblin Said to be a favorite of both Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, The Princess and the Goblin is the story of the young Princess Irene, her good friend Curdie--a miner's son--and Irene's mysterious and beautiful great-great grandmother, who lives in a secret room at the top of the castle stairs. (1872) |
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Nicholson,
William The Wind Singer In this first volume of a planned trilogy, the focus is on Amaranth, where life is very structured: people live in color-coded rings around the city--white for best, gray for the gritty outer circle--and tests rule all. A rebellious trio sets the orderly city on its ear by escaping it’s walls and embarking on an adventure that takes them from city sewers to desert sandstorms, as they seek to save their people from their dreamless existence. (2000) |
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Nix, Garth Sabriel Since childhood, Sabriel has lived outside the walls of the Old Kingdom, away from the power of Free Magic, and away from the Dead who refuse to stay dead. But now her father, the Mage Abhorson, is missing, and Sabriel must cross into that world to find him. (1996) |
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Oppell,
Kenneth |
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Pullman,
Philip The Golden Compass Here Earth is one of only five planets in the solar system, every human has a daemon (the soul embodied as an animal familiar) and, in a time similar to our late 19th century, Oxford scholars and agents of the Church are in a race to unleash the power that will enable them to cross the bridge to a parallel universe. (1996) |
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Reeve,
Philip Mortal Engines In the distant future, when cities move about and consume smaller towns, a fifteen-year-old apprentice is pushed out of London by the man he most admires and must seek answers in the perilous Out-Country, aided by one girl and the memory of another. (2003) |
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Riordan,
Rick |
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Sleator,
William The Boy Who Reversed Himself When Laura discovers that the unpopular boy who lives next door has the ability to go into the fourth dimension, she makes the dangerous decision to accompany him on his journeys there. (1986) |
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Shelley,
Mary Frankenstein As timely as ever, this is the classic take off of a scientist who tries to play God and create life. This is a profound and scary look at the realm of the human spirit. (1988 [1881]) |
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Skelton,
Matthew Endymion Spring Blake, an American teen visiting modern-day Oxford, stumbles upon Endymion Spring-- one portion of "the most legendary, sought-after book in the world." While he attempts to uncover the secrets of the book, and evade cutthroat members of an antiquarian book society, flashbacks reveal the book's fifteenth-century connections to the original printing press, recounted by an apprentice of Gutenberg himself. (2006) |
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Tolkien,
J. R. R. ANY TITLE BY THIS AUTHOR |
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Van de
Velde, Vivian Heir Apparent A near-future teenager trapped in a full-immersion virtual reality game finds herself racing the clock to beat non-virtual death in this plausible, suspenseful outing. (2002) |
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Verne,
Jules ANY TITLE BY THIS AUTHOR |
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Vonnegut,
Kurt Slaughter House Five The story of Billy Pilgrim's life, "unstuck in time", between his youth, his horrific experiences as a POW during World War II, and his kidnapping by Tramalfadorians. (1969) |
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Abrahams,
Peter Down the Rabbit Hole An avid reader of Sherlock Holmes, Ingrid Levin-Hill, 13, is also a fleet-footed soccer player with a knack for stage acting–skills that come in handy when she finds herself caught in a police investigation following the murder of an eccentric woman. (2005) |
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Christie,
Agatha |
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Donnelly,
Jennifer A Northern Light Set in 1906, against the backdrop of a murder that actually took place in the Adirondacks, 16-year-old Mattie Gokey finds her voice as an author and the strength and determination to live her own life. (2003) |
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Doyle,
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle The Hound of the Baskervilles Sherlock Holmes and Watson set about to solve the most bewildering case of their careers, as they investigate the latest death to befall the Baskerville family. (1902) |
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Gaiman,
Neal Coraline Looking for excitement, 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. (2002) |
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Goldman,
William Marathon Man A marathon runner becomes trapped in a series of events involving a Nazi fugitive. (1974) |
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Haddix,
Margaret Peterson Double Identity One October evening, Bethany's parents drive her to another state to stay with an aunt she never knew existed. Left confused and without a way to contact her parents, the 12-year-old tries to figure out the reason behind their strange behavior and learns some family secrets in the process. (2005) |
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Hillerman,
Tony Dance Hall of the Dead Tribal Policeman Joe Leaphorn tracks a brutal killer. The search is complicated by an archaeological dig, a steel hypodermic needle, and the strange laws of the Zuni. (1990) |
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Hoobler,
Dorothy and Thomas The Ghost in the Tokaido Inn Although Seikei has been born into the merchant class, he dreams impossibly of becoming a samurai. In 1735, on the Tokaido Road, the life of this fourteen-year-old Japanese boy changes dramatically. (1999) |
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King, Laurie
R. The Beekeeper's Apprentice The year is 1914. Long retired, Sherlock Holmes quietly pursues his study of honeybee behavior on the Sussex Downs. While he never imagined he would encounter anyone whose intellect matched his own, Miss Mary Russell becomes Holmes' pupil and quickly hones her talent for deduction, disguises and danger. When an elusive villain enters the picture, their partnership is put to a real test. (1994) |
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Konigsburg,
E. L. Father's Arcane Daughter When Caroline appears on her father's doorstep seventeen years after being kidnapped, the effect on the family is dramatic. (1976) |
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L'Engle,
Madeleine Dragons in the Waters A thirteen-year-old's trip to Venezuela with his cousin culminates in murder and the discovery of an unexpected bond with an Indian tribe, dating from the days of Simon Bolivar. (1976) |
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Marsh,
Ngaio. |
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Penman,
Sharon Kay The Queen's Man: A Medieval Mystery Epiphany, 1193: Eleanor of Aquitaine sits upon England's throne. Her beloved son Richard Lionheart is missing, presumed dead, and her younger son John is plotting to seize the crown. Meanwhile, a destitute young man receives a bloodstained letter from a dying man; this missive becomes his passport into the queen's confidence--and into the heart of danger, as he pursues a cunning murderer and jousts with secret traitors in Eleanor's court of intrigue and mystery. (1996) |
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Peters,
Ellis Morbid Taste for Bones In the 12th-century Benedictine monastery of Shrewsbury, Brother Cadfael has settled down to a quiet life in charge of the herbarium. It is fortunate his prowess as a herbalist is matched by his detective skills - when his prior acquires the bones of a saint, the obstacles include murder. (1977) |
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Rohmer,
Sax The Insidious Dr. Fu-Manchu Sax Rohmer , a contemporary of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, created one of the greatest villans of mystery literature: this, the first in the popular Fu-Manchu mystery series, introduces English sleuth Denis Nayland Smith and his companion, Dr. Petrie, to the evil genius Dr. Fu-Manchu, a cunning Chinese criminal mastermind who means to rule the world. (1913) |
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Sayers,
Dorothy Whose Body? First published in 1923, Whose Body? established the disarmingly debonair Peter Wimsey as one of the most enduring characters in English literature: when a naked body is found lying in the tub, a gold pince-nez perched before the sightless eyes, Lord Peter Wimsey, who dabbled in mystery detection as a hobby, is put to the test of discovering who and why. (1923) |
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Selznick,
Brian The Invention of Hugo Cabret Orphan, clock-keeper, and thief, Hugo lives in the walls of a busy Paris train station, where his survival depends on secrets and anonymity. But when his world suddenly interlocks with an eccentric, bookish girl and a bitter old man who runs a toy booth in the station, Hugo's undercover life, and his most precious secret, are put in jeopardy. (2007) |
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White,
Robb Deathwatch An exciting novel of suspense, based on a fight to the finish between an honest, courageous young man and a cynical business tycoon who believes that anything can be had for a price. Winner of an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America. (1972) |
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Adams,
Richard Watership Down A tale of survival, this story records the adventures of a band of wild rabbits who leave their ancestral home, hoping to build a more humane society. (1992) |
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Bakker,
Robert Raptor Red This is the realistic survival story of a young raptor as it evolves over the course of a year. It is complete with a unique cast of characters set in a lush, exotic prehistoric world. (1995) |
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Bagnold,
Enid National Velvet This is a classic story about English family life, a girl, her horse, a village lottery, and the Steeplechase. (1935) |
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Crecraft,
Rick The Monarch of the Tall Pines: An Adirondack Adventure The author, an EA alumnus, recalls his own youth in this fictional account of a boy and his grandfather who go camping together, embarking on a quest to capture a trophy brook trout. (2002) |
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Clement-Davies,
David The Sight In Transylvania, a pack of wolves sets out on a perilous journey to prevent their enemy from calling upon a legendary evil one that will give her the power to control all animals. (2002) |
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DiCamillo,
Kate The Tale of Despereaux The adventures of Desperaux Tilling, a small mouse of unusual talents, the princess that he loves, the servant girl who longs to be a princess, and a devious rat determined to bring them all to ruin. (2003) |
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Gallico,
Paul The Abandoned This is the story of a boy who is transformed into a cat and his attempts to struggle for existence in a strange and unsympathetic world. (1950) |
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Jacques,
Brian ANY TITLE BY THIS AUTHOR |
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London,
Jack Call of the Wild This is the amazing story of Buck, a dog who was stolen and then forced into a life of hardship and bitter cold in Alaska. (1903) |
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Mowat,
Farley Never Cry Wolf Mowat recounts his experience of living alone among wild wolf packs in the Canadian Tundra. His admiration for these maligned animals contrasts the growing fear of bounty hunters and federal exterminators. (1963) |
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Sewell,
Anna Black Beauty Black Beauty tells his own story: all about his early home, his "breaking in," and how he saved his master’s life. (1945) |
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Seidler,
Tori The Wainscott Weasel Bagley Brown Jr., son of the most famous weasel in Wainscott Woods, takes the opportunity to prove his own courage because of a most improbable relationship. (1993) |
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Adams,
Douglas The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy This is the satiric, comic adventure of Arthur Dent, who finds himself traveling through space and time. (1982) |
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Feiffer,
Jules The Man in the Ceiling Both written and illustrated by cartoonist Feiffer, this is a funny, poignant and profoundly insightful look at the inner life of an artist; Jimmy, who happens to be a young boy, expresses himself by making comic books. (1995) |
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Keillor,
Garrison Lake Wobegon Days Keillor recounts a series of tales and creative recollections of Lake Wobegon, Minnesota, "the little town that time forgot and decades cannot improve." (1986) |
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Levithan,
David. Boy meets Boy This is the story of Paul, a sophomore at a high school like no other. Written in energetic prose and sharp humor, Levithan has created a kind of utopia, where tolerance reigns and shame is banished, in which everyone loves without persecution, making this a provocative and important read. (2003) |
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Rennison.
Louise Angus, Thongs and Full-frontal Snogging Presents the humorous journal of a year in the life of a fourteen-year-old British girl who tries to reduce the size of her nose, stop her mad cat from terrorizing the neighborhood animals, and win the love of handsome hunk Robbie. (2001) |
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Rylant,
Cynthia God Went to Beauty School Cynthia Rylant imagines a God whose curiosity about the world He created inspire Him to go out and experience human things, POETICALLY celebrating those simple things in life, while taking a long, hard look at what it means to be human. (2003) |
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Saldana,
Rene, Jr. The Jumping Tree Rey, a Mexican American living with his close knit family in a Texas town near the Mexican border, tells the story of his growing up, with lots of self-deprecating humor and an air of reminiscence, all the while remaining culturally specific, filled with Chicano language and customs. (2001) |
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Shipton,
Paul The Pig Scrolls Transformed by Circe into talking pig, Gryllus, who once traveled as a crewman with Odysseus, tells how he escaped rampaging monsters with the brave teen prophetess, Sybil, found himself, and saved the world. (2005) |
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Townsend,
Sue The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13 3/4 Adrian, a worrier, a loner, and self-proclaimed intellectual, confides his concerns and dreams within the pages of his diary. (1988) |
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Wibberly,
Leonard The Mouse that Roared This fantastic story describes the presumed take-over of America by the Duchy of Grand Fenwick, a sovereign territory five miles long and three wide, in the heart of the Alps. (1954) |
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Adams,
Douglas and Mark Carwardine Last Chance to See The authors embark on a personal journey filled with humor, irony, and frustration, as they attempt to observe some of the earth's exotic endangered species. (1992) |
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Carson,
Rachel Silent Spring This book represents over four and one half years' work, during which Carson gathered data from all over America and around the world. It constitutes a biologist's warning about the possible effects of wide spread use of pesticides on the balance of nature. (1962) |
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Freedman,
Russell The Wright Brothers Newberry Award winning account of the life and work of Orville and Wilbur Wright, this book traces their interests and experiences and records their progress with contemporary photographs. (1991) |
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Grogan,
John Marley & Me Labrador retrievers are generally considered even-tempered, calm and reliable;and then there's Marley, the subject of this delightful tribute to one Lab who doesn't fit the mold. (2005) |
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Helfer,
Ralph Modoc: The True Story of the Greatest Elephant That Ever Lived This is the true story of a remarkable animal, an elephant named Modoc, whose life spans eight decades and three continents. It is a tale of love, loss, and the spiritual bond between a man and his extraordinary nine thousand pound companion, accurately recounted by a well-known Hollywood animal behaviorist. (1997) |
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Herriot,
James All Creatures Great and Small This memoir of a countryside veterinarian is filled with humor, tale-telling, and a love of life, as he recollects and chronicles his experience in the Yorkshire region of England. (1972) |
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Hersey,
John Hiroshima Six individuals, survivors of the bombing of Hiroshima, reflect on life and why they were saved, in the midst of destruction. (1946) |
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Heyerdahl,
Thor Kon-Tiki Six remarkable men set out on a forty-foot raft to prove the scientific theory that the ancient peoples of Peru discovered and populated these Islands of Polynesia. This book records their adventures, beginning with the building of their raft, and following them across the South Pacific. (1950) |
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Hillenbrand,
Laura Seabiscuit A wonderfully written history of a horse and the misfit humans who cared for him, who saw his potential, and turned him into a horseracing legend for all time. (2001) |
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Kraske,
Robert Marooned The true survival story of Alexander Selkirk, the man who inspired Defoe's novel Robinson Crusoe. (2005) |
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Krakaur,
John Into Thin Air This is the definitive account of the deadliest season in the history of Everest by the acclaimed journalist and author of bestseller Into the Wild. (1997) |
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Lansing,
Alfred Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage Published in conjunction with the American Museum of Natural History's landmark exhibition on Shackleton's journey, Endurance thrillingly recounts on of the last great adventures in the heroic age of exploration--perhaps the greatest of them all. (1998) |
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LeGuin,
Ursula Dancing at the Edge of the World : Thoughts on Words, Women, Places This collection of lucid, incisive, warm and intelligent lectures, essays, journal entries, and reviews, by the award-winning fiction writer Ursula LeGuin, offers food for thought on a variety of topics, as well as excellent examples of a variety of writing styles. Humor and serious thought combine, providing a fascinating peek into the mind and thoughts of a remarkable woman. (1997) |
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Philbrick,
Nathaniel Revenge of the Whale or, In the Heart of the Sea Recounts the 1820 sinking of the whale ship "Essex" by an enraged sperm whale and how the crew of young men survived against impossible odds. The whale's attack on the Essex gave Herman Melville the idea for the climactic scene in Moby Dick. (2002) |
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Preston,
Richard Hot Zone A recent "best seller," this book recounts the events which identified the deadly Ebola virus in Africa, and traces the outbreak of a related strain here in the U.S. (1994) |
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Shanower,
Eric. Age of Bronze: A Thousand Ships A graphic novel, drawn from a variety of sources--ancient legends, medieval romances as well ascontemporary scholarship, and woven into a rich narrative--chronicles the events which started the Trojan War. Shanower won the Will Eisner Comics Industry Award for Best Writer/Artist for this extraordinary project. (2001) |
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Wolfe,
Tom The Right Stuff This book gives the inside story of the seven Mercury astronauts, America's first space heroes. (1980) |
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Blinn,
William Brian's Song This drama is based on the true story of courage and friendship between Brian Piccolo and Gayle Sayers, two players on the Chicago Bears football team. (1972) |
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Gibson,
William The Miracle Worker This powerful play depicts the education of Helen Keller and her relationship with her extraordinary teacher, Annie Sullivan. (1956) |
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Guerney,
A.R. The Dining Room This drama is a wry, compassionate portrait of family life in the American upper class, organized, both literally and metaphorically, around the family dining room. (1982) |
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Laurents,
Arthur West Side Story One of the most popular musical dramas of our time, this play is based on Romeo and Juliet, but strikingly retold, set in the inner city in modern times. (1957) |
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Medoff,
Mark Children of a Lesser God The sensitive drama tells of the love and growth of James Leeds, a speech teacher at the State School for the Deaf, and Sarah Norman, one of his students. (1980) |
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Shakespeare,
William The Taming of the Shrew A romantic comedy, this tale describes the "taming" of Katherine, whose sharp tongue and fiery temper make her impossible to wed. (c1593) |
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Shaw, George
Bernard Androcles and the Lion Based on a medieval European legend and set in classical times, this is the story of a runaway slave who is saved by a lion. (1912) |
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Simon,
Neil Brighton Beach Memoirs Meet Eugene Jerome and his family, fighting the hard times and sometimes each other - with laughter, tears, and love. It is 1937 in Brooklyn during the heart of the Depression. (1984) |
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Zindel,
Paul The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds This Pulitzer Prize-winning play centers on the Hunsdorfers: Tillie, her sister Ruth, and their mother Beatrice. Tillie studies the growth of flowers for a science project, in an effort to escape the bitterness of her family and surroundings. (1971) |
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Goldman,
William Princess Bride A spoof on historical romance, this adventure is a series of unbelievable feats and narrow escapes with a medieval setting. (1973) |
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Hamilton,
Virginia The People Could Fly This treasury of stories comprises of wonderful overview of African-American folktales: trickster tales, ghost and devil stories, as well as slave narratives. (1985) |
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Lester,
Julius The Tales of Uncle Remus Lively, humorous stories, this work represents a contemporary retelling of the adventures of Brer Rabbit and his friends. (1987) |
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Napoli,
Donna Jo Zel UpThis retelling of the story of Rapunzel is no simple fairy tale retold for the entertainment of children. Instead, it is a searing commentary on the evil that can result from human longings gone awry. Napoli sets the novel in 16th-century Switzerland and alternates the various characters' points of view. (1998) |
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Pyle, Howard
The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood This is the classic tale of Sherwood Forest’s legendary hero, as told by a local author and illustrator. (1883) |
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Quayle,
Eric The Shining Princess This is a rich and representative collection of Japanese legends comprising trickster tales, hero stories, and fables, drawn from the earliest known English translations of Japanese folklore. (1989) |
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Spinner,
Stephanie Quiver Greek gods and mortals spring to life in this riveting retelling of the myth of Atalanta, the fleet-footed girl warrior who could outrun any man in ancient Greece. (2002) |
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Springer,
Nancy I am Mordred Merlin, the great magician and prophet, has foretold the death of Arthur at the hands of his only son. When the boy Mordred discovers his own true identity, and the nature of his destiny, he struggles with feelings of hatred for his father, and also fights the fate, which determines that he should slay the good and gracious King of Camelot. (1998) |
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White,
T.H. The Sword in the Stone This tale of medieval pageantry and adventure is a classic retelling of the Legend of King Arthur, focusing on his boyhood training in the rules of chivalry. (1939) |
II Form Reading List (2nd Trimester only)
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Asgedon,
Mawi Of Beetles and Angels This is an autobiobraphy of a young boy, who arrived in this country at the age of seven, having fled the Eritrean and Ethiopian conflict; ultimately, his journey which began in a refugee camp takes him to an Ivy League campus, in fulfillment of the American Dream. (2001) |
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Beah,
Ishmael A Long Way Gone, Memoirs of a Boy Soldier This tale of medieval pageantry and adventure is a classic retelling of the Legend of King Arthur, focusing on his boyhood training in the rules of chivalry. (2007) |
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Adam Bagdasarian
Forgotten Fire Based on true stories, this is the story of one boy’s survival, set during the Turkish massacre of the Armenians in 1915. (2000) |
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Benanan,
Michael Men of Salt, Crossing the Sahara on the Caravan of White Gold A seasoned travel writer and veteran outdoorsman, Benanav siezes the opportunity to take part in a journey-through the brutal Tanezrouft region of the Sahara. This is his journey from Timbuktu, Mali, across an area four times the size of England, referred to alternately as "The Land of Thirst" and "The Land of Terror." (2006) |
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Clinton,
Catherine A Stone in my Hand Set in a Palestinian community in Gaza City during the intifada of 1988 and 1989, the author has created a moving story of courage, loss, personal growth, and familial love. (2002) |
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Farmer,
Nancy A Girl Named Disaster While journeying to Zimbabwe, eleven year old Nhamo struggles to escape drowning and starvation, and in so doing comes close to the luminous world of the African Spirits. (1996) |
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McCormick,
Patricia |
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Mortenson,
Greg |
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Nafizi,
Azar Reading Lolita in Tehran Every Thursday morning for two years in the Islamic Republic of Iran, a bold and inspired teacher named Azar Nafisi secretly gathered seven of her most committed female students to read forbidden Western classics. (2003) |
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Salzman,
Mark Iron and Silk This is a lively, funny, and moving account of a young Yale graduate's experiences teaching English, and learning everything else, in China. (1986) |
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Satrapi,
Marjane Persepolis In powerful black-and-white graphic novel, Satrapi autobiography tells the story of her life in Tehran from ages six to fourteen, years that saw the overthrow of the Shah's regime, the triumph of the Islamic Revolution, and the devastating effects of war with Iraq. (2003) |
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Staples,
Suzanne Fisher Shabanu When eleven-year old Shabanu, the daughter of a nomad in the Cholistan Desert of present-day Pakistan, is pledged in marriage to an older man whose money will bring prestige to the family, she must either accept the decision, as is the custom, or risk the consequences of defying her father's wishes. (1989) |
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Stewart,
Rory The Places in Between Just after the fall of the Taliban, a doughty Scot walks across Afghanistan from Herat to Kabul, observing, studying, starving, freezing, encountering poverty, cruelty, ignorance, generosity, warmth and terror. (2004) |
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Stratton,
Allan Chanda's Secrets When 16-year-old Chanda's baby sister dies, the middle siblings are told that she went "on a trip." Lies and secrets obscure death and suppress every hint of AIDS, which is running rampant through this small city.(2004) |
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Temple, Frances |
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Zenotti,
Valerie When I was a Soldier In this compelling memoir, Zenatti, first among her group of friends to be called for compulsory military service, chronicles two years of growing up in the Israeli army between 1988 and 1990. |