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Birdsall, Jeanne
THE PENDERWICKS
While vacationing with their widowed father in the Berkshire Mountains, four young sisters, ages four through twelve, share adventures with a local boy, much to the dismay of his snobbish mother. |
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Blume, Judy
BLUBBER
Jill goes along with the rest of the fifth-grade class in tormenting a classmate and then finds out what it is like when she, too, becomes a target. |
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Blume, Judy
TALES OF A FOURTH GRADE NOTHING *
Peter, who is tired of having to keep mischievous two-year-old Fudge out of trouble, discovers that his pet turtle is missing. |
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Cleary, Beverly
DEAR MR. HENSHAW
In his letters to his favorite author, ten-year-old Leigh reveals his problems in coping with his parents' divorce, being the new boy in school, and generally finding his own place in the world. |
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Clements, Andrew
THE REPORT CARD
Fifth-grader Nora Rowley has always hidden the fact that she is a genius from everyone because all she wants is to be normal, but when she comes up with a plan to prove that grades are not important, things begin to get out of control. |
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Danziger, Paula
P.S. LONGER LETTER LATER
Twelve-year-old best friends Elizabeth and Tara-Starr continue their friendship through letter-writing after Tara-Starr's family moves to another state. |
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Frazier, Sundee T.
BRENDAN BUCKLEY’S UNIVERSE AND EVERYTHING IN IT
Brendan Buckley, a biracial ten-year-old, applies his scientific ability and interest in rocks and minerals to connect with his white grandfather, and learn why he and Brendan's mother are estranged. |
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Gifford, Peggy
MOXY MAXWELL DOES NOT LOVE STUART LITTLE *
With summer coming to an end, soon-to-be-fourth-grader Moxy Maxwell does a hundred different things to avoid reading her assigned summer reading book. |
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Hannigan, Katherine
IDA B. – AND HER PLANS TO MAXIMIZE FUN, AVOID DISASTER
AND (POSSIBLY) SAVE THE WORLD
In Wisconsin, fourth-grader Ida B spends happy hours being homeschooled and playing in her family's apple orchard, until her mother begins treatment for breast cancer and her parents must sell part of the orchard and send her to public school. |
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Holm, Jennifer
MIDDLE SCHOOL IS WORSE THAN MEATLOAF
Told entirely through notes, grocery receipts, and a vast array of other items, this story follows Ginny as she accidentally dyes her hair pink, throws live frogs in class, and loses the lead role in ballet to her ex-best friend. |
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Korman, Gordon
SCHOOLED
After his hippie grandmother ends up in the hospital, Cap Anderson is forced to leave the commune where he is homeschooled and attend Claverage Middle School, where his odd looks and behavior make him the target of bullies. |
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Lin, Grace
THE YEAR OF THE DOG
Frustrated at her seeming lack of talent for anything, a young Taiwanese American girl sets out to apply the lessons of the Chinese Year of the Dog, those of making best friends and finding oneself, to her own life. |
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López, Diana
CONFETTI GIRL
After the death of her mother, Texas sixth-grader Lina's grades and mood drop as she watches her father lose himself more and more in books, while her best friend uses Lina as an excuse to secretly meet her boyfriend. |
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Lowry, Lois
ANASTASIA KRUPNIK *
Anastasia's 10th year has some good things like falling in love and really getting to know her grandmother and some bad things like finding out about an impending baby brother. |
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Mass, Wendy
EVERY SOUL A STAR
Ally, Bree, and Jack meet at the one place the Great Eclipse can be seen in totality, each carrying the burden of different personal problems, which become dim when compared to the task they embark upon and the friendship they find. |
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Naylor, Phyllis Reynolds
THE BOYS START THE WAR
Disgusted that a family with three girls moves into the house across the river, nine-year-old Wally and his three brothers declare a practical joke war on the girls. |
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O’Connor, Barbara
HOW TO STEAL A DOG
Georgina, who lives with her family in their car after their father leaves, persuades her younger brother to help her in a scheme to get money by stealing a dog and claiming the reward that the owners are bound to offer. |
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Paterson, Katherine
THE GREAT GILLY HOPKINS
An eleven-year-old foster child tries to cope with her longings and fears as she schemes against everyone who tries to be friendly. |
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Robinson, Barbara
THE BEST CHRISTMAS PAGEANT EVER
The six mean Herdman kids lie, steal, smoke cigars (even the girls) and then become involved in the community Christmas pageant. |
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Rockwell, Thomas
HOW TO EAT FRIED WORMS
A small boy is challenged by a friend to eat fifteen worms in fifteen days for fifty dollars. |
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Rylant, Cynthia
MISSING MAY
After the death of the beloved aunt who has raised her, twelve-year-old Summer and her uncle Ob leave their West Virginia trailer in search of the strength to go on living. |
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Spinelli, Jerry
EGGS
Mourning the loss of his mother, nine-year-old David forms an unlikely friendship with independent, quirky thirteen-year-old Primrose, as the two help each other deal with what is missing in their lives. |
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Spinelli, Jerry
LOSER
Even though his classmates from first grade on have considered him strange and a loser, Daniel Zinkoff's optimism and exuberance and the support of his loving family do not allow him to feel that way about himself. |
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Youth Services Librarians, 2010 |