Non-fiction

Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World: The Extraordinary True Story of Shackleton and the Endurance, by Jennifer Armstrong
Describes the events of the 1914 Shackleton Antarctic expedition when, after being trapped in a frozen sea for nine months, their ship, Endurance, was finally crushed, forcing Shackleton and his men to make a very long and perilous journey to reach inhabited land.

September 11: We Will Never Forget, by Peter Benoit
Describes the events leading to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 and discusses how they have shaped the nation.

The Great and Only Barnum: The Tremendous, Stupendous Life of Showman P.T. Barnum, by Candace Fleming
It is unlikely that Barnum ever actually said "There's a sucker born every minute," but he freely admitted to being a master of the "humbug"-a spectacle that both fooled and entertained the public. This highly readable biography uses primary sources, including Barnum's own words, to trace the man's roller-coaster life from his boyhood in Connecticut to his early career as the creator of the country's most famous "museums" (comparable to sideshows) to his later role as the master of enormously successful circuses, winning and losing several fortunes along the way. This book goes beyond traditional biography to give students an objective and informative glimpse into the sometimes-exploitative world of 19th-century entertainment.

Witches!: The Absolutely True Tale of Disaster in Salem, by Rosalyn Schanzer (audio CD available)
With a powerful narrative, chilling primary source accounts, a design evoking the period, and stylized black-white-and-red scratchboard illustrations of young girls having wild fits in the courtroom, witches flying overhead, and the Devil and his servants terrorizing the Puritans, this book will rivet young readers with novelistic power.

The Duel: the Parallel Lives of Alexander Hamilton & Aaron Burr, by Judith St. George
Murder, mystery, illegal actions, and running from the law--this book has all the makings of a current great action thriller, but the setting is actually over 100 years ago. Most history students will have heard of the famous duel between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr, but not as many will be familiar with the parallel lives they led prior to this famous event. In an interesting way, these two men followed very similar paths from being orphaned, to studying hard in college, to fighting in the war, to choosing the paths of law and politics. They developed a friendship, but ended up enemies.

Sisters, by Raina Telgemeier. (Graphic Novel) (eBook)
Raina can't wait to be a big sister. But once Amara is born, things aren't quite how she expected them to be. Amara is cute, but she's also a cranky, grouchy baby, and mostly prefers to play by herself. Their relationship doesn't improve much over the years, but when a baby brother enters the picture and later, something doesn't seem right between their parents, they realize they must figure out how to get along. They are sisters, after all. Raina uses her signature humor and charm in both present-day narrative and perfectly placed flashbacks to tell the story of her relationship with her sister, which unfolds during the course of a road trip from their home in San Francisco to a family reunion in Colorado.

Fiction

Firegirl, by Tony Abbott (audio CD available)
"...there is..." Mrs. Tracy was saying quietly, "there is something we need to know about Jessica..." From this moment on, life is never quite the same for Tom and his seventh-grade classmates. They learn that Jessica has been in a fire and was badly burned, and will be attending St. Catherine's while getting medical treatments. Despite her horrifying appearance and the fear she evokes in him and most of the class, Tom slowly develops a tentative friendship with Jessica that changes his life.

Tangerine, by Edward Bloor  (audio available)
Twelve-year-old Paul, who lives in the shadow of his football hero brother Erik, fights for the right to play soccer despite his near blindness and slowly begins to remember the incident that damaged his eyesight.

Skeleton Creek, by Patrick Carman (choose ANY in the series)
Strange things are happening in Skeleton Creek . . . and Ryan and Sarah are trying to get to the heart of it. But after an eerie accident leaves Ryan housebound and forbidden to see Sarah, their investigation takes two tracks: Ryan records everything in his journal, while Sarah uses her videocam to search things out. . .and then email the clips for Ryan to see. In a new, groundbreaking format, the story is broken into two parts -- Ryan's text in the book, and Sarah's videos on a special website, with links and passwords given throughout the book.

Gregor the Overlander, by Suzanne Collins (or ANY other title in the series) (audio available)
Eleven-year-old Gregor and his little sister fall down a rabbit hole-like air duct; what awaits them at the bottom is no tea party. The strange inhabitants of this nightmarish land are convinced that Gregor is the warrior spoken of in a centuries-old prophecy who will prevent their annihilation by gigantic rats. Collins sends a reluctant Gregor on the classic hero's journey in this fast-paced, immensely satisfying narrative.

A Tale Dark and Grimm OR In a Glass Grimmly OR The Grimm Conclusion, by Adam Gidwitz (audio available)
In this mischievous and utterly original debut, Hansel and Gretel walk out of their own story and into eight other classic Grimm-inspired tales. As readers follow the siblings through a forest brimming with menacing foes, they learn the true story behind (and beyond) the bread crumbs, edible houses, and outwitted witches. Fairy tales have never been more irreverent or subversive as Hansel and Gretel learn to take charge of their destinies and become the clever architects of their own happily ever after.

The Missing by Margaret Peterson Haddix (choose ANY in the series) (audio available)
In the author’s latest science-fiction series, 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.

A Wrinkle in Time: The Graphic Novel, by Hope Larson
A graphic novel adaptation of the Newbery Award-winning classic tale in which 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.

The White Giraffe, by Lauren St. John (audio available)
After her parents' death in a fire, Martine leaves England for her grandmother's South African game reserve, where she befriends a near-mythical white giraffe and discovers her own powers as a healer. Martine's courage is then tested when poachers capture the giraffe.

Switched at Birthday, by Natalie Standiford
Lavender sees herself as the miserable but tough outsider at school, while Scarlet knows she is talented and popular, but insecure on the inside--then, on their mutual thirteenth birthday, they wake up in each other's bodies and are forced to learn what it means to walk in someone else's shoes.

Timothy of the Cay, by Theodore Taylor
Having survived being blinded and shipwrecked on a tiny Caribbean island with the old black man Timothy, twelve-year-old white Phillip is rescued and hopes to regain his sight with an operation. Alternate chapters follow the life of Timothy from his days as a young cabin boy.

Flipped, by Wendelin VanDraanen (audio and large print available)
From the moment seven-year-old Bryce moves into the neighborhood, Julianna is enthralled: "It's his eyes . . . they're dazzling."Bryce, on the other hand, is horrified. In typical second-grade boy fashion, he believes that "All I've ever wanted is for Juli Baker to leave me alone."Six years later, however, the two have flipped: now Bryce is enthralled with Juli's uniqueness, and Juli is repulsed by Bryce's selfish immaturity.