Books for 5th and 6th Graders, Summer 2008 J/F/BECK Beck, IanThe Secret History of Tom Trueheart Tom goes to the Land of Stories to find his six brothers, who have vanished during their fairy tale adventures. If Tom can outsmart a hungry giant and a scheming fiend, he might just be able to save them. 341 p. J/F/BRADLEY Bradley, Kimberly BrubakerThe Lacemaker and the Princess When Isabelle makes friends with Marie Antoinette’s daughter, she spends her mornings laboring to make lace to support her poor family and her afternoons entertaining the princess at the palace. However, France is a very dangerous place in 1788, and Isabelle may be in more danger at the palace than in the slums of Paris. 199 p. J/F/COX Cox, JudyMystery of the Burmese Bandicoot Two classroom rats escape from their school and embark on a wild adventure in search of a mysterious jewel. 246 p. J/F/CREECH Creech, SharonThe Castle Corona Pia and Enzio, two peasant children, find an odd bundle near a castle. They are whisked away to the palace to become tasters for the king, who is convinced of a plot against his family. 320 p. J/F/CURTIS Curtis, Christopher PaulElijah of Buxton Elijah does his best to help others in his home of Buxton, a free black community in Canada. But Elijah may be in over his head when he tries to help slaves illegally cross over from the states. 341 p. J/F/DOWD Dowd, SiobhanThe London Eye Mystery Salim goes for a ride on the London Eye, the world’s largest Ferris wheel. When the ride is over, Salim isn’t there. Has he vanished into thin air, been kidnapped, or run away? His cousins Ted and Kat frantically try to find him. 322 p. J/F/EASON Eason, AletheaHungry Deborah and her family look perfectly normal but they are really aliens, on Earth to search out a new food source for their home planet. Feeding time is fast approaching and Deborah’s parents insist that she eat her neighbor, and possible boyfriend, Willie. 197 p. J/F/FRENCH French, JackieRover Hekja’s village is raided by Vikings and she is captured and taken to Greenland. There, she must begin a new life as a slave. 283 p. J/F/GREEN Green, TimFootball Genius Troy discovers that he has the ability to predict what plays will be run during football games. He wants to share his gift with his favorite team, the Atlanta Falcons, but he can’t get anyone to believe him. 244 p. J/F/KINNEY Kinney, JeffDiary of a Wimpy Kid: Greg Heffley’s Journal Greg relates the trials and tribulations of his life in middle school through funny stories and drawings. 217 p. J/F/Korman Korman, GordonSwindle Griffin finds an old Babe Ruth baseball card and takes it to a hobby shop where he’s told that the card isn’t very valuable. When Griffin discovers that he has been swindled, he schemes to get the card back. 252 p. J/F/LEVIN Levin, BettyThe Unmaking of Duncan Veerick Duncan helps an ailing neighbor hide her valuables from her greedy nephew, but when she dies unexpectedly no one believes that Duncan was just trying to help. 212 p. J/F/MOLONEY Moloney, JamesThe Book of Lies When Robert wakes up in a strange orphanage, all he is sure of is that his name is not Robert. For some unknown reason, his memories have been erased and replaced with new ones from the powerful and dangerous Book of Lies. 360 p. J/F/NEWBERY Newbery, LindaAt the Firefly Gate Henry moves to an English village and sees a mysterious stranger who seems to be from another time. He becomes convinced this stranger is the ghost of a navigator lost during an air battle in World War II. 152 p. J/F/NIMMO Nimmo, JennyThe Snow Spider Gwyn’s grandmother suspects that he has inherited magical powers from his Welsh ancestors. She gives him five mysterious gifts that will help him break the family’s curse. 146 p. J/F/PREVOST Prevost, GuillaumeThe Book of Time Ten days ago Sam’s dad disappeared. Ten minutes ago Sam found a secret room. Five minutes ago he found a book about Dracula’s Castle. Two minutes ago Sam found a way to travel through time…to find his dad. 213 p. J/F/SALISBURY Salisbury, GrahamNight of the Howling Dogs Dylan leads his Boy Scout troop on an overnight backpacking trip into a remote area in Hawaii, unaware that a powerful earthquake and tsunami are about to strike. 191 p. J/F/SHEARER Shearer, AlexCanned While collecting tin cans Fergal is astonished to find a human finger. When he finds a note asking for help in a second can, he and his friend Charlotte investigate. 237 p. J/F/SPRINGER Springer, NancyThe Case of the Left-Handed Lady Sherlock Holmes’ much-younger sister Enola dons various disguises to solve the case of a missing socialite. Enola isn’t afraid to risk the dangerous nighttime streets of Victorian London as she searches for the missing teen. 234 p. J/F/STEWART Stewart, Trenton LeeThe Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey Reynie, Sticky, Kate, and Constance reconvene the Mysterious Benedict Society when Mr. Benedict disappears. 430 p. J/F/TARSHIS Tarshis, LaurenEmma-Jean Lazarus Fell Out of a Tree For Emma-Jean, science is easy but friendships aren’t. She’s spent most of her time in school observing her classmates. Everything changes when she walks into the bathroom and sees Colleen crying. 199 p. J/F/THOMSON Thomson, Sarah L.Dragon’s Egg Mella discovers a dragon’s egg and sets out on a dangerous journey to return it to the dragons’ faraway homeland. 267 p. J/F/VERRILLO Verrillo, Erica F.Elissa’s Quest Elissa’s father whisks her away to the desert to trade her for soldiers that will help him win a war. In order to avoid this fate, Elissa uses her talent as an animal-speaker to help her escape. 336 p. J/F/URBAN Urban, LindaA Crooked Kind of Perfect Zoe’s dream to play piano at Carnegie Hall is complicated when her dad buys her an old electric organ instead of a baby grand piano. 213 p. J/F/WILSON Wilson, N.D.100 Cupboards Henry is awoken by a strange thumping in his new bedroom. After chipping away the plaster, he finds a wall full of cupboards, able to take him to take him to new, magical places. But he’d better watch out for that dark, evil cupboard over in the corner… 289 p. Prepared by Diane Jakosz, Suzanne Thomas, Sharon Hrycewicz, May 2008