Recommended Reading
Ages 9 - 12
Bless This Mess
by Lois Lowry
illustrated by Eric Rohmann
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Fiction
ISBN: 9780547390093
Ages 9-12
160 pages
Hildegarde is no run-of-the-mill mouse. In fact, some might call her a saint. As Mouse Mistress at Saint Bartholomew's church, Hildegarde is responsible for keeping safe and hidden all the mice that live there, including Lucretia, a jealous mouse who tries to undermine Hildegarde's authority whenever she can.
Lost and Found: Three
by Shaun Tan
Arthur A. Levine Books/Scholastic
Fiction/Illustrated Short Stories
ISBN: 9780545229241
Ages 10-up
128 pages
The Lost Thing won Best Animated Short at this year's Academy Awards. This huge honor coincides with the release of LOST & FOUND, a collection of Shaun Tan's early picture books that includes the story on which the film is based, along with THE RED TREE and THE RABBITS.
Words in the Dust
by Trent Reedy
Arthur A. Levine Books/Scholastic
Fiction
ISBN: 9780545261258
Ages 9-up
272 pages
A quiet, severely disfigured Afghan girl experiences a promising vision of her nation's future when American troops occupy her desert village and arrange surgery for her cleft lip. Based on an enlightening true story, WORDS IN THE DUST tells of a shy 13-year-old and how much her life changes because of the simple kindness of a few concerned American soldiers. Reviewed by Melanie Smith and excerpted.
The Visconti House
by Elsbeth Edgar
Candlewick Press
Mystery
ISBN: 9780763650193
Ages 9-up
304 pages
(Mystery)
An enthusiastic Australian teen becomes infatuated with a mystery surrounding an old-world home that she and her family have moved into. The importance of fitting in loses its appeal once Laura finds a kindred spirit and partner with whom she can share her discoveries. Reviewed by Melanie Smith.
Charlie Bones and the Red Knight
by: Jenny Nimmo
Orchard
Fiction
ISBN: 9780439846721
Ages 9-12
480 pages
Charlie and his friends take on the most powerful and dangerous magic in Book Eight of this extraordinary series. As wicked forces come to a head at Bloor's Academy, Charlie and his friends must use all their magic and all their might to fight the evil and save Charlie's parents. In his greatest adventure yet, Charlie must discover the fate of his family. the evil intentions of the Bloors, what has become of Septimus Bloor's will, and, most important, the destiny of the Red King's heirs. But are the Children of the Red King strong enough to defeat the darkness to find the answers?
Warrior: Bluestar's Prophecy
by Erin Hunter
HarperCollins
Fiction
ISBN: 006158250
Ages 9-12
560 pages
You are fire, and You will blaze through the forest
Bluestar—leader of ThunderClan—has been prophesied to guide her Clan to power in a time of great turmoil. But closely guarded secrets from the past haunt her every paw step, and dark shadows whisper in her ears. Will she protect her Clan? Or collapse under the weight of her destiny?
The Indian In The Cupboard
by Lynne Reid Banks
Yearling
Fiction
ISBN: 9780375847530
Ages 9-12
240 pages
What could be better than a magic cupboard that turns small toys into living creatures? Omri's big brother has no birthday present for him, so he gives Omri an old medicine cabinet he's found. Although their mother supplies a key, the cabinet still doesn't seem like much of a present. But when an exhausted Omri dumps a plastic toy Indian into the cabinet just before falling asleep, the magic begins. Turn the key once and the toy comes alive; turn it a second time and it's an action figure again.
The Indian in the Cupboard is one of those rare books that is equally appealing to children and adults. The story of Omri and the Indian, Little Bear, is replete with subtle reminders of the responsibilities that accompany friendship and love.
Molly Moon's Increadible Book Of Hypnotism
by Georgia Bying
HarperCollins
Fiction
ISBN:9780060514099
Ages 9-12
384 pages
Orphan Molly Moon is unloved and unlovely. The other children pick on her, as do the mean-spirited women who run Hardwick House Orphanage. Molly occasionally escapes to the Briersville library to avoid them all. One day she finds a mysterious tome on hypnotism hidden in the stacks and discovers her real talent. With her newfound skill, she is able to change her luck and her life, getting out of the orphanage to win the local talent competition and ending up in New York City, where she hypnotizes the entire city into making her a child star. However, evil Professor Nockman will stop at nothing to get the book. A flashy, holographic cover will attract readers.
Sammy Keyes And The Cold Hard Cash
by Wendelin Van Draanen
Yearling
Fiction
ISBN: 9780440421139
Ages 9-12
Sammy Keyes is back, living her second 13th summer because her mother lied on her birth certificate to get her into school early. After two years of sneaking up and down the fire escape at the seniors-only residence where she lives with her grandmother, one would suppose that Sammy would not meet misadventure on her unique entrance to her home. But that's what happens when she assumes she has scared an elderly man to death after he has her toss three bundles of money into the bushes below. That event provides the mystery, and Sammy is off sleuthing again. The money is both trouble and a temptation as she retrieves it, keeps it secret, and spends it at the mall, buying her friend Marissa a bathing suit and giving some to Gram. Sammy is a whirlwind of activity, and the pacing is uneven as she spies on her friends from previous books, spies on elderly suspects, purchases a camera for sleuthing purposes, and gets a disguise.
The Trouble With Chicken: A J.J. Tully Mystery
by Doreen Cronin
illustrated by Kevin Cornell
Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins
Mystery
ISBN: 9780061215322
Ages; 7-11
128 pages
J.J. Tully is a former search-and-rescue dog who is trying to enjoy his retirement after years of performing daring missions saving lives. So he's not terribly impressed when two chicks named Dirt and Sugar and their chicken mom show up demanding his help in finding their missing siblings. Driven by the promise of a cheeseburger, J.J. begins to track down clues.
The City of Ember (Books of Ember)
by Jeanne DuPrau
Yearling
ISBN: 9780385736282
Ages: 9-12
288 Pages
It is always night in the city of Ember. But there is no moon, no stars. The only light during the regular twelve hours of "day" comes from flood lamps that cast a yellowish glow over the streets of the city. Beyond are the pitch-black Unknown Regions, which no one has ever explored because an understanding of fire and electricity has been lost, and with it the idea of a Moveable Light. "Besides," they tell each other, "there is nowhere but here" Among the many other things the people of Ember have forgotten is their past and a direction for their future. For 250 years they have lived pleasantly, because there has been plenty of everything in the vast storerooms. But now there are more and more empty shelves--and more and more times when the lights flicker and go out, leaving them in terrifying blackness for long minutes. What will happen when the generator finally fail?
More wonderful book titles for children ages 9-12...
| Author | Title |
|---|---|
| Baglio, Ben | Animal Ark |
| Benton, Jeff | Franny K. Stein (Series) |
| Blume, Judy | Double Fudge |
| Blume, Judy | Freckle Juice |
| Blume, Judy | Superfudge |
| Bruel, Nick | Happy Birthday Bad Kitty |
| Bruel, Nick | Bad Kitty Gets A Bath |
| Cleary, Beverly | Ramona (Series) |
| Chandler, Gertrude | Boxcar Children (Series) |
| Clements, Andrew | No Talking |
| Clements, Andrew | The Report Card |
| Clements, Andrew | The Landry News |
| Clements, Andrew | Findle |
| Covelle, Bruce & Lippincott, Gary | Jeremy Thatcher |
| Covelle, Bruce & Lippincott, Gary | Dragon Hatcher |
| Collins, Suzanne | The Hunger Games |
| Dadey, Debbie | Bailey School Kids (Series) |
| Dahl, Roald | The BFG |
| DiCamilla, Kate | Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane |
| Downing-Hahn, Mary | Deep and Dark and Dangerous |
| Erskine, Katherine | Mockingbird |
| Gaiman, Neil and Helquist, Brett | Odd and the Frost Giant |
| Greenburg, Dan | Dripping Fang (Series) |
| Gutman, Dan | Baseball Card Adventure ( Series) |
| Hunter, Erin | Warriors (Series) |
| Howe, James | Bunnicula (Series) |
| Juster, Norton | The Phantom Tollbooth |
| Kinney, Jeffery | Diary of a Wimpy Kid |
| Larson, Kirby | The Fences Between Us: The Dairy of Piper Davis |
| Law, Ingrid | Savvy |
| Lindgren, Astrid | Pippi Longstocking |
| Lindgren, Astrid | Ronia the Robber’s Daughter |
| Lowry, Lois | Gooney Bird Greene (Series) |
| Lowry, Lois | The Willoughby’s |
| McDonald, Megan | Judy Moody (Series) |
| McDonald, Megan | Stink (Series) |
| McMullan, Kate | Dragon Slayers’ Academy |
| Mortenson, Greg | Three Cups of Tea |
| Pleasant Company | American Girls (Series) |
| Ren-Wright, Betty | Ghosts Beneath Our Feet |
| Roy, Ron | A-Z Mysteries |
| Sachar, Louis | Holes |
| Sachar, Louis | There’s A Boy In The Girl’s Bathroom |
| Schmidt, Gary D. | Okay for Now |
| Snicket, Lemony | Lemony Snicket (Series) |
| Stephens, John | The Emerald Atlas (Books of Beginning Series 1) |
| McCall-Smith, Alexander | Akimbo (Series) |
| McCall-Smith, Alexander | Max and Maddy Mystery (Series) |
| McCall-Smith, Alexander | The Five Lost Aunts of Harriet Bean |
| King-Smith, Dick | Mouse Call Wolf |
| King-Smith, Dick | Babe |
| Geronimo Stilton | Geronimo Stilton (Series) |
| Urban, Linda | A Crooked Kind of Perfect |
| White, E.B. | Charlotte’s Web and Stuart Little |