Amber Was Brave, Essie Was Smart: The Story of Amber and Essie Told Here in Poems and Pictures
by Vera B. Williams
In a series of 28 unrhymed poems and an album of pictures and drawings, Amber and Essie talk about their life and struggles that revolve around the "big family secret."
Ages 7-11; Greenwillow

Angel on the Square by Gloria Whelan
Kataya lives on the fringes of a life of luxury in Czarist Russia and has an insider’s view of the fall of the empire.
Ages 8-12; HarperCollins

Belle Teal by Ann M. Martin
Fifth-grader Belle copes with living in Coker Creek in the ‘60s with a Mama that works several jobs, a Gran whose memory is fading fast, a new girl that taunts her, and a dangerous friendship with the only African American boy in school.
Ages 10-14; Scholastic

Dancing in Cadillac Light by Kimberly Willis Holt
Eleven-year-old Jaynelle Lambert thinks she knows everything about her family, but her grandfather’s death reveals painful secrets and a chance to overcome the past.
Ages 10-12; Putnam

The Demon in the Teahouse by Dorothy Hoobler and
Thomas Hoobler
Seikei solves the mystery of who is killing the geishas in this fast-paced mystery set in 18th century Japan, but not before he is accused of setting a fire.
Ages 10-13; Philomel

Everything on a Waffle by Polly Horvath
Eleven-year old optimist Primrose Squarp refuses to believe she has lost her parents in a typhoon.
Ages 9-12; Farrar, Straus & Giroux

How Tía Lola Came to Visit Stay by Julia Alvarez
Flamboyant Tía Lola is just the right remedy for ten-year-old Miguel, his sister and their Mami after the divorce.
Ages 8-11; Knopf

Judy Moody Gets Famous! by Megan McDonald;
illustrated by Peter Reynolds
J-E-A-L-O-U-S, that’s the latest mood Judy is in since her arch enemy is the spelling bee queen. Will Judy ever get her fifteen minutes of fame?
Ages 7-12; Candlewick Press

Love That Dog by Sharon Creech
It is Jack’s belief that boys don’t write poetry, however a savvy teacher and a yellow dog change his mind.
Ages 9-13; HarperCollins/Joanna Cotler Books

The Man Who Wore All His Clothes by Allan Ahlberg;
illustrated by Katharine McEwen
In this fun-filled and zany story, the Gaskitts, an unpredictable family of four, manage in their own way to foil a robbery.
Ages 6-8; Candlewick Press

Racing the Past by Sis Deans
Now that his violent, alcoholic father is dead, Ricky’s life should be easier, but bullies from school won’t let him forget that he and his family are "white trash."
Ages 9-12; Henry Holt

A Series of Unfortunate Events Series by Lemony Snicket
In this fast-paced series meet the Beaudelaire orphans, a rather wealthy but unlucky bunch, who face danger and adventure, gloom and doom, and the arch villain Count Olaf at every turn they take. The series titles for this year include: The Ersatz Elevator, The Vile Village and The Hostile Hospital.
Ages 10 and up; HarperCollins