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FICTION - REALISTIC
On My Honor (Marion Dane Bauer) Twelve-year-old Joel has unwillingly agreed to bike out to the state park with his daredevil friend Tony. "On his honour," he promises his father to be careful, knowing that Tony wants them to climb the dangerous park bluffs. When they arrive, however, Tony abruptly changes his mind and heads for the river. With his promise jangling in his mind, Joel follows Tony in for a swim. Tony drowns in the dirty, turbulent water, leaving Joel to face his guilty conscience, and his father, alone. 11+ A NEWBERY HONOR WINNER http://www.amazon.com/My-Honor-Marion-Dane-Bauer/dp/0440466334 (Cover different)
Bloomability (Sharon Creech) Dinnie is thirteen years old and has travelled all over the United States already. Her father is constantly looking for a good job that he enjoys, and Dinnie, her mom, her sister and her brother follow him from place to place. They get settled and comfortable, only to be uprooted and brought someplace new. Suddenly, though, Dinnie's aunt and uncle show up and take her away to a school in Switzerland where her uncle is going to be the headmaster. At first Dinnie feels like she has been kidnapped and she thinks of nothing but going home. But then gradually she gets to know the school and some of the students, and she actually begins to enjoy herself. She has new experiences and grows into a person more open to the world and better able to make decisions about her life. 10+ http://www.amazon.com/Bloomability-Sharon-Creech/dp/0330397842/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-4102143-1332717?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1190704415&sr=1-1
When Heroes Die (Penny Raife Durant) Devastated to discover that Uncle Rob, his hero, is dying of AIDS, twelve-year-old Gary, in need of advice and guidance in his life, finds that it is Uncle Rob himself who gives him strength to face the future. 11+ http://search.barnesandnoble.com/When-Heroes-Die/Penny-Raife-Durant/e/9780689718359/?itm=10
Tangerine (Edward Bloor So what if he's legally blind? Even with his bottle-thick, bug-eyed glasses, Paul Fisher can see better than most people. He can see the lies his parents and brother live out, day after day. No one ever listens to Paul, though--until the family moves to Tangerine. In Tangerine, even a blind, geeky, alien freak can become cool. Who knows? Paul might even become a hero! Edward Bloor's debut novel sparkles with wit, authenticity, unexpected plot twists, and heart. The writing is so fine, the story so triumphant, that you just might stand up and shout when you get to the end. Hooray! 10+ http://www.amazon.com/Tangerine-Edward-Bloor/dp/0439286034
Maniac Magee (Jerry Spinelli) Maniac Magee is a folk story about a boy, a very excitable boy. One that can outrun dogs, hit a home run off the best pitcher in the neighbourhood, tie a knot no one can undo. "Kid's gotta be a maniac," is what the folks in Two Mills say. It's also the story of how this boy, Jeffrey Lionel "Maniac" Magee, confronts racism in a small town, tries to find a home where there is none and attempts to soothe tensions between rival factions on the tough side of town. Presented as a folk tale, it's the stuff of storytelling. "The history of a kid," says Jerry Spinelli, "is one part fact, two parts legend, and three parts snowball." And for this kid, four parts of fun. 9-12 YO WINNER OF THE NEWBERY AWARD http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/s/jerry-spinelli/maniac-magee.htm Teaching site: http://www.emints.org/ethemes/resources/S00000596.shtml
Wringer (Jerry Spinelli) A story of peer pressure where nine-year-old Palmer dreads his upcoming 10th birthday. In his town, when boys are 10 years old they become "wringers," the boys who wring the necks of wounded pigeons at the annual Pigeon Day shoot. Palmer is sickened by the whole event. To make matters worse, his new buddies--Beans, Mutto, and Henry--have just discovered that Palmer has been hiding a pet pigeon in his room. What will Palmer do? Will he become a wringer to save face, or will he follow his heart? Will appeal to preteens and younger teens who love to read suspenseful books on their own, but it would also be a good story to read aloud to spark discussion about the perils and nuances of peer pressure. http://www.amazon.com/Wringer-Summer-Reading-Jerry-Spinelli/dp/0060739487/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1208124833&sr=1-1
Dear Mr. Henshaw (A SONLIGHT TITLE - Bev Cleary) Leigh Botts has been author Boyd Henshaw's number one fan ever since he was in second grade. Now in sixth grade, Leigh lives with his mother and is the new kid at school. He's lonely, troubled by the absence of his father, a cross-country trucker, and angry because a mysterious thief steals from his lunch bag. Then Leigh's teacher assigns a letter-writing project. Naturally Leigh chooses to write to Mr. Henshaw, whose surprising answer changes Leigh's life. 9+ NEWBERY MEDAL WINNER http://www.beverlycleary.com/books/0380709589.html (Cover art slightly different)
I See The Moon (C. B. Christiansen) Looking back to the summer she was 12, Bitte, the third child of a close-knit Norwegian-American family, relates a tale replete with complex familial emotions. Her sister Kari, who is 15 and pregnant, bravely decides, with her parents' support, to allow a kind, childless couple to adopt her baby. Bitte protests Kari's decision, feeling robbed of the chance to be a nurturing aunt. To ease household tension, their mother sends Bitte away for the last month of the pregnancy to stay with her Uncle Axel, whose beloved wife has been placed in a nursing home. It is the summer, too, when Bitte yearns to know the true nature of love; when she physically becomes a woman; and when, in witnessing her family's gentle strength in the face of change and loss, she gains insight into the meaning of happiness. 12+ http://cgi.ebay.ph/CHRISTIANSEN-C-B-I-SEE-THE-MOON_W0QQitemZ180225014446QQihZ008QQcategoryZ279QQcmdZViewItem
Rob’s Place (John Rowe Townsend) Rob, 11, is lonely and confused, and turns to an imaginary tropical island for solace after a series of changes: his parents' divorce, his mother's remarriage and new baby and his best friend's move leaves him friendless for the summer. 11+ http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/t/john-rowe-townsend/robs-place.htm
The Writing On The Wall (Lynne Reid Banks – author of “The Indian In The Cupboard”) A teenage girl takes a journey of self-discovery and unwittingly becomes involved in drug smuggling. 12+ http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/b/lynne-reid-banks/writing-on-wall.htm
The Pinballs (Betsy Byars) Three unwanted kids; “Pinballs”, as wisecracking Carly dubs them, collide in a warm and caring foster home and learn to pin their hopes on each other. 10+ http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/customer-images/0064401987/ref=cm_ciu_pdp_images_1?ie=UTF8&index=1#gallery
The Great Gilly Hopkins (Katherine Paterson – SONLIGHT CURRICULUM TITLE) Gilly Hopkins is a determined-to-be-unpleasant 11-year-old foster kid who the reader can't help but like by the end. Gilly has been in the foster system all her life, and she dreams of getting back to her (as she imagines) wonderful mother. (The mother makes these longings worse by writing the occasional letter.) Gilly is all the more determined to leave after she's placed in a new foster home with a "gross guardian and a freaky kid." But she soon learns about illusions--the hard way. This NEWBERY HONOR BOOK manages to treat a somewhat grim, and definitely grown-up theme with love and humour, making it a terrific read for a young reader who's ready to learn that "happy" and "ending" don't always go together. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/customer-images/0064402010/ref=cm_ciu_pdp_images_0?ie=UTF8&index=0#gallery