2. 1. “TheGiver”byLoisLowry
This haunting story centers on Jonas, who lives in a
seemingly ideal, if colorless, world of conformity and
contentment. Not until he’s given his life assignment
as the Receiver of Memory does he begin to
understand the dark, complex secrets behind his fragile
community.
3. 2.“TheCityofEmber”byJeanneDuPrau
Many hundreds of years ago, the City of Ember was created
by the Builders to contain everything needed for human
survival. It worked...but now the storerooms are almost out
of food, crops are blighted, corruption is spreading through
the city and worst of all--the lights are failing. Soon Ember
could be engulfed by darkness….
But when two children, Lina and Doon, discover fragments
of an ancient parchment, they begin to wonder if there
could be a way out of Ember. Can they decipher the words
from long ago and find a new future for everyone? Will the
people of Ember listen to them?
4. 3.“TheHobbit”byJ.R.R.Tolkien
If you care for journeys there and back, out of the comfortable Western world,
over the edge of the Wild, and home again, and can take an interest in a
humble hero (blessed with a little wisdom and a little courage and
considerable good luck), here is a record of such a journey and such a
traveler. The period is the ancient time between the age of Faerie and the
dominion of men, when the famous forest of Mirkwood was still standing, and
the mountains were full of danger. In following the path of this humble
adventurer, you will learn by the way (as he did)--if you do not already know
about all these things--much about trolls, goblins, dwarves, and elves, and get
some glimpses into the history and politics of a neglected but important
period. For Mr. Bilbo Baggins visited various notable persons; conversed with
the dragon, Smaug the Magnificent; and was present, rather unwillingly, at the
Battle of the Five Armies. This is all the more remarkable, since he was a
hobbit. Hobbits have hitherto been passed over in history and legend,
perhaps because they as a rule preferred comfort to excitement. But this
account, based on his personal memoirs, of the one exciting year in the
otherwise quiet life of Mr. Baggins will give you a fair idea of the estimable
people now (it is said) becoming rather rare. They do not like noise.
5. 4.“BentwhistletheDragoninaThreatfromthePast”byPaulCude
Bentwhistle the Dragon in a Threat from the Past is an adventure
story children and adults alike will love, about the present day world
in which dragons disguised as humans have infiltrated the human
race at almost every level, to guide and protect them. Three young
dragons in their human guises become caught up in an evil plot to
steal a precious commodity, vital to the dragon community. How will
the reluctant hero and his friends fare against an enemy of his race
from far in the past? Fascinating insights into the dragon world are
interspersed throughout the book. Ever wondered how dragons
travel below ground at almost the speed of sound? Or how they use
magical mantras to transform their giant bodies into convincing
human shapes? In an action packed adventure that features both
human and dragon sports, you’ll get a dragon-like perspective on
human social issues…. You’d be flamin’ mad to miss it.
6. 5.“Culloo”byMurielleCyr
Tough and resourceful Tala will be 13 soon, and no one will
tell her what to do. On one fateful day in the forest,
however, she has to find her endangered father and protect
her younger brother from a trio of murderous poachers. All
the while, she and her brother may have to face the forest’s
legendary keepers--the deceptively playful characters
known as the Stone People, and a giant black bird known
and feared as Culloo.
7. 6.“Stargirl”byJerrySpinelli
From the day she arrives at quiet Mica High in a burst of
color and sound, hallways hum “Stargirl.” She captures Leo
Borlock’s heart with one smile. She sparks a school-spirit
revolution with one cheer. The students of Mica High are
enchanted. Until they are not. Leo urges her to become the
very thing that can destroy her--normal.
8. 7.“WheretheRedFernGrows”byWilsonRawls
Billy has long dreamt of owning not one, but two, dogs.
So when he’s finally able to save up enough money for
two pups to call his own--Old Dan and Little Ann--he’s
ecstatic. It doesn’t matter that times are tough; together
they’ll roam the hills of the Ozarks.
Soon Billy and his hounds become the finest hunting
team in the valley. Stories of their great achievements
spread throughout the region, and the combination of Old
Dan’s brawn, Little Ann’s brains, and Billy’s sheer will
seems unbeatable. But tragedy awaits these determined
hunters--now friends--and Billy learns that hope can grow
out of despair, and that the seeds of the future can come
from the scars of the past.
9. 8.“Hoot”byCarlHiaasen
The story takes place in Coconut Cove, Florida, where
new arrival Roy makes a bad enemy, two oddball
friends, and joins an effort to stop construction of a
pancake house which would destroy a colony of
burrowing owls who live on the site.
10. 9.“FromtheMixed-UpFilesofMrs.BasilE.Frankweiler”byE.L.Konigsburg
When suburban Claudia Kincaid decides to run away, she knows
she doesn’t just want to run from somewhere, she wants to run to
somewhere--to a place that is comfortable, beautiful, and
preferably, elegant. She chooses the Metropolitan Museum of Art
in New York City. Knowing her younger brother Jamie has money
and thus can help her with a serious cash-flow problem, she
invites him along.
Once settled into the museum, Claudia and Jamie find themselves
caught up in the mystery of an angel statue that the museum
purchased at auction for a bargain price of $225. The statue is
possibly an early work of the Renaissance master, Michelangelo,
and therefore worth millions. Is it? Or isn’t it?
Claudia is determined to find out. Her quest leads her to Mrs.
Basil E. Frankweiler, the remarkable old woman who sold the
statue, and to some equally remarkable discoveries about herself.
11. 10.“AWrinkleinTime”byMadeleineL’Engle
It was a dark and stormy night; Meg Murry, her small brother
Charles Wallace, and her mother had come down to the kitchen
for a midnight snack when they were upset by the arrival of a
most disturbing stranger.
“Wild nights are my glory,” the unearthly stranger told them. “I
just got caught in a downdraft and blown off course. Let me be
on my way. Speaking of way, by the way, there is such a thing
as a tesseract.”
Meg’s father had been experimenting with this fifth dimension
of time travel when he mysteriously disappeared. Now the time
has come for Meg, her friend Calvin, and Charles Wallace to
rescue him. But can they outwit the forces of evil they will
encounter on their heart-stopping journey through space?
