• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

    by Roald Dahl Year Published: 2004 Fiction 810L

    Willy Wonka's famous chocolate factory is opening at last!

    But only five lucky children will be allowed inside. And the winners are: Augustus Gloop, an enormously fat boy whose hobby is eating; Veruca Salt, a spoiled-rotten brat whose parents are wrapped around her little finger; Violet Beauregarde, a dim-witted gum-chewer with the fastest jaws around; Mike Teavee, a toy pistol-toting gangster-in-training who is obsessed with television; and Charlie Bucket, Our Hero, a boy who is honest and kind, brave and true, and good and ready for the wildest time of his life!

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  • Steal Away Home

    by Lois Ruby Year Published: 1999 Historical Fiction 890L

    When Dana uncovers a skeleton hidden in the wall of her home, she also uncovers a dark secret that stretches back years.

    When twelve-year-old Dana Shannon starts to strip away wallpaper in her family’s old house, she’s unprepared for the surprise that awaits her. A hidden room—containing a human skeleton! How did such a thing get there? And why was the tiny room sealed up?

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  • Blood on the River

    by Elisa Carbone Year Published: 2007 Historical Fiction 820L

    Twelve-year-old Samuel Collier is a lowly commoner on the streets of London. So when he becomes the page of Captain John Smith and boards the Susan Constant, bound for the New World, he can’t believe his good fortune. He’s heard that gold washes ashore with every tide. But beginning with the stormy journey and his first contact with the native people, he realizes that the New World is nothing like he imagined. The lush Virginia shore where they establish the colony of James Town is both beautiful and forbidding, and it’s hard to know who’s a friend or foe. As he learns the language of the Algonquian Indians and observes Captain Smith’s wise diplomacy, Samuel begins to see that he can be whomever he wants to be in this new land.

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  • Can’t You Make Them Behave, King George?

    by Jean Fritz Year Published: 1996 Nonfiction 800L

    This entertaining volume, by Newbery Honor-winning author Jean Fritz, sheds light on the life of England's King George III. 

    It begins when he was a bashful boy who blushed easily, goes on to his early days as king, and finally examines his role in the American Revolution - when Americans ceased to think of him as good King George. Fascinating history made accessible for young readers.

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  • Tangerine

    by Edward Bloor Year Published: 2006 Fiction 680L

    Paul Fisher sees the world from behind glasses so thick he looks like a bug-eyed alien. But he’s not so blind that he can’t see there are some very unusual things about his family’s new home in Tangerine County, Florida. Where else does a sinkhole swallow the local school, fire burn underground for years, and lightning strike at the same time every day?

     

    The chaos is compounded by constant harassment from his football–star brother, and adjusting to life in Tangerine isn’t easy for Paul—until he joins the soccer team at his middle school. With the help of his new teammates, Paul begins to discover what lies beneath the surface of his strange new hometown. And he also gains the courage to face up to some secrets his family has been keeping from him for far too long. In Tangerine, it seems, anything is possible.

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  • My Life as a Book

    by Janet Tashjian Year Published: 2011 Fiction 880L

    Summer's finally here, and Derek Fallon is looking forward to pelting the UPS truck with water balloons, climbing onto the garage roof, and conducting silly investigations. But when his parents decide to send him to Learning Camp, Derek's dreams of fun come to an end. Ever since he's been labeled a "reluctant reader," his mom has pushed him to read "real" books-something other than his beloved Calvin & Hobbes.


    As Derek forges unexpected friendships and uncovers a family secret involving himself (in diapers! no less), he realizes that adventures and surprises are around the corner, complete with curve balls. My Life as a Book is a 2011 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.

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  • George Washington’s Socks

    by Elvira Woodruff Year Published: 1993 Nonfiction 840L

    Elvira Woodruff's million-copy seller, GEORGE WASHINGTON'S SOCKS, returns in time for the book's anticipated HC sequel -- Ben Franklin's Boots!

    A mysterious rowboat transports five adventurous kids back in time to the eve of the Battle at Trenton where they experience the American Revolution. Through encounters with Hessian soldiers, revolutionaries, and even George Washington himself, Matthew, Quentin, Hooter, Tony, and Katie watch history unfold before their eyes as they see first-hand, the grim realities of war and the cost of freedom.

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  • The Amazing Life of Benjamin Franklin

    by James Cross Giblin Year Published: 2006 Nonfiction 880L

    Now available in paperback for the first time, James Cross Giblin and Michael Dooling tell the story of the man known as the "wisest American."

    Benjamin Franklin was one of seventeen children, and the youngest of 10 sons. To help out with the family, he was put to work when he was 10 years old in his father's candle and soap-making shop. Ben hated making soap and candles. Since he was smart and a good speller and he loved to read, he later went to work in his brother's print shop as an apprentice. He read book after book, and soon began to write himself. By 18, he moved to Philadelphia where he eventually openend his own print shop. By age 28 he published "Poor Richard's Almanac," a best seller in Colonial America.

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