I Emma Freke by Elizabeth Atkinson Emma wishes

I, Emma Freke by Elizabeth Atkinson Emma wishes her mother would have said her name aloud when she named her, because Emma Freke (pronounced Freak), certainly feels like one. She doesn’t look like anyone in her family and at 12 years old she is almost 6’ tall. School I painful and lonely and when the opportunity arises to be homeschooled, she takes it. When she gets an invitation to the Freke Family Reunion, she decides its time for her to see who her people are, and see if maybe with the Freke’s, she belongs.

Foster Mc. Fee dreams of having her own cooking show like her idol, celebrity chef Sonny Kroll. Macon Dillard's goal is to be a documentary filmmaker. Foster's mother Rayka longs to be a headliner instead of a back-up singer. And Miss Charleena plans a triumphant return to Hollywood. Everyone has a dream, but nobody is even close to famous in the little town of Culpepper. Until some unexpected events shake the town and its inhabitants-and put their big ambitions to the test.

Over the course of history men and women have lived and died. In fact, getting sick and dying can be a big, ugly mess-especially before the modern medical care that we all enjoy today. How They Croaked relays all the gory details of how nineteen world figures gave up the ghost.

Mockingbird (Mok’ing-burd) by: Kathryn Erskine Caitlin has Asperger's. The world according to her is black and white; anything in between is confusing. Before, when things got confusing, Caitlin went to her older brother, Devon, for help. But Devon has died, and Caitlin's dad is so distraught that he is just not helpful. Caitlin wants everything to go back to the way things were, but she doesn't know how to do that. Then she comes across the word closure- and she realizes this is what she needs. And in her search for it, Caitlin discovers that the world may not be black and white after all.

They are outcasts. Hal, Stig, and the others - they are the boys the others want no part of. Skandians, as any reader of Ranger's Apprentice could tell you, are known for their size and strength. Not these boys. Yet that doesn't mean they don't have skills. And courage - which they will need every ounce of to do battle at sea against the other bands, the Wolves and the Sharks, in the ultimate race. The icy waters make for a treacherous playing field. . . especially when not everyone thinks of it as playing. The Outcasts by: John Flanagan

y b m m i r G d n a k r A Tale Da z t i w d i G Adam Hansel and Gretel walk out of their own story and into eight other classic Grimm-inspired tales. As you follow the siblings through a forest brimming with menacing foes, they learn the true story behind (and beyond) the bread crumbs, edible houses, and outwitted witches. Throughout the story, Hansel and Gretel learn to take charge of their destinies and become the clever architects of their own happily ever after.

The Lions of Little Rock by: Kristin Levine As twelve-year-old Marlee starts middle school in 1958 Little Rock, it feels like her whole world is falling apart. Until she meets Liz, the new girl at school. Liz is everything Marlee wishes she could be: she's brave, brash and always knows the right thing to say. But when Liz leaves school without even a good-bye, the rumor is that Liz was caught passing for white. Marlee decides that doesn't matter. She just wants her friend back. And to stay friends, Marlee and Liz are even willing to take on segregation and the dangers their friendship could bring to both their families.

The Apothecary by: Maile Meloy It's 1952 and the Scott family has just moved from Los Angeles to London. Here, fourteen-year-old Janie meets a mysterious apothecary and his son, Benjamin Burrows - a fascinating boy who's not afraid to stand up to authority and dreams of becoming a spy. When Benjamin's father is kidnapped, Janie and Benjamin must uncover the secrets of the apothecary's sacred book, the Pharmacopoeia, in order to find him, all while keeping it out of the hands of their enemies Russian spies in possession of nuclear weapons. Discovering and testing potions they never believed could exist, Janie and Benjamin embark on a dangerous race to save the apothecary and prevent impending disaster.

THE HUNT FOR THE SEVENTH BY: CHRISTINE MORTON-SHAW With every step he takes around the carefully manicured grounds of Minerva Hall, Jim is haunted by the ghosts of children, long dead, whom no one else can see. Urging him to "find the Seventh, " the children leave him cryptic clues pointing to a devastating ancient prophecy that only he can stop from being fulfilled. Jim befriends another boy—Einstein, who lives at the Hall. Einstein is autistic and very, very smart. If anyone can help Jim find the Seventh, perhaps he can—Einstein clearly knows more than he is saying. At the same time, the dead children seem to be leaving Jim some sort of macabre treasure trail.

When Cole’s mom dumps him in the mean streets of Philadelphia to live with the dad he’s never met, the last thing Cole expects to see is a horse, let alone a stable full of them. He may not know much about cowboys, but what he knows for sure is that cowboys aren’t black, and they don’t live in the inner city. But in his dad’s ’hood, horses are a way of life, and soon Cole’s days of skipping school and getting in trouble in Detroit have been replaced by shoveling muck and trying not to get stomped on. At first, all Cole can think about is how to ditch these ghetto cowboys and get home. But when the City threatens to shut down the stables-- and take away the horse Cole has come to think of as his own-- he knows that it’s time to step up and fight back. Inspired by the little-known urban riders of Philly and Brooklyn, this compelling tale of latter -day cowboy justice champions a world where your friends always have your back, especially when the chips are down.

From the motion picture Like most inquisitive boys, 12 -year old Sam wants to know about UFOs, horror movies, ghosts, and girls. Sam also has leukemia, and although the adults in his life don't want him to dwell on it, Sam wants to know everything about his disease and death, a possibility he might face. Together with his best friend, Felix, he embarks on a "scientific investigation" with questions, observations, evidence, reflections, and lists of all the things he wants to do someday -- like breaking a world record, flying in a blimp, kissing a girl for the first time, and experiencing what it's like to be a teenager. In this story, Sam and his family face the immensity of an uncertain future with love, humor, and a touch of the unexpected.

Wonder by: R. J. Palacio I won't describe what I look like. Whatever you're thinking, it's probably worse. August (Auggie) Pullman was born with a facial deformity that prevented him from going to a mainstream school—until now. He's about to start 5 th grade at Beecher Prep, and if you've ever been the new kid then you know hard that can be. The thing is Auggie's just an ordinary kid, with an extraordinary face. But can he convince his new classmates that he's just like them, despite appearances?

Chiko isn't a fighter by nature. He's a bookloving Burmese boy whose father, a doctor, is in prison for resisting the government. Tu Reh, on the other hand, wants to fight for freedom after watching Burmese soldiers destroy his Karenni family's home and bamboo fields. Timidity becomes courage and anger becomes compassion as each boy is changed by unlikely friendships formed under extreme circumstances. Bang! A side door bursts open. Soldiers pour into the room. They're shouting and waving rifles. I shield my head with my arms. It was a lie! I think, my mind racing. Girls and boys alike are screaming. The soldiers prod and herd some of us together and push the rest apart as if we're cows or goats. Their leader, though, is a middle-aged man. He's moving slowly, intently, not dashing around like the others. "Take the boys only, Win Min, " I overhear him telling a tall, gangly soldier. "Make them obey. " Bamboo People by Mitali Perkins

Words in the Dust By: Trent Reedy Zulaikha hopes. She hopes for peace, now that the Taliban have been driven from Afghanistan; a good relationship with her hard stepmother; and one day even to go to school, or to have her cleft palate fixed. Soon the Americans come to her village, promising not just new opportunities and dangers, but also surgery to fix her face. These changes could mean a whole new life for Zulaikha--but can she dare to hope they'll come true?

Okay, For Now by: Gary D. Schmidt Okay For Now explores a seemingly improbable alliance between new outsider in town Doug Swieteck and Lil Spicer, the savvy spitfire daughter of his deli owner boss. With her challenging assistance, Doug discovers new sides of himself. Along the way, he also readjusts his relationship with his abusive father, his school peers, and his older brother, a newly returned war victim of Vietnam.

For eleven-year-old Gopal and his family, life in their rural Indian village is over: We stay, we starve, his baba has warned. So they must flee to the big city of Mumbai in hopes of finding work and a brighter future. Gopal is eager to help support his struggling family until school starts, so when a stranger approaches him with the promise of a factory job, he jumps at the offer. But Gopal has been deceived. There is no factory but, instead, a small, stuffy sweatshop, where he and five other boys are forced to make beaded frames for no money and little food. The boys are forbidden to talk or even to call one another by their real names. In this atmosphere of distrust and isolation, locked in a rundown building in an unknown part of the city, Gopal despairs of ever seeing his family again.

Candy Bomber: The Story of the Berlin Airlift's "Chocolate Pilot“ by: Michael O. Tunnell After World War II, the United States and Britain airlifted food and supplies into Russian-blockaded West Berlin. US Air Force Lieutenant Gail Halvorsen knew the children of the city were suffering, but what could one man do? Lt. Halvorsen began dropping candy that floated down to the kids by parachute. Michael O. Tunnell tells an inspiring tale of candy and courage, illustrated with Lt Halvorsens personal photographs, as well as letters and drawings from the children of Berlin to their beloved Uncle Wiggly Wings.

Jessica thinks her life is over when she loses a leg in a car accident. She's not comforted by the news that she'll be able to walk with the help of a prosthetic leg. Who cares about walking when you live to run? As she struggles to cope with crutches and a first cyborg-like prosthetic, Jessica feels oddly both in the spotlight and invisible. People who don't know what to say, act like she's not there. Which she could handle better if she weren't now keenly aware that she'd done the same thing herself to a girl with CP named Rosa. A girl who is going to tutor her through all the math she's missed. A girl who sees right into the heart of her. The Running Dream by: Wendelin Van Draanen

Blizzard of Glass: The Halifax Explosion of 1917 by: Sally M. Walker hips collided s o tw 7 1 9 1 , 6 r e b On Decem was loaded ip h s e n O r. u o rb a H in Halifax e held n o d n a s n io it n u m top to bottom with for wartorn d e d n te in th o b , s e li relief supp flattened two t s la b g in lt u s re e h Europe. T killed d n a , th u o m rt a D d towns, Halifax an at wasn't th if s A. le p o e p 0 0 nearly 2, 0 e next th it h rd a z z li b a , h g devastating enou ow on n s f o t o fo a n a th re day, dumping mo ed relief d e e -n h c u m g in z ly the area and para f-your-seat -o e g d e , g n ti a in c s a efforts. F al source in g ri o n o d e s a b g storytellin ount of c c a g in w o rr a h is th material conveys. tragedy and recovery

Breaking Stalin’s Nose by: Eugene Yelchin Sasha Zaichik has known the laws of the Soviet Young Pioneers since the age of six: The Young Pioneer is devoted to Comrade Stalin, the Communist Party, and Communism. But now that it is finally time to join the Young Pioneers, the day Sasha has awaited for so long, everything seems to go awry. He breaks a classmate's glasses with a snowball. He accidentally damages a bust of Stalin in the school hallway. And worst of all, his father, the best Communist he knows, was arrested just last night.