Jason's Gold 
by:  Will Hobbs

Fifteen-year-old Jason hears the news of the Alaskan gold rush and decides to take the money his father left him to go get rich. When Jason returns home after being gone for 10 months to share his news with the 2 brothers and collect his money, he gets a brutal surprise. His brothers took off for Alaska 2 days ago and took his share of the money with a promise to share their millions when they find gold. Jason sets out after them and boy what an adventure he is in for.

Holes
by: Louis Sachar

1999 Newbery Winner


As further evidence of his family's bad fortune, which they attribute to a curse on a distant relative, Stanley Yelnats is sent to an awful correctional camp in the Texas desert. Something just isn't quite right at this camp and its up to Stanley and some of the other guys to prove it.

A Year Down Yonder
by: Richard Peck

Joey and Mary Alice used to go to grandma's house for one week every summer when they were kids. This time is different. Mary is  going because times are hard for her parents at the end of the depression.  Times are hard everywhere, but Grandma Dowdel is more than resourceful, she is very creative at getting money and food and clothing.  Although she acts tough and people fear her, grandma has a soft center and looks out for those that don't have anyone else. Mary learns a lot from grandma and the two grow close.

Flush
by:  Carl Hiaasen

Noah's dad is arrested for sinking a large gambling boat that he caught dumping its sewage into the sea.  Noah and his sister set out on a dangerous quest to get their dad out of jail and clear his name.  Awesome book!

Listening For Lions
by:  Gloria Whelan

Africa is the only place Rachel has ever lived.  Her father runs a hospital for people who live too far away from the city hospital and her mom teaches.  When a flu epidemic breaks out, both of Rachel's parents die.  Rachel must go live in England with  someone she has never met.  All Rachel want to do is return to Africa and run the hospital.  Very good!

Out of the Dust
by: Karen Hesse

1998 Newbery Winner

Billie Jo tells the story of her life in her short easy to read diary entries.  This is an easy, but powerful story about hardship and victory.

Because of Winn-Dixie
by: Kate DiCamillo

2001 Newbery Honor Book



The story of a girl named India Opal Buloni and how a tray dog the she rescues becomes her best friend.  This story is a must read!

Among the Hidden (Book 1)
by: Margaret Peterson Haddix





Luke is a shadow child, a 3rd child, 
forbidden by the Population Police.
One day Luke sees a girl's face in
the window of a house where he
knows 2 other children already live...

Okay for Now           
     
by: Gary D. Schmidt



Gary Schmidt is one of my new favorite authors!  I love his characters and you will, too!
Doug Swieteck is a middle school boy trying to make it.  Things are anything but easy for Doug, but he has as amazing way of rising above his not so great circumstances.

The Bad Beginning                by: Lemony Snicket

(Book #1 of A Series of Unfortunate Events)





Even though they are charming and clever,
the Baudelaire children lead lives full of misery and woe.  
One might say they are magnets for misfortune.

Wringer
by: Jerry Spinelli
1998 Newbery Honor Book




Palmer did not want to be a wringer. 
This was one of the first things he had 
learned about himself.  It isn't easy
choosing not to do something that
everyone expects you to do.

The River
by: Gary Paulsen

Two years ago Brian's accident left him stranded in the woods alone and amazingly he survived. (Read Hatchet) This time they want him to do it all again on purpose so they can learn survival skills from him.
Brian agrees, but the emergency supplies go back with the plane or Brian says he won't stay with Derek.  Derek is going to record the entire experience, and he agrees to send everything back except the radio.  Little did they know they would need those supplies and radios break.

A Long Way From Chicago
by: Richard Peck

1999 Newbery Honor

Joey and Mary Alice go to stay with their grandmother once a summer for a week.  Joey and Mary live in Chicago and Grandma lives in a small town a long way from Chicago where things are very different.  Grandma does things that Mary and Joey don't even tell their won parent about! Although Mary and Joey don't realize it at the time, those weeks with Grandma will become some of the best memories of their lives.

Bridge to Terabithia
by: Katherine Paterson

1978 Newbery Honor

A wonderful story about friendship, death, family, school, and secret enchanted places.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
by: J.K. Rowling


Harry has a miserable life with the Dursley's, his horrible aunt and uncle and their son, Dudley. His room is a tiny closet at he foot of the steps, and he hasn't had a birthday in eleven years.  That all changes when an owl brings a message to Harry. Off to wizard school he goes and his life will never be the same.

A Wrinkle in Time
by: Madeleine L'Engle

1963 Newbery Winner

Meg and Charles Wallace's dad is lost in time or space or somewhere, but he is a great scientist.  So why can't he get back? Meg and Charles Wallace and a friend, Calvin, with some help from some other time travelers, set out to find him. 

Hatchet
by: Gary Paulsen

1988 Newbery Honor Book

Brian is on his way to see his dad when his single-engine plane goes down in the Canadian wilderness.  Does Brian have the physical and emotional strength to survive?