Counting on Grace, by Elizabeth Winthrop

It's 1910 in Pownal, Vermont. At 12 Grace and her best friend Arthur must go to work in the mill, helping their mothers work the looms. Together Grace and Arthur write a secret letter to the Child Labor Board about underage children working in the mill. A few weeks later Lewis Hine, a famous reformer, arrives undercover to gather evidence.

Grades 5 and up.

The King of Attolia, by Megan Whalen Turner

Eugenides, still known as the Thief of Eddis, faces palace intrigue and assassins as he strives to prove himself both to the people of Attolia and to his new bride, their queen.

Grades 6 and up.

Listen, by Stephanie Tolan

During her solitary convalescence from a crippling accident, twelve-year-old Charley finds a wild dog, and the arduous process of training him leads her to explore her feelings about her mother's death two years earlier.

Grades 5 and up

The Case of the Missing Marquess, by Nancy Springer

Enola Holmes, much younger sister of detective Sherlock Holmes must travel to London in disguise to unravel the disappearance of her missing mother.

Grades 5 and up.

The Dream-Maker's Magic, by Sharon Shinn

Kellen's mother insisted her only child was born a male and raised her as a boy till she was forced to go to school. Then she became friends with Gryffin, who accepted her as she was and who would become the new Dream-Maker of their kingdom.

Grades 6 and up.

All of the Above, by Shelley Pearsall

Four urban middle school students, their teacher, and other community members relate how a school project to build the world's largest tetrahedron affects the lives of everyone involved.

Grades 6 and up.

Bread and Roses, Too, by Katherine Paterson

Jake and Rosa form an unlikely friendship as they try to survive and understand the 1912 Bread and Roses strike of mill workers in Lawrence, MA and later are sent to Barre, Vermont.

Grades 5 and up.

A Small White Scar, by K. A. Nuzum

Fifteen-year-old Will Bennon has always looked after his twin brother who has Down syndrome, but now Will is ready to leave his family's ranch and become a professional cowboy, but Denny unexpectedly joins the journey.

Grades 6 and up.

Rules, by Cynthia Lord

Frustrated at life with an autistic brother, twelve-year-old Catherine longs for a normal existence but her world is further complicated by a friendship with a young paraplegic.

Grades 5 and up.

Black Duck, by Janet Taylor Lisle

Years afterwards, Ruben Hart tells the story of how, in 1929 Newport, Rhode Island, his family and his best friend's family were caught up in the violent competition among groups trying to contral the local rum-smuggling trade.

Grades 6 and up.

Gemini Summer, by Iain Lawrence

Danny's grief over the death of his older brother Beau is eased when a stray puppy adopts him, but he soon decides that Beau is somehow in the dog, and sets out to make his brother's dreams of seeing a rocket launch at Cape Kennedy come true.

Grades 5 and up.

Alabama Moon, by Watt Key

After the death of his father, ten-year-old Moon leaves their forest shelter home and is sent to an Alabama institution, becoming entangled in the outside world he has never known and making good friends, a relentless enemy, and finally a new life.

Grades 6 and up.

Weedflower, by Cynthia Kadohata

After twelve-year-old Sumiko and her Japanese-American family are relocated from their flower farm in southern California to an interment camp on an Indian reservation in Arizona, she helps her family and neighbors, becomes friends with a local Indian boy, and tries to hold on to her dream of owning a flower shop.

Grades 6 and up.

Crossing the Wire, by Will Hobbs

Fifteen-year old Victor Flores journeys north in a desperate attempt to cross the Arizona border and find work in the United States to support his family in central Mexico.

Grades 6 and up.

Owen & Mzee, by Isabella Hatkoff

The true story of a hippopotamus orphaned by the December, 2004 tsunami and his friendship with a giant Aldabra tortoise.

Grades 4 and up.

The Adventures of Marco Polo, by Russell Freedman

A beautifully illustrated look at Marco Polo's life, journeys, including a discussion about what was true in his tale and what was not.

Grades 5 and up.

Alphabet of Dreams, by Susan Fletcher

Fourteen-year-old Mitra, of royal Persian lineage, and her five-year-old brother Babak, whose dreams foretell the future, flee for their lives in the company of the magus Melchior and two other magi, as they follow star signs leading to a newly-born king in Bethlehem.

Grades 7 and up.

The White Elephant, by Sid Fleischman

In old Siam, young elephant trainer Run-Run and his old charge, Walking Mountain, must deal with the curse of a sacred white elephant.

Grades 4 and up.

Escape!: The Story of the Great Houdini, by Sid Fleischman

A biography of the magician, ghost chaser, aviator, and king of escape artists whose amazing feats are remembered long after his death in 1926.

Grades 6 and up.

Odd Man Out, by Sarah Ellis

Twelve-year-old Kip goes to his grandmother's house in British Columbia while his mother and stepfather are on their honeymoon, and finds an unexpected treasure hidden within the walls of the attic.

Grades 6 and up.

Phineas L. MacGuire...Erupts!, by Frances O'Roark Dowell

Fourth-grade science whiz Phineas L. MacGuire is forced to team up with the new boy in class on a science fair project, but the boy's quirky personality causes Phineas to wonder if they have any chance of winning.

Grades 4 and up.

One-Handed Catch, by Mary Jane Auch

A strong sense of purpose, leavened by generous doses of humor and post-World War II period detail, drives this story of a resilient middle-grader who demonstrates that having one hand is an opportunity rather than a handicap.

Grades 5 and up.

The Clue of the Linoleum Lederhosen, by M.T. Anderson

Looking forward to a vacation, Katie, Lily and Jasper attach their flying Gyroscopic Sky Suite to Moose Tongue Lodge and Resort, where they mingle with other child heroes found in books, and where they become embroiled in a mystery involving lederhosen-clothed quintuplets and a screaming ventriloquist.

Grades 5 and up.

Firegirl, by Tony Abbott

A middle school boy's life is changed when Jessica, a girl disfigured by burns, starts attending his Catholic school while receiving treatment at a local hospital.

Grades 5 and up.

The Story of Salt, by Mark Kurlansky

The story of the only rock we eat, including its origin, the other discoveries made because of it, and tales of salt and the people who have been involved with it through the ages.

Grades 4 and up.

Hattie Big Sky, by Kirby Larson

After inheriting her uncle's homesteading claim in Montana, sixteen-year-old orphan Hattie Brooks travels from Iowa in 1917 to make a home for herself.

Grades 6 and up.

A Drowned Maiden's Hair, by Laura Amy Schlitz

At the Barbary Asylum for Female Orphans, eleven-year-old Maud is adopted by three spinster sisters moonlighting as mediums who take her home and reveal to her the role she will play their seances.

Grades 5 and up.

The Higher Power of Lucky, by Susan Patron

Fearing that her legal guardian plans to abandon her to return to France, ten-year-old aspiring scientist Lucky Trimble determines to run away while also continuing to seek the Higher Power that will bring stability to her life.

Grades 4 and up.

Gossamer, by Lois Lowry

While learning to bestow dreams, a young dream giver tries to save an eight-year-old boy from the effects of both his abusive past and the nightmares inflicted on him by the frightening Sinisteeds.

It's hard when you feel like a square peg that is supposed to fit into a round hole. That's what Gossamer must feel like. She talks too much, thinks too much, won't stay still - all the things that upset the older ones who have been bestowing dreams for so long.

Grades 5 and up.

Keturah and Lord Death, by Martine Leavitt

When sixteen-year-old Keturah follows a legenday hart into the forest she becomes lost, and eventually Lord Death comes to claim her, but when she is able to charm him with her story she gains a reprieve of twenty-four hours, if she can find her one true love.

Grades 7 and up.