CHAPTER BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS
The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl
By Stacy McAnulty
When Lucy was little, she was struck by lightning and developed genius-level math abilities. Now Lucy's 12 and technically ready for college but first her grandma says she must do 1 year in middle school, make 1 friend, and read 1 non-math book. Will she survive middle school?
Grades: 3-7
Lexile: 530
The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise
By Dan Gemeinhart
Coyote and her dad, Rodeo, have been living on the road for 5 years ever since her mother and sisters died. Now, Coyote needs to convince her dad to go home to retrieve a treasure box she buried in the park with her mom and sisters that set to be demolished.
Grades: 6-8
Lexile: 730
Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus
By Dusti Bowling
Aven Green was born without arms but that's never stopped her before. Yet, when her parents both get a jobs running a western-themed amusement park in Arizona, Aven will have to learn how to start over in a new place.
Grades: 3-7
Lexile: 700
24 Hours in Nowhere
By Dusti Bowling
Life in Nowhere, Arizona is tough for Gus. After a run in with the town bully, Bo, Gus is saved by Rossi Scott who is forced to give her dirt bike to Bo in exchange for him leaving Gus alone. Determined to buy it back, Gus and his friends go on a treasure hunting expedition to find gold in Dead Frenchmen Mine.
Grades: 3-7
Lexile: 610
Blood on the River: Jamestown 1607
By Elisa Carborne
Samuel Collier has been living on the streets of London when an altercation lands him in the custody of Reverend Hunt who offers him the chance to travel to the New World aboard the Susan Constant as a servant to Captain John Smith. It's a journey that will open Sam up to new adventures, new people, and a strange new land.
Grades: 5-6
Lexile: 820
Book Scavenger
By Jennifer Chambliss Bertman
12-year-old Emily and James go on an scavenger hunt around San Fransisco looking for clues to unlock the mystery of a new game by their favorite writer, Garrison Griswold who has been attacked. Together they race to solve Griswold's latest scavenger hunt.
Grades: K-3
Lexile: 500
Bridge to Terabithia
By Katherine Paterson
Jesse and new kid in town, Leslie, create a world of their own as they navigate their lives in a small country town. As the king and queen of Terabithia, one of them must lean on the magic of the world they've created after tragedy befalls on the town.
Grades: 4-7
Lexile: 810
Endling The Last
By Katherine Applegate
Byx may be the last of her kind; a dairne hunted to near extinction in the mythical, war-torn world of Nedarra. After the last of her family is killed, Byx sets off on an adventure to see if she really is the last. This is book 1 of a 3 book series.
Grades: 3-7
Lexile: 690
The World According to Humphrey
By Betty G. Birney
Humphrey had a great life in Room 26 until Mrs. Brisbane came back. She doesn't like rodents and he worries that she'll get rid of him, but that doesn't stop Humphrey from making new friends, learning to read and write, and having some adventures of his own.
Grades: 3-7
Lexile: 670
I Am Malala
By Malala Yousafzai
Malala Yousafsai wasn't supposed to live. After being shot by the Taliban for advocating for girl's education, this brave girl survived and became an international symbol for equality as well as the youngest Nobel Peace Prize recipient ever. This is her true story.
Grades: 5-9
Lexile: 830
Kindred
By Octavia E. Butler
Kindred is the powerful tale of a connection between ancestors--Dana, a black woman living in the 1970s and her white, slave owner, great grandfather, Rufus, in the Antebellum South whom she must protect in order to ensure her own survival. This book contains time travel and scenes that may be difficult for young readers.
Grades: 9-12
Lexile: 580
March Forward, Girl
By Melba Pattillo Beals
Before Melba became famous for being one of the "Little Rock Nine", she was a little girl struggling to understand segregation in her town. Known as a pioneer in the civil rights movement, this is her story of what it was like to grow up as 'less than'.
Grades: 5-7
Lexile: 950
Momentous Events in the Life of a Cactus
By Dusti Bowling
Aven was just getting settled at Stagecoach Pass, the wester theme park she lives at with her parents, when it's time for a new change. Now the armless girl who can do it all must get ready for her biggest challenge yet--high school. This is book 2 in the series.
Grades: 3-7
Lexile: 550
Obessed
By Allison Britz
Allison is a regular high school girl until she wakes from a nightmare in which she is diagnosed with cancer. Believing that she must prevent this from happening, she spirals into the depths of Obessive Compulsive Disorder and almost looses herself in the process. This is a true story.
Grades: 9-12
Lexile: 760
Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief
By Rick Riordan
Percy is the son of Posidon; a demi-god unknowingly living as a human. When his math teacher turns into a monster and tries to kill him, he realizes that he isn't who he thought he was and embarks on an adventure to save the world.
Grades: 6-8
Lexile: 680
The Witches
By Roald Dahl
Witches are all around us and knowing the signs could save your life. Boy's grandmother knows all about witches but when a chance encounter turns Boy into a mouse, he and his grandmother will work together to stop the witches before they have a chance to take over.
Grades: 3-7
Lexile: 740
Prisoner B-3087
By Alan Gratz
This is the true story of Yanek Gruener; a Jewish boy in the 1930s forced to endure not one but ten concentration camps in his quest for survivial. Tattooed with PRISONER B-3087 on his arm, he never looses his will to keep fighting against all odds.
Grades: 5-9
Lexile: 760
Public School Superhero
By James Patterson
To the world Kenny is just a chess-geek but inside his imagination, he's Stainlezz Steel defended of the weak and protector of the bullied. Written as a hybrid of traditional storytelling and comic book, Kenny tells of his trials as both himself and Stainlezz.
Grades: 3-7
Lexile: 560
The Book Thief
By Markus Zusak
Liesel is a foster child living with her accordian-player father and harsh mother in Nazi, Germany in 1939. Liesel, who loves books, steals them to escape the terror of the Nazi invasion and shares them with a Jewish man hiding in her basement.
Grades: 6-12
Lexile: 730
The Hate You Give
By Angie Thomas
16-year-old Starr is a girl who moves between two worlds--her predominantly black neighborhood and the white school she goes to. When her friend form the neighborhood, Khalil, is killed at the hands of the police, she is forced to decide between her safety and the truth.
Grades: 9-12
Lexile: 590
The Unteachables
By Gordon Korman
The "unteachables" are a band of misfit students no teacher wants but when the superintendent decides to give the unteachables to Mr. Kermit, a burnt out teacher counting the days until retirement, the class and Mr. Kermit learn the most important lesson of all.
Grades: 3-7
Lexile: 740
Warriors Don't Cry
By Melba Pattillo Beals
Melba Pattillo tells the story of her and 8 of her classmates, known as the "Little Rock Nine" as they integrate Central High School after the iconic Supreme Court ruling Brown v. the Board of Education; solidifying their status as civil rights icons.
Grades: 9-12
Lexile: 1000