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Book Talk/Reading indicates readings found using TeachingBooks.
Lone Star Reading List 2007-2008
Airball: My Life in Briefs, L.D. Harkrader (Roaring Brook Press 2005)
Reading Level:4.4 Lexile: 700 Joyce Estes
Book Reading: None
Kirby knows that being a walking-basketball-encyclopedia does not make one a good basketball
player. However, that matters not when he finds out that by being on the school basketball team
it will give him the opportunity to possibly meet Brett McGrew, the school's most (and only)
famous NBA player (and possibly his dad). Laugh along with Kirby as he sets his goal on
meeting his real father while playing basketball in his underwear.
Try these too:
Travel Team, Mike Lupica
Miracle on 49th Street, Mike Lupica
Stanford Wong Flunks Big Time, Lisa Yee
Elaine’s classmates at her new high school bear a striking resemblance to characters from the
King Arthur stories. Are they doomed to repeat the mistakes of the Round Table or will things be
different this time?
Try these too:
Undine, Penni Russon
Dark Fusion series by Neal Shusterman
Chasing the Jaguar, Michele Dominguez Greene,
Black Duck, Janet Taylor Lisle (Philomel 2006)
Reading Level:4.8 Lexile: 790 Penny Clarkson
Book Reading: None
Wannabe reporter David Peterson is determined to write a story that will land him a byline in the local newspaper. With a little investigation, he tracks down Ruben Hart, an old man who lived during the Prohibition and, supposedly, had ties to a local rum-running business. As David listens, Ruben tells the story of the Black Duck, a hard-to-catch boat used for transporting illegal alcohol, which ran circles around the Coast Guard. As the story unfolds, both David and Ruben begin to see that there isn’t always a definite line between right and wrong.
Try these too:
Duble Victory, Susan Cooper
The Foreshadowing, Marcus Sedgwick
The Sacrifice, Kathleen
Jack unwillingly follows his best-mate Charlie into an ancient brotherhood of demons. Jack quickly discovers that Charlie is being possessed by an evil demon and sets out to save him from the Scourge. In his battle against the foulest evils in Hell, Jack's biggest obstacle will be his own fear.
Try these too:
Storm Thief, Chris Wooding
Seeker, William Nicholson
The Sign of the Qin , L.G. Bass
When high school senior, Leo Caraway, a conservative Republican, learns that his biological father is none other than millionaire King Maggot, lead singer of the punk band Purge, he accepts a roadie job on King's tour in the hope of securing sorely needed college tuition.
Try these too:
Rock My World, Lisa Conrad
Fat Kid Rules the World, K.L. Going
Son of the Mob, Gordon Korman
“Moo.” Sometimes D.J feels just like one of the cows on her dairy farm. She goes where she’s supposed to and does what she’s told to, and no one in her family talks about it much. But this summer there are just too many secrets. Why isn’t her best friend friendly anymore? Why won’t her little brother talk? Why don’t her older brothers come home or even call? And then there’s her own personal secret that involves Brian, the star player of her high school’s rival football team.
Try these too:
Knights of the Hill Country, Tim Tharp
Love, Football, & Other Contact Sports, Alden Carter
Chasing the Jaguar, Michele Green
Kate and Peter unwillingly travel back in time to 1763 Derbyshire, England via a time machine. Upon their arrival, the time machine is stolen by the devious Tar Man. Desperately wishing to return home, they accept guidance from a former thief named Gideon.
Try these too:
Sea of Monsters, Rick Riordan
King of Attolia, Megan Turner
Endymion Spring, Matthew Skelton
Michael Arroyo, a 12-year-old pitcher with an amazing arm, wants nothing more that to take his team to the Little League Championship. Fearing his talent, a group of coaches claims that Michael cannot prove his age. Recently orphaned, Michael must find a way to locate a birth certificate in Cuba and evade Social Services. Facing these two challenges would be overwhelming if not for the help of his friends and community.
Try these too:
Boy Who Saved Baseball, John Ritter
Free Baseball, Sue Corbett
Satch and Me, Dan Gutman
Home and Other Big Fat Lies, Julie Wolfson (Henry Holt 2006)
Reading Level:4.4 Lexile: 740 Kathy
Book Reading: None
Eleven-year-old Termite, a foster child with an eye for the beauty of nature and a talent for getting into trouble, takes on the loggers in her new home town when she tries to save the biggest tree in the forest.
Try these too:
Ida B: and Her Plans to Maximaize Fun, Avoid Disaster, and (Possibly) Save the World, Katherine Hannigan
So B. It: A Novel, Sarah Weeks
Pictures of Hollis Woods, Patricia Reilley Giff
Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life, Wendy Mass (Little Brown 2006)
Reading Level:6.4 Lexile:770 MISTY PTASNIK
Book Reading: None
The beautiful wooden box Jeremy Fink receives right before his 13 birthday is, without a doubt, the most important present he’ll ever get. Not only is the present from his father, who died five years earlier, but is also supposed to contain the meaning of life. Jeremy can’t wait to open it! However, he discovers that the keys that open the box are missing, and he must begin the search to find them.
Try these too:
Happy Kid, Gail Gauthier
The Book of 100 Truths, Julie Schumacher
The Legacy of Gloria Russell, Sheri Gilbert
La Linea, Ann Jaramillo (Roaring Brook Press 2006) Reading Level:4.3 Lexile: 650 Joyce Estes
Book Reading: None
Why would anyone ride a train called mata gente, the “people killer”? Miguel and his sister ride it because it is headed across the border, la linea, from Mexico to California, where they hope to join the parents they haven’t seen in almost seven years. Their journey will force them to face the harsh realities of dehydration, danger, corruption, and violence in this contemporary survival story.
Try these too:
Ask Me No Questions, Marina Budhos
Prize Fighter en Mi Casa, E.E. Charlton-Trujillo
Crossing the Wire, Will Hobbs
Lambkins, Eve Bunting (Joana Colter 2005)
Reading Level:3.7 Lexile: 580 Jeanie Bailey
Book Reading: None
After stopping to help a woman with a flat tire, Kyle is kidnapped, shrunk, and imprisoned in a dollhouse with several others. Fearing for their lives at the hands of the sadistic woman, Kyle must devise a plan of escape before he is dealt with like other “Lambkins” who angered Mrs. Shepard.
Try these too:
Jumpman Rule #1: Don’t Touch Anything, James Valentine
Faerie Wars, Herbie Brennan
Notes from the Midnight Driver, Jordan Sonnenblick (Scholastic 2006)
Reading Level:5.5 Lexile: 930 MISTY PTASNIK
Book Reading: None
Alex‘s first driving experience results in a damaged car, a crushed lawn gnome, and vomit on a police officer. But things take a turn for the worse when Alex is sentenced to 100 hours of community service at a nursing home helping a cranky old man Solomon Lewis.
Try these too:
Hit the Road, Caroline Cooney
Wish List, Eoin Colfer
Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie, Jordan Sonnenblick
Out of Patience, Brian Meehl (Delacorte 2006)
Reading Level:4.9 Lexile: 770 Jeanie Bailey
Book Reading: None
When the Plunger of Destiny arrives in Patience, the century-old curse placed on the town may come to be. Jake must find lost treasure, save the town, and maybe win the World Series (of Patience).
Try these too:
Stanford Wong Flunks Big Time, Lisa Yee
Grooves: A Kind of Mystery, Kevin Brockmeier
Adam Canfield of the Slash, Michael Winerip
Runaway, Wendelin Van Draanen (Knopf 2006) Reading Level:4.7 Lexile: 740 Jeanie Bailey
Reading: None
Holly calls herself a gypsy but it’s really just a romantic name for homeless. Living on the street is harsh, but far better than being in the same room with her latest foster father. In the midst of her daily quest for food, shelter, safety, and cleanliness, Holly keeps a journal, recording her thoughts, fears, dreams and hopes.
Try these too:
What Erika Wants, Bruce Clements
What Mr. Mattero Did, Priscilla Cummings
Claws, Dan Greenburg
Shackleton’s Stowaway, Victoria McKernan (Knopf 2005)
Reading Level:4.8 Lexile: 740 Jeanie Bailey
Book Reading: None
This fictionalized account of Ernest Shackleton's 1914 expedition to cross Antartica might strike the reader as unrelenting, brutal, and impossible. Shackleton’s men survive shipwreck, stranding on an uncharted island, and starvation. The appropriate name of Shackleton’s ship? The Endurance.
Try these too:
Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World: The Extraordinary True Adventure of Shackleton and Endurance by Jennifer Armstrong
Far North by Will Hobbs
Surviving Antartica: Reality TV 2083 by Andrea White
Shug, Jenny Han (Simon & Schuster 2006)
Reading Level:4.0 Lexile: 680 MISTY PTASNIK
Book Talk: None
Seventh-grader, Shug (really named Annemarie Wilcox) lands feet first in adolescence as she quarrels with her best friend, develops a crush on her long time friend Mark, gets rejected by Mark, and manages to find a new best friend. Shug deals with the good, the bad, and the ugly of middle school with honesty and a new awareness and maturity.
Try these too:
Loud Silence of Francine Green, Karen Cushman
What Erika Wants, Bruce Clements
Warrior Heir, Cinda Williams Chima (Hyperion 2006)
Reading Level:5.3 Lexile: 730 Lydia
Book Talk: http://www.teachingbooks.net/book_reading.cgi?id=1662
Imagine what it's like forgetting to take your medication and discovering that you have supernatural powers. After "accidentally" blowing his rival across the soccer field, Jack realizes he is not normal and soon finds himself in a warrior game to the death.
Try these too:
Endymion Spring, Matthew Skelton
Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment, James Patterso
Sea of Monsters, Rick Riordan
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