This is just a sampling of recommended books. The full list is on the ALA site or available in the Media Center.

Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World by Jennifer Armstrong

Describes the events of the 1914 Shackleton antarctic expedition when, after being trapped in a frozen sea for 9 months, the ship Endurance was crushed, forcing Shackleton and his men to make a perilous journey to reach land. Grades 5-8.

Bandit's Moon by Sid Fleischman

Twelve year old Annyrose, left behind when her brother joins the gold rush, escapes the unscrupulous woman she is staying with and sets out on a grand adventure with a notorious bandit Jaquin Murieta and his band. Grades 3-6.

When Zachary Beaver Came to Town by Kimberly Willis Holt

During the summer 1971 in a small Texas town, 13-year-old Toby and his best friend Cal meet the star of a sideshow act, 600-pound Zachary, the fattest boy in the world. Grades 5-8.

Regarding the Fountain: A Tale, in Letters, of Liars and Leaks by Kate Klise

When the principal asks a fifth-grader to write a letter regarding the purchase of a new drinking fountain for their school, he finds that all sorts of chaos results. Grades 5-8.

Holes by Louis Sachar

Stanley Yelnats is sent to a hellish correctional camp in the Texas desert where he finds his first real friend, a treasure, and a new sense of himself. Grades 5-8.

Sammy Keyes and the Hotel Thief by Wendelin Van Draanen

Thirteen-year-old sammy's penchant for speaking her mind gets her in trouble when she involves herself in the investigation of a robbery in the "seedy" hotel across the street from the seniors' building where she is living with her grandmother. Grades 5-8.

Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis

Ten-year-old Margofulfills a class assignment by writing a letter to Eleanor roosevelt asking for help to save her family's homeduring the Great Depression. Grades 5-8.