The One and Only Ivan  by Katherine Applegate 
When Ivan, a gorilla who has lived for years in a down-and-out circus-themed mall, meets Ruby, a baby elephant that has been added to the mall, he decides that he must find her a better life.  305p.

Shark Wars  by E.J. Altbacker
Gray is already bigger than all the other sharks in his clan, or shiver. He can't stop growing, and when his hunger gets him into trouble, he's banished from the reef with his best friend Barkley. Their hunt for food forces them to journey deep into Goblin Shiver territory, where they have no choice but to join the shiver. They'll help fight against rival sharks in return for training, protection, and food. But who can Gray and Barkley trust when the ocean is full of slippery fish and one mistake means you're someone else's dinner?   248p. 

Best Friends Fur-Ever   by Ruth Barshaw
Ellie pet-sits for her neighbor's African grey parrot Alix, about whom she is writing a report, while her family argues over whether to get a cat or a dog, and her little brother accidentally lets Alix out of his cage, all of which is chronicled in Ellie's ever-present sketchbook. 171p. 

My Last Best Friend by Julie Bowe
After her best friend moves away, fourth-grader Ida May is determined not to make another best friend, despite the efforts of a new girl in her class. 146p.

The Sisters Grimm (series)   by Michael Buckley
Orphans Sabrina and Daphne Grimm are sent to live with an eccentric grandmother that they have always believed to be dead 284p. 

Slam Dunk   by Matt Christopher
When a new school year starts, and thirteen-year-old basketball star Julian feels a lot of pressure as he realizes he is the only remaining player from last year's winning team, a friend's health crisis helps him regain perspective. 118p. 

The Whites of Their Eyes   by Andrew Clements
With a key to the Oakes School in his possession Benjamin, his friend Jill, and a new friend continue to seek ways to protect the school and their town but Lyman, the janitor and a spy, has new tricks up his sleeve.  207p.

Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DiCamillo          
Ten-year-old India Opal Buloni describes her first summer in the town of Naomi, Florida, and all the good things that happen to her because of her big ugly dog Winn-Dixie. 182p. 

The Magician’s Elephant  by Kate DiCamillo
When ten-year-old orphan Peter Augustus Duchene encounters a fortune teller in the marketplace one day and she tells him that his sister, who is presumed dead, is in fact alive, he embarks on a remarkable series of adventures as he desperately tries to find her. 201p.

The Wyrm King   by Tony DiTerlizzi
Nick, Julie, Laurie, and their friends try to prevent a hydra from destroying Florida.  202p.

Jack and Rebel, the Police Dog by Patricia Finney       
Jack the labrador retriever tells the tale of his adventures at home and with his old friend Rebel, the police dog, and how the two of them broke up a burglary ring that had been robbing houses while police were occupied with political protests. Includes explanatory footnotes written by the cats, and a glossary explaining Jack’s terminology. 183p. 

Disappearing Act by Sid Fleischman
After their archaeologist mother fails to return from Mexico and they discover that someone is stalking their Albuquerque house, twelve-year-old Kevin and his opera-singing older sister flee to Venice, California, where they hope that new identities will keep them safe. 133p. 

In a Glass Grimmly. by Adam Gidwitz. 
Inspired by the tales of Grimm and Andersen, Gidwitz leads Jack and Jill on a quest full of adventure and fantastical creatures. Wit and wisdom packaged as fun.   314p.

R My Name is Rachel by Patricia Giff
Three city siblings, now living on a farm during the Great Depression, must survive on their own when their father takes a construction job miles away. 166p. 

A Tangle of Knots  by Lisa Graff
Destiny leads 11-year-old Cady to a peanut butter factory, a family of children searching for their own Talents, and a Talent Thief who will alter her life forever. Includes cake recipes.  230p.

Charlie Joe Jackson’s Guide to Summer Vacation  by Tommy Greenwald     231p.
Charlie Joe Jackson is back and he's at academic summer camp trying to convert all the other kids to non-academics.

The Road to Paris by Nikki Grimes
Inconsolable at being separated from her older brother, eight-year-old Paris is apprehensive about her new foster family but just as she learns to trust them, she faces a life-changing decision. 153p.

Nightmare at the Bookfair by Dan Gutman
When fifth-grader Trip Kindleman, who does not like to read very much, is hit on the head by a heavy box and becomes a character in a series of different books--from a sports story to a science fiction novel to an adventure tale--his view of reading is changed forever. 230p.

Mr. and Mrs. Bunny, Detectives Extraordinaire!   By Polly Horvath
Middle-schooler Madeline's hippy parents have been kidnapped from Hornby Island, Canada, by foxes and Madeline, upon discovering that she can understand animal languages, hires two rabbit detectives to find them. 248p.

Emily Windsnap and the Land of the Midnight Sun   by Liz Kessler
Neptune, King of the ocean, sends half-mermaids Emily and Aaron to the land of the midnight sun to investigate the source of the dangerous storms brewing in the ocean. 272p.

Like the Willow Tree: The Diary of Lydia Amelia Pierce   by Lois Lowry  (Dear America series)
After being orphaned during the influenza epidemic of 1918, eleven-year-old Lydia Pierce and her fourteen-year-old brother are taken by their grieving uncle to be raised in the Shaker community at Sabbathday Lake.  216p.

The Trap Door   by Lisa McMann (Infinity Ring #3)
The third book in Lisa McMann plunks time-travelers Dak, Sera, and Riq down into the dark days of American slavery. Their dangerous attempts to reopen the Underground Railroad take a frightening personal turn when young African-American Riq is captured and shuttled off to the auction-block. 190p.

A Dog’s Life   by Ann Martin
Squirrel, a stray puppy, tells her life story, from her nurturing mother and brother to making her own way in the world, facing busy highways, changing seasons, and humans both gentle and brutal. 182p.

Saving the Team  by Alex Morgan
After moving to California, seventh-grader Devin is afraid she will not make the soccer team  but finds, instead, a team is so bad that she is compelled to take the lead and turn it into something the players and coach can all be proud of. 169p

The Boy Who Spoke Dog   by Clay Morgan
After being marooned on an island near New Zealand, Jack, an orphaned cabin boy from San Francisco, becomes allied with a group of dogs who protect the local sheep from wild dogs. 166p.

The Fantastic Secret of Owen Jester   by Barbara O’Connor
After Owen captures an enormous bullfrog, names it Tooley Graham, then has to release it, he and two friends try to use a small submarine that fell from a passing train to search for Tooley in the Carter, Georgia pond it came from while avoiding nosy neighbor Viola. 168p.

Wonder  by R. J. Palacio
Ten-year-old Auggie Pullman, who was born with extreme facial abnormalities and was not expected to survive, goes from being home-schooled to entering fifth grade at a private middle school in Manhattan, which entails enduring the taunting and fear of his classmates as he struggles to be seen as just another student. 315p. &term=9780375869020

The Winner’s Walk   by Nancy Ruth Patterson
Surrounded by a multitalented family, nine-year-old Case Callahan feels driven to succeed, but his failed attempts at various competitions discourage him until he finds a stray dog with a surprising past. 114p.

May B.  by Caroline Starr Rose. 
In this verse novel, dyslexic May B. is sent to help a couple in a soddy on the Kansas plains. Suddenly, May B. must fend for herself as winter approaches.  

Air Keep  by J. Scott Savage  (Farworld #3)
Marcus and Kyja continue to search for the Elementals they need to unite to open a drift between Earth and Farworld, but the Air Elementals have a strange sense of humor and with Farworld in the grip of a terrible drought and daily earthquakes, the two friends face untold challenges.  368p.  

Wonderstruck  by Brian Selznick
Having lost his mother and his hearing in a short time, twelve-year-old Ben leaves his Minnesota home in 1977 to seek the father he never knew in New York City, and meets there Rose, who is also longing for something missing from her life. Ben's story is told in words; Rose's in pictures.   637p. 

Potterwookiee  by Obert Skye (Humorous Stories)
"The latest creature to emerge from Rob's closet is a cross between Chewbacca from Star Wars and Harry Potter. Rob names him “Potterwookie” ("Hairy" for short) and soon Rob finds himself treading water as he tries to figure out how to care for his mixed-up friend." 245p.

Legion of the Dead  by Paul Stewart (Barnaby Grimes series) 
Barnaby Grimes ia a tick-tock lad, delivering messages and running errands all over the city, day and night. Gangland funerals and diving expeditions are hazardous enough, but when the graveyards begin to give up their dead, this tick-tock lad is faced with his deadliest challenge yet. 224p.

My Life as a Stuntboy  by Janet Tashjian
Twelve-year-old Derek Fallon has the opportunity of a lifetime--to perform stunts in a movie featuring a popular twelve-year-old star--but complications arise involving his best friend, a capuchin monkey, and Derek's chronic inability to concentrate on schoolwork.  256p. 

Three Times Lucky  by Sheila Turnage  
Rising sixth-grader Mo LoBeau leads eccentric residents of Tupelo Landing, North Carolina, on a rollicking journey of mystery and adventure as she investigates a murder and searches for her long-lost mother. 312p.  

As Simple As It Seems  by Sarah Weeks
Eleven-year-old Verbena Polter gets through a difficult summer of turbulent emotions and the revelation of a disturbing family secret with an odd new friend who believes she is the ghost of a girl who drowned many years before.  181p.

NONFICTION

 

A Black Hole Is Not a Hole. by Carolyn Cinami DeCristofano. 
Using analogies within a child's experience, this deceptively clear, engaging introduction to black holes describes, explains, excites, and sparks a sense of wonder.

The Mighty Mars Rovers: The Incredible Adventurof Spirit and Opportunity. by Elizabeth Rusch. 
Follows the creation and launch of the first two Mars rovers in 2004, their explorations of the Red Planet for the following six years, and the challenges that faced the scientists who built and guided them.  

Moonbird : A Year on the Wind with the Great Survivor B95. by Phillip M. Hoose.  
B95, a four-ounce shorebird, is the subject of this fast-paced tale of endurance. 

Titanic: Voices from the Disaster  by Deborah Hopkinson
Tells the tale of the sinking of the Titanic using the narratives of the witnesses and survivors to the disaster. 289p

Abraham Lincoln & Frederick Douglass: The Story Behind an American Friendship
by Russell Freedman.
Though one was born a free man and the other a slave, Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass had much in common.  In this dynamic study, Freedman explains how their influential lives intersected and benefitted a nation.  119p. 

Iceberg, Right Ahead! : The Tragedy of the Titanic. by Stephanie S. McPherson  T910.9   
Drawing from official documents, logs, and diaries and illustrated with plentiful photographs, this well-organized, gripping chronicle records the tragic story, from the original design and construction to the discovery of the ship's remains and motion picture recreations.