If you ever ended up in a fantasy world, what would be the one thing you would want to have? Potions from a wizard? A dragon companion? A unicorn to ride? How about a magical sword?
The kids in these books either have a magical sword, or are looking for one. If you’re a fan of fantasy books, you’ll know that they usually prove to be useful…if not right away, then eventually. If you love fantasy, one of these books is sure to fit your reading needs.
Our “5 Books…” lists include five books (usually with a couple extras) on a specific topic, with a short synopsis so you can decide if the story sounds like something you would like. Five Books–one old, one new, one popular with kids, one well-reviewed, and one staff favorite. (Can you guess which is which?)
Lark is determined to escape her squalid life at Miss Starvenger’s boarding house, but she needs to find the coin to do it. Her grand scheme? To steal her fortune from the Royal Museum.
Unfortunately, her heist goes off the rails, and Lark ends up stealing a magical sword right out from under the nose of Prince Jasper, who’s none too happy to have his plans thwarted. Lark soon discovers that the Sword has a mind of its own, and has chosen her to be the next Nightingale, a fabled hero who must vanquish an ancient evil that is waking after centuries of sleep.
Working alone has its limitations, but relying on others after a lifetime of disappointments feels impossible. Still, Lark will need the help of her boarding house roommates if she wants to defeat the villainous forces that threaten to dismantle everything she holds dear.
For the past two hundred years, the demon sword Asperides has led a quiet life. While his physical form has been tasked with guarding the body of an evil sorcerer, the rest of his consciousness has taken a well-earned vacation. That constant need to trick humans into wielding him (at the price of their very souls, of course) was rather draining.
Nack Furnival, on the other hand, is far from satisfied with his existence. Nack has trained since birth to be a brave and noble knight–but, unfortunately, he isn’t especially good at it. Determined to prove his worth, Nack needs a quest. And to complete that quest, he’ll need the one thing no knight can do without: a sword.
When an attempt to resurrect the evil sorcerer throws Asperides into Nack’s path, the demon sword can’t help but trick the boy into making a contract to become his new owner. And with the newly undead (and very, very angry) sorcerer on their trail, Asperides and Nack find themselves swept up in a bigger adventure than either of them bargained for: saving the world.
Part of the spell has already been broken. The first stones have begun to crumble.
In Artie Kingfisher’s world, wizards named Merlin, fire-breathing dragons, and swords called Excalibur exist only in legends and lore–until the day his video game Otherworld springs to life. You are special, Arthur, says the mysterious message in his game. In one week’s time you will come to me at the it.
Cryptic clues lead Artie to a strange place called the Invisible Tower, where he discovers that nothing in his life is as it seems. Artie is none other than King Arthur, brought to life in the twenty-first century. Artie has won the battle in the virtual Otherworld–now the key to saving the real Otherworld lies in his hands as well.
Green dragons, hungry wolves, powerful sorcerers–suddenly Artie must battle them all as he wields Excalibur and embarks on a quest worthy of the Knights of the Round Table. With his sister, Kay, by his side, Artie steps into the Otherworld–straight toward his destiny. Magical swords REALLY come into play in book two,The Seven Swords. But read the whole series!
Harry Crewe is a Homelander orphan girl, come to live in Damar from over the seas. She is drawn to the bleak landscape, so unlike the green hills of her Homeland. She wishes she might cross the sands and climb the dark mountains where no Homelander has ever set foot, where the last of the old Damarians, the Free Hillfolk, live.
Corlath is the golden-eyed king of the Free Hillfolk, son of the sons of the legendary Lady Aerin. When he arrives in Harry’s town to ally with the Homelanders against a common enemy, he never expects to set Harry’s destiny in motion: She will ride into battle as a King’s Rider, bearing the Blue Sword, the great mythical treasure, which no one has wielded since Lady Aerin herself.
Legends and myths, no matter how epic, no matter how magical, all begin somewhere.
Ellie can’t help that she’s a witch, the most hated member of society. Determined to prove her worth and eschew her heritage, Ellie applies to the Fairy Godmother Academy–her golden ticket to societal acceptance. But Ellie’s dreams are squashed when she receives the dreaded draft letter to serve as a knight of King Arthur’s legendary Round Table. She can get out of the draft–but only if she saves a lost cause. Enter Caedmon, a boy from Wisconsin struggling with the death of his best friend.
He first dismisses the draft as ridiculous; magic can’t possibly exist. But when Merlin’s ancient magic foretells his family’s death if he doesn’t follow through, he travels to the knights’ castle, where he learns of a wicked curse leeching the knights of their power. To break the curse, Ellie and Caedmon must pass a series of deathly trials and re-forge the lost, shattered sword of Excalibur. And unless Ellie accepts her witch magic and Caedmon rises to become the knight he’s meant to be, they will both fail–and the world will fall to the same darkness that brought King Arthur and Camelot to ruin.
All Momo wants for her twelfth birthday is an ordinary life–like everyone else’s. At home, she has to take care of her absentminded widowed mother. At school, kids ridicule her for mixing up reality with the magical stories her mother used to tell her.
But then Momo’s mother falls gravely ill, and a death hag straight out of those childhood stories attacks Momo at the mall, where she’s rescued by a talking fox . . . and “ordinary” goes out the window. It turns out that Momo’s mother is a banished Shinto goddess who used to protect a long-forgotten passageway to Yomi–a.k.a. the land of the dead. That passageway is now under attack, and countless evil spirits threaten to escape and wreak havoc across the earth.
Joined by Niko the fox and Danny–her former best friend turned popular jerk, whom she never planned to speak to again, much less save the world with–Momo must embrace her (definitely not “ordinary”) identity as half human, half goddess to unlock her divine powers, save her mother’s life, and force the demons back to Yomi.
Daystar has never seen his mother, Cimorene, actually perform magic. Nor has he ever known her to enter the Enchanted Forest in all the years they have lived on its edge. That is, not until a wizard shows up at their cottage the day after his birthday. Much to Daystar’s surprise, Cimorene melts the unsavory wizard. And the following day, she comes out of the Enchanted Forest carrying a sword. With that and a few supplies, she kicks him out of the house and into the Forest.
Two rules one must always remember when traveling in the Enchanted Forest: always be polite and never say yes to a favor until you know what you’re being asked to do. Daystar has no idea why he’s tromping around the forest fighting wizards and monsters with what is obviously a magical sword, but he keeps those rules in mind as he stumbles upon a quick-tempered firewitch and a baby dragon. Daystar realizes that the sword is leading him to adventures beyond what he ever imagined. This is a stand-alone conclusion to the Enchanted Forest Chronicles–although you might want to brush up on all Cimorene’s adventures before reading this one!
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And there you have it. A phalanx of swords–or sword books, anyway. If you’d like more, just type Excalibur into our Library Catalog, and see what else pops up. You’ll have enough reading to last you through the rest of the winter!
Check out these books, on display over the paperbacks, and see what catches your fancy.
As always, if you need help finding these or any other books, ask one of our librarians for help. We love pairing books and readers!
It’s time for a new 5 Books list! This time, it’s survival…or is it? In these books, kids are gamers…and they’re either trying to beat the game, or maybe they’re just trying survive it. In some of the books, they don’t even know they’re IN a game! So how are YOUR gaming skills? Good enough to get to the end of the game? What if you thought it was your world?
This was another 5 Books list that got away from me. Too many choices! But you can still look for the qualifications for our Five Books list: 5 books (or more!) on a specific topic, with a short synopsis so you can decide if it sounds like something you would like. Five Books–one old, one new, one popular with kids, one well-reviewed, and one staff favorite. (But you’ll have to guess which is which)!
The books on this list all feature gamers, virtual reality, simulations, augmented realities and surviving the game.
Meet Bryan Biggins. Most of the time he’s a freckle-faced boy, small for his age, who attends a school known for its unwritten uniform of North Face jackets and Hollister jeans. The rest of the time he is Kieran Nightstalker, the level-fifty dark-elf hero of his favorite video game, Sovereign of Darkness. And then one day Bryan wakes up to find out his life has become a video game. Sort of. Except instead of fighting dragons or blasting bad guys, he’s still doing geometry and getting picked last for dodgeball. It’s still middle school. Only now there’s much more at stake.
Stealing the Twinkie from underneath the noses of those dieting teachers isn’t enough to earn him another life. And battling the creature that escaped from the science lab doesn’t seem to cut it either. And who knew Romeo and Juliet would turn into a zombie bloodbath?!
All the while he’s losing hit points and gaining levels, and facing the truth that GAME OVER might flash before his eyes at any minute. It all seems to be building to something…something that has been haunting Bryan since way before his life turned into an X-Box nightmare, a challenge that only he can face. Will Bryan find a way to beat the game before it’s too late?
Jesse Rigsby hates video games–and for good reason. You see, a video game character is trying to kill him…
After getting sucked in the new game Full Blast with his friend Eric, Jesse starts to see the appeal of vaporizing man-size praying mantis while cruising around by jet pack. But pretty soon, a mysterious figure begins following Eric and Jesse, and they discover they can’t leave the game. If they don’t figure out what’s going on fast, they’ll be trapped for good!
Read the entire series! And the Choose-Your-Own Adventures sequels, Escape from a Video Game as well!
Adam’s father is developing cutting-edge research on virtual electronic game-playing when suddenly he disappears—and Adam finds himself being hunted by men with guns, and worse—a savage, man-eating dinosaur. Is the dinosaur real, or just part of the game? Where is his father? And what happens when your video game turns into real life?
From Santa Fe, New Mexico, to Edinburgh, Scotland, thirteen-year-old Adam Adlar must elude police while being hunted by a dinosaur come-to-life from a virtual reality game invented by his father, who has gone missing.
Clip and Sadie Chu couldn’t be more different. Popular, athletic Clip wants to become his school’s first seventh-grade soccer captain, while brainy star student Sadie is determined to prove that she can do anything her boastful brother can. They have just one thing in common: they love laser tag. Like, really love it.
When the Blackwood Gaming Arena comes to town, bringing virtual reality headsets and state-of-the-art courses, they couldn’t be more excited–or competitive. But then a mysterious figure appears and claims to be a part of the game, forcing the Chus and their friends to save themselves from a sinister force lurking inside the simulation. Together, they must fight their way through epic battlegrounds that will test their speed, skills, and smarts . . . but will Clip and Sadie learn that they’re far better off working together than competing for the ultimate victory? The first in what looks to be a fun series!
Monsters Unleashed–where you catch virtual-reality monsters on your cellphone–is one of the hottest mobile games around, and Bex and Charlie just can’t stop playing. They even check out an old map in Charlie’s grandfather’s attic in hopes of discovering some forgotten places in town where the rarest monsters might hide.
But they find a strange machine up there too, and after Charlie switches it on, the WiFi goes down . . . and Bex’s entire catalog of monsters vanishes! And that’s not the worst of it: all the creatures she’s collected on her phone escape into the real world. Can the friends nab the beasts before they become monster lunch? What happens when your cool virtual-reality game . . . becomes REAL?
The Game is just the beginning… Unemployed after high school in the highly robotic society of 2154, where most jobs are done by machines, Lisse and seven friends resign themselves to a boring existence in their “Designated Area”–an abandoned warehouse in a bleak neighborhood where they must scavenge the disintegrating city for food and supplies, just to make ends meet.
But their dismal existence starts to look up when Lisse and her friends are invited to participate in The Game, an experience highly regarded in their society. The Game is a virtual reality experience where players are challenged to survive. Anxious to escape their dreary lives, the friends embrace The Game, which takes them to paradise. But as they spend more time in The Game, the line between reality and fantasy starts to blur. What started as a simple exercise quickly becomes a test of endurance, trust, and their will to live. But is this new world really only a computer simulation? Or could The Game be…real?
Welcome to Dragon Ops, the world’s first augmented-reality video-game theme park. Set on a once-deserted island, our three beta players–classic gamer geek Ian; his adventure-seeking sister, Lily; and their too-cool-for-gaming cousin, Derek–have been lucky enough to score an invite to play before the fully immersive experience opens to the public.
But once inside, they find themselves trapped in a game taken over by a rogue AI dragon called Atreus, and suddenly the stakes go beyond the virtual world. With no cheat codes, guidebooks, save points, or do-overs, they’ll need all their cunning and video-game hacks to beat the game . . . and survive in real life. One wrong move, and it’s game over.
Yared Heywat lives an isolated life in Addis Prime — a hardscrabble city with rundown tech, lots of rules, and not much to do. His worrywart Uncle Moti and bionic lioness Besa are his only family… and his only friends. Often in trouble for his thrill-seeking antics and smart mouth, those same qualities make Yared a star player of the underground augmented reality game, The Hunt for Kaleb’s Obelisk. But when a change in the game rules prompts Yared to log in with his real name, it triggers an attack that rocks the city. In the chaos, Uncle Moti disappears.
Suddenly, all the stories Yared’s uncle told him as a young boy are coming to life, of kingdoms in the sky and city-razing monsters. And somehow Yared is at the center of them. Together with Besa and the Ibis — a game rival turned reluctant ally — Yared must search for his uncle… and answers to his place in a forgotten, galaxy-spanning war. The first book of an exciting series!
Using personalized avatars, Bradley, Edelle and Hunter look for a fresh start in school when a virtual reality academy opens after a pandemic. The new classmates will be wearing virtual-reality headsets and attending a three-dimensional, simulated school while interacting as avatars.
Bradley is eager for a brand-new identity. A cool avatar will allow him to escape the bullies who have made fun of him for years and gives him a fresh start to make new friends on his own terms. Edelle is forced to attend the virtual school by her mom who says she’s too obsessed with popularity and how she looks. Even worse, Edelle’s mom insists she chooses a generic avatar. Edelle registers under a new name so no one can identify her. But will she lose her social status if no one can recognize her? Hunter is known for his popularity, charm, and his lustrous hair, except with his recent diagnosis of alopecia, his hair has begun to fall out. VR school allows him to maintain his popularity–and the illusion of a full head of hair–even if it means hiding behind an avatar. He wonders how being isolated will affect his relationships.
As Bradley, Edelle, and Hunter get to know each other in their virtual environment, they realize that the virtual school is not all fun and games and the simulated environment just brings different problems. As they look at their world through a new lens, will they learn about what true friendship means?
After Rogan Webber levels up yet again on his favorite video game, Laser Viper, the world-famous creator of the game invites him to join the five best players in the country for an exclusive tournament. The gamers are flown to the tech mogul’s headquarters, where they stay in luxury dorms and test out cutting edge virtual-reality gaming equipment, doing digital battle as powerful fighting robots. It’s the ultimate gaming experience.
But as the contest continues, the missions become harder, losing gamers are eliminated, and the remaining contestants face the growing suspicion that the game may not be what it seems. Why do the soldiers and robots they fight in Laser Viper act so weird? What’s behind the strange game glitches? And why does the game feel so…real? Rogan and his gamer rivals must come together, summoning the collective power of their Gamer Army to discover the truth and make things right…in a dangerous world where video games have invaded reality.
Andy and Mika are going to Tokyo! The Kudo Kids have never been to Japan before, so they can’t believe they get to attend the Summer Olympics there. The siblings plan to eat tons of delicious Japanese food, watch every event they can, and win a super-popular new game called OlympiFan.
Developed by a mysterious former medalist, OlympiFan brings players together from all over the world to search Tokyo for virtual medals and clues to the creator’s identity. Andy loves puzzles, and he’s determined to crack this one, especially since the winning team will get to be beta testers for the Masked Medalist’s future games!
Mika wants to find as many clues as she can, but she also has a secret goal of her own–one that could get her into big trouble. But when someone sabotages the game, the Kudo Kids have an even bigger mystery to solve than the Masked Medalist’s identity. If they want to capture the gold, Mika and Andy have to figure out who’s trying to stop their team before someone beats them to the grand prize! Try the second book in the series as well.
Natalie has a secret. She’s a gamer. By day, Natalie is an average eighth grade student. At night, she’s Gnat112! Living a double life is hard . . . and keeping a secret from your friends is even harder. When a new girl moves in next door, Natalie is shocked to find out that she’s a gamer, too. What happens when her two worlds collide? If only Natalie could battle middle school like video game aliens!
Adventure, danger, and a thrilling global mission await Cruz Coronado as he joins an elite school for explorers.
Cruz leaves his tranquil home in Hawaii to join 23 talented kids from around the globe to train at the Explorer Academy with the world’s leading scientists to become the next generation of great explorers. But for Cruz, there’s more at stake. No sooner has he arrived at the Academy than he discovers that his family has a mysterious past with the organization that could jeopardize his future. In the midst of codebreaking and cool classes, new friends and augmented reality expeditions, Cruz must tackle the biggest question of all- Who is out to get him, and why?
In Reyna Cheng’s world, gaming is everything. Professional esports teams are the mainstream celebrities. Kids begin training from a young age, aspiring for the big leagues.
Reyna is the up-and-coming junior amateur Dayhold gamer, competing in a VR battle royale against AI monsters and human players. But despite Reyna’s rising popularity and skills, no one knows who she is. Gaming is still a boys’ club and to protect herself against trolls and their harassment, she games the mysterious TheRuiNar.
When Reyna qualifies for the Dayhold Junior Tournament, she knows she’s got what it takes to win the championship title and the $10,000 prize. It’s a chance to make a step forward towards her professional esports dreams and to help her family with the costs of her mother’s hospital bills. But when she’s blackmailed and threatened to be doxed by an anonymous troll, Reyna has to confront the toxic gaming community head-on. With her dreams and the cash prize on the line, it’s game on!
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So…after reading these summaries, what do you think? Would you want to enter an actual Virtual Reality? Should video games be as realistic as “real life”? or is it better to give yourself some kind of escape plan..?
As always, if you need help finding these (or any other) books in the Library, just ask one of our librarians for help. We love matching kids with books! And…if you should happen to have any suggestions to add to this list, leave them in a comment. We’d love to know more titles that fit the list!
Have you ever thought about finding gold? Just picking up rocks from the ground and having them turn out to be treasure? It has happened…but mostly, it was a lot of hard work. The kids in these books are searching for gold…either panning for it in mining towns during a gold rush, or searching for a treasure hidden by someone who did all the hard work! These books take place in the Yukon, in California, in Australia and in the Southwest. I bet you never knew there were so many places to have adventures looking for hidden gold… (If you want books featuring the California Gold Rush, check out the San Francisco Booklist from earlier this year.) These are mostly historical fiction, with a couple adventures thrown in.
Our 5 Books feature is a booklist of five books (or more!) on a specific topic, with a short synopsis so you can decide if it sounds like something you would like. Five Books–one old, one new, one popular with kids, one well-reviewed, and one staff favorite. (But you’ll have to guess which is which)!
California, 1852. Sage, a golden, big-hearted mutt, is abandoned by her pack. She is about to give up hope when a silly bird squawks her out of her sadness and leads her to Sheng, a young gold prospector. Sheng renames her Bo-Bo, the Chinese word for treasure, and they soon become inseparable.
When Bo-Bo frees a caged bear, the bear’s owner–who is also a cruel tax collector–demands a huge price from Sheng for losing the bear. But where can Bo-Bo and Sheng find that much gold? Their only chance is a fabled cave rumored to be filled with treasure. But the cave is supposedly located across the foothills, on a path loaded with danger. Will Bo-Bo and Sheng find it in time?
Welcome to Nowhere, Arizona, the least livable town in the United States. For Gus, a bright 13-year-old with dreams of getting out and going to college, life there is made even worse by Bo Taylor, Nowhere’s biggest, baddest bully. When Bo tries to force Gus to eat a dangerously spiny cactus, Rossi Scott, one of the best racers in Nowhere, comes to his rescue–but in return she has to give Bo her prized dirt bike. Determined to buy it back, Gus agrees to go searching for gold in Dead Frenchman Mine, joined by his old friends Jessie Navarro and Matthew Dufort, and Rossi herself. As they hunt for treasure, narrowly surviving everything from cave-ins to mountain lions, they bond over shared stories of how hard life in Nowhere is–and they realize this adventure just may be their way out.
Even though Henry Barker and his two brothers learned firsthand that the urban legend about danger on nearby Superstition Mountain wasn’t just a myth, this doesn’t stop them from planning their return. Along with their friend Delilah, the Barker brothers soon find themselves entangled in more danger and mystery as they uncover a real treasure, but the discovery comes at a very big price–they barely survive an avalanche. The question remains–is someone after them, or is the mountain seeking revenge?
The middle book in an exciting trilogy. (Gold figures into the last book as well.)
Life in 1880 Tenmile, Colorado, isn’t easy. But it’s all that 12-year-old Sissy Carlson knows. She’s lived here her whole life, watching her father, the local doctor, tend to the town’s citizens. And while the mountain setting is gorgeous, Tenmile is a rough gold mining town. It often feels like there’s just a thin line between life and death. Mining is a hard job; men are hurt or even killed. Sissy sees the same thin line between the haves and the have-nots as she assists her father in his practice, seeing firsthand the personal and not-always-private struggles of his patients. Now that she’s older, Sissy is starting to think of the world beyond Tenmile and where she might fit in. What opportunities might she find if she could just get away? What kind of future does Tenmile offer, especially for a girl?
Newly orphaned, young Annyrose escapes from the villainous O.O. Mary and falls under the protection of a proud and fearless Mexican bandit, regarded as the Robin Hood of the California Gold Rush. Annyrose wants only to search for her older brother who had run off to the gold diggings, but she finds herself galloping beside the celebrated outlaw in his own quest. He is hunting down the last of a band of “Yankee” riffraff who wronged him, an event that turned the innocent young Mexican into an avenging terror of the roads. With his characteristic story twists and turns and surprises, Newbery Award winner Sid Fleischman lights up a dark corner in this Gold Rush drama set against a firestorm of bigotry ignited by the lust for riches. As for this legendary bandit, dashing about on his silken black horse and breathing fire, he actually lived.
It’s the 1920s, and Bo was headed for an Alaska orphanage when she won the hearts of two tough gold miners who set out to raise her, enthusiastically helped by all the kind people of the small town and nearby native village.
Bo learns Eskimo along with English, helps in the cookshack, learns to polka, and rides along with Big Annie and her dog team. There’s always some kind of excitement: Bo sees her first airplane, makes doughnuts, and has a run-in with a bear. When a speechless boy shows up in the camp, Bo’s compassion helps him heal…and finds him a home.
An unforgettable story of a little girl growing up in the exhilarating time after the big Alaska gold rushes. Also read the follow-up; Bo at Iditarod Creek.
“Gold!” Jason shouted at the top of his lungs. “Read all about it! Gold discovered in Alaska!”
Within hours of hearing the thrilling news, fifteen-year-old Jason Hawthorn jumps a train for Seattle, stow away on a ship bound for the goldfields, and joins thousands of fellow prospectors attempting the difficult journey to the Klondike. The Dead Horse Trail, the infamous Chilkott Pass, and a five-hundred-mile trip by canoe down the Yukon River lie ahead. With help from a young writer named Jack London, Jason and his dog face moose, bears, and the terrors of a subartic winter in this bone-chilling survival story.
Grandfather and Roo, a remarkable dog with strong views and a short attention span, are off to Australia, on an expedition to find long-lost Uncle Vincent, who ran away to seek his fortune years ago. Roo is worried about Australia being upside down, but that turns out to be the least of their problems. After a tricky flight the intrepid explorers land in Sidney, Australia–not Sydney, as it turns out–and must advance up the Snakey River to Gold Town. Grandfather and Roo endure blistering heat, a rebellious camel, and disreputable kangaroos, as they head off on foot to find the Gold Field, last known home of Uncle Vincent.
The journal from Henry’s trip across the country with the Glass family, telling of the sights they saw and the strange things which resulted when Henry and Midge became involved in innocent and blameless goings-on. The oldest book on this list–written in 1963–it definitely has some issues reflecting the time it was written. But the panning for gold chapter (Saturday, June 19th–Yosemite Nation Park) is a fun read where Henry and Midge inadvertently start a gold rush.)
The small, run-down town of Eden is the only place Jenny Burns has ever called home. The roots of the trees are in her bones, the air of the mountains is in her breath, the lakes and rivers are in her blood. And that’s why, when her father loses his job and tells Jenny that they may have to move on from Eden, she knows she can’t let that happen.
The fever of New Zealand’s gold rush still runs in the veins of Eden, and everyone knows the legend of Doc Magee: how he found the largest gold nugget anyone had ever seen and hid it somewhere in the hills before he disappeared.
Jenny and her best friend, Pandora, know that if they can find the gold, it’ll solve all their problems. But the way is fraught with mysteries, riddles, and danger–and those are just the threats they know about. Before her quest is over, Jenny will have to face challenges from within as well as from without.
Archie is traveling with his uncle Harold, a member of an entertainment revue hired by the renovated Dawson City Theatre, to perform for the Yukon gold rushers. While there, Harold befriends an older gentleman, Montgomery Wycroft, who is in the area panning for gold. Archie and his uncle opt to stay behind in Dawson City, joining Monty on his dangerous quest for gold, battling with both greedy gold-seekers and the unforgiving Canadian terrain. Will Archie and his uncle strike gold, or will they find something more valuable?
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Don’t you just want to put on your Levi’s, grab a flat pan and head for the nearest stream? Probably nothing can be found around here, but it’s easy to picture all those prospectors hoping to strike it rich!
Can you think of any gold prospecting books that you read and loved? Some of the books that I read as a kid–The Extraordinary Adventures of Chee Chee McNerney by Evelyn Nevin, Mystery of the Haunted Mine by Gordon D. Shirreffs, and By the Great Horn Spoon by Sid Fleischman–set me looking for gold rush books, something that I enjoy even now. The first two books are long out of print, but still hit book stumper lists fairly frequently, so I guess they made an impression on quite a few young readers. I wonder if any of the books on this list will still be remembered in 2053…
If you need help finding the books on this list, or any other books in the library, just ask one of our librarians. We love matching books with readers!
So I’ve been on a fantastical creatures kick lately. There are so many good books featuring dragons and unicorns, but not so many of the lesser known creatures, like phoenixes, or hippogryphs, or…gryphons! (I prefer the British spelling, it looks more…magical.) But since maybe not so many people know them, apart from the Harry Potter books, I thought it might be fun to do a 5 Books Feature! But when nine titles came up, it was too difficult to decide what to remove…
For some reason, quite a few of these titles are the second book in a series. The links to the first books have been included, so readers can check both out. Remember, our 5 Books Feature is a booklist of five books (or this time, nine books) on a specific topic, with a short synopsis so you can decide if it sounds like something you would like. Five Books–one old, one new, one popular with kids, one well-reviewed, and one staff favorite. (But you’ll have to guess which is which)!
After the events of The Royal Guide to Monster Slaying, Rowan is now the Royal Monster Hunter, and her twin brother, Rhydd, is destined to be king. But her mother’s cousin Heward is still determined that his children be the ones to inherit the titles; and he will stop at nothing to show that Rowan and Rhydd are too immature to properly lead. After the gryphon that Rowan captured gives birth but then dies, Rowan is left with a baby gryphon she knows she cannot keep. And it grows faster than anyone can imagine… In order to save face after an accident involving the troublesome young gryphon, Rowan and her friends Dain and Alianor (along with an entourage of monstrous companions), must journey to the mountains to release the gryphon back into the wild. What starts off as a simple enough task soon becomes a dangerous quest, as the group encounters numerous rare and deadly monsters along the way, including wyverns and ceffyl-dwrs. Nothing is easy when you’re a “monster magnet” like Rowan. (You should read the first book first, but the second one is the title with a gryphon on the cover! The whole series is excellent.)
With her thirteenth birthday just around the corner, Giada Bellantuono has to make a big decision: Will she join the family business and become a healer or follow her dreams? But even though she knows her calling is to heal vulnerable animals, using her powers to treat magical creatures is decidedly not allowed. When a group of witches kidnaps her beloved older brother, Rocco, and her parents are away, Giada is the only person left who can rescue him. Swept into the magical underground city of Malafi, Giada will need the help of her new companions to save her brother–or risk losing him forever. To save her family, she’ll have to make a dangerous bargain and tip the scales of balance. (Another series, but this time the gryphon is in the first book!)
Meet Gerald. Gerald is a griffin–a creature with the body of a lion and the head of an eagle. According to the Code of the Griffins, that means he should be: 1. Brave and fierce in all situations! 2. A guardian of a great treasure! 3. Completely and totally hidden from the human realm! But what if a Griffin ISN’T brave or fierce? What if he’s NEVER found a great treasure (or ANY treasure for that matter)? What if he feels like such an embarrassment that the only thing left to do is run away? And what if the only place no one will look for him is . . . the human world? A laugh-out-loud adventure, full of humor and heart. (Also the second book in a series, but each title is about a different magical creature.)
It’s now been two years since Ben and Firedrake defeated Nettlebrand and rescued the silver dragons. Both boy and dragon have finally found homes, but they must live hundreds of miles apart and can only see each other every once in a while. During one such visit, news reaches Ben, the Greenblooms, and their friends that the last Pegasus in the world has been discovered. The legendary horse has three unhatched eggs with him, but the only way they’ll ever hatch — and continue the survival of this incredible magical species — is to place them under a griffin’s feather. But griffins are the most dangerous creatures in the world, and their mortal enemies are dragons… Ben has vowed not to tell Firedrake about his quest, to protect him. But as he and the Greenbloom team set off for a remote island where the terrible griffins are rumored to live, he may just need the help of his best friend and dragon… Make sure to read the first Dragon Rider book too!
Haunted by a dream of a mythical gryphon, Sam London uncovers an ancient secret that will change the way he sees the world forever. Recruited by Dr. Vance Vantana, an eccentric zoologist and park ranger sent by the government, Sam is whisked away on an adventure that takes him to the farthest reaches of the globe. Along this journey, Sam learns an incredible truth: mythical creatures are real and living among us in our national parks. A special department in the U.S. government ensures that their existence remains hidden. But Sam’s dream is an omen that the secret may now be in danger. Someone seeks the power to expose these creatures and overthrow humankind–and that power can only be found in a magical talisman known as the gryphon’s claw. (First in a trilogy!)
A castle that is constantly rearranging itself, and a young royal family sworn to protect it… Celie, Rolf, and their beloved Castle Glower are back in this exciting sequel. When her brother Rolf dares her to catch magical Castle Glower creating a new room, Princess Celie takes the challenge! No one knows the Castle better than she does. But as usual, the Castle has ideas of its own. Celie finds the new room first, and inside it is hidden a giant egg. It looks like The Castle wants Celie to care for the egg and whatever creature it hatches. Celie hadn’t bargained for a pet, and caring for this one will prove to be especially tricky, once Celie and her siblings realise what else the Castle is hiding… Make sure to read all the Castle Glower series, starting with Tuesdays at the Castle!
Mr. Chesney operates Pilgrim Parties, a tour group that takes paying participants into an outer realm where the inhabitants play frightening and foreboding roles. The time has come to end the staged madness . . . but can it really be stopped? Master storyteller Diana Wynne Jones serves up twists and turns, introduces Querida, Derk, Blade, and Shona and a remarkable cast of wizards, soldiers, kings, dragons, and griffins, and mixes in a lively dash of humor. With all the ingredients of high fantasy, this unforgettable novel will delight fans old and new. Make sure to read the sequel too: Year of the Griffin! (Don’t be alarmed by the covers…for some reason, this wonderful author’s books usually have rather frightening cover images. But they definitely fit the saying “Don’t judge a book by its cover”…because they are delightful.)
For Kate, ordinary life in Minnesota is just a memory, especially when she and her brothers discover a magical baby griffin while vacationing in a small Italian town. Suddenly, they find themselves in an extraordinary magical adventure of mystery and a whole world of trouble. Kate’s father’s work has brought the family overseas to a countryside estate in Tuscany. Kate spends much of her time with her younger brother, nine-year-old Michael, roaming the beautiful estate grounds. When they find a lost baby griffin–a strange, fantastical creature with colorful downy feathers and tufts of fur–they are swept into a journey of excitement and fear, marked by the sinister Prince Eduardo. Kate and Michael try to keep Grifonino safe and his existence a secret, but greedy paparazzi and eager scientists threaten the creature’s safety. With the help of their older brother Stephen, the siblings set out to return the magical creature to his mysterious home. Will they succeed? (The only one on this list that’s a single title.)
All her life Wren has hoped for an adventure. Now she has one-with a kidnapped princess, a handsome prince, and a magician. What does it matter if the princess is only Tess, her best friend from the orphanage; if the prince is a youngest son with no chance of becoming king; and the magician is an apprentice? Wren leads the other three over mountains and past killing spells, fighting battles along the way. But then she finds herself up against some shape-changing magic that may end her life as a human forever! (The first of a wonderful–but diffictult to find–series.)
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And there you have it…lots and lots of gryphons. (And even more, if you read all the series.) Would you want a pet gryphon? What would you do with it? Let us know if we’ve missed any of your favorites.
As always, if you need help finding these (or any other) books in the library, just ask one of our librarians. We love matching kids and readers!
This started off as another Five Books Feature. But there were so many good Robot Books, it got split into categories of types of robots–funny robots, adventurous robots, kid robots, pet robots… But there was no good way to post each segment separately without having it take forever! So here we are..a giant Robot Booklist!
Have you read any of these books? Are there any robots you would add to the list? (If your favorite robot didn’t make this list, it might have been on an earlier version or the list…check that out here.) And enjoy both the old list and the new one!
Lenora is having a very frustrating summer while her parents have adventures around the globe–until she discovers a strange doorway in her local library. It leads to The Library–the ultimate library, filled with all the knowledge of the universe. And Lenora steps right up to become its newest Apprentice Librarian. Lenora’s new job rockets her across the globe and into outer space, to a future filled with robots, and to a dark nothingness that wants to destroy the library. She quickly learns the only way to save it might be unlocking the knowledge inside its endless shelves… The Library of Ever is an adventure across time and space, but more importantly across human knowledge, as a young girl discovers what makes books truly magical.
In the future, robots have eliminated humans, and 12-year-old robot XR_935 is just fine with that. Without humans around, there is no war, no pollution, no crime. Every member of society has a purpose. Everything runs smoothly and efficiently. Until the day XR discovers something impossible: a human girl named Emma. Now, Emma must embark on a dangerous voyage with XR and two other robots in search of a mysterious point on a map. But how will they survive in a place where rules are never broken and humans aren’t supposed to exist? And what will they find at the end of their journey? Humorous, action-packed, and poignant, The Last Human tells a story about friendship, technology, and challenging the status quo no matter the consequences. It’s not just about what it means to be a robot–it’s about what it means to be a friend.
Jed is a regular kid with a normal, loving family . . . that is, if it’s normal for a loving family to drop their child off in the middle of nowhere and expect him home in time for Sunday dinner. Luckily, Jed excels at being a regular kid who-armed with wit and determination-can make his way out of any situation. At least until the morning of his twelfth birthday, when Jed wakes to discover his parents missing. Something is wrong. Really wrong. Jed just doesn’t realize HOW wrong. Yet. A cryptic list of instructions leads Jed into a mysterious world at war over . . . junk. Here, batteries and bottled water are currency, tremendously large things fall from the sky, and nothing is exactly what it seems. Resilient Jed, ready to escape, bargains his way onto a flying tugboat with a crew of misfit junkers. They set course to find Jed’s family, but a soul-crushing revelation sends Jed spiraling out of control … perhaps for good.
Can a robot survive in the wilderness? When robot Roz opens her eyes for the first time, she discovers that she is all alone on a remote, wild island. She has no idea how she got there or what her purpose is–but she knows she needs to survive. After battling a violent storm and escaping a vicious bear attack, she realizes that her only hope for survival is to adapt to her surroundings and learn from the island’s unwelcoming animal inhabitants. As Roz slowly befriends the animals, the island starts to feel like home–until, one day, the robot’s mysterious past comes back to haunt her.
Melanie Gate is a foundling with a peculiar talent for opening the unopenable–any lock releases at the touch of her hand. One night, her orphanage is visited by Traveler, a gearling automaton there on behalf of his magical mistress, who needs an apprentice pronto. When Melanie is selected because of her gift, her life changes in a flash, and in more ways than she knows–because Traveler is not at all what he seems. But then, neither is Melanie Gate. So begins an epic adventure sparkling with magic, wit, secret identities, stinky cats, fierce orphan girls, impostor boys, and a foundling and gearling hotly pursued by the most powerful and dangerous wizard in the land.
When Akiko comes home from school one day, she finds an envelope waiting for her with no stamp and no return address. The message inside reads Dear Akiko: We are coming to get you. Meet us outside your bedroom window tonight at 8:00. Don’t forget your toothbrush. How could anyone meet her outside her window? She lives on the 17th floor, for goodness sake. But that evening, as Akiko is preparing to study for tomorrow’s geography test, she finds a small spacecraft hovering outside her window with two odd little men and a robot inside. They have been sent to whisk Akiko off to the Planet Smoo where she will lead a team enlisted to find the King of Smoo’s kidnapped son, Prince Froptoppit. Akiko, the leader of a rescue mission? She’s too timid to be on the school’s safety patrol! So begins Akiko’s adventure across the land of Smoo to find a prince and become a leader.
Maya’s nervous about fifth grade. She tries to keep calm by reminding herself she knows what to expect. But then she learns that this year won’t be anything like the last. For the first time since kindergarten, her best friends Jada and MJ are placed in a different class without her, and introverted Maya has trouble making new friends. She tries to put on a brave face since they are in fifth grade now, but it’s too much! Just when everything seems to be changing, she finds a robot named Ralph in the back of Mr. Mac’s convenience store closet. Once she uses her science skills to get him up and running, a whole new world of connection opens up as Ralph becomes a member of her family and Maya begins to step into her power as she discovers she can always turn to her curiosity if she’s feeling lost.
Annalyn Reynolds Court is one of many children of the powerful, handsome president of Mars. Like her favorite half-brother, Evan, she must enroll at the elite military academy in the capital city of Olympia. There they will train to be presidential bodyguards and also will learn how to defend their fragile, crystal-domed environment from invasion. Although Annalyn performs brilliantly in school, she finds her teachers unwilling to answer certain questions… Who are these enemies that so jealously resent her father’s leadership? Is it true, that MTs–mind-transfer chips—allow some people to live forever as androids? Even before graduation, a deadly struggle between commoners and elites turns Marian society upside down. Now a commander, Annalyn can rely on only her super-intelligent protector robot, Hector, when she finds herself facing a monumental decision.
When a towering giant made of iron appears out of nowhere, young Hogarth sees him not as a monster, but a friend. The townspeople are terrified of the giant and devise a plan to bring him down. But Hogarth believes in his friend, and rescues him when no one else will. Together, they teach the people of the village and beyond to conquer their fears, for beneath the giant’s rough armor there beats a mighty heart. A story so gripping that when you begin to read it aloud, everyone stops to listen. And once you know it, you never forget it. Forty plus years after publication, it was made into a motion picture.
Strange things are happening at Hexwood Farm, not far from London. On another world entirely, a harassed Sector Controller gets a letter from a maintenance team apparently trapped in Hexwood. A small boy called Hume encounters a robot and a dragon there. Anne Stavely, lying in bed with a virus in her nearby home, watches person after person disappear into the old farmhouse and not come out again. When she feels better, Ann decides to investigate. She goes into the wood, where she meets a tormented sorcerer called Mordion who seems to have arisen from a sleep that has lasted centuries. Yet Ann KNOWS she had seen him enter the farmhouse that morning. Nothing seems to happen in the right order. Nothing quite makes sense. And things keep getting stranger and stranger until, long before the end, the strangeness has spread from Earth right out to the center of the galaxy.
On a winter’s day in a British town, Alex receives a package in the mail: an old tin robot from his grandfather. “This one is special,” says the enclosed note, and when strange events start occurring around him, Alex suspects this small toy is more than special; it might be deadly. Right as things get out of hand, Alex’s grandfather arrives, pulling him away from an attack–and his otherwise humdrum world of friends, bullies, and homework–and into the macabre magic of an ancient family feud. Together, the duo flees across snowy Europe, unraveling the riddle of the little robot while trying to outwit relentless assassins of the human and mechanical kind.
Frances Stenzel was just trying to prove her scientific worth to her parents so they would take her with them to their scientific symposiums for once–instead, she reawakened her great-grandfather’s secret and most terrible invention. Before it can destroy the town, she sets off after it, with her pet chimp and sarcastic robot tutor by her side. But monster-hunting isn’t easy, and she’ll have to face a persistent constable, angry locals, and an unexpected friendship ahead–all while the trail for the monster goes cold and time is running out before her science career, and the city itself, are doomed…forever.
Meet Resilience, a Mars rover determined to live up to his name. Res was built to explore Mars. He was not built to have human emotions. But as he learns new things from the NASA scientists who assemble him, he begins to develop humanlike feelings. Maybe there’s a problem with his programming…. Human emotions or not, launch day comes, and Res blasts off to Mars, accompanied by a friendly drone helicopter named Fly. But Res quickly discovers that Mars is a dangerous place filled with dust storms and giant cliffs. As he navigates Mars’s difficult landscape, Res is tested in ways that go beyond space exploration. As millions of people back on Earth follow his progress, will Res have the determination, courage, and resilience to succeed… and survive?
Everyone in Peter Powers’ family has super awesome superpowers–except Peter. All he can do is make ice cubes and flash freeze little stuff. At least his brother and sister have finally stopped picking on him–mostly. But at school, an even more menacing bully has it out for Peter and his friends. As if that wasn’t enough, Boulder City is being raided by robots! When his parents are captured, will Peter and his siblings be able to work together and save the day? Or will the town–and possibly the world–be iced? Join Peter Powers and his fantastic family for their second action-packed and fun-filled adventure to find out!
Ken is an EngiNerd: one of a super-smart group of friends who have been close since kindergarten. They may be brainiacs, but they’re just like everyone else: they fight with one another, watch too much TV, eat Chinese food, and hate walking their dogs. Well, maybe not JUST like everyone because Ken’s best friend Dan has been building robots and secretly sending one to each of the EngiNerds. At first Ken is awed and delighted: what kid hasn’t dreamed of having a robot all their own? Someone who can clean their room, walk the dog, answer homework questions…how amazing is that? But be careful what you wish for: Dan’s robot, Greeeg, may look innocent, but his ravenous consumption of food–comestibles–turns him into a butt-blasting bot. And once the other robots ‘come alive’ it’s up to the motley crew of EngiNerds to not only save the day, but save the planet!
Finn is the first kid born in space and he spends his days aboard The Famous Marlowe 280 Interplanetary Exploratory Space Station…looking for a new planet to call his own with his robot Foggy and his three best friends Abigail, Elias, and Vale of Explorers Troop. He’s used to wild, galaxy hopping adventures. But when Explorer Troop 301 gets stuck on a planet that’s about to explode, Finn and his friends will have to face giant aliens, a leader with mind control powers, and one evil, fluffy bunny rabbit in order to save the planet . . . and themselves. Join Finn and his friends in all their adventures as they take off to explore uncharted planets, help the occasional alien, and solve a mystery that threatens to destroy the Marlowe.
For monster sleuths Tank and Fizz, proving fourth-grade bully Rizzo Rawlins is planning to cheat in the upcoming Battle Bot Cup should be a piece of cake. But cake crumbles fast, and the case soon leads the detectives to a mysterious hacker known only as the Codex, who threatens all of Rockfall Mountain with a very dark fate. With the help of their wizard-in-training partner, Aleetha, Tank and Fizz leap into action, dodging deadly battle bots and sinister spellbooks in a race to stop the return of a very angry ancient demon.
Kid-genius and inventor Frank Einstein loves figuring out how the world works by creating household contraptions that are part science, part imagination, and definitely unusual. In the series opener, an uneventful experiment in his garage-lab, a lightning storm, and a flash of electricity bring Frank’s inventions – the robots Klink and Klank – to life! Not exactly the ideal lab partners, the wisecracking Klink and the overly expressive Klank nonetheless help Frank attempt to perfect his inventions…until Frank’s archnemesis, T. Edison, steals Klink and Klank for his evil doomsday plan!
Marty, Ralph, and Skyler might make the ultimate secret combo when battling alien-slime ninjas in their favorite video game, but in real life they’re just regular kids. That is, until the three best friends discover Awesome Dog 5000, a robotic dog with very real power-ups. Awesome Dog can “bark” a sonic boom, “walk” at speeds over three hundred miles per hour, and “fetch” with an atomic cannon. Life for Marty, Ralph, and Skyler just got a major turbo-boost! Attention, readers! AWESOME DOG 5000 is a wild action-comedy told through a mix of text and black-and-white illustrations, with a mystery to solve at the end. Can you handle the awesomeness?
In a future United States, civil war is devastating a country on its last legs. On one side- the Patriots. On the other- President Vex’s corrupt government. In the middle- everybody else, just trying to survive. The war is going from bad to worse, but out in the sparsely populated Worselands, twelve-year-old Klynt Tovis doesn’t see much of it. Instead, Klynt spends most of her long summer days bored, or restoring artifacts in her Museum of Fond Memories. Real pet dogs are a thing of the past- after they were found to be carriers of a sickness the government ordered them all killed. But one day an incredible antique shows up at the farm- a D-39 robodog, “Real as a dog can be!” Klynt is overjoyed, but the good luck doesn’t last. When the war makes its way into the empty Worselands, she and D-39 find themselves thrown into an epic journey for survival and hope.
Lacey Chu is a girl who codes. She has always dreamed of working as an engineer for MONCHA, the biggest tech firm in the world and the company behind the “baku”–a customizable “pet” with all the capabilities of a smartphone. But when Lacey is rejected by the elite academy that promises that future, she’s crushed. One night, Lacey comes across the broken form of a highly advanced baku. After she repairs it, the cat-shaped baku she calls Jinx opens its eyes and somehow gets her into her dream school. But Jinx is different than any other baku she’s ever seen…He seems real. As Lacey settles into life at school, competing with the best students in a battle of the bakus that tests her abilities, she learns that Jinx is part of a dangerous secret. Can Lacey hold on to Jinx and her dreams for the future?
When Earth comes under attack by aliens, hilarious heroine Alice Dare and a select group of kids are sent to Mars. But things get very strange when the adults disappear into thin air, the kids face down an alien named Thsaaa, and Alice and her friends must save the galaxy! From her diary: The fact that someone had decided that I would be safer on Mars, where you could still only sort of breathe the air, and sort of not get sunburned to death, was a sign that the war with the aliens was not going fantastically well. I was worried that I was about to be told that my mother’s spacefighter had been shot down, so when I found out that I was being evacuated to Mars, I was pretty calm. And, despite everthing that happened to me and my friends afterward, I’d do it all again. Because until you have been chased by invisible aliens, befriended a robot goldfish, and tried to save the galaxy, I don’t think you can say that you’ve really lived. But if the same thing happens to you, here’s my advice: Always carry tape!
The Robot Federation and the Feline Empire have been at war for eons. And now that fight is coming to a tiny primitive planetoid…Earth. The mission for both cats and robots: retrieve the Singularity Chip. With it, cats can live past their nine lives, and robots are granted eternal battery life. Meanwhile, twin siblings Max and Min Wengrod are as different as can be. Min always gets good grades, and she loves to read and build robots. Max hates school, and prefers to play games and spend time online with friends. When Max rescues two kittens and is determined to keep them, Min is horrified that these furballs could ruin her chances at the Battle of the Bots competition. But with hidden forces at play in their own house, and the larger war between cats and robots fast approaching, will the twins be able to put aside their differences before they get caught in the crossfire?
When a new boy joins their class, everyone thinks he’s . . . odd. George doesn’t behave like other kids. He doesn’t think like other kids. But he’s great at football and snacking, and that’s what matters to Dan and Maxie and friends, who resolve to make George feel welcome. Over time, they learn that he’s just like them, in most ways, except one: George is a robot, part of an ambitious new experiment, with sinister people bent on destroying him. When his lab pulls him out of school, can George’s new friends recover him–and set him free?
It’s the first day at Vanguard One Middle School for a new student—Fuzzy, a state-of-the-art robot! When Fuzzy arrives at the school as part of the Robot Integration Program, seventh grader Max is thrilled. She loves robots. The two become fast friends, and Max teaches her new classmate everything he needs to know about surviving middle school – the good, the bad, and the really, really, ugly. Little do they know that surviving seventh grade is going to become a true matter of life and death! When they discover the super-secret purpose behind the Robot Integration Program, they realize they’ll have to combine Fuzzy’s super smarts with Max’s super savvy to outwit the adults…and an even trickier foe, Vanguard One’s sinister operating system, the all-seeing Vice Principal Barbara!
Who…or what…is Jimmy Coates? Eleven year old Jimmy is on the run. The good news is that he has some sweet new abilities that let him outrun, outjump and outkick anybody—even adults. The bad news is that the mysterious organization that kidnapped Jimmy’s parents is after him and he has no idea why. Except that it might have something to do with his new fighting capabilities. And the fact that he might not be entirely human…
No matter what anyone tells you, I’m real. That’s what the note says that Max finds under his keyboard. He knows that his best friend, Josie, wrote it. He’d know her handwriting anywhere. But why she wrote it–and what it means–remains a mystery. Ever since they met in kindergarten, Max and Josie have been inseparable. Until the summer after fifth grade, when Josie disappears, leaving only a note, and whispering something about “whatnot rules.” But why would Max ever think that Josie wasn’t real? And what are whatnots? As Max sets to uncover what happened to Josie–and what she is or isn’t–little does he know that she’s fighting to find him again, too. But there are forces trying to keep Max and Josie from ever seeing each other again. Because Josie wasn’t supposed to be real…
In an alternative England of the 1930s where the laws of mechanics govern even the most talented engineers, a mismatched group of mechanicals want nothing more than to feel human. Under the guardianship of the devious and unlicensed Gregory Absalom, an engineer who creates mechanical children, they have no choice but to help him in his unlawful practice. But through his unethical work, Absalom winds up creating a loyal and lively group of friends who will go to the ends of the Earth for one another. When the story’s protagonist, Christopher, discovers a devastating secret about himself and the friends are torn apart, it’s up to his friends to find him. What they’ll discover is the secret about the dark experiment that ended in disaster many years before…
Cog looks like a normal twelve-year-old boy. But his name is short for “cognitive development,” and he was built to learn. But after an accident leaves him damaged, Cog wakes up in an unknown lab–and Gina, the scientist who created and cared for him, is nowhere to be found. Surrounded by scientists who want to study him and remove his brain, Cog recruits four robot accomplices for a mission to find her. Cog, ADA, Proto, Trashbot, and Car’s journey will likely involve much cognitive development in the form of mistakes, but Cog is willing to risk everything to find his way back to Gina. Five robots. One unforgettable journey. Their programming will never be the same.
Danny’s a kid. Eric’s a kid, too. He’s also a robot, but he doesn’t know that. For Danny, it becomes hard to ignore Eric’s super strange tendencies. He has weekly “dentist” appointments and parents who never stop smiling. It’s almost impossible to wake him up and he’s always getting fancy gifts from his mysterious uncle. Danny always assumed that Eric was just a spoiled rich kid…until he discovers Eric’s hidden robot reality. As the two friends dig deeper into Eric’s origins and purpose, powerful forces swarm into town, and Danny and Eric are left with more questions than answers–and more danger than humanly possible.
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And there you have it. Robots from our world, robots from the future, robots from the past, robots from alternate realities. Read them all, and see what kind of robot you would make…if you could create such a feat of mechanical engineering. Maybe it could be a new goal!?!
As always, if you need help finding these or any other books in the library, ask one of our librarians. We love to help match kids with books!
Recently, I traveled to the West Coast, where I spent some time with friends in and around San Francisco. Before I went, I did a lot of reading up on the area. Ever since I read Phyllis Whitney’s The Mystery of the Green Cat, San Francisco was somewhere I always wanted to visit. And now I have!
I was going to do a “Five Books Featuring” post on the Bay Area, but there are just so MANY books out there…even when whittled down to just what’s in our middle grade collection! So here is a booklist—divided into three parts—of books based in and around San Francisco. Enjoy!
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Historical From Barbary Pirates to the Gold Rush to the earthquakes of 1906 and 1989…
Victoria Blaisdell longs for independence and adventure, and she yearns to accompany her father as he sails west in search of real gold! But it is 1848, and Tory isn’t even allowed to go to school, much less travel all the way from Rhode Island to California. Determined to take control of her own destiny, Tory stows away on the ship. Though San Francisco is frenzied and full of wild and dangerous men, Tory finds freedom and friendship there. When Tory’s father loses his job and decides to seek a share of the newly discovered gold in California, Tory stows away on the westbound ship carrying her father and younger brother, Jacob. Though San Francisco is mud-caked, frenzied, and full of wild and dangerous men, Tory quickly finds friends and independence – until her father leaves for the gold fields and the care of Jacob falls to her. Then Jacob vanishes, kidnapped, perhaps hidden among the hundreds of ships – called Rotten Row – that have been abandoned in the bay. If he is there, Tory must find him in a treacherous search. Tory comes close to losing everything in her quest for her own and her brother’s freedom.
Lily is the oldest of three children; a Chinese American girl living in San Francisco’s Chinatown. When the 1906 earthquake destroys her home and sets her neighborhood on fire. Her family survives the quake, but the as the city starts to burn, Lily is separated from her parents and Lily must help her younger brother and neighbor escape San Francisco. As the city burns, Lily struggles to keep her group close as they face peril and racism. Will Lily be reunited with her parents and make it across the bay to the safety of Oakland? Will the rest of the family and friends be there waiting for them? Between the fire and the anti-Chinese violence it is not certain that any of them will survive.
San Francisco, 1900. The Gilded Age. A fantastic time to be alive for lots of people . . . but not thirteen-year-old Lizzie Kennedy, stuck at Miss Barstow’s snobby school for girls. Lizzie’s secret passion is science, an unsuitable subject for finishing-school girls. Lizzie lives to go on house calls with her physician father. On those visits to his patients, she discovers a hidden dark side of the city–a side that’s full of secrets, rats, and rumors of the plague. The newspapers, her powerful uncle, and her beloved papa all deny that the plague has reached San Francisco. So why is the heart of the city under quarantine? Why are angry mobs trying to burn Chinatown to the ground? Why is Noah, the Chinese cook’s son, suddenly making Lizzie question everything she has known to be true? Ignoring the rules of race and class, Lizzie and Noah must put the pieces together in a heart-stopping race to save the people they love.
Murderers, mob bosses, and convicts…these guys are not your average neighbors. But it’s 1935, and Moose Flanagan and his family have just moved to Alcatraz, the infamous island that’s home to criminals such as notorious escapee Roy Gardner, Machine Gun Kelly, and, of course, Al Capone. Mosse doesn’t actually get to meet the cons; but he does meet Piper Williams, the warden’s daughter, who comes up with so many schemes that she might as well be a criminal! Now Moose has to try to fit in at his new school, keep his parents happy, avoid getting caught up in Piper’s countless plots, and keep an eye on his sister, Natalie, who’s not like other kids. All Moose wants to do is stay out of trouble. But on Alcatraz, trouble is never very far away.
With their parents attending the 1989 World Series, Fran stays home with her bratty brother, Sidney, and Jennie, a visiting friend. Their reunion is awkward until the earthquake shakes them into action: they lift a Volkswagen off a neighbor, turn off combustible propane tanks, and help at the school emergency shelter. The hours and days after the quake are a time in which the Fran and their neighbors fumble toward survival, showing themselves to be “the best kind of hero…an everyday sort.” With unsettling realism, Franny describes the aftershocks, the struggle to rebuild homes and lives, the triumphs of restoring basic services, and the steps she and her family take to re-establish their lives. Together, they become closer as they cope with the frightening events.
When Jack’s aunt is forced to sell her beloved mansion but is still unable to raise enough money to pay her debts, the twelve-year-old goes to California in search of gold to help her. Joined by his trusty butler, Praiseworthy, Jack finds adventure and trouble at every turn. Brimming with riveting adventure, the story is set during the Gold Rush. The fast-moving plot follows the high spirited young Jack and Praiseworthy set out to strike it rich in order to support the financially strapped and beloved Aunt Arabella. As Jack and the loyal butler travel by sea and land, the pair meet a series of memorable characters such as the daring, crusty sea Captain Swain and the diabolical Cut-Eye Higgins. Will Jack strike gold in San Francisco or come home empty-handed?
It’s April 18, 1906, and a powerful earthquake has just rocked San Francisco. Photographer Edith Irvine and her teenage assistant, Daisy Valentine, survive the tragedy. Armed with Edith’s camera, the two young women set out to document the devastation–even as buildings crumble around them and soldiers promise to shoot anyone trying to photograph the crippled city. Based on the real-life experience of photographer Edith Irvine, this harrowing tale of bravery and survival includes many of Irvine’s now-famous photographs.
Just off the coast of California, north of San Francisco, Jonathan Palmer is camping with his family on deserted Magpie Island. When his mother breaks her ankle, it is nearly a mile to get to the car; because Jonathan’s sister Abby uses a walker, her progress on the trail would be too slow for such an emergency. So Jonathan and Abby stay at the camp while their parents go to the hospital. But it’s October, 1989, and suddenly, without warning, an earthquake hits…the biggest since the 1906 quake. Jonathan and Abby are stranded, and Jonathan must find a way to keep himself, his partially paralyzed younger sister, and their dog alive until help arrives.
Ranger, the time-traveling golden retriever with search-and-rescue training, helps two new friends survive the Great San Francisco Earthquake! Ranger travels to San Francisco and meets Lily Chen. She was sent from China to America to work as a young servant, but she dreams of studying to be a doctor. When the Great Earthquake hits, Ranger arrives in time to rescue Lily from falling beams in the mission house where she lives. Together they flee to safety, stopping to help another girl, May Wong, save her little brother from the family’s collapsed market. Lily and May try to make their way through the ruined city with Ranger at their side. But can they escape crumbling buildings and raging fires, all while facing anti-Chinese discrimination? As they make their way through the ruined and burning city Ranger finds that he must also accomplish something else–finding Lily a new family who will care for her. Read all of Ranger’s time-traveling adventures.
Leo loves being a newsboy in San Francisco — not only does he get to make some money to help his family, he’s free to explore the amazing, hilly city as it changes and grows with the new century. Horse-drawn carriages share the streets with shiny new automobiles, new businesses and families move in every day from everywhere, and anything seems possible. But early one spring morning, everything changes. Leo’s world is shaken — literally — and he finds himself stranded in the middle of San Francisco as it crumbles and burns to the ground. Does Leo have what it takes to survive this devastating disaster?
At home on Sacramento Street, Henry Travis hears a low rumbling. It sounds like a train coming. But then windows rattle, doors thump. There’s a crash above him. Across town in Chinatown, Henry’s friend Chin waits for the trembling to stop. But it goes on and on and on… When the quake subsides, Chin and Henry and their families are lucky to be alive. But now they must escape the fires that have broken out and find their way to safety-before it’s too late. Will Henry and Chin survive to see each other again?
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Mysteries, Adventures and Realistic Fiction From mysterious mansions to treasure hunts to just hanging out in the city with friends…
Ever since her father died, kooky Gilda Joyce has been working hard to sharpen her psychic skills. She’s determined to communicate with spirits from the Other Side and become a crack investigator of spooky, twisted mysteries. After wrangling an invitation to visit San Francisco relatives, Gilda discovers just how much her dreary, tight-lipped uncle and his strange, delicate daughter need her help to uncover the terrible family secret that has a tortured ghost stalking their home. From poignant to hair-raising and hilarious, this is a behind-the-scenes, tell-all account of the very first case in the illustrious career of Gilda Joyce, Psychic Investigator. Read all the titles!
For Emily, the best thing about moving to San Francisco is that it’s the home city of her literary idol: Garrison Griswold, book publisher and creator of the online sensation Book Scavenger–a game where books are hidden in cities all over the country and clues to find them are revealed through puzzles. Upon her arrival, however, Emily learns that Griswold has been attacked and is now in a coma, and no one knows anything about the epic new game he had been poised to launch. Then Emily and her new friend James discover an odd book, which they come to believe is from Griswold himself, and might contain the only copy of his mysterious new game. Racing against time, Emily and James rush from clue to clue, desperate to figure out the secret at the heart of Griswold’s new game–before those who attacked Griswold come after them too. Make sure to read the rest of the series–Alcatraz Escape and The Unbreakable Code—where Emily and James must solve other clues and solve puzzles around San Francisco!
Take a look at Casey and Lacey Nicefolk and you’ll see two regular, all-American kids. But these brother-and-sister twins have a secret. Hidden in the family barn is the most magical-and coolest-gadget unknown to man: a mystical box that can turn any small object into a life-size replica. When the twins’ parents go out of town, the two decide to put the box to use. Taking a model boat, they create a fully functioning powerboat and enter a race up the Sacramento River from San Francisco. But this is no ordinary boat, and this is no ordinary race. What follows is a nautical adventure where being the first to cross the finish line is not the only prize.
Amateur sleuth Hal Beck is excited to embark on an adventurous journey with his journalist Uncle Nat. This time, they’re set to ride the historic California Comet from Chicago to San Francisco. Hal mostly keeps to himself on the trip, feeling homesick and out of place in America. But he soon finds himself drawn into another mystery when the young daughter of a billionaire tech entrepreneur goes missing! Along with new friends–spunky Mason and his younger sister, Hadley–Hal races against the clock to find the missing girl before the California Comet reaches its final destination. Read Hal’s other Adventures on Trains as well.
Emmy is the only one in her family who can’t make music to save her life. And now that her dad’s symphony job has uprooted her to San Francisco and a new school, everything seems even more off-key than usual. Until a computer class changes her tune—Emmy discovers that her coding skills can really sing! Now life is starting to seem a little more upbeat, especially with computer whiz and possible best friend Abigail around to share tips and tricks with. But can Emmy hold on to her new-found confidence with bad news and big secrets just around the corner, or will her new life come to a screeching halt?
After thwarting a notorious villain at an eco-summit in Paris, the City Spies are gearing up for their next mission. Operating out of a base in Scotland, this secret team of young agents working for the British Secret Intelligence Service’s MI6 division have honed their unique skills, such as sleight of hand, breaking and entering, observation, and explosives. All of these allow them to go places in the world of espionage where adults can’t. Sydney is a surfer and a rebel from Bondi Beach, Australia. She’s also a field ops specialist for the City Spies. Sydney is excited to learn that she’ll be going undercover on the marine research vessel the Sylvia Earle. But things don’t go exactly as planned, and while Sydney does find herself in the spotlight, it’s not in the way she was hoping. Meanwhile, there’s been some new intel regarding a potential mole within the organization, offering the spies a lead that takes them to San Francisco, California. But as they investigate a spy who died at the Botanical Gardens, they discover that they are also being investigated. And soon, they’re caught up in an exciting adventure filled with rogue missions and double agents! This mission is hot! The City Spies are a go! Read all the City Spies adventures as they globe-trot through famous locations.
When Julie discovers a mysterious note written in Chinese, she brings it to her friend Ivy to translate. The note speaks of a story from long ago, but doesn’t quite make sense. Julie suspects it may be written in a secret code. That same night, the girls’ beloved dolls are stolen. As Julie and Ivy search Chinatown, they decipher clues in the note that seem to link the stolen dolls to a long-lost friendship, and maybe a long-lost treasure. Then they realize that they aren’t the only ones trying to figure out the message’s puzzle…
When an oil spill threatens the sea birds of San Francisco, Julie is eager to lend a hand. So when she learns that her friend T.J. is helping with an auction to raise money for the clean-up efforts, she decides to get involved, and she’s thrilled to find out that a valuable silver guitar that belonged to a famous rock star will be sold as part of the auction! But then she finds out that T.J. is in trouble, and Julie just can’t shake the feeling that he’s hiding something from her. As Julie sets out to follow the clues and prove T.J. is innocent, the guitar begins to reveal it’s secrets…and Julie realizes that both she and T.J. may be in danger… Read all of the adventures of American Girl Julie and her best friend Ivy in San Francisco
Penny is excited to welcome her new sibling, so throughout her mom’s pregnancy she writes letters to it (not it, YOU!). She introduces herself (Penelope, but she prefers “Penny”) and their moms (Sammy and Becky). She brags about their home city, Oakland, California (the weather, the Bay, and the Golden State Warriors) and shares the trials and tribulations of being a fifth-grader (which, luckily, YOU won’t have to worry about for a long time). Penny asks little questions about her sibling’s development and starts to ask big questions about the world around her (like if and when her moms are ever going to get married “for real”). Honest, relatable, and full of heart, Love, Penelope explores heritage, forgiveness, love, and identity through the eyes (and pen) of one memorable 10-year-old in a special year when marriage equality and an NBA championship made California a place of celebration.
Jeanne Ann is smart, stubborn, living in an orange van, and determined to find a permanent address before the start of seventh grade. Cal is awkward, sensitive, living in a humongous house across the street, and determined to save her. Jeanne Ann wants Cal’s help just about as much as she wants to live in a van. As the two form a tentative friendship that grows deeper over alternating chapters, they’re buoyed by a cast of complex, oddball characters, who let them down, lift them up, and leave you cheering. A warm, funny and poignant story about the wonderful weirdness of friendship and family, and learning how to accept help enough to help yourself.
With the nation reeling from the recent terrorist attacks, Q and Angela leave Chicago and arrive in San Francisco. Their parents are determined to continue the Match tour but for safety’s sake, they have decided to send Q and Angela to boarding school. Not happy at the thought of being taken off the trail of the ghost cell, Q and Angela race against time with Boone and the SOS team to find Number One, the leader of the world’s most feared terrorist organization. It’s the final showdown of the I,Q series. This is the final book of the adventerous IQ series. In the books, Q and Angela travel all over the world. Starting with the last one probably won’t work very well, so you’ll just have to read the first five to have this one make sense!
Henry, Jessie, Violet and Benny are visiting San Francisco. They see the Golden Gate Bridge, ride the cable cars, and eat in Chinatown. On Fisherman’s Wharf, they meet Charlie, who takes the Alden kids and their grandfather for a ride on his fishing boat. But while they’re enjoying the trip, they discover that someone is giving Charlie trouble. Unexplainable things are happening–like the fresh fish he delivers mysteriously disappear, and his fishing nets are cut. This seems like something deliberate, not accidental. Does someone want Charlie out of the fishing business? Can the Boxcar Children solve this mystery? Book #57 in this beloved series! (And these you can read out of order…as long as you read the first one first!)
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Fantasy who knew so many fantasy books begin in San Francisco?
Siblings Brendan, Eleanor, and Cordelia Walker once had everything they could ever want. But everything changed when Dr. Walker lost his job. Now the family must relocate to an old Victorian house, formerly the home of occult novelist Denver Kristoff–a house that simultaneously feels creepy and too good to be true. By the time the Walkers realize that one of their neighbors has sinister plans for them, they’re banished to a primeval forest way off the grid. Bloodthirsty medieval warriors patrol the woods around them, supernatural pirates roam the neighboring seas, and a power-hungry queen rules the land. To survive, the siblings will have to be braver than they ever thought possible–and to fight against their darkest impulses. The key may lie in their own connection to the secret Kristoff legacy. But as they unravel that legacy, they’ll discover that it’s not just their family that’s in danger . . . it’s the entire world. Read the entire House of Secrets trilogy.
Sam London didn’t mean to uncover an ancient secret, but when he found out that mythical creatures are real and living in our national parks, he became the newest recruit to the Department of Mythical Wildlife. Ever since, the middle schooler has been anxiously awaiting the call for his next case . . . and it finally arrives with the brazen appearance of a selkie in San Francisco Bay. Along with Dr. Vance Vantana and the guardian Tashi, Sam pursues the selkie, who has taken a peculiar interest in fashion’s newest “it” girl and social media star, Pearl Eklund. But the closer he gets, the more questions emerge about Pearl’s mysterious connection to the mythical world. Is she the long-lost hope for an entire civilization or the harbinger of its doom? It’s up to Sam to find out the truth, and fast. . . . The fate of humanity hangs in the balance. Read all the Sam London Adventures.
Nicholas Flamel is the greatest Alchemyst to ever live. The records show that he died in 1418, but what if he’s actually been making the elixir of life for centures? The secrets to eternal life are hidden within a book he protects—the Book of Abraham the Mage. It’s the most powerful book that has ever existed, and in the wrong hands, it will destroy the world. And that’s exactly what Dr. John Dee plans to do when he steals it. There is only one hope… While working at pleasant but mundane summer jobs in San Francisco, twins Sophie and Josh suddenly find themselves caught up in the deadly, centuries-old struggle between the rival alchemists. Are they just in the wrong place at the wrong time? Or are they the end of the prophecy that will save the world..? Read all the books in this exciting series–and look for the new graphic novel coming out next summer!
Sheltered within her high-society world, Isabel plays the part of a perfectly proper little girl–she’s quiet, well-behaved, and she keeps her dresses spotlessly clean. She’s certainly not the kind of girl who goes on adventures. But that all changes when Isabel breaches an invisible barrier and steps into another world. She discovers a city not unlike her own, but magical and dangerous. Here, war rages between the fairies of the Seelie and Unseelie Courts. Only Isabel, with the help of a magical necklace and a few new friends, stands a chance of ending the war before it destroys the fairy world, and maybe her own as well…
When her older sister dies trying to prevent the theft of one of her people’s great treasures, twelve-year-old Scirye sets out to avenge her and recover the precious item. Helping her are Bayang, a dragon disguised as a Pinkerton agent; Leech, a boy with powers he has not yet discovered; and Leech’s loyal companion Koko, who has a secret of his own. All have a grudge against the thieves who stole the treasure: the evil dragon Badik and the mysterious Mr. Roland. Scirye and her companions pursue the thieves from San Francisco to Houlani, a new Hawaiian island being created by magic. There, they befriend Pele, the volatile and mercurial goddess of volcanoes. But even with Pele on their side, they may not be able to stop Mr. Roland from gaining what he seeks: the Five Lost Treasures of Emperor Yu. Together, the treasures will give him the power to alter the very fabric of the universe. Be sure to read the entire trilogy!
Crusty dragon Miss Drake has a new pet human, precocious Winnie. Oddly enough, Winnie seems to think Miss Drake is her pet-a ridiculous notion! Unknown to most of its inhabitants, the City by the Bay is home to many mysterious and fantastic creatures, hidden beneath the parks, among the clouds, and even in plain sight. And Winnie wants to draw every new creature she encounters- the good, the bad, and the ugly. But Winnie’s sketchbook is not what it seems. Somehow, her sketchlings have been set loose on the city streets! It will take Winnie and Miss Drake’s combined efforts to put an end to the mayhem . . . before it’s too late. Read the trilogy.
Tom Lee’s life changes forever the day he meets a talking tiger named Mr. Hu and discovers that he has magical powers and great responsibilities that he never imagined. Despite his doubts and fears, Tom joins Mr. Hu’s ragtag band of creatures in their fight to keep an ancient talisman out of the hands of the worst possible enemy. This action-packed fantasy reveals a hidden world within our own where animals take human form, where friendship is the final weapon in the battle between good and evil, and where a young boy is responsible for saving the world he knows . . . and the one he is just discovering. Read the whole trilogy–and watch for a movie, based on the trilogy, when it comes out in the near future!
As a member of the Jade Society, twelve-year-old Faryn Liu dreams of honoring her family and the gods by becoming a warrior. But the Society has shunned Faryn and her brother Alex ever since their father disappeared years ago, forcing them to train in secret. Then, during an errand into San Francisco, Faryn stumbles into a battle with a demon–and helps defeat it. She just might be the fabled Heaven Breaker, a powerful warrior meant to work for the all-mighty deity, the Jade Emperor, by commanding an army of dragons to defeat the demons. That is, if she can prove her worth and find the island of the immortals before the Lunar New Year. With Alex and other unlikely allies at her side, Faryn sets off on a daring quest across Chinatowns. But becoming the Heaven Breaker will require more sacrifices than she first realized. . . What will Faryn be willing to give up to claim her destiny? A new series for fans of Percy Jackson!
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Some older titles our library no longer has, but are worth looking for if you’re a San Francisco fan:
Book covers were supposed to be in alphabetical order, but they had a mind of their own. The books are in alphabetical order by author below:
Hitch at the Fairmont by Jim Averbeck Someone is Hiding on Alcatraz Island by EveBunting Bridge of Time by Lewis Buzbee Into the Firestorm by Deborah Hopkinson Searching for Candlestick Park by Peg Kehret Quake! Disaster in San Francisco By Gail Langer Karwoski Newsgirl By Liza Ketchum Three Pennies by Melanie Krowder Earthquake! A story of old San Francisco By Kathleen Kudlinski I Am Lavina Cumming by Susan Lowell You’re Bacon Me Crazy by Suzanne Nelson Mystery at Thunderbolt House by Howard Pease Paperquake by Kathryn Reiss The Strange Case of Baby H by Kathryn Reiss Peppermints in the Parlor by Barbara Brooks Wallace The Mystery of the Green Cat by Phyllis Whitney The Case of the Lion Dancer by Laurence Yep Child of the Owl by Laurence Yep
I’ve read all but two of the books above, and they are excellent books! Most are out of print or difficult to locate. However, some are still available at other Minuteman Libraries or through Interlibrary Loan.
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One of the best things to do if you’re planning to travel is to read a book set in the place you’re traveling to…or bring it with you and compare it to the location! It always makes it more fun if you can recognize places, or know a little of the history. So you should always do some reading before (or after, which can be fun too!) your travels. As always, if you need help finding these, or any other books, in our collection, just ask one of our librarians. We love matching kids and books!
It’s another magical fantasy list…featuring djinn…sometimes also called genies! Everyone knows the most famous genie…do you? (He helped Aladdin.) But there are other books featuring these mythical characters–and these djinn, or jin, or genies go from silly to helpful to downright scary! I know which type I’d prefer to meet! Do you?
Check out any of these books and see what you think.
(This was going to be a Five Books featuring…but there were just too many good books! It would have been difficult to decide on what to leave out. So…Booklist! But you can keep that in mind, because there’s still at least one old book, one new book, one award winner, one kids’ favorite, and one staff favorite!)
Here we go…grab your magic carpet and settle in to read!
On the day of a rare super blue blood moon eclipse, twelve-year-old Amira and her little brother, Hamza, can’t stop their bickering while attending a special exhibit on medieval Islamic astronomy. While stargazer Amira is wowed by the amazing gadgets, a bored Hamza wanders off, stumbling across the mesmerizing and forbidden Box of the Moon. Amira can only watch in horror as Hamza grabs the defunct box and it springs to life, setting off a series of events that could shatter their world–literally.
Suddenly, day turns to night, everyone around Amira and Hamza falls under a sleep spell, and a chunk of the moon breaks off, hurtling toward them at lightning speed, as they come face-to-face with two otherworldly creatures: jinn.
The jinn reveal that the siblings have a role to play in an ancient prophecy. Together, they must journey to the mystical land of Qaf, battle a great evil, and end a civil war to prevent the moon–the stopper between realms–from breaking apart and unleashing terrifying jinn, devs, and ghuls onto earth. Or they might have to say goodbye to their parents and life as they know it, forever…. Also read the second book: The Quest for the Ring of Power.
Sophie can’t wait to start middle school. She’s ready for positive thinking and cute clothes. So when an odd (okay, totally weird, orange and floating) Zac Efron look-alike appears and offers Sophie his fabulous rhinestone ring–well, why would she refuse?
But Sophie soon discovers that by wearing the ring she’s become a djinn–and things rapidly start to spin out of control. Who wouldn’t enjoy having the power to grant wishes? But when Sophie develops RWD (Random Wish Disorder) and can’t STOP granting wishes, things get more than a little mixed-up!Now she’ll have to learn to manage her new powers–and her new, not-always-entirely-helpful djinn guide–just to survive the first week! Read the other books in this fun trilogy.
Maeve Merritt chafes at the rigid rules at her London boarding school for “Upright Young Ladies.” When punishment forces her to sort through the trash, she finds a sardine tin that houses a foul-tempered djinni with no intention of submitting to a schoolgirl as his master.
Soon an orphan boy from the charitable home next door, a mysterious tall man in ginger whiskers, a disgruntled school worker, and a take-no-prisoners business tycoon are in hot pursuit of Maeve and her magical discovery. It’ll take all of her quick thinking and sass to set matters right. Maeve Merritt is one feisty heroine you won’t soon forget. The final book in this trilogy is coming out in March ’23!
All 12 years of Eden’s life have been spent in an antique oil lamp. She lives like a princess in her luxurious home, but to Eden, the lamp is nothing but a prison. She hates being a genie, all she wants is freedom. When Eden finds a gateway to Earth, she takes her chance. This time, she won’t be sent back after three wishes!
Posing as the new kid at a California school, Eden revels in all of Earth’s pleasures – but quickly learns that this world isn’t as perfect as she always thought it was. Eden soon finds herself in the middle of a centuries-old conflict between powerful immortals. A ruthless organization run by a former genie will do anything to acquire the lamp and it’s power. To save her new friends and protect the lamp’s magic, Eden must decide once and for all where she belongs. Read Eden’s Escape too!
Nothing ever happens in Filomena Jefferson-Cho’s sleepy little suburban town of North Pasadena. The sun shines every day, the grass is always a perfect green, and while her progressive school swears there’s no such thing as bullying, she still feels bummed out. But one day, when Filomena is walking home on her own, something strange happens.
Filomena is being followed by Jack Stalker, one of the heroes in the Thirteenth Fairy, a series of books she loves about a brave girl and her ragtag group of friends who save their world from an evil enchantress. She must be dreaming, or still reading a book. But Jack is insistent–he’s real, the stories are real, and Filomena must come with him at once!
Soon, Filomena is thrust into the world of evil fairies and beautiful princesses, sorcerers and slayers, where an evil queen drives her ruthless armies to destroy what is left of the Fairy tribes. To save herself and the kingdom of Westphalia, Filomena must find the truth behind the fairytales and set the world back to rights before the cycle of sleep and destruction begins once more.
Read the trilogy–the third book comes out this month!
One darknight, Emma finds a mysterious green bottle floating in the ocean. When she pulls out the stopper, she sets a blue genie free!
Most genies grant three wishes, but Karim can’t grant even one anymore. A yellow genie stole his magic nose ring, leaving him small, powerless, and trapped in that bottle. Emma and Tristan, her noodle-tailed dog have to help Karim get his nose ring–and his magic–back. And if it takes a magic carpet ride to the distant land of Barakash to help…well, that’s just what they’ll do!
Life is a blast when you have your very own genie. But when Parker Quarry is shipped from sunny Los Angeles to live with relatives in a quiet New Hampshire college town and releases a 2,000 year-old jinn from an ancient canister ‘borrowed’ from the university building where his uncle works, the biggest blasts comes from the millennia old power struggle he reignites.
Now it’s up to Parker, his mild-mannered cousin Theo, and their whiz-kid classmate Reese to stop a battalion of battle-ready jinn from restarting an all-out war–one with humanity in the crosshairs.
Nura longs for the simple pleasure of many things–to wear a beautiful red dupatta or to bite into a sweet gulab. But with her mom hard at work in a run-down sweatshop and three younger siblings to feed, Nura must spend her days earning money by mica mining. But it’s not just the extra rupees in her pocket Nura is after. Local rumor says there’s buried treasure in the mine, and Nura knows that finding it could change the course of her family’s life forever.
Her plan backfires when the mines collapse and four kids, including her best friend, Faisal, are claimed dead. Nura refuses to believe it and shovels her way through the dirt hoping to find him. Instead, she finds herself at the entrance to a strange world of purple skies and pink seas–a portal to the opulent realm of jinn, inhabited by the trickster creatures from her mother’s cautionary tales. Yet they aren’t nearly as treacherous as her mother made them out to be, because Nura is invited to a luxury jinn hotel, where she’s given everything she could ever imagine and more.
But there’s a dark truth lurking beneath all that glitter and gold, and when Nura crosses the owner’s son and is banished to the working quarters, she realizes she isn’t the only human who’s ended up in the hotel’s clutches. Faisal and the other missing children are there, too, and if Nura can’t find a way to help them all escape, they’ll be bound to work for the hotel forever.
A one-armed chauffer? Twin djinn? Three wishes? Qwertyuiop? What does it all add up to?
John and Philippa Gaunt, two not-very-identical twins, live a privileged life on the Upper East of Manhattan with their wealthy parents and two curiously-mannered Rottweilers named Alan and Neil. The twins realize there’s something amiss with their world when a string of strange things begin to happen after their wisdom teeth are extracted: for some strange reason, they dream the same dreams, they become stronger, their zits clear up, and wishes wished in their presence inexplicably come true!
When their estranged Uncle Nimrod asks them to come to England for the summer during one such shared dream, the discovery of their destiny is set in motion. John and Phillippa discover that they are descended from a long line of Djinn and have great inherent powers. They must call on these powers a lot sooner than they anticipated, though, because the ancient Egyptian pharaoh Akhenaten is not as dead as history has so far declared and his legion of seventy magical djinn could tip the balance of power in the magical realm and affect the whole world order.
Read all eight books in this adventurous fantastical series!
When Abby and her brother Jonah travel through their mirror into the story of Aladdin, they’re excited. There is sure to be magic lamps and genies granting wishes, right?
Wrong.
The genie they meet isn’t quite as helpful as they expected. And if Aladdin’s wishes don’t come true, he won’t get to marry the princess and live happily ever after. Now they have to escape an enchanted cave, find forty buckets of jewels, plan a parade and learn to fly a magic carpet. Otherwise they’ll run out of wishes…and never get home! Read all the other Whatever After books, where Abby and Jonah visit other fairy tales.
Five and a half feet might seem pretty tall for a twelve-year-old, but it’s not when your parents are giants. Lena has kept the fact that she’s a tiny giant secret, using magic to grow when out in the giant village. But hiding who she is has always felt wrong, even though she knows the other giants might not accept her. Fortunately, Lena has friends down in the Cursed City who understand that looking different doesn’t make her less of a giant.
Someone who knows not to judge by appearances is Jin, a young genie currently serving one thousand and thirty-eight years of genie training that requires him to fulfill the wish of whoever holds his magical ring. In Jin’s case, it’s the power-hungry Golden King. At least the king only has two wishes left, one of which is for Jin to go to the Cursed City and capture its protector, the Last Knight–one of Lena’s closest friends.
What Lena and Jin don’t know is how close the Golden King’s plans are to coming together, between his dark magic and his horrible Faceless knights. If Jin does find the Last Knight and bring him to the Golden King, why, that could doom the entire fairy-tale world. Um…This sounds like it’ll end badly, doesn’t it?
This popular author’s series are great…and this is his most recent trilogy!
Nathaniel is a young magician’s apprentice, taking his first lessons in the arts of magic. He believes he’s ready to take on more challenging spells than those just for beginners! But when a devious hotshot wizard named Simon Lovelace ruthlessly humiliates Nathaniel in front of everyone he knows, Nathaniel decides to kick up his education a few notches and show Lovelace who’s boss. With revenge on his mind, he masters one of the toughest spells of all: summoning the all-powerful Bartimaeus, a 5000-year-old djinni. But summoning Bartimaeus and controlling him are two different things entirely, and when Nathaniel sends the djinni out to steal the powerful Amulet of Samarkand, Nathaniel finds himself caught up in a whirlwind of magical espionage, murder, blackmail, rebellion and revolt.
Will he control Bartimaeus, or will Bartimaeus control him? Read the whole trilogy and find out! (This book has also been made into a graphic novel…which is also good!)
Meet Princess Cimorene–a princess who refustes to be proper. She is everything a princess is not supposed to be: headstrong, tomobyish smart… And bored.
So bored that she runs away to live with a dragon. And not just any dragon, but Kazul–one of the most powerful and dangerous dragons arounds. Of course, Cimorene has a way of hooking up with dangerous characters, and soon she’s coping with a witch,a a jinn, a death-dealing talking bird, a stone prince, and some very oily wizards.
If this princess ran away to find some excitement, it looks like she’s found plenty! Although the djinn only appears in the first book of the Enchanted Forest Chronicles, the rest are great reads too!
A genie that grants ALL your wishes–it’s a dream come true! Want to fly, turn invisible, or get a lifetime supply of sandwiches? Done, done and done! Ask and you shall recieve. But there are a FEW catches…which Ace is about to learn the hard way.
Ace’s life is about to change in the most unexpected and magical ways–all because of a peanut butter jar.
When he opens it, he inadvertently releases a genie named Ridge. Now a Wishmaker, Ace is given a week to complete a seemingly impossible quest, and if he fails the world will end in the most tragic (but cuddly) way imaginable.
Luckily, Ridge can help by granting Ace an unlimited number of wishes…as long as Ace is willing to accept the consequences. The bigger the wish, the greater the consequence. So, if Ace wants to avoid having pogo sticks for legs or his clothes turn invisible, he’ll have to be careful what he wishes for and get a little creative. But as consequences begin to pile up, Ace finds himself wondering if he’ll actually be able to save the world…or if he might be the one to doom it altogether!
So…there you have it; fifteen plus books about djinn. Or genies. Or jinn. Read them all and see what kind of things happen when you make wishes. And if you find a strange lamp on the beach, or in a storage chest, or up in your attic…would you rub it or not?
If you need any help finding these or any other books at the library, just ask one of our librarians for help. We love matching kids and books!
Have you watched the adventures of Eleven and her friends? With a mix of parallel worlds, secret laboratories, supernatural occurrences, government agencies running amok, or scary monsters inhabiting the woods (or elsewhere)–these similar reads will make you shiver. Perfect for Halloween, or for anytime you want some creepiness to enjoy. Try one!
Our Five Books feature is a booklist of five books (although we went a little overboard on this one) on a specific topic, with a short synopsis so you can decide if it sounds like something you would like. Mostly Middle Grade, with the occasional younger or older or graphic title thrown in for flavor.
Five Books–one old, one new, one popular with kids, one well-reviewed, and one staff favorite. (But you’ll have to guess which is which)!
Cooper is lost. Ever since his father left their family three years ago, he has become distant from his friends, constantly annoyed by his little sister, Jess, and completely fed up with the pale, creepy rich girl who moved in next door and won’t stop staring at him. So when Cooper learns of an unsolved mystery his sister has discovered online, he welcomes the distraction.
It’s the tale of a deadly train crash that occurred a hundred years ago, in which one young boy among the dead was never identified. The only distinguishing mark on him was a strange insignia on his suit coat, a symbol no one had seen before or since. Jess is fascinated by the mystery of the unknown child– because she’s seen the insignia. It’s the symbol of the jacket of the girl next door.
As they uncover more information– and mounting evidence of the girl’s seemingly impossible connection to the tragedy–Cooper and Jess begin to wonder if a similar disaster could be heading to their hometown.
After suffering a tragic loss, Ollie only finds solace in books. So when she happens upon a crazed woman at the river threatening to throw a book into the water, Ollie doesn’t think–she just acts, stealing the book and running away. In the book is a chilling story about a girl named Beth, the two brothers who both loved her, and a peculiar deal made with “the smiling man,” a sinister specter who grants your most tightly held wish, but only for the ultimate price.
Ollie is captivated by the tale until her school trip the next day, where she stumbles upon the graves of the very people she’s been reading about. Could it be the story about the smiling man is true? Ollie doesn’t have too long to think about the answer to that. On the way home, the school bus breaks down, sending their teacher back for help. But the strange bus driver has some advice for the kids left behind in his care: “Best get moving. At nightfall they’ll come for the rest of you.” Then Ollie’s previously broken digital wristwatch begins a startling countdown and delivers a terrifying message: RUN.
Only Ollie and two of her classmates heed the bus driver’s warning. As the trio head out into the woods–bordered by a field of scarecrows that seem to be watching them–the bus driver has just one final piece of advice for Ollie and her friends: “Avoid large places. Keep to small.” And with that, a deliciously creepy and hair-raising adventure begins. Read the whole scary series!
Corinne La Mer claims she isn’t afraid of anything. Not scorpions, not the boys who tease her, and certainly not jumbies. They’re just tricksters made up by parents to frighten their children. Then one night Corinne chases an agouti all the way into the forbidden forest, and shining yellow eyes follow her to the edge of the trees. They couldn’t belong to a jumbie. Or could they?
When Corinne spots a beautiful stranger at the market the very next day, she knows something extraordinary is about to happen. When this same beauty, called Severine, turns up at Corinne’s house, danger is in the air. Severine plans to claim the entire island for the jumbies. Corinne must call on her courage and her friends and learn to use ancient magic she didn’t know she possessed to stop Severine and to save her island home. Read the trilogy!
Enter a world where magic bubbles just below the surface. . . .
When Jack is sent to Hazelwood, Iowa, to live with his strange aunt and uncle, he expects a summer of boredom. Little does he know that the people of Hazelwood have been waiting for him for quite a long time. When he arrives, he begins to make actual friends for the first time in his life. He befriends Wendy and Frankie, the latter scarred and silent years after a childhood disappearance, and the eerily psychic Anders. Jack also becomes the focus of a town bully and an evil patriarch who cultivates power through magic; tension mounts as Jack provokes the supernatural forces that cause children and buildings to disappear. When the richest man in town begins to plot Jack’s imminent, and (according to him) hopefully painful demise, it’s up to Jack to figure out why suddenly everyone cares so much about him. Back home he was practically… invisible. Here, everyone already seems to know him. Why? And what exactly do they want?
Quinn has had some bad experiences lately. She was caught cheating in school, and then one day, her little sister Emma disappeared while walking home from school. She never returned.
When Quinn’s best friend Kara has to move away, she goes on one last trip with Kara and her family. They stop over at the first hotel they see, a Victorian inn that instantly gives Quinn the creeps, and she begins to notice strange things happening around them. When Kara’s parents and then brother disappear without a trace, the girls are stranded in a hotel full of strange guests, hallways that twist back in on themselves, and a particularly nasty surprise lurking beneath the floorboards. Will the girls be able to solve the mystery of what happened to Kara’s family before it’s too late?
Everyone in Timbers knows Still Cove is off-limits, with its creepy Beast sightings and equally terrifying legends. But when a bullying incident sends twelve-year-old Nico Holland over a cliff and into Still Cove’s icy waters, friends Tyler and Emma–and even Opal Walsh, who usually runs with the popular kids–rush to his rescue . . . and discover a mysterious island hiding in the murky, swirling mists below.
Though the island appears uninhabited, the kids can’t shake a feeling that something about it is definitely not right. Their suspicions grow when they stumble upon an abandoned houseboat filled with all sorts of curiosities: odd-looking weapons, unnerving portraits, maps to unknown places, and a glass jar containing something completely unidentifiable. And in its lowest depths churns a dark, deep secret.
As the group delves deeper into this mysterious new clubhouse, their lives begin to intertwine in weird and dangerous ways. For something ancient has awakened . . . and it can detect not only their wishes and dreams, but also their darkest, most terrible imaginings. Do they have what it takes to face the shadowy secrets lurking within their own hearts? Read the series!
All Ginny Anderson wants from her summer is to sleep in, attend a mystery writing workshop, and spend time with her best friend. But when Ginny’s father surprises the family with a month-long trip to Michigan, everything changes. They aren’t staying in a hotel like most families would. No, they’re staying in a mansion. A twenty-six room, century-old building surrounded by dense forest. Woodmoor Manor.
But unfortunately, the mansion has more problems than a little peeling wallpaper. Locals claim the surrounding woods are inhabited by mutated creatures with glowing eyes. And some say campers routinely disappear in the woods, never to be seen again.
As terrifying as it sounds, Ginny can’t shake the feeling that there’s something darker . . . another story she hasn’t been told. When the creaky floors and shadowy corners of the mansion seem to take on a life of their own, Ginny uncovers the wildest mystery of all: There’s more than one legend roaming Saugatuck, Michigan, and they definitely aren’t after campers. It’s after her.
Twins Atticus and Esmeralda Fetch are the best pet finders in Thorns Hollow — a town where people have a lot of pets, and those pets often get lost. But when a lost dog leads them to an old, Victorian house on the edge of town, the twins find their world turned upside down.
This creepy house contains a portal that leads to a whole other world — a world where mythical creatures like trolls, fairies, and dragons are real.The secrets this mythical world contains are bigger than these kids could ever imagine. Secrets that could threaten to destroy the world as we know it. Now, Minerva, Atticus, and yes, their canine companion will have to work together if they want to save our world, and the world beyond the portal!
Coraline discovered the door a little while after they moved into the house….
Her family has just moved to a completely new town, and so Coraline already feels a bit strange. In her new house there is one door that opens onto a brick wall. At least, it does until one day the bricks are gone and Coraline finds herself stepping over the threshold into another house . . . a house that’s just like hers.
At first things appear marvelous in this other house. The food is better. The toy box is filled with windup angels that flutter about, books whose pictures crawl and shimmer, and little dinosaur skulls that chatter their teeth. But there’s another mother and another father–and they want Coraline to be their little girl and stay with them forever. They want to change her and never let her go.
Other children are also trapped, as lost souls behind a mirror, and Coraline is their only hope. She will have to find a way to meet the other mother’s challenge in order to save the lost children, her ordinary life, and herself.
What makes you you? The Greystone kids thought they knew. Chess has always been the protector over his younger siblings, Emma loves math, and Finn does what Finn does best–acting silly and being adored. They’ve been a happy family, just the three of them and their mom.
But everything changes when reports of three kidnapped children reach the Greystone kids, and they’re shocked by the startling similarities between themselves and these complete strangers. The other kids share their same first and middle names. They’re the same ages. They even have identical birthdays. Who, exactly, are these strangers?
Before Chess, Emma, and Finn can question their mom about it, she takes off on a sudden work trip and leaves them in the care of Ms. Morales and her daughter, Natalie. But puzzling clues left behind lead to complex codes, hidden rooms, and a dangerous secret about uncover their ties to an alternate world that will turn their lives upside down. Read the whole trilogy!
Something is wrong with Zee, who has returned after a year’s absence. Nobody knows where he was or what happened to him, but now he is distracted and violent. He even freaks out when he sees his friends, Justin, Nia, and Lyric, playing an odd game of hide-and-seek. As they chant the play rhyme I went up the hill, the hill was muddy, stomped my toe and made it bloody, should I wash it? Zee starts talking wildly about some danger that is approaching.
It seems Zee is right when their simple game goes wrong. Very wrong. One by one, everyone who plays the game disappears, pulled into a world of nightmares come to life. Justin and his friends realize this horrible place is where Zee had been trapped. All they can do now is hide in this shadowy world ruled by a monstrous, shape-shifting Seeker as they are forced to play a terrifying game of hide-and-seek. Only by confronting their worst nightmares will they be able to find their way home
Rae’s father vanished without a trace–and Rae knows what happened to him. But no one believes her when she says that her father didn’t run off, that he was actually taken. Now, a year of therapy later, Rae’s mother decides they need a fresh start, and so they move to a new town in the hope that life can return to normal. The problem is, there is nothing normal about the town of Whispering Pines.
No one knows this better than Caden. He’s lived in Whispering Pines his entire life, and he’s seen more than his fair share of weird–starting with his own family, as the town is the perfect home base for his mother’s ghost hunting business.
When several kids go missing and then show up like zombies with their eyes removed, many locals brush it off. Just another day in Whispering Pines. But Caden has a dark secret, one that may explain why someone is stealing eyes. And Rae, who knows how it feels to not be believed, may be just the person Caden needs to help him put things right. Read the whole trilogy!
Something strange is happening on Goodie Lane . . .
Quinn Parker knows that there’s something off about her neighbors. She calls them “the Oldies” because they’ve lived on Goodie Lane for as long as anyone can remember, but they never seem to age. Are they vampires? Or aliens? Or getting secret experimental surgeries? Or is Quinn’s imagination just running wild again?
If her dad were still around, he’d believe her. When he was alive, they’d come up with all sorts of theories about the Oldies. Now, Quinn’s determined to keep the investigation going with the help of Mike, her neighbor and maybe-crush. They’ll have to search for clues and follow the mystery wherever it leads–even if it’s to the eerie pond at the end of the street that’s said to have its own sinister secrets. But the Oldies are on to them. And the closer Quinn and Mike get to uncovering the answers, the more they realize just how terrifying the truth may be.
Lucy Darrington has no choice but to run away from boarding school. Her father, an expert on the supernatural, has been away for too long while doing research in Saarthe, a remote territory in the Pacific Northwest populated by towering redwoods, timber barons, and the Lupine people. But upon arriving, she learns her father is missing: Rumor has it he’s gone in search of dreamwood, a rare tree with magical properties that just might hold the cure for the blight that’s ravaging the forests of Saarthe.
Determined to find her father (and possibly save Saarthe), Lucy and her vexingly stubborn friend Pete follow William Darrington’s trail to the deadly woods on Devil’s Thumb. As they encounter Lupine princesses, giant sea serpents, and all manner of terrifying creatures, Lucy hasn’t reckoned that the dreamwood itself might be the greatest threat of all.
Eleanor has just moved to the quiet, prosperous Eden Eld. When she awakes to discover an ancient grandfather clock that she’s never seen before outside her new room, she’s sure her eyes must be playing tricks on her. But then she spots a large bird, staring at her as she boards the school bus. And a black dog with glowing red eyes follows her around town. All she wants is to be normal, and these are far from normal. And worse–no one else can see them.
Except for her new friends, Pip and Otto, who teach her a thing or two about surviving in Eden Eld. First: Don’t let the “wrong things” know you can see them. Second: Don’t speak of the wrong things to anyone else.
The only other clue they have about these supernatural disturbances is a book of fairytales unlike any they’ve read before. It tells tales of the mysterious Mr. January, who struck a cursed deal with the town’s founders. Every thirteenth Halloween, he will take three of their children, who are never heard from again. It’s up to our trio to break the curse–because Eden Eld’s thirteen years are up. And Eleanor, Pip, and Otto are marked as his next sacrifice. Read the series!
Tamaya Dhilwaddi and Marshall Walsh have been walking to and from Woodridge Academy together since elementary school. But their routine is disrupted when bully Chad Hilligas challenges Marshall to a fight. To avoid the conflict, Marshall takes a shortcut home through the off-limits woods. Tamaya, unaware of the reason for the detour, reluctantly follows. They soon get lost. And then they find trouble. Bigger trouble than anyone could ever have imagined. Their shortcut home from school leads to the discovery what looks like fuzzy mud but is actually a substance with the potential to wreak havoc on the entire world
In the days and weeks that follow, the authorities and the U.S. Senate become involved, and what they uncover might affect the future of the world.
* * *
There you have it–sixteen books to make you question your next trip into the woods! If you can think of any others, please share them! This is a popular topic…especially in the fall.
If you need help finding these, or any other books in the library, just ask one of our librarians. We love to match books and readers!
Travel to India via your Bookshelf! Whether you like the climate, the beautiful buildings, the people, or the adventure, it’s a great destination! Can’t get on a plane? Just check out one of these great books…
A story of adventure, survival, courage, and hope, set in the vivid Himalayan landscape of Tibet and India. Tash lives in Tibet, where as a practicing Buddhist she must follow many rules to avoid the wrath of the occupying Chinese soldiers. Life remains peaceful as long as Tash, her family, and their community hide their religion and don’t mention its leader, the Dalai Lama. The quiet is ruptured when a man publicly sets himself on fire to protest the occupation. In the crackdown that follows, soldiers break into Tash’s house and seize her parents. Tash barely escapes, and soon she and her best friend, Sam, along with two borrowed yaks, flee across the mountains, where they face blizzards, hunger, a treacherous landscape, and the constant threat of capture. It’s a long, dangerous trip to the Indian border and safety–and not all will make it there. This action-packed novel tells a story of courage, hope, and the powerful will to survive, even in the most desperate circumstances.
After three weeks of vacation, Ash Mistry is ready to leave the heat and dust of India behind him. Then he discovers a hidden gold arrowhead—a weapon used to defeat evil King Ravana in legend. At least, Ash is pretty sure it’s only a legend . . . But when Lord Savage comes after Ash, the legends are suddenly way too real. Savage commands an army of monstrous shape changers called rakshasas, who want only to seize the arrowhead and restore Ravana to power. As they hunt Ash through magnificent fortresses and brutal deserts, he must learn to work with a powerful rakshasa girl named Parvati, and find the strength within himself to fight on and save the world as we know it.
Can Prince Veera and his best friend outsmart the king’s trickiest subjects? Inspired by traditional Indian folktales, these stories are sure to delight. Being a wise and just ruler is no easy task. That’s what Prince Veera discovers when he and his best friend, Suku, are given the opportunity to preside over the court of his father, King Bheema. Some of the subjects’ complaints are easily addressed, but others are much more challenging. How should they handle the case of the greedy merchant who wishes to charge people for enjoying the smells of his sweets? And can they prove that an innocent man cannot possibly spread bad luck? Will Prince Veera and Suku be able to settle the dispute between a man and his neighbor to whom he sells a well — but not the water in it? Or solve the mystery of the jewels that have turned into pickles? Illustrated throughout by Uma Krishnaswamy, these eight original tales by Chitra Soundar task Veera and Suku with outwitting the kingdom’s greediest, wiliest subjects. Are the two clever boys up to the challenge?
Chloe is a blonde, middle-class Bostonian who has just moved to India and now must adjust to a new culture, language, and country. She hates that she is the only girl without long black hair, and she misses terribly her best friend from home. Lakshimi is from India, but lives in the slums, dresses differently, and is much poorer than the other students. Though they’re divided by class, language, appearance–you name it–Chloe and Lakshmi have a lot in common. Both girls are new to Class Five at Premium Academy in New Delhi, India, and neither seems to fit in. But they soon discover how extraordinary an ordinary friendship can be and how celebrating our individuality can change the world. A poignant and delightful story involving class, race, social customs, and a unique friendship that questions them all.
Meet Kiranmala: International Demon Slayer..only she doesn’t know it yet! On the morning of her twelfth birthday, Kiranmala is just a regular sixth grader living in Parsippany, New Jersey . . . until her parents mysteriously vanish and a drooling rakkhosh demon slams through her kitchen, determined to eat her alive. Turns out there might be some truth to her parents’ fantastical stories-like how Kiranmala is a real Indian princess and how she comes from a secret place not of this world. To complicate matters, two crush-worthy princes ring her doorbell, insisting they’ve come to rescue her. Suddenly, Kiran is swept into another dimension full of magic, winged horses, moving maps, and annoying, talking birds. There she must solve riddles and battle demons all while avoiding the Serpent King of the underworld and the Rakkhoshi Queen in order to find her parents and basically save New Jersey, her entire world, and everything beyond it . . . (There’s not much set in India in this, the first book of a great series, but there’s lots of cultural references to India.)
In a dingy shack in the less-than-desirable Indian neighborhood he calls home, twelve-year-old Anand is entrusted with a conch shell that possesses mystical powers. His task is to return the shell to its rightful home many hundreds of miles away. Accompanying him are Nisha, a headstrong but resourceful child of the streets, and a mysterious man of indeterminate age and surprising resources named Abadhyatta. His quest will take him farther from home than he’s ever been and will teach him more than he ever imagined — and it will force him to make a poignant decision that will change him forever. This is literary fiction of the highest order, as well as an adventure story that is almost impossible to put down; and the first in a trilogy.
It all begins on the night Rea turns twelve. After a big fight with her twin brother Rohan on their birthday, Rea’s life in the small village of Darjeeling, India, gets turned on its head. It’s four in the morning and Rohan is nowhere to be found. It hasn’t even been a day and Amma acts like Rohan’s gone forever. Her grandmother, too, is behaving strangely. Unwilling to give up on her brother, Rea and her friend Leela meet Mishti Daadi, a wrinkly old fortuneteller whose powers of divination set them off on a thrilling and secret quest. In the shade of night, they portal to an otherworldly realm and travel to Astranthia, a land full of magic and whimsy. There with the help of Xeranther, an Astranthian barrow boy, and Flula, a pari, Rea battles serpent-lilies and blood-sucking banshees, encounters a butterfly-faced woman and blue lizard-men, and learns that Rohan has been captured. Rea also discovers that she is a princess with magic. Only she has no idea how to use it. Struggling with the truth her Amma has kept hidden from her, Rea must solve clues that lead to Rohan, find a way to rescue him, and save Astranthia from a potentially deadly fate. But the clock is ticking. Can she rescue Rohan, save Astranthia, and live to see it all?
Two homesick Indian boys and their new Scottish friend join a magical tiger on a journey across continents. Lal and his brother Dilip miss home. They don’t like drizzle, midges, or the tiger skin rug in their creepy new house. All they want is to leave Scotland and go back to India. But that’s before they make friends with Jenny, the girl next door–and before the tiger skin rug comes back to life. The mysterious tiger tells them it will take them home to India in return for their help, but it must first fulfill an old promise. An adventure story in which the young protagonists learn not only the true significance of the tiger skin rug’s final message but also come to understand the real meaning of home. (Set in Scotland, but with lots of references to India!)
It’s 1947, and India, newly independent of British rule, has been separated into two countries- Pakistan and India. The divide has created much tension between Hindus and Muslims, and hundreds of thousands are killed crossing borders. Half-Muslim, half-Hindu twelve-year-old Nisha doesn’t know where she belongs, or what her country is anymore. When Papa decides it’s too dangerous to stay in what is now Pakistan, Nisha and her family become refugees and embark first by train but later on foot to reach her new home. The journey is long, difficult, and dangerous, and after losing her mother as a baby, Nisha can’t imagine losing her homeland, too. But even if her country has been ripped apart, Nisha still believes in the possibility of putting herself back together. Told through Nisha’s letters to her mother, this is a heartfelt story of one girl’s search for home, for her own identity…and for a hopeful future.
In 1942, when Mahatma Gandhi asks Indians to give one family member to the freedom movement, ten-year-old Anjali is devastated to think of her father risking his life for the freedom struggle. But it turns out he isn’t the one joining. Anjali’s mother is. And with this change comes many more adjustments designed to improve their country and use Ahimsa–non-violent resistance–to stand up to the British government. First the family must trade in their fine foreign-made clothes for homespun cotton, so Anjali has to give up her prettiest belongings. Then her mother decides to reach out to the Dalit community, the “untouchables” of society. Anjali is forced to get over her past prejudices as her family becomes increasingly involved in the movement. When Anjali’s mother is jailed, Anjali must step out of her comfort zone to take over her mother’s work, ensuring that her little part of the independence movement is completed.
India, 1857 Meera’s future has been planned for her for as long as she can remember. As a child, her parents married her to a boy from a neighboring village whom she barely knows. On the eve of her thirteenth birthday, she prepares to leave to live with her husband’s family–as her religion dictates. But that night, Indian soldiers mutiny against their British commanders and destroy the British ammunition depot, burning down parts of Delhi. Riots follow, and Meera’s husband is killed. Upon hearing the news, Meera’s strictly religous father insists that she must end her life by throwing herself on her husband’s funeral pyre. Instead, Meera runs away, escaping into the chaos of the rebellion. But her newfound freedom is short-lived, as she is forced to become a servant in the house of a high-ranking British East India Company captain. Slowly through her work, she gains confidence, new friends, new skills—and sometimes her life even feels peaceful. But one day, Meera stumbles upon the captain’s secret stock of ammunition, destined to be used by the British to continue colonizing India and control its citizens. Will Meera do her part to take down the British colonists and alert the rebellion of the stockpile? Or will she stay safe and let others make decisions for her? It really comes down to this: how much fire must a girl face to finally write her own destiny?
After ten-year-old Hastin’s family borrows money to pay for his sister’s hospital bill, he leaves his village in northern India to take a job as an elephant keeper and work off the debt. He thinks it will be an adventure, but he isn’t prepared for the cruel circus owner. The crowds that come to the circus see a lively animal who plays soccer and balances on milk bottles, but Hastin sees Nandita, a sweet elephant and his best friend, who is chained when she’s not performing and hurt with a hook until she learns tricks perfectly. Hastin protects Nandita as best as he can, knowing that the only way they will both survive is if he can find a way for them to escape.
Set in India during the British Raj. Kim O’Hara, a cunning and street-wise orphaned Sahib, a child of India in all but blood, embarks upon a journey with a Tibetan lama in search of spiritual cleansing. Kim matures under the lama’s patient guidance and, in turn, gives his heart to his mentor. The two support each other through the passages they both must make; in time, Kim’s parentage and talents are discovered by the British and he is drafted and trained to be a participant within the Great Game — that is, the political battle between Russia and Britain for control of Central Asia. Lama and student seek their disparate goals together as they traverse the plains of India, hike Himalayan foothills, and discourse along the way. . . . and find as they travel something much, much more . . .
Every day, Yasmin borrows a book from Book Uncle, a retired teacher who has set up a free lending library on the street corner. But when the mayor tries to shut down the rickety bookstand, Yasmin has to take her nose out of her book and do something. What can she do? The local elections are coming up, but she’s just a kid. She can’t even vote! Still, Yasmin has friends — her best friend, Reeni, and Anil, who even has a blue belt in karate. And she has family and neighbors. What’s more, she has an idea that came right out of the last book she borrowed from Book Uncle. So Yasmin and her friends get to work. Ideas grow like cracks in the sidewalk, and soon the whole effort is breezing along nicely… Or is it spinning right out of control? An energetic, funny and quirky story about community activism, friendship, and the love of books.
Dini loves movies–watching them, reading about them, trying to write her own–especially those oh-so-fabulous Bollywood movies where you don’t need to know the language to get what’s going on. But when her mother reveals some big news, it does not at all jibe with the script Dini had in mind. Her family is moving to India. And not even to Bombay, which is the “center of the filmi universe” (and home to Dini’s all-time most favorite star, Dolly Singh). No, they’re moving to a teeny, tiny town that she can’t even find on a map: Swapnagiri. It means Dream Mountain, a sleepy little place where nothing interesting can happen…. But wait a movie minute! Swapnagiri is full of surprises like rose petal milk shakes, mischievous monkeys, a girl who chirps like a bird, and…could it be…Dolly herself? Also read the sequel–The Problem with Being Slightly Heroic, set in the US.
While serving as a soldier in India in 1799, Tom Trelawney’s ancestor Horatio stole a jewel-encrusted tiger statue. It is one of eight that once surrounded the throne of a legendary sultan. Now a ruthless Indian billionaire is collecting the full set–and only one is still missing. With his reckless Uncle Harvey in tow, Tom follows a trail of clues that leads to southern India…where they hope to find this family treasure. But they aren’t the only ones looking for it, and they soon end up on the run. The search brings danger, friendship, arson, cultural understanding and a bit of introspection on the part of Tom as they are chased by the police, mercenaries, and even man-eating tigers in this wild, fast-paced thriller that spans three continents. Read the companion book: Island of Thieves.
Reha feels torn between two worlds: school, where she’s the only Indian American student, and home, with her family’s traditions and holidays. But Reha’s parents don’t understand why she’s conflicted–they only notice when Reha doesn’t meet their strict expectations. Reha feels disconnected from her mother, or Amma. Although their names are linked–Reha means “star” and Punam means “moon”–they are a universe apart. Then Reha finds out that her Amma is sick. Really sick. Reha, who dreams of becoming a doctor even though she can’t stomach the sight of blood, is determined to make her Amma well again. She’ll be the perfect daughter, if it means saving her Amma’s life. Although set in the US, the cultural information about India makes it a book not to miss.
Mission Mumbai: a novel of Sacred Cows, Snakes and Stolen Toilets by Nahtab Narsimhan
Travel to the colorful and chaotic streets of India from the comfort of your home in this hilarious and heartfelt story about friendship and family.When aspiring photographer Dylan Moore is invited to join his best friend Rohit Lal on a family trip to India, he jumps at the chance to embark on an exciting journey just like their Lord of the Rings heroes, Frodo and Sam. But each boy comes to the trip with a problem: Rohit is desperate to convince his parents not to leave him behind in Mumbai to finish school, and Dylan is desperate to use his time in India to prove himself as a photographer and to avoid his parents’ constant fighting. Keeping their struggles to themselves threatens to tear the boys apart. But when disaster strikes, Dylan and Rohit realize they have to set aside their differences to navigate India safely, confront their family issues, and salvage their friendship.
When a tiger cub escapes from a nature reserve near Neel’s island village, the rangers and villagers hurry to find her before the cub’s anxious mother follows suit and endangers them all. Mr. Gupta, a rich newcomer to the island, is also searching-he wants to sell the cub’s body parts on the black market. Neel and his sister, Rupa, resolve to find the cub first and bring her back to the reserve where she belongs. The hunt for the cub interrupts Neel’s preparations for an exam to win a prestigious scholarship at a boarding school far from home. Neel doesn’t mind-he dreads the exam and would rather stay on his beloved island in the Sunderbans of West Bengal with his family and friends. But through his encounter with the cub, Neil learns that sometimes you have to take risks to preserve what you love. And sometimes you have to sacrifice the present for the chance to improve the future.
Before his grandmother moved from India to the island of Mariposa, Muki Krishnan’s life was good. But now He has to share his bedroom with Paati, his grandmother, who snores like a bulldozer and wakes him up at dawn to do yoga. Paati’s arrival coincides with even bigger changes in Mariposa. The president divides citizens into Butterflies–families who have lived in Mariposa for three generations–and Moths, who, like Muki’s family, are more recent immigrants. The changes are small at first. But then Muki and his friends find a camp being built to imprison Moths before sending them away. Soon after, his Paati is captured and taken there. While devising Paati’s escape, Muki discovers that a secret rebellion is underway, and as he digs deeper, he realizes that rescuing Paati will be the fight of his life.
A map, two train tickets, and a mission. These are things twelve-year-old Maya and her big sister Zara have when they set off on their own from Delhi to their grandmother’s childhood home of Aminpur, a small town in Northern India. Their goal is to find a chest of family treasures that their grandmother’s family left behind when they fled from India to Pakistan during the Great Partition. But soon the sisters become separated, and Maya is alone. Determined to find her grandmother’s lost chest, she continues her trip, on the way enlisting help from an orphan by named Jai. Maya’s grand adventure through India is as thrilling as it is warm: a journey through her family’s history becomes a real coming-of-age quest.
On a day when fish leap among the stars and birds soar beneath the waters, a remarkable girl named Parvati is born in a village in the South of India. As she grows, she becomes known for the peculiar events that seem to spring from beneath her dancing feet, and is widely thought to have supernatural powers. When a great master of Indian classical dance comes to see for himself, he recognizes in Parvati a rare talent and invites her to study with him at his gurukulam in the city of Madras. There she commits herself to a rigorous and solitary program of study, dance, and devotion. But when she meets a boy with his own extraordinary powers, her life is turned upside down, and she must question the one thing of which she has always been most sure – that she was born to dance. The poignant story of a strong girl who refuses to squander her magical gifts in the face of life’s ordinary but perplexing mysteries.
Kabir has been in jail since the day he was born, because his mom is serving time for a crime she didn’t commit. He’s never met his dad, so the only family he’s got are their cellmates, and the only place he feels the least bit free is in the classroom, where his kind teacher regales him with stories of the wonders of the outside world. Then one day a new warden arrives and announces Kabir is too old to stay. He gets handed over to a long-lost “uncle” who unfortunately turns out to be a fraud, and intends to sell Kabir. So Kabir does the only thing he can–run away as fast as his legs will take him. How does a boy with nowhere to go and no connections make his way? Fortunately, he befriends Rani, another street kid, and she takes him under her wing. But plotting their next move is hard–and fraught with danger–in a world that cares little for homeless, low caste children. This is not the world Kabir dreamed of–but he’s discovered he’s not the type to give up. Kabir is ready to show the world that he–and his mother–deserve a place in it.
Life is harsh in Chennai’s teeming streets, so when runaway sisters Viji and Rukku arrive, their prospects look grim. Very quickly, eleven-year-old Viji discovers how vulnerable they are in this uncaring, dangerous world. Fortunately, the girls find shelter–and friendship–on an abandoned bridge. When they meet two homeless boys, Muthi and Arul, the group starts to form a family of sorts. And while making a living scavenging the city’s trash heaps is the pits, the kids find plenty to laugh about and take pride in too. After all, they are now the bosses of themselves and no longer dependent on untrustworthy adults. But when illness strikes, Viji must decide whether to risk seeking help from strangers or to keep holding on to their fragile, hard-fought freedom.
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This booklist started out as a “5 Books Featuring…” list. But there were too many good choices! It was impossible to limit. But there is a popular book, an old book, a new book, an award winner and a favorite book on the list. So whether you’ve never been to India and would like to visit via the pages of a book, or if you have been to India before and want to revisit via a story, all of these books are great choices. Check them out and have a Virtual Visit to India!
As always, if you need help finding these or any other books in the Library, just ask one of our librarians for help. We love matching books with readers!
If you’ve ever been on a vacation, you know that they don’t always go the way you expected. But in these books, things go catastrophically wrong, in one way or another. Sometimes it’s funny, sometimes it’s sad, sometimes it’s exciting…but it’s never boring! Check out this list of Vacations Gone Wrong.
Our Five Books feature is a booklist of five books (occasionally with a few extras) on a specific topic, with a short synopsis so you can decide if it sounds like something you would like. Mostly Middle Grade, with the occasional younger or older or graphic title thrown in for flavor.
Five Books–one old, one new, one popular with kids, one well-reviewed, and one staff favorite. (But you’ll have to guess which is which)!
There are a few things you should know about Harriet Wermer: She just finished third grade, She has a perfect cat named Matzo Ball, She doesn’t always tell the truth, She is very happy to be spending summer vacation away from home and her mom and dad and all the wonderful things she had been planning all year. Okay, maybe that last one isn’t entirely the truth. Of course, there’s nothing Harriet doesn’t like about Marble Island, the small island off the coast of California where her nanu runs a cozy little bed and breakfast. And nobody doesn’t love Moneypenny, Nanu’s old basset hound. But Harriet doesn’t like the fact that Dad made this decision without even asking her. When Harriet arrives on Marble Island, however, she discovers that it’s full of surprises, and even a mystery. One that seems to involve her Dad, back when he was a young boy living on Marble Island. One that Harriet is absolutely going to solve. And that’s the truth.
Sarah Robinson is deeply troubled in the wake of her dad’s second marriage. She now has to deal with a new stepmom and two stepbrothers, Marco, who is her age, and Nacho, who’s younger. Even though they’ve all moved from Texas to California to start life as a new, blended family, none of the kids seem remotely happy about it. Sarah’s dad and stepmom then decide to take the whole family on a special vacation in order to break the ice and have everyone get to know one another. They’ll fly to Tahiti, charter a boat, and go sailing for a few days. It’ll be an adventure, right? Wrong. Dead wrong.
No parents. No rules. No curfew. Things are about to get dangerous… The grownups are out-of-town, and for Charley Decker that means one thing: a last epic weekend with her older brother Greg before he leaves for college. Bring on the burgers, milkshakes, and movie marathons! So when Greg ditches Charley for a date night downtown, she’s kind of crushed. Worse, he gets their mom’s boyfriend’s super-expensive, super-rare Mustang towed and needs Charley’s help to get it back. What’s an unsupervised seventh grader to do? Grab her best friends, sneak into the city, pull off the ultimate car heist, and then make Greg pay, of course! Only now the Mustang has a new feature in the trunk: a stowaway named Mitch who’s guarding a world-changing secret. And a pair of seriously big, seriously scary dudes are after him. What follows is an all-night race around the clock as Charley and her friends try to dodge the twin terrors, save Mitch, fix a sibling squabble…and get the Mustang home before morning!
On their way to a summer camp Meg and her sister, Lulie, bump into Pippa Phillips, a famous child movie star. Pippa, who is running away from an aunt and uncle who whe is convinced are exploiting her talents for their own profit. She begs Meg to help her. On the trip to camp, the girls devise an ingenious strategy to help Pippa. But soon the lies start piling up, and Pippa seems to want to grab the spotlight, even while she’s supposed to be hiding. Summer Camp is definitely not going as Meg had planned…
Sweet summer has taken a rotten turn . . . After a tough year, Lucy, Freddy, and Herb Peach are ready for vacation. Lucy wants to read all of the books on the summer reading list. Freddy wants to work on his art projects (when he isn’t stuck in summer school). Herb wants to swim every day. Then their dad makes a big announcement: one of the inventions their mom came up with before she passed away has sold, and now they’re millionaires! But Dad has bigger plans than blowing the cash on fun stuff or investing it. He’s bought a used food truck. The Peaches are going to spend the summer traveling the country selling pies. It will be the Great Peach Experiment–a summer of bonding while living out one of Mom’s dreams. Summer plans, sunk. And there’s one more issue Dad’s neglected: none of them knows how to bake. . . .
Whenever Jake and Marisol get together, adventure follows. They have their late Nana to thank for that. Her epic trips and treasure hunts were legendary. With the whole family reuniting for one last summer vacation at Nana’s home, the cousins are prepared for an extraordinary trip of their own. Following a map Nana left behind, Jake and Marisol sneak out to a nearby lighthouse–then accidentally slip into another world! The World Between Blinks is a magical place, where all sorts of lost things and people wind up. Everywhere they turn, the cousins find real mysteries from history and a few they thought were just myths, from pilot Amelia Earhart to the fabled city of Atlantis. But the man who holds the key to Jake and Marisol’s journey home doesn’t want to be found . . . and if the cousins don’t catch him fast, they could end up lost in this world forever.
Could summer in your neighborhood turn out to be better than an exotic holiday overseas? Ina and her new neighbor Vilmer are about to find out… Ina has no plans for the summer. Suddenly, she finds herself lying in front of the entire class, telling them she is going to the Mediterranean for three weeks. And then the lie keeps growing and growing via social media. The only problem is that the new boy in class has moved to Ina’s neighborhood and he will easily find out that she is not in the Mediterranean. How can Ina convince Vilmer to keep her secret? Perhaps the best summer holiday is the one you thought would be the worst?
After a tumultuous year in New York City, the Austins are spending the summer on the small island where their grandfather lives. He’s very sick, and watching his condition deteriorate as the summer passes is almost more than Vicky can bear. To complicate matters, she finds herself as the center of attention for three very different boys. Zachary Grey, the troubled and reckless boy Vicky met last summer, wants her all to himself as he grieves the loss of his mother. Leo Rodney has been just a friend for years, but the tragic loss of his father causes him to turn to Vicky for comfort–and romance. And then there’s Adam Eddington. Adam is only asking Vicky to help with his research on dolphins. But Adam–and the dolphins–may just be what Vicky needs to get through this heartbreaking summer.
It’s supposed to be the Best Summer Ever! Allegra, Minnow and Alice are spending the summer in Maine, at their regular vacation cottage, on an island. But then their parents have to go back to Boston for a funeral, and they’re going to be sent to stay with their mean (and old!) great-aunt. But when Allegra takes the call saying Great Aunt Ruth has broken her hip and can’t come, she doesn’t tell their parents. She thought it would be easy to just spend the week alone together. But she didn’t know her mother was going to throw out all the food! Surviving alone for a week is not going to be easy, especially when they have to hide from the neighbors. Allegra and her sisters scrounge for food and search for the treasure rumored to be hidden somewhere on the premises. Kids often imagine what their lives would be like if they were left on their own for even a short time. The three very different sisters in this story have just that kind of adventure for a week on an island in Maine.
Lana and Cassie have met only once before, at the wedding of Lana’s Grandpa Howe and Cassie’s Grandma Tess two months ago. The two girls couldn’t be more different, and they didn’t exactly hit it off–but they’re about to spend an entire week together for their grandparents’ honeymoon, road-tripping from California to Maine in the backseat of a Subaru. It’s going to be a disaster. Told in alternating chapters between Cassie and Lana, Drive Me Crazy shows that even though friendship can be a bumpy road, it just might change your life for the better.
Fiona and Cassie are best friends for life. No one else can make Fiona laugh like Cassie can, and that meant everything when Fiona’s parents were divorcing. They love each other in spite of their (many) differences, and even though Cassie cares a little too much about being popular, Fiona can’t imagine life without her. Until Fiona’s diary is stolen at school, and everything changes. It’s a middle schooler’s worst nightmare come true: not only is Fiona’s diary taken, but it’s read out loud on the bus by the popular kids that day. Even worse: Cassie was there, and she didn’t do anything to stop them. And for some reason, now she’s ignoring Fiona. Suddenly the whole world has shifted. Life without a best friend is confusing, scary, and maybe impossible. But as Fiona navigates a summer of big changes, she learns more about herself–and friendship–than she ever thought possible.
Stella misses her (unreliable) mom, but she loves it at great-aunt Louise’s house. Louise lives on Cape Cod, where Stella hopes her mom will someday come and settle down. The only problem? Angel, the foster kid Louise has taken in. The two girls live together but there’s no way they’ll ever be friends. Then Louise suddenly passes away one morning–and Stella and Angel decide not to tell anyone. Now they have to depend on each other for survival. Now they are forced to trust each other with the biggest secret ever. This is the story of two very different girls who unexpectedly become each other’s true family.
Avery Bloom, who’s bookish, intense, and afraid of many things, particularly deep water, lives in New York City. Bett Devlin, who’s fearless, outgoing, and loves all animals as well as the ocean, lives in California. What they have in common is that they are both twelve, and are both being raised by single dads. When their dads fall in love, Bett and Avery are sent, against their will, to the same sleepaway camp. Their dads hope that they will find common ground and become friends–and possibly, one day, even sisters. But things soon go off the rails for the girls (and for their dads too), and they find themselves on a summer adventure that neither of them could have predicted. Now that they can’t imagine life without each other, will Bett and Avery (who sometimes call themselves Night Owl and Dogfish) figure out a way to be a family?
Ainsley never wanted to spend her summer on a fairy tale cruise–especially since, instead of lounging by the pool, she’s running around the ship doing favor after favor for her cruise director mom. Things aren’t all bad–it’s good to see her mom acting confident again after the divorce, and she’s learning a lot about obscure German fairy tales and how to fold towels into entertaining shapes for little kids (um, yay?). There’s also a guy who’s super cute, even in a dorky dwarf costume–if only Ainsley could get Prince Handsome to stop babbling about himself long enough for her to say more than ‘hi’ to the cute dwarf! But once the cruise starts, things start to go wrong: the laundry turns pink, the kitchen runs out of food, the guy playing the Pig King is always in Ainsley’s hair, and her mom expects her to be in a hundred places all at once. Is this fairy tale cruise under a wicked curse? Or can Ainsley stand up for herself and make the cruise end happily ever after?
Mia Tang is going for her dreams! After years of hard work, Mia Tang finally gets to go on vacation with her family — to China! A total dream come true! Mia can’t wait to see all her cousins and grandparents again, especially her cousin Shen. As she roams around Beijing, witnessing some of the big changes China’s going through, Mia thinks about the changes in her own life, like . . .1)Lupe’s taking classes at the high school! And Mia’s own plans to be a big writer are . . . stuck. 2)Something happened with Jason and Mia has no idea what to do about it. 3)New buildings are popping up all around the motel, and small businesses are disappearing. Can the Calivista survive? Buckle up! Mia is more determined than ever to get through the turbulence, now that she finally has . . . room to dream!
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So…how is your vacation going? Better than the ones above, I hope!
This turned out to be a longer “5 Books” than usual! I guess vacations just have a habit of not going the way they’re supposed to…
If you need help finding these, or any other books at the Library, just ask one of our Librarians. We’re always happy to match readers with their next favorite book! (And if you’re going on vacation, try reading a book about the place you’re going. Always fun to see things through a different lens!)
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