Powered by a book like {foo}
Recommendations based on Al Capone Does My Shirtsby Gennifer Choldenko
* statistically, based on millions of data-points provided by fellow humans
When You Reach Me
by Rebecca Stead
A young girl in 1970s New York City receives mysterious notes that seem to predict the future. She must unravel the mystery before it's too late.
Miranda is an ordinary sixth grader, until she starts receiving mysterious messages from somebody who knows all about her, including things that have not even happened yet. Each message brings her ... (Goodreads)
Bud, Not Buddy
by Christopher Paul Curtis
A young boy searches for his father during the Great Depression, encountering adventure and unexpected kindness along the way.
The story opens with Bud being placed with a new foster family, the Amoses'. Bud soon meets Todd Amos, their 12-year-old son, who teases him mercilessly and calls him Buddy. After a fight with Todd, ... (Wikipedia)
Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie
by Jordan Sonnenblick
A humorous and heartfelt story of a young boy's struggle with leukemia and its effect on his family.
The protagonist of the book is Steven Alper, a 13-year-old boy living in New Jersey . The Alper family consists of Dad, an accountant; Mom, an English teacher; Steven, an enthusiastic and talented ... (Wikipedia)
Because of Winn-Dixie
by Kate DiCamillo
A girl's journey of self-discovery and healing, as she finds friendship in an unlikely companion.
Kate DiCamillo's beloved, best-selling debut novel is now available in a paperback digest edition. Kate DiCamillo's first published novel, like Winn-Dixie himself, immediately proved to be a keeper—a ... (Goodreads)
Heat
by Mike Lupica
A young basketball player discovers his passion and potential as he navigates the world of competitive sports.
Michael Arroyo has a pitching arm that throws serious heat along with aspirations of leading his team all the way to the Little League World Series. But his firepower is nothing compared to the heat ... (Goodreads)
Love That Dog
by Sharon Creech
A young boy's reluctant journey to discover his love of poetry, and his own writing talent.
"I guess it does look like a poem when you see it typed up like that." Jack hates poetry. Only girls write it and every time he tries to, his brain feels empty. But his teacher, Ms. Stretchberry, ... (Goodreads)
A Sick Day for Amos McGee
by Philip C. Stead
A zookeeper and his animal friends learn the value of friendship and compassion.
Amos McGee is a punctual man who goes about his day the same way every day. He swings his legs out of bed, puts on a fresh uniform and hops on the #5 bus at 6:00 AM to go to the zoo . While at the ... (Wikipedia)
Elsewhere
by Gabrielle Zevin
A young girl's journey to the afterlife, grappling with the reality of death.
Fifteen-year-old Liz is hit and killed by a taxi. When she wakes up, she finds herself in the cabin of a ship named the SS Nile. She meets her idol, who turns out to be dead, like her. The ship ... (Wikipedia)
Among the Hidden
by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Luke is a third child in a society where having more than two children is illegal. He must hide or face severe consequences.
In a dystopian future, after a shortage of food and overpopulation, families are limited to two children. Luke Garner, a 12-year-old boy, lives on a farm with his mother, father, and two brothers. As ... (Wikipedia)
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
by Sherman Alexie
A young Native American boy's struggles to survive in a difficult world.
The book follows a fourteen-year-old boy living with his family on the Spokane Indian Reservation near Wellpinit, Washington for a school year. It is told in episodic diary style, moving from the ... (Wikipedia)
Out of My Mind
by Sharon M. Draper
A young girl with cerebral palsy struggles to overcome obstacles and prove her ability.
Melody Brooks is a girl who was born with cerebral palsy . Also, who is ten years old. Her parents have done everything they can to help her live a normal life, but life is often frustrating for ... (Wikipedia)
Officer Buckle and Gloria
by Peggy Rathmann
A safety-conscious police officer teams up with a mischievous police dog to teach children about safety.
A rather boring police officer named Officer Buckle is assigned to take a police dog named Gloria to his safety speech at the local school. Until that time, whenever Officer Buckle tried to tell ... (Wikipedia)
Marcelo in the Real World
by Francisco X. Stork
A young man with Asperger's Syndrome navigates the challenges of the real world.
Marcelo Sandoval, is a seventeen-year-old who hears music in his head as a result of mild autism , described as a " cognitive disorder " by his father. , He attends a school that caters to the needs ... (Wikipedia)
Out of the Dust
by Karen Hesse
A poetic story of a young girl's endurance through a time of great hardship.
When Billie Jo is just fourteen she must endure heart-wrenching ordeals that no child should have to face. The quiet strength she displays while dealing with unspeakable loss is as surprising as it ... (Goodreads)
Walk Two Moons
by Sharon Creech
A young girl embarks on a road trip with her grandparents to find her missing mother, while reflecting on her own life and relationships.
The novel is narrated by a 13-year-old girl named Salamanca (Sal). Sal's mother has recently left Sal's father, and Sal's grandparents are taking her on a cross-country car trip to Lewiston, Idaho to ... (Wikipedia)
The City of Ember
by Jeanne DuPrau
A city on the brink of destruction, two young people race against time to unlock its secrets.
As the book starts off, a coalition of architects, scientists, and doctors known as "The Builders" have built Ember, an isolated, underground city with enough supplies for its inhabitants to survive ... (Wikipedia)
Kitten's First Full Moon
by Kevin Henkes
A young kitten's misadventure when she mistakes the full moon for a bowl of milk.
The nationally bestselling picture book about a kitten, the moon, and a bowl of milk, written by the celebrated author and illustrator Kevin Henkes, was awarded a Caldecott Medal. From one of the ... (Goodreads)
Princess of the Midnight Ball
by Jessica Day George
A retelling of the classic fairy tale "The Twelve Dancing Princesses" where a young soldier must break a curse that plagues a family of princesses.
Princess Rose and her sisters Lily, Jonquil, Hyacinth, Violet, Daisy, Poppy, Iris, Lilac, Orchid, Pansy, and Petunia are trapped in a curse. Every third night, they have to dance at the Midnight Ball ... (Wikipedia)
The Invention of Hugo Cabret
by Brian Selznick
An orphaned boy's journey to unravel the secrets of a mechanical man and find his place in the world.
In 1930s Paris, young Hugo Cabret and his father repair an automaton at the museum where his father works. When Hugo's father dies in a fire, his uncle brings him to live and work at the train ... (Wikipedia)
The One and Only Ivan
by Katherine Applegate
A gorilla named Ivan, who lives in a mall, finds hope and freedom through his art and the help of his friends.
The story is placed at the Exit 8 Big Top Mall by the Video Arcade. Ivan, the gorilla, has lived in captivity at the Big Top Mall for 9,855 days by his own tally. , He lives in his domain, and is ... (Wikipedia)
Roots: The Saga of an American Family
by Alex Haley
A multigenerational saga tracing the journey of an African American family in the U.S.
Roots tells the story of Kunta Kinte —a young man taken from the Gambia when he was seventeen and sold as a slave—and seven generations of his descendants in the United States. Kunta, a Mandinka ... (Wikipedia)
Peter and the Starcatchers
by Dave Barry
A prequel to Peter Pan, following Peter and Molly as they protect a magical substance from pirates.
In 19th century London, an orphaned boy named Peter and fellow orphans James, Thomas, Prentiss, and Tubby Ted are shipped out on the decrepit Never Land , under the command of First Mate Slank and ... (Wikipedia)
The Cross of Lead
by Avi
A young boy's fight for survival in medieval England, discovering his hidden identity.
"Asta's Son" is all he's ever been called. The lack of a name is appropriate, because he and his mother are but poor peasants in 14th century medieval England. But this thirteen-year-old boy who ... (Goodreads)
Two-Way Street
by Lauren Barnholdt
A road trip with exes Jordan and Courtney, alternating between their perspectives, reveals secrets and feelings.
there are two sides to every breakup., This is Jordan and Courtney, totally in love. Sure, they were an unlikely high school couple. But they clicked; it worked. They're even going to the same ... (Barnes & Noble)
The Witch of Blackbird Pond
by Elizabeth George Speare
A young girl's struggles to find her place in a Puritan Connecticut town.
In April 1687, 16-year-old Katherine Tyler (known throughout the story as Kit Tyler) leaves her home in Barbados after her grandfather dies and a 50-year-old man tries to marry her. She relocates to ... (Wikipedia)
The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag
by Alan Bradley
Flavia de Luce, a precocious 11-year-old chemist and amateur detective, solves another murder mystery in her small English village.
From Dagger Award-winning and internationally bestselling author Alan Bradley comes this utterly beguiling mystery starring one of fiction's most remarkable sleuths: Flavia de Luce, a dangerously ... (Goodreads)
Tuck Everlasting
by Natalie Babbitt
A young girl discovers the secret of a family that has found the key to eternal life.
12-year-old Winifred "Winnie" Foster is frustrated with her family because they keep her cooped up in the house, and considers running away from her home in rural Treegap. One day, while in a wooded ... (Wikipedia)
The Dangerous Days of Daniel X
by James Patterson
Daniel X is an alien hunter on a mission to eliminate the most dangerous extraterrestrial criminals on Earth.
Twelve years after the murder of his parents, fifteen-year-old alien Daniel X has taken up the task of his parents as Defender of Earth. In the sewers of Portland, Oregon, he defeats number 19 on the ... (Wikipedia)
The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate
by Jacqueline Kelly
A young girl in rural Texas discovers her passion for science and nature.
In the summer of 1899, Calpurnia Virginia Tate is about to turn twelve and worries about the adult responsibilities that loom on the horizon. She would much rather swim in the river near her family's ... (Wikipedia)
The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog!
by Mo Willems
A hungry pigeon finds a hot dog and is determined to eat it, but a sly duckling tries to convince him otherwise.
When Pigeon finds a delicious hot dog, he can hardly wait to shove the entire thing in his beak. But . . . then a very sly and hungry duckling enters the scene and wants a bite. Who will be the more ... (Goodreads)
