Recommendations based on The Great Brainby John D. Fitzgerald

* statistically, based on millions of data-points provided by fellow humans

  1. Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective

    by Donald J. Sobol
    A ten-year-old detective solves a variety of mysteries in his small town.

    A Civil War sword...A watermelon stabbing... Missing roller skates... A trapeze artist's inheritance... And an eyewitness who's legally blind! Theses are just some of the ten brain-twisting mysteries ... (Goodreads)

  2. Henry Huggins

    by Beverly Cleary
    A young boy's everyday adventures in a small town, meeting friends and facing challenges.

    In the first novel from Newbery Award-winning author Beverly Cleary, boys and girls alike will instantly be charmed by an average boy whose life is turned upside down when he meets a lovable puppy ... (Goodreads)

  3. Hatchet

    by Gary Paulsen
    A boy must learn to survive in the wilderness after a plane crash leaves him stranded.

    Brian Robeson is a thirteen-year-old son of divorced parents. As he travels from Hampton, New York on a single engine Cessna bush plane to visit his father in the oil fields in Northern Canada for ... (Wikipedia)

  4. Caddie Woodlawn

    by Carol Ryrie Brink
    A young girl growing up in Wisconsin in the 1860s, Caddie Woodlawn is adventurous and independent, challenging the expectations of her time.

    Set in the 1860s, the novel is about a lively eleven-year-old tomboy named Caroline Augusta Woodlawn, nicknamed "Caddie", living in the area of Dunnville, Wisconsin . As a young girl she made the ... (Wikipedia)

  5. From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler

    by E.L. Konigsburg
    Two adventurous children who run away from home and hide in New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art.

    When suburban Claudia Kincaid decides to run away, she knows she doesn’t just want to run from somewhere, she wants to run to somewhere — to a place that is comfortable, beautiful, and, preferably, ... (Goodreads)

  6. The Phantom Tollbooth

    by Norton Juster
    A whimsical adventure through a magical land, searching for a way out of the boredom of everyday life.

    Milo is a boy bored by the world around him; every activity seems a waste of time. He arrives home from another boring day at school to find a mysterious package. Among its contents are a small ... (Wikipedia)

  7. Carry On, Mr. Bowditch

    by Jean Lee Latham
    A young man's struggle to gain knowledge and self-confidence, inspiring a revolution in navigation.

    In Revolutionary War–era Salem, Massachusetts, a young Nat Bowditch, the smallest member of a sea-faring family, astounds his schoolteacher with his talent for mathematics. He dreams of someday ... (Wikipedia)

  8. 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)

  9. The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

    by Barbara Robinson
    A family of delinquent children put on a disastrous Christmas pageant, learning the true meaning of Christmas.

    Laughs abound in this bestselling Christmas classic by Barbara Robinson! The Best Christmas Pageant Ever follows the outrageous shenanigans of the Herdman siblings, or “the worst kids in the history ... (Goodreads)

  10. Betsy-Tacy

    by Maud Hart Lovelace
    The adventures of two best friends, Betsy and Tacy, growing up in a small town in the early 1900s.

    Best Friends Forever There are lots of children on Hill Street, but no little girls Betsy's age. So when a new family moves into the house across the street, Betsy hopes they will have a little girl ... (Goodreads)

  11. Anne of Avonlea

    by L.M. Montgomery
    A young girl's coming-of-age in rural Prince Edward Island, full of adventures and misadventures.

    Anne is about to start her first term teaching at the Avonlea school, although she will still continue her studies at home with Gilbert, who is teaching at the nearby White Sands School. The book ... (Wikipedia)

  12. The Bronze Bow

    by Elizabeth George Speare
    A young man's journey of redemption, as he struggles with anger, violence and oppression.

    This book is set in first-century Galilee . The main character, a young Jew named Daniel bar Jamin, who lives at the same time as Jesus of Nazareth . Daniel's father was killed in front of him, as an ... (Wikipedia)

  13. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay

    by Michael Chabon
    Two cousins create a comic book superhero and find success and adventure in 1940s New York.

    The novel begins in 1939 with the arrival of 19-year-old Josef "Joe" Kavalier as a refugee in New York City , where he comes to live with his 17-year-old cousin, Sammy Klayman. With the help of his ... (Wikipedia)

  14. Ballet Shoes

    by Noel Streatfeild
    Three orphan sisters discover their talents and passions in pursuit of their dreams.

    The book concerns three adopted sisters, Pauline, Petrova and Posy Fossil. Each of the girls is discovered as a baby by Matthew Brown (Great-Uncle-Matthew, known as "Gum"), an elderly, absentminded ... (Wikipedia)

  15. Mara, Daughter of the Nile

    by Eloise Jarvis McGraw
    An adventure story set in Ancient Egypt, featuring a brave and courageous girl who rises to a heroic challenge.

    The story opens introducing the reader to Nekonkh, an Egyptian river boat captain on the Nile during the rule of Queen Hatshepsut . Nekonkh is on his way to Thebes, carrying his usual cargo and an ... (Wikipedia)

  16. Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ

    by Lew Wallace
    A Jewish prince and his quest for revenge against the Roman Empire, culminating in a fateful encounter with Jesus.

    Ben-Hur is a story of a fictional hero named Judah Ben-Hur, a Jewish nobleman who was falsely accused and convicted of an attempted assassination of the Roman governor of Judaea and consequently ... (Wikipedia)

  17. A Single Shard

    by Linda Sue Park
    A young orphan boy in 12th century Korea dreams of becoming a potter and sets out on a journey to prove himself.

    Tree-ear is an orphan who lives under a bridge with Crane-man, a physically disabled man who took him in when Tree-ear was only a small child. Tree-ear is fascinated with the nearby potters in his ... (Wikipedia)

  18. Little House on Rocky Ridge

    by Roger Lea MacBride
    Laura Ingalls Wilder's daughter, Rose, begins a new life in Missouri with her husband.

    Pioneer for a New Century Meet Rose Wilder, Laura Ingalls Wilder's daughter, and the last of the Little House girls. Rose and her parents, Laura and Almanzo, say good-bye to Ma and Pa Ingalls and ... (Goodreads)

  19. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry

    by Mildred D. Taylor
    A family's story of struggle and survival during the Great Depression in the segregated American South.

    Nine-year-old Cassie Logan is walking to school with her siblings Stacey (twelve years old), Christopher-John (seven years old), and Little Man,(six years old), in rural Mississippi . Cassie talks ... (Wikipedia)

  20. Rilla of Ingleside

    by L.M. Montgomery
    A coming-of-age story of a young woman during World War I, learning about life and love.

    Set almost a decade after, Rainbow Valley, , Europe is on the brink of the First World War, and Anne's youngest daughter Rilla is an irrepressible almost-15-year-old, excited about her first adult ... (Wikipedia)

  21. The Drowned Cities

    by Paolo Bacigalupi
    In a post-apocalyptic world, two orphaned children struggle to survive amidst war and violence.

    Soldier boys emerged from the darkness. Guns gleamed dully. Bullet bandoliers and scars draped their bare chests. Ugly brands scored their faces. She knew why these soldier boys had come. She knew ... (Barnes & Noble)

  22. The Magician's Nephew

    by C.S. Lewis
    An epic journey through time and space, exploring the origins of Narnia and discovering its wondrous inhabitants.

    The story begins in London during the summer of 1900. Two children, Digory and Polly , meet while playing in the adjacent gardens of a row of terraced houses . They decide to explore the attic ... (Wikipedia)

  23. Johnny Tremain

    by Esther Forbes
    A young apprentice's journey of bravery, patriotism and heroism during the American Revolution.

    The story begins on July 23, 1773, in the Boston silversmith shop of elderly Ephraim Lapham, where Johnny is a promising 14-year-old apprentice. It is understood that someday he will marry Mr. ... (Wikipedia)

  24. The Complete Anne of Green Gables 8-Book Box Set

    by L.M. Montgomery
    Follow the life of Anne Shirley, an imaginative and talkative orphan, as she grows up on Prince Edward Island.

    Favorites for nearly 100 years, these classic novels follow the adventures of the spirited redhead Anne Shirley, who comes to stay at Green Gables and wins the hearts of everyone she meets. Includes ... (Goodreads)

  25. Ramona Quimby, Age 8

    by Beverly Cleary
    A young girl's adventures and misadventures as she navigates school and family life.

    The schools in Ramona Quimby's neighborhood have been reorganized, and now she gets to ride the bus to Cedarhurst Primary, where she and her fellow third graders will be the biggest kids in the ... (Wikipedia)

  26. Champions of the Force

    by Kevin J. Anderson
    The final book in the Jedi Academy trilogy, where Luke Skywalker and his students face off against the evil spirit of Exar Kun.

    Suspended helplessly between life and death, Luke Skywalker lies in state at the Jedi academy. But on the spirit plane, Luke fights desperately for survival, reaching out physically to the Jedi ... (Goodreads)

  27. The Wolves of Willoughby Chase

    by Joan Aiken
    Two cousins fight against their evil governess and her accomplices in a Victorian England filled with wolves and danger.

    The story is set at Willoughby Chase, the grand but remote home of Sir Willoughby and Lady Green and their daughter Bonnie. Due to Lady Green's ill health, Bonnie's parents are taking a holiday in ... (Wikipedia)

  28. I, Robot

    by Isaac Asimov
    A collection of science fiction stories exploring the relationship between humans and robots.

    Isaac Asimov's I, Robot launches readers on an adventure into a not-so-distant future where man and machine , struggle to redefinelife, love, and consciousness—and where the stakes are nothing less ... (Goodreads)

  29. The Wednesday Wars

    by Gary D. Schmidt
    A coming-of-age story of a student facing the challenges of the Vietnam War era.

    In this Newbery Honor-winning novel, Gary D. Schmidt offers an unforgettable antihero. The Wednesday Wars is a wonderfully witty and compelling story about a teenage boy’s mishaps and adventures over ... (Goodreads)

  30. Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast

    by Robin McKinley
    An unconventional retelling of a classic fairytale, exploring themes of love and transformation.

    Roderick Huston, a wealthy merchant and widower, has three daughters; Grace, Hope, and Honour. When Honour was a child she asked what her name meant and afterwards said she'd rather be named Beauty, ... (Wikipedia)