Themes and SubthemesChallenges and Struggles

(Survival)

Struggle for SurvivalGary L. Blackwood

Recommended for ages 9-12. Thirteen-year-old Timothy

Martin, whose world centers around books, television, and movies, has to cope with the real world when he's lost in the Adirondack wilderness.

Struggle for SurvivalAndrew Clements Recommended for ages 9-13

Rich eleven-year-old Mark is having a hard time adjusting to his family’s move to the “hick”New Hampshire countryside. Now the whole fifth grade is headed out for a week of camping—his science teacher Mr. Hardy’s famous Week in the Woods. Things go all wrong for Mark, and the Week in the Woods turns into a fight for survival.

Struggle for SurvivalPeg Kehret

Recommended for ages 9-14

Thirteen-year-old Kyle, his sister BeeBee, and his parents are vacationing on the Oregon coast when an earthquake hits. Kyle and BeeBee must struggle to save the family as a tsunami heads toward them.

Struggle for SurvivalNancy FarmerRecommended for ages

11-14While fleeing from

Mozambique to Zimbabwe to escape an unwanted marriage, Nhamo, an eleven-year-old Shona girl, struggles to escape drowning and starvation.

Struggle for SurvivalPatricia Reilly GiffRecommended for ages 9-14Twelve-year-old Irish Nory

Ryan’s ingenuity and courage help her family survive the 1845 Potato Famine.

Struggle for SurvivalPeg KehretRecommended for ages 9-12 When an earthquake hits the

isolated island in northern California where his family had been camping, twelve-year-old Jonathan Palmer must find a way to keep himself, his partially paralyzed younger sister, and their dog alive until help arrives.

Struggle for SurvivalMary Pope OsborneRecommended for ages 9-11.When Adaline Falling Star,

daughter of a deceased Indian woman and legendary father Kit Carson, is left with prejudiced cousins, she despairs and runs away. She and her mongrel dog struggle to survive the wilderness.

Struggle for SurvivalBen MikaelsenRecommended for ages 12-16.Gabi, “Tree Girl,” witnesses the

massacre of an entire Guatemalan village while hiding in a tree. Now she must join the hordes of refugees headed for the Mexican border. As she struggles to survive hunger, thirst, and the threat of more military violence, Gabi clings to the hope of finding her only surviving relative, a four-year old sister.

Struggle for SurvivalBen MikaelsenRecommended for ages 10-14When twelve-year-old

Santiago’s Guatumalenvillage is attacked by guerilla soldiers, he and his four-year-old sister escape using their uncle’s sea kayak. With a map, machete, and very little food, Santiago heads for the United States. He and his sister must endure shark-infested waters, the threat of soldiers, and days of intense heat and storms to reach refuge.

Struggle for SurvivalEve BuntingRecommended for ages 9-

11.William’s new canine friend,

Riley, breaks a local animal ordinance by chasing a horse. Now Riley faces being put to sleep, and William must find a way to save him.

Themes and SubthemesRelationships

(Family, Friends, Character Traits)

Value of FamilyPatricia MacLachlanRecommended for ages 9+Larkin and her family take in

baby Sophie. As the family grows to adore Sophie, they struggle with the knowledge that one day Sophie’s mother will return to take her.

Value of FamilyRuth WhiteRecommended for ages 9-14Belle Prater disappeared one

morning and Woodrow comes to live with his grandparents next door to his twelve-year-old cousin Gypsy. Gypsy has lost her father and is haunted by a terrible nightmare. Throughout the summer the children find answers to their pain and forge a bond of love.

Value of FamilyMavis JukesRecommended for ages 9-

11This is Austin’s first

summer visit to his grandparents’ home since his grandfather’s death. He and his grandmother must find a way to go on without Grandpa.

Value of FamilyChristopher Paul CurtisRecommended for ages 9-13Ten-year-old Bud, a motherless

boy living in Flint, Michigan, during the Great Depression, escapes a bad foster home and sets out in search of the man he believes to be his father--the renowned bandleader, H.E. Calloway of Grand Rapids.

Value of FamilyGary PaulsenRecommended for ages 9-13The eleven-year-old narrator of

this story is sent to live with his country cousins when he is taken away from his alcoholic parents. The narrator learns what it feels like to be a part of a family as he and his crazy cousin Harris spend a summer getting into trouble.

Value of FamilyJulia AlvarezRecommended for ages 9-13After his parent’s divorce, Miguel

Guzman moves to Vermont. Tia Lola comes from the Dominican Republic to stay. At first Miguel is embarrassed by his relative who speaks no English, but he comes to realize that she is fun and full of surprises.

Value of FamilyKimberly Willis HoltRecommended for ages 9- 16Smart and athletic Tiger Ann

Parker is teased by her classmates because her parents are mentally slow. When, through the death of her grandmother, Tiger is offered the opportunity to escape her parents and the small town she lives in, she must make the hardest decision of her life.

Value of FamilyPatricia Reilly GiffRecommended for ages 9-14Hollis Woods has been placed

in foster home after foster home but never seems to find a family for her to love. Finally Hollis is placed with quirky Josie, an elderly artist. Just when Hollis feels she has found her true family, Josie begins to show signs of dementia.

Value of familyAngela JohnsonRecommended for ages 11-14Fourteen-year-old Marley must

wrestle with her own definition of family when she finds out the that the people she has lived with her entire life are not her real parents but are her aunt and uncle and that her mysterious Uncle Jack is, in reality, her father.

Value of FamilySharon CreechRecommended for ages 10-14Tiller and Sairy are an elderly couple

whose own children are grown. They long for one last adventure. Dallas and Florida have been dubbed “the trouble twins” because of multiple failed foster home placements. Tiller and Sairy invite Dallas and Florida to spend the summer with them at Ruby Holler and to accompany them on their adventures. The trouble twins and the old couple turn out to be a perfect fit for one another.

Wisdom of GrandparentsSharon CreechRecommended for ages 9-14Twelve-year-old Rosie and Bailey

have been best friends their entire life. They were born one week apart and live next to one another. When they have a fight over the new girl on the block, they find wisdom and comfort in Granny Torrelli’s kitchen.

Wisdom of GrandparentsRichard PeckRecommended for ages 9-14Each summer Mary Alice and

Joey travel from Chicago to visit Grandma Dowdell, an eccentric, take-charge lady. Grandma teaches them to live life with exuberance.

Wisdom of GrandparentsRichard PeckRecommended for ages 9-14Mary Alice is sent to spend the

school year with Grandma Dowdell when her family suffers during the height of the Great Depression. Mary Alice learns just how resourceful Grandma is during the course of the year.

Wisdom of GrandparentsJoan BauerRecommended for ages 12-14Tree is twelve years old and

already 6 foot, 3 inches tall. His mother and dad have just divorced, and his grandfather has his leg amputated. Grandpa tells Tree, “We’re all fighting a war whether we know it or not a war for our minds and souls and what we believe in.” This wisdom carries Tree through this difficult year.

Wisdom of GrandparentsChristopher Paul CurtisRecommended for ages 9-14Byron Watson is a good kid, but

Flint, Michigan, gang influences threaten to change that. The Watson’s set off to Birmingham, Alabama, where Grandma Sands will straighten Byron out.

Power of FriendshipJoan BauerRecommended for ages 9-13Ten-year-old Mickey Vernon is

determined to win the pool tournament at his family’s pool hall, and since his pool champion dad died years ago, it’s up to his brainy best friend, Arlen, to coach him using geometry.

Power of FriendshipAnn M. MartinRecommended for ages 12-

14Shy Hattie Owen meets her

Uncle Adam the summer she turns twelve. He is autistic and schizophrenic, but they develop a deep friendship that changes Hattie.

Power of FriendshipKate DiCamilloRecommended for ages 9-14Ten-year-old Opal has just

moved to Naomi, Florida. On a trip to the store, Opal meets and falls in love with Winn Dixie, an ugly mutt of a dog. Together they befriend Otis, Miss Fanny, and Gloria Dump, their town’s most eccentric citizens.

Power of FriendshipKimberly Willis HoltRecommended for ages 12-14Zachary Beaver, the “fattest

boy in the world,” comes to Toby’s town the same summer his mother leaves him. Toby is able to overcome his own problems due to his new- found compassion and his desire to help Zachary realize his dream.

Power of FriendshipE.L. KonigsburgRecommended for ages 9-14Nadia, Noah, Ethan, and Julian

are chosen by Miss Olinski to be on the sixth grade trivia team. These four develop a close friendship that may not have happened except for Miss Olinski’s wisdom.

Power of FriendshipJane Leslie ConlyRecommended for ages 12-14Seventh grader Vernon Dibbs

finds works through his grief over his mother’s death when he befriends mentally handicapped Ronald and his alcoholic mother Maxine.

Power of FriendshipE.L. KonigsburgRecommended for ages 13-15When Branwell Zamborska’s

baby sister is injured by abuse, Branwell goes mute. It is up to his best friend, Connor Kane, to get through the wall separating Branwell from the world.

Power of FriendshipVicki GroveRecommended for ages 12-14Carly Cameron draws Dustin Groat’s

name to be her interview partner for a class assignment. Nothing could be worst than having to associate with a member of the town’s scariest family. As Dustin’s surly façade breaks down, Carly learns the specifics of his sad home life and becomes his friend.

Power of FriendshipVicki GroveRecommended for ages 12-13Eighth graders Frannie and

Celeste, the first black to inter Frannie’s school, become friends when they are paired to sing a duet. They have to struggle to maintain their friendship as their town’s racism grows.

Power of Friendship

Bruce BrooksRecommended ages 12-15When Jay Foxworthy is chosen to

be the first black to integrate his town’s junior high, Jay has the self-esteem to know he will be okay. Jay makes friends with troubled Bix Braxton Rivers.

Power of FriendshipAnn M. MartinRecommended ages 9-14Ten-year-old Belle Teal Harper

has a difficult life. Her grandmother is getting more forgetful each day and her mother struggles to work two jobs, but Belle is rich in friendship. One such friendship is the one she makes with the new African American boy who is at the center of the town’s fight against integration.