Elementary

*recomended to be promoted to lower grade levels **recomended to be promoted to upper grade levels

Because of the Rabbit

by Cynthia Lord

On the last night of summer, Emma and her Maine game warden father rescue a small domestic rabbit stuck in a fence; the very next day Emma starts fifth grade after years of being home schooled, excited and apprehensive about making new friends, but she is paired with Jack, a hyperactive boy, who does not seem to fit in with anyone--except that they share a love of animals, which draws them together, because of the rabbit.

Author Website

Book Trailer

Teaching Books

Big Foot and Little Foot

by Ellen Potter

"Hugo is a young Sasquatch who longs for adventure. Boone is a young boy who longs to see a Sasquatch. When their worlds collide, they become the unlikeliest pair of best friends"--Provided by publisher.

Author Website

Book Trailer

Teaching Books

Bouncing Back

by Scott Ostler

Orphaned thirteen year-old Carlos learns what it truly means to be a teammate when he must help save his new wheelchair basketball team's gym from destruction.

Story Map and Lesson

Teaching Books


The Friendship War

by Andrew Clements

Stickers, Silly Bandz, Rainbow Looms, fidget spinners . . . buttons?! A brand-new school story about friendship and fads from the bestselling author of Frindle.

Author Website

Teaching Guide

Teaching Books

Just Under the Clouds**

by Melissa Sarno

Since her father's death, Cora, twelve, longs for a permanent home for herself, her special-needs sister, and their mother while navigating middle school and studying trees using her father's field notes.

Author Website

Tough Topics Educators' Guide

Teaching Books


The Light in the Lake

by Sarah Baughman

Twelve-year-old Addie should avoid Maple Lake. After all, her twin brother Amos drowned there only a few months ago. But its crisp, clear water runs in her veins, and the notebook Amos left behind, filled with clues about a mysterious creature in the lake's inky-blue depths, keeps calling her back. She never took Amos seriously when he was alive, but doesn't she owe it to him to figure out, once and for all, if there's really something out there? When she's offered a Young Scientist position studying the lake for the summer, Addie accepts, yearning for the cool wind in her hair and that sparkle on the lake, despite her parent's misgivings. Addie promises her parents that she'll remain under the scientists' supervision and stick to her job of helping them measure water pollution levels, but she can't resist the secrets of Maple Lake. Addie enlists Tai, the son of one of the visiting scientists, to help her sneak off and investigate Amos's evidence of the creature. The more time Addie spends out on the water, the more she discovers the same deep-down feeling Amos had about the magic in Maple Lake. But when the scientists trace the pollution to surrounding dairy farms, including the one run by her beloved aunt and uncle, Addie finds herself caught between her family's interests and Maple Lake's future and between the science she has always prized and the magic that brings her closer to her brother.

Author Website

Teaching Guide

Teaching Books

Louisiana's Way Home

by Kate DiCamillo

When Louisiana Elefante's granny wakes her up in the middle of the night to tell her that the day of reckoning has arrived and they have to leave home immediately, Louisiana isn't overly worried. After all, Granny has many middle-of-the-night ideas. But this time, things are different. This time, Granny intends for them never to return. Separated from her best friends, Raymie and Beverly, Louisiana struggles to oppose the winds of fate (and Granny) and find a way home. But as Louisiana's life becomes entwined with the lives of the people of a small Georgia town -- including a surly motel owner, a walrus-like minister, and a mysterious boy with a crow on his shoulder -- she starts to worry that she is destined only for good-byes. (Which could be due to the curse on Louisiana's and Granny's heads. But that is a story for another time.)

Author Website

Teaching Guide

Teaching Books

My Father's Words

by Patricia MacLachlan

"Declan O'Brien always had a gentle word to share, odd phrases he liked to repeat, and songs to sing while he played basketball. His favorite song was Dona Nobis Pacem, 'Grant Us Peace.' His family loved him deeply and always knew they were loved in return. But a terrible accident one day changes their lives forever, and Fiona and Finn O'Brien are left without a father. Their mother is at a loss. What words are there to guide them through such grief? At the suggestion of their friend Luke, Fiona and Finn volunteer at an animal rescue shelter, where they meet two sweet dogs who are in need of comfort too. Perhaps with time patience, and their father's gentle words in their hearts, hope will spark once more"--Jacket flap.

Interview with the Author

Teaching Books

My Jasper June**

by Laurel Snyder

"The school year is over, and it is summer in Atlanta. The sky is blue, the sun is blazing, and the days brim with possibility. But Leah feels. . . lost. She has been this way since one terrible afternoon a year ago, when everything changed. Since that day, her parents have become distant, her friends have fallen away, and Leah's been adrift and alone. Then she meets Jasper, a girl unlike anyone she has ever known. There's something mysterious about Jasper, almost magical. And Jasper, Leah discovers, is also lost. Together, the two girls carve out a place for themselves, a hideaway in the overgrown spaces of Atlanta, away from their parents and their hardships, somewhere only they can find. But as the days of this magical June start to draw to a close, and the darker realities of their lives intrude once more, Leah and Jasper have to decide how real their friendship is, and whether it can be enough to save them both"--Provided by publisher.

Author Website

Teaching Books

Teaching Guide

Positively Izzy**

by Terri Libenson

Tells the intersecting stories of dreamer Izzy, who has trouble focusing on schoolwork, and Brainy Bri, who wants people to think of her as more than a brainiac.

Author Website

Teaching Guide

Teaching Books

Roll With It

by Jamie Sumner

Twelve-year-old Ellie, who has cerebral palsy, finds her life transformed when she moves with her mother to small-town Oklahoma to help care for her grandfather, who has Alzheimer's Disease.

Author Website

Book Trailer

Teaching Books

Stargazing

by Jen Wang

"Moon is everything Christine isn't. She's confident, impulsive, artistic . . . and though they both grew up in the same Chinese American suburb, Moon is somehow unlike anyone Christine has ever known. But after Moon moves in next door, these unlikely friends are soon best friends, sharing their favorite music videos and painting their toenails when Christine's strict parents aren't around. Moon even tells Christine her deepest secret: that she has visions, sometimes, of celestial beings who speak to her from the stars. Who reassure her that Earth isn't where she really belongs. Moon's visions have an all-too-earthly root, however, and soon Christine's best friend is in the hospital, fighting for her life. Can Christine be the friend Moon needs, now, when the sky is falling?" - Provided by the publisher.

Author Website

Book Trailer

Teaching Books

Wayside School Beneath the Cloud of Doom

by Louis Sachar

"Follows the adventures and misadventures of students and staff as they cope with the effects of a large, gloomy cloud that has settled over Wayside School"--OCLC

Author Website

Author Interview

Teaching Books.