6-8 KBA Master List 2008-2009

The Alchemyst / Michael D. Scott.  Delacorte, 2007.  ISBN: 9780385733571

Fifteen-year-old twins find themselves caught up in the deadly struggle between rival alchemists over the possession of an ancient book that holds the secret formula for everlasting life.

Beauty Shop for Rent / Laura Bowers.  Harcourt, 2007.  ISBN: 9780152057640

Raised by a great-grandmother and her beauty shop buddies, fourteen-year-old Abbey resolves to overcome her unhappy childhood and disillusionment with the mother who deserted her.

Call Me Hope / Gretchen Olson.  Little, Brown, 2007.  ISBN: 9780316012362

With the help of two older women who own a second-hand shop in her small Oregon town, eleven-year-old Hope tries to cope with her mother’s verbal abuse by devising survival strategies for herself based on a school history unit about Anne Frank and the Holocaust.  

Cracker: The Best Dog in Vietnam / Cynthia Kadohata.  Atheneum, 2007.  ISBN: 9781416906377

The story of a young soldier in Vietnam who bonds with his bomb-sniffing dog through the trials and tribulations of war.

Diamonds in the Shadow / Caroline B. Cooney.  Delacorte, 2007.  ISBN: 9780385732611

When his family decides to sponsor four African refugees in need, fifteen-year-old Jared seems to be the only person questioning the inconsistent facts surrounding this Nigerian family, leading him on a journey to discover the truth behind their lies.

Elijah of Buxton / Christopher Paul Curtis.  Scholastic, 2007.  ISBN: 9780439023443

Eleven-year-old Elijah Freeman is the first free-born child in Buxton Canada, a haven for slaves fleeing the American South in 1859.  Elijah’s eyes are opened to the perils of slavery when he must use his wits and skills to travel south to bring to justice the lying preacher who has stolen money that was to be used to buy a family’s freedom.

Football Genius / Tim Green.  HarperCollins, 2007.  ISBN: 9780061122705

Troy, a sixth-grader with an unusual gift for predicting football plays before they occur, attempts to use his ability to help his favorite team, the Atlanta Falcons, but he must first prove himself to the coach and players.

Frannie in Pieces / Delia Ephron.  HarperTeen, 2007.  ISBN: 9780060747169

When fifteen-year-old Frannie’s father dies, only a mysterious, handmade jigsaw puzzle that he leaves behind can help her come to terms with his death.

Hiroshima Dreams / Kelly Easton.  Dutton, 2007.  ISBN: 9780525478218

When her elderly grandmother comes from Japan to live with their totally Americanized family, Lin O-Neil, a talented but shy girl, soon develops a close relationship with her grandmother and discovers that they share the gift of precognition.

Lawn Boy / Gary Paulsen.  Wendy Lamb Books, 2007.  ISBN: 9780385746861

Things get out of hand for a twelve-year-old boy when a neighbor convinces him to expand his summer lawn mowing business.

Leepike Ridge / N.D. Wilson.  Random House, 2007.  ISBN: 9780375838736

While his widowed mother continues to search for him, eleven-year-old Tom, presumed dead after drifting away down a river, finds himself trapped in a series of underground caves with another survivor and dog while being pursued by murderous treasure-hunters.

Night of the Howling Dogs / Graham Salisbury.  Wendy Lamb Books, 2007.  ISBN: 9780385731225

Eleven boy scouts, their leaders, and some new friends camping at Halape, Hawaii find their survival skills put to the test when a massive earthquake strikes, followed by a tsunami.

Peak / Roland Smith.  Harcourt, 2007.  ISBN: 9780152024178

A fourteen-year-old boy attempts to be the youngest person to reach the top of Mount Everest.

Shooting the Moon / Frances O’Roark Dowell.  Atheneum, 2008.  ISBN: 9781416926900

When her brother is sent to fight in Vietnam, twelve-year-old Jamie is thrilled by the pictures he sends home until they start to change causing Jamie to reconsider the army world that she has grown up in.

Tracking Trash:  Flotsam, Jestam, and the Science of Ocean Motion / Loree Griffin Burns.  Houghton Mifflin, 2007.  ISBN: 9780618581313

This book describes the work of oceanographer Dr. Curtis Ebbesmeyer who tracks trash as it travels unbelievable distances by way of our ocean currents.  From sneakers to hockey gloves to toys, these scientists monitor the watery fate of human-made cargo that has spilled into the ocean.

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