The top picks of over 150 teachers, librarians, and girls themselves.

Jump to: Intermediate and Middle Grades
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Picture Books and Easy Readers

It is Iditarod day. Fifty-six dog teams will race through 1,151 miles of rugged Alaskan terrain from Anchorage to Nome. Akiak knows these miles well. As lead dog, she has raced the incredible trail before, but never won. She is ten years old: if she is going to win, it must be now.

Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes. Publisher: Greenwillow; (August 19, 1996). ISBN: 0688128971. 32 pages. Reading Level: Ages 4-8.

Lilly loves everything about school, especially her cool teacher, Mr. Slinger. But when Lilly brings her purple plastic purse and its treasures to school and can't wait until sharing time, Mr. Slinger confiscates her prized possessions. Lilly's fury leads to revenge and then to remorse and she sets out to make amends.

Nim and the War Effort by Milly Lee; Illustrated by Yangsook Choi. Publisher: Farrar Straus & Giroux; (June 1997). ISBN: 0374222622. 40 pages. Reading Level: Ages 4-8.

In her determination to prove that an American can win the contest for the war effort, Nim does something which leaves her Chinese grandfather both bewildered and proud.

Mirette on the High Wire by Emily Arnold McCully. Publisher: Puffin; Reprint (1997). ISBN: 0698114434. 32 pages. Reading Level: Ages 4-8.

Mirette learns tightrope walking from Monsieur Bellini, a guest in her mother's boarding house, not knowing that he is a celebrated tightrope artist who has withdrawn from performing because of fear. Winner of the 1993 Caldecott Medal.

Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney. Publisher: Puffin; Reprint (1985). ISBN: 0140505393. 32 pages. Reading Level: Ages 4-8.

As a child Great-aunt Alice Rumphius resolved that when she grew up she would go to faraway places, live by the sea in her old age, and do something to make the world more beautiful—and she does all those things, the last being the most difficult of all.

Olivia...and the Missing Toy by Ian Falconer. Publisher: Atheneum; (October 7, 2003). ISBN: 0689852916. 42 pages. Reading Level: Ages 4-8.

Olivia, like many young pigs, experiences life very intensely. She is utterly obsessed with having her mother make her a red soccer shirt (even though the team color is green), until, of course, she discovers that her favorite toy, her very best toy, is missing, at which point she becomes utterly obsessed with finding it. She looks under the rug, the sofa, and the cat. She shouts accusingly at both her younger brother Ian and her baby brother William, who responds with an unsatisfactory "Wooshee gaga." That night (a dark and stormy one), she hears a horrible sound emanating from behind a closed door, and, in a dramatic scene illuminated by her flaming candelabra and showcased in a fold-out spread, she sees the family dog Perry chewing her favorite toy to bits. As devastating as this is to a passionate young pig, "even Olivia couldn't stay mad forever." She sews up her dismembered toy and falls asleep that very night cozied up with both it and the toy-wrecking Perry.

Owl Moon by Jane Yolen; Illustrated by John Schoenherr. Publisher: Philomel Books; (1987). ISBN: 0399214577. 32 pages. Reading Level: Ages 4-8.

On a winter's night, under a full moon, a father and daughter trek into the woods to see the Great Horned Owl. Caldecott Medal winner.

Strega Nona by Tomie de Paola. Publisher: Simon & Schuster; (1975). ISBN: 067166283X. 32 pages. Reading Level: Ages 4-8.

Strega Nona—"Grandma Witch"—is the source for potions, cures, magic, and comfort in her      Calabrian   town.  Her magical ever-full pasta pot is especially intriguing to hungry Big Anthony. He is supposed to look after her house and tend her garden but one day, when she goes over the mountain to visit Strega Amelia, Big Anthony recites the magic verse over the pasta pot, with disastrous results.

Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt by Deborah Hopkinson. Publisher: Dragonfly; (July 10, 1995). ISBN: 0679874720. 40 pages. Reading Level: Ages 4-8.

As a seamstress in the Big House, Clara is luckier than the slaves who work the fields. Still, she dreams of a reunion with her Momma, who lives on another plantation-and even of running away to freedom. Then she hears two slaves talking about how they could find the Underground Railroad if only they had a map. In a flash of inspiration, Clara sees how she can use the cloth in her scrap bag to make a map of the land-a freedom quilt-that no master will ever suspect. Drawn from true incidents in African-American history, this is a compelling and emotionally charged picture book.

Tar Beach by Faith Ringgold. Publisher: Crown Books for Young Readers; (1991). ISBN: 0517580306. 32 pages. Reading Level: Ages 4-8.

A young girl dreams of flying above her Harlem home, claiming all she sees for herself and her family. Based on the author's quilt painting of the same name.

When Jessie Came Across the Sea by Amy Hest; Illustrated by P.J. Lynch. Publisher: Candlewick Press; (1997). ISBN: 0763600946. 40 pages. Reading Level: Ages 4-8.

A thirteen-year-old Jewish orphan reluctantly leaves her grandmother and immigrates to New York City, where she works for three years sewing lace and earning money to bring Grandmother to the United States, too.

Intermediate and Middle Grades

When Esperanza and Mama are forced to flee to the bountiful region of Aguascalientes, Mexico, to a Mexican farm labor camp in California, they must adjust to a life without fancy dresses and servants they were accustomed to on Rancho de las Rosas. Now they must confront the challenges of hard work, acceptance by their own people, and economic difficulties brought on by the Great Depression. When Mama falls ill and a strike for better working conditions threatens to uproot their new life, Esperanza must relinquish her hold on the past learn to embrace a future ripe with the riches of family and community.

Letters from Rifka by Karen Hesse. Publisher: Henry Holt & Company, Inc.; (1992). ISBN: 0805019642. 192 pages. Reading Level: Ages 9-12.

Rifka knows nothing about America when she flees from Russia with her family in 1919. But she dreams that in the new country she will at last be safe from the Russian soldiers and their harsh treatment of the Jews. Throughout her journey, Rifka carries with her a cherished volume of poetry by Alexander Pushkin. In it, she records her observations and experiences in the form of letters to Tovah, the beloved cousin she has left behind.

Strong-hearted and determined, Rifka must endure a great deal: humiliating examinations by doctors and soldiers, deadly typhus, separation from all she has ever known and loved, murderous storms at sea, detainment on Ellis Island--and is if this is not enough, the loss of her glorious golden hair.

Based on a true story from the author's family, Letters from Rifka presents a real-life heroine with an uncommon courage and unsinkable spirit.

Number the Stars by Lois Lowry. Publisher: Houghton Mifflin/Walter Lorraine Books; (1989). ISBN: 0395510600. 144 pages. Reading Level: Ages 9-12.

The evacuation of Jews from Nazi-held Denmark is one of the great untold stories of World War II. On September 29, 1943, word got out in Denmark that Jews were to be detained and then sent to the death camps. Within hours the Danish resistance, population and police arranged a small flotilla to herd 7,000 Jews to Sweden. Lois Lowry fictionalizes a true-story account to bring this courageous tale to life. She brings the experience to life through the eyes of 10-year-old Annemarie Johannesen, whose family harbors her best friend, Ellen Rosen, on the eve of the round-up and helps smuggles Ellen's family out of the country. Number the Stars won the 1990 Newbery Medal.

Olive's Ocean by Kevin Henkes. Publisher: Greenwillow; (2003). ISBN: 0060535431. 224 pages. Reading Level: Ages 9-12.

"Olive Barstow was dead. She'd been hit by a car on Monroe Street while riding her bicycle weeks ago. That was about all Martha knew."

Martha Boyle and Olive Barstow could have been friends. But they weren't—and now all that is left are eerie connections between two girls who were in the same grade at school and who both kept the same secret without knowing it.

Now Martha can't stop thinking about Olive. A family summer on Cape Cod should help banish those thoughts; instead, they seep in everywhere.

And this year Martha's routine at her beloved grandmother's beachside house is complicated by the Manning boys. Jimmy, Tate, Todd, Luke, and Leo. But especially Jimmy. What if, what if, what if, what if? The world can change in a minute.

Teen Reads

At the Sign of the Sugared Plum by Mary Hopper. Publisher: Bloomsbury Children's Books; (2003). ISBN: 1582348499. 200 pages. Reading Level: Ages 12 and up.

It is 1665 and Hannah is full of excitement at the prospect of her first trip to London. She is going to help her sister, Sarah, in her candy shop, 'The Sugared Plum'. But Hannah does not get the welcoming reception she expected from her sister, because the Plague is taking hold of London. However, Hannah is determined to stay and together the two young women face the worst-with the possibility of their own demise, growing ever closer. But through it all they persevere with the support of their neighbors and each other. And at last, they find hope in a daring attempt to escape the city.

The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale. Publisher: Bloomsbury Children's Books; (2003). ISBN: 158234843X. 383 pages. Reading Level: Ages 12 and up.

Anidori-Kiladra Talianna Isilee, Crown Princess of Kildenree, spends the first years of her life under her aunt's guidance learning to communicate with animals. As she grows up Ani develops the skills of animal speech, but is never comfortable speaking with people, so when her silver-tongued lady-in-waiting leads a mutiny during Ani's journey to be married in a foreign land, Ani is helpless and cannot persuade anyone to assist her. Becoming a goose girl for the king, Ani eventually uses her own special, nearly magical powers to find her way to her true destiny. Shannon Hale has woven an incredible, original and magical tale of a girl who must find her own unusual talents before she can become queen of the people she has made her own.

The Anchor: P. Moore, Proprietor by Blonnie Bunn Wyche. Publisher: Banks Channel Books; (2003). ISBN: 1889199052. 204 pages. Reading Level: Ages 12 and up.

It's 1764, and 15-year-old Polly Moore finds herself running her ne'er-do-well father's tavern in Brunswick, a village on the Cape Fear River in the North Carolina colony. Polly also assumes responsibility for her two younger sisters and for her family's slaves and servants, since her mentally fragile, pregnant mother refuses to get out of bed.

Like all colonial taverns, The Anchor is the center of village news and activity. Polly hears everything while she cooks and serves meals, runs the turpentine operations and sawmill, and cares for her family. Women are not supposed to be political, but Polly learns just how personal politics can be after Lieutenant Governor William Tryon arrives at Brunswick, the infamous Stamp Act goes into effect, and ships in the river can't unload supplies she desperately needs. She hears news of the growing dissatisfaction with King George. She witnesses the first armed pre-Revolution rebellion at Tryon's plantation house in 1766. Along the way, she forms her own opinions about slavery, freedom, and the treatment of women.

In this meticulously researched story populated with historical figures, spunky Polly rises to the challenges that confront her and grows wise beyond her years.

The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi. Publisher: Orchard Books; (1990). ISBN: 053105893X. 215 pages. Reading Level: 10 and up.

The Seahawk looms against a darkening sky, black and sinister. Manned by an angry, motley crew at the mercy of a ruthless captain, the rat-infested ship reeks of squalor, despair. . . and mutiny! It is no place for the lone passenger, thirteen-year-old Charlotte Doyle, yet for her there is no turning back. At first a trapped and powerless young girl, Charlotte dares to become the center of a daring and deadly voyage that will challenge her courage, her loyalties, and her very will to survive!Alone on the brig Seahawk with a mutinous crew and a ruthless, mad captain, thirteen-year-old Charlotte bravely survives a dangerous high-sea voyage-but not before she is wrongfully accused of murder, tried, and sentenced to hang!