WIXLIB

Introduction to ReadersWhile parents, teachers, and librarians may use this book (and areenthusiastically iavited to do so), this book is primarily intended forstudents. We selected and wrote about books for you, and we believethat you should have a large part in selecting your own reading muchof the time. You can use this book as you would use tips from people.We looked at approximately 6,000 books published in the last fiveyears (a few earlier) and selected nearly 2,000 that we believed mightinterest people like you for pleasure, for school assignments, ormerely to satisfy curiosity. We have also included a section of reissuedclassics done in extraordinarily high quality editions. All books includedhave, according to committee judgment, some degree of literary merit,or they would not have been included at all, but we have singled outa select few for special literary merit. The words (Literary merit) signifya book of outstanding literary quality.The book is divided into sixty-one categories ranging from Abuse toTrivia. Within each category, books are arranged alphabetically by theauthor's last name. After the author's name are the title of the book,the illustrator's name where appropriate, the name of the publishingcompany, the publication date, and the number of pages. Last comesthe International Standard Book Number (ISBN), which will aid yourteacher or librarian in ordering a book from the publisher. A briefdescription is included for each book to introduce you to the maintheme or main character. A typical entry reads this way:Iiighwater, Jamake. Eyes of Darkness. Lothrop, Lee andShepard Books, 1985. 189 p. ISBN 0-688-41993-3.Yesa, a Santee Sioux, is raised by his grandmother duringthe 1800s after his father and two brothers are killed bywhites. To avoid further exploitation, Yesa's tribe leavesMinnesota for Canada. There Yesa is educated as a doctorby whites, but the slaughter of his people at WoundedKnee causes him to reconsider his life's purpose. (Literarymerit)xi

xiiIntroductionAt the end of this book are a list of publishers and their orderdepartment addresses and two indexes -- one arranged by author andthe other by book title. One way you could use this book would be tostart with a- title or author that interests you. Forgive us if it is notthere we had limited space and a four-year time period (1983-87)to cover. Also, some publishers did not submit all their books to us.Finally, literary merit and appropriateness to young adults in grades5-9 had to be considered.You could also scan the Contents to see how we have selected maintopics and theme groupings. Find topics that interest you there. Wehad to choose the one category most appropriate for each book, so wesuggest that you read through book descriptions in several relatedcategories. For example, see Coming of Age, Growing Up Female, andGrowing Up Male for books about the difficulties of being a teenager.When you have found a book that interests you, copy down theinformation and check your school library. If the book is not there,ask the librarian to locate the book for you. Librarians love persistentreaders.If you have enjoyed a particular book, sit down and write to theauthor. Be bold. Write your letter to the author in care of the publisherat the address listed in the list of publishers at the end A' this book.Many publishers and authors consider such a letter an honor, andmany authors respond personally. Be sure to include your return address.If you enclose a stamped, self-addressed envelope, you may be morelikely to receive a response.Remember that reading is an active process. You as a reader are notjust taking in meaning, you are making meaning as you dance withthe text. You are the one who can make the book come alive, out onlyif you pick it up, open it, and get involved. Make reading a lifelonghabit. It's not only entertaining, it's the most important part of youreducation.

Borich, Michael. A Different Kind of Love. Holt, Rinehart and Winston,1985. 165 p. ISBN 0-03-003249-0.Fourteen-year-old Elizabeth, nicknamed Weeble, lives with hermother on the West Coast, far away from the rest of their familyin Indiana. When her mother's twenty-five-year-old brother, Nicky,comes to visit, Weeble turns to him for the love and support thatseem to be missing from her life. When Nicky becomes overlyaffectionate, Weeble must deal with her feelings of guilt andenjoyment.Branscum, Robbie. The Girl. Harper and Row, 1986. 113 p. ISBN 006- 020702 -7 (0-06-020703-5, library binding).The girl, eleven years old, and her four brothers and sisters areabandoned by their mother after their father dies. Their sharecropper grandparents take the children in, but these relatives aremore interested in the welfare payments than in the well-beingof the children. An abusive grandmother and uncle make lifealmost unbearable for the girl as she struggles to survive in a poorArkansas hill community.Byars, Betsy. Cracker Jackson. Viking Penguin /Viking Kestrel, 1985.146 p. ISBN 0-670-80546-7.Eleven-year-old Jackson Hunter faces a dangerous proF . Hisfavorite babysitter, Alma, who calls him Cracker, has bruises andcuts that Cracker is certain are caused by her husband. Crackertries to persuade Alma to admit the problem and to take herselfand her baby to safety, but it takes a tragedy to lead them to afinal solution.Howard, Ellen. Gillyflower. Atheneum, 1986. 106 p. ISBN 0 -68931274-1.Gilly is a victim of sexual abuse and is concerned that her fathermight also niolest her younger sister, Honey. When Gilly's mother1

2Abuseis at work in the afternoon and evening, Gilly's dad Makes herfeel bad, and she wishes she were someone else.Irwin, Hadley. Abby, My Love. Atheneum/Margaret K. McElderryBooks, '1985. 146 p. ISBN 0-689-50323-7.Chip fell in love with Abby when he was thirteen and she wastwelve. Even, then there were times when she would seem to leaveher body behind while her mind and spirit traveled elsewhere.But now Chip and Abby are in high school, and silk at last revealsto him that she's been a ictim of incest for years. Chip ,irgesher to make her secret public.Nathanson, Laura. The Trouble with Wednesdays. Bantam Books,1987. 176 p. ISBN 0-553-26337-4.Becky is in sixth grade and desperately wants braces for her fanglike teeth. At first she's happy when her father's cousin, a dentist,agrees to fit her with braces and make the frequent adjustments.But when he begins to touch her in inappropriate ways, Becky'shopes for improving her appearance become an increasinglyalarming nightmare.Piowaty, Kim Kennelly. Drn't Look in Her Eyes. Atheneum/MargaretK. McElderry Books, 1983. 186 p. ISBN 0- 689 - 50273 -7.Jason has missed most of his sixth-grade year staying home totake care of his baby brother and to protect him from theirabusive mother. He is glad when their mother runs away. Butfinding food and a place to live are serious problems, and Jasonis afraid to ask for help because he fears he will be separatedfrom his brother and sent to an institution. What should he do?Woolverton, Linda. Running before the Wind. Houghton Mifflin, 1987.152 p. ISBN 0-395-42116-0.Running is the most important thing in thirteen-year-old Keu,''slife, just as it had been for her father before he came down withpolio. Now he hurls his anger and abuse on her when the wordrunning is even mentioned. Suddenly Kelly is released from hisanger, but a new trap awaits her.

AdventureAdams, Barbara. On the Air and off the Wall. Dell/Yearling Books,1986. 119 p. ISBN 0-440-46771-3.The first TV show prepared by kids for KID-TV is such a disasterthat the producer is threatening to cancel it. The kids need a bigstory to stay on the air. They get their story, but their reportersare taken hostage. Minnie O'Reilly knows a secret about theproducer that could free the hostages and save the show. Can shepull it off?Adams, Barbara. Rock Video Strikes Again. Dell/Yearling Books, 1986.136 p. ISBN 0-440-47170-2.When super rock star Simon Gear schedules a visit to hishometown of Wellsburg, "Rock Video" Wigglesworth plans to doa video. But when Simon arrives at Wellsburg, the equipment,costumes, and prdmoters are missing. Simon says the KID-TVvideo is out. Can Minnie O'Reilly, staff assistant, get the exclusiveinterview for KID-TV, find the missing instruments, and convinceSimon that the show must go on?Alexander, Lloyd. The Illyrian Adventure. E. P. Dutton, 1986. 132 p.ISBN 0-525-44250-2.Sixteen-year-old Vesper Holly sets out to clear her father's namein the nineteenth-century world of scholars by taking her guardian,Brinnie, on a trip to a remote European land called Illyria. Whilesearching for proof of the "magical army" of Illyrian legend,Vesper and Brinnie become involved in rebellions and plots toassassinate the king.Beatty Patricia. The Coach That Never Came. William Morrow, 1985.164 p. ISBN 0-688-05477-3.When Paul Braun visits his grandmother in Colorado, she giveshim a jeweled belt buckle once owned by a distant relative. Asthe thirteen-year-old boy tries to discover more about this relative,he learns of the still-unsolved disappearance of a stagecoach and3

Advent Ure4its cargo of gold. Then the belt buckle is stolen. Can it be thekey to the mystery of the stagecoach?Byars, Betsy. The Blossoms Meet the Vulture Lady. Illustrated byJacqueline Rogers. Delacorte Press, 1986. 134 p. ISBN 0 -38529485-9.Tunior Blossom tries to fly with his homemade wings but endsup with two broken legs. Now he hopes to startle the world byinventing the best coyote trap ever. As Junior wanders deep inthe forest to try out the trap, he is kidnapped by Mad Mary, whoeats varmint stew and lives in a cave. The Blossom family setsout to find Juuior. They find the trap but where's Junior?Calvert, Patricia. The Hour of the Wolf. New American Library/SignetVista Books, 1985. 159 p. ISBN 0-451-13493-1.As he spends his senior year in Alaska, Jake Mathiessen enjoyssome breathing room away from his demanding father and hastime to think about his own problems. He hears about the 1049 mile Iditarod dogsled race across Alaska and decides to face thechallenge. Jake learns to train, feed, and care for the sled dogsand then starts out in the grueling race. (Literary merit)Christopher, John: Dragon Dance. E. P. Dutton, 1986. 139 p. ISBN 0525- 44227 -8.When Simon and Brad discover a pagoda in the California of themagical fireball's If World, they are captured by slavers who takethem to ancient China, where their future seems hazardous indeed.The boys are banished to a remote mountain retreat of themysteriously powerful Bei-Kum. There they come face-to-facewith the secret of the fireball at last. Volume 3 in the FireballTrilogy.Clark, Joan. Wild Man of the Woods. Illustrated by David Craig.Viking Penguin/Viking Kestrel, 1985. 171 p. ISBN 0- 670 - 800155.When city-raised Stephen visits his cousin Louie in the Rockies,he hopes to escape bullies. Instead, he meets Williard and Sludge,who prove worse than, anyone he's encountered in his citysurroundings. Fascinated by primitive masks, Stephen and Louieexplore a cave haunted by the Wild Man of the Woods. Stephen'sprobing of a legend ends in frightening self-discovery

5Dunlop, Eileen. Clementina. Holiday House, 1987. 156 p. ISBN 08234-0642-3.Fourteen-year-old Daisy is excited about spending her vacationon the shores of a Scottish lake with her best friend. But problemsbegin as soon as they arrive, and range from a spooky castle toa strange visitor Clementina. You, too, will get excited as youlearn what's in-store for the girls.Dygard, Thomas J. Wilderness Peril. William Morrow, 1985. 194 p.ISBN 0-688-04146-9.Todd Barkley and Mike Roper carefully planned this last backpacking excursion before leaving for college. As they trek deeperand deeper into the northeastern Minnesota wilderness, they makethree-quarters of a million dollars hidan incredible discoveryden in the undergrowth. Can there be a connection between thestash and a recent airline hijacking? And what is to be done aboutall that money?Hammer, Charles. Me, the Beef, and the Bum. Farrar, Strauss andGiroux, 1984. 215 p. ISBN 0-374-34903-7.When she learns that her father is going to sell her prize steer,run away. Butinstead of going alone, she takes her steer with her. Rosie findsit difficult to hide a steer in Kansas City, even with the help of anewfound friend, a bum called Mett.Rosie Mattock knows only one thing to doHaseley, Dennis. The Counterfeiter. Macmillan, 1987. 231 p. ISBN 002- 743120 -7.Sixteen-year-old James lives in a suburb of Cleveland. He wantsto become an artist right after high school, but his parents wanthim to attend college. James is obsessed with Heather Nichols,who plays the harpsichord and speaks French, and with his latestart project painting a perfect 500 bill. Achieving success withthis painting leads to further difficulties as he sets out to winHeather.Holland, Isabelle. The Island. Little, Brown, 1984. 182 p. ISBN 0 -31636993-4.Seventeen-year-old Hilda Tashoff should be thrilled about hervisit to the tropical island of Maenad and the attentions of themysterious Mr. Gomez, but she isn't. To complicate matters, canher Uncle Brace really be holding his wife a prisoner? Befriended

Adventureonly by Wolf, a gentle German shepherd, and Steve Barrington,a young pilot, Hilda discovers the threat to her own freedom.(Literary merit)Hostetler, Marian. African Adventure. Illustrated by Esther Rose Graber.Herald Press, 1982. 124 p. ISBN 0-8361-1329-2 (0-8361-1331-4,paperback).What can one sixth grader do to solve world hunger? Nothing,insists Denny, as her father uproots the family to move to Africa,where he will head a team of missionary farmers. They experiencea plane crash,.sickness, and raids by local rebels. Then Denny iscaptured by government troops, and she realizes she may not liveto see her new home.Kerr, M. E. Fell. Harper and Row/Charlotte Zolotow Books, 1987.165 p. ISBN 0-06-023267-6 (0-06-02368-4, library binding).Seventeen-year-old John Fell has been asked by Walter Pingree,a rich man, to assume his son's identity and to enroll at theexclusive Gardner School. A cash bonus convinces Fell and hismom that it's a good idea. But little does he know that he'll beentering the world of secret societies and political intrigue.Levin, Betty., Put On My Crown. E. P. Dutton/Lodestar Books, 1985.182 p. ISBN 0-525-67163-3.On a ship carrying homeless children from workhouses in Englandto North AmeriCa, Vinnie is working as a nursemaid to Graceand Joel, whose mother helped sponsor the trip. They are shipwrecked, and Vinnie regains consciousness to find herself on adesolate island with inhabitants intent on kidnapping the childrenrescued from the shipwreck.Lisle, Janet Taylor. The Great Dimpole Oak. Illustrated by StephenGammell. Orchard Books, 1987. 135 p. ISBN 0-531-05716-X (0531- 08316 -0, library binding).Dark limbed and gnarled, the great oak stands just outside thetown of Dimpole. For the casual passerby, it's just a tree. ForDexter Drake and Howlie Howlenburg, it's a treasure-trove. ForMrs. George Trawley, Harvey Glover, and Shirley Hand, it's amonument. For the swami, it's a holy center. For the farmer, it'sa living history. For all the people of Dimpole, the tree demonstrates the frailty of human nature and shows how the townspeopleare prone to astonishing pitfalls and entanglements.

Adventure7-Lutz, Norma Jean. Oklahoma Summer. David C. Cook/Chariot Books,1987. 140 p. -ISBN 1-55513-028-3.Marcia spends her summer trying to help her grandparents sellthe ranch and preparing for the big horse show in OklahomaCity. As she does so, Marcia learns a lot about her personalrelations.Lutz, Norma Jean. Once Over Lightly. David C. Cook /Chariot Books,1986. 143 p. ISBN 1-55512-025-9.Marcia enjoys teaching beginning riders and practicing for herfirst championship competition until she discovers a strangerwatching her. The stranger, Marcia learns, is jealous that she isriding one of the stable's best horses, and he plans to cause troublefor her with the owner. Will he cost Marcia her chance to competein the championship?Martin, Guenn. Forty Miles from Nowhere. Herald Press, 1986. 147p. ISBN 0-8361-3417-6.Melanie LaRue, her parents, and their pets spend the winter ina house they built on Gresham Island, Alaska. Melanie learns tocope with living forty miles from other people. But when she isunexpectedly left alone on the island in a severe storm, she hasfull responsibility for the animals and the equipment. Melaniebegins to wonder if some interaction with other people wouldadd to her life.Murray, Marguerite. A Peaceable Warrior. Atheneum, 1986. 152 p.ISBN 0-689-31186-9.Four young people, Rod and Julie Patterson and Ann and MertKendricks, spend their summer in the mountains. Rod meets aman named Homer, who is out to seek revenge on the man whoburned his home and killed his cousin. Rod helps Homer withhis feelings, and at the same time Rod discovers many thingsabout himself.Myers, Walter Dean. Adventure in Granada. Viking Penguin/PuffinBooks, 1985. 87 p. ISBN 0-14-032011-3.Teenage brothers Chris and Ken are enjoying their stay in Spainuntil their friend Pedro is.accused of stealing a valuable Spanishcross. Trying to prove Pedro's innocence won't be easy. The boysfind themselves caught between the police, who are after Pedro,and art smugglers, who are after them.

AdventureMt ers, Walter Dean. Ambush in the Amazon. Viking Penguin/PuffinBooks, 1986. 85 p. ISBN 0-14-032102-0.Chris Arrow, seventeen, and-his brother, fourteen-year-old Ken,are camping along the lush Amazon River when the suddenreappearance of the Monstruo, a swamp creature, has the nativesready to flee. As the boys try to discover whether or not themonster is for real, they find themselves in danger.Myers, Walter Dean. The Hidden Shrine. Viking Penguin/Puffin Books,1985. 85 p. ISBN 0-14-032010-5.Chris and Ken Arrow are in Hong Kong with their mother,anthropologist Carla Arrow. Someone is stealing artifacts fromthe temples, and Chris and Ken, with their friend Won Li, areright on the trail. They start to close in on the thieves, but thenKen is taken prisoner by the thieves. Can Chris and Won Lirescue him?Myers, Walter Dean. The Nicholas Factor. Viking Press, 1983. 173 p.ISBN 0-670-51055-6.Seventeen-year-old Gerald receives an invitation to join the Crusade Society at his college. He dismisses the group as-a bunch ofdo-gooders. But then Gerald is asked by a man named John, toJoin the organization and to keep an eye on what goes on. Beforelong, Gerald finds himself involved in a Crusader project in thejungle of Peru, and it isn't for do-gooders.O'Dell, Scott. Alexandra. Houghton Mifflin, 1984. 146 p. ISBN 0 -39535571-0.Alexandra Papadimitrios's family have always been sponge fishersin the Florida village of Tarpon Springs. Tragedy strikes, and theseventeen-year-old Greek daughter takes over as the sponge diver.With help from her grandfather, Stephanos, Alexandra learns thecraft. But danger lurks both underwater and on land. Who areSpyros Stavaronas and George Kanarsis? What do they want?(Literary merit)Oleksy, Walter. The Pirates of Deadman's Cay. Westminster Press/Hiway Books, 1982. 109 p. ISBN 0-664-32693-5.Randy and his father always enjoyed their vacations on theirboat. On one sailing venture in the Caribbean, a storm forcesthem to land on an island inhabited by pirates, who capture19

Adventure9Randy's father. Ran

a book of outstanding literary quality. The book is divided into sixty-one categories ranging from Abuse to Trivia. Within each category, books are arranged alphabetically by the author's last name. After the author's name are the title of the book, the illustr