Armstrong, William. Sounder.   Y Fic Armstrong
A black farmer in the South is jailed for a minor infraction. His family, and their wounded dog, Sounder, must cope on their own.

Avi.  Blue Heron.   Y FIC Avi
While spending the month of August on the Massachusetts shore with her father, stepmother, and their new baby, almost thirteen-year-old Maggie finds beauty in and draws strength from a great blue heron, even as the family around her unravels.

Bauer, Marion Dane. On My Honor.  J Fic Bauer/ JPB B
Joel is filled with feelings of guilt and remorse after his best friend dies. He also learns the lasting values of friendship and comes to a realistic view of what it means to be a responsible person.

Birdseye, Tom.  Just Call Me Stupid.  J FIC Birdseye
Terrified of failing and believing that he is stupid, a fifth grader who has never learned to read begins to believe in himself with the help of an outgoing new girl next door.

Brenner, Barbara. A Year in the Life of Rosie Bernard. J Fic Brenner
Rosie�s father, a traveling actor, leaves her in Brooklyn to live with her grandparents and cousins. Rosie, a 10-year-old, manages her new life skillfully.

Burch, Robert. Ida Early Comes Over the Mountain.   J Fic Burch
Ida is an enthusiastic but eccentric young woman assigned to tend four motherless children in Georgia during the Great Depression.

Byars, Betsy. The Pinballs.  J PB B/J Fic Byars
Three neglected children from different families come to live in a foster home. As they band together, they solve immediate problems and begin to recover from their sad pasts.

Caseley, Judith.  Jorah's Journal.  J FIC Caseley
In her new journal, Jorah records her feelings about having to move, going to a new school, celebrating her birthday, learning the meaning of her name, and finding a friend.

Cleary, Beverly.    Strider.  J Fic Cleary
In a series of diary entries, Leigh tells how he comes to terms with his parents' divorce, acquires joint custody of an abandoned dog, and joins the track team at school.

Cohen, Barbara. Thank You, Jackie Robinson.  J Fic Cohen  //  J PB C
A 10-year-old boy and a 60-year-old African-American chef form a friendship based on their enthusiasm for baseball.

Danziger, Paula.  P.S. Longer Letter Later.  Y FIC Danziger
Twelve-year-old best friends Elizabeth and Tara-Starr continue their friendship through letter-writing after Tara-Starr's family moves to another state.

Delton, Judy.  Angel in Charge.  J FIC Delton
Ten-year-old Angel and her little brother Rags have to cope with an incompetent sitter and several crises while their mother is away.

George, Jean Craighead. My Side of the Mountain.   J Fic George/ J PB G
A boy builds a treehouse in the Catskill Mountains and learns to survive alone for a year.

Graff, Keir.  The Other Felix.  J FIC Graff
Worrying about his father losing his job and the bully at school, fourth-grader Felix has terrifying dreams of the same monster-filled place every night until he meets someone there who looks and sounds strangely familiar.

Graff, Lisa.  Double Dog Dare.  J FIC Graff
When Kansas Bloom moves to California and joins the Media Club at school, he soon finds himself trying to outdo one of the other fourth-grade students in a "dare war" while vying for the job of on-air video homeroom announcer.

Harrison, Maggie. Lizzie's List.  J FIC Harrison
Lizzie lives alone with her mother, but she wishes she had other relatives, so she "adopts" a grandmother and others to make her own large family.

Lowry, Lois. Number the Stars.   J Fic Lowry  //  J PB L
A ten-year-old girl becomes part of the Danish Resistance during World War II and helps her friend escape the Holocaust. The story is based on actual events.

Parry, Rosanne.   Heart of a Shepherd. J Fic Parry
Ignatius "Brother" Alderman, nearly twelve, promises to help his grandparents keep the family's Oregon ranch the same while his brothers are away and his father is deployed to Iraq, but as he comes to accept the inevitability of change, he also sees the man he is meant to be.

Paterson, Katherine.  The Great Gilly Hopkins.  J PB P/ J Fic Paterson
An eleven-year-old foster child tries to cope with her longings and fears as she schemes against everyone who tries to be friendly.

Skolsky, Mindy Warshaw.  Love from Your Friend, Hannah : A Novel.   J FIC Skolsky/ J PB S
From her home in back of the Grand View Restaurant in rural New York, Hannah writes letters to her best friend, a pen pal, and even to President and Mrs. Roosevelt.

Speare, Elizabeth George. The Sign of the Beaver.  J Fic Speare/ J PB S
Left alone in the Maine wilderness, Matt makes friends with Attean, a Native American boy, who shows him how to survive on his own.

Sperry, Armstrong. Call It Courage.  J Fic Sperry/ J PB S
The son of a Polynesian chief overcomes his fear of the sea by going it alone in a canoe, with only his tamed albatross to guide him.

Uchida, Yoshiko. Journey Home.   J Fic Uchida
Yuki and her Japanese-American family attempt to get settled in California again after their internment in a Utah concentration camp during World War II.

Warner, Sally.  It's Only Temporary. J Fic Warner
When Skye's older brother comes home after a devastating accident, she moves from Albuquerque, New Mexico, to California to live with her grandmother and attend middle school, where she somewhat reluctantly makes new friends, learns to stand up for herself and those she cares about, and begins to craft a new relationship with her changed brother.

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