Picture Books

	Boom, Chicka, Rock by John Archambault, illustrated by Suzanne Tanner Chitwood Twelve mice that live in a cuckoo clock wander out to find birthday cake and have a party while Max the cat sleeps. ATOS Reading Level: 2.4 Point Value: .5 Interest Level: LG Quiz: 82026 Websites: John Archambault's Website Suzanne Tanner Chitwood biography
	The Bugliest Bug by Carol Diggory Shields, illustrated by Scott Nash All kinds of insects compete to see who is the "bugliest" bug of all, but there is a sinister surprise behind the contest. ATOS Reading Level: 3.1 Point Value: .5 Interest Level: LG Quiz: 58838 Websites: Carol Diggory Shields biography from Candlewick Press Storybookart.com meeting Scott Nash Scott Nash teacher resource file Lesson Plan from Liverpool NY School District Lesson Plan from Shirley Berow- Desert Harbor School (word doc) Lesson Plan from North Carolina Children's Book Award (pdf file)
.	Don't Ever Cross That Road!: An Armadillo Story by Conrad Storad, illustrated by Nathaniel P. Jensen A teacher armadillo tells his students about the dangers of crossing the road. Websites: Conrad J. Storad's Website Armadillo printout from Enchanted Learning Giant Armadillo information from Kids Planet Lesson Plan by Patricia Kaufmann
.	My Lucky Day by Keiko Kasza When a young pig knocks on a fox's door, the fox thinks dinner has arrived, but the pig has other plans.  ATOS Reading Level: 2.3 Point Value: .5 Interest Level: LG Quiz: 78024 Websites: Keiko Kasza biography Activities from Washington Children's Choice Award- click on Nominee Activities South Carolina Children's Book Award- go to activity book
	The Seed and the Giant Saguaro by Jennifer Ward, illustrated by Mike K. Rangner A pack rat, carrying fruit from the giant saguaro, is chased by various desert animals and inadvertently helps spread the cactus's seed. Includes information on saguaros. ATOS Reading Level: 3.3 Point Value: .5 Interest Level: LG Quiz: 74243 Websites: Jennifer Ward Author page Desert Curriculum Activities and Resources- from Jennifer Ward Lesson Plan by Jennifer Brown
	Something Might Happen by Helen Lester, illustrated by Lynn Munsinger Twitchly Fidget the lemur worries about almost everything until his Aunt Bridget Fidget pays him a visit and shows him another way to live. ATOS Reading Level: 3 Point Value: .5 Interest Level: LG Quiz: 72956 Websites: Meet author Helen Lester and Illustrator Lynn Munsinger Helen Lester teacher resource file Lynn Munsinger teacher resource file
	Wallace's List by Barbara Bottner and Gerald Kruglik, illustrated by Olof Landstrom Devoted to making lists about everything in his life, Wallace the mouse discovers the joys of spontaneity and adventure when he becomes friends with his neighbor Albert. ATOS Reading Level: 3.2 Point Value: .5 Interest Level: LG Quiz: 77851 Websites: Barbara Bottner biography Barbara Bottner biography from Penguin Books Barbara Bottner teacher resource file Barbara Bottner Web page
	Wild About Books by Judy Sierra, illustrated by Marc Brown A librarian named Mavis McGrew introduces the animals in the zoo to the joy of reading when she drives her bookmobile to the zoo by mistake. ATOS Reading Level: 4.1 Point Value: .5 Interest Level: LG Quiz: 82035 Websites: Judy Sierra's official Website Wild About Books Curriculum Connections from Scholastic Marc Brown teacher resource guide Teacher's Guide from Random House- pdf file

Non-fiction Books

	A is for Abigail: an Almanac of Amazing Women by Lynne Cheney Each letter of the alphabet is represented by an important woman in the history of the United States, as well as others in her same field of accomplishment. ATOS Reading Level: 6.3 Point Value: .5 Interest Level: MG Quiz: 87187 Websites: Kidsread.com book review Jim Lehrer from PBS talks with Lynne Cheney about her book Childrenslit.com meet the author Biography of Mrs. Cheney Lesson Plan from Reading to Kids
	Actual Size by Steve Jenkins Discusses and gives examples of the size and weight of various animals and parts of animals. ATOS Reading Level: 2.8 Point Value: .5 Interest Level: LG Quiz: 76892 Websites: ReadWriteThink Lesson Plan - Bridging Literature and Mathematics by Visualizing Mathematical Concepts Lesson Plans on Size from PBS TeacherSource Interview with Steve Jenkins Childrenslit.com meet the author
	Caves: Mysteries Beneath Our Feet by David Lee Harrison Examines how natural forces combine to form caves, and looks at some of the many animals that make their homes in caves. ATOS Reading Level: 3.2 Point Value: .5 Interest Level: LG Quiz: 53932 Websites: David Harrison's Web page USGS Exploring Caves- with lesson plans NPS Cave Life Coloring Pages Cavern Geology lesson plan Learn more about caves- National Speleological Society
	The Complete Book of the Night by Sally Tagholm Illustrations, photographs, and simple text teach young readers about the secrets of the night, including bedtime, stars and planets, nocturnal animals, people who work during the night, and nighttime festivals and celebrations. Websites: Day and Night Lesson Plan Sally Tagholm bio
	Eureka!: Great Inventions and How They Happened by Richard Platt Tells the stories behind some of the world's greatest inventions, provides biographical notes on the inventors, and discusses the effect of each invention on society. ATOS Reading Level: 7.5 Point Value: 3 Interest Level: MG Quiz: 80425 Websites: Richard Platt bio Inventive Thinking lesson plans Inventors and Inventions Theme page Inventors and Inventions for K-12 Education
	The Grapes of Math: Mind-stretching Math Riddles by Greg Tang Illustrated riddles introduce strategies for solving a variety of math problems by using visual clues. ATOS Reading Level: 3.3 Point Value: .5 Interest Level: LG Quiz: 50635 Websites: Grapes of Math lesson plan SMaRT books lesson plan- Grapes of Math Greg Tang home page Problem Solving lesson plans from PBS TeacherSource Lesson Plan from the University of North Carolina Lesson Plan from Kansas State University
	My Light by Molly Bang The sun explains the different ways in which its light is transformed into energy which powers the bulbs that illuminate the night. ATOS Reading Level: 3 Point Value: .5 Interest Level: LG Quiz: 77399 Websites: Molly Bang's Website List of lesson plans for teaching about light Light and color lesson plans list
	What Do You Do With a Tail Like This? by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page Looks at the ways in which different animals use their ears, eyes, mouths, noses, feet, and tails. ATOS Reading Level: 3 Point Value: .5 Interest Level: LG Quiz: 67747 Websites: Sample Web site where students worked with the book List of activities and companion books (pdf file) very nice! Childrenslit.com meet the author Activities focus on technology ideas. Skyview Elementary School-Cobb County, GA, Public Schools South Carolina Children's Book Award- go to activity book Washington Children's Choice Award- go to Nominee Activities

Intermediate Books

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	Coraline by Neil Gaiman Looking for excitement, Coraline ventures through a mysterious door into a world that is similar, yet disturbingly different from her own, where she must challenge a gruesome entity in order to save herself, her parents, and the souls of three others. ATOS Reading Level: 5.1 Point Value: 5 Interest Level: MG Quiz: 60645 Websites: Coraline Games and e-cards from Harper Collins Neil Gaiman.com Study Guide for Coraline from Harper Collins Reader's Theater from Oklahoma's Sequoyah Book Award (pdf) see pg. 27 Book Discussion Guide from Multnomah County Library
	Fame and Glory in Freedom, Georgia by Barbara O'Connor Unpopular sixth-grader Burdette "Bird" Weaver persuades the new boy at school, whom everyone thinks is mean and dumb, to be her partner for a spelling bee that might win her everything she's ever wanted. Point Value: 3 Interest Level: MG Quiz: 70563 Websites: Barbara O'Connor's Website Teacher Stuff from Barbara O'Connor (includes a very nice PowerPoint on the literary elements of the book) Nancy Keane booktalk South Carolina Children's Book Award Activity Book click on activity packet William Allen White Curriculum Guide Lesson Plans from the Texas Bluebonnet Awards (pdf)
	Granny Torrelli Makes Soup by Sharon Creech With the help of her wise old grandmother, twelve-year-old Rosie manages to work out some problems in her relationship with her best friend, Bailey, the boy next door. ATOS Reading Level: 4.2 Point Value: 2 Interest Level: MG Quiz: 71135 Websites: Sharon Creech's home page Lesson Ideas, Granny Torrelli Makes Soup Sharon Creech Teacher Resource File Authors and Book Classroom Activities Teaching Sharon Creech (pdf) Guide from the State Library of Louisiana (pdf) Literature Circle Guides from Scholastic Books (pdf) Reading Guide from Harper Children's Books
	Ida B...and Her Plans to Maximize Fun, Avoid Disaster, and (Possibly) Save the World by Katherine M. Hannigan In Wisconsin, fourth-grader Ida B spends happy hours being home-schooled and playing in her family's apple orchard, until her mother begins treatment for breast cancer and her parents must sell part of the orchard and send her to public school. ATOS Reading Level: 5.3 Point Value: 5 Interest Level: MG Quiz: 79913 Websites: Reading Guide from Harper Collins Reading Guide and Excerpts Katherine Hannigan biography Harper Collins biography Katherine Hannigan's official Website Author Interview
	Leon and the Spitting Image by Allen Kurzweil Leon, a fourth grader at The Ethical School, tries to outwit the school bully and learn to sew for fanatical teacher Miss Cronheim, with unexpected help from his final project-- a doll with magical powers. ATOS Reading Level: 4.9 Point Value: 8 Interest Level: MG Quiz: 72873 Websites: Chapter 1 Excerpt Literature Guide from Scholastic (pdf file) Author Notes on the book
	Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson Peter, an orphan boy, and his friend Molly fight off thieves and pirates in order to keep the secret safe away from the diabolical Black Stache and his evil associate Mister Grin. ATOS Reading Level: 5.2 Point Value: 13 Interest Level: MG Quiz: 83056 Websites: Ridley Pearson's official Website Disney's Peter and The Starcatchers Web site- very fun! Official Dave Barry Website Teacher Guide Discussion Questions from Lauren Cognato Dorothy Canfield Discussion Questions (see pg. 3) (pdf) Book Tour information for the Phoenix area: September 21 Phoenix, AZ Poisoned Pen will be doing a series of events 4014 North Goldwater Boulevard Suite 101 Scottsdale, AZ 85251 T: 480-947-2974
	The Ravenmaster's Secret: Escape From the Tower of London by Elvira Woodruff The eleven-year-old son of the Ravenmaster at the Tower of London befriends a Jacobite rebel being held prisoner there. ATOS Reading Level: 5.2 Point Value: 7 Interest Level: MG Quiz: 71264 Websites: Scholastic Books- curriculum connections Elvira Woodruff's Website Teens@Random Hang with the Author Worksheet on The Ravensmater's Secret (pdf file) Tower of London Free Publications from the Offical Tower of London site History of the Tower of London Information on todays Ravenmaster's Information on the Tower of London- includes a virtual tour PBS Nature on Ravens- includes lesson plans William Allen White Award Curriculum Guide
	Runt by Marion Dane Bauer Runt, the smallest wolf cub in the litter, seeks to prove himself to his father King and the rest of the pack and to earn a new name. ATOS Reading Level: 4.8 Point Value: 3 Interest Level: MG Quiz: 62567 Websites: Marion Dane Bauer's Official Website Marion Dane Bauer Teacher Resource File Excerpt from Runt Teacher Guide PBS Nova on Wolves- includes teacher guide Discussion Guide from Multmonah County Library
	Skinny-Dipping at Monster Lake by Bill Wallace When twelve-year-old Kent helps his father in a daring underwater rescue, he wins the respect he has always craved. ATOS Reading Level: 4.2 Point Value: 6 Interest Level: MG Quiz: 70883 Websites: Bill Wallace Teacher Resource File
	Spy Cat by Peg Kehret Pete the cat uncovers a pet-stealing ring, and before he can tell his owner, he is stolen and must escape to rescue the rest of the kidnapped pets. ATOS Reading Level: 4.6 Point Value: 5 Interest Level: MG Quiz: 65431 Websites: Peg Kehret's Official Website Peg Kehret Teacher Resource File Lesson Plan from Young Hoosier Book Award (see pg. 47 ) (pdf)

 

Teen Books

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	The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau In the city of Ember, twelve-year-old Lina trades jobs on Assignment Day to be a Messenger to run to new places in her decaying but beloved city, perhaps even to glimpse Unknown Regions. ATOS Reading Level: 5 Point Value: 9 Interest Level: MG Quiz: 69274 Websites: Lesson Plans- by each day Reader's Guide from Random House Jeanne DuPrau Official Website City of Ember Interactive Quiz Time for Kids Interview with Jeanne DuPrau Teens@Random House Hang with the Author Curriculum Guide from the William Allen White Award Discussion Questions from Lauren Cognato Library Sparks Lesson Plan (pdf)
	Dead Girls Don't Write Letters by Gail Giles Fourteen-year-old Sunny is stunned when a total stranger shows up at her house posing as her older sister Jazz, who supposedly died in a fire months earlier. ATOS Reading Level: 4 Point Value: 3 Interest Level: UG Quiz: 65951 Websites: Teacher Guide Gail Giles Official Website Interview with Gail Giles
	Eragon by Christopher Paolini In Aagaesia, a fifteen-year-old boy of unknown lineage called Eragon finds a mysterious stone that weaves his life into an intricate tapestry of destiny, magic, and power, peopled with dragons, elves, and monsters. ATOS Reading Level: 5.6 Point Value: 25 Interest Level: UG Quiz: 74404 Websites: Teacher's Guide from Random House Activity Guide from South Carolina Young Adult Book Awards (word doc) Author Interview Excerpt from Eragon Shurt'tugal: Your Source for Everything on the Inheritance Trilogy- includes games, interviews and news. Official Eragon Web site. Reader's Theatre from the Sequoyah Book Award (see pg. 35) (pdf)
	Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen In alternating chapters, two teenagers describe how their feelings about themselves, each other, and their families have changed over the years. ÅTOS Reading Level: 4.8 Point Value: 8 Interest Level: UG Quiz: 53684 Websites: A Conversation with Wendelin Van Draanen Time for Kids Interview with Wendelin Van Draanen WebQuest for Flipped Wendelin Van Draanen Website from Random House Links from Suzy Red Rebecca Caudill Book Award lesson plans South Carolina Children's Book Award Lesson Plans
	The Gospel According to Larry by Janet Tashjian Seventeen-year-old Josh, a loner-philosopher who wants to make a difference in the world, tries to maintain his secret identity as the author of a web site that is receiving national attention. ATOS Reading Level: 5.6 Point Value: 5 Interest Level: UGQuiz: 54129 Websites: Janet Tashjian's Website An Interview with Janet Tashjian Gospel According to Larry Website Reader's Guide from Random House Lesson Plan from South Carolina Book Award Lesson Plan from Young Hoosier Book Award (see pg. 32) (pdf)
	Lord of the Kill by Theodore Taylor With his parents in India, sixteen-year-old Ben Jepson is in charge of Los Coyotes Preserve, a refuge for big cats near Los Angeles, when two powerful groups try to shut it down by intimidation, murder, and kidnapping the largest tiger in captivity. ATOS Reading Level: 5 Point Value: 6 Interest Level: UG Quiz: 68447 Websites: Theodore Taylor's Website Tiger information from the San Diego Zoo Study Guide from The Young Hoosier Book Award (see pg. 33) (pdf)
	Mississippi Trial, 1955 by Chris Crowe In Mississippi in 1955, a sixteen-year-old finds himself at odds with his grandfather over issues surrounding the kidnapping and murder of a fourteen-year-old African-American from Chicago. ATOS Reading Level: 5.5 Point Value: 9 Interest Level: UG Quiz: 59706   Websites: History Lesson Plans for the Civil Rights Movement PBS Teachers Guide about the American Experience show The Murder of Emmett Till Primary Sources on the Murder of Emmett Till The Murder of Emmett Till- a Series of Four Lessons New York University Professor Robin D.G. Kelley explains the Legacy of Emmett Till Reading Activities and Links from NoveLink's- excellent links! Chris Crowe's Website with great links Study Guide from The State Library of Louisiana
	One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies by Sonya Sones Fifteen-year-old Ruby Milliken leaves her best friend, her boyfriend, her aunt, and her mother's grave in Boston and reluctantly flies to Los Angeles to live with her father, a famous movie star who divorced her mother before Ruby was born. ATOS Reading Level: 5.1 Point Value: 5 Interest Level: UG Quiz: 78317 Websites: Sonya Sones' Website Sonya Sones Teacher Resource File Discussion Module from the Rhode Island Teen Book Award
	Pirates!: the True and Remarkable Adventures of Minerva Sharpe and Nancy Kington, Female Pirates by Celia Rees At the dawn of the eighteenth century, Nancy Kington and Minerva Sharpe, set sail from Jamaica on a pirate vessel, hoping to escape from an arranged marriage and slavery. ATOS Reading Level: 5.4 Point Value: 14 Interest Level: UG Quiz: 75433 Websites: Celia Rees' Website South Carolina Children's Choice Award Activity packet (click on 2005-2006 activity packet) see page 15.
	The River Between Us by Richard Peck During the early days of the Civil War, the Pruitt family takes in two mysterious young ladies who have fled New Orleans to come north to Illinois. ATOS Reading Level: 4.9 Point Value: 5 Interest Level: UG Quiz: 73789 Websites: Book Page Interview with Richard Peck Richard Peck Teacher Resource File Richard Peck's Website Literature Circle Guide from Scholastic Reader's Theatre from the Sequoyah Book Awards (pg.39)

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updated 3/30/06kmw