2004 Spring/Summer Junior Novels

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Nancy's picks for the best junior novels of Spring/Summer 2004. Compiled by Nancy Polette © 2004.

Last updated: Tuesday, October 07, 2008

 

Brooks, Kevin. KISSING THE RAIN. Scholastic, 2004. Gr 7-9
To escape teasing, shoving and name calling, Moo Nelson finds peace on a bridge high above traffic...until the night he witnesses a car chase and a murder.
Brown, Jackie. LITTLE CRICKET. Hyperion, 2004. Gr 4-6
Life in the small village in Laos is shattered when the soldiers come. Kia escapes the war, first in a refugee camp and then in America where she is at first overwhelmed by her new life but discovers that others are isolated as well.
Bryant, Jen. THE TRIAL. Knopf, 2004.Gr 6-8
Told in poetry form, this small novel takes the reader inside the courtroom to the trial of Bruno Richard Hauptmann, accused kidnapper of the baby of Charles Lindbergh. The year is 1932 and the narrator is a twelve-year-old girl. It is through her eyes that the reader meets the real life figures of the trial.
Crisp, Marty. WHITE STAR: A DOG ON THE TITANIC. Holiday House, 2004. Gr 4-6
Young Sam is traveling on the Titanic. Also on board is an Irish setter named White Star. When the ship strikes an iceberg, Sam knows something is very wrong. Whether Sam escapes or not will depend on the bravery of the faithful dog.
DeFelice, Cynthia. THE GHOST OF CUTLER CREEK. Farrar, 204. Gr 4-6.
Allie Nichols attracts ghosts! But how can she help a ghost who won’t speak? And why did the ghost show up just when a strange new boy and his father moved to town? Here is another winner in this author’s long list of solid, entertaining stories.
Dyer, Heather. THE FISH IN ROOM 11. Scholastic, 2004. Gr 3-6
The orphan, Toby, lives in a hotel by the sea The lonely boy befriends a family of mermaids. To keep his secret from being discovered he disguises them as hotel guests.
Griffin, Adele. WITCH TWINS AND THE GHOST OF GLENN BLY. Hyperion, 2004. Gr 4-6.
Claire and Luna are thrilled to visit an ancient castle in Scotland with their five-star witch grandmother, Grandy. But this is no ordinary vacation. The three witches are on a mission to rid Glenn Bly castle of the terrifying ghost that haunts it.
Haptie, Charlotte. OTTO AND THE FLYING TWINS. Holiday House, 2004. Gr 4-6
The Hush family has always been conventional until one day Otto’s twin sistes begin to fly. Evil sources are set to destroy the magic and Otto must help to stop them.
Harlow, Joan Hiatt. THUNDER FROM THE SEA. McElderry Books, 2004. Gr 4-6
Tom rescues a dog in the middle of a squall. The dog proves invaluable during an earthquake saving lives and warning of danger.
Hite, Sid. THE KING OF SLIPPERY FALLS. Scholastic, 2004. Gr 4-6.
A story about an ordinary boy, a mysterious letter, a royal birth, a giant trout, a near-death experience and an unexpected romance!
Lowry, Lois. MESSENGER. Houghton-Mifflin, 2004. Gr 5-8
Matty gorws up under the care of a blind man, but strange events ae taking place in the village that will soon be closed to all outsiders.
Magrs, Paul. THE GOOD THE BAT AND THE UGLY.Athentum, 2004. Gr 4-6
Tolstoy, a bat, is our for revenge on the show biz puppets who have wronged him in the past.
McMullan, Margaret. HOW I FOUND THE STRONG. Houghton-Mifflin, 2004. Gr 5-7
Frank is ten and too young to enlist yet the war has taken his father, brother and grandparents and ultimately, his boyhood.
Morris, Gerald. THE PRINCESS, THE CRONE, AND THE DUNG-CART KNIGHT. Houghton-Mifflin, 2004. Gr 6-8
Sarah’s quest for revenge for the murder of her mother leades to an even greater adventure when she sees the queen kidnapped.
Philbrick, Rodman. THE YOUNG MAN AND THE SEA. Blue Sky Press, 2004. Gr 5-7
Skiff bails out the fishing boat month after month just in case his father decides to fish again. Here is a dramatic story of a determined boy who refuses to give up despite overwhelming odds.
Pietri, Annie. ORANGE TREES OF VERSAILLES. Delacorte, 2004. Gr 5-7
The gardner’s daughter has an unusual ability to recognize and blend scents for the Marquise but finds the credit for her work given to another. Here is the tale of a plucky heroine in a 17th century setting.
Randall, David. CLOVERMEAD : In the Shadow of the Bear. McElderry Books, 2004. Gr 5-8
Clovermead becomes aware of strange new powers within her and realizes that her father is keeping secrets that threaten to tear their small family apart.
Rodman, Mary Ann. YANKEE GIRL. Farrar, 2004. Gr 4-6
Alice finds herself in a new home town in 1964, moving from Chicago to a very different life in Jackson, Mississippi when the Civil Rights movement is in full force.
Snyder, Zilpha Keatley, THE UNSEEN, Delacorte, 2004. Gr 5-7
A glowing white feather is the key to an unseen world both comforting and terrifying.
Swope, Sam. JACK AND THE SEVEN DEADLY GIANTS, Farrar, 2004. Gr 2-4
Jack, the village bad boy, is blamed when seven deadly giants appear but he saves the day in unusual ways.
Torley, Michele. VOYAGE OF ICE. Knopf, 2004. Gr 4-6
Nick finds his dreams of sea to be a harsh reality with the danger of monstrous whales, and a cruel and dangerous captain.
Wetter, Bruce. THE BOY WITH THE LAMPSHADE ON HIS HEAD, Atheneum, 2004. Gr 5-7
Shy Stanley is brave only in his dreams but this changes when he meets a girl who needs his help.
Williams, Maiya, THE GOLDEN HOUR. Amulet Books, Harry Abrams, 2004. Gr 5-8
Twins, an abandoned hotel, and a disappearing girl throw Rowan into a game with rules he doesn't know.