Amato, Mary. Please Write in This Book. (J Amato)
When Ms. Wurtz leaves a blank book in the Writer's Corner with a note encouraging those who find it to "talk to each other" in its pages, the student's entries spark a classroom-wide battle.
Armstrong, Jennifer. Steal Away.
In 1855, two girls, one white and one black, run away from a southern farm
and make the difficult journey north to freedom.
Avi. The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle.
As the lone "young lady" on a transatlantic voyage in 1832, Charlotte
learns that the captain is murderous and the crew rebellious.
Avi. The Seer of Shadows. (J Avi)
In New York City in 1872, fourteen-year-old Horace, a photographer's apprentice, becomes entangled in a plot to create fraudulent spirit photographs, but when Horace accidentally frees the real ghost of a dead girl bent on revenge, his life takes a frightening turn.
Blume, Judy. Tales Of a Fourth Grade Nothing, Superfudge,
and Fudge-A-Mania.
Peter describes the highs and lows of life with his younger brother Fudge.
Compestine, Ying Chang. Revolution Is Not a Dinner Party. (J Compest)
Starting in 1972 when she is nine years old, Ling, the daughter of two doctors, struggles to make sense of the communists' Cultural Revolution, which empties stores of food, homes of appliances deemed "bourgeois," and people of laughter.
Curtis, Christopher Paul. Elijah of Buxton. (J Curtis)
In 1859, eleven-year-old Elijah Freeman, the first free-born child in Buxton, Canada, which is a haven for slaves fleeing the American South, uses his wits and skills to try to bring to justice the lying preacher who has stolen money that was to be used to buy a family's freedom.
Cushman, Karen. The Ballad of Lucy Whipple.
In 1849, California Morning Whipple, who renames herself Lucy, is
distraught when her mother moves the family from Massachusetts to a rough
California mining town. First person narration interspersed with letters
to her grandparents.
DeFelice, Cynthia. Weasel.
Alone in the frontier wilderness in the winter of 1839, eleven-year-old
Nathan runs afoul of the renegade killer known as Weasel.
Dorris, Michael. Guests.
Moss, an Algonquin boy, is looking forward to the annual harvest feast - until
the "guests" show up.
Dorris, Michael. Morning Girl.
Morning Girl and her younger brother Star Boy take turns describing their
life on an island in 1492.
Dorris, Michael. Sees Behind Trees.
A Native American boy with a special gift to "see" beyond his poor
eyesight journeys with an old warrior to a land of mystery and beauty.
Erickson, John. Hank the Cowdog series.
Head of Ranch Security, Hank uses his cowdog smarts and a hero's heart to
fend off storms, rustlers, and all sorts of critters while solving
mysteries.
Fleischman, Paul. The Borning Room.
Lying at the end of her life in the room where she was born in 1851,
Georgina remembers what it was like to grow up on the Ohio
frontier.
Fleischman, Paul. Bull Run.
Northerners and Southerners from all walks of life describe the glory,
horror, thrill, and disillusionment of the first battle of the Civil War.
Fleischman, Paul. Seedfolks.
People of varying ages and backgrounds transform a trash-filled city lot
into a garden, and in so doing, the gardeners are themselves transformed.
Gantos, Jack. Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key. (J Gan)
To the constant disappointment of his mother and his teachers, Joey has trouble paying attention or controlling his mood swings when his prescription meds wear off and he starts getting worked up and acting wired.
George, Jean Craighead. My Side of the Mountain.
Young Sam Gribley learns to live off the land in this remarkable survival
story.
Geras, Adele. The Fabulous Fantoras, Book One: Family Files.
Ozzy the cat describes the activities of the unusual Fantora family, which
includes a clairvoyant grandmother, an invisible boy, and a vegetarian
vampire aunt.
Goscinny, René. Nicholas and the Gang. (J Goscinn)
Chronicles the adventures of the mischievous Nicholas and his friends as the stir up trouble all over the place.
Gutman, Dan. Honus and Me: A Baseball Card Adventure.
Joey, who loves baseball but is not very good at it, finds a valuable 1909
Honus Wagner card and travels back in time to meet Honus.
Harrison, Michael. It's My Life.
Martin is frightened when he is kidnapped by a man who turns out to be his
mother's boyfriend, but when the plan to get money from Martin's father
goes awry and things get even more confusing, Martin finds an ally in the
kidnapper's daughter.
Hesse, Karen. Stowaway. (J Hes)
A fictionalized journal relates the experiences of a young stowaway from 1768 to 1771 aboard the Endeavor which sailed around the world under Captain James Cook.
Honey, Elizabeth. 45 + 47 Stella Street and Everything That
Happened.
The young people of Stella Street rightly suspect that their nasty,
secretive new neighbors are up to no good in this rollicking farce.
Horvath, Betty. Sir Galahad, Mr. Longfellow, and Me.
In 1938, encouraged by her sixth-grade teacher, Emily taps a talent for
writing poetry and makes many discoveries about friends, family, and life.
Klass, Sheila S. Little Women Next Door.
Recounts the efforts of Louisa May Alcott's family to establish a utopian
community known as Fruitlands in Massachusetts in 1843, as seen through the
eyes of the shy eleven-year-old girl next door.
Levine, Gail C. Ella Enchanted.
In this novel based on the story of Cinderella, Ella struggles against the
childhood curse that forces her to obey any order given to her.
Levine, Gail Carson. Fairest. (J Le)
In a land where beauty and singing are valued above all else, Aza eventually comes to reconcile her unconventional appearance and her magical voice, and learns to accept herself for who she truly is.
Lindsay, Janice. The Milly Stories.
Unlike her aunt, eleven-year-old Milly, who lives in the funeral home run
by her uncle, finds it very difficult to determine who's peculiar and
who's not, even as she learns to understand and accept herself.
Myers, Walter Dean. The Mouse Rap.
During an eventful summer in Harlem, fourteen-year-old Mouse and his
friends fall in and out of love and search for a hidden treasure from the
days of Al Capone.
Napoli, Donna Jo. The Prince of the Pond.
Having been turned into a frog by a hag, a frog-prince makes the best of
his new life as he raises a family, and shows them a different kind of
thinking. Sequel is Jimmy: The Pickpocket of the Palace.
Naylor, Phyllis Reynolds. Shiloh.
Mary has to make tough choices when he finds a dog he suspects is
abused.
Perkins, Lynne Rae. All Alone in the Universe.
" Maureen and I were best friends. ... At least I thought we were."
Peters, Julie. How Do You Spell Geek?
The relationship between Kimberly and Ann is put to the test when Ann
takes a geeky new student under her wing and encourages her to compete
against front runner Kimberly in the spelling bee.
Ruckman, Ivy. In Care of Cassie Tucker.
In 1899, Cassie. like everyone, is anticipating the turn of the century.
Her excitement is dampened, however, when she learns that her newly
orphaned teenage cousin will be coming to live with her family.
Sleator, William. The Duplicate.
Sixteen-year-old David, finding a strange machine that creates replicas of
living organisms, duplicates himself and suffers the horrible consequences
when the duplicate turns against him.
Sleator, William. The Spirit
House.
Fifteen-year-old Julie investigates the suspicious behavior of the Thai
exchange student staying with her family and comes to believe in the
wish-granting power of a spirit that appears to have followed him across
the ocean.
Sonenklar, Carol. Bug Boy.
When someone anonymously gives bug love Charlie a device called the
Amazing Bug-A-View, he uses it to transform himself into a spider, a
grasshopper, and a fly. Sequel: Bug Girl.
Wolff, Virginia Euwer. Bat 6.
In small town, post-World War Oregon, twenty-one sixth grade girls recount
the story of an annual softball game, during which one girl's bigotry
comes to the surface.
Blos, Joan. A Gathering of Days.
The journal of a 14-year-old girl, kept the last year she lived on the
family farm, records daily events in her small New Hampshire town.
Crist-Evans, Craig. Moon Over Tennessee: A Boy's Civil War
Journal.
A boy sets off with his father to join the Confederate forces on their way
to fight at Gettysburg.
Cruise, Robin. The Top-Secret Journal of Fiona Claire Jardin.
At the suggestion of her therapist, ten-year-old Fiona begins to keep a
journal in which she records her fears, feelings, and gradual adjustment
in the year after her parents get a divorce.
Cushman, Karen. Catherine, Called Birdy.
The thirteen-year-old daughter of a medieval knight keeps a journal in
which she records the events of her life, particularly her longing for
adventures and her efforts to avoid being married off.
Gantos, Jack. Heads Or Tails: Stories From the Sixth Grade.
Jack's diary helps him deal with his problems which include dog-eating
alligators, a terror for an older sister, a younger brother who keeps
breaking parts of himself, and next-door neighbors who are really weird.
Hansen, Joyce. I Thought My Soul Would Rise and Fly: The Diary of
Patsy, a Freed Girl.
Patsy keeps a diary of the exciting and confusing time following the Civil
War and the granting of freedom to slaves. One in the popular "Dear America"
series.
Hest, Amy. The Private Notebook of Katie Roberts, Age 11.
In a series of journal entries and letters to a pen pal, Katie relates her
feelings about her father's death in World War II, her mother's
remarriage, and the family's move from New York City to Texas.
Jones, Robin.The Beginning of Unbelief.
While keeping a journal to record some upheavals in his life,
fifteen-year-old Hal creates within its pages a science fiction story
starring his alter ego, Zach.
Mathis, Sharon. Running Girl: The Diary of Ebonee Rose.
In her diary Ebonee Rose records her passion for running, her desire to be
like the great African American women athletes, and her preparations for
the All-City Meet.
Moss, Marissa. Amelia's Notebook.
The hand-lettered contents of a nine-year-old girl's notebook, in which
she records her thoughts and feelings about moving, starting school, and
dealing with her older sister, as well as keeping her old best friend and
making a new one. First in a series of four.
Moss, Marissa. Rachel's Journal, et al.
Glimpses of various periods in U. S. history.
Rocklin, Joanne. For Your Eyes Only!
The entries in the journals of two sixth grade students reveal much about
their personal feelings, family lives, and a growing interest in poetry
sparked by their new substitute teacher.
Ure, Jean. Skinny Melon and Me.
Cherry keeps a diary about her parents' divorce, her new stepfather Roland
Butter who draws rebuses for her, and the coming stepbrother or stepsister.
Ware, Cheryl. Venola in Love.
In a series of diary entries and email letters, Venola describes how her boring
year in seventh grade turned exciting after the arrival of a handsome new
student.
Weston, Carol. The Diary of Melanie Martin.
Fourth-grader Melanie writes in her diary, describing her family's trip to
Italy and all that she learned. See also the sequel Melanie Martin
Goes Dutch.
Danziger, Paula and Ann Martin. P.S. Longer Letter Later.
Elizabeth and Tara-Starr continue their friendship through letter-writing
after Tara-Starr's family moves to another state.
Hesse, Karen. Letters From Rifka.
In letters to her cousin, a young Jewish girl chronicles her family's
flight from Russia in 1919 and her own experiences when she must be left
in Belgium for a while when the others emigrate to America.
Klise, Kate. Letters from Camp.
Sent to Camp Happy Harmony to learn how to get along with each other, pairs
of brothers and sisters chronicle in letters home how they come to suspect
the intentions of the singing family running the camp.
Klise, Kate. Regarding the Fountain: A Tale, In Letters, Of Liars and
Leaks.
When the principal asks a fifth-grader to write a letter regarding the
purchase of a new drinking fountain for their school, he finds that all
sorts of chaos results.
Lyons, Mary. Dear Ellen Bee.
A scrapbook kept by a young black girl details her experiences and those of the
older white woman who had freed her family, sent her north to get an education,
and then worked to bring an end to slavery.
Lyons, Mary. Letters From a Slave Girl.
A fictionalized version of the life of Harriet Jacobs, told in the form of
letters that she might have written during her slavery in North Carolina
and as she prepared for escape to the North in 1842.
Skolsky, Mindy W. Love From Your Friend Hannah.
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.
Woodruff, Elvira. Dear Levi: Letters From the Overland Trail.
Twelve-year-old Austin writes letters to his younger brother describing
his 3,000 mile journey from their home in Pennsylvania to Oregon in 1851.
Followed by Dear Austin: Letters From the Underground Railroad.
Avi. Nothing But the Truth.
A ninth-grader's suspension for singing "The Star-Spangled Banner"
during homeroom becomes a national news story.
Cleary, Beverly. Dear Mr. Henshaw and Strider.
Leigh struggles with growing up, in letters to a favorite author and his
journal.
Hesse, Karen. Out Of the Dust.
In a series of poems, fifteen-year-old Billie Jo relates the hardships of
living on her family's wheat farm in Oklahoma during the dust bowl years
of the Depression.
Contact
Us Monroe County Public Library, Monroe County, Indiana ° (812)349-3050
Updated:
May 24, 2010
° http://www.monroe.lib.in.us/childrens/narrativebib.html
