796.83 Mye

Myers, Walter Dean. The greatest : Muhammad Ali. New York: Scholastic, [2001].

Note: A look at the life and times of the great boxer who was crowned

Heavyweight Champion of the World three times.

920 MAK

Makers of the western tradition : portraits from history, volume one. Boston:

Bedford/St. Martins, [1997].

920 MEL

Meltzer, Milton and Andersen, Bethanne. Ten queens : portraits of women of

power. 1st ed. New York: Dutton Children's Books, [1998].

Note: From the courage and beauty of Esther (5th century B.C.) to the fierce battle tactics of Boudicca (A.D. c. 62) to the reforming spirit of Catherine the Great (1729-1796), here are ten essays about the personal and political natures of ten queens by an author who has been called "arguably the best writer of social history for children and adolescents ever."

B ALI

Remnick, David. King of the world : the rise of Muhammad Ali. 1st ed. New York:

Random House, [1998].

B ASH

Lazo, Caroline Evensen. Arthur Ashe. Minneapolis, MN: Lerner Publications,

[1999].

Note: Traces the tennis career of Arthur Ashe and describes the discrimination

he faced as he worked to master "the white man's game.".

B ASH

Wright, David K. Arthur Ashe : breaking the color barrier in tennis. Berkeley

Heights, NJ: Enslow, [1996].

Note: A biography of tennis champion Arthur Ashe, covering his personal life and

his sports career, as well as his struggles with racism and AIDS.

B CHA

Gonzales, Doreen. Cesar Chavez : leader for migrant farm workers. Berkeley

Heights, NJ: Enslow, [1996].

Note: Examines the life of the Mexican American labor organizer who demanded

rights for migrant farm workers.

B CHURCHILL

Severance, John B. Winston Churchill : soldier, statesman, artist. Clarion

Books, [1996].

Note: A vivid portrait of a unique leader who both experienced and influenced the great social and political changes of the first half of the twentieth century.

B DRAKE

Marrin, Albert. The sea king : Sir Francis Drake and his times. Atheneum,

[1995].

Note: An account of the life and exploits of the notable sixteenth-century English navigator and commander, the first Englishman to circumnavigate the globe and vice-admiral of the fleet that defeated the Spanish Armada.

B ELEANOR

Brooks, Polly Schoyer. Queen Eleanor, independent spirit of the Medieval world :

a biography of Eleanor of Aquitaine. 1st ed. New York: J.B. Lippincott,

[1983].

Note: A biography of the twelfth-century queen, first of France, then of

England, who was the very lively wife of Henry II and mother of several

notable sons, including Richard the Lionhearted.

B ELEANOR KEL

Kelly, Amy Ruth. Eleanor of Aquitaine and the four kings. Cambridge: Harvard

University Press, [1950].

Note: The ruler of France's largest kingdom from the age of 15, Eleanor (1122- 1204) was renowned for beauty, intelligence, and the thoughtful application of power. Her marriage to her second husband, Henry Plantagenet of Normandy, brought her to the English throne; the birth of their sons John Lackland and Richard I Lionheart forever changed the face of medieval European history.

B GERONIMO HER

Hermann, Spring. Geronimo: Apache Freedom. Springfield, NJ: Enslow, [1997].

Note: Examines the life of the Apache chief Geronimo, who led one of the last Indian uprisings.

B LINCOLN

Freedman, Russell. Lincoln : a photobiography. New York, N.Y: Clarion Books,

[1987].

Note: Photographs and text trace the life of the Civil War President.

B ROOSEVELT, F.

Johnson, Gerald W. Franklin D. Roosevelt : portrait of a great man. New York: W.

Morrow, [1967].

B ROO Nar

Nardo, Don. Franklin D. Roosevelt : U.S. President. New York: Chelsea House

Publishers, [1996].

Note: Explores the life of the American leader who proved to the world that his

physical disability could not prevent him from achieving greatness.

FICTION:

Fic ALEXANDER

Alexander, Lloyd. The book of three. [1st ed.]. New York: Holt, Rinehart and

Winston, [1964].

Note: Recounts valorous and humorous tales of Taran, the Assistant Pig-Keeper, who determines to save the kingdom of Prydain from evil.

Fic ALLANDE

Allende, Isabel. Kingdom of the Golden Dragon. New York: HarperCollins, [2004].

Note: Sixteen-year-old Alexander Cold accompanies his grandmother, a writer for a geography magazine, to the remote Forbidden Kingdom in the Himalayas to help locate a sacred statue of a golden dragon before it is stolen by a greedy outsider.

Fic BRASHARES

Brashares, Ann. Forever in Blue: the fourth summer of the Sisterhood. New York: Delacourte Press, [2007].

Note: As their lives take them in different directions, Lena, Tibby, Carmen, and Bridget discover many more things about themselves and the importance of their relationship with each other.

Fic BRENNAN.

Brennan, Herbie. Ruler of the Realm. New York: Bloomsbury, [2006].

Note: While simultaneously trying to prevent and prepare for war between the Faeries of the Night and Faeries of the Light, Queen Holly Blue is kidnapped from her Uncle Hairstreak's home by human Henry Atherton and learns she must face another, far greater enemy. This is the third and final book.

Fic BRUCHAC

Bruchac, Joseph. The Heart of a Chief: a novel. New York: Dial, [1998].

Note: An eleven-year-old Penacook Indian boy living on a reservation faces his father's alcoholism, a controversy surrounding plans for a casino on a tribal island, and insensitivity toward Native Americans in his school and nearby town.

Fic COOPER

Cooper, Susan. King of shadows. New York: Margaret K. McElderry Books, [1999].

Note: While in London as part of an all-boy acting company preparing to perform

in a replica of the famous Globe Theatre, Nat Field suddenly finds himself

transported back to 1599 and performing in the original theater under the

tutelage of Shakespeare himself.

Fic EBOCH

Eboch, Chris. The Well of Sacrifice. New York: Clarion Books, [1999].

Note: When a Mayan girl in ninth-century Guatemala suspects that the High Priest sacrifices anyone who stands in the way of his power, she proves herself a hero.

Fic HOBBS

Hobbs, Will. Ghost canoe. New York: Morrow Junior Books, [1997].

Note: Fourteen-year-old Nathan, fishing with the Makah in the Pacific Northwest,

finds himself holding a vital clue when a mysterious stranger comes to town

looking for Spanish treasure.

Fic HOROWITZ

Horowitz, Anthony. The Devil and His Boy. New York: Philomel Books, [2000].

Note: In 1593, thirteen-year-old Tom travels through the English countryside to London, where he falls in with a troupe of actors and finds himself in great danger from several sources.

Fic HUGHES

Hughes, Monica. Invitation to the game. New York: Simon & Schuster Books for

Young Readers, [1990].

Note: Unemployed after high school in the highly robotic society of 2154, Lisse

and seven friends resign themselves to a boring existence in their

"Designated Area" until the government invites them to play The Game.

Fic KORMAN

Korman, Gordon. Born to Rock. New York: Hyperion, [2006].

Note: There are two kinds of people in this world--those who have had a cavity search, and those who haven't. This is the story of how I wound up in the wrong category." After Young Republican Leo Caraway discovers that his biological father is none other than millionaire King Maggot, lead singer of the punk band Purge, he accepts a roadie job on King's tour in the hope of securing sorely needed college tuition.

Fic KORMAN

Korman, Gordon. Son of the Mob. New York: Hyperion, [2002].

Note: When fifteen-year-old Alexander Cold accompanies his individualistic grandmother on an expedition to find a humanoid Beast in the Amazon, he experiences ancient wonders and a supernatural world as he tries to avert disaster for the Indians.

Fic KLUGER

Kluger, Steve. Last days of summer. New York: Morrow/Avon, [1999].

Note: After Jewish Joey Margolis's father leaves their Brooklyn home, Joey wants a father, and he begins writing New York Giants player Charlie Banks.

Fic KONIGSBURG

Konigsburg, E. L. A proud taste for scarlet and miniver. [1st ed.]. New York:

Atheneum, [1973].

Note: While waiting in heaven for divine judgement to be passed on her second

husband, Eleanor of Aquitaine and three of the people who knew her well

recall the events of her life.

Fic KOSS

Koss, Amy Goldman. Poison Ivy. New Milford, Conneticut: Roaring Brook, [2006].

Note: What better way to explain government in action than to stage a mock trial, in this case a trial in which one unpopular girl, Ivy (aka Poison Ivy), seeks to bring three bullies to justice. Alas, the questionable ambitions of a teacher, the fearful power of popularity, and the sad truth of how losers are made combine to make things ugly. The trial unfolds through the alternating viewpoint of several students, each of whom has a distinctive voice: Marcus is penetrating and contemptuous; Ivys is strangely cool; Anns bubbles with cruelty.

Fic LUNN

Lunn, John. The Aquanauts. New York: Tundra, [2005].

Note: Greta follows her physicist father to his underwater laboratory to work as a gopher over the summer, and gets more than she bargained for when an accident traps the research scientists in a particle of time and she must help save them.

Fic MORRIS

Morris, Gerald. The squire, his knight, & his lady. Boston, Mass: Houghton

Mifflin, [1999].

Note: After several years at King Arthur's court, Terence, as Sir Gawain's

squire and friend, accompanies him on a perilous quest that tests all their

skills and whose successful completion could mean certain death for Gawain.

Fic MEYER

Meyer, L.A. Bloody Jack: Being an account of the curious adventures of Mary ‘Jacky’ Faber, Ship’s Boy. San Diego: Harcourt, [2002].

Note: Reduced to begging and thievery in the streets of London, a thirteen-year-old orphan disguises herself as a boy and connives her way onto a British warship set for high sea adventure in search of pirates.

Fic PAOLINI

Paolini, Christopher. Eragon. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, [2003].

Note: 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.

Fic PHILBRICK

Philbrick, Rodman. The Last Book in the Universe. New York: Blue Sky Press, [2000].

Note: After an earthquake has destroyed much of the planet, an epileptic teenager nicknamed Spaz begins the heroic fight to bring human intelligence back to the Earth of a distant future.

Fic PECK

Peck, Robert Newton. Extra Innings. New York: HarperCollins, [2001].

Note: After a tragic airplane crash that claims the lives of most of his family, sixteen-year-old Tate goes to live with his wealthy great-grandfather and his adopted Black great-aunt Vidalia and he finds unexpected solace in the stories of her childhood spent traveling with a Depression-era Negro baseball team.

Fic PRATCHETT

Pratchett, Terry. The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents. New York HarperCollins, [2002].

Note: A talking cat, intelligent rats, and a strange boy cooperate in a Pied Piper scam until they try to con the wrong town and are confronted by a deadly evil rat king.

Fic PULLMAN

Pullman, Philip. The tin princess. New York: Knopf, [1994].

Note: In 1882 sixteen-year-old Becky applies for a tutoring job in London and

becomes embroiled in assassination, intrigue, and dangerous politics in the

small European kingdom of Razkavia.

Fic REAVER

Reaver, Chap. A little bit dead. New York, N.Y: Dell Pub, [1994, 1992].

Note: In 1876, after interfering with the attempted lynching of a young Yahi

Indian named Shanti, eighteen-year-old Reece finds his own life in danger

and becomes intimately involved in the future of Shanti's people.

Fic REES

Rees, Celia. Witch Child. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press, [2001].

Note: In 1659, fourteen-year-old Mary Newbury keeps a journal of her voyage from England to the New World and her experiences living as a witch in a community of Puritans near Salem, Massachusetts.

Fic SMITH

Smith, Roland. Zach’s Lie. New York: Hyperion Books for Children, [2001].

Note: When Jack Osborne is befriended by his school's custodian and a Basque girl, he begins to adjust to his family's sudden move to Elko, Nevada, after entering the Witness Security Program, but the drug cartel against which his father will testify is determined to track them down.

Fic SUTCLIFF

Sutcliff, Rosemary and Malory, Thomas. The sword and the circle : King Arthur

and the knights of the Round Table. 1st ed. New York: Dutton, [1981].

Note: Retells the adventures of King Arthur, Queen Guenevere, Sir Lancelot, and

the other knights of the Round Table.

Fic TINGLE

Tingle, Rebecca. The edge on the sword. New York: Putnam's, [2001].

Note: In ninth-century Britain, fifteen-year-old Aethelflaed, daughter of King

Alfred of West Saxony, finds she must assume new responsibilities much

sooner than expected when she is betrothed to Ethelred of Mercia in order to

strengthen a strategic alliance against the Danes.

Fic VICK

Vick, H. H. Walker of time. Tucson, Ariz: Harbinger House, [1993].

Note: A fifteen-year-old Hopi boy and his freckled companion travel back 800

years to the world of the Sinagua culture, a group of people beset by

drought and illness and in need of a leader.

Fic WITTLINGER

Wittlinger, Ellen. Blind Faith. New York: Simon & Schuster, [2006].

Note: While coping with her grandmother's sudden death and her mother's resulting depression and fascination with a spiritualist church, whose ministers claim to communicate with the dead, fifteen-year-old Liz finds herself falling for a new neighbor whose mother is dying of cancer.

Fic Zindel

Zindel, Paul. Raptor. New York: Hyperion Books, [1998].

Note: Zack and his Ute Indian friend find themselves trapped in a cave with a living dinosaur -- the deadly Utahraptor.

________________________________________________________________________________

Other Titles Recommended but not available in the school library:

B AGUIRRE

Copley, Robert. The Tall Mexican: The life of Hank Aguirre All-Star pitcher, businessman, humanitarian. Houston, TX: Arte, [2000].

Note: A biography of the All-Star major-league pitcher whose commitment to his Hispanic heritage led him to found Mexican Industries to help provide economic opportunities to the inner-city Detroit community.

Fic BAUER

Bauer, Joan. Best Foot Forward. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, [2005].

Note: Between school and Al-Anon meetings, Jenna helps Mrs. Gladstone cope with escalating problems that result from the merger of Gladstone Shoes with Shoe Warehouse Corporation, while managing a new employee with a shoplifting record.

Fic CARTER

Carter, Peter. Borderlands. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, [1993].

Note: After being forced from his meager family farm in Texas in 1871, thirteen-year-old Ben Curtis witnesses some of the excitement and cruelty of the Old West--on a cattle drive, in a frontier town, and on a buffalo hunt.

Fic DURANT

Durant, Peggy. When heroes die. Topeka, KS: Econo-Clad, [1999].

Note: Devastated that his hero uncle, Rob, is dying of AIDS, twelve-year-old Gary, in need of advice and guidance in his life, draws strength from Rob himself.

Fic PHILBRICK

Philbrick, W.R. The Fire pony. Topeka, KS: Econo-Clad, [1999].

Note: Eleven-year-old Roy lets himself find a loving family and a new home on the horse ranch which he and his older half-brother happen to come upon.