NERDS : National Espionage, Rescue, and Defense Society by Michael Buckley - Five unpopular misfits combine their enhanced abilities and use cutting-edge gadgetry to fight evil around the world

Frindle by Andrew Clements - When he decides to turn his fifth grade teacher's love of the dictionary around on her, clever Nick Allen invents a new word and begins a chain of events that quickly moves beyond his control

Matilda by Roald Dahl - When Matilda is attacked by the Trunchbull she suddenly discovers she has a remarkable power with which to fight back

The great brain by John D. Fitzgerald - Describes the exploits of the Great Brain of Adenville, Utah in the words of his younger brother, frequently the victim of the Great Brain's schemes for gaining prestige and money

Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle by Betty MacDonald - From her upside-down house, the eccentric Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle issues to parents her marvelous cures for such common children's diseases as Won't-Put-Away-Toys-itis, Answerbackism, and Fighter-Quarrelitis

Homer Price by Robert McCloskey - Six episodes in the life of Homer Price including one in which he and his pet skunk capture four bandits and another about a donut machine on the rampage

Freaky Friday by Mary Rodgers - A thirteen-year-old girl gains a much more sympathetic understanding of her relationship with her mother when she has to spend a day in her mother's body

My life as a book by Janet Tashjian - Dubbed a "reluctant reader" by his teacher, twelve-year-old Derek spends summer vacation learning important lessons even though he does not complete his summer reading list

Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett - When seemingly unrelated and strange events start to happen and a precious Vermeer painting disappears, eleven-year-olds Petra and Calder combine their talents to solve an international art scandal

The fairy-tale detectives by Michael Buckley - Orphans Sabrina and Daphne Grimm are sent to live with an eccentric grandmother that they have always believed to be dead

The name of this book is secret by Pseudonymous Bosch - Two eleven-year-old misfits try to solve the mystery of a dead magician and stop the evil Dr. L and Ms. Mauvais, who are searching for the secret of immortality

Spy school by Stuart Gibbs - Twelve-year-old Ben Ripley leaves his public middle school to attend the CIA's highly secretive Espionage Academy, which everyone is told is an elite science school

Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's library by Chris Grabenstein - Twelve-year-old Kyle gets to stay overnight in the new town library, designed by the famous gamemaker Luigi Lemoncello but finds that he must work with friends to solve puzzles in order to escape

The mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart - After passing a series of mind-bending tests, four children are selected for a secret mission that requires them to go undercover at the Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened

The Penderwicks : a summer tale of four sisters, two rabbits, and a very interesting boy by Jeanne Birdsall - Four lovable sisters, ages four through twelve, share adventures with a local boy, much to the dismay of his snobbish mother

Out of my mind by Sharon M. Draper - Considered by many to be mentally retarded, a brilliant, impatient fifth-grader with cerebral palsy discovers a technological device that will allow her to speak for the first time

Joey Pigza swallowed the key by Jack Gantos - 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 acting wired

The season of Styx Malone by Kekla Magoon - Caleb Franklin and his younger brother, Bobby Gene, spend an extraordinary summer with their new, older neighbor, Styx Malone, a foster boy from the city

Merci Suárez changes gears by Meg Medina - Merci Suárez begins the sixth grade and knows things will change, but she did not count on her grandfather acting strangely, not fitting in at her private school, and dealing with Edna Santos' jealousy

Wonder by R.J. Palacio - Ten-year-old Auggie Pullman, who was born with extreme facial abnormalities and was not expected to survive, goes from being home-schooled to entering fifth grade at a private middle school in Manhattan

The great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine 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

The higher power of Lucky by Susan Patron - Fearing that her legal guardian plans to abandon her to return to France, ten-year-old aspiring scientist Lucky Trimble determines to run away

Counting by 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan - Twelve-year-old genius and outsider Willow Chance must figure out how to connect with other people and find a surrogate family for herself after her parents are killed in a car accident

Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm by Kate Douglas Wiggin - Ten-year-old Rebecca goes to live with her spinster aunts, one harsh and demanding, the other soft and sentimental, with whom she spends seven difficult but rewarding years growing up

Front desk by Kelly Yang - Ten-year-old Mia Tang's parents are recent immigrants from China and desperate for work and money. When they take a job managing a rundown motel in Southern California, Mia works the front desk and tries to cope