Exploring Top Books of Shelfari

The Ghost in the Tokaido Inn

by Thomas Hoobler, Dorothy Hoobler

Fourteen-year-old Seikei dreams of being one of the legendary warriors, a samurai. But samurai are born, not made, and Seikei is a tea merchant’s son. Then a priceless ruby intended for the shogun—the military governor of Japan—is stolen by a ghost, and Seikei finds himself having to display all the courage of a samurai. He is the only person to have seen the thief, and now the famous samurai magistrate,... (more)

Thin Wood Walls

by David Patneaude

Eleven-year-old Joe Hanada likes playing basketball with his best friend, Ray, writing plays and stories, and thinking about the upcoming Christmas holiday. But his world falls apart when Japanese planes bomb Pearl Harbor. His country goes to war. The FBI takes his father away. And neighbors and friends in his hometown near Seattle begin to suspect Joe, his family, and all Japanese Americans of spying for the... (more)

The Teacher's Funeral

by Richard Peck

Now that Russell’s teacher’s done passed away, maybe Hominy Ridge School will be shut down for good and he can light out for the endless skies of the Dakotas to join a team of harvesters working the new 1904 all-steel threshing machines. No such luck. Russell and his schoolmates are about to be ruled by a new teacher who is Russell’s worst nightmare—his sister. Russell’s going to do whatever it takes to sink... (more)

Jacob's Rescue

by Michael Halperin, Malka Drucker

Moving in with a Christian family in 1941 after the Jews of Warsaw are forced to move from their homes into walled-in ghetto developments, Jacob must pretend he is their son and keep from getting caught until the danger is past. Reprint.

Wild Things

by Clay Carmichael

Eleven-year-old Zoë is a survivor. Her fiery independence has seen her through a series of adults who “don’t stick,” and she trusts no one, including Uncle Henry, who has just taken her in after the death of her neglectful mother. Henry is a renowned sculptor of what Zoë skeptically calls “wild things.” Other wild things slip through Henry’s North Carolina woods unnoticed until Zoë’s arrival catapults them into... (more)

The Kite Rider

by Geraldine McCaughrean

Up and up the wind drew him. Haoyou looked about him and saw the whole world beneath him. And it was his. The Great Miao, master of the Jade Circus, offers Haoyou the amazing chance to escape his family's poverty -- by becoming a kite rider. Strapped onto a beautiful scarlet-and-gold kite, Haoyou is sent into the sky, earning money, freedom, and unexpected fame. Miao even plans for Haoyou to perform before... (more)

Shades of Gray

by Carolyn Reeder

COURAGE WEARS MANY FACES The Civil War may be over, but for twelve-year-old Will Page, the pain and bitterness haven't ended. How could they have, when the Yankees were responsible for the deaths of everyone in his entire immediate family? And now Will has to leave his comfortable home in the Shenandoah Valley and live with relatives he has never met, people struggling to eke out a living on their farm in the... (more)

Tucket Adventures

Call Me Francis Tucket

by Gary Paulsen

Alone. Francis Tucket now feels more confident that he can handle almost anything. A year ago, on the wagon train, he was kidnapped from his family by a Pawnee hunting party. Then he escaped with the help of the mountain man, Mr. Grimes. Now that he and Mr. Grimes have parted ways, Francis is heading west on his Indian pony, crossing the endless prairie, trying to find his family. After a year with Mr. Grimes,... (more)

A Murder for Her Majesty

by Beth Hilgartner

Horrified at having witnessed her father's murder and fearing that the killers are agents of Queen Elizabeth I, eleven-year-old Alice Tuckfield hides in the Yorkshire cathedral by disguising herself as one of the choirboys.

The Road to Home

by Mary Jane Auch

Thirteen-year-old Remembrance “Mem” Nye has had much more than her share of responsibility since her mother died. It’s too hard caring for her younger brother and baby sister, and Mem looks forward to returning to the family fold at her grandmother’s house. But their journey back home is delayed when they reach Rome, New York, and Mem’s father joins the crew that is digging the Erie Canal. Mem soon realizes her... (more)

Mable Riley: A Reliable Record of Humdrum, Peril, and Romance

Mable Riley: A Reliable Record of Humdrum, Peril, and Romance

by Marthe Jocelyn

"Historical fiction buffs, especially those interested in the women’s suffrage movement, will enjoy sharing the eye-opening experiences of Mable Riley." — PUBLISHERS WEEKLY It’s the year 1901, and fourteen-year-old aspiring writer Mable Riley is on her way to fulfilling her dreams, or so she hopes. After moving with her sister to a faraway town, Mable meets a real writer, one who wears daring fashions, unnerves... (more)

Death and the Arrow (Tom Marlowe Serie)

by Chris Priestley

Fifteen-year-old Tom Marlowe, and the rest of London, is fascinated by a string of murders: People are being killed with arrows shot from above, and each victim has a “Death and Arrow” card with him. Danger and intrigue abound, especially when Tom’s friend, a young pickpocket, is also found murdered. But who would want to kill Will? To avenge his friend, Tom sets out with Dr. Harker, a family friend and retired... (more)

The Return of Gabriel

by John Armistead

In the summer of 1964, freedom workers come to a small Mississippi town to register blacks to vote. The quiet pace of the summer changes dramatically for Cooper and his friends Jubal, who is black, and Squirrel, who is Jewish. The only white member of Oak Grove Baptist Church, Cooper must decide how to react when his father makes him attend Ku Klux Klan meetings. His uncle Chicago helps guide him through the... (more)

The Master Puppeteer

by Katherine Paterson; Illustrator-Haru Wells

Written in Bone: Buried Lives of Jamestown and Colonial Maryland (Exceptional Social Studies Titles for Intermediate Grades)

Written in Bone: Buried Lives of Jamestown and Colonial Maryland (Exceptional Social Studies Titles for Intermediate Grades)

by Sally M. Walker

How did the colonists of Jamestown and Maryland live and die? Forensic anthropology provides an incredible array of answers. Scientists can look into a grave and determine the skeleton's gender, age at time of death, nationality, and sometimes even economic standing within minutes. Laboratory studies can provide cause of death information. Once these details are known, some skeletons can even be matched with a... (more)

The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain

The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain

by Peter Sis

A NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER “I was born at the beginning of it all, on the Red side—the Communist side—of the Iron Curtain.” Through annotated illustrations, journals, maps, and dreamscapes, Peter Sís shows what life was like for a child who loved to draw, proudly wore the red scarf of a Young Pioneer, stood guard at the giant statue of Stalin, and believed whatever he was told to believe. But adolescence... (more)

The Apprenticeship of Lucas Whitaker

by Cynthia C. DeFelice

A Matter of Life or Death It's 1849, and twelve-year-old, Lucas Whitaker is all alone after his whole family dies of a disease called consumption which has swept through the community. Lucas is grief-stricken and filled with guilt. He might have saved his mother, who was the last to die, if only he had listened to news of a strange cure for this deadly disease. Unable to manage the family farm by himself, Lucas... (more)

Black Jack

by Leon Garfield

A swarthy villain, nearly seven foot tall and presumed hanged, seems to wake from the dead in the presence of young Bartholomew Dorking. Having outwitted the noose, Black Jack enlists the unwilling boy to be his companion. Together they weave their way through the seamiest parts of old London, a traveling circus, and a private madhouse where forgotten lunatics are chained in empty rooms, and from which Bartholomew... (more)

An Island Far from Home (Adventures in Time)

An Island Far from Home (Adventures in Time)

by John Donahue

The twelve-year-old son of a Union army doctor killed during the fighting in Fredericksburg comes to understand the meaning of war and the fine line between friends and enemies when he begins corresponding with a young Confederate prisoner of war.

Jason's Gold

by Will Hobbs

"Gold!" Jason shouted at the top of his lungs. "Read all about it! Gold discovered in Alaska!" Within hours of hearing the thrilling news, fifteen-year-old Jason Hawthorn jumps a train for Seattle, stow away on a ship bound for the goldfields, and joins thousands of fellow prospectors attempting the difficult journey to the Klondike. The Dead Horse Trail, the infamous Chilkott Pass, and a five-hundred-mile trip... (more)

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Tags: grades 5-8