Exploring Top Books of Shelfari

The Giver

by Lois Lowry, Maria Luisa Balseiro

Jonas's world is perfect. Everything is under control. There is no war or fear of pain. There are no choices. Every person is assigned a role in the community. When Jonas turns 12 he is singled out to receive special training from The Giver. The Giver alone holds the memories of the true pain and pleasure of life. Now, it is time for Jonas to receive the truth. There is no turning back.

Number the Stars

by Lois Lowry

Ten-year-old Annemarie Johansen and her best friend Ellen Rosen often think of life before the war. It's now 1943 and their life in Copenhagen is filled with school, food shortages, and the Nazi soldiers marching through town. When the Jews of Denmark are "relocated". Ellen moves in with the Johansens and pretends to be one of the family. Soon Annemarie is asked to go on a dangerous mission to save Ellen's life.... (more)

Time Quintet: Book 1

A Wrinkle in Time

by Madeleine L'Engle

Rediscover one of the most beloved children's books of all time: A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle: Meg Murray, her little brother Charles Wallace, and their mother are having a midnight snack on a dark and stormy night when an unearthly stranger appears at their door. He claims to have been blown off course, and goes on to tell them that there is such a thing as a "tesseract," which, if you didn't know,... (more)

Maniac Magee

by Jerry Spinelli

After his parents die, Jeffrey Lionel Magee's life becomes legendary as he accomplishes athletic feats and other extraordinary exploits that awe his contemporaries. Paperback.

From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler

From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler

by E. L. Konigsburg

Claudia knew that she could never pull off the old-fashioned kind of running away...so she decided not to run FROM somewhere, but TO somewhere. And so, after some careful planning, she and her younger brother, Jamie, escaped -- right into a mystery that made headlines!

The House of the Scorpion

by Nancy Farmer

Matteo Alacrán was not born; he was harvested. His DNA came from El Patrón, lord of a country called Opium -- a strip of poppy fields lying between the United States and what was once called Mexico. Matt's first cell split and divided inside a petri dish. Then he was placed in the womb of a cow, where he continued the miraculous journey from embryo to fetus to baby. He is a boy now, but most consider him a monster... (more)

Bud, Not Buddy

by Christopher Paul Curtis

It’s 1936, in Flint, Michigan, and when 10-year-old Bud decides to hit the road to find his father, nothing can stop him. From the Trade Paperback edition.

Island of the Blue Dolphins

by Scott O'Dell

The gripping story of young Karana, who survives by herself for eighteen years on a deserted island off the California coast.

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry

by Mildred D. Taylor

Holes

by Louis Sachar

Stanley Yelnats is under a curse. A curse that began with his no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather and has since followed generations of Yelnats. Now Stanley has been unjustly sent to a boys' detention center, Camp Green Lake, where the warden makes the boys "build character" by spending all day, every day, digging holes: five feet wide and five feet deep. It doesn't take long for Stanley to... (more)

The Graveyard Book

by Neil Gaiman

Beloved master storyteller Neil Gaiman returns with a luminous new novel for the audience that embraced his New York Times bestselling modern classic Coraline . Magical, terrifying, and filled with breathtaking adventures, the graveyard book is sure to enthrall readers of all ages.

Bud, Not Buddy

by Christopher Paul Curtis

Kira-Kira

by Cynthia Kadohata

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry

by Mildred D. Taylor

Facing a year of night riders and burnings, Cassie and her family continue their struggle to keep their land and hold onto what rightfully belongs to them, despite the difficult battles they must continue to endure. Reprint. Winner of the Newbery Medal. AB. NYT.

Johnny Tremain

by Esther Forbes, Lynd Ward

A story filled with danger and excitement, Johnny Tremain tells of the turbulent passionate times in Boston just after the Revolutionary War. Johnny, a young apprentice silversmith, is caught up in a dramatic involvement with James Otis, John Hancock, and John and Samuel Adams in the Boston Tea Party and the Battle of Lexington; and finally, a touching resolution of Johnny's personal life.

The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup and a Spool of Thread

The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup and a Spool of Thread

by Kate DiCamillo

"Forgiveness, light, love, and soup. These essential ingredients combine into a tale that is as soul-stirring as it is delicious." — BOOKLIST (starred review) Welcome to the story of Despereaux Tilling, a mouse who is in love with music, stories, and a princess named Pea. It is also the story of a rat called Roscuro, who lives in the darkness and covets a world filled with light. And it is the story of Miggery... (more)

Walk Two Moons

by Sharon Creech

Shiloh

by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

When Marty Preston comes across a young beagle in the hills behind his home, it's love at first sight -- and also big trouble. It turns out the dog, which Marty names Shiloh, belongs to Judd Travers, who drinks too much and has a gun -- and abuses his dogs. So when Shiloh runs away from Judd to Marty, Marty just has to hide him and protect him from Judd. But Marty's secret becomes too big for him to keep to... (more)

A Year Down Yonder

by Richard Peck

Mary Alice's childhood summers in Grandma Dowdel's sleepy Illinois town were packed with enough drama to fill the double bill of any picture show. But now she is fifteen, and faces a whole long year with Grandma, a woman well known for shaking up her neighbors-and everyone else! All Mary Alice can know for certain is this: when trying to predict how life with Grandma might turn out . . . better not. This wry,... (more)

Bridge to Terabithia

by Katherine Paterson

A secret world of their own Jess Aaron's greatest ambition is to be the fastest runner in the fifth grade. He's been practicing all summer and can't wait to see his classmates' faces when he beats them all. But on the first day of school, a new kid, a new girl, boldly crosses over to the boy's side of the playground and outruns everyone. That's not a very promising beginning for a friendship, but Jess and... (more)

Shelfari Book Activity

Tags: newbery medal

by Lois Lowry, Maria Luisa Balseiro

by Lois Lowry

by Madeleine L'Engle

by Jerry Spinelli

by E. L. Konigsburg

by Nancy Farmer

by Christopher Paul Curtis

by Scott O'Dell

by Mildred D. Taylor

by Louis Sachar

by Neil Gaiman

by Christopher Paul Curtis

by Cynthia Kadohata

by Mildred D. Taylor

by Esther Forbes, Lynd Ward

by Kate DiCamillo

by Sharon Creech

by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

by Richard Peck

by Katherine Paterson