An Eclectic Mixture of Fiction for Younger Readers

The Witch of Blackbird Pond

By Elizabeth George Speare

A young girl's rebellion against bigotry culminates in a terrifying witch hunt and trial.

Secret Garden

By Frances Hodgson Burnett

She pointed to a gate in a wall of shrubbery. "There's lots o' flowers in summer-time, but there's nothin' bloomin' now. One of the gardens is locked up. No one has been in it for ten years."

From the bestselling author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and The BFG! Matilda is a sweet, exceptional young girl, but her parents think she's just a nuisance. She expects school to be different but there she has to face Miss Trunchbull, a kid-hating terror of a headmistress. When Matilda is attacked by the Trunchbull she suddenly discovers she has a remarkable power with which to fight back. It'll take a superhuman genius to give Miss Trunchbull what she deserves and Matilda may be just the one to do it!"Matilda will surely go straight to children's hearts." —The New York Times Book Review Cover may vary.

Someday Angeline

By Louis Sachar

Nobody understands why Angeline is so smart. She could read the first time she picked up a book, she can play the piano without ever having had a lesson, and she even knows what the weather is going to be. But being smart is causing Angeline nothing but trouble. The mean kids in school call her a freak, her teacher finds her troublesome, and even her own father doesn't know what to do with an eight-year-old girl who seems to be a genius. Angeline doesn't want to be either a genius or a freak. She just wants the chance to be herself and be happy. But it's only when she makes friends with a boy the kids call "Goon" and the teacher they call "Mr. Bone" that Angeline gets that chance.

Caddie Woodlawn

By Carol Ryrie Brink

An illustrated edition of the Newberry Medal–winning Caddie Woodlawn, which has been captivating young readers since 1935. Caddie Woodlawn is a real adventurer. She'd rather hunt than sew and plow than bake, and tries to beat her brother's dares every chance she gets. Caddie is friends with Indians, who scare most of the neighbors—neighbors who, like her mother and sisters, don't understand her at all. Caddie is brave, and her story is special because it's based on the life and memories of Carol Ryrie Brink's grandmother, the real Caddie Woodlawn. Her spirit and sense of fun have made this book a classic that readers have taken to their hearts for more than seventy years.

Freaky Monday

By Mary Rodgers

Hadley is pretty much the model student: straight As, perfect attendance, front row in class. So what if she's overstressed and overscheduled: She's got school covered. (Life—not so much.) Ms. Pitt is the kind of teacher who wants you to call her by her first name and puts all the chairs in a circle and tells her students to feel their book reports. Hadley wishes Ms. Pitt would stick to her lesson plan. Ms. Pitt wishes Hadley would lighten up. So when Hadley and Ms. Pitt find themselves switched into each other's bodies, the first thing they want to do is switch right back. It takes a family crisis, a baffled principal, and a (double) first kiss to help them figure out that change can be pretty enlightening. Even if it is a little freaky!