2010 Best Book Club Titles

No Talking by Andrew Ckements

The noisy fifth grade boys of Laketon Elementary School challenge the equally loud fifth grade girls to a "no talking" contest. RL 5.0 Humor

Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis

Eleven-year-old Elijah Freeman, the first free-born child in Buxton, Canada, which is a haven for slaves fleeing the American South in 1859, uses his wits and skills to try to bring to justice the lying preacher who has stolen money that was to be used to buy a family's freedom. RL 5.6 Historical Fiction

Return of the Killer Cat by Anne Fine

Tuffy the pet cat narrates his escapades as he attempts to escape his family's cat-sitter and suffers through a humiliating episode of mistaken identity. RL 3.9 Humorous

Brendan Buckley's universe and everything in it by Sundee Frazier

Brendan Buckley, a biracial ten-year-old, applies his scientific problem-solving ability and newfound interest in rocks and minerals to connect with his white grandfather, the president of Puyallup Rock Club, and to learn why he and Brendan's mother are estranged. RL 4.0 Realistic Fiction, Multicultural

Igraine the Brave by Cornelia Funke

The daughter of two magicians, twelve-year-old Igraine wants nothing more than to be a knight; and when their castle is attacked by a treacherous neighbor bent on stealing their singing magic books, Igraine has an opportunity to demonstrate her bravery. RL 5.6 Fantasy

Moxy Maxwell does not love Stuart Little by Peggy Gifford

With summer coming to an end, about-to-be-fourth-grader Moxy Maxwell does a hundred different things to avoid reading her assigned summer reading book. RL 5.2 Humorous

Deep and dark and dangerous by Mary Downing Hahn

While spending the summer with her aunt and cousin at the family's vacation home in Maine, thirteen-year-old Ali stumbles upon the secret to the childhood tragedy that her mother and aunt have been hiding for over thirty years. RL 4.0 Fantasy, Ghosts

Emmy and the incredible shrinking rat by Lynne Jonnel

When Emmy discovers that she and her formerly loving parents are being drugged by their evil nanny with rodent potions that can change people in frightening ways, she and some new friends must try everything possible to return things to normal. RL 4.7 Humorous

Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney

Greg records his sixth grade experiences in a middle school where he and his best friend, Rowley, undersized weaklings amid boys who need to shave twice daily, hope just to survive, but when Rowley grows more popular, Greg must take drastic measures to save their friendship. RL 5.0 Humor

Slukduggery Pleasant by Dere Landy

When twelve-year-old Stephanie inherits her weird uncle's estate, she must join forces with Skulduggery Pleasant, a skeleton mage, to save the world from the Faceless Ones. RL 5.0 Fantasy, Magic

Heat by Mike Lupica

Pitching prodigy Michael Arroyo is on the run from social services after being banned from playing Little League baseball because rival coaches doubt he is only twelve years old and he has no parents to offer them proof. RL 5.6 Realistic, Orphans

Ten ways to make my sister diappear by Norma Fox Mazer

Sprig, a ten-year-old girl, learns about life as she deals with her competitive older sister, a sick neighbor, and the class bully while her father is away on a work trip. RL 5.2 Realistic Fiction, Families

Candy Shop War by Brandon Mull

When fifth-graders Nate, Summer, Trevor, and Pigeon meet the owner of the new candy store in town and are given a magical candy that endows them with super powers, they find that along with its benefits there are also dangerous consequences. RL 6.1 Adventure

The mutiny on the Bounty by Patrick O’Brien

Presents a retelling of the final voyage of the H.M.S. Bounty and the mutiny that took place. RL 5.1 Historical

How to Steal a Dog by Barbara O’Connor

Living in the family car in their small North Carolina town after their father leaves them virtually penniless, Georgina, desperate to improve their situation and unwilling to accept her overworked mother's calls for patience, persuades her younger brother to help her in an elaborate scheme to get money by stealing a dog and then claiming the reward that the owners are bound to offer. RL 4.0 Realistic, Homeless

Lawn Boy by Gary Paulsen

hings get out of hand for a twelve-year-old boy when a neighbor convinces him to expand his summer lawn mowing business. RL 4.7 Realistic, Summer Jobs

Yellow Star by Jennifer Roy

From 1939, when Syvia is four and a half years old, to 1945 when she has just turned ten, a Jewish girl and her family struggle to survive in Poland's Lodz ghetto during the Nazi occupation. RL 5.2 Historical

Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

When twelve-year-old Hugo, an orphan living and repairing clocks within the walls of a Paris train station in 1931, meets a mysterious toyseller and his goddaughter, his undercover life and his biggest secret are jeopardized. RL 5.6 Historical Fiction

Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton 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, where the only rule is that there are no rules. RL 5.6 Adventure, Science Fiction