GIRLSREAD!

Hi girls…………This is just between us………..

Here are some good books about girls with brains, courage, and creativity – and they’re nice!!!

Seaglass Summer11-year-old Poppy Ray longs to be a veterinarian, but she's never had a pet. This summer, she's going to spend a month with her uncle Sanjay, veterinarian and owner of the Furry Friends Animal Clinic on an island off the Washington coast. Poppy is in for big surprises. Here she learns there's more to caring for animals than using her stethoscope and cotton swabs. With help from a boy named Hawk, a chunk of sea glass, and a touch of intuition, Poppy gains a deeper understanding of the pain and joy of working with animals.FIC

BAN

Magenta McPheeThinking her father needs a new interest in his life after he is laid-off of work, teenaged Magenta, who envisions herself as a future fantasy author, decides to dabble in matchmaking by going onto an online dating service, playing the role of her father. Good intentions … but they backfire.FIC

BAT

Close to Famous12-year-old Foster bakes cupcakes and dreams of having her own show on the Food Network. She and her mom escape an abusive husband and land in Culpepper, West VA. With the help of kind and quirky locals, including a former movie star, Foster makes friends, earns fans for her cupcakes, and even begins to conquer her reading difficulties. Bauer doesn’t shy away from contemporary issues, and the characters' eventual triumphs are the type that this author's fans eat up.FIC

BAU

Red Blazer GirlsCatholic-schooled seventh-graders Sophie, Margaret, Rebecca, and Leigh Ann help an elderly neighbor solve a puzzle her father left for her estranged daughter twenty years ago. These friends find themselves on a spooky scavenger hunt in this series for those who love mystery, math, and a modest measure of mayhem.FIC

BEI

The Princess Plot

FICBOI

Lies, camera, action! Jenna has just won the starring role in a film about a princess--sweet! In the wink of an eye, she's whisked off to a remote, romantic kingdom for the "shoot." But something's amiss: First, she finds out she bears an uncanny resemblance to the real princess, who has run away following the death of her father, the king. Then she learns that the conniving regent plans to use her to take control of the country, now being fought over by rebels. As the plot twists and turns, Jenna discovers just what she's made of--and just why she resembles the missing princess so much!

Sahara SpecialStruggling with school and her feelings since her father left, Sahara gets a fresh start with a new and unique teacher who supports her writing talents and the individuality of each of her classmates. There are two files on Sahara Jones. The one the school counselor keeps is evidence that she's a fifth grader who needs special education. The other is the book Sahara is secretly writing, her Heart-Wrenching Life Story and Amazing Adventures. But Sahara is facing fifth grade in the regular classroom, again. Enter Miss Pointy, the new fifth-grade teacher. With her eggplant-colored lipstick and strange subjects, such as "Puzzling" and "Time Travel," she's like no other teacher Sahara has ever known. FIC

COD

Sylvia & AkiAt the start of World War II, Japanese-American third-grader Aki and her family are sent to an internment camp in Arizona. Meanwhile, Mexican-American third-grader Sylvia's family leases Aki’s California asparagus farm and begins a fight to stop school segregation. This novel presents a fictionalized account of injustices endured by two real California children during World War II and is based on multiple interviews with both. In alternating chapters, follow the forced relocation of young Aki and the experiences of Sylvia Mendez, who moves into Aki's old room.FIC

CON

Shooting the MoonWhen twelve-year-old Jamie Dexter's brother joins the Army and is sent to Vietnam, Jamie is plum thrilled. She can't wait to get letters from the front lines describing the excitement of real-life combat and the exhilaration of being right in the thick of it. After all, they've both dreamed of following in the footsteps of their father, the Colonel. But TJ's first letter isn't a letter at all. It's a roll of undeveloped film, the first of many. What Jamie sees when she develops TJ's photographs reveals a whole new side of the war. Slowly the shine begins to fade off of Army life and her father – particularly when TJ is missing in action.

FICDOW

Running Out of TimeWhen a diphtheria epidemic hits her 1840 village, thirteen-year-old Jessie discovers it is actually a 1995 tourist site under unseen observation by heartless scientists, and it's up to Jessie to escape the village and save the lives of the dying children. Not quite The Hunger Games, but a great read!FIC

HAD

Princess AcademyMiri lives on a mountain where, for generations, her ancestors have quarried stone and lived a simple life. Then word comes that the king's priests have divined her small village the home of the future princess. In a year's time, the prince will choose his bride from among the girls of the village. The king's ministers set up an academy on the mountain, and every teenage girl must attend and learn how to become a princess. But when bandits seek to kidnap the future princess, Miri must rally the girls together and use a power unique to the mountain dwellers to save herself and her classmates. These are not your ordinary princesses.FIC

HAL

Ida B…and Her Plans to Maximize Fun, Avoid Disaster, and (Probably Save the

World)• In Wisconsin, fourth-grader Ida B spends happy hours being home-schooled and playing in her family's apple orchard, until her mother begins treatment for breast cancer and her parents must sell part of the orchard and send her to public school. Told through Ida B’s voice, we feel her anger and frustration, all beautifully dealt with by a wonderful teacher and her supportive parents.

A funny and moving novel.FICHAN

Middle School is Worse Than MeatloafGinny has ten items on her big to-do list for seventh grade. None of them, however, include accidentally turning her hair pink. Or getting sent to detention for throwing frogs in class. Or losing the lead role in the ballet recital to her ex-best friend. Or the thousand other things that can go wrong between September and June. But it looks like it's shaping up to be that kind of a year! Here's the story of one girl's worst school year ever -- told completely through her stuff.

FICHOL

Everything on a WafflePrimrose's parents have been lost at sea, but she believes without an iota of doubt that they are still alive, somewhere. She moves in with her Uncle Jack, but feels generally friendless. Her only real refuge is a local restaurant called The Girl on the Red Swing, where the owner, Miss Bowzer, serves everything on waffles -- except advice and good sense, which come free of charge and are always reliable. Readers will eagerly cheer Primrose on through this funny, bittersweet winner of the 2002 Newbery Honor. Recipes included.

FICHOR

The Popularity PapersLydia Goldblatt and Julie Graham-Chang are best friends with one goal: to crack the code of popularity. Lydia's the bold one: aspiring theater star, stick-fighting enthusiast, human guinea pig. Julie's the shy one: observer and artist, accidental field hockey star, faithful recorder. In this notebook they write down their observations and carry out experiments to try to determine what makes the popular girls tick.FIC

IGN

Evolution of Calpurnia TateTwelve-year-old Calpurnia (the only girl of seven siblings) is interested in science rather than cooking and sewing. She would much rather spend her time exploring the river with her grandfather, a naturalist and a loner, who has given her a copy of The Origin of the Species. The results are humorous when Callie's mother attempts to prepare her for her place in society by giving her cooking and knitting lessons in contrast to her natural tendencies to be outside studying grasshoppers and other phenomena of nature. Combine Laura and Caddie, bump her up a notch and you’ve got Calpurnia.FIC

KEL

Inside Out & Back AgainNo one would believe me but at times I would choose wartime in Saigon over peacetime in Alabama. For all the ten years of her life, HÀ has only known Saigon. But now the Vietnam War has reached her home. HÀ and her family board a ship headed toward hope. In America, HÀ discovers the foreign world of Alabama: the coldness of its strangers, the dullness of its food, the strange shape of its landscape, and the strength of her very own family. This is the moving story of one girl's year of change, dreams, grief, and healing as she journeys from one country to another, one life to the next.FIC

LAI

SavvyThirteen is when a Beaumont's savvy hits - and with one brother who causes hurricanes and another who creates electricity, Mibs Beaumont is eager to see what she gets. But just before the big day, Poppa is in a terrible accident. And now all Mibs wants is a savvy that will save him. In fact, Mibs is so sure she'll get a powerful savvy that she sneaks a ride to the hospital on a rickety bus with her sibling and the preacher's kids in tow. After this extraordinary adventure - full of talking tattoos and a kidnapping - not a soul on board will ever be the same.

FICLAW

11 BirthdaysIt's Amanda's 11th birthday and she is super excited---but from the start, everything goes wrong. She and her best friend, Leo, with whom she's shared every birthday, are on the outs and this will be the first birthday they haven't shared together. When Amanda turns in for the night, she wakes up happy for a new day. Or is it? Her birthday seems to be repeating itself. What is going on?! And how can she fix it? Only time, friendship, and a little luck will tell. . .FIC

MAS

A Friendship for TodayThe year is 1954, the place is Missouri, and twelve-year-old Rosemary Patterson is about to make history. She is one of the first African American students to enter the white school in her town. Rosemary welcomes the challenge, but starting this new school gets more daunting when her best friend is hospitalized for polio. Suddenly, Rosemary must face all the stares and whispers alone. But when the girl who has shown her the most cruelty becomes an unlikely confidante, Rosemary learns important truths about the power of friendship to overcome prejudice.FIC

MCK

Faith, Hope, and Ivy JuneDuring a student exchange program, seventh-graders Ivy June and Catherine share their lives, homes, and communities, and find that although their lifestyles are total opposites they have a lot in common. The girls will stay at each other’s homes, attend school together, and record their experience in their journals. Catherine and her family have a beautiful home with plenty of space. Ivy June, whose house is too crowded, lives with her grandparents. As the girls get closer, they discover they’re more alike than different.FIC

NAY

Yellow StarIn 1939, the Germans invaded the town of Lodz, Poland, and moved the Jewish population into a small part of the city called a ghetto. As the war progressed, 270,000 people were forced to settle in the ghetto under impossible conditions. At the end of the war in 1945, there were about 800 survivors. Of those who survived, only twelve were children. This is the story of one of the twelve.

FICROY

StargirlStargirl. From the day she arrives at quiet Mica High in a burst of color and sound, the hallways hum with the murmur of "Stargirl, Stargirl." She captures Leo Borlock's heart with just one smile. She sparks a school-spirit revolution with just one cheer. The students of Mica High are enchanted. At first. Then they turn on her…FIC

SPI

When You Reach MeFour mysterious letters change Miranda's world forever. By sixth grade, Miranda and her best friend, Sal, know how to navigate their New York City neighborhood. They know where it's safe to go and they know whom to avoid, like the crazy guy on the corner. But things start to unravel. Miranda finds a mysterious note scrawled on a tiny slip of paper: I am coming to save your friend's life, and my own. I must ask two favors. First, you must write me a letter. The notes keep coming, and Miranda slowly realizes that whoever is leaving them knows all about her, including things that have not even happened yet. Each message brings her closer to believing that only she can prevent a tragic death. If you are a fan of A Wrinkle In Time (like Miranda) this 2010 Newbery winner will be for you.

FICSTE

The White GiraffeWhen Martine's home in England burns down, killing her parents, she must go to South Africa to live on a wildlife game preserve, called Sawubona, with the grandmother she didn't know she had. Almost as soon as she arrives, Martine hears stories about a mythical white giraffe living in the preserve. Martine is in doubt until one stormy night when she looks out her window and sees Jemmy, a young silvery-white giraffe. Why is Jemmy's existence a secret? Does it have anything to do with the rash of poaching going on at Sawubona? Martine needs all of the courage and smarts she has, not to mention a little African magic, to find out and to save her home and her one true friend. Also read “Dolphin Song”

FICSTJ

Emma-Jean Lazarus Fell Out of a TreeEmma-Jean Lazarus is a lovable oddball who thinks she can use logic to solve the “messy” everyday problems of her seventh-grade peers. Of course, the more Emma-Jean gets involved, the messier her own life gets. This is a tender story about what happens when a girl who has long stood in the social shadows gets a taste of what it’s like to connect with kids her own age.FIC

TAR

Autumn Winifred Oliver Does Things Different

AUTUMN WINIFRED OLIVER prides herself on doing things her way. But she meets her match when she, her mama, and older sis move in with her cantankerous Gramps. The Oliver gals were supposed to join Pop in Knoxville, but Gramps's recent sick spell convinced Mama to stay put in Cades Cove, a place where folks are all aflutter about turning their land into a national park. Autumn's not sure what to think. Loggers like Pop need jobs, but if things keep going at the current rate, the forests will soon be chopped to bits. Gramps seems to think there's some serious tourist money to be made so it looks like something different is definitely in order.

FICTUB

Moon Over ManifestAbilene Tucker feels abandoned. Her father has put her on a train, sending her off to live with an old friend for the summer while he works a railroad job. Abilene jumps off the train in Manifest, Kansas, aiming to learn about the boy her father once was. Abilene is disappointed to find that Manifest is just a dried-up, worn-out old town. But her disappointment quickly turns to excitement when she discovers a hidden cigar box full of mementos, including some old letters that mention a spy known as the Rattler. It seems that Manifest's history is full of colorful and shadowy characters--and long-held secrets. The more Abilene hears, the more determined she is to learn just what role her father played in that history. 2011 Newbery winner!FIC

VAN

Love, Ruby Lavendar• Ruby Lavender used to have a

good life. She and her grandmother, Miss Eula, were inseparable--they even drove the getaway car together for chickens rescued from the slaughterhouse! But this summer, Miss Eula will be in Hawaii, and Ruby's sure it'll be a lonely, empty, horrible season without her. What happens instead? Ruby makes a new friend, saves the school play, writes plenty of letters to her grandmother . . . and finally stops blaming herself for her grandfather's death. Also read Each Little Bird That Sings

FICWIL

Millicent Min……Girl GeniusWho would have thought being smart could be so hard (and so funny)? Millicent Kwan s fellow high school students hate her for setting the curve. Her fellow 11-year-olds hate her for going to high school. And her mother has arranged for her to tutor Stanford Wong, the poster boy for Chinese geekdom. But then Millie meets Emily. Emily doesn't know Millicent's IQ score. She actually thinks Millie is cool. And if Millie can hide her awards, ignore her grandmother's advice, swear her parents to silence, blackmail Stanford, and keep all her lies straight, she just might make her first friend. What's it going to take?

Sheer genius.FICYEE

42 MilesJoEllen's parents divorced when she was very young, so she was used to splitting her time between them. But when her dad moved to the old family farm last year, her life was suddenly divided. Now on weekdays she's a city girl, called Ellen, who hangs out with her friends, plays the sax, and loves old movies. And on weekends she's a country girl, nicknamed Joey, who rides horseback with her cousin, Hayden, goes fishing, and listens to bluegrass. So who is the real JoEllen? Linked free-verse poems, illustrated with a quirky array of found objects and mementos, create the vivid, realistic portrait of a young girl at a defining moment in her life.

FICZIM

Books by Sharon CreechSharon Creech is a multiple award winning writer. Most of her novels center on contemporary girls full of complex human emotions. Whether the main character is struggling with loss, sent to an upscale Swiss boarding school, or dealing with quirky relatives over the summer, Creech always focuses on the new and positive opportunities each girl faces.FIC

CRE

Books by Karen CushmanKaren Cushman is one of my favorite writers of historical fiction featuring young girls facing challenges that test their determination, their wits and their humor. Many times with no families of their own, they use the strength they pull from within to find a place to call home.FIC

CUS

Books by Patricia Reilly Giff

Giff enjoys writing books about the special gifts of ordinary people. These girls use their courage and ingenuity to find food, to find family, to find hope, and to find a way to survive. Whether writing historical fiction, contemporary fiction, mystery, or fantasy, Giff appeals to a wide range of readers with a wide range of interests.

FICGIF

Books by Peg KehretPeg Kehret has won over 50 state young reader awards! Most well known for her contemporary adventure and mystery books, many of her stories are set right here in the Pacific Northwest. Whether it’s 1800 or 2000, her female characters are strong, independent and courageous. FIC

KEH

OK GIRLSGO READ!

Pictures and summaries adapted from Follett Destiny