Battle of the Books

1
Battle of the Books Burns Middle School
2008-2009
2
Twelve-year-old Moose Flannagan doesn't know how
to feel about his new home. Sure, it's neat to
live right in San Francisco Bay, but the
neighbors leave something to be desired. You see,
Moose and his family live on Alcatraz Island,
where Moose's father has a new job as electrician
and prison guard.
www.alcatrazhistory.com
AL CAPONE DOES MY SHIRTSby Gennifer
Choldenko240 pages
3
Artemis Fowl II, is a child prodigy who is an
absolute genius, and he utilizes his mental and
material resources towards crimes for financial
gain. A year after his father's disappearance,
Artemis has taken charge of rebuilding the family
fortune, and put his plans into action by
kidnapping LEPrecon captain Holly Short in order
to gain gold which the fairy government has set
aside as a ransom for any captured officer. In
spite of this beginning, Artemis later works with
Holly to save their worlds from impending doom on
several occasions, and little by little, his
moral character and emotional disposition
improves. Most readers, although Artemis is never
fully described in the books, think that he is
mysteriously handsome, in that he is pale, cold,
but charismatic. Despite his aloof personality,
he has shown to be quite lonely on occasions. His
name derives from the name of the Greek goddess
of hunting.
4
THE BOY IN THE STRIPED PAJAMAS opens as
nine-year-old Bruno comes home from school to
find that he is moving. Following his parents'
dinner with "the Fury" (i.e. the Fuhrer) wherein
the Fury tells Bruno's father that he "has big
things in mind for him," Bruno and his family
gather up their belongings from their five-story
house in the heart of Berlin and move to
"Out-With" (i.e. Auschwitz) in Poland where
Bruno's father is called "Commandant" by everyone
around him. Bruno hates his new desolate
surroundings compared to the opulent comfort he
is used to and wants to return to Berlin
immediately. Of course, this doesn't happen.
John Boyne's THE BOY IN THE STRIPED PAJAMAS is a
profound and thought-provoking novel set during
the Holocaust and told from the perspective of a
young child who befriends a boy "on the other
side of the fence."
5
  This book is about a Cambodian girl named
Sundara who has to leave her parents, sister,
brother and her childhood boyfriend, Chamroeun,
because the Khmer Rouge has taken over the
country. With her aunt and uncle, she moves to
America after enduring a horrible boat trip.
6
The main characters include twelve-year-old Dovey
Coe, a strong-willed tomboy living in Watauga, in
the North Carolina mountains in 1928. She is
fiercely loyal to her older brother Amos, whose
deafness fools people in to thinking that he's
simple, and fondly tolerant of her beautiful
older sister Caroline's flirtatious games.
Parnell Caraway is the son of the wealthiest
family around who yearns for everything new and
shiny, including Caroline.
Who would love this book? Those who like a little
murder mystery! Those who like to see the "bad
guy" get what he deserves! Those who are
interested in the law and court trials!
"My name is Dovey Coe and I reckon it don't
matter if you like me or not. I'm here to lay the
record straight, to let you know them folks
saying I done a terrible thing are liars. I aim
to prove it, too.
7
What can be funny about having to stand up in
front of everyone you know, in a ruffly dress the
color of Pepto-Bismol, and proclaim your
womanhood? Nothing. Nada. Zip. Not when you're
fifteentoo young to drive, win the lottery, or
vote for a president who might lower the driving
and gambling ages. Nothing funny at all. At least
that's what I thought in September.
Fifteen-year-old Violet Paz is caught between
worlds--the old world of Cuba and her father's
family, and the modern world of her freshman year
in high school in Chicago. In Cuba, 15 is a
turning point for young women, who celebrate
their quinceanero with a grand coming out party
where they are introduced as adults to the
community. In Violet's circle of friends, no one
has ever had such a celebration, and Violet
doesn't want one either.
8
Elijah was the first free baby born in Buxton
the first person there who had never been owned
by a slave master.
Elijah's coming-of-age story is a powerful
page-turner, full of humor, adventure,
heartbreaking sorrow and buoyant promise. It also
introduces the reader to a fascinating (and
little known) time and place in our history.
Loose threads are not woven together into a tidy
ending, yet the climax serves up a satisfying
uplift of hope and triumph.
9
FEVER is a shining example of historic fiction.
It draws you in and keeps you riveted throughout.
At first, Maggie is a young, normal girl who
argues with her mother and wants to cut work to
see her crush. But she learns --- too quickly,
unfairly --- the value of family, kindness and
work.
What is yellow fever? Yellow fever is a
mosquito-borne viral disease. The disease occurs
in tropical and subtropical areas. What are the
symptoms of yellow fever? Initial symptoms may
include fever, headache, vomiting and backache.
As the disease progresses, the pulse slows and
weakens, and bleeding of the gums and bloody
urine occur. Jaundice may also occur.
Blood-Letting
10
In her debut for young readers, Madden creates a
warmhearted, compelling family drama about the
Weems, circa early 1960s. They grow up poor in
the Smoky Mountains of North Carolina, move often
and settle in Maggie Valley, a "holler" filled
with honeysuckle and wildflowers. Told from the
keen-eyed point of view of 11-year-old Livy Two,
one of nine children (the tenth, Livy One, died
at birth), the story is layered with details of
their mountain life, their struggles, crises and
day-to-day moments of joy.
11
Fourteen-year-old Seikei wants nothing more than
to become a samurai. Unfortunately, in
18th-century Japan, samurais are born not made.
Seikei must become a tea merchant because his
father is one. But after witnessing the theft of
a priceless ruby by a ghost, the young boy's
courage is tested in more ways than one. Can he
prove himself worthy of samurai fame?
12
Step back to an English village in 1255, where
life plays out in dramatic vignettes illuminating
twenty-two unforgettable characters. Maidens,
monks, and millers sons in these pages,
readers will meet them all. There s Hugo, the
lord s nephew, forced to prove his manhood by
hunting a wild boar sharp-tongued Nelly, who
supports her family by selling live eels and the
peasant s daughter, Mogg, who gets a clever
lesson in how to save a cow from a greedy
landlord. There s also mud-slinging Barbary (and
her noble victim) Jack, the compassionate
half-wit Alice, the singing shepherdess and
many more.
13
London is poised on the brink of World War 11.
Timid, scrawny Willie Beech -- the abused child
of a single mother -- is evacuated to the English
countryside. At first, he is terrified of
everything, of the country sounds and sights,
even of Mr. Tom, the gruff, kindly old man who
has taken him in. But gradually Willie forgets
the hate and despair of his past. He learns to
love a world he never knew existed, a world of
friendship and affection in which harsh words and
daily beatings have no place. Then a telegram
comes. Willie must return to his mother in
London. When weeks pass by with no word from
Willie, Mr. Tom sets out for London to look for
the young boy he has come to love as a son.
14
Matt is a young child who is a clone, though he
doesn't know it at the beginning of this powerful
novel. Set in the future in Dreamland, a drug
empire that took over parts of today's Mexico,
Matt still has the normal concerns and fears that
other children have. He wants friends and the
freedom to do what he wants.Being a clone of
the powerful El Patron gives Matt safety that
other clones, despised by his world, do not
enjoy. Most clones are grown for horrible reasons
and their intelligence is removed with a drug at
birth. But he has been spared he is highly
intelligent and loves music.Only a few befriend
him a bodyguard, a cook from the estate, and the
daughter of a U.S. Senator who visits the house.
Many others taunt and shun him, even some who
seemed to be friends. When he has to leave the
estate to save his life, new enemies appear.
15
Young Johnny Tremain, a silversmith's apprentice
who dreams of learning the trade and making his
own way. When a terrible injury ends his hopes,
he joins the emerging Sons Of Liberty. The
Redcoats are coming as you journey back to the
Boston Tea Party, the midnight ride of Paul
Revere, and Lexington Green, where tyranny was
vanquished by an idea -- freedom for all!
Interesting fact Mrs. Carswell is a direct
descendent of Paul Revere!
16
Sent in 1910 to live with distant relatives who
own a rubber plantation along the Amazon River,
English orphan Maia is excited. She believes she
is in for brightly colored macaws, enormous
butterflies, and "curtains of sweetly scented
orchids trailing from the trees." Her British
classmates warn her of man-eating alligators and
wild, murderous Indians. Unfortunately, no one
cautions Maia about her nasty, xenophobic
cousins, who douse the house in bug spray and
forbid her from venturing beyond their coiffed
compound. Maia, however, is resourceful enough to
find herself smack in the middle of more
excitement than she ever imagined, from a
mysterious "Indian" with an inheritance, to an
itinerant actor dreading his impending
adolescence, to a remarkable journey down the
Amazon in search of the legendary giant sloth.
17
"kira-kira"
"kira-kira"
"kira-kira"
Excerpt from the book 
"kira-kira"
18
Eighteen-year-old LeRoy Chambers lives with his
mother in the projects of Chicago's South Side.
He works at a local cafeteria and thinks of
someday becoming a restaurant chef. One night a
neighbor is held-up at knife-point by members of
a gang called the Wolves. LeRoy is the only
witness to the crime, and the Wolves are intent
on keeping him quiet, especially after the
neighbor dies in the hospital and the robbery
becomes murder. Fearing for LeRoy's life, his
mother sends him south to stay with his
grandfather, Aaron Chambers, a surly old widower
who keeps a shrimping boat in a Mississippi
fishing village just across the state line from
New Orleans.
19
Twelve-year-old Rifka tells the story of her
journey from Berdichev, Russia to New York City
through letters that she writes to her cousin
back in her hometown. Rifkas journey is a
difficult one in which Rifka suffers losses, but
still never loses hope for a better future. Under
the specter of anti-Semitism, Rifka and her
family escape from Russia in hopes of reaching
the United States. Typhus ravages the family and
postpones their travel, but ringworm is what
eventually keeps Rifka from immigrating with her
parents and brothers. All alone, Rifka battles to
find the courage she needs to overcome her
illness and rejoin her family in their new home.
Ellis Island, New York
20
Have you ever been on a field trip and
accidentally (or on purpose) pushed the most
disgusting kid in your class in a fountain? And
then, did your teacher turn into a hideous
monster with long claws like a gargoyle and try
to kill you? Well it happened to Percy Jackson!
Not only that, but things started going down hill
from there! Was every monster in the universe out
to kill him? What had he ever done wrong...other
than being slightly "different"?
It was
true Percy couldn't sit still in school. He was

always in trouble, it seemed, but he did try
to keep
his odd, best friend, Grover, out of
trouble. Do you
think Percy would freak out
when he learns that he
was a half-blood, the
son of a Greek god? Well,
wouldn't you?
Gather
your courage and get ready for a modern
day
romp to Olympus with Percy where you'll come

face-to-face with centaurs, satyrs, woodland
nymphs,
minotaurs, and other creatures along
with the
Greek gods!
21

• Paulsen reveals bits and pieces of his own life
  story through his experiences with eight of his
  dogs.
• Cookie, the sled dog who saved his life,
• Snowball, the puppy he acquired when he was seven
  years old and living in the Philippines,
• Josh, the border collie with whom he currently
  shares a home.
• Dog Fred, whom he claimed was actually "nuclear
  in his capacity for destruction," and
• Great Dane Caesar, who was so petrified of
  trick-or-treaters that he would hide in the
  bedroom closet every Halloween with a housecoat
  over his eyes

22
When Nigeria's corrupt military government kills
their mother, twelve-year-old Sade and her
brother Femi think their lives are over. Out of
fear for their safety, their father, an outspoken
journalist, decides to smuggle the children out
of Nigeria and into London, where their uncle
lives. But when they get to the cold and massive
city, they find themselves lost and alone, with
no one to trust and no idea when -- or if -- they
will ever see their father again. The Other Side
of Truth is a gripping adventure story about
courage, family, and the power of truth.
23
Julio Montague meets Romiette Cappelle in an
Internet chat room when his family moves to
Cincinnati to escape from the gangs in his high
school.
A contemporary retelling of Shakespeare's drama,
Romeo and Juliette.
24
In this Newbery Award winner Tree-ear is
homeless, living under a bridge in
twelfth-century Korea. A physically disabled man,
the proud and ethical Crane-man, is raising him.
Tree-ear loves to hide behind one of the master
potters' houses in the village and watch Master
Min use the potter's wheel to make delicate and
beautiful celadon pottery. When Tree-ear
accidentally breaks one of Min's pieces, he must
work for Min to pay for the damage. Tree-ear's
constant hope is that Min will teach him to use
the potter's wheel.
25
12-year-old Kenny Huldorf moves with his family
to Providence, Rhode Island, he finds himself
embroiled in the century-old murder of a teenage
slave named Caleb. Not only is Kenny haunted by
the injustice of the murder, but also by the
ghost of Caleb himself, who summons Kenny back in
time to the early 19th Century, where the boy
must solve Caleb's murder to return to his own
century.
26
So what if he's legally blind? Even with his
bottle-thick, bug-eyed glasses, Paul Fisher can
see better than most people. He can see the lies
his parents and brother live out, day after day.
No one ever listens to Paul, though--until the
family moves to Tangerine. In Tangerine, even a
blind, geeky, alien freak can become cool. Who
knows? Paul might even become a hero! Edward
Bloor's debut novel sparkles with wit,
authenticity, unexpected plot twists, and heart.
27
Treasure Island is narrated by Jim Hawkins. The
events take place in southwest England and the
Caribbean at some unspecified time in the
eighteenth century. Jim is a boy who lives with
his parents at the Admiral Benbow inn, in
southwest England, near the port city of Bristol.
An old seaman takes up lodging at the inn. No one
knows much about him. He drinks a lot of rum but
does not speak much, and he seems wary. He tells
Jim to look out for "the seafaring man with one
leg," and let him know when the man appears. Some
people are afraid of the man they know only as
the captain, largely because of the seafaring
stories he tells about hangings and walking the
plank and other horrors. When Dr. Livesey, the
family physician, comes to attend to Jim's dying
father, he encounters the captain. They quarrel,
and the captain draws a knife on the doctor.
28
Spring semester at the Lab School in Hyde Park
finds Petra and Calder drawn into another mystery
when unexplainable accidents and ghostly
happenings throw a spotlight on Frank Lloyd
Wright's Robie House, and it's up to the two
junior sleuths to piece together the clues. Stir
in the return of Calder's friend Tommy (which
creates a tense triangle), H.G. Wells's The
Invisible Man, 3D pentominoes, and the hunt for a
coded message left behind by Wright, and the kids
become tangled in a dangerous web in which life
and art intermingle with death, deception, and
surprise.