Ramona Quimby, Age 8

Cleary, B., & Tiegreen, A. (1981). Ramona Quimby, Age 8. New York: Morrow.

The schools in Ramona Quimby's neighborhood have been reorganized, and now she gets to ride the bus to Cedarhurst Primary, where she and her fellow third graders will be the biggest kids in the school. Ramona is happy about the changes until a boy on the bus steals her new eraser, but she rises to the challenge and ends up deciding the "Yard Ape" (the boy who stole her eraser) may not be so bad, after all.

Ramona feels the best part of being in third grade is Sustained Silent Reading. Ramona loves getting time to read in school every day. The worst part is that she isn't sure if her teacher, Mrs. Whaley, likes her. When Ramona cracks a hard boiled egg on her head at lunch—and finds out her mother forgot to boil it—she ends up in the secretary's office with a head full of raw egg, where she overhears Mrs. Whaley describe her as a show-off and a nuisance. Even Yard Ape can't make her feel better about that. Things get worse when she throws up in class and her mother has to leave work to take her home.

For Ramona, there's also the problem of spoiled Willa Jean. Every day after school Howie goes outside to ride bikes with his friends, and Ramona is forced to play baby games with Willa Jean. Beezus can always say she's busy doing homework, but that doesn't work for Ramona. She strives to use her creativity to find ways to help her family get along.

This is a Newbery Honor winner.

Muggie Maggie

Cleary, B., & Life, K. (1990). Muggie Maggie. New York: Morrow Junior Books.

Shortly after starting the third grade, a little girl by the name of Maggie Schultz is faced with the dread of learning how to read and write in cursive. Agitated by the nagging of her teacher, Mrs. Leeper, and her parents that she must perfect this inability, Maggie decides to simply refuse to learn cursive writing, so Mrs. Leeper tries to teach her by assigning her with the duty of messenger and bringing notes to different classrooms. Intrigued by the notes, Maggie tries to decipher the writing, as she feels that Mrs. Leeper may actually be writing about her, but how will she read them if she cant read cursive?

Frindle

Clements, A., & Selznick, B. (1996). Frindle. New York, N.Y.: Simon & Schuster Books

for Young Readers.

Nicholas Allen has plenty of ideas. Who can forget the time he turned his third-grade classroom into a tropical island, or the times he fooled his teacher by chirping like a blackbird? But now Nick's in fifth grade, and it looks like his days as a troublemaker are over.

Everyone knows that Mrs. Granger, the language arts teacher, has X-ray vision, and nobody gets away with anything in her classroom. To make matters worse, she's also a fanatic about the dictionary, which is hopelessly boring to Nick. But when Nick learns an interesting tidbit about words and where they come from, it inspires his greatest plan yet: to invent a new word. From now on, a pen is no longer a pen -- it's a frindle.

It doesn't take long for frindle to take root, and soon the excitement spreads well beyond his school and town. His parents and Mrs. Granger would like Nick to put an end to all this nonsense. But frindle doesn't belong to Nick anymore. All he can do now is sit back and watch what happens.

This quirky, imaginative tale about creative thought and the power of words will have readers inventing their own words. Brian Selznick's black-and-white illustrations enhance the humor in this unforgettable story.

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

DiCamillo, K., & Ering, T. (2003). The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse,

a Princess, Some Soup, and a Spool of Thread. Cambridge, Mass.: Candlewick Press.

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 Sow, a slow-witted serving girl who harbors a simple, impossible wish. These three characters are about to embark on a journey that will lead them down into a horrible dungeon, up into a glittering castle, and, ultimately, into each other’s lives. And what happens then? Well, it is your destiny to find out.

The Magician's Elephant

DiCamillo, K., & Tanaka, Y. (2009). The Magician's Elephant. Somerville,

Mass.: Candlewick Press.

Peter Augustus Duchene is a ten-year-old orphan living with a soldier that once fought beside Peter's father. When the old soldier, Vilna Lutz, sends Peter into town one day to buy food, Peter spends his coin on receiving an answer from a fortuneteller instead. Peter wants to know if his sister is still alive, and where he can find her. In this haunting fable, you take a journey of trusting the unexpected— and making the extraordinary come true.

Because of Winn-Dixie

DiCamillo, K. (2000). Because of Winn-Dixie. Cambridge, Mass.: Candlewick Press.

Have you ever moved? Have you ever felt like you didn’t fit in? Have you ever struggled to make friends? Have you ever been lonely? Ten-year-old India Opal Buloni has. When she and her father moved to Florida, Opal didn’t know what to expect. However, when she meets an unexpected friend, a stray dog she names after a supermarket, her life changes for the better.