Winter Reading Challenge: Grades 6-8Like this list

45 items

• Ms. Bixby's Last Day

  Anderson, John David, 1975-

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  Loving their gifted teacher, three boys are dismayed when the teacher falls ill and leaves for the rest of the school year, a situation that compels them to share their stories while cutting class and journeying across town together on a fateful day.

• Small Spaces

  Arden, Katherine,

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  After suffering a tragic loss, eleven-year-old Ollie only finds solace in books. So when she happens upon a crazed woman at the river threatening to throw a book into the water, Ollie doesn't think--she just acts, stealing the book and running away.…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Wonderling

  Bartók, Mira

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  In this extraordinary debut novel with its deft nod to Dickensian heroes and rogues, Mira Bartók tells the story of Arthur, a shy, fox-like foundling with only one ear and a desperate desire to belong, as he seeks his destiny.

• So Done

  Chase, Paula

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  When best friends Metai and Jamila are reunited after a summer apart, their friendship threatens to combust from the pressure of secrets, middle school, and looming auditions for a potentially life-changing new talented-and-gifted program

• See You in the Cosmos

  Cheng, Jack, 1983-

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  Eleven-year-old Alex Petroski, along with his dog, Carl Sagan, makes big discoveries about his family on a road trip and he records it all on a golden iPod he intends to launch into space.

• The Journey of Little Charlie

  Curtis, Christopher Paul,

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  When his poor sharecropper father is killed in an accident and leaves the family in debt, twelve-year-old Little Charlie agrees to accompany fearsome plantation overseer Cap'n Buck north in pursuit of people who have stolen from him; Cap'n Buck…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• It Ain't So Awful, Falafel

  Dumas, Firoozeh

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  Eleven-year-old Zomorod, originally from Iran, tells her story of growing up Iranian in Southern California during the Iranian Revolution and hostage crisis of the late 1970s

• In Your Shoes

  Gephart, Donna,

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  Miles is an anxious boy who loves his family's bowling center. Amy is the new girl at school, who tries to write her way to her own happily-ever-after and does not want to live above her uncles funeral home. Then Miles and Amy meetin the most…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Refugee

  Gratz, Alan, 1972-

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  Although separated by continents and decades, Josef, a Jewish boy living in 1930s Nazi Germany; Isabel, a Cuban girl trying to escape the riots and unrest plaguing her country in 1994; and Mahmoud, a Syrian boy in 2015 whose homeland is torn apart…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl

  Squirrel Meets World

  Hale, Shannon

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  After Doreen uses her extraordinary powers to stop a group of troublemakers she becomes a full-fledged superhero called Squirrel Girl.

• The Night Diary

  Hiranandani, Veera

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  Shy twelve-year-old Nisha, forced to flee her home with her Hindu family during the 1947 partition of India, tries to find her voice and make sense of the world falling apart around her by writing to her deceased Muslim mother in the pages of her…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Parker Inheritance

  Johnson, Varian

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  Twelve-year-old Candice Miller is spending the summer in Lambert, South Carolina, in the old house that belonged to her grandmother, who died after being dismissed as city manager for having the city tennis courts dug up looking for buried…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Checked

  Kadohata, Cynthia,

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  To help his dog through cancer treatment, Conor gives up hockey and finds himself considering who he is without the sport that has defined him, and connecting more with his family and best friend.

• Sylo

  MacHale, D. J.

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  They came from the sky parachuting out of military helicopters to invade Tucker Pierce's idyllic hometown on Pemberwick Island, Maine. They call themselves SYLO and they are a secret branch of the U.S. Navy. SYLO's commander, Captain Granger,…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Tight

  Maldonado, Torrey,

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  After his quick-tempered father gets in a fight and is sent back to jail, sixth-grader Bryan, known for being quiet and thoughtful, snaps and follows new friend Mike into trouble.

• Click Here to Start

  a Novel

  Markell, Denis

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  When Ted inherits his uncle's apartment "and all the treasure within," he realizes the apartment is set up like a real-life video game and must solve the puzzles with his friends to discover the treasure.

• The Stars Beneath Our Feet

  Moore, David Barclay

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  Unable to celebrate the holidays in the wake of his older brother's death in a gang-related shooting, Lolly Rachpaul struggles to avoid being forced into a gang himself while constructing a fantastically creative LEGO city at the Harlem community…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Dactyl Hill Squad

  Older, Daniel José,

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  It's the summer of 1863, and as the Civil War rages between dinosaur-mounted armies down south, and a tense New York City seems on the brink of exploding into riots, Magdalys Roca and the other children at the Colored Orphan Asylum are trying to…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Best Man

  Peck, Richard, 1934-

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  Archer has four important role models in his life--his dad, his grandfather, his uncle Paul, and his favorite teacher, Mr. McLeod. When Uncle Paul and Mr. McLeod get married, Archer's sixth-grade year becomes one he'll never forget.

• Ghost

  Reynolds, Jason

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  Ghost, a naturally talented runner and troublemaker, is recruited for an elite middle school track team. He must stay on track, literally and figuratively, to reach his full potential.