Life Experiences

Little House on the Prairie

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Copies: 5

Laura Ingalls likes her little house in the big woods, which she shares with Ma and Pa, and her two, sisters Mary and Carrie. Winter is coming, and their log house is snug and warm. But the big woods are becoming crowded. Everyday, they hear the thud of an axe on a tree, and Pa wants to leave. In fact, he wants to move the entire family west, to Indian country. The family prepares a covered wagon and Laura leaves her home in the woods forever.

Author:

Laura Ingalls Wilder

Lexile:

760L

There's a Girl in My Hammerlock

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Copies: 4

Eric's smile was so dazzling. Maisie is willing to do anything to be near him--even join the school wrestling team. But she is astonished at the avalanche of hostile opinion she provokes, in and out of school. Is Eric worth it? Not if he keeps dating Liz ("Lizard") Lampley! The sign in the coach's office says, "It takes a little more to be a champion." Does Maisie have what it takes to stick it out--and win?

Author:

Jerry Spinelli

Lexile:

520L

The Library Card

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Copies: 4

When Mongoose finds a blue library card hidden among the candy he's shoplifted, his friend Weasel tosses the card away. But the card comes back.

Brenda, a television addict, must endure the Great TV Turn-Off. No more "Teen Toons." No more "Dude Feud." Then the blue card appears...

On a hot summer day, Sonseray wanders into a library knowing he'll find air-conditioning - and finds much more.

And April Mendez takes a ride in a bookmobile unlike any other.

Author:

Jerry Spinelli

Lexile:

690L

Jaguar (Unabridged)

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Ever since his mother died and his father went to Brazil for a scientific expedition, 14-year-old Jacob Lansa has been staying with his grandfather in Poughkeepsie. He longs to join his father and help him set up a jaguar preserve in the rain forest, but he can't miss school. When his father invites him down over spring break, he jumps at the chance.

Author:

Roland Smith

Grade Level:

Elementary

Middle

Lexile:

690L

Length:

05:18

The Vacation (Unabridged)

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When his mother decides on a whim to be a missionary in Africa and drags his unwilling father with her, Henry is left in the care of his Aunts Magnolia and Pigg. Henry's sure they dislike him and he's trying to keep his distance, but that becomes more difficult when Mag decides they should take a destination-less road trip.

Author:

Polly Horvath

Grade Level:

Middle

High

Lexile:

1040L

Length:

04:43

Rodzina (Unabridged)

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In 1881, 12-year-old Rodzina Clara Jadwiga Anastazya Brodski wishes she didn't have to board the orphan train in Chicago. But she has no home, no family, and no choice. Rodzina doesn't believe the orphans are on their way out West to be adopted by good families. She's sure they will become slaves to strangers. Anyway, who would ever adopt a large, tough, stubborn girl of Polish origin?

Author:

Karen Cushman

Grade Level:

Middle

Lexile:

740L

Length:

04:48

The Serpent's Tooth (Unabridged)

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Belle Lawe makes the long journey to England in 1912. She is escaping from what she imagines to be a shameful secret, and by the time she has left school, and the Great War is raging in France, she attempts to immerse herself in a life of gaiety and fun.

Author:

Michelle Paver

Grade Level:

High

Length:

13:25

Criss Cross (Unabridged)

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She wished something would happen. Something good. To her.

Looking at the bright, fuzzy picture in the magazine, she thought, Something like that.

Checking her wish for loopholes, she found one.

Hoping it wasn't too late, she thought the word soon.

Author:

Lynne Rae Perkins

Grade Level:

Elementary

Lexile:

820L

Length:

05:09

The View from Saturday (Unabridged)

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Did Mrs. Olinsky choose the four members of the sixth grade Academic Bowl Team, or did they choose her--and one another? Four stories-within-in-a-story, interspersed with the ongoing narrative of the team's triumphant march to the state championship, introduce each member of the team in his own her own voice, and bring the dynamics of the group into focus.

Author:

E. L. Konigsburg

Grade Level:

Elementary

Lexile:

870L

Length:

04:47