Straight from the editors of
Storyworks
The Top 10 Summer Reads
The editors of
Storyworks compiled this list of Top 10 books for summer reading, ages 9–12. These books will take you from 12th-century Korea to a school just like yours. They all have one thing in common: They are unforgettable!
Rodzina
by Karen Cushman
(Clarion Books, March 2003)
It's 1881, and 12-year-old Rodzina Clara Jadwiga Anastazya Brodski, a Polish immigrant, is on an orphan train bound for the West. Rodzina is sure she'll be given to a horrible family, or worse yet, sold into slavery. Will she escape?
The House of the Scorpion
by Nancy Farmer
(Atheneum, September 2002)
Matt is a clone living in a futuristic country called Opium, a nation between the United States and Mexico. Adults treat him like an animal, until they realize he's the clone of the country's leader. But when Matt learns the fate they have planned for him, he decides he must do all he can to escape.
Crispin: The Cross of Lead
by Avi
(Hyperion, June 2002)
When a price is put on his head for a crime he didn't commit, 13-year-old orphan Crispin must flee his tiny 14th-century English village. But before he leaves, he learns that the fate of his parents might be a greater mystery than he imagined.
Surviving the Applewhites
by Stephanie S. Tolan
(HarperCollins, August 2002)
There's only one school left that will take troublemaker Jake Semple—a homeschool run by the Applewhites, an outrageous family of unforgettable characters. Jake thinks he's tougher than everyone, but he meets his match in 13-year-old Edith (who calls herself E.D.)
Dancing in Cadillac Light
by Kimberly Willis Hold
(Puffin, November 2002)
Jaynell's Grandpap has just moved into her family's house. Jaynell loves having him around, but her parents think he's going senile. He's acting strangely—even giving away his old home to a group of social outcasts in their small Texas town. When Jaynell starts investigating why, she learns some surprising reasons, plus some great lessons about love and giving.
A Single Shard
by Linda Park
(Yearling, February 2003)
Tree-ear is an orphan boy in a 12th-century Korean potters' village. He's content scrounging a living and living under a bridge, especially in the company of his kind mentor, Crane-man. But Tree-ear's ideas about his life change when he becomes the apprentice to the village's master potter, and must make a dangerous journey to bring his master's work to the emperor.
The Folk Keeper
by Franny Billingsley
(Aladdin Library, September 2001)
The Folk Keeper is 15-year-old Corinna Stonewall. Her job is to feed and distract the Folk, evil gremlins who sour milk and make farm animals sick. Corinna is a powerful, hard-hearted young girl, and that's how she likes it. But when she finds her father, will things change?
Stargirl
by Jerry Spinelli
(Knopf, May 2002)
Stargirl is the new girl at school, a strange, banjo-playing cheerleader who even cheers for the other team. Against all odds, she becomes the most-popular girl in school. But will she stay that way?
Esperanza Rising
by Pam Muñoz Ryan
(Scholastic, June 2002)
When Esperanza's father dies, she and her mother must move from Mexico to California to look for work. The once-privileged family lives in awful conditions, but Esperanza knows the money they earn will be used to bring her abuelita, or grandmother, to the U.S.
A Corner of the Universe
by Ann B. Martin
(Scholastic, October 2002)
When Hattie Owen is about to turn 12, her family's quiet world is turned upside down by the unexpected arrival of an uncle Hattie never even knew she had. Hattie's mother explains that her Uncle Adam has "mental problems." Hattie is the only one who isn't embarrassed by Adam's unpredictable behavior. But when tragedy strikes, Hattie begins to understand her family's complex love for her troubled uncle.
