Make a Splash READ

Cussler, Clive. Blue Gold: A Kurt Austin Adventure (Numa Files). Simon & Schuster, 2000. 403 p. (978-
0671785468, pap.) Adult. An investigation into the sudden deaths of rare whales sends National
Underwater Marine Agency crew leader Kurt Austin to the Mexican coast, where he and his crew stumble
upon a white goddess legend and an eco-extortionist set on controlling the world’s fresh-water supply.
Dickey, James. Deliverance. Dell Publishing, 1994. 278 p.( 978-0385313872, pap.) Adult. Four men set
out for a remote river on a white-water canoeing adventure that turns to a nightmare when they are forced
to struggle against man and nature for survival.
Dunmore, Helen. Ingo. HarperTrophy, 2008. 328 p. (978-0060818548, pap.) Gr. 5!9. As they search for
their missing father near their Cornwall home, Sapphy and her brother Conor learn about their family’s
connection to the domains of air and of water.
Ferraiolo, Jack. The Big Splash. Amulet Books, 2008. 277 p. (978-0810970670) Gr. 4!8. Matt Stevens, an
average middle schooler with a glib tongue and a knack for solving crimes, uncovers a mystery while
working with “the organization,” a mafia-like syndicate run by seventh-grader Vincent “Mr. Biggs” Biggio,
specializing in forged hall passes, test-copying rings, black market candy selling, and taking out hits with
water guns.
Hale, Marian. Dark Water Rising. Holt, 2006. 233 p. (970805075854) Gr. 6+. While salvaging and
rebuilding in the aftermath of the Galveston flood of 1900, 16-year-old Seth proves himself in a way that
his previous efforts never could, but he still must face his father man-to-man.
Hautman, Pete. Godless. Simon Pulse, 2005. 198 p. (978-1416908166) Gr. 7+. When 16-year-old Jason
Bock and his friends create their own religion to worship the town’s water tower, what started out as a joke
begins to take on a power of its own.
Haydon, Elizabeth. The Floating Island (The Lost Journals of Ven Polypheme). Starscape, 2006. 368 p.
(978-0765347725, pap.) Gr. 5!9.While doing a presale test of one of his family ships, Charles Magnus Ven
Polypheme comes under attack by pirates, is rescued by mermaid-like creatures, and travels to Floating
Island, where there are heavily sought after magical waters.
Hobbs, Will. Downriver. Dell, 1996. 204 p. (978-0440226734, pap.) Gr. 7+. Jessie and the other rebellious
teenage members of a wilderness survival school team abandon their adult leader and try to run the
dangerous white water of the Grand Canyon.
Hoffman, Alice. Aquamarine. Scholastic, 2001. 105 p. (978-0439098649, pap.) Gr. 5!8. A love-struck
mermaid named Aquamarine supplies adventure and insights to two twelve-year-old girls, life-long friends
who are spending their last summer together before one of them moves away.
Kingsley, Charles. The Water Babies: A Fairy Tale for a Land Baby. Dover, 2006. 156 p. (978-
0486450001, pap.) Gr. 5!8. The adventures of Tom, a sooty little chimney sweep with a great longing to be
clean, who is stolen by fairies and turned into a water baby.
MacPhail, Catherine. Dark Waters. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2003. 175 p. (978-1582349862, pap.) Gr. 5-8.
Col McCann becomes a local hero when he saves a boy from drowning but when his older brother is
suspected of a serious crime, Col must decide if he should be loyal to his family or tell the truth about what
he saw while under the water.
McKinley, Robin, and Peter Dickinson. Water: Tales of Elemental Spirits. Puffin, 2004. 256 p. (978-
0142402443 pap.) Gr. 5!9. Presents six fantasy stories about mermaids, sea serpents, and other fabulous
creatures associated with the element of water.
Meyer, Kai. Pirate Curse (Wave Walkers). Aladdin, 2007. 320 p. (978-1416924739, pap.) Gr. 6!9. In a
place similar to the Caribbean in 1706, two 14-year-old “polliwogs”-—humans who can walk on water-—
rely on a mysterious figure known as the Ghost Trader and a band of pirates to help them escape from the
evil that is chasing them.
Oppel, Kenneth. Dead Water Zone. Eos, 2007. 195 p. (978-0061234422, pap.) Gr. 6+. Muscular 16-yearold
Paul tries to find his genetically stunted younger brother Sam in the polluted ruins of Watertown, where
Sam is trying to cure himself with toxic “dead water” that alters the metabolism of those who drink it.
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