Reading Olympics – 2011 Elementary list Abel's island Steig ...

Reading Olympics – 2011
Elementary list
Abel's island
Steig, William. RL 5.5, 117p
Castaway on an uninhabited island, Abel, a very civilized mouse, finds his
resourcefulness and endurance tested to the limit as he struggles to survive and return
to his home.
Amelia Earhart : the legend of the lost aviator
Tanaka, Shelley. RL 6.4, 48p
Presents the story of the legendary aviator, Amelia Earhart, from her childhood until her
final flight in 1937.
Back in time with Benjamin Franklin : a Qwerty Stevens adventure
Gutman, Dan. RL 5.3, 183p
After accidentally sucking Benjamin Franklin into twenty-first-century New Jersey with
his Anytime Anywhere machine, thirteen-year-old Qwerty Stevens and his best friend
almost wind up stuck in Philadelphia on July 4, 1776 when they try to send him back.
Because of Winn-Dixie
DiCamillo, Kate. RL 3.9, 182p
Ten-year-old India Opal Buloni describes her first summer in the town of Naomi, Florida,
and all the good things that happen to her because of her big ugly dog Winn-Dixie.
The BFG
Dahl, Roald. RL 4.9, 207p
Kidsnatched from her orphanage by a BFG (Big Friendly Giant), who spends his life
blowing happy dreams to children, Sophie concocts with him a plan to save the world
from nine other man-gobbling cannybull giants.
Bunnicula : a rabbit-tale of mystery
Howe, Deborah. RL 4.9, 98p
Though scoffed at by Harold the dog, Chester the cat tries to warn his human family that
their foundling baby bunny must be a vampire.
Call it courage
Sperry, Armstrong. RL 5.8, 116p
Based on a Polynesian legend, this is the story of a youth who overcomes his fear of
the sea and proves his courage to himself and his tribe.
Charlie and the chocolate factory
Dahl, Roald. RL 5.3, 155p
Each of five children lucky enough to discover an entry ticket into Mr. Willy Wonka's
mysterious chocolate factory takes advantage of the situation in his own way.

Chasing Vermeer
Balliett, Blue. RL 5.4, 254p
When seemingly unrelated and strange events start to happen and a precious Vermeer
painting disappears, eleven-year-olds Petra and Calder combine their talents to solve
an international art scandal.
Class clown
Hurwitz, Johanna. RL 4.6, 98p
Lucas Cott, a smart and unruly boy in the third grade, finds it very hard to turn over a
new leaf when he decides to become the perfect student.
Dear Mr. Henshaw
Cleary, Beverly. RL 5, 133p
In his letters to his favorite author, ten-year-old Leigh reveals his problems in coping
with his parents' divorce, being the new boy in school, and generally finding his own
place in the world.
Ereth's birthday
Avi, RL 4.8, 180p
Feeling neglected on his birthday, Ereth, the cantankerous old porcupine, sets out
looking for his favorite treat and instead finds himself acting as "mother" to three young
fox kits.
Firegirl
Abbott, Tony. RL 4.1, 149p
A middle school boy's life is changed when Jessica, a girl disfigured by burns, starts
attending his Catholic school while receiving treatment at a local hospital.
Flush
Hiaasen, Carl. RL 5, 263p
With their father jailed for sinking a river boat, Noah Underwood and his younger sister,
Abbey, must gather evidence that the owner of this floating casino is emptying his bilge
tanks into the protected waters around their Florida Keys home.
Frindle
Clements, Andrew. RL 4.8, 105p
When he decides to turn his fifth-grade teacher's love of the dictionary around on her,
clever Nick Allen invents a new word and begins a chain of events that quickly moves
beyond his control.
Gooney Bird Greene
Lowry, Lois. RL 5, 88p
A most unusual new student who loves to be the center of attention entertains her
teacher and fellow second graders by telling absolutely true stories about herself,
including how she got her name.

Gossamer
Lowry, Lois. RL 4.9, 154p
While learning to bestow dreams, a young dream giver tries to save an eight-year-old
boy from the effects of both his abusive past and the nightmares inflicted on him by the
frightening Sinisteeds.
The great quarterback switch
Christopher, Matt. RL 4.2, 126p
Twelve-year-old Michael, confined to a wheelchair after an accident, uses mental
telepathy to communicate football plays to his quarterback twin brother Tom, then
suddenly finds himself on the field in his brother's place.
In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson
Lord, Bette. RL 3.8, 170p
In 1947, a Chinese child comes to Brooklyn where she becomes Americanized at
school, in her apartment building, and by her love for baseball.
Island of the Blue Dolphins
O'Dell, Scott. RL 5.2, 184 p
Records the courage and self-reliance of an Indian girl.
Joey Pigza loses control
Gantos, Jack. RL 5.9, 195p
Joey, who is still taking medication to keep him from getting too wired, goes to spend
the summer with the hard-drinking father he has never known and tries to help the
baseball team he coaches win the championship.
Judy Moody, M.D. : the doctor is in!
McDonald, Megan. RL 3.3, 151p
Judy is excited about becoming a doctor, especially when Class 3T starts a new unit on
the human body, but she learns more about being a patient when she catches tonsillitis
from her little brother, Stink.
Last shot : a final four mystery
Feinstein, John. RL 4.8, 251p
After winning a basketball reporting contest, eighth graders Stevie and Susan Carol are
sent to cover the Final Four tournament, where they discover that a talented player is
being blackmailed into throwing the final game.
Leon's story
Tillage, Leon Walter. RL 6, 107p
Autobiography of Leon Water Tillage who was a sharecropper in North Carolina in the
1940s.

The maze of bones
Riordan, Rick. RL 4.5, 220p
Amy and Dan, members of the powerful Cahill family, try to uncover the thirty-nine clues
which will reveal the secrets of their lineage and find out what really happened to their
parents.
The mouse and the motorcycle
Cleary, Beverly. RL 5.6, 158p
The adventures of a boy and a little mouse who wants to ride his toy motorcycle.
Mrs. Frisby and the rats of NIMH
O'Brien, Robert C. RL 5.4, 233p
With nowhere else to turn, a field mouse asks the clever escaped lab rats living under
the rosebush to help save her son, who lies in the path of the farmer's tractor, too ill to
be moved.
Nasty stinky sneakers
Bunting, Eve. RL 3.9, 105p
Will ten-year-old Colin find his missing stinky sneakers in time to enter The Stinkiest
Sneakers in the World contest?
Not my dog
Rodowsky, Colby F. RL 4.5, 69p
Eight-year-old Ellie has to give up her life-long dream of getting a puppy after her
parents agree to take in the dog that Great-aunt Margaret can no longer keep.
On my honor
Bauer, Marion Dane. RL 5.6, 90p
When his best friend drowns while they are both swimming in a treacherous river that
they had promised never to go near, Joel is devastated and terrified at having to tell
both sets of parents the terrible consequences of their disobedience.
The orphan of Ellis Island : a time-travel adventure
Woodruff, Elvira. RL 5.5, 174p
During a school trip to Ellis Island, Dominick Avaro, a ten-year-old foster child, travels
back in time to 1908 Italy and accompanies two young emigrants to America.
The riddle of Penncroft Farm
Jensen, Dorothea. RL 6.5, 254p
Twelve-year-old Lars Olafson's move to his great-aunt's farm near Valley Forge,
Pennsylvania, brings him friendship with the ghost of an eighteenth-century ancestor
who recounts his adventures during the American Revolution, helping Lars adjust to his
new home and playing a part in the search for a missing will.

Rules
Lord, Cynthia. RL 3.9, 200p
Frustrated at life with an autistic brother, twelve-year-old Catherine longs for a normal
existence but her world is further complicated by a friendship with a young paraplegic.
Sarah, plain and tall
MacLachlan, Patricia. RL 3.4, 58p
Caleb and Anna are captivated by the mail-order bride their father has invited to live
with them in their prairie home, and hope that she will stay.
Saving Lilly
Kehret, Peg. RL 5.7, 148p
Sixth-grader Erin Wrenn is determined to save an elephant named Lilly from being sold
by a circus to a hunting park.
Shiloh season
Naylor, Phyllis Reynolds. RL 4.8, 120p
When mean and angry Judd, who has never known kindness, takes to drinking and
mistreats his dogs, Marty discovers how deep a hurt can go and how long it takes to
heal.
The summer of the swans
Byars, Betsy Cromer. RL 5.6, 129p
A teenage girl gains new insight into herself and her family when her mentally retarded
brother gets lost.
A taste of blackberries
Smith, Doris Buchanan. RL 4.6, 85p
A young boy recounts his efforts to adjust to the accidental death of his best friend.
Tut, tut
Scieszka, Jon. RL 3.5, 74p
Sam, Joe, and Fred finish their school project on ancient Egypt without using their
magical time travel book, but when Joe's sister Anna plays with it and travels to the land
of pyramids, they must follow her back in time to bring her back to 1996.
The underneath
Appelt, Kathi. RL 5.2, 313p
An old hound that has been chained up at his hateful owner's run-down shack, and two
kittens born underneath the house, endure separation, danger, and many other
tribulations in their quest to be reunited and free.
A week in the woods
Clements, Andrew. RL 5.3, 190p
The fifth grade's annual camping trip in the woods tests Mark's survival skills and his
ability to relate to a teacher who seems out to get him.

When you reach me
Stead, Rebecca. RL 5.6, 199p
As her mother prepares to be a contestant on the 1980s television game show, "The
$20,000 Pyramid," a twelve-year-old New York City girl tries to make sense of a series
of mysterious notes received from an anonymous source that seems to defy the laws of
time and space.
Where the mountain meets the moon
Lin, Grace. RL 5.5, 278p
Minli, an adventurous girl from a poor village, buys a magical goldfish, and then joins a
dragon who cannot fly on a quest to find the Old Man of the Moon in hopes of bringing
life to Fruitless Mountain and freshness to Jade River.
Windcatcher
Avi, RL 5.3, 120p
While learning to sail during a visit to his grandmother's at the Connecticut shore,
eleven-year-old Tony becomes excited about the rumors of sunken treasure in the area
and starts following a couple who seem to be making a mysterious search for
something.
Wringer
Spinelli, Jerry. RL 5.5, 228p
As Palmer comes of age, he must either accept the violence of being a wringer at his
town's annual Pigeon Day or find the courage to oppose it.
The year of Miss Agnes
Hill, Kirkpatrick. RL 4.2, 115p
Ten-year-old Fred (short for Frederika) narrates the story of school and village life
among the Athapascans in Alaska during 1948 when Miss Agnes arrived as the new
teacher.