The following is a bibliography of books YOU can Read Aloud to a class. There are:

Each entry has a brief annotation. We hope this selection gives you a place to start when Reading Aloud. The most important thing is you read a book that YOU like so your enthusiasm shows through. You’ll be amazed at how many kids get hooked and how Reading Aloud generates great discussions.

398.2 CLI

Climo, Shirley. The Persian Cinderella. 1st ed. New York :, c1999.

A retelling of the traditional tale in which Settareh, neglected and abused by her stepmother and stepsisters, finds her life transformed with the help of a little blue jug.

398.2 LAS

Lasky, Kathryn. The emperor's old clothes. San Diego : Harcourt Brace, c1999.

A continuation of "The Emperor's New Clothes" in which a simple farmer finds the emperor's old clothes on his way home from the market and decides to put them on.

398.2 SAN

San Souci, Robert D. The samurai's daughter : a Japanese legend. New York : Puffin, 1997.

A Japanese folk tale about thebrave daughter of a samurai warrior and her journey to be reunited with her exiled father.

398.2 SCI

Scieszka, Jon. The true story of the 3 little pigs. New York, NY : Puffin, 1996, c1989.

The wolf gives his own outlandish version of what really happened when he tangled with the three little pigs.

398.2 YEP

Yep, Laurence. The Dragon prince : a Chinese Beauty & the beast tale. New York : HarperCollins, c1997.

A poor farmer's youngest daughter agrees to marry a fierce dragon in order save her father's life.

510.1 SCI

Scieszka, Jon. Math curse. New York : Viking, 1995.

When the teacher tells her class that they can think of almost everything as a math problem, one student acquires a math anxiety which becomes a real curse.

921 KIN

Rappaport, Doreen. Martin's big words. 1st ed. New York : Hyperion Books for Children, 2001.

A simple look at Martin Luther King’s life, his ideas and the power of words! Beautifully illustrated.

FIC ADL

Adler, David A. The Babe & I. San Diego, CA : Harcourt Brace, c1999.

While helping his family make ends meet during the Depression by selling newspapers, a boy meets Babe Ruth.

FIC BRU

Brumbeau, Jeff. The quiltmaker's gift. New York : Scholastic Press, 2001, c2000.

When a generous quiltmaker finally agrees to make a quilt for a greedy king but only under certain conditions, she causes him to undergo a change of heart.

FIC LEI

Leighton, Audrey O. A window of time. Lake Forest, CA : NadjaPublishing, c1995.

The story about the relationship between a grandfather, who confuses reality with memories of his past, and his young grandson, Shawn. Deals with Alzheimer’s disease.

FIC WIN

Winter, Jeanette. Follow the drinking gourd. New York : Knopf, c1988.

By following the directions in a song, "The Drinking Gourd," taught them by an old sailor named Peg Leg Joe, runaway slaves journey north along the Underground Railroad to freedom in Canada.

FIC WOO

Woodson, Jacqueline. The other side. New York : Putnam's, c2001.

Two girls, one white and one black, gradually get to know each other as they sit on the fence that divides their town.

FIC WRI

Wright, Courtni Crump. Journey to freedom : a story of the underground railroad. 1st ed. New York : Holiday House, c1994.

Joshua and his family, runaway slaves from a tobacco plantation in Kentucky, follow the Underground Railroad to freedom.

FIC YOU

Young, Russell. Dragonsong : a fable for the new millennium. Auburn, CA : Shen's Books, c2000.

As Chiang-An, a small Chinese dragon, travels the world in search of a special enduring gift for his village, he meets four other dragons, each of whom gives him a song, an unusual gift, and words of wisdom.

158.1 CAN

Chicken soup for the teenage soul III : more stories of life, love, and learning. Deerfield Beach, Fla.: Health Communications, c2000.

A collection of inspirational stories for teenagers about relationships, friendship, love, family, lessons, tough times, self-discovery, obstacles, and growing up.

158.1 CAN

Chicken soup for the teenage soul on tough stuff : stories of tough times and lessons learned. Deerfield Beach, FL : Health Communications, c2001.

A collection of short inspirational stories for teenagers, focusing on difficult issues such as drugs and alcohol, suicide, abuse, death and dying, and others.

158.1 CAN

Canfield, Jack, 1944-. Chicken soup for the teenage soul : 101stories of life, love, and learning. Deerfield Beach, FL : Health Communications, c1997.

Collection of short stories and true life anecdote specifically geared toward encouraging today's teenager.

813.54 THO

A Gathering of flowers : stories about being young in America. 1st HarperTrophy ed. New York: HarperCollins, 1992, c1990.

A collection of eleven short stories depicting what it is like to be young in America, exploring such diverse cultures as urban San Francisco, a Chippewa Indian reservation, and a Latino barrio in Chicago.

FIC BLU

Places I never meant to be : original stories by censored writers. 1st ed. New York : Simon & Schuster for Young Readers, 1999.

Introduction / Judy Blume -- Meeting the mugger / Norma Fox Mazer -- Spear / Julius Lester. – Going sentimental / Rachel Vail -- Baseball camp / David Klass -- The red dragonfly / Katherine Paterson -- July Saturday / Jacqueline Woodson -- Love and centipedes / Paul Zindel --Lie, no lie / Chris Lynch -- The rat children / Harry Mazer-- Ashes / Susan Beth Pfeffer -- The beast is in the non-existent / Norma Klein. A collection of short stories accompanied by short essays on censorship by twelve authors whose works have been challenged in the past.

FIC BUT

But that's another story : famous authors introduce popular genres. New York : Walker & Co., 1996.

Flying away /Angela Johnson -- Alligator mystique / Barbara Robinson -- A time to stand up / Elaine Marie Alphin -- Echoes down the rails / Kristi Holl -- Who waxed Mad Max? / Gary L. Blackwood -- Tug, in his own time / Patricia Calvert -- New day dawning / Joyce Hansen -- Family monster / Pamela F. Service -- Just a theory / H.M. Hoover -- The wall / Marion Dane Bauer -- A sheepish answer / Carol Kendall and Yao-wen Li -- An education / Marie G. Lee. Includes short stories of various genres, author interviews, and an introduction to each genre.

FIC CON

Connections : short stories by outstanding writers for young adults. New York : Dell, 1990, c1989.

A collection of seventeen short stories by such noted writers for young adults as Gordon Korman, Chris Crutcher, T. Ernesto Bethancourt, Richard Peck, and M.E. Kerr, spanning subjects that include penpals, the first day of high school, computers, and family life.

FIC CRU

Crutcher, Chris. Athletic shorts : six short stories. New York, N.Y. : Dell, 1992, c1991.

A collection of short stories featuring characters from earlier books by Chris Crutcher.

FIC DAH

Dahl, Roald. The wonderful story of Henry Sugar, and six more. New York, NY : Puffin Books, 1988, c1977.

The boy who talked with animals -- The hitchhiker -- The Mildenhall treasure -- The swan -- The wonderful story of Henry Sugar-- Lucky break -- A piece of cake. Seven entrancing fantasies from the author of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.".

FIC GAL

On the fringe. New York : Dial, c2001.

A collection of eleven stories by various authors that explore the experiences of social outsiders in high school. Geeks bearing gifts /Ron Koertge -- Mrs. Noonan / Graham Salisbury -- Shortcut /Nancy Werlin -- Standing on the roof naked / Francess Lantz-- Through a window / Angela Johnson -- Muzak for Prozac /Jack Gantos -- WWJD / Will Weaver -- Satyagraha / Alden R. Carter -- A letter from the fringe / Joan Bauer -- Guns for geeks / Chris Crutcher.

FIC NIG

A nightmare's dozen : stories from the dark. 1st ed. San Diego Harcourt Brace & Co., c1996. Harrowing stories of eerie dreams by fourteen acclaimed Fantasy writers including Coville and Yolen.

FIC NOE

No easy answers : short stories about teenagers making choices. New York : Dell, 1999.

A collection of sixteen short stories, by Louise Plummer, M.E. Kerr, Jack Gantos, and others, about teenagers in situations that test character.

FIC ONT

On the edge : stories at the brink. 1st Aladdin Paperbacks ed. New York : Aladdin Paperbacks, 2001 ,c2000.

A collection of twelve stories by different writers and in different in each of which a young person is physically and/or emotionally on the edge.

FIC PRI

Horror stories. 1st American ed. New York : Kingfisher, 1995.

The kit-bag / Algernon Blackwood -- Here there be tygers /Stephen King -- The room in the tower / E.F. Benson --Beyond lies the wub / Philip K. Dick -- Feeding the dog / Susan Price -- Teddies rule, ok? / Nicholas Fisk – Grendel the monster / Eleanor Farjeon -- A grave misunderstanding /Leon Garfield -- Captain murderer / Charles Dickens (from The uncommercial traveler) -- Something / Joan Aiken -- Thehand / Guy de Maupassant -- The boy next door / Ellen Emerson White -- The murder hole / Scottish folktale -- The famous five go pillaging / Terry Jones and Michael Palin --The affair at 7 rue de M / John Steinbeck -- A change of aunts / Vivien Alcock -- The cask of Amontillado / Edgar Allan Poe -- The pear-drum / English folktale -- The dog got them / Philippa Pearce -- Gabriel-Ernest / Saki (H.H. Munro) -- Nule / Jan Mark -- The dancing partner / Jerome K. Jerome-- The ring / Margaret Bingley -- The troll / T.H. White. A collection of horror stories by such noted authors as Joan Aiken, Stephen King, Edgar Allan Poe, and Leon Garfield.

FIC ULT

Ultimate sports : short stories by outstanding writers for young adults. New York : Laurel-Leaf Library, 1997, c1995.

A collection of sixteen short stories about teenage athletes written by well-known authors in the field, including award-winning novelists Robert Lipsyte and Chris Crutcher.

919.8 ARM

Armstrong, Jennifer, 1961-. Shipwreck at the bottom of the world: the extraordinary true story of Shackleton and the Endurance. 1st ed. New York : Crown, c1998.

Describes the of the 1914 Shackleton Antarctic expedition when, after being trapped in a frozen sea for nine months, their ship, Endurance, was finally crushed, forcing Shackleton and his men to make a very long and perilous journey across ice and stormy seas to reach inhabited land. 134 p.

921 HOU

Houston, Jeanne Wakatsuki. Farewell to Manzanar : a true story of Japanese American experience during and after the World II internment. New York : Bantam, 1974, c1973.

True story of one Japanese American family and their attempt to survive the indignities of forces detention.

921 MAH

Mah, Adeline Yen, 1937-. Chinese Cinderella : the true story of an unwanted daughter. New York : Delacorte, c1999.

The author tells the story of her painful childhood in China where she lived until the age of fourteen with her father, stepmother, and siblings, all of whom considered her bad luck because her mother died shortly after giving birth to her. 205 p.

974.7 MUR

Murphy, Jim, 1947-. Blizzard. New York : Scholastic Press, c2000.

FIC AND

Anderson, Laurie Halse. Fever, 1793. 1st Aladdin Paperbacks. New York : Aladdin Paperbacks, 2002, c2000.

In 1793Philadelphia, sixteen-year-old Matilda Cook, separated from her sick mother, learns about perseverance and self-reliance when she is forced to cope with the horrors of a yellow fever epidemic. 251 p.

FIC AVI

Avi, 1937-. The true confessions of Charlotte Doyle. New York : Avon, [1997], c1990.

As the lone "young lady" on a transatlantic voyage in 1832, Charlotte learns that the captain is murderous and the crew rebellious. 232 p.

FIC BAU

Bauer, Joan, 1951-. Hope was here. New York : Putnam, 2000.

When sixteen-year-old Hope and the aunt who has raised her move from Brooklyn to Mulhoney, Wisconsin, to work as waitress and cook in the Welcome Stairways diner, they become involved with the diner owner's political campaign to oust the town's corrupt mayor. 186 p.

FIC BLO

Bloor, Edward, 1950-. Tangerine. New York : Scholastic, 1998, c1997.

Twelve-year-old Paul, who lives in the shadow of his hero brother Erik, fights for the right to play soccer despite his near blindness and slowly begins to remember the incident that damaged his eyesight. 294 p.

FIC BUN

Bunting, Eve, 1928-. Blackwater. 1st ed. New York : J. Cotler Books, c1999.

When a boy and girl are drowned in the Blackwater River, thirteen-year-old Brodie must decide

whether to confess that he may have caused the accident. 146 p.

FIC CAR

Carter, Alden R. Between a rock and a hard place. New York : Scholastic, 1999, c1995.

Although neither fifteen-year-old Mark Severson nor his diabetic cousin Randy are looking forward to the canoe trip that is a family rite of passage, they begin to enjoy themselves as they make their way through Minnesota's lake country, until the trip becomes a fight for survival. 213 p.

FIC COL

Cole, Brock. The goats. Aerial ed. New York : Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1992, c1987.

Stripped and marooned on a small island by their fellow campers, a boy and a girl form an uneasy bond that grows into a deep friendship when they decide to run away and disappear without a trace. 184 p.

FIC COL

Colfer, Eoin. Artemis Fowl. New York : Hyperion Paperbacks For Children, c2001.

When a twelve-year-old evil genius tries to restore his family fortune by capturing a fairy and

demanding a ransom in gold, the fairies fight back with magic, technology, and a particularly nasty troll. 227 p.

FIC CRE

Creech, Sharon. Absolutely normal chaos. 1st American ed. New York : HarperCollins, 1995. Thirteen-year-old Mary Lou grows up considerably during the summer while learning about romance, homesickness, death, and her cousin's search for his biological father. 230 p.

FIC CUR

Curtis, Christopher Paul. The Watsons go to Birmingham--1963. New York : Bantam Doubleday Dell Books for Young Readers, [1997].

The ordinary interactions and everyday routines of the Watsons, an African-American family living in Flint, Michigan, are drastically changed after they go to visit Grandma in Alabama in the summer of 1963. 210 p.

FIC DIC

Dickens, Charles, 1812-1870. Oliver Twist. New York, N.Y. : Penguin Classics, 1985.

A boy from an English workhouse falls into the hands of rogues who train him to be a pickpocket. He must struggle to overcome this environment of crime. 410 p.

FIC HAD

Haddix, Margaret Peterson. Among the hidden. 1st ed. New York : Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, c1998.

In a future where the Population Police enforce the law limiting a family to only two children, Luke has lived all his twelve years in isolation and fear on his family's farm, until another "third" convinces him that the government is wrong. 153 p.

FIC HAD

Haddix, Margaret Peterson. Just Ella. 1st ed. New York : Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, c1999.

In this continuation of the Cinderella story, fifteen-year-old Ella finds that accepting Prince Charming's proposal ensnares her in a suffocating tangle of palace rules and royal etiquette, so she plots to escape. 185 p.

FIC HAD

Haddix, Margaret Peterson. Turnabout. New York : Aladdin Paperbacks, c2002.

After secretly receiving injections at the age of 100 that are meant to reverse the aging process, and Anny Beth grow younger until, as teenagers, they try to find a guardian to take care of them as they return to infancy. 223 p.

FIC HAH

Hahn, Mary Downing. Promises to the dead. 1st Harper Trophy ed. New York : HarperTrophy, 2002, c2000.

Twelve-year-old Jesse leaves his home on Maryland's Eastern Shore to help a young runaway slave find a safe haven in the early days of the Civil War. 202 p.

FIC HAU

Haugaard, Erik Christian. The samurai's tale. Boston : Houghton Mifflin, c1984.

In turbulent sixteenth-century Japan, orphaned Taro is taken in by a general serving the great warlord Takeda Shingen and grows up to become a samurai fighting for the enemies of his dead family. 234 p.

FIC HES

Hesse, Karen. Phoenix rising. 1st ed. New York : H. Holt,.

Thirteen-year-old Nyle learns about relationships and death when fifteen-year-old Ezra, who was exposed to radiation leaked from a nearby nuclear plant, comes to stay at her grandmother's Vermont farmhouse. 182 p.

FIC HES

Hesse, Karen. Out of the dust. New York : Scholastic, 1999,c1997.

In a series of poems, fifteen-year-old Billie Jo relates the hardships of living on her family's wheat farm in Oklahoma during the dust bowl years of the Depression. 227 p.

FIC HOW

Howe, Norma. The adventures of Blue Avenger : a novel. 1stHarper Tempest ed. New York : HaperCollins, 2000, c1999.

On his sixteenth birthday, still trying to cope with the unexpected death of his father, David Schumacher decides--or does he--to change his name to Blue Avenger, hoping to find a way to make a difference in his Oakland neighborhood and in the world. 229 p.

FIC KLA

Klause, Annette Curtis. Blood and chocolate. New York, N.Y. : Delacorte Press, 1997.

Having fallen for a human boy, a beautiful teenage werewolf must battle both her packmates and the fear of the townspeople to decide where she and with whom. 264 p.

FIC LAW

Lawrence, Iain, 1955-. The wreckers. New York : Bantam Doubleday Dell Books for Young Readers, 1999.

Shipwrecked after a vicious storm, fourteen-year-old John Spencer attempts to save his father and himself while also dealing with an evil secret about the Cornish coastal town where they are stranded. 196 p.

FIC LEV

Levine, Gail Carson. Dave at night. 1st ed. New York : HarperCollins, c1999.

When orphaned Dave is sent to the Hebrew Home for Boys where he is treated cruelly, he sneaks out at night and is welcomed into the music- and culture-filled world of the Harlem Renaissance. 281 p.

FIC MAR

Marsden, John, 1950-. Tomorrow, when the war began. 1^st American ed. Boston : Houghton Mifflin, 1995.

Seven Australian teenagers return from a camping trip in the bush only to find their country has been invaded and they must hide and fight to stay alive. 286 p.

FIC MAZ

Mazer, Harry. A boy at war : a novel of Pearl Harbor. New York: Simon & Schuster, c2001.

While fishing with his friends off Honolulu on December 7, 1941, teenaged Adam is caught in the midst of the Japanese attack and through the chaos of the subsequent days tries to find his father, a naval officer who was serving on the U.S.S. Arizona when the bombs fell. 104 p.

FIC MIK

Mikaelsen, Ben, 1952-. Touching Spirit Bear. New York : Publishers, c2001.

After his anger erupts into violence, Cole, in order to avoid going to prison, agrees to participate in a sentencing alternative based on the native American Circle Justice, and he is sent to a Alaskan Island where an encounter with a huge Spirit Bear changes his life. 241 p.

FIC MIK

Mikaelsen, Ben, 1952-. Petey. 1st pbk. ed. New York : Hyperion Paperbacks for Children, 2000, c1998.

In 1922 Petey, who has cerebral palsy, is misdiagnosed as an idiot institutionalized; sixty years later, still in the institution, he befriends a boy and shares with him the joy of life. 280 p.

FIC MOE

Moeri, Louise. Save Queen of Sheba. New York : Puffin, c1981,.

After miraculously surviving a Sioux Indian raid on the trail to Oregon, a brother and sister set out with few provisions to find the rest of the settlers. 116 p.

FIC NAP

Napoli, Donna Jo, 1948-. Stones in water. 1st ed. New York : Dutton Children's Books, 1997.

After being taken by German from a local movie theater along with other Italian boys including his Jewish friend, Roberto is forced to work in Germany, escapes into the Ukrainian winter, before desperately trying to make his way back home to Venice. 209 p.

FIC NAY

Naylor, Phyllis Reynolds. Jade green : a ghost story. New York: Atheneum, c1999.

While living with her uncle in a house haunted by the ghost of a young woman, recently orphaned Judith Sparrow wonders if her one small transgression causes mysterious happenings. 168 p.

FIC PAR

Park, Linda Sue. A single shard. New York : Clarion Books, c2001.

Tree-ear, a thirteen-year-old orphan in medieval Korea, lives under a bridge in a potters' village, and longs to learn how to throw the delicate celadon ceramics himself. 152 p.

FIC PAT

Paterson, Katherine. Lyddie. New York : Puffin Books, 1992, c1991.

Impoverished Vermont farm girl Lyddie Worthen is determined to gain her independence by becoming a factory worker in Lowell, Massachusetts, in the 1840s. 182 p.

FIC PAT

Paterson, Katherine. The sign of the chrysanthemum. New York, NY : Harper & Row, 1988, c1973. A teen-ager comes to know himself through contacts with social ills and political unrest while searching for his father in Japan's capital, centuries ago. 132 p.

FIC PAU

Paulsen, Gary. Nightjohn. New York : Bantam Doubleday Dell, c1993, 1995.

Twelve-year-old Sarny's brutal life as a slave becomes even more dangerous when a newly arrived slave to teach her how to read. 92 p. (We have the movie, rated PG – made for Disney Channel)

FIC PEC

Peck, Richard, 1934-. A year down yonder. New York : Dial Books for Young Readers, 2000. During the recession of 1937, fifteen-year-old Mary Alice is sent to live with her feisty, larger-than-life grandmother in rural Illinois and comes to a better understanding of this fearsome woman. 130 p.

FIC RIT

Ritter, John H., 1951-. Choosing up sides. New York : Philomel Books, c1998.

In 1921 thirteen-year-old Luke finds himself torn between accepting his left-handedness or conforming to the belief of his preacher-father that such a condition isevil and must be overcome.166 p.

FIC SPI

Spinelli, Jerry. Stargirl. New York : Alfred A. Knopf, 2000.

In this story about the perils of popularity, the courage of nonconformity, and the thrill of first love, an eccentric student named Stargirl changes Mica High School forever.

FIC STE

Stevenson, Robert Louis, 1850-1894. Treasure Island. {Jacksonville, Ill.} : Perma-Bound Books, c1988.

Classic tale of shipwreck and adventure. 252 p.

FIC STR

Strasser, Todd. The wave. New York : Dell, c1981.

Based on a true incident, this novel reveals the powerful forces of group pressure that are inititated by a classroom experiment that gets out of hand. 143 p.

FIC TAY

Taylor, Mildred D. Mississippi bridge. New York : Viking, 2000, c1990.

During a heavy rainstorm in 1930s rural Mississippi a ten-year-old white boy sees a bus driver order all the black passengers off a crowded bus to make room for late-arriving white passengers and then set off across the raging Rosa Lee River. Powerful short story. 62 p.

FIC TAY

Taylor, Theodore, 1921-. The bomb. 1st ed. San Diego : Harcourt Brace, c1995.

In 1944, when the Americans liberate Bikini Atoll from the Japanese, fourteen-year-old Sorry Rinamu does not realize that in two years he will lead a desperate effort to save his island home from a much more deadly threat. 161 p.

FIC WOL

Wolff, Virginia Euwer. Make lemonade. New York : Scholastic, 1994, c1993.

In order to earn money for college, fourteen-year-old LaVaughn babysits for a teenage mother. 200 p.

FIC WYS

Wyss, Johann David. The Swiss family Robinson. New York : Bantam, 1992.