The Night Gardener by Jonathan Auxier

Grades: 4+
Genre: Suspence

Irish orphans, Molly and Kip, travel to England to work as servants in a crumbling manor house where nothing is quite what it seems to be.  Soon the siblings are confused by a mysterious stranger and secrets of the cursed house.

Author website:http://www.thescop.com/

Rain Reign by Ann Martin

Grades: 4+
Genre: Realistic Fiction

Rose is a special 12 year-old who is obsessed with homophones and prime numbers.  During a terrible storm, her dog does missing and it is up to her to find him with help from her uncle.  However, when she finds her dog, her reunion does not go exactly as planned.

Author website: none.

The Red Pencil by Andrea Davis Pinkney

Grades: 5+
Genre: Novel in Verse

Set during the tragic genocide in Darfur, Sudan, 12 year old Amira witnesses the brutal storming of her village and death of her beloved father.  Amira tells her story in symbolic verse, as she journeys to hope in the Kamal refugee camp and dreams of an education beyond the expectations of a girl.

Author website: none.

Star Stuff by Stephanie Roth Sisson

Grades: 3+
Genre: Non-Fiction

Ever look up at the sky and wonder about the stars and planets?  As a boy, Carl Sagan's curiosity about the universe took him on a life long journey of imagination, exploration and discovery to understand what lies beyond our world.  Star Stuff tells the story of how Carl Sagan became a renowned scientist who shared with us the fascinating field of astronomy. 

Author website: www.stephroth.com/

The Swift Boys and Me by Kody Keplinger

Grades: 4+
Genre: Realistic Fiction

Nola has been friends with the boys next door her whole life.  That is until one night when the boys' father leaves without saying goodbye.  Nola just wants things to go back to normal, but will things ever be normal again?

Author website: kodykeplinger.com/

Vanishing Coin by Kate Egan

Grades: 3+
Genre: Fantasy

Fourth-grader Mike Weiss isn't a bad kid, but he's always in trouble.  Mike and his new neighbor Nora (who's good at everything) finds the White Rabbit Magic Shop, which is owned by a real magician.  They begin to discover that magic might be the thing Mike is really good at.

Author website: none.

Winter Bees by Joyce Sidman

Grades: 3+
Genre: Poetry

Animals have different ways of coping with winter.  Along with great illustrations, this book of poems will teach you how different animals and plants survive in the winter.

Author website: www.joycesidman.com/