Adam Canfield of the Slash.  Michael Winerip, Roaring Brook Press, 2005.
Adam Canfield is the new co-editor of his Middle/Elementary school newspaper, The Slash. Phoebe, his eager third grade cub reporter, unearths the biggest story the paper has ever seen. Written by a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for the New York Times, this book couples social and ethical questions with funny subplots.

Airborn.  Kenneth Oppel, HarperCollins, 2004.
In this Victorian era fantasy, Matt, age fifteen, is a cabin boy on the Aurora, a luxury airship that is part dirigible and part passenger cruise ship.  When wealthy Kate and her chaperone come aboard, Matt and Kate meet adventure in the sky and in the realm of pirates.

Black Duck.  Janet Taylor Lisle, Philomel, 2006.
Fourteen-year-old friends Ruben and Jeddy find a dead body on the Rhode Island shore, but by the time they summon police, the body has disappeared. They slowly realize they have stumbled upon a rum-running operation and that mobs from New York and Boston want to find them. The boys perceive that they can trust no one, not even each other, and the line between right and wrong becomes harder to find. Based on true accounts of the Black Duck, a rum-running boat that worked in New England waters during the Prohibition era. 

Blue.  Joyce Moyer Hostetter, Boyds Mill Press, 2006.
Ann Fay Honeycutt, thirteen, becomes the “man” of her North Carolina house when her father goes off to fight in World War II. She does it all - managing the chores, watching her brother and sisters, and tending the garden until a polio epidemic hits the community. When it strikes her own family, Ann Fay finds an unlikely friend in the hospital, and a tough inner strength that pulls her through.

Hattie Big Sky.  Kirby Lawson, Random House, 2006.
It is 1918 in rural Iowa, and Hattie Inez Brooks has survived to her sixteenth year being shuttled among various relatives and near-relatives. She has an opportunity to homestead in Montana when her uncle dies. All she has to do is cultivate 40 acres, put up 480 rods of fence and pay a filing fee of $37.75 within the next ten months.

Hitler’s Canary.  Sandi Toksvig, Roaring Book Press, 2007.
During World War II when Germany invades Denmark, dubbed Hitler’s canary because of it’s strategic location, young Bamse and his friend Anton can’t resist playing pranks on the soldiers occupying Copenhagen. Later, Bamse’s extended theatrical family uses their fame and intelligence to help the Underground rescue the Danish Jews before the Nazis round them up.

La Linea.  Ann Jaramillo, Roaring Book Press, 2006.
Years ago, Miguel’s parents left their remote Mexican village to cross “la Linea” to America. When Miguel is summoned to join them in California, his sister Elena refuses to remain behind and follows him. Together, they endure the terrible journey across the desert to an illegal border crossing and the parents they no longer know.

The Loud Silence of Francine Green.  Karen Cushman, Houghton Mifflin, 2006.
It is1949, and the House Un-American Committee is blacklisting those with unpopular opinions. Francine Green is a quiet and conforming eighth-grader at All Saints School for Girls in Los Angeles who never expresses her opinion. Her new friend Sophie questions everything. Over the course of her eighth grade year, Francine’s father becomes entangled in the blacklisting scandal, and she becomes more engaged and vocal in the “un-American” debate. After witnessing the injustices of the Hollywood blacklist, Francine finds her voice and the courage to speak out.

The Mailbox.  Audrey Shafer, Random House, 2006.
After years in foster care, Gabe finally ends up in Virginia with his Uncle Vernon. Everything is great until he comes home from the first day of sixth grade to find his uncle dead. To further compound the mystery, Uncle Vernon’s body disappears and, soon after, notes to Gabe begin to show up in the mailbox. A day-to-day struggle ensues as he attempts to maintain his life without letting anyone else know that Uncle Vernon is gone.

Surviving Antarctica: Reality TV 2083.  Andrea White, HarperCollins,2005.In this futuristic novel, five teens are chosen to re-enact Scott’s fatal South Pole expedition of 1912. In 2083, all education is carried on through the medium of TV, and the new Department of Entertainment wants to do whatever necessary to boost ratings. The evil Secretary of Entertainment cares more for drama and ratings than the survival of the participants, and creates new “calamities” to overcome.