Books for Older Readers 2009
Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out
Poems, stories and memoirs create a wonderful montage of impressions of the White House's residents and the significant events that occurred there.
Amateau, Gigi
When albino horse Chancey is abandoned by his bankrupt owner, he finds a home with 11-year-old Claire and eventually finds his true calling as a therapy horse.
Avi
In 1872 New York City, Horace becomes apprenticed to a society photographer and reluctantly becomes involved in a shady, get-rich scheme in this eerie historical thriller.
Balliett, Blue
Petra and Tommy frantically search for their friend Calder when both he and an actual Calder sculpture disappear in England in this action-packed mystery.
Barrett, Tracy
The Sherlock Files 1. The Hundred-Year-Old Secret
After moving to London, 12-year-old Xena and her younger brother Xander discover they are descendants of famous detective Sherlock Holmes and are given his notebooks of old cases to solve.
Birdsall, Jeanne
The Penderwicks on Gardam Street
In this lively and heartwarming sequel to the award-winning Penderwicks, the four sisters hatch a Save-Daddy-Plan to foil their aunt’s scheme to find a wife for their widowed father.
Bradley, Timothy J.
Paleo Bugs: Survival of the Creepiest
Journey back 530 million years and discover what creatures slithered and squirmed throughout the world, such as a seven-foot long millipede or a dragonfly with a three-foot wingspan.
Broach, Elise
Two friends, an artistic beetle and a young boy, become involved in an art theft at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Clements, Andrew
12-year-old twins Ray and Jay take advantage of a clerical error at their new school and pretend to be just one person in this hilarious tale of mistaken identity.
Cloake, Martin
Learn all you want to know about the world’s most beloved sport, including rules and regulations, teams, and its history and lore.
Creech, Sharon.
Written in free verse as journal entries, this companion book to Love That Dog follows Jake’s struggle to accept the loss of his beloved dog and to deal with his mother’s deafness.
D'Aluisio, Faith
Drink in this stunning visual feast illustrating what the world eats in a single week through portraits of families from different countries surrounded by a week's worth of food.
Denenberg, Barry
Lincoln Shot!: A President’s Life Remembered
Designed to look like 19th century newspaper articles, photos, and advertisements, this book describes the night Lincoln was shot and the ensuing manhunt for the assassins.
Dowd, Siobhan
When Salim doesn’t get off a ferris wheel ride, his cousins Ted, who has Asperger’s Syndrome, and Kat try to find out what happened in this taut thriller.
Erdrich, Louise
In 1852,when Omakayas and her Ojibwa family are forced to leave their home, they face danger, freezing temperatures, and starvation as they search for a new home.
Fleischman, Sid
The Trouble Begins at 8: A Life of Mark Twain in the Wild, Wild West
W riting in the colorful style of Mark Twain himself, Flesichman celebrates the illustrious life of this steamboat pilot, journalist, gold prospector, and novelist extraordinaire.
Forester, Victoria
After it’s discovered that Piper McCloud can fly, she is sent to a special institute where people and animals with extraordinary gifts are made “normal” at any cost.
French, Vivian
The sorceress Lady Lamorna has her heart set on a very expensive new gown, and she will stop at nothing – including kidnapping and black magic – to get the money to pay for it.
Frost, Helen
In this gripping, outdoor adventure set in remote Alaska, Willow, a part Athabascan Indian, and her best friend try to save her favorite sled dog in this complex and elegant novel told in verse.
Giff, Patricia Reilly
Can Sam and his best friend from school solve the mystery of his past after he finds an old newspaper clipping that shows a photo of him as a missing child?
Greenberg, Jan
Christo and Jeanne-Claude: Through The Gates and Beyond
During the winter of 2005, two renowned artists unveiled their newest venture in Central Park – twenty-three miles of saffron nylon panels set up as gates throughout the park.
Gutman, Dan
After Trip is knocked unconscious by a shelf of books while setting up the school book fair, he becomes the main character in different stories and has a series of wacky adventures.
Hale, Shannon
This twisted graphic novel fairy tale is set in the Wild West where Rapunzel has to escape from a tree house and save herself from rough outlaws and a huge sea serpent.
Henkes, Kevin
As they both vacation at Bird Lake Moon, 12-year-old Mitch and 10-year- old Spencer begin a friendship that helps them both deal with the tragedy in their lives.
Jones, Diana Wynne
Selfish Charmain is recruited to house-sit for her ailing uncle’s magical house and surprises herself by discovering her own hidden talents in this sequel to Howl’s Moving Castle.
Korman, Gordon
After Griffin is tricked out of a rare baseball card by an unscrupulous dealer, Griffin assembles a group of friends to get the card back in this clever, funny and fast-paced adventure.
Law, Ingrid
While Mibs is waiting to find out what her special supernatural ability or “savvy” is, she embarks on an event-filled, wacky journey to save her Poppa. 2009 Newbery Honor Book
Lewin, Ted
Horse Song: The Naadam of Mongolia
Take a trip to exotic Mongolia and experience the annual summer celebration Naadam which features wrestling, archery, and an astonishing horse-racing competition through the Gobi Desert.
Lowry, Lois
In this madcap story of neglected children, odious parents, and a no-nonsense nanny, four siblings hatch a diabolical plan to get rid of their parents and become “deserving orphans.”
Martin, Ann M.
The dolls are all set for fourteen glorious days of freedom when the humans go on summer vacation until a mysterious package arrives that may contain Annabelle’s long-lost baby sister.
Mebus, Scott
13-year-old Rory discovers that he is a rare mortal able to see “Manahatta,” a world of spirits from New York’s past, which he must save from an evil assassin in this fantasy-adventure.
Morse, Scott
Can the world’s greenest and goofiest superhero pickle and his feisty sidekick Jo Jo save the world from the Brotherhood of Evil Produce?
Nelson, Kadir
We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball
No baseball fan should be without this award winning book where Nelson presents an oversized, sumptuous history of the Negro Leagues.
Nelson, Scott Reynolds
Ain’t Nothing but a Man: My Quest to Find the Real John Henry
A famous historian untangles the mystery surrounding the legendary strongman as he traces Henry’s story examining both fact and fiction.
Park, Linda Sue
In 1950’s Brooklyn, die-hard baseball fan Maggie keeps hoping that her beloved Brooklyn Dodgers will win the pennant while also hoping for the recovery of her friend Jim.
Prineas, Sarah
Conn gets drawn into a life of magic and adventure when he tries to steal the locus magicalicus from a powerful wizard who has returned from exile to stop the loss of magic from Wellmet.
Rodman, Mary Ann
After Ellie’s beloved older brother is drafted during World War II and sent overseas, she must deal with her grief, loneliness and anger in this realistic historical novel.
Rubin, Susan Goldman
Delicious: The Life & Art of Wayne Thiebaud
Enjoy the tasty artwork of Wayne Thiebaud, his scrumptious paintings of hotdogs, cakes and other sweets as you discover how this illustrious artist envisioned our world.