2010 Frederick County Public Libraries & Frederick County Public Schools Suggested Reading for Grades 6 - 8
Adventure/Survival
- Crossing the Wire by Will Hobbs
- Night of the Howling Dogs by Graham Salisbury
- Peak by Roland Smith
- Go Big or Go Home by Will Hobbs
- Killing Sea by Richard Lewis
- Diamonds in the Shadow by Caroline Cooney
Classics
- Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
- Indian in the Cupboard by L.R. Banks
- The Westing Game by Ellen Raski
- Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor
- The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
- Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
- The Giver by Lois Lowry
- Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Fantasy
- The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians series) by Rick Riordan
- Evil Genius by Catherine Jinks
- Princess Ben by Catherine Murdock
- Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale
- Gatekeeper Series by Anthony Horowitz
- H.I.V.E. by Mark Walden
- Thornspell by Helen Lowe
- Dragon's Keep by Janet Carey
Graphic Novels
- Bone series by Jeff Smith
- Diary of A Wimpy Kid series by Jeff Kinney
- Middle School is Worse than Meatloaf : A Year Told Through Stuff by Jennifer L. Holm
- Rapunzel's Revenge by Shannon Hale
- Into the Volcano by Don Wood
Historical Fiction
- Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis
- Fly Girl by Sherri Smith
- Thousand Never Evers by Shana Burg
- Book Thief by Marcus Zusak
- Spy! by Anna Myers
- Someone Named Eva by Joan Wolf
- The Diary of Laura's Twin by Kathy Kacer
Mystery
- London Eye Mystery by S. Dowd
- Eye of the Crow by Shane Peacock
- I'd Tell You I Love You But Then I'd Have to Kill You by Ally Carter
- The Big Splash by Jack D. Ferraiolo
- The Postcard by Tony Abbott
Realistic Fiction
- The Secret Language of Girls and the Kind of Friends We Used to Be by Frances O'Roark Dowell
- All Shook Up by Shelly Pearchall
- Waiting for Normal by Leslie Connor
- The Truth about Truman School by Dori Hillestad Butler
- Rules by Cynthia Lord
- Zen and the Art of Faking It by Jordan Sonnenblick
- Anything But Typical by Nora Raleigh Baskin
Science Fiction
- Double Identity by Margaret Peterson Haddix
- Dead and the Gone by Susan Beth Pfeffer
- Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer
- Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson
- The Ruins of Gorlan (Ranger's Apprentice, Book 1, series) by John Flanagan
- Found by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Short Stories/Poetry
- Shark Girl by Kelly Bingham
- She's All That!: Poems about Girls selected by Belinda Hollyer
- Dream Keeper and Other Poems by Langston Hughes
- Hip Hop Speaks to Children: a Celebration of Poetry with a Beat by Nikki Giovanni
- The Surrender Tree:Poems of Cuba 's Struggle for Freedom by Margarita Engle
- Cool Salsa: Bilingual Poems on Growing Up Latino in the United States by Lori Carlson
- Immersed in Verse: An Informative, Slightly Irreverent & Totally Tremendous Guide to Living the Poet's Life by Allan Wolf
Non-Fiction
- Bodies from the Ice by James Deem
- What the World Eats by Peter Menzel
- Chasing Lincoln 's Killer by James Swanson
- 3 Cups of Tea by Sara Thompson
- One Well : the Story of Water on Earth by Rochelle Strauss
- Written in Bone by Sally M. Walker
- The Way We Work : Getting to Know the Human Body by David Macaulay
- Teens Cook Dessert by Megan & Jill Carle
- We Are The Ship: the Story of Negro League Baseball by Kadir Nelson
- All Stations! Distress! April 15, 1912, the Day the Titanic Sank by Don Brown
Short Books for Tall Readers
- Bluford High Series by Ann Schraff or Paul Langan
- Matilda by Roald Dahl
- BFG by Roald Dahl
- Hate That Cat by Sharon Creech
- 39 Clues Series by various authors
Biography
- Houdini: The Handcuff King by John Grogan
- Knucklehead by Jon Scieska
- Trouble Begins at 8 by Sid Fleischman
- Barack Obama: 44th U.S. President by Tom Robinson
Sports
- Six Innings by James Preller
- Dairy Queen by Catherine Murdock
- Off Season by Catherine Murdock
- Free Baseball by Sue Corbett
- The Big Field by Mike Lupica
Scary Stories
- The Crossroads by Chris Grabenstein
- The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong
- All the Lovely Bad Ones by Mary Downing Hahn
- Curse of the Campfire Weenies: and Other Warped and Creepy Tales by David Lubar
- Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy
Oldies but Goodies
- Drums, Girls and Dangerous Pie by Jordan Sonnenblick
- Blood Red Horse series by K. M. Grant
- Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen
- Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo
- Inkspell series by Cornelia Funke
- Hidden Talents by David Lubar
Audio Books
- Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis
- Bloody Jack Adventure Series by L.A. Meyer
- The Compound by S.A. Bodeen