Terrific Kids Fiction
Discover a fantastic selection of terrific kids' fiction books! Spark imagination and adventure with our curated list of must-read stories for young readers.
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The Conch Bearer
by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
Action and adventure are combined in this exotic, compelling fantasy set in contemporary India. Young Adult.
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The Dark Portal
by Robin Jarvis
For 12-15 year olds -- School Library Service, Wellington, N.Z.
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The Crystal Prison
by Robin Jarvis
Newly arrived in the countryside from the horrors of Jupiter's lair, the Deptford mice find themselves embroiled in a series of horrible sinister murders.
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Marigold and the Feather of Hope
by J. H. Sweet
Marigold must enlist the aid of her dachshund, Peanut, in a daring mission to rescue the Feather of Hope from a house occupied by dangerous gremlins.
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Wicked
by Gregory Maguire
When Dorothy triumphed over the Wicked Witch of the West in L. Frank Baum's classic tale, we heard only her side of the story. But what about her arch-nemesis, the mysterious witch? Where did she come from? How did she become so wicked? And what is the true nature of evil? Gregory Maguire creates a fantasy world so rich and vivid that we will never look at Oz the same way again. Wicked is about a land where animals talk and strive to be treated like first-class citizens, Munchkinlanders seek the comfort of middle-class stability and the Tin Man becomes a victim of domestic violence. And then there is the little green-skinned girl named Elphaba, who will grow up to be the infamous Wicked Witch of the West, a smart, prickly and misunderstood creature who challenges all our preconceived notions about the nature of good and evil.
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Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister
by Gregory Maguire
Is this new land a place where magics really happen? From Gregory Maguire, the acclaimed author of Wicked, comes his much-anticipated second novel, a brilliant and provocative retelling of the timeless Cinderella tale. In the lives of children, pumpkins can turn into coaches, mice and rats into human beings.... When we grow up, we learn that it's far more common for human beings to turn into rats.... We all have heard the story of Cinderella, the beautiful child cast out to slave among the ashes. But what of her stepsisters, the homely pair exiled into ignominy by the fame of their lovely sibling? What fate befell those untouched by beauty . . . and what curses accompanied Cinderella's exquisite looks? Extreme beauty is an affliction Set against the rich backdrop of seventeenth-century Holland, Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister tells the story of Iris, an unlikely heroine who finds herself swept from the lowly streets of Haarlem to a strange world of wealth, artifice, and ambition. Iris's path quickly becomes intertwined with that of Clara, the mysterious and unnaturally beautiful girl destined to become her sister. Clara was the prettiest child, but was her life the prettiest tale? While Clara retreats to the cinders of the family hearth, burning all memories of her past, Iris seeks out the shadowy secrets of her new household--and the treacherous truth of her former life. God and Satan snarling at each other like dogs.... Imps and fairy godmotbers trying to undo each other's work. How we try to pin the world between opposite extremes! Far more than a mere fairy-tale, Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister is a novel of beauty and betrayal, illusion and understanding, reminding us that deception can be unearthed--and love unveiled--in the most unexpected of places.
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Mirror Mirror
by Gregory Maguire
The year is 1502, and seven-year-old Bianca de Nevada lives perched high above the rolling hills and valleys of Tuscany and Umbria at Montefiore, the farm of her beloved father, Don Vicente. But one day a noble entourage makes its way up the winding slopes to the farm -- and the world comes to Montefiore. In the presence of Cesare Borgia and his sister, the lovely and vain Lucrezia -- decadent children of a wicked pope -- no one can claim innocence for very long. When Borgia sends Don Vicente on a years-long quest, he leaves Bianca under the care -- so to speak -- of Lucrezia. She plots a dire fate for the young girl in the woods below the farm, but in the dark forest salvation can be found as well ... A lyrical work of stunning creative vision, Mirror Mirror gives fresh life to the classic story of Snow White -- and has a truth and beauty all its own.
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The Woven Path
by Robin Jarvis
Neil explores the secret room at the Wyrd Museum and discovers something magical and dangerous.
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Thorn Ogres of Hagwood
by Robin Jarvis
Gamaliel Tumpin has never been much more than a klutz. He can't shape-change into a mouse like his werling peers, and he can't run as fast as everyone else, and about all that he can do is fall flat on his face. Or so it seems. But on the day a dark force led by the wrathful High Lady of Hollow Hill threatens the peaceful werlings' very existence, Gamaliel finds within himself something no one ever suspected was there: a hero.
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Time Stops for No Mouse
by Michael Hoeye
Hermux searches for a missing mouse but time is running out.
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No Time Like Showtime
by Michael Hoeye
Watchmaker-mouse Hermux Tantamoq enters the exciting and somewhat shady world of show business to investigate a mysterious blackmailer at the Varmint Theater.
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Vote for Larry
by Janet Tashjian
Not yet eighteen years old, Josh, a.k.a. Larry, comes out of hiding and returns to public life, this time to run for President as an advocate for issues of concern to youth and to encourage voter turnout.
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The Gospel According to Larry
by Janet Tashjian
Seventeen-year-old Josh, a loner-philosopher who wants to make a difference in the world, tries to maintain his secret identity as the author of a web site that is receiving national attention.
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Thwonk
by Joan Bauer
A cupid doll comes to life and offers romantic assistance to A.J., a teenage photographer suffering from unrequited love.
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Hope was Here
by Joan Bauer
This 2001 Newbery Honor Book tells the story of Hope, who leaves New York City with her Aunt Maddie when Maddie takes a job at a diner in a small Wisconsin town. Hope soon becomes involved in local politics when the diner's owner runs for mayor.
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Backwater
by Joan Bauer
Ivy Breedlove longs to find out the truth of her mysterious aunt, the relative no one will talk about. How did she break free from the mold of the Breedlove family? Young Adult.
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Stand Tall
by Joan Bauer
Tree, a six-foot-three-inch twelve-year-old, copes with his parents' recent divorce and his failure as an athlete by helping his grandfather, a Vietnam vet and recent amputee, and Sophie, a new girl at school.
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If I Should Die Before I Wake
by Han Nolan
A neo-Nazi teen is transported back in time to World War II Poland, where she is now a Jewish girl in a Nazi ghetto.
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Dancing on the Edge
by Han Nolan
Miracle McCloy is the child of a talented dancer, who died in childbirth, and a brilliant, reclusive novelist. Raised by her grandmother Gigi, a psychic, Miracle becomes a dancer herself, and a loner who believes in mystical spirits and auras. Then her father disappears. When no one can give an explanation, or even a version of the truth, Miracle becomes obsessed with contacting him and bringing him back. As she loses herself in her quest, she loses her self? and, in a last, desperate attempt, sends her life up in flames. In the page-turning tradition of best-selling novels I Never Promised You a Rose Garden and The Bell Jar, Dancing on the Edge gives readers a story? and a heroine? they will never forget. "Nolan dives into the mind of an emotionally disturbed girl in an intense, exceptionally well-written novel?The shadows of truth, suffering, self-expression, and repression are examined without psychobabble in this sad, funny, and tender story."? Kirkus Reviews, pointer review"Nolan does a masterful job of drawing readers into the girl's mind and making them care deeply about her chances for the future." ? School Library Journal, starred review
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Born Blue
by Han Nolan
Janie was four years old when she nearly drowned due to her mothers neglect. Through an unhappy foster home experience, and years of feeling that she is unwanted, she keeps alive her dream of someday being a famous singer.
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Zel
by Donna Jo Napoli
High in the mountains, Zel lives with her mother, who insists they have all they need -- for they have each other. Zel's life is peaceful and protected -- until a chance encounter changes everything. When she meets a beautiful young prince at the market one day, she is profoundly moved by new emotions. But Zel's mother sees the future unfolding -- and she will do the unspeakable to prevent Zel from leaving her..."Will leave readers spellbound."-- Publishers Weekly, starred review
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The Magic Circle
by Donna Jo Napoli
From the author of Zel, Stones in Water, and The Prince of the Pond. Deep in the woods lives the old witch called Ugly One. All she wants is to forget—the she was once a loving mother and a healer, blessed and powerful within her magic circle, and not a witch, claimed by the devils. Then one day she hears the footsteps she dreads. Then real voices—children’s voices. The Ugly One longs to take care of sturdy, sensible Gretel and her young brother Hansel. They are such good children, such delicious, beautiful children. But demons’ voices scream in her head: “Eat them!” How can she? . . . How can she not? “A brilliantly conceived and beautifully executed novel.”—School Library Journal, starred review “A work of great strength and powerful emotion, written with immediacy and intensity, filled with beauty and terror and pervading sense of compassion that must touch young and old.”—Lloyd Alexander An ALA Best Book for Young Adults A Bulletin Blue Ribbon Book A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year
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Bound
by Donna Jo Napoli
From the award-winning author of "Beast" and "Breath" comes this thrilling and haunting retelling of the Cinderella story that returns the much-loved fairy tale to its Chinese roots.
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Stones in Water
by Donna Jo Napoli
This is a book for every Bar Mitzvah boy and indeed anyone who wants to learn about the beliefs, philosophies and history of the Jewish religion.