A Girl Named Faithful Plum: The True Story of a Dancer from China and How She Achieved Her Dream by Richard Bernstein

"One sunny morning in the spring of 1978 in the remote, very northernmost part of China, a slight eleven-year-old girl named Li Zhongmei got on a bus for the first leg of a journey to Beijing, China's capital."

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In 1977, when Zhongmei Lei was eleven years old, she learned that the prestigious Beijing Dance Academy was having open auditions. She'd already taken dance lessons, but everyone said a poor country girl would never get into the academy, especially without any connections in the Communist Party of the 1970s. But Zhongmei, whose name means Faithful Plum, persisted, even going on a hunger strike, until her parents agreed to allow her to go. She traveled for three days and two nights to get to Beijing and eventually beat out 60,000 other girls for one of 12 coveted spots.

Alfred A. Knopf; 270 pages

12 Things to Do Before You Crash and Burn by James Proimos

"The casket is closed."

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James "Hercules" Martino has until the end of the summer (a.k.a. two weeks) to accomplish the twelve tasks given to him by his Uncle Anthony. The tasks will take him to the far reaches of Baltimore, lead him to a Beautiful and Unattainable Woman, and change the way he sees his past, present, and future.

Roaring Brook Press; 121 pages

Maggie & Oliver or A Bone of One's Own by Valerie Hobbs

"With his long, wet tongue, Oliver licked and licked Bertie's cheek."

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Maggie is always full of questions. But a young maid in a fine lady's house isn't supposed to wonder so much, so one day Maggie is thrown out into the street with only a tiny heart-shaped locket for a keepsake. A little dog named Oliver is pushing his nose along an icy sidewalk searching for his lost mistress, or at least something to eat. No matter how hard he looks he can't find either one, but he does see a girl with round blue eyes and a golden locket around her neck. The girl calls him "Lucky." And perhaps Lucky is the right name after all, for the little dog soon helps Maggie find a warm, wonderful home of her own--and one for him, too.

Henry Holt; 181 pages

Body of Water by Sarah Dooley

"I'm certain there were puddles, even before the fire trucks came."

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After their trailer home and all their belongings are burned, twelve-year-old Ember and her Wiccan family move to a lakeside campground where Ember's anguish over losing her dog, as well as her friendship with the boy she fears started the fire, stops her from making new friends and moving on.

Feiwel and Friends; 324 pages

Bluefish by Pat Schmatz

"Travis stood in front of locker number 78."

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Everything changes for thirteen-year-old Travis, a new student who is trying to hide his illiteracy, when he meets a sassy classmate with her own secrets and a remarkable teacher.

Candlewick Press; 226 pages

Circle of Secrets by Kimberley Griffiths Little

"Soon as my birthday presents are unwrapped and the chocolate raspberry cake gulped down, Daddy packs my stuff in the Chevy and slams the trunk."

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A year after her mother has deserted the family, eleven-year-old Shelby goes to stay with her, deep in the Louisiana bayou, where they both confront old hurts and regrets.

Scholastic Press; 326 pages

Mock Newbery for Kids -- TWO New Titles!

I am happy to announce TWO new titles for the Mock Newbery for Kids program. 

Wonderstruck
by Brian Selznick

Young Fredle
by Cynthia Voigt









These books join Amelia Lost by Candace Fleming, and Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai on the Mock Newbery for Kids Reading List. Look for one more title to be posted in a couple of weeks.

The Mock Newbery for Kids program is open to all children in grades 3 to 6.  Simply read the books, and then we'll get together on Saturday, December 3 at 2pm to talk about the books, learn a little about the Newbery Award, and vote to decide which book will win the 2012 ACPL Kids' Mock Newbery Award.   Click here to register to attend.