Hatchet by Gary Paulsen, 186 pages

 Brian is on his way to Canada to visit his estranged father when the pilot of his small prop plane suffers a heart attack. Brian is forced to crash-land the plane in a lake--and finds himself stranded in the remote Canadian wilderness with only his clothing and the hatchet his mother gave him as a present before his departure.

Brian had been distraught over his parents' impending divorce and the secret he carries about his mother, but now he is truly desolate and alone. Exhausted, terrified, and hungry, Brian struggles to find food and make a shelter for himself. He has no special knowledge of the woods, and he must find a new kind of awareness and patience as he meets each day's challenges. Is the water safe to drink? Are the berries he finds poisonous?

Slowly, Brian learns to turn adversity to his advantage--an invading porcupine unexpectedly shows him how to make fire, a devastating tornado shows him how to retrieve supplies from the submerged airplane. Most of all, Brian leaves behind the self-pity he has felt about his predicament as he summons the courage to stay alive.

The Skull by Jon Klassen, 105 pages

 Jon Klassen's retelling of a traditional Tyrolean folktale.

In a big abandoned house, on a barren hill, lives a skull. A brave girl named Otilla has escaped from terrible danger and run away, and when she finds herself lost in the dark forest, the lonely house beckons. Her host, the skull, is afraid of something too, something that comes every night. Can brave Otilla save them both?

Little Lord Fauntleroy by Frances Hodgson Burnett, 219 pages

 A seven-year-old boy is transported from the mean streets of nineteenth-century New York to the splendor of his grandfather's English manor in this beloved classic of children's literature. Young Cedric is astonished to find himself in possession of the title of Lord Fauntleroy and dismayed at his separation from his adored mother during the schooling for his new position. The Earl of Dorincourt, Cedric's crotchety grandfather, intends to instruct Cedric in the manners of the peerage; as it happens, the child teaches the man some valuable lessons about the true meaning of nobility.

Written by the author of A Little Princess and The Secret Garden, Little Lord Fauntleroy has enchanted generations of readers. Its conviction that nothing in the world is as strong as a kind heart has made the lovable lordling’s name synonymous with his gentle sincerity and tenderness.

Miss Bianca in the Orient by Margery Sharp, 144 pages

 Miss Bianca began to take more interest as the little green snake continued his story. "The Ranee's page," he added, "is in the elephant lines waiting to be trampled to smithereens at the next full moon on account of his sniveling into Her Highness's sherbert!"

And so intrepid Miss Bianca, her sense of justice outraged that such a dire punishment can be meted out for such a trifling error, begins to plan and scheme an urgent rescue mission, which must be the strangest and most exotic yet.

Only this time she will need every ounce of tact, every measure of courage and all the wits she could possibly muster.

MIss Bianca in the Salt Mines by Margery Sharp, 148 pages

 In her fourth adventure, accompanied by the adoring Bernard (and a couple of professorial mice, more trouble than anything else), Miss Bianca ventures into the sinister reaches of a salt mine, in a response to a call for help from Teddy-age-eight—no child ever calls Miss Bianca in vain!

Ida Early Comes Over the Mountain by Robert Burch, 145 pages

 Life in rural Georgia is tough for the Suttons. Their mother has passed away, and the country is in the midst of the Great Depression . But things take a turn for the better when Ida Early comes over the mountain. She offers to help Mr. Sutton with the children, and entertains them with her tall tales of lion taming, working as a cook on a pirate ship, and even a stunt pilot!

The Return of the Great Brain by John D. Fitzgerald, 150 pages

 Tom Fitzgerald, alias The Great Brain, is back, struggling to stay reformed now that his friends have threatened to ostracize him if he pulls even one more swindle. But his brother J.D. knows Tom's reformation is too good to be true, and as a reformed Great Brain makes for a dull life, J.D. is not altogether unhappy--or blameless--when his brother's money-loving heart stealthily retums to business as usual.Under the watchful eyes of parents and friends, Tom has to be craftier than ever, and indeed he is. Whether he's cleverly pulling an out-and-out swindle so as not to be caught or solving a train robbery and murder, Tom's Great Brain never fails.

The Great Brain is Back by John D. Fitzgerald, 122 pages

 This classic trickster is back again, and he's up to no good in his eighth and final book of the series. Great mix of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Terrible Two series, and is perfect for fans of Roald Dahl.

Tom D. Fitzgerald--better known as The Great Brain--has turned thirteen, and pretty Polly Reagan has put a spell on him. But when it comes to swindling his younger brother J. D., and all the other kids in Adenville, Tom hasn't changed a bit. The Great Brain is back one more time, and he's at the top of his form with his money-making schemes and getting into big trouble. As always, life is more exciting when this brain's around!

The Great Brain Does It Again by John D. Fitzgerald, 129 pages

 Crafty Tom Fitzgerald applies his native wits to eight mysteries, swindles, high-jinks, escapades, and artful antics, some of which he perpetrates himself

The Secret in the Old Attic by Carolyn Keene, 177 pages

 Nancy Drew races against time to unravel the clues in a dead man’s letters. If she succeeds, Philip March and his little granddaughter can be saved from financial ruin. Following obscure clues, Nancy undertakes a search for some unpublished musical manuscripts which she believes are hidden in the dark, cluttered attic of the rundown March mansion. But someone else wants them enough to put many frightening obstacles in Nancy’s way. Will she outwit a trio of ruthless thieves and solves the Marches’ problems?

The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner, 154 pages

 Orphaned siblings, Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny Alden, make a home in a boxcar and will do anything they can to stay together.

The Great Brain Reforms by John D. Fitzgerald, 165 pages

 The year is 1898, and the best con man in Adenville, Utah, is the infamous twelve-year-old Tom Fitzgerald, "The Great Brain." A year at the Catholic Academy for Boys certainly hasn't dulled Tom's love for money—he's no sooner off the train than he begins scamming his own brother! By the end of his summer break, Tom has tricked all of his friends out of everything they own. He even outwits three professional crooks who come to swindle the whole town. Tom thinks he should be the most popular kid around: He has all the good toys, and he's saved his townspeople.

Tom really begins to rake in the dough when he sets up business as a raftsman. But when he endangers the lives of two friends, his brother J.D. decides it's time for The Great Brain to reform. And that's how the case of The Kids of Adenville vs. The Great Brain is tried in the Fitzgeralds' barn one summer day.

The Great Brain at the Academy by John D. Fitzgerald, 164 pages

 Everyone knew that Tom Fitzgerald, alias The Great Brain, would get into trouble when he went off to school at the strict Catholic Academy for Boys in Salt Lake City. But no one--including Tom--knew just how much. His tongue got him into fifteen demerits worth of difficulty the very first day, but his great brain refused to be defeated as Tom set out to outwit the eighth grade, the superintendent, and finally the bishop of the state of Utah. Whether it's running an illegal candy store or earning a reputation as the fastest potato peeler in the world or introducing the newfangled sport of basketball at the academy, Tom's great brain never falters. And his money-making schemes rise to new heights--or depths--faced with the challenge of rigorous boarding-school life.

Thimble Summer by Elizabeth Enright, 124 pages

 A few hours after nine-year-old Garnet Linden finds a silver thimble in the dried-up riverbed, the rains come and end the long drought on the farm. The rains bring safety for the crops and the livestock, and money for Garnet's father. Garnet can't help feeling that the thimble is a magic talisman, for the summer proves to be interesting and exciting in so many different ways.

There is the arrival of Eric, an orphan who becomes a member of the Linden family; the building of a new barn; and the county fair at which Garnet's carefully tended pig, Timmy, wins a blue ribbon. Every day brings adventure of some kind to Garnet and her best friend, Citronella. As far as Garnet is concerned, the thimble is responsible for each good thing that happens during this magic summer-- her thimble summer.

Gone-Away Lake by Elizabeth Enright, 256 pages

 Summer has a magic all its own.

When Portia sets out for a visit with her cousin Julian, she expects fun and adventure, but of the usual kind: exploring in the woods near Julian's house, collecting stones and bugs, playing games throughout the long, lazy days.

But this summer is different.

On their first day exploring, Portia and Julian discover an enormous boulder with a mysterious message, a swamp choked with reeds and quicksand, and on the far side of the swamp...a ghost town.

Once upon a time the swamp was a splendid lake, and the fallen houses along its shore an elegant resort community. But though the lake is long gone and the resort faded away, the houses still hold a secret life: two people who have never left Gone-Away...and who can tell the story of what happened there.

Tales to Keep You Up at Night by Dan Poblocki, 272 pages

 Amelia is cleaning out her grandmother's attic when she stumbles across a book: Tales to Keep You Up at Night. But when she goes to the library to return it, she's told that the book never belonged there. Curious, she starts to read the stories: tales of strange incidents in nearby towns, of journal entries chronicling endless, twisting pumpkin vines, birthday parties gone awry, and cursed tarot decks. And at the center of the stories lies a family of witches. And witches, she's told, can look like anyone...

As elements from the stories begin to come to life around her, and their eerie connections become clear, Amelia begins to realize that she may be in a spooky story of her own...

With hair-raising, spine-chilling prose, Dan Poblocki delivers a collection of interconnected stories that, if you're anything like Amelia, is sure to keep you up late in the night.

Me and My Little Brain by John D. Fitzgerald, 137 pages

 Tom a.k.a. the Great Brain, is off to boarding school. Now his little brother, J.D., is free to follow in Tom's ingenious, conniving, and profitable footsteps. All of J.D.'s attempts at turning a profit fail miserably, and he soon realizes that he just doesn't have that crafty Great Brain knack. But when his younger brother is kidnapped, J.D. finds that his little brain may not be so ordinary after all . . .

Disney Cautionary Tales by Ridley Pearson & Abigail Larson, 256 pages

 What you are holding is no ordinary book. This book contains scary stories. Thrilling and chilling tales that feature the worst Disney villains. They twist and turn through unfortunate circumstances. Maybe you’ve heard of a cave full of wonders where no one escapes alive? Or a huntsman carrying a a princess’s heart back to an evil queen? Don’t forget the horseman who lost his head. Literally.

Something strange happens once you start reading. You might feel like you are in the story.

Right. Inside. The. Pages.

Just ask Billie Templeton. She knows allabout scary stories. Billie would rather such tales stay inside her book where they belong. If only her classmate, Tim, hadn’t found the mirror. The magic mirror. A mirror wrapped up and never to be opened.

But since when does Tim follow the rules?
Consider yourself warned.

More Adventures of the Great Brain by John D. Fitzgerald, 142 pages

 Has Tom, a.k.a. the Great Brain, given up his con-artist ways for a bicycle?  Not for long.  Soon the Great Brain is back to his old tricks, swindling and trading, even convincing the whole town there's a prehistoric monster on the loose.  But when someone robs the bank, even the police are stumped.  Can the Great Brain solve the crime and put the crooks behind bars?

The Turret by Margery Sharp, 144 pages

 The fabulous Miss Bianca has resigned, perhaps prematurely, as Madam Chairwoman of the Mouse Prisoners' Aid Society. In her honor an enchanting water picnic is held at the lily moat beneath a ruined turret in the park outside the city. While the band plays Handel's Water Music, the ever observant Miss Bianca discovers that someone is being held prisoner in the old turret.

It turns out to be the wicked Mandrake. No one, not even her dear friend Bernard (who in the course of events may be forced into a most unfortunate marriage), is the slightest bit inclined toward rescuing that scoundrel--in spite of Miss Bianca's conviction that he has reformed. Adventures fraught with danger follow as Miss Bianca, alone, pays a midnight visit to the turret to ponder Mandrake's penitence and make plans. Her plans come to include one boy scout, a precocious mouse named Shaun, and the magnificent stallion Sir Hector.