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Good Night, Mr. Tom

Michelle Magorian · back to the book

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24 books with the same feel

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Bud, Not Buddy

Christopher Paul Curtis · 249 pages

It's 1936, in Flint, Michigan. Times may be hard, and ten-year-old Bud may be a motherless boy on the run, but Bud's got a few things going for him: 1. He has his own suitcase filled with his own important, secret things. 2. He's the author of Bud Caldwell's Rules and Things for Having a Funner Life and Making a Better Liar Out of Yourself. 3. His momma never told him who his father was, but

Child NarratorChild AbuseChildren'sMiddle Grade
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The Chosen

Chaim Potok · 284 pages

It's about two jewish boys from different jewish sects with very differing doctrine. The kids meet in the unlikely circumstance of a baseball game, and a terrible accident, that leads them to be lifelong friends

World War IIMentor RelationshipCharacter-DrivenEmotional
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Sarah, Plain and Tall

Patricia MacLachlan · 64 pages

This Newbery Medal winning book and children's literature classic is perfect for fans of Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House on the Prairie books, historical fiction, and timeless stories using rich and beautiful language. Sarah, Plain and Tall gently explores themes of abandonment, loss and love. The 30th Anniversary edition includes author Patricia MacLachlan s Newbery speech, discussion guide a

Child NarratorChildren'sMiddle GradeEmotional
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The House of Sixty Fathers

Meindert DeJong · 189 pages

Alone in a sampan with his pig and three ducklings, a little Chinese boy is whirled down a raging river, back to the town from which he and his parents had escaped the invading Japanese, and spends long and frightening days regaining his family and new home. The novel was based on the author's own experiences as a military flier in China during the Second World War. The book won the Josette Frank

World War IIChild NarratorMiddle GradeEmotional
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Dear Mr. Henshaw

Beverly Cleary · 134 pages

Child NarratorCharacter-DrivenChildren'sMiddle Grade
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Milkweed

Jerry Spinelli · 232 pages

He’s a boy called Jew. Gypsy. Stopthief. Runt. Happy. Fast. Filthy son of Abraham. He’s a boy who lives in the streets of Warsaw. He’s a boy who steals food for himself and the other orphans. He’s a boy who believes in bread, and mothers, and angels. He’s a boy who wants to be a Nazi some day, with tall shiny jackboots and a gleaming Eagle hat of his own. Until the day that suddenly makes him

World War IIChild NarratorCharacter-DrivenMiddle Grade
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Because of Winn-Dixie

Kate DiCamillo · 182 pages

Ten-year-old India Opal Buloni describes her first summer in the town of Naomi, Florida, and all the good things that happen to her becauThe summer Opal and her father, the preacher, move to Naomi, Florida, Opal goes into the Winn-Dixie supermarket—and comes out with a dog. A big, ugly, suffering dog with a sterling sense of humor. A dog she dubs Winn-Dixie. Because of Winn-Dixie, the preacher tel

Child NarratorChildren'sEmotionalCharacter-Driven
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The Goldfinch

Donna Tartt · 817 pages

"The Goldfinch is a rarity that comes along perhaps half a dozen times per decade, a smartly written literary novel that connects with the heart as well as the mind....Donna Tartt has delivered an extraordinary work of fiction."--Stephen King, The New York Times Book Review Composed with the skills of a master, The Goldfinch is a haunted odyssey through present day America and a drama of enthra

Mentor RelationshipChild AbuseCharacter-DrivenEmotional
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The Shack

William Paul Young · 252 pages

This book is a life changing in the way you think about a higher power and who,what,and why, He makes the decisions He does. It will make you think of God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit in a whole new way. An excellent read.

Mentor RelationshipChild AbuseCharacter-DrivenHeartwarming
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The War I Finally Won

Kimberly Brubaker Bradley · 400 pages

When Ada's clubfoot is surgically fixed at last, she knows for certain that she's not what her mother said she was--damaged, deranged, crippled mentally as well as physically. She's not a daughter anymore, either. What is she? World War II continues, and Ada and her brother, Jamie, are living with their loving legal guardian, Susan, in a borrowed cottage on the estate of the formidable Lady Thorto

World War IIChild AbuseEmotionalCharacter-Driven
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Bridge to Terabithia

Katherine Paterson · 144 pages

The life of a ten-year-old boy in rural Virginia expands when he becomes friends with a newcomer who subsequently meets an untimely death trying to reach their hideaway, Terabithia, during a storm.

Children'sCharacter-DrivenMiddle GradeEmotional
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A Little Princess

Frances Hodgson Burnett · 224 pages

This is a story about a different kind of princess than one might imagine; a princess that is an orphan - lonely, cold, hungry and abused. Sara Crewe begins life as the beloved, pampered daughter of a rich man. When he dies a pauper, she is thrown on the non-existent mercy of her small-minded, mercenary boarding school mistress. Stripped of all her belongings but for one set of clothes and a doll,

Children'sMentor RelationshipCharacter-DrivenHeartwarming
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Gather

Kenneth M. Cadow · 325 pages

Publisher Annotation: A resourceful teenager in rural Vermont struggles to hold on to the family home while his mom recovers from addiction in this striking debut novel.

Character-DrivenMentor RelationshipEmotionalHeartwarming
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Wonder

R.J. Palacio · 330 pages

## **Don't judge a boy by his face.** ## Auggie is a kid who just wants to be ordinary. He does ordinary things, like play on his Xbox and watch TV and eat. But ordinary kids don't make people stare just by walking down the block. They don't scare kids by looking at his face. They *definitely* haven't had over 20 surgeries by age 10. But when Auggie starts going to school for the first time in h

Child NarratorCharacter-DrivenMiddle GradeChildren's
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A Christmas Carol

Charles Dickens · 114 pages

A reprinting of the 1843 first edition, complete with the original illustrations, is supplemented by over eighty related sketches and annotations on and analyses of the text and historical notes on the writing of "The Christmas Carol."

Mentor RelationshipEmotionalChildren'sCharacter-Driven
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The Power of One

Bryce Courtenay · 518 pages

Follows Peekay, a white British boy in South Africa during World War II, between the ages of five and eleven, as he survives an abusive boarding school and goes on to succeed in life and the boxing ring, with help from a chicken, a boxer, a pianist, black African prisoners, and many others.

Mentor RelationshipWorld War IIEmotionalHistorical Fiction
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From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler

E.L. Konigsburg · 162 pages

Having run away with her younger brother to live in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, twelve-year-old Claudia strives to keep things in order in their new home and to become a changed person and a heroine to herself.

Child NarratorMentor RelationshipChildren'sHeartwarming
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The Invention of Hugo Cabret

Brian Selznick · 534 pages

ORPHAN, CLOCK KEEPER, AND THIEF, twelve-year-old Hugo lives in the walls of a busy Paris train station, where his survival depends on secrets and anonymity. But when his world suddenly interlocks with an eccentric girl and the owner of a small toy booth in the train station, Hugo’s undercover life, and his most precious secret, are put in jeopardy. A cryptic drawing, a treasured notebook, a stolen

Children'sMiddle GradeMentor RelationshipHeartwarming
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After

Morris Gleitzman · 224 pages

World War IIChild NarratorEmotionalMiddle Grade
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Bastard Out of Carolina

Dorothy Allison · 309 pages

Bone, an illegitimate child in a family of social outcasts, sees her mother's happiness with her new husband and will not tell when the stepfather begins abusing her in the 1950s.

Child AbuseChild NarratorCharacter-DrivenEmotional
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The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Stephen Chbosky · 216 pages

Charlie writes letters to an unknown mail recipient, detailing his struggles with high school, family, and finding his place in the world. Full of beautiful quotes and written with such sincerity, this is a book that makes the reader reflect on their purpose in life, while simultaneously reminding us about the power music, friendships, and "feeling infinite" can have on our life. Read this book.

Child AbuseMentor RelationshipCharacter-DrivenEmotional
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The Prince and the Pauper

Mark Twain · 270 pages

Children'sChild AbuseMiddle GradeHeartwarming
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Old Yeller

Fred Gipson · 158 pages

At first, Travis couldn't stand the sight of Old Yeller. The stray dog was ugly, and a thieving rascal, too. But he sure was clever, and a smart dog could be a big help on the wild Texas frontier, especially with Papa away on a long cattle drive up to Abilene. Strong and courageous, Old Yeller proved that he could protect Travis's family from any sort of danger. But can Travis do the same for O

Middle GradeChildren'sEmotionalHeartwarming
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Anna and the Swallow Man

Gavriel Savit · 248 pages

Krak w, 1939. A million marching soldiers and a thousand barking dogs. This is no place to grow up. Anna Lania is just seven years old when the Germans take her father, a linguistics professor, during their purge of intellectuals in Poland. She s alone. And then Anna meets the Swallow Man. He is a mystery, strange and tall, a skilled deceiver with more than a little magic up his sleeve. And when t

World War IIChild NarratorMentor RelationshipMiddle Grade
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