Find books, music, movies, and more »
Reading/Books
- Pierce County READS
- Audiobooks
- BookFLIX
- Book Group Collection
- Book Club How-to's
- Club Kits for Kids & Teens
- How the Collection works
- Selection Critera
- Titles & Annotations for Adults
- Titles & Annotations for Kids/Teens
- Book lists
- Books Plus to Go
- Book Selection Tools
- Discuss a Book!
- Magazines
- Newspaper Direct
- Online Book Club
- Reading Programs & Book Reviews
- WIKI
- WorldCat
Titles & Annotations for Kids/Teens
List of kid (J) or teen (YA) titles in multi-copy kits for book discussion groups. Please contact a staff member to check availability and reserve kits. (Kits are not reserved through the catalog.)
Among The Hidden by Margaret Peterson Haddix (J) 153 pages. In a future where the Population Police enforce the law limiting a family to only two children, Luke has lived all his twelve years in isolation and fear, until another "third" convinces him that the government is wrong.
Becoming Naomi Leon by Pam Munoz Ryan, (J) 246 pages. When Naomi's absent mother resurfaces to claim her, Naomi runs away to Mexico with her great-grandmother and younger brother in search of her father.
The Beloved Dearly by Doug Cooney (J) 183 pages. Although his father has forbidden it, Ernie, a twelve-year-old business tycoon makes a tidy profit in the pet funeral business.
Bridge To Terabithia by Katherine Paterson (J) 163 pages. In this classic novel, the friendship between young Jess and Leslie grows as they meet in Terabithia--their secret hiding place-- and ends with a tragic death. (Newbery Medal 1978)
Catherine, Called Birdy by Karen Cushman (YA) 212 pages. Catherine keeps a journal during her fourteenth year. Her descriptions of life on a 13th-century English manor reach through time to speak to modern readers. (Newbery Honor 1995)
The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau (J) 270 pages. This post-apocalyptic page turner tells the story of two twelve year olds that uncover vital clues to escaping the rapidly deteriorating city where they and previous generations have lived for hundreds of years.
Coraline by Neil Gaiman (J) 162 pages. When Coraline steps through the locked door in her family's new flat, she finds a world which caters to her every whim. When she wants to leave, however, things rapidly change and she must fight a battle of good and evil to save herself.
Dragonwings by Laurence Yep (J) 317 pages. Golden Mountain Chronicles, 1903. In the early twentieth century a young Chinese boy joins his father in San Francisco and helps him realize his dream of making a flying machine. (Newbery Honor, 1976)
Driver's Ed by Caroline B.Cooney (YA) 184 pages. Two teenagers' lives are changed forever when they thoughtlessly steal a stop sign from a dangerous intersection, resulting in the death of a young mother in an automobile accident.
The Ear, the Eye and the Arm by Nancy Farmer (YA) 301 pages. A futuristic detective story set in 22nd century Zimbabwe about the kidnapping of the General's three children. Interwoven with Africa's history and present day concerns. (Newbery Honor, 1995)
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card (YA) 324 pages. Child-hero Ender Wiggin must fight a desperate battle against a deadly alien race if mankind is to survive.
Eragon by Christopher Paolini (YA) 509 pages. While exploring the forest, 15-year-old Eragon discovers an odd blue gemstone-a dragon egg, fated to hatch in his care.
Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan (J) 262 pages. When a sudden tragedy shatters Esperanza's sheltered world, she and her mother emigrate to California to work in the fields and start a new life. (Pura Belpre Author Award, 2002)
Everything on a Waffle by Polly Horvath (J)150 pages. Primrose’s only refuge is at a local restaurant, where the owner, Miss Bowzer, serves everything on a waffle, except advice and good sense.
Fever, 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson (YA) 243 pages. The year is 1793 and fourteen-year-old Matilda Cook finds herself in the middle of a struggle to keep herself and her loved ones alive in the midst of the yellow fever epidemic.
First Test by Tamora Pierce (J) 228 pages. Ten-year-old Keladry of Mindalen, daughter of nobles, serves as a page but must prove herself to the males around her if she is ever to fulfill her dream of becoming a knight.
Holes by Louis Sachar (YA) 233 pages. As punishment at Camp Green Lake's detention center, the boys must each dig a hole a day, five feet across, in the hard earth of the dried-up lake bed. The warden is using the boys to dig for loot buried by an outlaw. (Newbery Award 1999)
Homeless Bird by Gloria Whelan (J) 186 pages. Thirteen-year-old Koly is getting married, so, full of hope, she leaves home forever. But a terrible mistake ties her to a husband who is too young. Tradition dictates that Koly marry anyway, and her future is lost. (National Book Award, 2000)
The House of Scorpion by Nancy Farmer (YA) 380 pages. To most people around him, Matt is not a boy, but a beast. As Matt tries to understand his existence, he is threatened by sinister characters.
The Janitor's Boy by Andrew Clements (J) 140 pages. When Jack is publicly embarrassed by his father, the school janitor, his revenge results in an unusual punishment--helping his father after school. The job leads to some surprising revelations about his father, the school, and himself.
The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan (J) 377 pages. 12 year old Percy Jackson finds out he is the child of a mortal and an Olympic God after nearly losing his life in one breathtaking attempt after another.
Love, Ruby Lavender by Debbie Wiles (J) 212 pages. Nine-year-old Rudy Lavender and her grandmother, Miss Eula, rescue chickens from the Halleluiah, Mississippi, slaughterhouse.
A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly (J) 380 pages. An astonishing and heartbreaking debut - this is the story of a young woman’s coming of age and the murder that rocked America.
Not My Dog by Colby Rodowsky (J) 69 pages. Ellie, who is eight years old, has to give up her dream of getting a puppy after her parents agree to take in the dog that great-aunt Margaret can no longer keep.
Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor (J) 276 pages. Focusing on the struggles and triumphs of the Logan’s, a poor African-American family, the themes of racism and family heritage are explored.
Runt by Marian Bauer (J) 131 pages. Runt, the smallest wolf pup, desperately trying to please his father, the leader of wolf pack, stumbles into the forbidden human territory and leans a valuable lesson in self worth.
Shabanu, Daughter of the Wind by Suzanne Fisher Staples (YA) 240 pages. Spirited and courageous Shabanu, daughter of present-day Pakistani camel herders loves her family's life and her role in caring for their camels until a calamity occurs that changes forever her life of independence. (Newbery Honor, 1990)
Shackleton's Stowaway by Victoria McKernan (J) 317 pages. This fictionalized account tells the adventures of eighteen-year-old Perce Blackborrow, who stowed away for the 1914 Shackleton Antarctic expedition. After their ship Endurance was crushed by ice, he endures many hardships, including the loss of toes and his left foot to frostbite, during the nearly two-year return journey home.
A Single Shard by Linda Park (J) 148 pages. Tree-ear, a thirteen-year-old orphan in Korea lives under a bridge in a potter’s village and longs to learn how to throw the delicate celadon sword.
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares (YA) 294 pages. Four best girlfriends hatch a plan to stay connected with one another as their lives start off in different directions: they pass around a pair of secondhand jeans which fits each girl perfectly.
Skeleton Man by Joseph Bruchac (J) 114 pages. After her parents disappear and she is turned over to the care of a strange “great Uncle”, Molly must rely on her dreams about Old Mohawk story for her safety and maybe even her life.
A Step from Heaven by An Na (YA) 156 pages. In her mesmerizing first novel, Na traces the life of Korean-born Young Fu from the age of four through her teenage years, wrapping up her story just a few weeks before she leaves for college.
Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt (J) 171 pages. The Tuck family is confronted with an agonizing situation when they discover that a ten-year-old girl and a malicious stranger now share their secret about a spring whose water prevents one from ever growing any older.
The Watsons go to Birmingham--1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis (J) 210 pages. The ordinary interactions and everyday routines of the Watsons, an African-American family living in Flint, Michigan, are drastically changed after they go to visit Grandma in Alabama in the summer of 1963. (Newbery Honor, 1996 & Coretta Scott King Award Honor, 1996)
The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin (J) 216 pages. The mysterious death of an eccentric millionaire brings together an unlikely assortment of heirs who must uncover the circumstances of his death before they can claim their inheritance. (Newbery Award, 1979)
Where the Red Fern Grows: the Story of Two Dogs and a Boy by Wilson Rawls (J) 212 pages. A young boy living in the Ozarks achieves his heart's desire when he becomes the owner of two redbone hounds and teaches them to be champion hunters.
White Star: a Dog on the Titanic by Marty Crisp (J) 150 pages. Twelve-year-old Sam, a passenger on the Titanic, volunteers to help care for the dogs in the ocean liner's kennel and becomes friends with the Irish setter of the ship's owner.