Julia's Kitchen by Brenda A. Ferber

Cara Segal is at a sleepover the night a fire breaks out at her house, killing her mother and sister. Her father survives, but is so distraught over their loss that he is unable to answer Cara's questions, and he buries himself in his work. After 41 days of being the only one who can make Cara smile, her best friend, Marlee, tells her she wants the old Cara back. One day, Cara's father gives her a box of items that had survived the fire. Among other things, her mother's recipe box was intact. Cara begins to heal when she decides to keep her mother's homemade cookie business, Julia's Kitchen, alive.

Paint the Wind by Pam Munoz Ryan

Maya is unhappy living with her grandmother after a tragic accident takes the lives of her parents. Grandmother does not let Maya participate in any activities outside her home except school. When her grandmother passes away unexpectedly, Maya moves to Wyoming to live with her mother's family. There, Maya learns to ride a horse and begins to bloom. One day while trying to get closer to a wild Paint horse that her aunt named Artemesia, Maya gets caught in the middle of an earthquake. She manages to survive on her own for a week before Artemesia carries her back to her camp.

The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall

The four Penderwick sisters (Rosalind, Jane, Skye and Batty) are spending the summer with their father in a cottage in the Berkshire mountains. The cottage happens to be located on the grounds of a mansion owned by the very snobbish Mrs. Tifton. Her son, Jeffrey becomes friends with the Penderwicks, and they have one adventure after another. Batty, age 4, accidentally enters a fenced in area with a bull. While she is telling it "nice horsey", Jeffrey bravely diverts the bull's attention so that Batty can narrowly escape. Jeffrey is a brilliant pianist, but his mother insists on his attending a military academy like her father. The Penderwick girls help Jeffrey figure out a way to convince Mrs. Tifton to let him attend a music school instead. A very well-written, humorous book.

Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls

One of the best children's books ever written. Billy Colman wants two coon hounds in the worst way. His parents don't have any extra money, so Billy works hard for two years to save $50 to buy the pups. When he gets them, he names them Old Dan and Little Ann. He teaches them to hunt racoons, and they rambles through the woods in the mountains all night long in complete freedom. Billy is strong, brave, honest, loyal and full of grit. Be prepare...you won't get through it without a good cry.

Code Talker by Joseph Bruchac

A Navajo boy named Ned Begay is sent to a white man's school when he is six years old. At the school he is forbidden to speak the Navajo language, and he is taught the ways of white men. When Ned is sixteen, he enlists in the U.S. Marines to serve in World War II. Ironically, he is trained to use the Navajo language in a special unit of Code Talkers who transmit messages in the Pacific at Guadalcanal, Bougainville and Iwo Jima.

Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan

Esperanza Ortega's life of ease and wealth on her father's Mexican ranch is turned upside down the day before her 13th birthday when she and her mother find out that her father was killed by bandits. They are forced to leave all they have and migrate to California with their servants to start a new life. After reading this book, you will better understand the Mexican proverb the author quotes at the beginning of the book: "The rich person is richer when he becomes poor, than the poor person when he becomes rich."

A Million Dots by Andrew Clements

How big is a million? Find out by looking through the pages of this book. The book begins and ends with one dot, and in between the remaining 999, 998 dots are presented in interesting ways. Each page has a running total of how many dots have been shown so far. If you like to learn random facts, they are scattered throughout the book as well.