Robert Ramirez
1) Drive-By
Author
Language
English
Formats
Description
"Jimmy always told me there were only two kinds of gangbangers: Those who were dead and those who were going to die. Joining a gang doesn't make sense to Jimmy..."
Jimmy is dead now--gunned down in front of his little sister, Mina, and his brother, Tito. And Tito is left wondering: Was Jimmy in a gang after all? Ice Breaker Joe and Lamar think so. They say Jimmy was skimming their drug money. And if the missing cash isn't returned, Tito
...Author
Accelerated Reader
IL: LG - BL: 3.1 - AR Pts: 1
Language
English
Formats
Description
One day, high in the Andes Mountains, Cuy the Guinea Pig is searching for wild spinach to eat when Tío Antonio the Fox comes in search of Cuy to eat! Tío Antonio thinks he's found dinner, but crafty Cuy has other plans. Quick-witted Cuy fools Tío Antonio not once, but three times. Combining striking wood block artwork with an authentic South American voice, this sly trickster tale shows that clever thinking is key when you're out-foxing the fox....
Author
Accelerated Reader
IL: UG - BL: 5.2 - AR Pts: 5
Language
English
Formats
Description
You'd think a knife in the ribs would be the end of things, but for Chuy, that's when his life at last gets interesting. He finally sees that people love him, faces the consequences of his actions, finds in himself compassion and bravery . . . and even stumbles on what may be true love.
A funny, touching, and wholly original story by one of the finest authors writing for young readers today.
A funny, touching, and wholly original story by one of the finest authors writing for young readers today.
5) The good dog
Author
Accelerated Reader
IL: MG - BL: 3.7 - AR Pts: 5
Language
English
Formats
Description
McKinley, a malamute, is torn between the domestic world of his human family and the wild world of Lupin, a wolf that is trying to recruit dogs to replenish the dwindling wolf pack.
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Series
Language
English
Formats
Description
The fourth installment in the Heir Chronicles series by New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Cinda Williams Chima.
They called it the Thorn Hill Massacre—the brutal attack on a once-thriving Weir community. Though Jonah Kinlock lived through it, he did not emerge unscathed. Like the other survivors, Jonah possesses unique magical gifts that set him apart from members of the mainline guilds....
They called it the Thorn Hill Massacre—the brutal attack on a once-thriving Weir community. Though Jonah Kinlock lived through it, he did not emerge unscathed. Like the other survivors, Jonah possesses unique magical gifts that set him apart from members of the mainline guilds....
Author
Language
English
Formats
Description
A beautiful Kirkassi girl, cold-eyed villains and smiling killers, a bazaar merchant peddling slightly used dreams-could any young adventurer ask for more? Not Carlo Chuchio, who is seeking hidden treasure on the legendary Road of Golden Dreams.
With Baksheesh, the world's worst camel-puller, Carlo leads a caravan through the realm of Keshavar. Robbed of all but his underdrawers, mistaken for a mighty warrior and then for a crown prince, Carlo risks...
Author
Accelerated Reader
IL: LG - BL: 3 - AR Pts: 1
Language
English
Formats
Description
When Buster the dog's owner goes away for a few days, he sends Buster to Sagebrush Kennels for Cowboy Camp, where Buster is homesick at first, but then has fun herding balls into the corral, gathering sticks for a campfire, and making wanted posters with his pawprints.
10) Skippyjon Jones
Author
Series
Accelerated Reader
IL: LG - BL: 3.3 - AR Pts: 1
Language
English
Appears on list
Description
Skippyjon Jones is a Siamese cat with an overactive imagination who would rather be El Skippito, his Zorro-like, Chihuahua alter ego. With a dual-image lenticular cover, original illustrations, and new art.
11) Dead connection
Author
Series
Accelerated Reader
IL: UG - BL: 4.7 - AR Pts: 8
Language
English
Formats
Description
A loner who communes with the dead in the town cemetery hears the voice of a murdered cheerleader and tries to convince the adults that he knows what happened to her.
12) 7X9 = Trouble!
Author
Language
English
Description
The two things that Wilson Williams likes best about 3rd grade are drawing and taking care of the class pet, Squiggles the hamster. What he likes the least are timed multiplication tests. Why think about all those numbers when he could be drawing pictures of Squiggles? With gentle humor, Claudia Mills works through a common childhood problem to a surprising resolution.
13) Buried Onions
Author
Language
English
Description
You can pray and sometimes God listens, says 19-year-old Eddie. "Other times he's far away in India or Africa or maybe close to home in Fresno, his body sprawled on the floor, glass all around because of a drive-by." All Eddie wants is to find a way out of the dangerous life he's living, where his friends are lost in a world of drugs and violence. Even his aunt wants to give him a gun so he can avenge the death of her son. But no matter how hard he...
14) Breaking Through
Author
Series
Language
English
Description
As he prepares to recite the Declaration of Independence before his eighth-grade social studies class in California, the thing Francisco has feared for ten years finally happens. La migra, the immigration police, comes to his classroom and picks him up for deportation to Mexico. Soon back in the United States with a "green card," Francisco struggles through adolescence, working two or three jobs a day and striving to excel at school. But he also finds...
15) Dogsong
Author
Language
English
Description
Gary Paulsen's Dogsong-a Newbery Honor Book and an ALA Best Book for Young Adults-is the graphic, coming-of-age tale of a modern Eskimo lad and his consuming vision quest and harrowing struggle for survival. Troubled by changes in his Alaskan village, 14-year-old Russell Suskitt seeks the counsel of the village elder-and only dog team owner. After his training in the ancient arts of hunting with bow and lance, handling sled dogs, and surviving arctic...
Author
Language
English
Description
Wounded in a vicious attack on his village by British soldiers, 14-year-old Saxso awakens to discover his mother and two sisters have been taken prisoner. On his own, he sets out to track his family and their captors through the rugged Canadian wilderness. The author of more than 70 books for children and adults and the winner of a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Native Writers Circle of the Americas, Joseph Bruchac draws on his Abenaki cutural...
17) The Poppy Seeds
Author
Language
English
Description
When young Pablo is given some poppy seeds, he dreams of spreading color and beauty throughout his dusty Mexican village. Daring to enter Old Antonio's walled yard to plant the seeds, he is chased away with angry words and a stick. The stingy old man thinks Pablo has come to steal his precious spring water. Poor Pablo becomes sick from staying too long in the hot sun and cannot leave his bed. Meanwhile, the seeds he dropped by the spring have grown...
Author
Series
Language
English
Description
Judy Schachner's New York Times bestselling Skippyjon Jones books are beloved for their musical wordplay and zany stories. In Lost in Spice, the mischievous kitty boy determines that the planet Mars is red because it's covered in cayenne pepper. Unable to resist such an enticement, Skippyjon blasts off for an adventure filled with craters, otherworldly creatures, and plenty of things only his wild imagination could possibly conjure.
Author
Series
Language
English
Description
Skippyjon has found the bones of a gigantico ancient dinosaur, the Skipposaurus. But mom insists that they belong to Darwin the dog and he'd better return them soon. Skippyjon will return them (most of them)-but not before he enters the land of the Skipposaurus as none other than Skippito Friskito, the best muchacho around!
20) Petty Crimes
Author
Language
English
Description
In books like Buried Onions and Boys at Work Gary Soto displays a gift for revealing the tough, heart-breaking life of contemporary urban kids. In Petty Crimes, Soto offers 10 stories about the risky situations and dangerous little scams faced by young people growing up on the harsh streets of the city. Meet Alma, who can accept her mother's death from cancer, but not the loss of her mother's clothes to local charities. Cheer for Rudy, who learns...