Books for Independent Reading
VERY EASY
- A Sled Dog for Moshi
- by Jean Bushey
(Multiculural)
Hyperion 1994 (32p)
An Inuit girl's adventures deepen her
appreciation of her culture.
- Ruth Law Thrills a Nation
- by Don Brown
(Social Studies)
Ticknor 1993 (32p)
Ruth Law attempts to fly solo from
Chicago to New York.
- Jocasta Carr, Movie Star
- by Roy Gerrard
Farrar 1992 (32p)
Jocasta flies off to find her missing
costar, Belle the sheepdog.
- Salty Takes Off
- by Gloria Rand
Holt 1991 (32p)
Zack and his dog Salty face bad
weather while flying to Alaska.
- To the Top: Climbing the World's Highest Mountain
- by S. A. Kramer
(Social Studies)
Random 1993 (48p)
Edmund Hillary's and Tenzing Norgay's
historic climb.
- Great Black Heroes: Five Brave Explorers
- by Wade Hudson
(Multicultural)
Scholastic 1995 (48p)
Stories about Mae Jemison, Esteban,
James Beckwourth, Jean duSable, and
Matthew Henson.
- The Return of Freddy Legrand
- by Jon Agee
Farrar 1992 (32p); also paper
A daring pilot flies his biplane across
the Atlantic.
EASY
- Space Camp®: The Great Adventure for NASA Hopefuls
- by Anne Baird
(Science/Health)
Morrow 1992 (48p)
Astronaut training at U.S. Space Camp
in Huntsville.
- Flight: The Journey of Charles Lindbergh
- by Robert Burleigh
(Social Studies)
Philomel 1991 (32p)
An exciting account of the aviator's
New York-to-Paris solo flight.
- Fly! A Brief History of Flight Illustrated
- by Barry Moser
(Science/Health)
Harper 1993 (56p)
The history of flight from hot-air
balloons to space shuttles.
- Black Stars in Orbit: NASA's African American Astronauts
- by Khephra Burns and William Miles
(Multicultural)
Harcourt 1994 (80p)
The first African Americans in space.
- Christa McAuliffe: Reaching for the Stars
- by Patricia Martin
(Social Studies)
Rourke 1992 (23p)
Biography of the first teacher in space.
Available in Spanish asChrista
McAuliffe: Hacio los astros.
- The U. S. Space Camp®: Book of Rockets
- by Anne Baird
(Science/Health)
Morrow 1994 (48p)
Photo essay of the Rocket Park and
Space Museum in Huntsville.
- Destination: Antarctica
- by Robert Swan
(Social Studies)
Scholastic 1989 (48p); also paper
Photo essay of the author's 900-mile
trek to the South Pole.
- Platero y yo/Platero and I
- by Juan Ramón Jiménez
(Multicultural)
Clarion 1994 (48p)
Classic story of the donkey Platero and
his poet companion. Text in English
and Spanish.
AVERAGE
- James y el melocotón gigante(James and the Giant Peach)
- by Roald Dahl
Text in Spanish.
- The Haymeadow
- by Gary Paulsen
Delacorte 1992 (195p); also paper
Adventures of a boy herding the
family's 6,000 sheep.
- The Bell Reef
- by Sarita Kendall
Houghton 1990 (135p)
With a dolphin's help, Daniel and
Vicky recover pirate treasure.
- Dominic
- by William Steig
Farrar 1984 (160p); also paper
Dominic's journey brings him many
friends. Available in Spanish as
Dominico.
- Coast to Coast
- by Betsy Byars
Delacorte 1992 (164p); Bantam 1994
paper
Birch and her grandfather fly coast to
coast in his antique Piper Cub.
- The Midnight Horse
- by Sid Fleischman
Greenwillow 1990 (84p); Dell 1992
paper
The orphan Touch sets out to make his
home with is uncle.
- The Search for Delicious
- by Natalie Babbitt
Farrar 1989(176p); also paper
Galen polls the kingdom for a food to
define “delicious.”
- Adventure in Space: The Flight to Fix the Hubble
- by Elaine Scott
(Science/Health)
Hyperion 1995 (64p)
The crew of the space shuttle Endeavor
repair the Hubble Telescope in space.
- The Grand Escape
- by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Atheneum 1993 (148p); Yearling 1994
paper
Fantasy about two cats who long for
life on a ranch.
- The Black Pearl
- by Scott O'Dell
Houghton 1967 (160p); Laurel 1977
paper
Ramon's adventures as a pearl diver.
Available in Spanish asLa perla
negra.
- To Space & Back
- by Sally Ride and Susan Okie
(Science/Health)
Lothrop 1986 (96p); also paper
Recollections of the first American
woman to travel in space.
- Amelia Earhart Takes Off
- by Fern G. Brown
(Social Studies)
Whitman 1985 (60p)
Traces Earhart's life to her mysterious
disappearance.
- Taking Flight: My Story by Vicki Van Meter
- by Vicki Van Meter with Dan Gutman
(Social Studies)
Viking 1995 (96p)
Twelve-year-old Vicki's story of
becoming the youngest girl to fly
cross-country.
- Susan Butcher: Sled Dog Racer
- by Ginger Wadsworth
(Social Studies)
Lerner 1994 (64p)
The story of the four-time Iditarod
winner.
- Call It Courage
- by Armstrong Sperry
(Multicultural)
Macmillan 1968 (96p); also paper
Mafatu must prove his courage by
overcoming his fear of the sea.
Available in Spanish asEsto en
coraje.
- Abel's Island
- by William Steig
Farrar 1976 (128); also paper
A gentleman mouse learns to survive in
the wild. Available in Spanish as
La ilsa de Abel.
- The Marvelous Misadventures of Sebastian
- by Lloyd Alexander
Dutton 1973 (244p); Dell 1991 paper
A fiddler who takes to the road has
many adventures.
CHALLENGING
- Crazy Weekend
- by Gary Soto
(Multicultural)
Scholastic 1994 (144p)
Hector's adventurous weekend with his
Uncle Julio, a photographer/pilot.
- Summer on Wheels
- by Gary Soto
(Multicultural)
Scholastic 1995 (163p)
Hector and his friend Mando continue
their adventures on a bicycle trip to the
beach in Santa Monica.
- Redwall
- by Brian Jacques
Philomel 1986 (351p); also paper
First in the popular series about the
mouse Matthias and Redwall Abbey.
- El Güero: A True Adventure Story
- by Elizabeth Borton de Treviño
(Multicultural)
Farrar 1989 (112p)
Based on the boyhood adventures in
Mexico of the author's father-in-law.
- Across America on an Emigrant Train
- by Jim Murphy
(Social Studies)
Clarion 1993 (160p)
Robert Louis Stevenson travels by
train across America.
- The Righteous Revenge of Artemis Bonner
- by Walter Dean Myers
(Multicultural)
Harper 1992 (144p); also paper
A Western spoof about a New York kid
in Tombstone, Arizona.
- Black Eagles: African Americans in Aviation
- by Jim Haskins
(Multicultural)
Scholastic 1995 (185p)
A history of African American
involvement in aviation.
Books for Teachers to Read Aloud
- The Incredible Journey
- by Sheila Burnford
Little 1960 (154p); Bantam paper
Classic story of a cat and two dogs
trying to find their way home.
- The Remarkable Journey of Prince Jen
- by Lloyd Alexander
(Multicultural)
Dutton 1991 (288p); Dell 1993 paper
A naive prince embarks on a perilous
quest in search of wisdom.
- Around the World in Eighty Days
- by Jules Verne
Dell 1964 (253p)
Phileas Fogg travels around the world
to win a bet. Available in Spanish as
La vuelto al mundo en 80 días.