Avi. CRISPIN: THE CROSS OF LEAD. Falsely accused of theft and murder, an orphaned peasant boy in fourteenth-century England flees his village and meets a larger-than-life juggler who holds a dangerous secret. $16.49. ISBN 0-7868-2647-9 (PLB); $15.99. ISBN 0-7868-0828-4 (Tr.). Gr. 6 up.

Byars, Betsy. KEEPER OF THE DOVES. In the late 1800’s in Kentucky, Amen McBee and her four sisters both fear and torment the reclusive and seemingly sinister Mr. Tominski, but their father continues to provide for his needs. $14.99. ISBN 0-670-03576-9. Gr. 4 up.

Clinton, Cathryn. A STONE IN MY HAND. Eleven-year-old Malaak and her family are touched by the violence in Gaza between Jews and Palestinians when first her father disappears and then her older brother is drawn to a radical group. $15.99. ISBN 0-7636-1388-6. Gr. 6 up.

Davies, Jacqueline. WHERE THE GROUND MEETS THE SKY. During World War II, a twelve-year-old girl is uprooted from her quiet, East coast life and moved to a secluded army post in the New Mexico desert where her father and other scientists are working on a top secret project. $14.95. ISBN 0-7614-5105-6. Gr. 5 up.

Farmer, Nancy. THE HOUSE OF THE SCORPION. In a future where humans despise clones, Matt enjoys special status as the young clone of El Patron, the 140-year-old leader of a corrupt drug empire nestled between Mexico and the United States. $17.95. ISBN 0-689-85222-3. Gr. 6 up.

Ferris, Jean. ONCE UPON A MARIGOLD. A young man with a mysterious past and a penchant for inventing things leaves the troll who raised him, meets an unhappy princess he has loved from afar, and discovers a plot against her and her father. $17.00. ISBN 0-15-216791-9. Gr. 5 up.

Fleischman, John. PHINEAS GAGE: A GRUESOME BUT TRUE STORY ABOUT BRAIN SCIENCE. In 1848 in Cavendish, Vermont, Phineas Gage had a 13-pound iron rod shot through his brain. He lived 11 _ years more, but with a totally changed personality. A fascinating study for scientists. $16.00. ISBN 0-618-05252-6. Gr. 5 up.

George, Kristine O’Connell. SWIMMING UPSTREAM: MIDDLE SCHOOL POEMS. A collection of poems captures the feelings and experiences of a girl in middle school. $14.00. ISBN 0-618-15250-4. Gr. 5 up.

Green, Michelle Y. A STRONG RIGHT ARM: THE STORY OF MAMIE "PEANUT" JOHNSON. One of only three women to play for the Negro leagues, Peanut Johnson was a powerhouse, although only 5’2" and 98 pounds. $15.99. ISBN 0-8037-2661-9. Gr. 4 up.

Hiaasen, Carl. HOOT. Roy, who is new to his small Florida community, becomes involved in another boy’s attempt to save a colony of burrowing owls from a proposed construction site. $17.99. ISBN 0-375-92181-8 (PLB); $15.95. ISBN 0-375-82181-3 (Tr.). Gr. 6 up.

Howe, James. IT CAME FROM BENEATH THE BED: TALES FROM THE HOUSE OF BUNNICULA. With help from his Uncle Harold, who wrote books about Bunnicula, Howie the wire-haired dachshund writes a story in which he saves the world from a science experiment gone wrong. $9.95. ISBN 0-689-83947-2. Gr. 4 up.

Lowry, Lois. GOONEY BIRD GREENE. A most unusual new student who loves to be the center of attention entertains her teacher and fellow second-graders by telling absolutely true stories about herself, including how she got her name. $15.00. ISBN 0-618-23848-4. Gr. 4 up.

Marsden, Carolyn. THE GOLD-THREADED DRESS. When Oy and her Thai-American family move to a new neighborhood, her fourth-grade classmates tease and exclude her because she is different. $13.99. ISBN 0-7636-1569-2. Gr. 4 up.

Martin, Ann M. A CORNER OF THE UNIVERSE. Sure of her place in her family and the world, twelve-year-old Hattie has her life turned upside down when an uncle she had never heard of returns from his residential school. $15.95. ISBN 0-439-38880-5. Gr. 5 up.

Meyer, L.A. BLOODY JACK: BEING AN ACCOUNT OF THE CURIOUS ADVENTURES OF MARY "JACKY" FABER, SHIP’S BOY. Reduced to begging and thievery in the streets of London, a thirteen-year-old orphan disguises herself as a boy and connives her way onto a British warship set for high sea adventure in search of pirates. $17.00. ISBN 0-15-216731-5. Gr. 6 up.

Myers, Walter Dean. PATROL: AN AMERICAN SOLDIER IN VIETNAM. A frightened American soldier faces combat in the lush forests of Vietnam. $16.89. ISBN 0-06-028364-5 (PLB); $16.95. ISBN 0-06-028363-7 (Tr.). Gr. 4 up.

Napoli, Donna Jo. DAUGHTER OF VENICE. Frustrated with the restrictions her gender imposes on her life, fourteen-year-old Donata, disguised as a boy, sneaks out of her noble family’s house to roam the streets of late sixteenth-century Venice and then must confront the repercussions of her actions. $18.99. ISBN 0-385-90036-8 (PLB); $16.95. ISBN 0-385-32780-3 (Tr.). Gr. 6 up.

Park, Linda Sue. WHEN MY NAME WAS KEOKO. With national pride and occasional fear, a brother and sister face the increasingly oppressive occupation of Korea by Japan during World War II, which threatens to suppress Korean culture entirely. $16.00. ISBN 0-618-13335-6. Gr. 6 up.

Partridge, Elizabeth. THIS LAND WAS MADE FOR YOU AND ME: THE LIFE AND SONGS OF WOODY GUTHRIE. A biography of Woody Guthrie, a singer who wrote over 3,000 folk songs and ballads as he traveled around the United States, including "This Land is Your Land" and "So Long, It’s Been Good to Know Yuh." $21.99. ISBN 0-670-03535-1. Gr. 6 up.

Paterson, Katherine. THE SAME STUFF AS STARS. When Angel’s self-absorbed mother leaves her and her younger brother with their poor great-grandmother, the eleven-year-old girl worries not only about her mother and brother, her imprisoned father, and the frail old woman, but also about a mysterious man who begins sharing with her the wonder of the stars. $15.00. ISBN 0-618-24744-0. Gr. 5 up.

Spinelli, Jerry. LOSER. Even though his classmates from first grade on have considered him strange and a loser, Donald Zinkoff’s optimism and exuberance and the support of his loving family do not allow him to feel that way about himself. $15.89. ISBN 0-06-000483-5 (PLB); $15.95. ISBN 0-06-000193-3 (Tr.). Gr. 5 up.

Tolan, Stephanie S. SURVIVING THE APPLEWHITES. Jake, a budding juvenile delinquent, is sent for home schooling to the arty and eccentric Applewhite family’s Creative Academy, where he discovers talents and interests he never knew he had. $17.89. ISBN 0-06-623603-7 (PLB); $15.99. ISBN 0-06-623602-9 (Tr.). Gr. 5 up.

Vande Velde, Vivian. HEIR APPARENT. While playing a total immersion virtual reality game of kings and intrigue, fourteen-year-old Giannine learns that demonstrators have damaged the equipment to which she is connected, and she must win the game quickly or be damaged herself. $17.00. ISBN 0-15-204560-0. Gr. 6 up.

Walker, Sally M. FOSSIL FISH FOUND ALIVE: DISCOVERING THE COELACANTH. Describes the 1938 discovery of the coelacanth, a fish previously believed to be extinct, and subsequent research about it. $17.95. ISBN 1-57505-536-8. Gr. 5 up.

Woodson, Jacqueline. HUSH. Thirteen-year-old Toswiah finds her life changed when her family enters the witness protection program. $15.99. ISBN 0-399-23114-5. Gr. 6 up.