Display: Outstanding Intermediates

Outstanding Intermediates

The chapter books in this display are in our Intermediate section and received at least one starred review in a national book review journal this year.

I Am Not a Number
By Jenny Duprius
Orca Book Pub, 2016. Intermediate. 32 p.
When Irene is removed from her First Nations family to live in a residential school, she is confused, frightened and terribly homesick.

Mango and Bambang: the Not-a-Pig
By Polly Faber
Candlewick Press, 2016. Intermediate. 135 p.
Bambang, a displaced tapir, requires a great deal of coaxing and comforting to help him acclimate to the big city, and Mango is just the girl for the job. But when Mango faces a nerve-racking challenge of her own, will Bambang be able to return the favor?

Where are You Going, Baby Lincoln?
(Tales from Deckawoo Drive #3)
By Kate DiCamillo
Timid Baby Lincoln has always lived in the shadow of her bossy sister. One day she decides to take a “necessary” journey into the unknown all by herself.

Skunked
(Calpurnia Tate, Girl Vet #1)
By Jacqueline Kelly
Henry Holt, 2016. Intermediate. 106 p.
When Travis discovers an abandoned baby skunk, he can't help but bring it home and take care of it. But when Travis discovers Stinky's litter-mate, Winky, who is in need of some help, things get complicated around the Tate house.

The Sea Pony
(Piper Green and the Fairy Tree #3)
By Ellen Porter
Alfred A. Knopf, 2016. Intermediate. 114p.
On an island off the coast of Maine, where children ride lobster boats to school, Piper wants a horse but finds, instead, another object hidden in the red maple tree.

Juana & Lucas
By Juana Medina
Candlewick Press, 2016, Intermediate. 88 p.
A spunky young girl from Colombia loves playing with her canine best friend and resists boring school activities, especially learning English, until her family tells her that a special trip is planned to an English-speaking place.

The Poet’s Dog
By Patricia MacLachlan
HarperCollins, 2016. Intermediate. 88 p.
A dog with unusual communication talents loses his poet owner before rescuing two children trapped in a snowstorm and leading them to the poet's cabin, where the children explore the memories that the poet has left behind.

Life According to Dani
By Rose Legercrantz
Gecko Press, 2016. Intermediate. 103 p.
It's Dani's first summer vacation and she is staying on an island with Ella, her best friend in the world. Dad is still in hospital but he calls every day, and Ella and Dani stay busy building huts, fishing, exploring, and swimming.

Comments

Review: A Game of Noctis

A Game of Noctis By Deva Fagan New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2024. Fiction. 310 pages. On the island of Dantessa, social standings and wealth are determined by your place in the Great Game. If you keep on winning, you can reap treasures, power, and security for yourself and your family; but if you lose too many games, you'll be exiled to Pawn Island and a life of servitude. That's what happens to 12-year-old Pia's grandfather. Due to poor vision, he struggles to see the games, but also can't afford new eyeglasses without winning. When his score falls to zero, he is sent away. Desperate to bring him back, Pia joins a ragtag group of misfits to form a team for the annual game of Noctis. The game requires contestants to perform dangerous challenges in front of a live audience, and no one outside the wealthy Diamond District has ever won. Each member of Pia's team, the Seafoxes, has their own reason to compete, but if they're going to win they'll h...

Review: The Factory

The Factory By Catherine Egan New York, NY : Scholastic Inc., 2025. Fiction. 306 pages. Thirteen-year-old Asher Doyle has been invited to join the Factory, a secretive research facility in the desert which ostensibly extracts renewable energy from the electromagnetic fields of its young recruits. But Asher soon realizes something sinister is going on. Kids are getting sick. The adults who run the Factory seem to be keeping secrets. And the extraction process is not only painful and exhausting, but existentially troubling. Asher makes a handful of new friends who help him with an investigation that turns into a resistance, which turns into...a cliffhanger! The Factory is a page-turning sci-fi with multidimensional characters, an intriguing plot, and refreshingly straight-forward writing. Egan weaves in detail about climate crises and social unrest, making the story's dystopian setting feel rich and plausible. With its sophisticated themes and accessible storytelling, I would recomm...

Review: Fowl Play

Fowl Play By Kristin O'Donnell Tubb New York: Katherine Tegen Books, 2024. Fiction 277 pages. Still reeling from her beloved uncle's death, Chloe Alvarez is comforted and confused when at his last will and testament reading, Uncle Will gifts her his African Grey parrot, Charlie. Charlie has a robust vocabulary and loves to make Alexa requests for her favorite songs, but when she starts saying things like, "homicide," and "cyanide," Chloe becomes convinced that Uncle Will may have met his demise by murder instead of a genetic disease, as was previously thought. Ultimately, bringing in her brother, Grammy, and Uncle Frank (and of course Charlie,) Chloe's ragtag and adoring family support her search for answers ---going on stakeouts, engaging in fast pursuits, and searching for clues. But as the suspects stack up and the mystery grows, Chole will learn that the process of death and grieving is complicated, and in the end her Uncle Will's words that, ...

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