Book+Synopses

Elementary Battle of the Books Synopses 2017-2018 5 Times Revenge – Lindsey Eland Adam is the prank mastermind. Perk is his best friend and the computer genius. Pearl isthe prettiest girl in school and a violin prodigy. Ray looks like a big dumb jock, but he secretly wants to be an engineer. And Dutch is the often-bullied dork who is in tune with everyone's feelings. The five of them couldn't be more different. But there’s one thing they have in common: they are fed up with Hill Parmar, the school bully, and his dad, their school principal who's always turning a blind eye.

As Brave As You – Jason Reynolds When two brothers decide to prove how brave they are, everything backfires.

Baseball Genius – Tim Green and Derek Jeter An average kid with an above average talent for predicting baseball pitches tries to help his favorite player out of a slump.

Blooming At The Texas Sunrise Motel – Kimberly Willis Holt After the sudden death of her parents, Stevie, thirteen, is sent to live at a rundown motel, where she charms everyone except her estranged grandfather.

Calico Girl – Jerdine Nolan Callie struggles to understand slavery when her stepbrother is sold away at the start of the Civil War, but is determined her whole family will be free one day.

Change Up – Derek Jeter Young Derek Jeter is excited when his father becomes coach of his baseball team, but things don't go as he had planned. Chester And Gus – Cammie McGovern Chester, a service dog, adopted into a family where he becomes a companion to Gus, a ten-year-old boy with nonverbal autism, who initially challenges Chester by requiring a different kind of friendship. A Clatter Of Jars – Lisa Graff Children with magical Talents attend a summer camp, where nothing is what it seems.

Clayton Byrd Goes Underground – Rita Williams Garcia Feeling most alive when he's playing the blues with his grandfather, Clayton is devastated when his grandfather dies and his mother forbids him from playing music, losses that compel him to run away and join bluesmen on the road. The Courage Test – James Preller Will has no choice. His father drags him along on a wilderness adventure in the footsteps of legendary explorers Lewis and Clark--whether he likes it or not. The Epic Fail Of Arturo Zamora – Pablo Cartaya This is the vibrant story of a family, a striking portrait of a town, and one boy's quest to save both.

Fast Break – Mike Lupica Since his mother's death, Jayson, twelve, has focused on basketball and surviving but he is found out and placed with an affluent foster family of a different race, and must learn to accept many changes, including facing his former teammates in a championship game.

Flashback Four: The Titanic Mission – Dan Gutman Luke, Julia, David, and Isabel are headed to the deck of the doomed Titanic. Their mission? Capture a shot of the sinking ship, then come right back. The only problem is, once they arrive aboard the ship, the four friends can't agree on what to do next. Should they try to save the passengers? Or maybe bring back a priceless book before it sinks with the ship?

Full Of Beans – Jennifer L. Holm Ten-year-old Beans Curry, a member of the Keepsies, the best marble playing gang in Depression-era Key West, Florida, engages in various schemes to earn money while "New Dealers" from Washington, D.C., arrive to turn run down Key West into a tourist resort. Gertie’s Leap To Greatness – Kate Beasley Gertie is a girl on a mission to be the best fifth grader ever in order to show her estranged mother that Gertie doesn't need her--not one bit!

The Girl Who Drank The Moon – Kelly Barnhill An epic fantasy about a young girl raised by a witch, a swamp monster, and a Perfectly Tiny Dragon, who must unlock the powerful magic buried deep inside her.

The Harlem Charade – Natasha Tarpley Seventh-graders Jin, Alexandra, and Elvin come from very different backgrounds and circumstances, but they all live in Harlem. When Elvin's grandfather is attacked, they band together to find out who is responsible--and the search leads them to an enigmatic artist whose missing masterpieces are worth a fortune and into conflict with an ambitious politician who wants to turn Harlem into an historic amusement park.

I Funny: School Of Laughs – James Patterson and Chris Grabenstein When a new principal threatens to close the school library, Jamie Grimm tries to save the day by teaching a comedy class for his fellow students.

Jingle – Gordon Korman Santa's Workshop Holiday Spectacular at the Colchester mansion is a long-standing tradition in Cedarville. Griffin, Ben, and Antonia are not happy to find that they have been volunteered as elves by their friend Logan and cannot get out of it. But this year the pageant seems plagued by frequent electrical outages, and during one of them, the valuable antique known as the Star of Prague disappears from the giant Christmas tree, and as they are the chief suspects, the friends set out to find who took it.

The Key To Extraordinary – Natalie Lloyd Twelve-year old orphan Emma Casey lives by a haunted graveyard in her Tennessee town, giving tours, and helping her brother and Granny Blue with the family bakery, and waiting for the destiny dream of her ancestors. But when it comes, it shows her only a key, and she finds that she must solve a ghostly mystery that has haunted her town for generations.

Liberty – Kirby Larson In 1940s New Orleans, Fish Elliot is a polio-survivor with a knack for inventing and building things, and his African American neighbor Olympia is a girl with a talent for messing things up. They are united in an effort to save a starving stray dog they call Liberty--and when Liberty is caged by a nasty farmer, they find an unlikely ally in a German prisoner of war, Erich, who is not much older than the two children.

Making Friends With Billy Wong – Augusta Scattergood In 1952 eleven-year-old Azalea is sent to Paris Junction, Arkansas, to help out her grandmother who has injured her foot, but does not really seem to want her help. Billy Wong is a Chinese-American boy whose uncle owns the local grocery store, in town to attend the "white" school, since the Chinese mission school has closed, but frustrated by the overt prejudice of the local children--and over the summer the two begin to forge a friendship.

The Many Worlds Of Albie Bright – Christopher Edge When Albie’s mother dies from cancer, his father explains that she may be alive in a parallel universe, so he decides to universe-hop and find her with the help of a banana, a laptop, and a box.

Moo – Sharon Creech Follows the efforts of twelve-year-old Reena, who has recently moved to rural Maine, to adjust to a new environment while unexpectedly bonding with an ornery cow.

Ms. Bixby’s Last Day – John David Anderson Loving their gifted teacher, three boys are dismayed when the teacher falls ill and leaves for the rest of the school year, a situation that compels them to share their stories while cutting class and journeying across town together on a fateful day.

Panda-Monium – Stuart Gibbs Teddy Fitzroy must solve the crime of the kidnapped rare and expensive panda, Li Ping.

Restart – Gordon Korman Chase does not remember falling off the roof. In fact he does not remember anything about himself. When he gets back to middle school, he begins to learn who he was through the reactions of the other kids--trouble is, he really is not sure he likes the Chase that is being revealed, but can he take the opportunity amnesia has provided and restart his life?

Save Me A Seat – Sarah Weeks Ravi has just moved to the United States from India and has always been at the top of his class. Joe has lived in the same town his whole life and has learning problems .When their lives intersect in the first week of fifth grade, they are brought together by a common enemy (the biggest bully in their class) and the need to take control of their lives.

The Seventh Wish – Kate Messner Unsure of how to get her family's attention, Charlie comes across the surprise of her life one day while ice-fishing...in the form of a floppy, scaly fish offering to grant her a wish in exchange for its freedom.

Short – Holly Goldberg Sloan Very short for her age, Julia grows into her sense of self while playing a munchkin in a summer regional theater production of The Wizard of Oz.

Soar – Joan Bauer Moving to Hillcrest, Ohio, when his adoptive father accepts a temporary job, twelve-year-old Jeremiah, a heart transplant recipient, has sixty days to find a baseball team to coach.

Some Writer! The Story Of E.B. White – Melissa Sweet An account of E.B. White's life and career through personal letters, photographs, family ephemera, and original artwork, while offering glimpses into the origins of his iconic works.

Sophie Quire And The Last Storyguard – Jonathan Auxier Twelve-year-old Sophie knows little beyond the four walls of her father's bookshop, where she repairs old books and dreams of escaping the confines of her dull life. But when a strange boy and his talking cat/horse companion show up with a rare and mysterious book, she finds herself pulled into an adventure beyond anything she has ever read.

Spy Ski School – Stuart Gibbs Twelve-year-old Ben's unexpected success outside the classroom causes the CIA to activate him for a mission to become friends with Jessica Shang, daughter of a suspected Chinese crime boss.

Sting: It Takes A Crook To Catch A Crook – Jude Watson March and Jules are teenage twins, following in their father's footsteps as jewel thieves. But when their latest job goes wrong, they end up with one jewel, a sapphire called the Morning Star, one of three cursed jewels. The only way they can break the curse is to elude the FBI, Interpol, and a gang of international criminals, find the other two jewels, and reunite them.

The Sweetest Sound – Sherri Watson Shy ten-year-old Cadence grapples with an overprotective father, a mother who's skipped town to pursue stardom, and what to do when a recording of her amazing voice leaks before she's ready to share it with the world.

Towers Falling – Jewell Parker Rhodes While learning about September 11th, fifth grader Dèja (born after the attacks) realizes how much the events still color her world.

The Unbreakable Code – Jennifer Chambliss Bertman Could the Mark Twain books hidden through Book Scavenger contain clues about the string of recent arson fires plaguing the city? And will Emily and James uncover the mystery before the arsonist comes after them.

William Wenton And The Impossible Puzzle – Bobbi Peers Twelve-year-old William Wenton is a code-breaking, puzzle-solving genius. He lives with his family in a quiet Norwegian town. He and his family used to live in England, but eight years ago his grandfather vanished and the Wentons suddenly packed up, moved to Norway, and changed their last name! Neither of his parents will tell William why or share the reason he has to keep his talent for solving codes and puzzles a secret.

Wish – Barbara O’Connor A story about a girl who, with the help of the dog of her dreams, discovers that family doesn't always have to be related--they are simply people who love you for who you are.