Book Lists for Children

Grades 5-8. As the lone "young lady" on a transatlantic voyage in 1832, Charlotte learns that the captain is murderous and the crew rebellious.

Grades 5-8. It is the last wish of 15-year-old Jess's grandfather to return to his childhood home by the river. This book succeeds in conveying the strong bond between Jess and her grandfather; as the novel unfolds, the heroine realizes they have more in common than she'd ever imagined.

Grades 4-8. Jonah's lies and his secret fear of the sea threaten to ruin his month at the shore with his favorite uncle, but a grumpy marina storekeeper and an attractive young college student help turn the summer into an adventure he will never forget.

Grades 5-8. Michael and Kyle's discovery of a rare Confederate coin near an old Civil War fort in 1973 turns into a race against time as the boys try to find more coins before a hurricane hits Alabama's Gulf coast.

Grades 5-8. Thirteen-year-old Sophie and her cousin Cody record their transatlantic crossing aboard the Wanderer, a forty-five foot sailboat, which, along with uncles and another cousin, is en route to visit their grandfather in England.

Grades 6-8. Using sophisticated computer technology, a fifteen-year-old girl who has been raised by dolphins, records her thoughts about her reintroduction to the human world.

Grades 2-5. In a series of letters, Grandfather reveals his adventures with his remarkable little dog Roo and the captain of the Unsinkable, as they go in search of the Door to the Sea, the Forgotten Sea, and the Great Cod Bank.

Grades 4 -6. Twelve-year-old Jane, who lives at the beach in a run-down old house with her mother, two brothers, and sister, has an eventful summer accompanying her pastor on Bible deliveries, meeting former boyfriends of her mother's, and being coerced into babysitting for a family of ill-mannered children.

Grades 4-6. After finally convincing her mother that she should take swimming lessons, twelve-year-old Emily discovers a terrible and wonderful secret about herself that opens up a whole new world. The series continues with Emily Windsnap and the Monster From the Deep and Emily Windsnap & the Castle in the Mist.

Grades 2-5. In 1930, on the coast of Scotland, eight-year-old Kirstie finds a large egg which hatches into an unusual sea creature, and as he grows her family must decide what to do with him.

Gr 4-6.The drinking fountain at Dry Creek Middle School is kaput and needs replacing. But when the principal contacts fountain designer Florence Waters to build them a new one, he little realizes he's hired a very imaginative artist…and that an ordinary drinking fountain is the last thing on her mind! Other water-related books in the series include Regarding the Sink; Regarding the Trees and Regarding the Bathrooms.

Grades 5-7. Six troubled kids become unwitting partners in their desperate bid for survival when their sailboat is shipwrecked. The series continues with Survival and Escape.

Grades 5-7. Four kids are on a marine expedition for the summer, diving to explore an underwater habitat that's just been altered by a seismic event. What they find, though, is much more than fish - it's sunken treasure. Can they salvage it without anyone else getting to it first? The series continues with The Deep and The Danger.

Grades 2 -5. Nim loves her island home and the animals she shares it with even while her scientist father is away doing research, but trouble is on the way and a new E-mail friend could be the only one who can help. Sequel: Nim at Sea.

Grades 5-8. After his mother's death, twelve-year-old Skiff Beaman decides that it is up to him to earn money to take care of himself and his father, so he undertakes a dangerous trip alone out on the ocean off the coast of Maine to try to catch a hugh bluefin tuna.

Grades 4-8. Marty and Grace O'Hara's globe-trotting parents disappeared while on assignment for a nature magazine, and now they're living with their Uncle Wolfe, a scientist fascinated by cryptids--creatures that appear in myths but haven't been proven to exist, such as the Loch Ness Monster.

Grades 5-8.While eleven-year-old Hugh, his family, and his cousin Tom are spending the summer of 1943 on the South Carolina shore to escape the polio epidemic, Hugh uncovers clues that point to a German plot to sabotage a nearby naval base.