Book Discussion Kits

These kits include 6-8 books and are perfect for small-group sharing in class, homeschool discussion groups, or book clubs.

Barry, Dave. Peter and the Starcatchers
In this prequel to Peter Pan, Peter sets sail from England on the ship "Never Land," and befriends and assists Molly, a young Starcatcher, whose mission is to guard a trunk of magical stardust from a greedy pirate and the native inhabitants of a remote island. 2004, 451 pp.

Birdsall, Jeanne. The Penderwicks
While vacationing with their widowed father in the Berkshire Mountains, four lovable sisters, ages four through twelve, share summer adventures with a local boy, much to the dismay of his snobbish mother. 2005, 262 pp., National Book Award

Bruchac, Joseph. Code Talker
After being taught in a boarding school run by whites that Navajo is a useless language, Ned Begay and other Navajo men are recruited by the Marines to become Code Talkers, sending messages during World War II in their native tongue. 2005, 231 pp.

Carbone, Elisa Lynn. Blood on the River:  James Town 1607
Traveling to the New World in 1606 as the page to Captain John Smith, twelve-year-old orphan Samuel Collier settles in the new colony of James Town, where he must quickly learn to distinguish between friend and foe. 2006, 237 pp.

Creech, Sharon. Granny Torelli Makes Soup
With the help of her wise old grandmother, twelve-year-old Rosie manages to work out some problems in her relationship with her best friend, Bailey, the boy next door. 2003, 141 pp.

Cummings, Priscilla.  Red Kayak
Living near the water on Maryland's Eastern Shore, thirteen-year-old Brady and his best friends J.T. and Digger become entangled in a tragedy which tests their friendship and their ideas about right and wrong. 2004, 209 pp.

Curtis, Christopher Paul. The Watsons Go to Birmingham – 1963
The ordinary interactions and everyday routines of the Watsons, an African American family living in Flint, Michigan, are drastically changed after they go to visit Grandma in Alabama in the summer of 1963. 1995, 210 pp., Newbery Honor Award, Coretta Scott King Honor Award.

D’Adamo, Francesco. Iqbal
A fictionalized account of the Pakistani child who escaped from bondage in a carpet factory and went on to help liberate other children like him before being gunned down at the age of thirteen. 2003, 120 pp.

Dahl, Roald. James and the Giant Peach
A young boy escapes from two wicked aunts and embarks on a series of adventures with six giant insects he meets inside a giant peach. 1961, 146 pp.

DeFelice, Cynthia. Under the Same Sky
While trying to earn money for a motor bike, fourteen-year-old Joe Pederson becomes involved with the Mexicans who work on his family's farm and develops a better relationship with his father. 2003, 215 pp.

DiCamillo, Kate. Because of Winn-Dixie
Ten-year-old India Opal Buloni learns to deal with the fact that her mother walked out on her and her father, while many wonderful things happen to her because of a big ugly stray dog she names Winn-Dixie. 2000, 182 pp., Newbery Honor Award

DiCamillo, Kate. The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane
Edward Tulane, a cold-hearted and proud toy rabbit, loves only himself until he is separated from the little girl who adores him and travels across the country, acquiring new owners and listening to their hopes, dreams, and histories. 2006, 198 pp., Junior Library Guild Selection.

English, Karen. Francie
When the sixteen-year-old boy whom she tutors in reading is accused of attempting to murder a white man, Francie gets herself in serious trouble for her efforts at friendship. 1999, 199 pp.

Gilson, Jamie. Do Bananas Chew Gum?
Able to read and write at only a second grade level because of a learning disability, sixth-grader Sam Mott considers himself dumb until he is prompted to cooperate with those who think something can be done about his problem. 1980, 158 pp.

Hale, Shannon. Princess Academy
While attending a strict academy for potential princesses with the other girls from her mountain village, fourteen-year-old Miri discovers unexpected talents and connections to her homeland. 2005, 314 pp., Newbery Honor Book.

Horowitz, Anthony. Stormbreaker
After the death of the uncle who had been his guardian, fourteen-year-old Alex Rider is coerced to continue his uncle's dangerous work for Britain's intelligence agency, MI6. 2001, 192 pp., Rebecca Caudill Award.

Juster, Norton. The Phantom Tollbooth
A journey through a land where Milo learns the importance of words and numbers provides a cure for his boredom. 1996, 255 pp.

L’Engle, Madeleine. A Wrinkle in Time
Meg Murry and her friends become involved with unearthly strangers and a search for Meg's father, who has disappeared while engaged in secret work for the government. 1962, 211 pp., Newbery Medal Award.

Leonard, Elmore. Coyote’s in the House
Antwan, a coyote, notices Buddy, a German Shepherd, in a fancy yard, in the Hollywood Hills and decides to trade places with him. 2004, 149 pp.

Levine, Karen. Hana’s Suitcase
A biography of a Czech girl who died in the Holocaust, told in alternating chapters with an account of how the curator of a Japanese Holocaust center learned about Hana's life after her suitcase was sent to her. 2003, 111 pp.

Lord, Cynthia. Rules
Frustrated at life with an autistic brother, twelve-year-old Catherine longs for a normal existence but her world is further complicated by a friendship with an young paraplegic. 2006, 200 pp., Newbery Honor Award.

Morpurgo, Michael. Kensuke’s Kingdom
When Michael is swept off his family's yacht, he washes up on a desert island, where he struggles to survive--and then he discovers he is not alone. 1999, 164 pp.

O’Connor, Barbara. Fame and Glory in Freedom, Georgia
Unpopular sixth-grader Burdette "Bird" Weaver persuades the new boy at school, whom everyone thinks is mean and dumb, to be her partner for a spelling bee that might win her everything she's ever wanted. 2003, 104 pp.

Park, Barbara. Mick Harte Was Here
Thirteen-year-old Phoebe recalls her younger brother Mick and his death in a tragic bicycle accident. 1995, 89 pp., Rebecca Caudill Award

Paver, Michelle. Wolf Brother
6,000 years in the past, twelve-year-old Torak and his guide, a wolf cub, set out on a dangerous journey to fulfill an oath the boy made to his dying father--to travel to the Mountain of the World Spirit seeking a way to destroy a demon-possessed bear that threatens all the clans. 2005, 295 pp.

Pearsall, Shelley. Crooked River
When twelve-year old Rebecca Carter's father brings a Native American accused of murder into their 1812 Ohio settlement town, Rebecca, witnessing the town's reaction to the Indian, struggles with the idea that an innocent man may be convicted and sentenced to death. 2007, 249 pp.

Pinkwater, Daniel. Fat Men from Space
In this humorous science fiction story, William learns of an invasion by spacemen who are taking all of earth's supply of junk food. 1977, 57 pp.

Strickland, Brad. When Mack Came Back
When his older brother leaves the family farm in order to join the army in 1943, ten-year-old Maury remains behind to deal with his angry father and to care for Ben's injured puppy. 2000, 105 pp.

Weeks, Sarah. Regular Guy
Because he is so different from his eccentric parents, twelve-year-old Guy is convinced he has been switched at birth with a classmate whose parents seem more normal. 1999, 120 pp.

Whelan, Gloria. Listening for Lions
Left an orphan after the influenza epidemic in British East Africa in 1918, thirteen-year-old Rachel is tricked into assuming a deceased neighbor's identity to travel to England, where her only dream is to return to Africa and rebuild her parents' mission hospital. 2005, 194 pp.