Faith, Hope and Ivy June by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

Who knew two worlds could be so close and still feel so far apart?  Ivy June lives in the Appalachian mountains of Kentucky and has been selected to represent her school and county in the first ever student exchange program.  She spends two weeks living with Catherine's family in the city of Lexington and attends Catherine's private academy school.  When it's time for Catherine to spend her two weeks with Ivy June's family, the culture shock is intense.  As both girls deal with personally difficult situations, they realize that strong bonds and friendships can come from places that seem so different and unfamiliar.

From Newbery award winning author Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, Faith, Hope and Ivy June is a beautiful story of how friendship can bridge the differences between people's lifestyles.

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11 Birthdays by Wendy Mass

Leo and Amanda were born on the same day in the same hospital, and when their parents meet at the nursery viewing window, it is the start of a friendship and ten years of joint birthday parties.  On their 10th birthday, Leo and Amanda begin their falling out and don't speak for the entire year.  Amanda is not looking forward to her upcoming 11th birthday, and especially unhappy (and extremely confused) when the day repeats over and over again.  Why is time stuck on their birthday and how do Amanda and Leo get out of the cycle?

Author Wendy Mass has a number of popular books.  The first in a trilogy of books set in Willow Falls, 11 Birthdays is followed by Finally (12) and 13 Gifts.

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Calvin Coconut, Trouble Magnet by Graham Salisbury

"Maybe you know the feeling of how junk it is when summer ends.  The good times are over.  You start thinking about school, homework.  Getting up early again.
And there's nothing you can do about it."

So starts Graham Salisbury's series starter Calvin Coconut, Trouble Magnet.  Calvin and his friends are starting 4th grade in their home state of Hawaii.  Calvin has a list of troubles that seem to be attracted to him: a school bully, a pesky little sister and an unfriendly, teenage daughter of his mom's friend to whom he has to give up his bedroom for.  Even with all those troubles, Calvin still makes a point of befriending the new kid in class.

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Dying to Meet You by Kate Klise

The first book in the 43 Old Cemetery Road series, Dying to Meet You follows in Kate Klise's style of writing stories through a sequence of letters, memos, e-mails, newspaper articles and advertisements. 

A well-known children's author, Ignatius B. Grumply is looking for a quiet place where he can work through his writers block, on the next book in his ghost series.  He rents a house in Ghastly, Illinois for the summer and arrives to find that the house comes with a ghost and a young boy, the son of the home's owners who are off traveling around Europe.  There is very little face-to-face interaction between the characters, but as readers we can follow the story through their notes, memos and letters. 

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The Secret of Zoom by Lynne Jonell

"And I would have gotten away with it, if it weren't for those meddling kids and their dog!"  Toward the end of The Secret of Zoom, I felt like I had been reading a concept for an episode of Scooby Doo...and I loved it!

Christine lives in a mansion with her father, the head scientist at Loompski Labs.  Her mother died in a laboratory explosion when Christine was young, and her father is extremely protective of her.  In her desire to get out and experience the world, Christine stumbles upon a mystery involving orphans being transported in the back of garbage trucks to work as miners deep underground, mining a dangerous material called Zoom.  If that doesn't sound strange enough, just hope that you aren't able to sing on perfect pitch.

Minnesota author Lynne Jonell has been nominated for the Maud Hart Lovelace Award in the past.

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Diamond Willow by Helen Frost

Diamond Willow is written in verse, a novel told in a series of poems.  Diamond is a 12-year-old Athabascan girl in Alaska.  She loves her family's sled dogs and wants to drive the team to her grandparents' house.

When I was in 4th grade, I had to write a persuasive letter for school, and I wrote to my parents why I should be able to ride my bike to the public library.  Diamond presented to her parents why she should be able to take the dog sled to her grandparents', and just like I got to ride my bike to the library, Diamond was also persuasive enough.  Unfortunately, on that trip Roxy, the beloved lead dog is permanently injured.   Diamond must now come up with a plan to save Roxy.  The spirits of her ancestors look over her along the entire journey.

Author/Poet Helen Frost's website includes additional resources, including a picture of a diamond willow stick.

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The Poetry for Children blog has a book trailer for Diamond Willow.

The Beef Princess of Practical County by Michelle Houts

I haven't read this yet, but it is in the shrinking reading pile on my night stand.  Check back for my opinion soon.

Until then check out author Michelle Houts' website.

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Here's a video of Michelle Houts talking about writing The Beef Princess of Practical County.

Piper Reed, Navy Brat by Kimberly Willis Holt

Piper Reed is a navy brat.  That means that her dad is in the navy and her family moves a lot when her dad is stationed at different military bases.  This next move is big, from San Diego, California to Pensacola, Florida.  As the middle child of the family, Piper makes a list of all the reason she is NOT happy to be moving this time.  Let the moving adventure begin...

Until then check out author Kimberly Willis Holt's website.

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Top of the Order by John Coy

I haven't read this yet, but it is in the shrinking reading pile on my night stand.  Check back for my opinion soon.

Until then check out author John Coy's website.

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The Case of the Case of the Mistaken Identity by Mac Barnett

I haven't read this yet, but it is in the shrinking reading pile on my night stand.  Check back for my opinion soon.

Until then check out author Mac Barnett's website.

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A Dog on His Own by Mary Jane Auch

K-10 is a step above most dogs!  Get it?  Every other dog is just a canine (K-9), but K-10 remembers being named by his mother.  He's been in many homes, but prefers his freedom.  Unfortunately, A Dog on His Own starts with K-10 being caught by the dog catcher and sent to a shelter. 

In the shelter K-10 meets friends Pearl, Peppy and Tucker.  After organizing an escape, the friends are separated and K-10 joins the gang of Adolf and Rotter.  Experiencing problems and dealing with his past along the way, K-10 learns what friend, family, and home really mean.

Mary Jane Auch writes a variety books; my personal favorites being her chicken picture book stories.  A few years ago, One Handed Catch was also nominated for the Maud Hart Lovelace Award.

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Extra Credit by Andrew Clements

Who doesn't love Andrew Clements' books?!?  A number of his books have been nominated for the Maud Hart Lovelace Award in the past and he has won twice before: Frindle in 1999 for Division I and Things Not Seen in 2007 for Division II.

Extra Credit is one of his school stories with a global aspect.  Abby is a 6th grader in serious need of extra credit, so she chooses a pen pal project.  Because of her love of mountain climbing, Abby wants a pen pal in Afghanistan, but when her first letter arrives in the mountain village there is only one student that knows enough English to read and respond, and he is a boy.  Sadeed participates in the correspondence with Abby, but in his village boys and girls are not supposed to write to each other, so no one can know...including Abby.

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Extra Credit Book Trailer from Michelle Harclerode on Vimeo.