Realistic Fiction for Kids

Sixth-grader Carter must adjust to the unwelcome presence of a know-it-all butler who is determined to help him become a gentleman, and also to deal with burdens from the past.

"Twelve-year-old June Harper, shocked when her parents go on a campaign to clear the Dogwood Middle School library of objectionable books, starts a secret banned books library in an empty locker"--Provided by publisher.

"Twelve-year-old Astrid has always done everything with her best friend Nicole. So when Astrid signs up for roller derby camp, she assumes Nicole will too. But Nicole signs up for dance camp with a new friend instead, and so begins the toughest summer of Astrid's life. There are bumps and bruises as Astrid learns who she is without Nicole ... and what it takes to be a strong, tough roller girl."--

Young Joe and Ravi think they have nothing in common. Joe has lived in the same little town his whole life, but recently his best friends moved away, leaving him alone. Ravi and his family just moved there from India, and he just wants to fit in. When the two boys run afoul of the same bully, they discover they do have something in common after all, and scheme together to take control of their lives.

Eleven-year-old Alex Petroski records his thoughts into his iPod in the hopes that one day aliens will listen to it and have a true perspective of what life on Earth was really like. Determined to help the iPod fall into the hands of extraterrestrials, Alex sets off alone with his dog to travel from Colorado to New Mexico where he plans to send it into space at the Southwest High-Altitude Rocket Festival. The people he encounters along the way help...

When he finds a lost beagle in the hills behind his West Virginia home, Marty tries to hide it from his family and the dog's real owner, a mean-spirited man known to shoot deer out of season and to mistreat his dogs.

Charlie's simple and predictable life gets complicated when his war-journalist father gets injured in Afghanistan. Now he must live with Gram and take frequent trips to the hospital, and then must travel cross-country when his father moves to Virginia for better treatment. Along the way, Gram tells Charlie that people heal faster when they are happy, and Charlie thinks that if he can spot all the birds he and his father want to spot, then maybe, somehow,...

Stella Diaz wants to be friends with the new boy in class, but sometimes she accidentally speaks Spanish instead of English and pronounces words wrong, which makes her turn roja. In addition, she has to get over her fear of speaking in front of the class.

After her father goes to jail, Cady Bennett, twelve, is taken from foster care to spend a summer with her estranged Aunt Michelle, trying to save her failing pie shop.

"'The Unteachables' never thought they'd find a teacher who had a worse attitude than they did. And Mr. Kermit never thought he would actually care about teaching again. Over the course of a school year, though, room 117 will experience mayhem, destruction--and maybe even a shot at redemption"--Publisher.