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Guys Read: Books for Boys in Grades 4 & Up

Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko
A twelve-year-old boy named Moose moves to Alcatraz Island in 1935 when guards' families were housed there, and has to contend with his extraordinary new environment in addition to life with his autistic sister.

The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents by Terry Pratchett
A talking cat, intelligent rats, and a strange boy cooperate in a Pied Piper scam until they try to con the wrong town and are confronted by a deadly evil rat king.

The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud
Nathaniel, a magician's apprentice, summons up the djinni Bartimaeus and instructs him to steal the Amulet of Samarkand from the powerful magician Simon Lovelace. (First book in the Bartimaeus trilogy.)

The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander
Valorous and humorous tales of Taran, the Assistant Pig-Keeper, who determines to save the kingdom of Prydain from evil. (First in the Chronicles of Prydain series).

Bunnicula: A Rabbit-Tale of Mystery by Deborah and James Howe
Though scoffed at by Harold the dog, Chester the cat tries to warn his human family that their foundling baby bunny must be a vampire.

Camp X by Eric Walters
In 1943, George and his brother Jack stumble upon Camp X, Canada's secret spy camp, and find themselves caught up in a summer of intrigue as they help to battle the Axis powers.

Center Court Sting by Matt Christopher
Daren's tendency to blame everyone but himself when anything goes wrong causes problems with his best friend, with a young neighbor who idolizes him, and with one of his basketball teammates.

Charlie Bone and the Hidden King by Jenny Nimmo
When an ancient enchanter is released from the grounds of Bloor's Academy, threatening both of Charlie Bone's parents, the only way Charlie and his friends can defeat him is by finding the red king himself.

Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett
When seemingly unrelated and strange events start to happen and a precious Vermeer painting disappears, eleven-year-olds Petra and Calder combine their talents to solve an international art scandal.

The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau
In the year 241, twelve-year-old Lina trades jobs on Assignment Day to be a Messenger to run to new places in her decaying but beloved city, perhaps even to glimpse Unknown Regions.

The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm by Nancy Farmer
In 2194 in Zimbabwe, General Matsika's three children are kidnapped and put to work in a plastic mine, while three mutant detectives use their special powers to search for them.

Eragon by Christopher Paolini
In Aagaesia, a fifteen-year-old boy of unknown lineage called Eragon finds a mysterious stone that weaves his life into an intricate tapestry of destiny, magic, and power, peopled with dragons, elves, and monsters.

Escape! The story of the Great Houdini by Sid Fleischman
In this passionate biography, the Newbery Medal-winning author of "The Whipping Boy" turns his eye to the greatest magician of them all: Harry Houdini.

Everest. Book One: the Contest by Gordon Korman
Four kids. One mountain.They come from all across America to be the youngest kid ever to climb Everest. But only one will reach the top first. The competition is fierce. The preparation is intense. The challenge is breathtaking. When the final four reach the higher peaks, disaster strikes -- and all that separates the living from the dead is chance, bravery, and action.

Frindle by Andrew Clements
When he decides to turn his fifth grade teacher's love of the dictionary around on her, clever Nick Allen invents a new word and begins a chain of events that quickly moves beyond his control.

Flush by Carl Hiaasen
With their father jailed for sinking a river boat, Noah Underwood and his younger sister, Abbey, must gather evidence that the owner of this floating casino is emptying his bilge tanks into the protected waters around their Florida Keys home.

The Ghost’s Grave by Peg Kehret
Apprehensive about spending the summer in Washington State with his Aunt Ethel when his parents get an overseas job, twelve-year-old Josh soon finds adventure when he meets the ghost of a coal miner.

Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins
When eleven-year-old Gregor and his two-year-old sister are pulled into a strange underground world, they trigger an epic battle involving men, bats, rats, cockroaches, and spiders while on a quest foretold by ancient prophecy.

Guys Write for Guys Read edited by Jon Sciezscka
There's something for every guy in this rich collection of stories, mini-memoirs, advice, poems, comics, and drawings. Chosen by readers on the Guys Read Web site, contributors include world-famous writers, illustrators, and editors of such boy-favorite publications as Sports Illustrated, Esquire, and The Onion.

Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
After a plane crash, thirteen-year-old Brian spends fifty-four days in the wilderness, learning to survive initially with only the aid of a hatchet given him by his mother, and learning also to survive his parents' divorce.

High Rhulain by Brian Jacques
Following a dream, the young ottermaid Tiria travels from Redwall to the Green Isle, where otters have long been enslaved by feral cats but fight back as they await the High Rhulain, a savior whose coming was foretold.

House of Dies Drear by Virginia Hamilton
A black family of five moves into an enormous house once used as a hiding place for runaway slaves. Mysterious sounds and events as well as the discovery of secret passageways make the family believe they are in grave danger.

How Angel Peterson Got His Name by Gary Paulsen
Author Gary Paulsen relates tales from his youth in a small town in northwestern Minnesota in the late 1940s and early 1950s, such as skiing behind a souped-up car and imitating daredevil Evel Knievel.

How to Be a Pirate by Cressida Cowell
Follows the further adventures and misadventures of Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third as his Viking training continues and his father leads a stranger and the Hairy Hooligans to the Isle of Skullions in search of a pirate's treasure.

Inkspell by Cornelia Funke
When Dustfinger finds a crooked storyteller who can read him back to Inkscape, he leaves his apprentice Farid behind. Farid seeks out Meggie and the two follow him back into the enchanted book. (Sequel to Inkheart)

Jason’s Gold by Will Hobbs
When news of the discovery of gold in Canada's Yukon Territory in 1897 reaches fifteen-year-old Jason, he embarks on a 10,000-mile journey to strike it rich.

The Monsters of Morley Manor by Bruce Coville
Anthony and his younger sister discover that the monster figures he got in an unusual box at an estate sale are alive, but they have no way of knowing that the "monsters" will lead them on fantastical adventures to other worlds in an effort to try to save Earth.

The Notorious Izzy Fink by Don Brown
In the 1890's, thirteen-year-old Sam copes with poverty and violence on the streets of New York's Lower East Side.

One Wild Ride: the Life of Skateboarding Superstar Tony Hawk by Mark Stewart
A biography of the professional skateboarder, Tony Hawk, focusing on his inventive moves, competitions, fatherhood, and business enterprises.

The Perilous Journey of the Donner Party by Marian Calabro
Uses materials from letters and diaries written by survivors of the Donner Party to relate the experiences of that ill-fated group as they endured horrific circumstances on their way to California in 1846-47.

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
A dangerous journey through a land where Milo learns the importance of words and numbers provide a cure for his boredom.

Rifles for Watie by Harold Keith
The story of Jeff Bussey, a farm boy living in 1861, who joins the Union army and goes on an important mission to discover how Stand Watie and his Confederate Cherokee Rebels are receiving repeating rifles from northern manufacturers.

Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz
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.

The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo
The adventures of Desperaux Tilling, a small mouse of unusual talents, the princess that he loves, the servant girl who longs to be a princess, and a devious rat determined to bring them all to ruin.

The Sea of Trolls by Nancy Farmer
After Jack becomes apprenticed to a Druid bard, he and his little sister Lucy are captured by Viking Berserkers and taken to the home of King Ivar the Boneless and his half-troll queen, leading Jack to undertake a vital quest to Jotunheim, home of the trolls.

Satch & Me: a baseball card adventure by Dan Gutman
With his ability to travel through time using vintage baseball cards, Joe takes Flip with him to find out whether Satchel Paige really was the fastest pitcher ever.

Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World : the extraordinary true story of Shackleton and the Endurance by Jennifer Armstrong
Describes the events of the 1914 Shackleton Antarctic expedition when, after being trapped in a frozen sea for nine months, their ship, Endurance, was finally crushed, forcing Shackleton and his men to make a very long and perilous journey across ice and stormy seas to reach inhabited land.

Thunder Cave by Roland Smith
Determined, after his mother's accidental death, to foil his stepfather's plans for his future, fourteen-year-old Jacob travels alone to Africa in search of his father, a biologist studying elephants in a remote area of Kenya.

The Watsons Go to Birmingham-1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis
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.