Wolfner :: Recommended Readings :: Bibliographies of Missouri Books :: Youth Missouri Books

Youth Missouri Books

(Updated January 2019)

Clicking on a link below will take you to a listing of books on that topic.

For Grades 5-8

Belly Up by Stuart Gibbs

Twelve-year-old Teddy lives with his parents at the brand new Fun Jungle zoo in Texas, where he causes all sorts of mischief. But when the park's mascot Henry the hippo is found dead, Teddy believes it is murder and investigates. Mark Twain Award Nominee, 2012-2013. For grades 5-8. 2010.

The Clockwork Three by Matthew Kirby

DBC05686

As mysterious circumstances bring Giuseppe, Frederick, and Hannah together, their lives soon interlock like the turning gears in a clock and they realize that each one holds a key to solving the others' mysteries. Mark Twain Award Nominee, 2012-2013. For grades 5-8. 2010.

Dead City by James Ponti

DBC09577

Seventh-grader Molly has always been an outsider, even at New York City's elite Metropolitan Institute of Science and Technology, but that changes when she is recruited to join the Omegas, a secret group that polices and protects zombies. For grades 5-8. 2012.

The Death Catchers by Jennifer Kogler

DBC05404

Through a letter to her English teacher, fourteen-year-old Lizzy Mortimer of Crabapple, California, relates her discovery that she and her eccentric grandmother are kin to Morgan le Faye, charged with saving the last descendant of King Arthur from an untimely death that would endanger the world. Truman Award Nominee, 2013-2014. For grades 5-8. 2011.

The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen

DBC01409

To unify the discontented kingdom of Carthya, Conner, a nobleman of the court, devises a plan to find an impersonator for the king's long-lost son and install him as a puppet prince. Four orphans are recruited to compete for the role of Prince Jaron. Truman Award Nominee, 2014-2015. For grades 5-8. 2012.

Gaby, Lost and Found by Angela Cervantes

DBC01444

Gaby enjoys working at the local animal shelter and wants to adopt a cat but is unsure of her own living situation when her mother is deported back to Honduras. Mark Twain Award Nominee, 2015-2016. For grades 5-8. 2013.

The Great Trouble: A mystery of London, the Blue Death, and a Boy Called Eel by Deborah Hopkinson

DBC01471

Eel, an orphan, and his best friend Florrie must help Dr. John Snow prove that cholera is spread through water, and not poisonous air, when an epidemic spreads across their London neighborhood in 1854. Mark Twain Award Nominee, 2015-2016. For grades 5-8. 2013.

Half Upon a Time by James Riley

DBC05689

In the village of Giant's Hand Jack's grandfather has been pushing him to find a princess and get married, so when a young lady falls out of the sky wearing a shirt that says "Punk Princess," and she tells Jack that her grandmother, who looks suspiciously like the long-missing Snow White, has been kidnapped, Jack decides to help her. Mark Twain Award Nominee, 2012-2013. For grades 5-8. 2010.

The Honest Truth by Dan Gemeinhart

DBC09595

A boy named Mark, tired of being sick with cancer, conceives a plan to climb Mount Rainier, and runs away from home with his dog, Beau--but with over two hundred miles between him and his goal, and only anger at his situation to drive him on nothing will be easy, and only his best friend, Jessie, suspects where he is heading. Some violence. Truman Award Nominee, 2017-2018. For grades 5-8. 2015.

I Have a Bad Feeling about This by Jeff Strand

DBC06478

Everything unathletic sixteen-year-old Henry was dreading about survival camp turns out to be true--or even worse--when armed killers arrive and survival takes on a whole new meaning for the campers. Some violence. Truman Award Nominee, 2016-2017. For grades 5-8. 2014.

Jane in Bloom by Deborah A. Lytton

DBC05772

Devastated when her beautiful, older sister dies from anorexia, twelve-year-old Jane recovers slowly from the tragedy, with help from unexpected sources. Truman Award Nominee, 2011-2012. For grades 5-8. 2009.

Just a Drop of Water by Kerry O'Malley Cerra

DBC06476

Jake and Sam are best friends, but after the attacks on September 11, their friendship is in danger of crumbling as Sam and his family succumb to hatred for being Muslim American. Contains some violence. Truman Award Nominee, 2016-2017. For grades 5-8. 2014.

Keeper of the Grail by Michael P. Spradlin

DBC09709

In 1191, fifteen-year-old Tristan, a youth of unknown origin raised in an English abbey, becomes a Templar Knight's squire during the Third Crusade and soon finds himself on a mission to bring the Holy Grail to safety. For grades 5-8. 2008.

Nobody's Boy by Jennifer Fleischner

DBC09716

George, a young slave living in St. Louis, Missouri, wrestles with the injustices he sees around him as he decides whether or not to flee his accustomed life and seek freedom. For grades 5-8. 2006.

The One Where the Kid Nearly Jumps to His Death and Lands in California by Mary Hershey

DBC05740

Thirteen-year-old Alastair Hudson, who was in an accident five years early which resulted in the amputation of his leg, is always the first to make jokes about his missing limb, but after spending a summer with his estranged father and step-mother in California and learning how to swim, realizes there are better ways to deal with his disability. For grades 5-8. 2007.

Pennyroyal Academy by M. A. Larson

DBC06494

A girl from the forest enlists at Pennyroyal Academy, where princesses and knights are trained to battle the two great menaces of the day: witches and dragons. Mark Twain Award Nominee, 2016-2017. For grades 5-8. 2014.

Runaway Twin by Peg Kehret

DBC05677

Thirteen-year-old Sunny, accompanied by a stray dog, takes advantage of a monetary windfall to travel from her Nebraska foster home to Enumclaw, Washington in order to find the twin sister from whom she was separated at age three. Mark Twain Award Nominee 2011-2012. For grades 5-8. 2009.

Things Too Huge to Fix by Saying Sorry by Susan Vaught

DBC09687

A family mystery leads Dani Beans to investigate the secrets of Ole Miss and the dark history of race relations in Oxford, Mississippi. Truman Award Nominee, 2018-2019. For grades 5-8. 2016.

Zane and the Hurricane: A Story of Katrina by W. R. Philbrick

DBC06475

A twelve-year-old boy and his dog become trapped in New Orleans during the horrors of Hurricane Katrina. Mark Twain Award Nominee, 2016-2017. For grades 5-8. 2014.