by Richard Peck
A Year Down Yonder
Published 2000 by Dial Books

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During the recession of 1937, fifteen-year-old Mary Alice is sent to live with her feisty, larger-than-life grandmother in rural Illinois for a year and comes to a better understanding her.

by Linda Sue Park
A Single Shard
Published 2001 by Clarion Books

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Tree-ear, an orphan, has become fascinated with the potters' craft; he wants nothing more than to watch master potter Min at work, and he dreams of making a pot of his own someday. When Min takes on Tree-ear as his helper, Tree-ear is elated--until he finds obstacles in his path: the backbreaking labor of digging and hauling clay, Min's irascible temper, and his own ignorance. However, Tree-ear is determined to prove himself.

by Avi
Crispin: The Cross of Lead
Published 2002 by Hyperion Books

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Winner of the 2003 Newbery Medal. In medieval England, 13-year-old Crispin has no home, family, or possessions. Accused of a crime he didn't commit, he takes his mother's cross of lead and begins an amazing and terrifying journey across the English countryside.

by Kate DiCamillo
The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup, and a Spool of Thread
Published 2003 by Candlewick Press (MA)

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From the author of "Because of Winn-Dixie" comes a fairy tale full of quirky, unforgettable characters, told with DiCamillo's trademark humor and heartbreaking poignancy.

by Cynthia Kadohata
Kira-Kira
Published 2004 by Atheneum Books

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Katie Takeshima's sister, Lynn, makes everything seem glittering and shining. But when Lynn becomes desperately ill, and the whole family begins to fall apart, it is up to Katie to find a way to remind them all that there is always something glittering in the future.

by Lynne Rae Perkins
Criss Cross
Published 2005 by Greenwillow Books

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From the 2006 Newbery Medal winner comes "Criss Cross," a remarkable novel about finding first love...or at least searching for it.

by Susan Patron
The Higher Power of Lucky
Published 2006 by Atheneum Books

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Lucky, age ten, doesn't expect running away to be so complicated. A large cast of magnanimous surprises awaits her when she plans to hide from her guardian in the Mojave Desert. Illustrations.

by Laura Amy Schlitz
Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!: Voices from a Medieval Village
Published 2007 by Candlewick Press (MA)

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Step back to an English village in 1255, where life plays out in dramatic vignettes illuminating 22 unforgettable characters. Inspired by an illuminated poem from 13th-century Germany, this witty, historically accurate, and utterly human collection forms an exquisite bridge to the people and places of medieval England. Full color.