BOB

1. 2015 – 2016
BOB Book List

2. Corinne La Mer isn’t afraid of anything. Not
scorpions, not the boys who tease her, and certainly
not jumbies. She knows that jumbies aren’t real;
they’re just creatures parents make up to frighten
their children. But on All Hallows’ Eve, Corinne
chases an agouti all the way into the forbidden
woods. Those shining yellow eyes that follow her
to the edge of the trees, they couldn’t belong to a
jumbie. Or could they?
Corinne begins to notice odd occurrences after that
night. First she spots a beautiful stranger speaking
to the town witch at the market. Then this same
beauty, called Severine, turns up at Corinne’s
house, cooking dinner for her father. Danger is in
the air. Sure enough, bewitching Corinne’s father is
the first step in Severine’s plan to claim the entire
island for the jumbies. Corinne must call on her
courage and her friends and ancient magic to stop
Severine and to save her island home.
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3. Serafina has never had a reason to disobey her pa and
venture beyond the grounds of Biltmore Estate. There's
plenty to explore in Mr. and Mrs. Vanderbilt's vast and
opulent home, but she must take care to never be seen.
None of the rich folk upstairs know that Serafina
exists; she and her pa, the estate's maintenance man,
have lived in the basement for as long as Serafina can
remember. She has learned to prowl through the
darkened corridors at night, to sneak and hide, using
the mansion's hidden doors and secret passageways.
But when children at the estate start disappearing, only
Serafina knows the clues to follow. A terrifying man in
a black cloak stalks Biltmore's corridors at night.
Following her own harrowing escape, Serafina risks
everything by joining forces with Braeden Vanderbilt,
the young nephew of Biltmore's owners. Braeden and
Serafina must uncover the Man in the Black Cloak's
true identity before all of the children vanish one by
one.
Serafina's hunt leads her into the very forest that she
has been taught to fear, where she discovers a forgotten
legacy of magic. In order to save the children of
Biltmore, Serafina must not only face her darkest
enemy, but delve into the strange mystery of her own
identity.
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4. Nine-year-old Ada has never left her one-room
apartment. Her mother is too humiliated by Ada’s
twisted foot to let her outside. So when her little
brother Jamie is shipped out of London to escape
the war, Ada doesn’t waste a minute—she sneaks
out to join him.
So begins a new adventure of Ada, and for Susan
Smith, the woman who is forced to take the two
kids in. As Ada teaches herself to ride a pony,
learns to read, and watches for German spies, she
begins to trust Susan—and Susan begins to love
Ada and Jamie. But in the end, will their bond be
enough to hold them together through wartime?
Or will Ada and her brother fall back into the cruel
hands of their mother?
This masterful work of historical fiction is equal
parts adventure and a moving tale of family and
identity—a classic in the making.

5. On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina's
monstrous winds and surging water
overwhelmed the protective levees
around low-lying New Orleans,
Louisiana. Eighty percent of the city
flooded, in some places under twenty
feet of water. Property damages across
the Gulf Coast topped $100 billion. One
thousand eight hundred and thirty-three
people lost their lives. The riveting tale
of this historic storm and the drowning of
an American city is one of selflessness,
heroism, and courage—and also of
incompetence, racism, and criminality.
Don Brown’s kinetic art and as-it-
happens narrative capture both the
tragedy and triumph of one of the worst
natural disasters in American history. A
portion of the proceeds from this book
has been donated to Habitat for
Humanity New Orleans.

6. Araminta Ross was born a slave in
Delaware in the early 19th century.
Slavery meant that her family could
be ripped apart at any time, and that
she could be put to work in dangerous
places and for abusive people. But
north of the Mason-Dixon line,
slavery was illegal. If she could run
away and make it north without being
caught or killed, she’d be free. Facing
enormous danger, Araminta made it,
and once free, she changed her name
to Harriet Tubman. Tubman spent the
rest of her life helping slaves run away
like she did, every time taking her life
in her hands.

7. When your cousin goes missing
under suspicious circumstances,
who do you call? There’s only one
man for the job: a half-crazed, half-
feral, one-eyed ex-governor named
Skink. Skink joins 14-year-old
Richard on a breakneck chase
across Florida, undaunted by
lightning storms, poisonous snakes,
flying bullets, and giant gators.
There are a million places cousin
Malley could be, a million
unpleasant fates that might have
befallen her, but one thing is
certain: in the Florida swamp,
justice is best served wild.

8. For most of her twelve years, Astrid has
done everything with her best friend Nicole.
But after Astrid falls in love with roller
derby and signs up for derby camp, Nicole
decides to go to dance camp instead. And so
begins the most difficult summer of Astrid's
life as she struggles to keep up with the older
girls at camp, hang on to the friend she feels
slipping away, and cautiously embark on a
new friendship. As the end of summer nears
and her first roller derby bout (and junior
high!) draws closer, Astrid realizes that
maybe she is strong enough to handle the
bout, a lost friendship, and middle school…
in short, strong enough to be a roller girl.
In her graphic novel debut, real-life derby
girl Victoria Jamieson has created an
inspiring coming-of-age story about
friendship, perseverance, and girl power!

9. In March 1907, the lives of three remarkable
people collided at a New York City
brownstone where Mary Mallon worked as a
cook. They were brought together by typhoid
fever, a dreaded scourge that killed tens of
thousands of Americans each
year. Fatal Fever: Tracking Down Typhoid
Mary is the first middle-grade trade book
that tells the true story of the woman who
unwittingly spread deadly bacteria, the
epidemiologist who discovered her trail of
infection, and the health department that
decided her fate. This gripping story follows
this tragic disease as it shatters lives from the
early twentieth century to today. It will keep
readers on the edges of the seats wondering
what happened to Mary and the innocent
typhoid victims. With glossary, timeline, list
of well-known typhoid sufferers and victims,
further resource section, author’s note, and
source notes.

10. An anxiety disorder disrupts
fourteen-year-old Audrey’s daily
life. She has been making slow but
steady progress with Dr. Sarah, but
when Audrey meets Linus, her
brother’s gaming teammate, she is
energized. She connects with him.
Audrey can talk through her fears
with Linus in a way she’s never been
able to do with anyone before. As
their friendship deepens and her
recovery gains momentum, a sweet
romantic connection develops, one
that helps not just Audrey but also
her entire family.
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11. Eli Frieden lives in the most perfect town
in the world: Serenity, New Mexico.
Honesty and integrity are valued above
all else. The thirty kids who live there
never lie—they know it’s a short leap
from that to the awful problems of other,
less fortunate places. Eli has never left
Serenity . . . why would he ever want to?
Then one day, he bikes to the edge of the
city limits and something so crazy and
unexpected happens, it changes
everything.
Eli convinces his friends to help him
investigate further, and soon it becomes
clear that nothing is as it seems in
Serenity. The clues mount to reveal a
shocking discovery, connecting their
ideal crime-free community to some of
the greatest criminal masterminds ever
known. The kids realize they can trust no
one—least of all their own parents.
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12. Leon Leyson (born Leib Lezjon) was only ten
years old when the Nazis invaded Poland and his
family was forced to relocate to the Krakow
ghetto. With incredible luck, perseverance, and
grit, Leyson was able to survive the sadism of the
Nazis, including that of the demonic Amon Goeth,
commandant of Plaszow, the concentration camp
outside Krakow. Ultimately, it was the generosity
and cunning of one man, a man named Oskar
Schindler, who saved Leon Leyson’s life, and the
lives of his mother, his father, and two of his four
siblings, by adding their names to his list of
workers in his factory—a list that became world
renowned: Schindler’s List.
This, the only memoir published by a former
Schindler’s List child, perfectly captures the
innocence of a small boy who goes through the
unthinkable. Most notable is the lack of rancor, the
lack of venom, and the abundance of dignity in
Mr. Leyson’s telling. The Boy on the Wooden Box
is a legacy of hope, a memoir unlike anything
you’ve ever read.

13. Humans and androids crowd the raucous
streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague
ravages the population. From space, a
ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to
make their move. No one knows that Earth's
fate hinges on one girl. . . .
Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She's
a second-class citizen with a mysterious
past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed
for her stepsister's illness. But when her life
becomes intertwined with the handsome
Prince Kai's, she suddenly finds herself at
the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a
forbidden attraction. Caught between duty
and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must
uncover secrets about her past in order to
protect her world's future.
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14. Toronia, a kingdom composed of
three realms, is wracked with civil
war. King Brutan rules with an iron
fist. Cruelty and suffering abound.
The kingdom’s only hope comes in
the form of Brutan’s illegitimate
triplets, prophesied to kill the king
and rule together in peace. But the
road to the throne is long and bloody.
Separated at birth and scattered
throughout the realms, the triplets
face a desperate fight to secure their
destiny. Will they survive long
enough to rule?

15. Harry Potter has no idea how famous
he is. That's because he's being raised
by his miserable aunt and uncle who
are terrified Harry will learn that he's
really a wizard, just as his parents
were. But everything changes when
Harry is summoned to attend an
infamous school for wizards, and he
begins to discover some clues about
his illustrious birthright. From the
surprising way he is greeted by a
lovable giant, to the unique
curriculum and colorful faculty at his
unusual school, Harry finds himself
drawn deep inside a mystical world he
never knew existed and closer to his
own noble destiny.
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16. Fifth grader Tamaya Dhilwaddi and
seventh grader Marshall Walsh have been
walking to and from Woodridge
Academy together since elementary
school. But their routine is disrupted
when bully Chad Hilligas challenges
Marshall to a fight. To avoid the conflict,
Marshall takes a shortcut home through
the off-limits woods. Tamaya, unaware
of the reason for the detour, reluctantly
follows. They soon get lost. And then
they find trouble. Bigger trouble than
anyone could ever have imagined.
In the days and weeks that follow, the
authorities and the U.S. Senate become
involved, and what they uncover might
affect the future of the world.

17. Like all A-Z books, this one illustrates the
alphabet—but instead of "A is for Apple", A
is for Angela—as in Angela Davis, the iconic
political activist. B is for Billie Jean King,
who shattered the glass ceiling of sports; C is
for Carol Burnett, who defied assumptions
about women in comedy; D is for Dolores
Huerta, who organized farmworkers; and E
is for Ella Baker, who mentored Dr. Martin
Luther King and helped shape the Civil
Rights Movement.
And the list of great women continues,
spanning several centuries, multiple
professions, and 26 diverse individuals. There
are artists and abolitionists, scientists and
suffragettes, rock stars and rabble-rousers,
and agents of change of all kinds.

18. Be afraid, be very afraid of Terrifying
Tales, the sixth volume in the Guys
Read Library of Great Reading.
Eleven masters of suspense—Kelly
Barnhill, Michael Buckley, Adam
Gidwitz, Adele Griffin and Lisa Brown,
Claire Legrand, Nikki Loftin, Daniel
José Older, Dav Pilkey, R.L. Stine, and
Rita Williams-Garcia—have come
together to bring you a bone-chilling
collection of original ghost stories with
illustrations by Gris Grimly, perfect for
sharing around the campfire, reading
under the covers with a flashlight, and
scaring your friends’ pants off.
Compiled and edited by kid-lit madman
Jon Scieszka, Guys Read: Terrifying
Tales is a creepy-fun read (if you’re
brave enough, that is).

19. Charlie Laird has several problems.
1. His dad married a woman he is sure
moonlights as a witch.
2. He had to move into her purple mansion—the
creepiest place in Cypress Creek.
3. He can’t remember the last time sleeping
wasn’t a nightmarish prospect. Like even a nap.
What Charlie doesn’t know is that his problems
are about to get a whole lot more real.
Nightmares can ruin a good night’s sleep, but
when they start slipping out of your dreams and
into the waking world . . . well, that’s something
only Charlie can face. And he’s going to need all
the help he can get, or it might just be lights-out
for Charlie Laird.
For good.
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20. Bridge is an accident survivor who’s
wondering why she’s still alive. Emily
has new curves and an almost-
boyfriend who wants a certain kind of
picture. Tabitha sees through
everybody’s games—or so she tells
the world. The three girls are best
friends with one rule: No
fighting. Can it get them through
seventh grade?
This year everything is different for
Sherm Russo as he gets to know
Bridge Barsamian. What does it mean
to fall for a girl—as a friend? On
Valentine’s Day, an unnamed high
school girl struggles with a betrayal.
How long can she hide in plain sight?

21. Nimona is an impulsive young
shapeshifter with a knack for villainy.
Lord Ballister Blackheart is a villain with
a vendetta. As sidekick and supervillain,
Nimona and Lord Blackheart are about to
wreak some serious havoc. Their mission:
prove to the kingdom that Sir Ambrosius
Goldenloin and his buddies at the
Institution of Law Enforcement and
Heroics aren't the heroes everyone thinks
they are.
But as small acts of mischief escalate into
a vicious battle, Lord Blackheart realizes
that Nimona's powers are as murky and
mysterious as her past. And her
unpredictable wild side might be more
dangerous than he is willing to admit.
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