Chocolate Fever by Robert Kimmel Smith

Chocolate Fever by Robert Kimmel Smith, 1972.
Clever, funny, reads fast, involves some fantasy, great for 3rd grade.
"...you see, this boy I once knew had to learn a very sad lesson, as all young people must do. Although life is grand, and pleasure is everywhere, we can't have everything we want every time we want it. It's a hard lesson, but it comes in time."
"yes", said Henry, "I think I understand. Maybe I have had too much of a good thing." (p. 84).

The Color of Fire by Ann Rinaldi

The Color of Fire by Ann Rinaldi, Hyperion Books, 2005.
A historical novel, set in 1741 when America is still a British colony, which is based on the true story of the Negro uprisings of 1712 and 1741 in New York City. The main character is a 14-year-old girl named Phoebe, of the Philipse family. The treatment of slaves is compared to the way young women were treated during the Salem witch trials of earlier time. There was also mistrust and mistreatment of Catholics due to the English war with Spain. "I can scarce go on with my life" [Phoebe said]. "All those tomorrows, remembering Cuffee. Will a day pass that I don't think of him? My spirit is so cast down, I keep tripping on it. And I've no desire to pick it up off the floor."
Middle school.

Each Little Bird That Sings by Deborah Wiles

Each Little Bird That Sings by Deborah Wiles, Harcourt Children's Books, 2005.
The main character is 10-year old Comfort Snowburger, whose family owns a funeral home. Two beloved older family members die within a short period of time, resulting in family funerals complete with bratty cousins named Peach. During this period of time, Comfort finds her best friend is distancing herself from Comfort. The book makes wonderful observations about dogs, life and loss. "I am glad to be alive" (p.238) sends a positive note about the world and death and children and family and friends and hope. Great Uncle Edisto says about life: "It's not how you die that makes the important impression, Comfort; it's how you live. Now go live awhile, honey, and let me get back to work." And on the subject of dogs: "Dismay [name of dog] isn't just any dog. If you would only hug him once, you'd see. He's full of good feelings-and they sink right into you when you hug him." [Spoiler alert: Touching part at the end of the book when Comfort loses something very special to her: "Missing people you love is hard." (p. 237).
Excellent story and character development, especially for upper level elementary through middle school aged girl. (Grades 5-8).

The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare

The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare, Houghton Mifflin, 1983, ISBN 0-395-33890-5, Newbery Award 1984
Publisher's Summary: Left alone to guard the family's wilderness home in 18th-century Maine, a boy is hard-pressed to survive until local Indians teach him their skills. Tags: frontier life, survival, Indians of North America
Newbery Read-Aloud section: Begin at Chapter 1, page 1. Go to bottom of page 2. Last sentence you read will be: "It hadn't been quite so easy as it had sounded back in their house in Quincy."

A note about Newberys:
Number one: I don't distinguish between the winners and the honor awards. We all know that sometimes the honor award winner is better than the medal winner. Can you say "Charlotte's Web"??? (It was an honor book the year it won. Can anyone tell me which book won the Newbery Medal that year?)
Number two: One of my fondest moments in my library career came during the week we build up to the Newbery Award being announced. We did a "Newbery Read-aloud Guessing game". We displayed about 15 Newberys (medal and honor winners), then , without telling them the name of the book, we read a portion of it and had the students guess which book the reading came from. It was lots of fun and the kids were very entertained. One student in particular, M.A., was absolutely taken with this book, The Sign of the Beaver. He flew through it, moved onto Gary Paulsen's Hatchet series, then onto some historical fiction about the Civil War. His mother told me later that he had not been much of a reader until he found this book. Now he is constantly reading. Smile.

The Islander by Cynthia Rylant

The Islander by Cynthia Rylant, DK Publishing, Inc, 1998, ISBN 0-7894-2490-8
Publisher's Summary: Living with his grandfather on an island off British Columbia, ten-year-old Daniel feels deep lonliness until the night he meets a mermaid whose identity he tries to learn.
This book is so peaceful. The language is rich and somehow calming, even though parts of the story are sad. Daniel makes a beautiful transition from a lonely youth to a happy young man through some rather uncommon sources of help! Just enough fantasy element to make the story magical, yet possible...
A much better and more interesting review can be found at Book Page.
Seems that I am so in awe of Ms. Rylant"s words that I am tongue-tied!

The Magic Half by Annie Barrows

The Magic Half by Annie Barrows, Bloomsbury Children's Books, 2008
Summary: 11-year-old Miri Gill feels left out in her family, which has two sets of twins and her, until she travels back in time to 1935 and discovers Molly, her own lost twin, and brings her back to the present day.
Tags: twins, time travel, sisters and brothers
Students will probably relate to the constant bickering and pestering carried on in this family. It's easy to see why Molly wants a twin of her own. This is an interesting adventure in time travel, but also shows the courage and persistence of the main character. Good for grades 4-6. Strong girl character. Some historical elements.
See it here on Amazon.