Special Collections

Accelerated Reader (ATOS Level: 4.0-4.9)

Description: A collection of popular middle grades books that have quizzes on Accelerated Reader for levels 4.0- through 4.9. ATOS Book Levels are reported using the ATOS readability formula and represent the difficulty of the text. #kids #teachers


Showing 1 through 25 of 145 results
 
 

Breaking Stalin's Nose

by Eugene Yelchin

Sasha Zaichik has known the laws of the Soviet Young Pioneers since the age of six: The Young Pioneer is devoted to Comrade Stalin, the Communist Party, and Communism. A Young Pioneer is a reliable comrade and always acts according to conscience. A Young Pioneer has a right to criticize shortcomings. But now that it is finally time to join the Young Pioneers, the day Sasha has awaited for so long, everything seems to go awry. He breaks a classmate's glasses with a snowball. He accidentally damages a bust of Stalin in the school hallway. And worst of all, his father, the best Communist he knows, was arrested just last night. This moving story of a ten-year-old boy's world shattering is masterful in its simplicity, powerful in its message, and heartbreaking in its plausibility.

Date Added: 07/03/2024


Category: ATOS LEVEL: 4.6

Award: AR POINTS: 2.0

Stella by Starlight

by Sharon M. Draper

When the Ku Klux Klan's unwelcome reappearance rattles Stella's segregated southern town, bravery battles prejudice in this Depression-era tour de force from Sharon Draper, the New York Times bestselling author of Out of My Mind.

Stella lives in the segregated South--in Bumblebee, North Carolina, to be exact about it. Some stores she can go into. Some stores she can't. Some folks are right pleasant. Others are a lot less so. To Stella, it sort of evens out, and heck, the Klan hasn't bothered them for years.

But one late night, later than she should ever be up, much less wandering around outside, Stella and her little brother see something they're never supposed to see, something that is the first flicker of change to come, unwelcome change by any stretch of the imagination.

As Stella's community--her world--is upended, she decides to fight fire with fire. And she learns that ashes don't necessarily signify an end.

Date Added: 04/10/2020


Category: ATOS LEVEL: 4.8

Award: AR POINTS: 8.0

The River Between Us

by Richard Peck

The year is 1861. Civil war is imminent and Tilly Pruitt's brother, Noah, is eager to go and fight on the side of the North.

With her father long gone, Tilly, her sister, and their mother struggle to make ends meet and hold the dwindling Pruitt family together. Then one night a mysterious girl arrives on a steamboat bound for St. Louis.

Delphine is unlike anyone the small river town has even seen. Mrs. Pruitt agrees to take Delphine and her dark, silent traveling companion in as boarders.

No one in town knows what to make of the two strangers, and so the rumors fly. Is Delphine's companion a slave? Could they be spies for the South? Are the Pruitts traitors? A masterful tale of mystery and war, and a breathtaking portrait of the lifelong impact one person can have on another.

Winner of the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction

Date Added: 04/10/2020


Category: ATOS LEVEL: 4.9

Award: AR POINTS: 5.0

When I Was the Greatest

by Jason Reynolds

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Jason Reynolds, a &“funny and rewarding&” (Publishers Weekly) coming-of-age novel about friendship and loyalty across neighborhood lines and the hardship of life for an urban teen.A lot of the stuff that gives my neighborhood a bad name, I don&’t really mess with. The guns and drugs and all that, not really my thing. Nah, not his thing. Ali&’s got enough going on, between school and boxing and helping out at home. His best friend Noodles, though. Now there&’s a dude looking for trouble—and, somehow, it&’s always Ali around to pick up the pieces. But, hey, a guy&’s gotta look out for his boys, right? Besides, it&’s all small potatoes; it&’s not like anyone&’s getting hurt. And then there&’s Needles. Needles is Noodles&’s brother. He&’s got a syndrome, and gets these ticks and blurts out the wildest, craziest things. It&’s cool, though: everyone on their street knows he doesn&’t mean anything by it. Yeah, it&’s cool…until Ali and Noodles and Needles find themselves somewhere they never expected to be…somewhere they never should've been—where the people aren&’t so friendly, and even less forgiving.

Date Added: 04/10/2020


Category: ATOS LEVEL: 4.8

Award: AR POINTS: 9.0

Maybe a Fox

by Alison Mcghee and Kathi Appelt

Worlds collide in a spectacular way when Newbery and National Book Award finalist Kathi Appelt and Pulitzer Prize nominee and #1 New York Times bestseller Alison McGhee team up to create a fantastical, heartbreaking, and gorgeous tale about two sisters, a fox cub, and what happens when one of the sisters disappears forever.

Sylvie and Jules, Jules and Sylvie. Better than just sisters, better than best friends, they'd be identical twins if only they'd been born in the same year. And if only Sylvie wasn't such a fast--faster than fast--runner. But Sylvie is too fast, and when she runs to the river they're not supposed to go anywhere near to throw a wish rock just before the school bus comes on a snowy morning, she runs so fast that no one sees what happens...and no one ever sees her again.

Jules is devastated, but she refuses to believe what all the others believe, that--like their mother--her sister is gone forever. At the very same time, in the shadow world, a shadow fox is born--half of the spirit world, half of the animal world. She too is fast--faster than fast--and she senses danger. She's too young to know exactly what she senses, but she knows something is very wrong. And when Jules believes one last wish rock for Sylvie needs to be thrown into the river, the human and shadow worlds collide.

Writing in alternate voices--one Jules's, the other the fox's--Kathi Appelt and Alison McGhee tell the searingly beautiful tale of one small family's moment of heartbreak, a moment that unfolds into one that is epic, mythic, shimmering, and most of all, hopeful.

Date Added: 04/10/2020


Category: ATOS LEVEL: 4.9

Award: AR POINTS: 5.0

Catwings Return

by Ursula K. Le Guin

Wishing to visit their mother, two winged cats leave their new country home to return to the city, where they discover a winged kitten in a building about to be demolished. Book 2 in the Catwings series.

Date Added: 04/10/2020


Category: ATOS LEVEL: 4.3

Award: AR POINTS: 1.0

Step Fourth, Mallory!

by Laurie Friedman

Mallory McDonald enters the fourth grade, but her high hopes for the new school year tumble when she finds herself on the wrong foot of her new teacher. To make matters worse, both she and her best friend are interested in the same boy.

Date Added: 04/10/2020


Category: ATOS LEVEL: 4.5

Award: AR POINTS: 3.0

Adventure According to Humphrey

by Betty G. Birney

Humphrey is in for his biggest adventure yet!

When his friends begin studying the ocean and sailing, he not only discovers the new and exciting world of the library, but also stows away aboard a model boat and takes a very perilous sail on Potter's Pond.

Even with all this excitement, he finds time to smooth rough waters between Gail and her free-spirited mom, help competitive Kirk see that winning isn't everything, and investigate whether his pal Aldo is really planning to become a pirate and sail the high seas.

Date Added: 04/10/2020


Category: ATOS LEVEL: 4.4

Award: AR POINTS: 4.0

Captain Underpants and the Invasion of the Incredibly Naughty Cafeteria Ladies from Outer Space

by Dav Pilkey

Tra-la-laaa!! The NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY bestselling Captain Underpants series is now available in ebook edition, featuring Flip-E-Rama, bonus content, and more!

He defeated the diabolical Dr. Diaper . . . He terminated the terrible talking toilets . . . Now he's in for the fight of his life. Can Captain Underpants and his drawers hold up under the pressure from three massive, tentacled space aliens (in disguise) who are on a mission to enslave the whole planet?

It's time to probe a little further and find out in this WEDGIER alien adventure of Captain Underpants!

Date Added: 04/10/2020


Category: ATOS LEVEL: 4.4

Award: AR POINTS: 1.0

I Survived the Great Chicago Fire, 1871

by Lauren Tarshis

In a national contest, readers voted and decided that the next I SURVIVED topic will be the Great Chicago Fire, 1871!

In the next book of the I SURVIVED series, one boy will struggle to stay alive as the great city of Chicago burns.

Date Added: 04/10/2020


Category: ATOS LEVEL: 4.8

Award: AR POINTS: 2.0

The Zippity Zinger

by Henry Winkler and Lin Oliver and Tim Heitz

Inspired by the true life experiences of Henry Winkler, whose undiagnosed dyslexia made him a classic childhood underachiever, the Hank Zipzer series is about the high-spirited and funny adventures of a boy with learning differences.

PS 87 is having multicultural week, and Ms. Adolf's class is putting on a "Foods From Around the World" luncheon. Hank makes enchiladas, and at the luncheon, Ms. Adolf piles her plate with lots of food. But after a few bites, her face turns bright red-one of the dishes is super-spicy! Ms. Adolf accuses someone of playing a mean practical joke and punishes the entire class with no recess until the guilty party comes forward.

Hank realizes his trouble with numbers might have caused the problem-what if he accidentally used three cups of peppers instead of 1/3 cup? Will Hank be able to get recess back for everyone without getting detention for the rest of his life? Illustrated by Carol Heyer.

Lexile Level: 730L

Date Added: 04/10/2020


Category: ATOS LEVEL: 4.4

Award: AR POINTS: 4.0

Penny from Heaven

by Jennifer L. Holm

Jennifer Holm's New York Times bestselling, Newbery Honor Winner is the story of a summer of adventures and secrets that will change everything, at a time in America’s history, just after World War II, when being Italian-American meant confronting prejudice because you'd been the enemy not that long ago .

It’s 1953 and 11-year-old Penny dreams of a summer of butter pecan ice cream, swimming, and baseball. But nothing’s that easy in Penny’s family. For starters, she can’t go swimming because her mother’s afraid she’ll catch polio at the pool. To make matters worse, her dog, Scarlett O'Hara, is sick. Her favorite uncle is living in a car. Her best friend is turning into a criminal. And no one will tell Penny the truth about how her father died.

Inspired by three time Newbery Honor winner Jennifer Holm’s own Italian American family, Penny from Heaven is a story about families—about the things that tear them apart and the things that bring them back together.

Newbery Honor book

Date Added: 04/10/2020


Category: ATOS LEVEL: 4.0

Award: AR POINTS: 7.0

The Dark-Thirty

by Patricia C. Mckissack and Brian Pinkney

In that special half-hour of twilight--the dark-thirty--there are stories to be told. Mesmerizing, suspenseful, and breathtakingly original, these tales make up a heart-stopping collection of lasting value, a book not quickly forgotten.

Newbery Honor Book

Winner of the Coretta Scott King Medal

Date Added: 04/10/2020


Category: ATOS LEVEL: 4.6

Award: AR POINTS: 4.0

The Milk of Birds

by Sylvia Whitman

This timely, heartrending novel tells the moving story of a friendship between two girls: one an American teen, one a victim of the crisis in Darfur. Know that there are many words behind the few on this paper... Fifteen-year-old Nawra lives in Darfur, Sudan, in a camp for refugees displaced by the Janjaweed's trail of murder and destruction. Nawra cannot read or write, but when a nonprofit organization called Save the Girls pairs her with an American donor, Nawra dictates her thank-you letters. Putting her experiences into words begins to free her from her devastating past--and to brighten the path to her future. K. C. is an American teenager from Richmond, Virginia, who hates reading and writing--or anything that smacks of school. But as Nawra pours grief and joy into her letters, she inspires K. C. to see beyond her own struggles. And as K. C. opens her heart in her responses to Nawra, she becomes both a dedicated friend and a passionate activist for Darfur. In this poetic tale of unlikely sisterhood, debut author Sylvia Whitman captures the friendship between two girls who teach each other compassion and share a remarkable bond that bridges two continents.

Date Added: 04/10/2020


Category: ATOS LEVEL: 4.9

Award: AR POINTS: 12.0

The Milk of Birds

by Sylvia Whitman

This timely, heartrending novel tells the moving story of a friendship between two girls: one an American teen, one a victim of the crisis in Darfur.

Know that there are many words behind the few on this paper...

Fifteen-year-old Nawra lives in Darfur, Sudan, in a camp for refugees displaced by the Janjaweed's trail of murder and destruction. Nawra cannot read or write, but when a nonprofit organization called Save the Girls pairs her with an American donor, Nawra dictates her thank-you letters.

Putting her experiences into words begins to free her from her devastating past--and to brighten the path to her future. K.C. is an American teenager from Richmond, Virginia, who hates reading and writing--or anything that smacks of school. But as Nawra pours grief and joy into her letters, she inspires K.C. to see beyond her own struggles. And as K.C. opens her heart in her responses to Nawra, she becomes both a dedicated friend and a passionate activist for Darfur.

In this poetic tale of unlikely sisterhood, debut author Sylvia Whitman captures the friendship between two girls who teach each other compassion and share a remarkable bond that bridges two continents.

Date Added: 04/10/2020


Category: ATOS LEVEL: 4.9

Award: AR POINTS: 12.0

Captain Underpants and the Perilous Plot of Professor Poopypants

by Dav Pilkey

When Professor Pippy P. Poopypants becomes George and Harold's science teacher, the entire planet is almost overtaken by the mad scientist!

Date Added: 04/10/2020


Category: ATOS LEVEL: 4.7

Award: AR POINTS: 1.0

The Littles and the Surprise Thanksgiving Guests (The Littles )

by Joel Peterson

The Little family are small people with long tails, so small they live behind the walls of a house and are never noticed by the people who live there, though they have made friends with the old house cat. It's all Tom and Lucy, the Little children, can do to carry a turkey leg between them. This year they've planned a very special Thanksgiving with aunts and uncles and two tiny families from the country coming to visit. But now they have a very big problem—dangerous mice are about to spoil the fun. Can the Littles save their lives and home by driving the mice away and keeping them out? Bookshare has many more books in the Littles series.

Date Added: 04/10/2020


Category: ATOS LEVEL: 4.5

Award: AR POINTS: 2.0

Sammy Keyes and the Curse of Moustache Mary

by Wendelin Van Draanen

What's supposed to be a quiet weekend in the country turns into a crossroads adventure when Sammy and her friends meet Lucinda Huntley walking her 200-pound pig down the middle of the road. She tells them a true tale of the Wild West, a story of tough times, wagon trains, her great-grandma Moustache Mary, and a century-old family feud.

But this feud is hardly ancient history. Past and present collide -- and combust! -- when Mary's pioneer cabin burns to the ground. Sammy thinks the cause of the fire may be a hundred years old, but still, the gas can she finds near the scene of the crime is shiny and new. . . .

Date Added: 04/10/2020


Category: ATOS LEVEL: 4.6

Award: AR POINTS: 8.0

Sammy Keyes and the Curse of Moustache Mary

by Wendelin Van Draanen

"The most winning junior detective ever in teen lit. (Take that, Nancy Drew!)" --Midwest Children's Book ReviewWhen Sammy and her friends meet Lucinda Huntley walking her 200-pound pig down the middle of the road, their quiet weekend in the country quickly becomes an adventure. Lucinda tells them a true tale of the Wild West, her great-grandma Moustache Mary, and a century-old family feud.But this feud is hardly ancient history. Past and present collide--and combust!--when Mary's pioneer cabin burns to the ground. Sammy thinks the cause of the fire may be a hundred years old, but still, the gas can she finds near the scene of the crime is shiny and new. . . .The Sammy Keyes mysteries are fast-paced, funny, thoroughly modern, and true whodunits. Each mystery is exciting and dramatic, but it's the drama in Sammy's personal life that keeps readers coming back to see what happens next with her love interest Casey, her soap-star mother, and her mysterious father.From the Trade Paperback edition.

Date Added: 04/10/2020


Category: ATOS LEVEL: 4.6

Award: AR POINTS: 8.0

Mall Madness

by Carolyn Keene and Macky Pamintuan

Back-to-school shopping spree!

The Clue Crew is headed to the mall! They are ready to shop till they drop for new school supplies. First stop: the Pencil Box for glittery notebooks. But right away it looks like the girls have a back-to-school mystery on their hands.

Money is missing from the Pencil Box's cash register, and all fingers point to the clerk, Rodger. Rodger is Nancy's neighbor, and she doesn't believe he's a thief. But she'll need to examine the facts first. Good thing she bought a new notebook!

Date Added: 04/10/2020


Category: ATOS LEVEL: 4.5

Award: AR POINTS: 2.0

Deep-Sea Disaster

by Aaron Blecha and Davy Ocean

Dive into the world of Harry Hammer, a hammerhead shark with a penchant for (mis)adventure in this fin-tastic start to a chapter book series.

Harry Hammer is a hammerhead shark, although he'd rather be a great white shark, or a tiger shark--anything but himself. But when a class trip to a famous shipwreck almost ends in disaster for Harry and his pals, he realizes the importance of being exactly who he is!

Date Added: 04/10/2020


Category: ATOS LEVEL: 4.3

Award: AR POINTS: 1.0

Cat Burglar Caper

by Carolyn Keene and Macky Pamintuan

Eight-year-old Nancy Drew solves cases with her friends in new Clue Crew adventures!

Date Added: 04/10/2020


Category: ATOS LEVEL: 4.3

Award: AR POINTS: 1.0

Help! Somebody Get Me Out of Fourth Grade

by Henry Winkler and Lin Oliver and Tim Heitz

It's time for the end of year parent-teacher conference, and Hank's in a panic. He's afraid that his teacher is going to tell his parents that he has to repeat the fourth grade. So Hank creates an elaborate scheme to have his parents win an out-of-town trip so they're gone during the conference days.

Of course, the plan backfires. Will Hank have to stay in fourth grade forever?

Lexile Level: 720L

Date Added: 04/10/2020


Category: ATOS LEVEL: 4.6

Award: AR POINTS: 4.0

A Tale of Two Tails

by Henry Winkler and Lin Oliver

Hank enters his dog Cheerio in a show, hoping to win the big prize. Unfortunately for Hank, Nick McKelty and his gassy little Chihuahua have the same thing in mind. Will Hank and Cheerio be able to take home the ribbon for Best in Show?

Date Added: 04/10/2020


Category: ATOS LEVEL: 4.9

Award: AR POINTS: 4.0

A Tale of Two Tails

by Henry Winkler and Oliver Lin

Hank enters his dog Cheerio in a show, hoping to win the big prize. Unfortunately for Hank, Nick McKelty and his gassy little Chihuahua have the same thing in mind.

Will Hank and Cheerio be able to take home the ribbon for Best in Show?

Lexile Level: 780L

Date Added: 04/10/2020


Category: ATOS LEVEL: 4.9

Award: AR POINTS: 4.0


Showing 1 through 25 of 145 results