by Bart King
Pullman, Philip. He’s a great writer. You really have to read The Golden Compass and its sequel, The Subtle Knife. There is also another great series he wrote about a girl (!) which starts with the book, Ruby in the Smoke (New York: Knopf, 1988).
Raskin, Ellen. The Westing Game. New York: Scott Foresman, 1997.
Rawls, Wilson. Where the Red Fern Grows. New York: Bantam, 1961.
Rockwell, Thomas. How to Eat Fried Worms. New York. F. Watts, 1973.
Rowling, J.K. I know, she’s a pretty obvious choice, but just in case you haven’t started yet, get moving on Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (New York: A. A. Levine Books, 1998).
Sachar, Louis. In addition to Holes, he also wrote Sideways Stories from Wayside School and There’s a Boy in the Girl’s Bathroom, which has a title I’m sure you can relate to.
Salisbury, Graham. Under the Blood Red Sun and Shark Bait (New York: Delacorte Press, 1997) are good titles.
Schaeffer, Jack. Shane. New York: Bantam, 1983.
Schwartz, Alvin. Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1981.
Scieszka, Jon. Knights of the Kitchen Table. New York: Puffin Books, 1994.
Shan, Darren. He has a vampire series that begins with Cirque du Freak. I really like these books (Boston: Little, Brown, 2001).
Sleator, William. Interstellar Pig. New York: Puffin, 1995.
Smith, Roland. Sasquatch. New York: Hyperion Books for Children, 1998.
Snicket, Lemony. These books are funny and a little annoying, but they’re good for a rainy day. Start with the The Bad Beginning and take it from there. New York: HarperCollins, 1999.
Spiegelman, Art. Maus and Maus II. The most powerful “comics” you’ll ever read. (New York: Panteon Books, 1992 and 1994).
Spinelli, Jerry. The author of Crash and Maniac Magee (New York: Scholastic, 1990).
Stine, R.L. He writes so many books, it’s useless to try and keep track of them all. Try Welcome to Dead House (the first book in the “Goosebumps” series) and see what you think.
Springer, Nancy. Toughing It. New York: Harcourt, 1994.
Taylor, Theodore. The Bomb. New York: HarperTrophy, 1997.
Tolan, Stephanie S. Surviving the Applewhites. New York: HarperCollins, 2002.
Tolkien, J.R.R. I’m still surprised by boys who have seen the “Lord of the Rings” movies and have not read the books. Get The Hobbit (or, There and Back Again). New York: Ballantine Books, 1982. Then you’re ready for “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy.
Westall, Robert. The Machine Gunners. Bt Bound, 1999.
White, Robb. Deathwatch. New York: Bantam Doubleday Dell Books for Young Readers, 1972.
Yep, Laurence. Dragonwings. New York: HarperCollins, 1987.
Zelazny, Roger. A great writer. Try Roadmarks or Unicorn Variations (New York: Avon, 1987) for starters.
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