WAW Master Lists

2009 – 2010 William Allen White 6th – 8th Master Reading List

Billy Creekmore by Tracey Porter. In 1905, 10-year-old Billy is taken from an abusive orphanage to live with an aunt and uncle he never knew he had. He enjoys his first taste of family life until his work in a coalmine and involvement with a union bring trouble and death. He is forced to flee the mines and finds work in a circus in hopes of finding his father.

Cracker! The Best Dog in Vietnam by Cynthia Kadohata. Cracker is one of the United States Army’s most valuable weapons: a German shepherd trained to sniff out bombs, traps, and the enemy. The fate of entire platoons rests on her keen sense of smell. But, sometimes Cracker remembers her life before and her previous owner, a boy, who would feed her hot dogs and let her sleep in his bed. She misses him.

Elephant Run by Roland Smith. Nick endures slavery, beatings, and more, after the Japanese invade his British father’s plantation in Burma in 1941. When his father and others are taken prisoner Nick is left behind with his friend Mya. They plan a daring escape on elephants, risking their lives to save Nick's father and Mya's brother from a Japanese prisoner of war camp.

Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis. In 1859, 11-year-old Elijah Freeman, the first free-born child in Buxton, Canada, which is a haven for slaves fleeing the American south, uses his wits and skills to try to bring to justice the lying preacher who has stolen money that was to be used to buy a family's freedom.

From Emporia: The Story of William Allen White by Beverley Olson Buller. Biography of two-time Pulitzer Prize winner William Allen White. The story begins with White’s birth and early days and follows him through his career as a small-town newspaper editor whose ideas and wisdom were anything but small. From his start in newspaper work as a printer’s devil, White quickly gained national and international fame. White’s many editorial essays, short stories, and two novels gained him a broad following and brought the world’s attention—and many of its most famous writers—to his family’s adopted home of Emporia, KS.

Iron Thunder: The Battle Between the Monitor & the Merrimac by Avi. In this Civil War novel we find that Tom's job as an assistant to Captain John Ericsson, the inventor of the first ironclad naval ship, the Monitor, makes him a target of Confederate spies.

Leap of Faith by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley. Forced to attend a Catholic middle school because of her conduct, Abigail discovers a talent for theater and develops a true religious faith.

Leepike Ridge by Nathan D. Wilson. While his widowed mother continues to search for him, eleven-year-old Tom, presumed dead after drifting away down a river, finds himself trapped in a series of underground caves with another survivor and a dog, and pursued by murderous treasure-hunters.

Miss Spitfire: Reaching Helen Keller by Sarah Miller. At age 21, partially-blind, lonely but spirited Annie Sullivan travels from Massachusetts to Alabama to try and teach six-year-old Helen Keller, deaf and blind since age two, self-discipline and communication skills. This is a historical novel based on fact. Includes historical notes and timeline.

Night of the Howling Dogs by Graham Salisbury. In 1975, eleven Boy Scouts, their leaders, and some new friends camping at Halape, Hawaii, find their survival skills put to the test when a massive earthquake strikes, followed by a tsunami.

Schooled by Gordon Korman. Homeschooled by his hippie grandmother, Cap Anderson has never watched television, tasted pizza, or even heard of a wedgie. But when his grandmother lands in the hospital, Cap is forced to move in with a guidance counselor and attend the local middle school. While Cap knows a lot about tie-dyeing and Zen Buddhism, no education could prepare him for the politics of public school.