Beginning Chapter Books			Back to Booklist
	Cam Jansen and the catnapping mystery		J ADLER, D.
		Adler, David A
		While visiting Aunt Molly at a fancy downtown hotel, Cam uses her photographic memory to help one of the guests find her stolen luggage and pet cat, and to catch the thief.
	Snarf attack, underfoodle, and the secret of life		J AMATO, M.
		Amato, Mary
		The Riot brothers capture a crook. The Riot brothers find a hidden treasure. The Riot brothers overthrow a king.
	Ivy + Bean		J BARROWS, A.
		Barrows, Annie
		Second-graders Ivy and Bean set out to expel the ghost who is living in the girls' bathroom at their school.
	The blue ghost		J BAUER, M.
		Bauer, Marion Dane
		At her grandmother's log cabin, nine-year-old Liz is led to make contact with children she believes may be her ancestors.
	Arthur and the race to read		J BROWN
		Krensky, Stephen
		To raise money for a literacy drive, everyone at Arthur's school is going to run a race together. Fern seems uninterested; will her friends be able to inspire her in time for Race Day?
	Beans on the roof		J BYARS
		Byars, Betsy Cromer
		As each of the five members of the Bean family tries to write a "roof" poem, they come to realize just how nice it is to be a Bean.
	Food chain frenzy		J CAPECI, A
		Capeci, Anne
		The whole Magic Bus crew is in a food chain frenzy as they digest lots of facts about ecosystems and eating habits.
	Welcome to the Bed & Biscuit		J CARRIS, J.
		Carris, Joan Davenpo
		The family animals at the Bed and Biscuit begin to feel slighted when Dr. Bender returns from a fire with something that occupies the time usually reserved for them.
	The lucky baseball bat		J CHRISTOPHER
		Christopher, Matt
		When Marty loses his lucky baseball bat, and his confidence along with it, he wonders if he will recover both in time to help the Tigers win the championship.
	Muggie Maggie		J CLEARY, B.
		Cleary, Beverly
		Maggie resists learning cursive writing in the third grade, until she discovers that knowing how to read and write cursive promises to open up an entirely new world of knowledge for her.
	Jake Drake, bully buster		J CLEMENTS, A.
		Clements, Andrew
		It is up to Jake Drake to take matters into his own hands when Link Baxter, SuperBully moves into the neighborhood.
	Flatfoot Fox and the case of the Nosy Otter		J CLIFFORD, E.
		Clifford, Eth
		Mrs. Chatterbox Otter asks Flatfoot Fox to find her missing son.
	That crazy Eddie and the science project of doom		J COX, J.
		Cox, Judy
		Best friends Matt and Eddie have a falling out that threatens to ruin their science fair project. Includes instructions for making a model of an erupting volcano.
	Amber Brown is not a crayon		J DANZIGER, P.
		Danziger, Paula
		The year she is in the third grade is a sad time for Amber because her best friend Justin is getting ready to move to a distant state.
	Cody unplugged		J DUFFEY
		Duffey, Betsy
		Concerned that his television and video habits have gotten out of hand, Cody's parents send him to Camp Bear where he learns to experience real life rather than virtual reality.
	Pa Lia's first day		J EDWARDS
		Edwards, Michelle.
		On the first day of second grade at her new school, Pa Lia Vang discovers that things are not as bad as she had feared.
	Aliens for breakfast		J ETRA, J.
		Etra, Jonathan
		Finding an intergalactic special agent in his cereal box, Richard joins the extraterrestrial in a fight to save Earth from the Dranes, one of whom is masquerading as a student in Richard's class.
	The diary of a killer cat		J FINE, A.
		Fine, Anne
		Tuffy the pet cat tries to defend himself against accusations of terrifying other animals and murdering the neighbor's rabbit.
	The trouble with cats		J FREEMAN, M.
		Freeman, Martha
		After a difficult first week of third grade, Holly begins to adjust to her new school and living in her new stepfather's tiny apartment with his four cats
	Mallory on the move		J FRIEDMAN, L.
		Friedman, Laurie B.
		After moving to a new town, eight-year-old Mallory keeps throwing stones in the "Wishing Pond" but things will not go back to the way they were before, and she remains torn between old and new best friends.
	Kidnap at the Catfish Cafe		J GIFF, P.
		Giff, Patricia Reilly
		Assisted by her cat Max, sixth grader Minnie starts up her new detective agency by investigating a kidnapping and a thief who will steal anything, even a hot stove.
	Dance with Rosie		J GIFF, P.
		Giff, Patricia Reilly
		Rosie tries to make up with her former best friend and get into ballet class after the sign-up deadline.
	Gotcha!		J GILSON, J.
		Gilson, Jamie
		While trying to learn about spiders in Mrs. Zookey's class, Richard becomes the target of Patrick the Pest's pranks.
	Dude, where's my spaceship?		J GREENBURG, D.
		Greenburg, Dan
		When their spaceship crash lands on Earth, Ploo is captured by the Army and taken to the mysterious Area 51. While her brothers, Lek and Klatu, try to rescue her, Ploo uses her ESP to make a new friend.
	Owen Foote, super spy		J GREENE, S.
		Greene, Stephanie
		Owen and his friends decide that spying on the school principal at his own house will be a fun challenge.
	Birthday pony		J HAAS, J.
		Haas, Jessie
		Grandma Aggie tries to help her granddaughter Jane and the independent pony Popcorn, who were born on the same day, become riding partners.
	Give my regrets to Broadway		J HALE, B.
		Hale, Bruce
		Chet and his partner, Natalie Attired, take on a case involving an actor gone missing from the school musical.
	Fashion Kitty		J HARPER, C.
		Harper, Charise Meri
		After a stack of fashion magazines falls on Kiki Kitty's head while she is blowing out the candles on her birthday cake, Kiki turns into Fashion Kitty, a feline superhero who saves other kitties from fashion disaster.
	Howie Monroe and the doghouse of doom		J HOWE, J.
		Howe, James
		Continuing his search for fame as a writer, Howie the wire-haired dachshund creates a story remarkably similar to the popular one he has heard about a heroic boy wizard.
	Summer with Elisa		J HURWITZ, J.
		Hurwitz, Johanna
		During the summer between first and second grades, Elisa struggles to write to her brother Russell at camp and then enjoys a family vacation in the country.
	Martin Bridge : on the lookout!		J KERRIN, J.
		Kerrin, Jessica Scott
		In three short stories, Martin has to entertain an unwanted guest, share lunch with a boy who eats erasers, and embark on a madcap search for his school's escaped pet parakeet.
	Jenius : the amazing guinea pig		J KING-SMITH
		King-Smith, Dick
		Eight-year-old Judy tries to convince her parents and classmates that her brilliant guinea pig can do all the tricks which she says it can.
	Horrible Harry and The Goog		J KLINE, S.
		Kline, Suzy
		When Horrible Harry's pet cat, Googer, sneaks a ride and gets into the school building, third-graders Harry and Doug have to catch him before anyone else does, which means going into some forbidden places.
	Zelda and Ivy, the runaways		J KVASNOSKY, L.
		Kvasnosky, Laura McGee
		The popular fox sisters return in this book with three adventures precipitated by their need to avoid the dreaded cucumber sandwiches dad is preparing. Strong character development and a superb book design that showcases framed gouache paintings combine to encourage young readers to reach the trio of hilarious outcomes. In three short stories, two fox sisters run away from home, bury a time capsule, and take advantage of some creative juice.
	Catwings		J LE GUIN, U.
		Le Guin, Ursula K.
		A highly acclaimed novel about the adventures of four winged tabby cats who leave the city in search of a safe place to live.
	Stink and the incredible super-galactic jawbreaker		J MCDONALD, M.
		McDonald, Megan
		Seven-year-old Stink Moody discovers that he can get free samples by writing letters to candy companies and plans a surprise for his best friend's birthday.
	Junebug in trouble		J MEAD, A.
		Mead, Alice
		Despite having moved out of the rough housing project where he grew up, ten-year-old Junebug continues to encounter crime, gangs, and violence.
	Henrietta : there's no one better		J MURRAY, M.
		Murray, Martine
		Henrietta, whose favorite color is red and who wants to be an explorer, describes some of her life with her baby brother Albert, her dog Madge, her best friend Olive, and what it is like to be "half a Hen and half a Rietta."
	Roxie and the hooligans		J NAYLOR, P.
		Naylor, Phyllis Reynolds
		Roxie Warbler, the niece of a famous explorer, follows Uncle Dangerfoot's advice on how to survive any crisis when she becomes stranded on an island with a gang of school bullies and a pair of murderous bank robbers.
	On the road		J NOLAN, L.
		Nolan, Lucy A.
		A dog who thinks her name is Down Girl goes on a car ride to the beach, goes camping in the woods, and reluctantly pays a visit to the vet with her master, Rruff.
	Dragon of the red dawn		J OSBORNE, M.
		Osborne, Mary Pope
		When Merlin is weighed down by sorrows, Jack and Annie travel back to feudal Japan to learn one of the four secrets of happiness.
	Junie B., first grader : shipwrecked		J PARK, B.
		Park, Barbara
		Junie B.'s journal entries start with Room One's stomach virus excitement, the first-grade Columbus Day play, and getting the part of the Pinta, the fastest ship.
	The case of the great sled race		J PRELLER, J.
		Preller, James
		"Let it snow! When it snows, there's sledding, snowballs, and snow days! But things get frosty when someone steals Bigs Maloney's sled two days before the great sled race. Jigsaw and Mila are on the case. They need to keep Bigs cool and find his sled.
	The absent author		J ROY, R.
		Roy, Ron
		Dink Duncan and his two friends investigate the apparent kidnapping of famous mystery author Wallis Wallace.
	Wedding flowers		J RYLANT, C.
		Rylant, Cynthia
		Ten-year-old cousins Lily, Rosie, and Tess return to their aunt's house on Cobble Street to help her plan the perfect wedding.
	Marvin Redpost : alone in his teacher's house		J SACHAR, L.
		Sachar, Louis
		Marvin is pleased when his teacher asks him to take care of her dog while she's away, but he soon finds that there's more pressure involved than he likes.
	The skirt		J SOTO
		Soto, Gary
		When Miata leaves on the school bus the skirt that she is to wear in a dance performance, she needs all her wits to get it back without her parents' finding out that she has lost something yet again.
	Attack of the tagger		J VAN DRAANEN, W.
		Van Draanen, Wendelin
		Someone is spray-painting graffiti all over Cedar Valley and it is up to fifth-grader Nolan Byrd, also known as Shredderman, to expose the vandal.
	Upstairs Mouse, downstairs Mole		J YEE, W.
		Yee, Wong Herbert
		Mouse and his downstairs neighbor, Mole, discover that when they help each other, housecleaning and other daily tasks are much easier.