DuPrau, Jeanne. The City of Ember. Random House, 2003. ISBN 978-0375822735. Ages 9-12.

241 years ago, a city was created to save a race of people. A city designed to last 220 years. Now Ember is a dying city, threatened by eternal darkness as the city’s decrepit electric system begins to fail. With food and supplies becoming scarce as well, and a corrupt mayor who likes his position a little too much, it seems as though there is no hope. So when Lina finds her baby sister chewing on a piece of paper that looks like directions out of the isolated city, she teams up with her friend Doon to try and decipher the few words and letters that are still legible on the page. Together they discover the city’s long lost history and secrets regarding the purpose of Ember and why the Builders designed it. But can they really find a way out and save the citizens of Ember, and is it possible with the mayor and his guards watching their every move?

Barker, Clive. Abarat. Joanna Cotler Books, 2002. ISBN 0060280921. Ages 9-14.

Candy Quackenbush of Chickentown, Minnesota, one day finds herself on the edge of a foreign world that is populated by strange creatures, and her life is forever changed. Candy's story is like many other fantasy novels involving young children--it is a story of a young girl desperate to escape the cruel realities of her world and submerge herself into another world that is the complete opposite. Tweens will relate to Candy because of this as she flees an alcoholic father and depressed mother, striking out on her own in a strange world in order to make some kind of difference.

Waters, Mark. (Director). (2008). The Spiderwick Chronicles [Motion picture]. United States: Paramount Pictures. Ages 9-12.

When the Grace family moves into the old Spiderwick Estate, strange things begin to happen. Jared is blamed early on because of his anger issues, but after discovering Arthur Spiderwick’s Field Guide in a secret room in the house, Jared slowly convinces his sister Mallory and twin brother Simon of the secret world of fantastical creatures that lies hidden within their own. So when the evil ogre Mulgarath gets wind of the field guide’s existence, the Grace family puts aside their differences and fights the ogre army in order to protect the book and its secrets, as well as their fragile family. Based on the beloved series by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black.

Kenan, Gil. (Director). (2008). City of Ember [Motion picture]. United States: Walden Media. Ages 9-14.

200 years ago, as the world was coming to an end, the lighted city of Ember was created deep within the Earth. The creators locked the instructions on how to one day return to the surface in a box, with the intention of populating the surface once it was safe. Now 200 years later, the box has been long forgotten and a young Messenger named Lina Mayfleet stumbles upon it. Growing up in a now-corrupt Ember full of ancient traditions and a failing generator, it is up to her and her new friend Doon to discover the meaning of the instructions and find a way out of the city of Ember. Based on the first book in the bestselling Books of Ember series by Jeanne DuPrau.

West, Jacqueline. The Books of Elsewhere: The Shadows. Dial Books for Young Readers, 2010. ISBN 978-0803734401. Ages 9-12.

Olive is just an average girl (with above-average parents), but when her family moves into the old McMartin home she discovers a house full of mystery and adventure. After finding an old pair of spectacles, she soon realizes that they enable her to enter any painting in the house. But the fun does not last long as she begins to recognize a sinister darkness about the paintings, and a tragic tale for those trapped within them. With the help of the house’s guardians—three cats named Horatio, Leopold and Harvey—and a boy named Morton, Olive fights to release the paintings and their inhabitants from the evil clutches of old man McMartin.

Selick, Henry. (Director). (2009). Coraline [Motion picture]. United States: Focus Features. Ages 9-14.

Coraline can’t believe her luck when she finds a secret door in her boring new house that leads to a world much like her own, but so much better. But things are not quite what they seem when Coraline’s “other mother” tells her that the only way she can stay in this world she loves is to sew buttons over her eyes like all the others there. Terrified, Coraline refuses, but when her “other mother” kidnaps her real parents in order to keep Coraline there forever, she must return to this frightening world to save them and defeat the evil woman who will stop at nothing to get what she wants. Based on Neil Gaiman’s popular book for tweens.

Herman, Mark. (Director). (2008). The Boy in the Striped Pajamas [Motion picture]. United States: Miramax Films. Ages 13-14.

After Bruno’s soldier father receives a promotion in Nazi Germany, Bruno and his family move to the country. Cooped up and bored, Bruno begins to explore the surrounding area where he sees farmers working in their pajamas, and befriends a young Jewish boy named Shmuel behind an electrified wire fence. Young and naïve, Bruno believes that the fence is up for Shmuel’s protection. Then one day Bruno decides to help Shmuel find his missing father by stealing into the camp disguised in a pair of Shmuel’s pajamas, with horrifyingly tragic results. Based on the bestselling young adult novel by John Boyne.

The Exploratorium. Exploratopia. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2006. ISBN 978-0316612814. Ages 9-12.

Experiment with science by exploring yourself, the places around you and other interesting stuff! Conduct experiments to find out why we need our noses to taste things, why some sand is magnetic, and why it's so hard to tell a counterfeit bill from a real one. Experiments are prefaced and followed up with interesting history and facts to reinforce the knowledge learned in each exploration.

Stephens, Sarah Hines, & Mann, Bethany. Show Off. Candlewick Press, 2009. ISBN 978-0763645991. Ages 10-14.

AMAZE others by faking a fall or twirling a drumstick! INVESTIGATE the use of morse code or invisible ink! CREATE a catapult or silhouette portraits! EXPLORE the outdoors by predicting a rainstorm or building a dam! COOK up some homemade fortune cookies or a Jell-O city! MOVE by freezing your own ice rink or rigging a zipline! Learn how to do all 224 of these awesome tricks and activities with Show Off's simple step-by-step instructions.