Collins, Suzanne. The Hunger Games. Scholastic, 2008. ISBN 978-0439023481. Ages 12-14.

In the future, the United States has been replaced by Panem, a collection of 12 different districts ruled over by the Capitol. As punishment for districts rebelling in the past, Panem holds an annual televised reality show called the Hunger Games. Here, each district must send one boy and one girl to compete to the death, for only one teen can survive and win the game. District 12’s Katniss finds herself competing after volunteering to take her little sister’s place, and things get complicated when Peeta, District 12’s other competitor, confesses his love for her.

Hiaasen, Carl. Scat. Alfred A. Knopf, 2009. ISBN 978-0375834868. Ages 9-12.

When Bunny Starch, the most feared Biology teacher at school, goes missing during a school field trip to Black Vine Swamp, Nick and Marta aren’t sure whether to be elated or concerned. They’re pretty sure Smoke, the class delinquent who recently threatened her, had something to do with it. And they’re also sure that Mrs. Starch did not have a family emergency like the school told them. As they investigate further, Nick and Marta are dragged into a complex ecological mystery involving illegal oil drilling and an endangered panther, where nothing is as it seems but one wrong step could be the difference between life and death.

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.