Search: age 12

author: Carol Ryrie Brink rating: asin: 1416940286 binding: Paperback list price: $6.99 USD amazon price: $6.99 USD

At age 11, Caddie Woodlawn is the despair of her mother and the pride of her father: a clock-fixing tomboy running wild in the woods of Wisconsin. In 1864, this is a bit much for her Boston-bred mother to bear, but Caddie and her brothers are happy with the status quo. Written in 1935 about Carol Ryrie Brink's grandmother's childhood, the adventures of Caddie and her brothers are still exciting over 60 years later.

author: Kathleen Krull rating: asin: 0152008071 binding: Hardcover list price: $21.00 USD amazon price: $14.28 USD

Not all governments have been run by men. Lives of Extraordinary Women turns the spotlight on women who have wielded power, revealing their feats--and flaws--for all the world to see. Here you'll find twenty of the most influential women in history: queens, warriors, prime ministers, first ladies, revolutionary leaders. Some are revered. Others are notorious. What were they really like?

author: Laura Ingalls Wilder rating: asin: 0064400042 binding: Paperback list price: $6.99 USD amazon price: $6.99

The adventures of Laura Ingalls and her family continue as they leave their little house on the prairie and travel in their covered wagon to Minnesota. Here they settle in a little house made of sod beside the banks of beautiful Plum Creek. Soon Pa builds a wonderful new little house with real glass windows and a hinged door. Laura and her sister Mary go to school, help with the chores, and fish in the creek. At night everyone listens to the merry music of Pa's fiddle.

author: Laura Ingalls Wilder rating: asin: 0064400018 binding: Paperback list price: $6.99 USD amazon price: $6.99

Although the Little House stories are traditionally seen as "girl" books, boys might be happily surprised if they take another peek at their sisters' shelves. Little House in the Big Woods--the first book of the series and Laura Ingalls Wilder's first children's book--is full of the thrills, chills, and spills typically associated with "boy" books. Any boy or girl who has fantasized about running off to live in the woods will find ample information in these pages to manage a Wisconsin snowstorm, a panther attack, or a wild sled ride with a pig as an uninvited guest.

author: John Reynolds Gardiner rating: asin: 0064401324 binding: Paperback list price: $5.50 USD amazon price: $5.50 USD

Little Willy's Grandfather is sick, and it's up to Willy to save their farm from tax collectors. Their only hope is the prize money from the National Dogsled Race. But a lot of other people want to win the race, too, including Stone Fox, who has never lost a race in his life.

author: Noel Streatfeild rating: asin: 0679847596 binding: Paperback list price: $5.99 USD amazon price: $5.99 USD

In the tradition of Frances Hodgson Burnett’s The Little Princess come Noel Streatfeild’s tales of triumph. In this story, three orphan girls vow to make a name for themselves and find their own special talents. With hard work, fame just may be in the stars! Originally published in 1937.

author: Noel Streatfeild rating: asin: 0679854347 binding: Paperback list price: $6.50 USD amazon price: $6.50 USD

Three orphans are forced to enter a theater school by their grandmother, a famous actress. Unable to pay the tuition, they are given scholarships from the now-grown orphans from Ballet Shoes. Will they be able to live up to their patrons’ legacies? The children are ready to run away—until they discover their hidden talents. Originally published in 1945.

author: Edward Eager rating: asin: 0152020683 binding: Paperback list price: $6.00 USD amazon price: $6.00 USD

Edward Eager has been delighting young readers for more than 40 years with stories that mix magic and reality. Half Magic, the most popular of his tales about four children who encounter magical coins, time-travel herb gardens, and other unlikely devices, is a warm, funny, original adventure. The title refers to a coin that the children find. Through a comical series of coincidences, they discover that the coin is magic. Well, it's not totally magic--it's only (you guessed it) half magic. That means there's a certain logic to the wishes one must make to generate a desired outcome.

author: Arlene Williams rating: asin: 0960544445 binding: Paperback list price: $12.95 USD amazon price: $12.95

A collection of twelve original fairy tales with a gentle, sensitive flavor. There are no wicked witches threatening to cook and eat small children, no big, bad wolves devouring your grandma. You will find instead, stories in which good things happen to characters who work at making their lives and relationships better--with and without magic.