Reading and Writing: Year 6 Great Reads

Stanley tries to dig up the truth in this inventive and darkly humorous tale of crime and punishment—and redemption. Stanley Yelnats is under a curse. A curse that began with his no-good-dirty-rotten- pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather and has since followed generations of Yelnats. Now Stanley has been unjustly sent to a boys' detention center, Camp Green Lake, where the warden makes the boys "build character" by spending all day, every day, digging holes: five feet wide and five feet deep. It doesn't take long for Stanley to realize there's more than character improvement going on at Camp Green Lake. The boys are digging holes because the warden is looking for something. Stanley tries to dig up the truth in this inventive and darkly humorous tale of crime and punishment—and redemption.

Forcibly recruited into MI6 after the mysterious death of his guardian, fourteen-year-old Alex is sent to infiltrate the organization of a sinister billionaire. Within days he's gone from schoolboy to superspy - and it looks like his first assignment may be his last.

Twitch has three pet chickens, four pigeons, swallows nesting in his bedroom and a passion for bird-spotting. On the first day of the summer holidays, he arrives at his secret birdwatching hide to find police everywhere: a convicted robber has broken out of prison and is hiding in Aves Wood. Can Twitch use his talents for bird-spotting to hunt for the dangerous prisoner and find the missing loot?.

A New York Times bestseller! Perfect for fans of Hatchet and the I Survived series, this harrowing middle grade debut novel-in-verse from a Pushcart Prize-nominated poet tells the story of a young girl who wakes up one day to find herself utterly alone in her small Colorado town. When twelve-year-old Maddie hatches a scheme for a secret sleepover with her two best friends, she ends up waking up to a nightmare. She's alone--left behind in a town that has been mysteriously evacuated and abandoned. With no one to rely on, no power, and no working phone lines or internet access, Maddie slowly learns to survive on her own. Her only companions are a Rottweiler named George and all the books she can read. After a rough start, Maddie learns to trust her own ingenuity and invents clever ways to survive in a place that has been deserted and forgotten. As months pass, she escapes natural disasters, looters, and wild animals. But Maddie's most formidable enemy is the crushing loneliness she faces every day. Can Maddie's stubborn will to survive carry her through the most frightening experience of her life?

Two hundred years ago dinosaurs were brought back from extinction - and dinosaurs didn't like to share. They reclaimed the Earth, driving humans underground. Compound life is all Sky Mundy has ever known. But when clues about her father's mysterious disappearance point to the outside world, Sky and her best friend Shawn resolve to run away. Heading into the unknown, they discover a world of surprises and learn that the dinosaurs stalking their every move are not the most dangerous predators out there.

The kingdom of Deltora is turned upside down when the King and Queen both die mysteriously and their young son, Endon, is given the Belt of Deltora and pronounced kind. Endon's best friend, the orphaned Jarred, then discovers a plot to strike at the royal household from within! Before he can warn his new kind, Jarred is accused of murder and barely escapes the castle with his life, but this does not stop the intrepid warrior from pledging his allegiance to Endon and the Kingdom of Deltora. Now, with the nefarious Shadow Lord's army preparing for invasion, Deltora has never needed Jarred more-- will he answer the call?

George and Harold have created a new breed of justice -- one that is part dog, part man, and ALL HERO! With the head of a dog and the body of a human, this heroic hound digs into deception, claws after crooks, rolls over robbers, and scampers after squirrels. Will he be able to resist the call of the wild to answer the call of duty? Dav Pilkey's wildly popular Dog Man series appeals to readers of all ages and explores universally positive themes, including empathy, kindness, persistence, and the importance of being true to one's self.

Who wouldn't want to live in a treehouse? Especially a 13-storeytreehouse that has a bowling alley, a see-through swimming pool, a tank fullof sharks, a library full of comics, a secret underground laboratory, a gamesroom, self-making beds. The first of 13 book series.

Ever wonder why pigeons always act so weird? It's because they're out there chasing the bad guys and saving your butts! Did you know your city is protected by a secret squad of crime-fighting pigeons? It's true! With master of disguise Rock Pigeon, bendy Tumbler, strong Frillback and super-finder Homie, the Real Pigeons will solve any mystery and fight any bad guy to keep the city safe!

Four future AFL stars under one roof!? Go back to where it all began with The Selwood Boys ... In the Selwood house, there's madness and mayhem every day -- and footy, of course! Meet the Selwood boys ... There's the twins, Troy and Adam, pulling pranks and making mischief, then Joel with his sneaky, cheeky antics, and finally little Scott, who just does his best (or make that his worst!) to keep up. Can Joel finally get off the sidelines and onto the footy field to play with his big brothers? It'll be a battle royale that's bound to involve the whole family! PRAISE 'the perfect suggestion for readers of Specky Magee ... a fantastic tale for all young readers, aged seven and up, with a love for the game.' Books+Publishing, Four stars

Daniel and Jaydon have been given the chance of a lifetime to be coached by Australian rugby union star, Israel Folau. But can they make it count? Daniel and Jaydon have been given the chance of a lifetime to be coached by Australian rugby union star, Israel Folau. But can they make it count? Daniel and Jaydon come from very different backgrounds, but both boys eat, sleep and breathe rugby union. When they are selected for a junior representative rugby team, Daniel and Jaydon's worlds collide. At first the boys are awestruck meeting Israel Folau, the team's famous coach, but soon they come to see him as a friend. Unfortunately, things on the field don't go as smoothly. Will Daniel and Jaydon learn how to adapt to their new team? Or will their big break turn into a missed opportunity?

When Jingwen moves to Australia, he feels like he's landed on Mars. Making friends is impossible, since he doesn't speak English, and he's stuck looking after his little brother Yanghao. But Jingwen knows how to make everything better. If he can just make all of the cakes on the menu of the bakery his father had planned to open, and complete the dream he didn't have time to finish, then everything will be okay. Sure, he'll have to break his mother's most important rule about not using the oven when she's at work, keep his little brother from spilling his secret, and brush up on his baking skills, but some things are worth the risk. In her debut novel, Remy Lai captures with humour and heart, what it means to want desperately to belong and just how powerful one wish can be.

Sometimes Xavier wakes up feeling hopeless. Every new doctor ... this will fix it. Removing him from school ... this will fix it. The therapy group ... this will fix it. And his dad moving out. Maybe, this will fix it. His daily affirmations seem to be helping, yet the black dog never really goes away. But Xavier has a plan. Enlisting the help of best friend Aster, he tries to convince his dad to turn the family hogget farm into a therapy retreat for the group session kids. But he is up against decades of tradition, his parents who are on a "break," and the spectre of the black dog. (Publisher).

Percy was just a normal kid, going to school, playing basketball, skateboarding. The usual. Until he accidently vaporized his maths teacher. Now he spends his time battling monsters and generally trying to stay alive. A task made even more difficult since Zeus, God of the sky, thinks Percy has stolen his lightning bolt

When a twelve-year-old evil genius tries to restore his family fortune by capturing a fairy and demanding a ransom in gold, the fairies fight back with magic, technology, and a particularly nasty troll

Rescued from the outrageous neglect of his aunt and uncle, a young boy with a great destiny proves his worth while attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort. Written for J.R.R. Tolkien’s own children, The Hobbit met with instant critical acclaim when it was first published in 1937. Now recognized as a timeless classic, this introduction to the hobbit Bilbo Baggins, the wizard Gandalf, Gollum, and the spectacular world of Middle-earth recounts of the adventures of a reluctant hero, a powerful and dangerous ring, and the cruel dragon Smaug the Magnificent. The text in this 372-page paperback edition is based on that first published in Great Britain by Collins Modern Classics (1998), and includes a note on the text by Douglas A. Anderson (2001). Unforgettable!

Don't miss Selznick's other novels in words and pictures, Wonderstruck and The Marvels, which together with The Invention of Hugo Cabret, form an extraordinary thematic trilogy!2008 Caldecott Medal winnerThe groundbreaking debut novel from bookmaking pioneer, Brian Selznick!Orphan, clock keeper, and thief, Hugo lives in the walls of a busy Paris train station, where his survival depends on secrets and anonymity. But when his world suddenly interlocks--like the gears of the clocks he keeps--with an eccentric, bookish girl and a bitter old man who runs a toy booth in the station, Hugo's undercover life and his most precious secret are put in jeopardy. A cryptic drawing, a treasured notebook, a stolen key, a mechanical man, and a hidden message from Hugo's dead father form the backbone of this intricate, tender, and spellbinding mystery.With 284 pages of original drawings and combining elements of picture book, graphic novel, and film, Brian Selznick breaks open the novel form to create an entirely new reading experience. Here is a stunning cinematic tour de force from a boldly innovative storyteller and artist.

The disaster felt around the world . . .Visiting his dad's hometown in Japan four months after his father's death would be hard enough for Ben. But one morning the pain turns to fear: first, a massive earthquake rocks the quiet coastal village, nearly toppling his uncle's house. Then the ocean waters rise and Ben and his family are swept away-and pulled apart-by a terrible tsunami.Now Ben is alone, stranded in a strange country a million miles from home. Can he fight hard enough to survive one of the most epic disasters of all time?

Luke is having a rough year. When his parents split up, his mum drags him to Phoenix, a brand-new town in the middle of nowhere. But Phoenix is no ordinary town. There are no cars, no phones and no internet. Luke thinks this is as weird as it gets. Then he discovers that someone is plotting to wipe out the human race. Phoenix is suddenly the safest and most dangerous place on earth. And the clock is already ticking. There are 100 days until the end of the world.

Summary : A terrible crime has been committed at the Brownleigh Football Club. Someone has ruined the footy field with deep tyre tracks. And there's grafitti all over the clubhouse walls. The damage is diabolical! Who is responsible and why would anyone target the greatest footy club in the world? The police aren't that interested in investigating - they've got bigger fish to fry - so it's up to a bunch of amateur detectives from Sommerton High to find the culprits and bring them to justice.

The shots were so close they seemed to explode inside Vithy's head. He threw himself to the ground and clapped his hands over his ears . . . It's Cambodia. The killing machine that is the Khmer Rouge is in power. Vithy has lost everyone and everything he loved – except his older brother, Mang. They've escaped from almost certain execution, but the brothers become separated and Vithy is left alone to 'follow the lines . . . to the border' – his brother's last instructions. But which lines? Which border? A gripping tale of the journey of a boy alone and in danger as he tries to find his brother and escape to freedom.

Summary : A gripping historical tale based on a tragic episode of World War One. Bert and his little brother Frank are orphans. Determined to stay together, tragedy strikes when they are transported out of the country to serve as cheap labour in the British colonies and end up separated; Bert to Australia and Frank to New Zealand. Years pass. As the Great War dawns in Europe, the ANZACs send their soldiers to storm Gallipoli, but can the battlefield also serve as a reunion for the two brothers? Particularly suitable for struggling, reluctant and dyslexic readers aged 9+