Books and Stuff

Youth Adventure Books

Take a wild trip through your imagination with one of these adventure titles!


Click here to check the availability of a title in our online catalog.

Easy Readers (K-2nd Grade):

J PIC McC
Fabian Escapes | by Peter McCarty (unpaged)
While Hondo the dog stays home and enjoys his usual pursuits, Fabian the cat escapes out the window and has many adventures.

J PIC McD
When the Library Lights Go Out | by Megan McDonald (unpaged)
When the lights go out in the library, the storytime puppets set out on an adventure to find their missing friend, Hermit Crab.

J EASY Cannon, A. (Red)
On the Go with Pirate Pete and Pirate Joe | by A.E. Cannon (32 p.)
Everyday is an adventure with two of the silliest pirates around.

J PIC Lon
The Runaway Shopping Cart | by Kathy Long (unpaged)
When the shopping cart Kaleb is sitting in rolls out of the parking lot and into the street, he has a wonderful time zipping through town, chased by increasing numbers of characters.

J PIC Har
The Night Pirates | by Peter Harris (unpaged)
Despite the fact he is “only a boy,” Tom convinces the band of rough, tough, little girl pirates who have come to steal the front of his house to let him join in their adventures.

J PIC Lin
The Day the Goose Got Loose | by Reeve Linbergh (32 p., Lexile AD480)
Havoc reigns at the farm as all the animals react the day the goose got loose.

J PIC McC
Don’t Mention Pirates | by Sarah McConnell (28 p.)
Scarlet Silver wants to be a pirate just like her grandmother. However, her family refuses to even mention the word until Scarlet discovers something that looks very much like real gold.

J EASY Miller, S. (Red)
Three Stories You Can Read to Your Teddy Bear | by Sara Swan Miller (unpaged)
Bored with sitting on a shelf day after day, a teddy bear sets out on three adventures and inadvertently gets the family dog and cat in trouble.

J EASY Pinkwater, D. (Red)
Cone Kong: the Scary Ice Cream Giant | by Daniel Manus Pinkwater (unpaged, Lexile 300))
When a gigantic wild ice cream cone runs off with the girlfriend of Captain Handsome, the adventurer captures Cone Kong and takes him back to the Big City.

J PIC Rei
The Subway Mouse | by Barbara Reid (unpaged, Lexile 490)
Remembering childhood stories of a beautiful but dangerous place called Tunnel’s End, a mouse named Nib leaves his dirty, crowded home under a busy subway station and sets out on a journey.

J PIC Yor
Oh, Brother | by Arthur Yorinks (40 p.)
Milton and Morris, two orphaned immigrant brothers, brave their way in the New World taking jobs as trapeze artists, fruit peddlers, and tailors.

J EASY Jenck, H. (Red)
Pets on Vacation | by Heidi Shelton Jenck (32 p., Lexile 630)
When school lets out for the summer, the class pets are invited to spend vacation with some of the students, who are given directions to give the animals adventure and to read to them every night.

Middle Readers (3rd-4th Grade):

J FIC Fleischman, S. (Awards Area)
The Whipping Boy | by Sid Fleischman (90 p., Lexile 570)
Every time Prince Brat annoys his father or tutor, his whipping boy Jemmy gets whipped. So when the prince wants to run away one night Jemmy plans to give him the slip as soon as possible.

J FIC Baccalario, P.
The Door to Time (#1 of Ulysses Moore series) | by Pierdomenico Baccalario (222 p., Lexile 610)
After moving from London to an old mansion on the English coast, Jason and Julia discover that their new home has twisting tunnels, strange artifacts, and a mysterious locked door. 

J FIC Stewart, P.
Fergus Crane | by Paul Stewart (214 p.)
Fergus Crane’s life is filled with classes on the school ship Betty Jeanne, interesting neighbors, and helping mother until a mysterious box flies into his window and leads him toward adventure.

J FIC Funke, C.
The Thief Lord | by Cornelia Funke (349 p., Lexile 640)
Two brothers, having runaway from the aunt who plans to adopt the younger one, are sought by a detective hired by their aunt, but they have found shelter with Venice's Thief Lord.

J FIC Hobbs, V.
Sheep | by Valerie Hobbs (115 p., Lexile 660)
After a fire destroys the farm where he was born, a young border collie acquires a series of owners. He learns about life as he seeks a home and longs to fulfill his life’s purpose of shepherding sheep.

J FIC Creech, S.
Ruby Holler | by Sharon Creech (310 p., Lexile 660)
Twins Dallas and Florida have grown up in a terrible orphanage but their lives change when an eccentric but sweet older couple invites them on an adventure, beginning in magical Ruby Holler.

J FIC DiCamillo, K. (Awards Area)
The Tale of Despereaux | by Kate DiCamillo (267 p., Lexile 670)
The adventures of Despereaux Tilling, a small mouse of unusual talents, the princess that he loves, the servant girl who longs to be a princess, and a devious cat determine to bring them all to ruin.

J FIC DiCamillo, K.
The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane | by Kate DiCamillo (198 p., Lexile 700)
Edward Tulane, a cold-hearted and proud toy rabbit, loves only himself until he is separated from the little girl who adores him and travels across the country, acquiring new owners and listening to their hopes, dreams, and histories.

J FIC Jenkins, E.
Toys Go Out: Being the adventures of a Knowledgeable Stingray, a Toughy Little Buffalo, and Someone Called Plastic | by Emily Jenkins (116 p., Lexile 730)
Six stories relate the adventures of three best friends, who happen to be toys.

J FIC Speare, E.
The Sign of the Beaver | by Elizabeth George Speare (135 p., Lexile 770)
Left alone to guard the family's wilderness home in eighteenth-century Maine, a boy is hard-pressed to survive until local Native Americans teach him their skills.

J FIC Naylor, P.
Roxie and the Hooligans | by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor (115 p., Lexile 930)
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.

J FIC Myers, E.
Climb or Die | by Edward Myers (180 p., Lexile 740)
Thirteen-year-old Jake and his sister know it is up to them to save their parents after they're all in a car accident on a mountain road.

Older Readers (5th-6th Grade):

J FIC MacHale, D.
The Merchant of Death (#1 of Pendragon Book Series) | by D.J. MacHale (374 p., Lexile 660)
Bobby Pendragon is a seemingly normal and somewhat reluctant 14-year-old boy who is swept into an amazing five-year quest through time and space.

J FIC Horowitz, A.
Stormbreaker (#1 of Alex Rider Adventure Series) | by Anthony Horowitz (192 p., Lexile 670)
After the death of the uncle who had been his guardian, fourteen-year-old Alex Rider is coerced to continue his uncle’s dangerous work for Britain’s intelligence agency.

J FIC Gutman, D.
Abner and Me: A Baseball Card Adventure | by Dan Gutman (166 p., Lexile 680)
Using baseball cards and photographs, Joe and his mother go back to 1863 to ask Abner Doubleday whether he invented baseball, but instead find themselves in the middle of the Battle of Gettysburg.

J FIC Williams, M.
The Golden Hour | by Maiya Williams (259 p., Lexile 740)
Rowan and his younger sister Nina, still bereft by the death of their mother, experience an unusual adventure through time when they come to stay with their two eccentric great-aunts in a small town on the Maine coast.

J FIC Wise, W.
Christopher Mouse: The Tale of a Small Traveler | by William Wise (152 p., Lexile 820)
After being sold to an unscrupulous pet store owner, a young mouse lives with several owners and has many adventures before ending up with an appreciative family.

J FIC Sperry, A. (Awards Area)
Call It Courage | by Armstrong Sperry (95 p., Lexile 830)
Based on a Polynesian legend, a ten-year old boy sets out to conquer his fear of the sea.

J FIC Creech, S.
The Wanderer | by Sharon Creech (305 p., Lexile 830)
Thirteen-year-old Sophie and her cousin Cody record their transatlantic crossing aboard the Wanderer a 45 foot sailboat.

J FIC Turnbull, A.
Maroo of the Winter Caves | by Ann Turnbull (136 p., Lexile 840)
Maroo, a girl of the late Ice Age, must take charge after her father is killed, and lead her sister, mother and aged grandmother to the safety of the winter camp.

J FIC Dorris, M.
Sees Behind Trees | by Michael Dorris (104 p., Lexile 840)
A nearsighted Powhatan youth hones his other senses so well that a respected elder asks the boy to accompany him on a dangerous quest.

J FIC Stewart, T.
The Mysterious Benedict Society | by Trenton Lee Stewart (485 p., Lexile 840)
After passing a series of mind-binding tests, four children are selected for a secret mission that requires them to go undercover at the Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened, where the only rule is that there are no rules.

J FIC Turner, M.
The Thief | by Megan Whalen Turner (219 p., Lexile 920)
Gen flaunts his ingenuity as a thief and relishes the adventure that takes him to a remote temple of the gods where he will attempt to steal a precious stone.

J FIC O'Dell, S.
The Black Pearl | by Scott O'Dell (96 p., Lexile 980)
Young Ramon dives into a forbidden cave to collect a fabulous black pearl that in time seems to bring a curse to his family.

J FIC Ardagh, P.
A House Called Awful End (#1 of Eddie Dickens trilogy) | by Philip Ardagh (119 p., Lexile 980)
When Eddie Dickens’s ill parents become “a bit crinkly round the edges,” he is taken by his great-uncle and great-aunt, Mad Uncle Jack and Mad Aunt Maude, and embarks on unusual adventures.

J FIC Snicket, L.
The Bad Beginning (#1 in Series of Unfortunate Events) | by Lemony Snicket (162 p., Lexile 1010)
After the sudden death of their parents, the three Baudelaire children must depend on each other and their wits when it turns out that their guardian is determined to get their fortune.

J FIC Paulsen, G.
Hatchet | by Gary Paulsen (195 p., Lexile 1020)
After Brian survives a plane crash, he has to learn how to survive in the wilderness.

J FIC Paulsen, G.
Cookcamp | by Gary Paulsen (115 p., Lexile 1070)
During World War II, a little boy is sent to live with his grandma, a cook in a camp for workers building a road through the wilderness.

Click here to check the availability of a title in our online catalog.