The Next Step
Juvenile Chapter Books
High interest content for emerging readers
*Reading Levels 2.8 – 6.1
Abbot, Tony
Space Bingo (1)
Sticking out like a sore thumb at his new school, Ned Banks finds his life
turning around when he accidentally beams Time Surfers Roop and Suzi
from the year 2099 into his closet. (RL 4)
Bauer, Marion
The Red Ghost
After Jenna gives her little sister an old doll dressed in red velvet as a
birthday present, the occurrence of some very disturbing events make
Jenna suspect the doll might be possessed. (Lexile 400, RL 3.1)
Beard, Darleen
Annie Glover is Not a Tree Lover
When her grandmother chains herself to the tree across from the school
to save it from being cut down, fourth-grader Annie wants to die of
humiliation, but when she discovers the town's history, her attitude
changes. (RL 3.8)
Bentley, Sue
A New Beginning
Lily, who works at a riding stable and wants a pony of her own,
helps a magic puppy that is really a wolf in disguise, and in return he uses
his magic to help her get a pony. (RL 4.2)
Blume, Judy
Soupy Saturdays with the Pain & the Great One
Revisits the sometimes challenging relationship between a six-year-old
(The Pain) and his eight-year-old sister (The Great One) through seven
chapters featuring such events as learning to ride a bicycle, having a
birthday party, and dog-sitting. (Lexile 420, RL 2.8)
Cuffe-Perez, Mary
Skylar: A Story
Skylar, who claims he was once wild, leads four pond geese in their first
attempt at migration when an injured heron asks their help in reaching
Lost Pond, where the annual Before the Migration Convention is about to
be held. (Lexile 940)
Library Copy
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Dahl, Michael
The Word Eater
Lerner Chanse, a new student at Cleveland Park Middle School, finds a
worm that magically makes things disappear, and she hopes it will help
her fit in, or get revenge, at her hated school. (Lexile 590, RL 2.9)
Doty, Jean
Summer Pony
Disappointed with the half-starved and unkempt pony she has rented for
the summer, Ginny hesitantly tries to help her. (RL 3.6)
Draper, Sharon
The Buried Bones Mystery
When the Black Dinosaurs, a club made up of four African American
friends, discover what's hidden in an old trunk buried near their
clubhouse, they set out to solve the mystery. (Lexile 720, RL 4.3)
J Flower
Flower Fairies Friends: Almond Blossom Mystery
When winter continues longer than it should and a ransom note arrives
declaring that spring has been stolen, Almond Blossom decides to get the
culprits so that warmth and happiness can return to Flower Fairyland. (RL
5)
Friedman, Laurie
Campfire Mallory
Nine-and-a-half-year-old Mallory's trepidation about going to sleepaway
camp is multiplied when she and her best friend are assigned to different
cabins, and a new "friend" seems determined to get Mallory in trouble.
(Lexile 680, RL 4.0)
J Go
Go Girl: The Secret Club #1
When she moves to a new town, Tamsin is determined to
join the secret club whose members are the coolest people in school and
wear mysterious anklets. (RL 3.7)
J Green
Green Lantern: Beware Our Power!
Green Lantern Arisia tries to take charge when she joins Hal Jordan for an
attack on Evil Star. (Lexile 670, RL 3.6)
Hale, Bruce
From Russia With Lunch: From the Tattered Casebook of Chet Gecko,
Private Eye
Detectives Chet Gecko and his partner Natalie Attired try to solve the
mystery of why Emerson Hicky Elementary school students have
suddenly started acting strangely. (RL 3.6)
Hermes, Patricia
Emma Dilemma and the Soccer Nanny
When Emma and her brothers and sisters want to get a kitten and
another ferret, and Emma wants their nanny to be the chaperone on her
soccer team trip instead of her mother, the children decide to go on
strike to try to force their parents to meet their demands. (Lexile 490, RL
3.2)
Hicks, Betty
Doubles Troubles (#6)
Henry wants to win the doubles tennis trophy more than anything. He
knows he's good enough, but he's not sure his partner Rocky is. The
advantage goes to new readers as they follow Henry as he helps Rocky
train and, at the same time, works on his history project. Can Henry serve
up an ace on and off the court? (Lexile 540. RL 3.4)
Higginson, Hadley
Keeker and the Not-So_Sleepy Hollow (#6)
Keeker and her parents take Plum the pony and Goatie the goat to visit
Keeker’s aunt, uncle, and cousins in upstate New York, near the town of
Sleepy Hollow, the site of a famous scary story. (RL 3.8)
Hunt, Elizabeth
The Escape of the Deadly Dinosaur: USA (#1)
When an eager young scientist brings a dangerous flesheating dinosaur to life, Jack Stalwart, a secret agent with the Global
Protection Force, must capture the dinosaur before it destroys New York
City. (RL 5.2)
Klein, Abby
Stop That Hamster!
When Freddy's mother finally allows him to bring Harold, the class
hamster, home for the weekend, Freddy has his hands full making sure
that Harold does not escape. (Lexile 560, RL 3.0)
Krulik, Nancy E.
I Thought We Were Friends!
Jenny is thrilled when her aunt, who is an art director at a greeting card
company, comes to Career Day at her school, but when she wants to use
Liza's art for some cards, Jenny's jealousy threatens her friendship with
Liza. (Lexile 670, RL 4)
MacDonald, Alan
Trolls on Vacation
Jenny is thrilled when her aunt, who is an art director at a greeting card
company, comes to Career Day at her school, but when she wants to use
Liza's art for some cards, Jenny's jealousy threatens her friendship with
Liza. (Lexile 670, RL 4.4)
Maddox, Jake
Skateboard Struggle
Despite his parents' ban on skateboarding, Evan is determined to prepare
for a competition--should he continue in secret or tell his parents the
truth? (Lexile 510, RL 3)
McDonald, Megan
Stink: A Solar System Superhero
When Stink discovers that Pluto has been downgraded from a planet
to a dwarf planet, he launches a campaign in his classroom to restore its
status to that of a full-fledged member of the solar system. (Lexile 530, RL
3.4)
Miles, Ellen
Chewy and Chica
When there are two Chihuahua puppies to foster, Charles and Lizzie each
take one, and they compete against each other to see who can train their
puppy best and find someone to adopt it first. (Lexile 700, RL 2.4)
Morse, Scott
Magic Pickle and the Garden of Evil
Magic Pickle, a fearless, dill superhero, comes to the rescue when Jo Jo's
class garden yields a monstrous lettuce plant bent on world domination.
(Lexile 740, RL 4.4)
Orr, Wendy
Mokie and Bik
For two rambunctious twins, living on a boat means always being
underfoot or overboard. (Lexile 970)
Primavera, Elise
Fred & Anthony Meet the Demented Super-Degerm-O Zombie
Still trying to find a way out of finishing their history
project, Fred and Anthony decide to get on their teacher's good side by
catching the mysterious OCSDD Ghost, which leads to an encounter with
two frightening fiends from Maniac Towers. (RL 4.3)
Shields, Gillian
Misty to the Rescue
Misty and five fellow mermaids, on a quest to retrieve six magic crystals
that will protect the Coral Kingdom for the next year, face a storm sent
by the evil Mantora and are driven off-course to the Kelp Forest, where
they find a different kind of trouble. (RL 4.7)
Shire, Poppy
Jewel the Midnight Pony (4)
When Sophie rides the magic carousel, she and her pony are whisked
back in time to stop a robber and save a new friend. (RL 4.3)
Stone, Rex
Attack of the Tyrannosaurus
Tom and Jamie can't believe their luck when they find a secret entrance
to a prehistoric world filled with dinosaurs! The first dinosaur they meet
is a friendly wannanosaurus. It eats the fruit from super-stinky ginkgo
trees. But soon, Tom and Jamie meet a much less friendly dino: a
Tyrannosaurus Rex that would like to eat them! (RL 3.0)
Sykes, Julie
Beware the Werepup
Max the pet sitter takes on a new job caring for Fang, a cute little
werepup, but things turn frightening when Max takes Fang for a walk and
there is a full moon hiding behind the clouds. (RL 4.1)
Voake, Steve
Daisy Dawson is on Her Way!
One day when Daisy is late for school, an encounter with a butterfly
leaves her suddenly able to communicate with animals, and when Boom,
a stray dog, is caught by the pound, she enlists the help of a host of other
animals to rescue him. (Lexile 670, RL 4.3)
Weeks, Sarah
Oggie Cooder (1)
Quirky fourth-grader Oggie Cooder goes from being shunned to
everyone's best friend when his uncanny ability to chew slices of cheese
into the shapes of states wins him a slot on a popular television talent
show, but he soon learns the perils of being a celebrity--and having a
neighbor girl as his manager. (Lexile 880, RL 6.1)
Wilkins, Kim
Ghost Ship
After their parents, the rulers of the Star Lands, are deposed and their
kingdom flooded, Asa and Rollo hide out until they come into possession
of a ghost ship and magic powers, which they use to find the baby sister
they thought had died with their parents. (RL 4.3)
Wilkowski, Susan
The Bad Luck Chair
After having to sit in the legendary Bad Luck Chair at school, nine-yearold Addy is determined to break its curse, but first she and her friends
have to figure out the puzzling directions written by one of the chair's
earlier victims. (Lexile 580, RL 3.6)
Winkler, Henry
A Brand New Me
As he is preparing to attend middle school, Hank, who has learning
differences and academic difficulties, gets an unexpected opportunity to
audition for a performing arts school where his creativity and humor will
be appreciated and nurtured. (RL 4.9)
*The Lexile framework for reading is an educational tool that uses a
measure called a Lexile to match readers of all ages with books, articles
and other leveled reading resources. Lexile is based on a child’s reading
comprehension, not ability. The Lexile measure of a book is based on
word frequency and sentence length. This measure does not address the
subject matter, or quality of text or age appropriateness.
*Reading Level (RL) is measured in terms of school grade levels,
indicating the minimum education level that a person would need in
order to read and comprehend a piece of writing. For example, a Reading
Level 4.2 indicates that a fourth grader in their second month of school
would not have any problems reading and understanding the text.
Reading Level is determined by lengths of words and sentence structure.
It is important to note that Reading Level varies by publisher.