Criss Cross follows the lives of four 14-year-olds in a small town, each at their own crossroads.
Criss Cross written by Lynne Rae Perkins (2006 Newbery Medal Winner)

Several ships had recently met at sea “an enormous thing,” a long slender object which was sometimes phosphorescent and which was infinitely larger and faster than a whale.
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne

The rabbit-hole went straight on like a tunnel for some way, and then dipped suddenly down, so suddenly that Alice had not a moment to think about stopping herself before she found herself falling down what seemed to be a very deep well.
Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

I was two years old when a circumstance happened which I have never forgotten. It was early in the spring; there had been a little frost in the night, and a light mist still hung over the plantations and meadows……
Black Beauty by Anna Sewell

Once again the Black screamed and rose on his hind legs. Alec could hardly believe his eyes and ears—a stallion, a wild stallion—unbroken, such as he had read and dreamed about!
Black Stallion by Walter Farley

He always started at the northwest corner of the field, crouched over like the runners he had seen on Wide World of Sports.
Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson

Children everywhere will love redheaded Caddie with her penchant for pranks. Scarcely out of one scrape before she is into another, she refuses to be a "lady," preferring instead to run the woods with her brothers. Whether she is crossing the lake on a raft, visiting an Indian camp, or listening to the tales of the circuit rider, Caddie's adventures provide an exciting and authentic picture of life on the Wisconsin frontier in the 1860s.
Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Brink

Old longings nomadic leap,
Chafing at custom's chain;
Again from its brumal sleep
Wakens the ferine strain."
Call of the Wild by Jack London

Stark, skillfully woven, this fascinating novel explores the curious turnings of human character through the strange case of Dr. Jekyll, a kindly scientist who by night takes on his stunted evil self, Mr. Hyde. Anticipating modern psychology, Jekyll And Hyde is a brilliantly original study of man's dual nature — as well as an immortal tale of suspense and terror.
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

The only thing Harry liked about his own appearance was a very thin scar on his forehead that was shaped like a bolt of lightning. He had had it as long as he could remember, and the first question he could ever remember asking his Aunt Petunia was how he had gotten it.
The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

It was a beautiful mountain that morning…The sun shone brilliantly on the green pasture land and on the flowers which were blooming everywhere…
Heidi by Johanna Spyri

Instinct told them that the way home lay to the west. And so the doughty young Labrador retriever, the roguish bull terrier and the indomitable Siamese set out through the Canadian wilderness.
Incredible Journey by Sheila Burnford

Her hands trembled and her heartbeat quickened, for she was frightened, not so much of the wolves, who were shy and many harpoon-shots away, but because of her desperate predicament. Miyax was lost. She had been lost without food for many sleeps on the North Slope of Alaska.
Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George

Most focus on Mowgli, a boy raised by wolves. As Baloo the sleepy brown bear, Bagheera the cunning black panther, Kaa the python, and his other animal friends teach their beloved “man-cub” the ways of the jungle, Mowgli gains the strength and wisdom he needs for his frightful fight with Shere Khan, the tiger who robbed him of his human family.
Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling

When the naive David Balfour sets out on his quest for a long-lost relative, a terrifying chain of events is set in motion. He is plunged into a world of infamy and violence from which there seems no escape, until, that is, he meets the enigmatic and valiant Highlander, Alan Breck...
Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson

A fictionalized biography of the American race horse who won twenty of twenty-one races, told by a stable boy who grew up with the great horse.
Man O’War by Walter Farley

Paul and his sister Maureen's determination to own a pony from the herd on Chincoteague Island, Virginia, is greatly increased when the Phantom and her colt are among the ponies rounded up for the yearly auction.
Misty of Chincoteague by Marguerite Henry

A young boy relates his adventures during the year he spends living alone in the Catskill Mountains including his struggle for survival, his dependence on nature, his animal friends, and his ultimate realization that he needs human companionship.
My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George

My sister, Lynn, taught me my first word: kira-kira. I pronounced it ka-a-ahhh, but she knew what I meant. Kira-kira means "glittering" in Japanese.
Kira-Kira by Cynthia Kadohata

You know the reason Mother proposed not having any presents this Christmas was because it is going to be a hard winter for everyone; and she thinks we ought not to spend money for pleasure, when our men are suffering so in the army.
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

After escaping from the dark and dismal workhouse where he was born, Oliver finds himself on the mean streets of Victorian-era London and is unwittingly recruited into a scabrous gang of scheming urchins.
Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens

Peter Pan first flew across a London stage in 1904, overwhelming audiences with its tale of a magical boy who never grows up, who lures young Wendy and her brothers to Neverland where they meet pirates, Indians, fairies, and the Lost Boys.
Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie

A timeless tale of switched identities, Twain’s story revolves around the miserably poor Tom Canty “of Offal Court,” who is lucky enough to trade his rags for the gilded robes of England’s prince, Edward Tudor. As each boy is mistaken for the other, Tom enters a realm of privilege and pleasure beyond his most delirious dreams, while Edward plunges into a cruel, dangerous world of beggars and thieves, cutthroats and killers.
Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain

Rascal is only a baby when young Sterling brings him home to join his unusual family. The mischievous raccoon and Sterling are partners and best friends for a perfect year of adventure—swimming, fishing, exploring the countryside together—until the spring day when everything suddenly changes and Sterling realizes he must let Rascal go.
Rascal by Sterling North

In the spring of 1863, as he faces battle for the first time at Chancellorsville, Virginia, a young Union soldier matures to manhood and finds peace of mind as he comes to grips with his conflicting emotions about war.
Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane

When the peaceful life of ancient Redwall Abbey is shattered by the arrival of the evil rat Cluny and his villainous hordes, Matthias, a young mouse, determines to find the legendary sword of Martin the Warrior which, he is convinced, will help Redwall's inhabitants destroy the enemy.
Redwall by Brian Jaques

Jeff Bussey walked briskly up the rutted wagon road toward Fort Leavenworth on his way to join the Union volunteers. It was 1861 in Linn County, Kansas, and Jeff was elated at the prospect of fighting for the North at last.
Rifles for Watie by Harold Keith

Recounting the legend of Robin Hood, who plundered the king's purse and poached his deer and whose generosity endeared him to the poor.
Merry Adventures of Robin Hood by Howard Pyle

The most popular pirate story ever written in English, featuring one of literature’s most beloved “bad guys,” Treasure Island has been happily devoured by several generations of boys—and girls—and grownups.
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

There may be no other novel in American history as significant as Uncle Tom's Cabin. A feat of gripping storytelling--the first American work of fiction to become an international bestseller--no other book so effectively expressed the moral case against the "peculiar institution" of slavery.
Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe

Deeply concerned with the welfare of contemporary society, Wells wrote his novel of interplanetary conflict in anticipation of war in Europe, and in it he predicted the technological savagery of twentieth century warfare. Playing expertly on worldwide security fears, The War of the Worlds grips readers with its conviction that invasion can happen anytime, anywhere—even in our own backyard.
War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells

Set in England's Downs, a once idyllic rural landscape, this stirring tale of adventure, courage and survival follows a band of very special creatures on their flight from the intrusion of man and the certain destruction of their home.
Watership Down by Richard Adams

Part wolf and part dog, orphaned White Fang relies on his instincts as well as his inborn strength and courage to survive in the Yukon wilderness despite both animal and human predators but eventually comes to make his peace with man.
White Fang by Jack London

Though first published in 1908, when “motor-cars” were new and rare, The Wind in the Willows presents surprisingly contemporary—and uproariously funny—portraits of speed-crazed Mr. Toad, generous Badger, poetic Ratty, and newly-emancipated Mole. And lurking all the while within the humor and good spirits, Grahame’s deeply felt commentary on courage, generosity, and above all, friendship.
Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame

In 1867 in Connecticut, Kit Tyler, feeling out of place in the Puritan household of her aunt, befriends an old woman considered a witch by the community and suddenly finds herself standing trial for witchcraft.
Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare

Screaming like a madman, with tears running down my face, I hacked and chopped at the big snarling mountain cat.
Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls

“Oh, dear! oh, dear!” cried Dorothy, clasping her hands together in dismay; “the house must have fallen on her.”
The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum

A young boy living in the Florida backwoods is forced to decide the fate of a fawn he has lovingly raised as a pet.
Yearling by Marjorie Rawlings