Booklist: Maine Is Where It's At
Chapter Books

Along Came a Blackbird by Elizabeth Wild. Three sisters and their pet crow befriend a lonely boy from a neighboring farm and discover some harsh realities of life. (jFiction)

Brother Moose by Betty Levin. Two orphan girls are helped by an Indian family when they make a perilous trip to Maine. (jFiction)

Calico Bush by Rachel Field. Pioneer story of an orphan girl who promises to serve the Sargent family for six long years in return for food and shelter. (jFiction)

Canoe Boy by Chip Chandler. (YA Paperback)

Crossing the Starlight Bridge by Alice Mead. Rayanne's life turns upside down when her father leaves and she has to move off the Penobscot reservation and go to live with her grandmother. (jFiction)

Emergency Rescue! Nightmare at Norton's Mills by James and Lois Cowan. Each chapter tells the story of an emergency situation featuring junior members of the Camden Rescue Squad. (jFiction)

Find a Stranger, Say Goodbye by Lois Lowry. Natalie sets out to find her biological mother. (YA)

The Fire Bug Connection: An Ecological Mystery by Jean Craighead George. Maggie receives European fire bugs for her birthday, but when they fail to metamorphose and explode instead, she teams up with computer whiz Mitch to solve the mystery. (jFiction)

Following Fake Man by Barbara Ware Holmes.  During his summer in Maine, twelve-year-old Homer, together with his new friend Roger, is determined to find the truth about himself, his long-dead father, and a mysterious costumed man. (jFiction)

Fudge-A-Mania by Judy Blume. In this funny book, Pete describes his family's Maine vacation and the antics of his younger brother Fudge. (jFiction)

The Girl from Two Miles High by Anne Stearns Baker Molloy. After her father's death in Peru, a girl must adjust to life with her grandparents on the coast of Maine. (jFiction)

Ghost of Lizard Light by Elvira Woodruff. Moving from Iowa to a lighthouse cottage in Maine, Jack struggles to live up to his father's high standards and encounters a ghost with a 150-year-old unsolved mystery. (jFiction)

Hermit Thrush by Susan Butler. After a natural disaster has all but destroyed the earth, the orphaned and "defective" Leora, while searching for her sister, defies the oppressive laws of the land and joins
a band of rebels trying to overthrow the government. (YA Fic)

Hitty: Her First Hundred Years by Rachel Field. A series of adventures told from a doll's point of view. (jFiction)

How Many Days Until Tomorrow? by Caroline Janover. Josh, who has dyslexia, spends the summer on a coastal island and finds that he has much to prove to his gruff grandfather and older brother. (jFiction)

Jem's Island by Kathryn Lasky. Jem goes on his first overnight kayak trip with his father to an island in Penobscot Bay. (JFiction)

Lobster War by Ethan Howland. Although he fears being in the water and finds that someone is sabotaging his lobster traps, 16-year-old Dain is determined to be a progessional lobsterman. (YA Fic)

Maine Speaks: An Anthology of Maine Literature edited by The Maine Literature Project. A collection of over one hundred selections by seventy-seven Maine authors. (YA)

Michael and the Mary Day by Harry Smith. Michael has always wanted to cruise Penobscot Bay aboard a windjammer and today his dream comes true. (jFiction)

Molly's Fire by Janet Lee Carey. Back home in Maine, Molly refused to believe the telegram that says her pilot father is presumed dead when his plane is shot down in Holland during WWII. (jFiction)

My Sister the Vampire by Nancy Garden. A beautiful summer turns deadly for Sarah, Tim, Jenny, and their neighbors as they discover the horrifying truth about the strange new owners of Spool Island. (jFiction)

A Penny for a Hundred by Ethel Pochocki. In 1944, a 9-year-old girl befriends a German prisoner of war who works with her in her father's potato field. (jFiction)

Seal Island School by Susan Bartlett (Weber). Third-grader Pru will do anything to make Miss Sparling - the best teacher she's ever had - want to stay at their one-room island school. (jFiction)

Seal Island Seven by Susan Bartlett.  When Pru and her friends find out that someone on the island is destroying fairy houses, they set out to find the culprit. (jFiction)

Secret of the Missing Grave by D.A. Crossman. Summering on a Maine island, thirteen-year-old Ab joins her friend Bean in investigating the odd noises in her boarding house and solving the mystery of a missing treasure and stolen paintings. (jFiction)

Shadow-Catcher by Betty Levin. Jonathan must become a detective while traveling with his Civil War veteran and photographer grandfather. (jFiction)

The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare. Left alone to guard the family's wilderness home, a boy is able to survive with the help of an Indian chief and his grandson. (jFiction)

Stopping to Home by Lea Wait. In 1806, orphaned eleven-year-old Abigail and her little brother Seth find a home with the Widow Chase in Wiscasset, and help her discover a way to support them all. (jFiction)

A Summer to Die by Lois Lowry. Meg has a hard time dealing with her popular sister's illness and eventual death. (jFiction)

Tartabull's Throw by Henry Garfield. In 1967, an encounter with a mysterious young woman from Maine involves a 19-year-old baseball player in an investigation of a vicious, murderous werewolf. (YA Fic)

The Trouble with Gramary by Betty Levin. A girl is caught in the middle of a dispute between her outcast sculptor grandmother and the townspeople who are set in their ways. (YA)

The Vandemark Mummy by Cynthia Voigt. Althea and Phineas turn detectives when an Egyptian mummy disappears at their father's cottage. (YA)

Walking the Edge by Alice Mead. Frustrated by his life of near-poverty and the unreliability of his drunken father, Scott throws himself into a science project raising clams to restock the bay of his small fishing village. (jFiction)

Western Wind by Paula Fox. Elizabeth resents being sent to stay on a small island, then some interesting friendships change her perspective. (jFiction)

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Nonfiction

The Abenaki by Colin G. Calloway. History, culture, and traditions of the New England tribe. j(970.004)

A Beach for the Birds by Bruce McMillan. Information about the endangered Least Terns and the beach where they spend the summer and raise their young. (j598.338M)

Beacons of Light: Lighthouses by Gail Gibbons. A survey of lighthouses and how they work. (j387.155.G)

Boatbuilder by Hope Herman Wurmfeld. A portrait of Ralph Stanley, who builds customized boats in Southwest Harbor. (j623.8223)

Celia's Island Journal by Celia Thaxter. Experiences of a girl growing up on an isolated island where her father keeps the lighthouse. (JYR)

The Call of the Running Tide: A Portrait of an Island Family by Nancy Price Graff. A look into the life of a fishing family on Swan's Island. (j974.145.G)

E.B. White: Some Writer! By Beverly Gherman. All about the author of Charlotte's Web. (jBiography)

Edna St Vincent Millay: Poet by Caroly Daffron. Life of the world-famous poet from Camden, Maine. (YA)

Finestkind O' Day: Lobstering in Maine by Bruce McMillan. A young boy takes a turn on a lobster boat for a day. (j639)

Giants in the Land by Diana Appelbaum. Describes how giant pine trees were cut down during colonial days to make massive wooden ships. (j634.9.A)

Honeybees at Home by Lynne Harwood. All about starting and moving hives, protecting hives from mice and skunks, and more. (j638.1.H)

Keep the Lights Burning, Abbie by Peter and Connie Roop. A winter storm delays the lighthouse keeper's return to an island and his daughter must keep the lights burning by herself. (JYR)

Lobsters: Gangsters of the Sea by Mary Cerullo. Fascinating facts about the Maine lobster. (j595.3.C)

Lost on a Mountain in Maine by Donn Fendler. A 12-year-old describes his 9-day struggle to survive after being separated from his friends on Mount Katahdin. (Biography)

Monarchs by Kathryn Lasky. Life cycle and migrations of eastern and western butterflies. (j595.78.L)

Near the Sea by Jim Arnosky. Paintings of beaches, rocks, water, gulls, and other aspects of nature on a small island, with comments from the artist on how and why he painted them (j759.13.A)

An Outward Bound School: Let's Take a Trip by Alison Murray Kuller. Students face the challenges of nature, discover personal strengths, and learn the value of team work. (YA)

Project Puffin: How We Brought Puffins Back to Egg Rock by Stephen W. Kress. A wildlife scientist's successful efforts to restore puffin colonies in Maine. (j639.9.K)
The Puffins are Back! by Gail Gibbons. An introduction to some unique coastal birds. (j598.33.G)

A River Adventure: Let's Take a Trip by Patricia Griffith Morgan. A group of canoeist explore ninety-two miles of waterway along the Allagash River. (j917.41.M)

Sterling: The Rescue of a Baby Harbor Seal by Sandra Verrill White. Story of an abandoned seal pup who is rescued and cared for until she is strong enough to return to her natural environment. (j639.979)

The Story of Andre by Lew Dietz. True account of the harbor seal raised by a family in Rockport, Maine. (j599.7)

Surrounded by the Sea: Life on a New England Fishing Island by Gail Gibbons. Everyday life in a fishing village through the four seasons (j794.1.G)

The Whale in Lowell's Cove by Jane Robinson. A humpback whale suddenly appears in a cove in Harpswell, trapped by a net. (JYR)

What the Sea Left Behind by Mimi Gregoire Carpenter. On a walk along the ocean shore, a little girl finds a variety of objects left behind by the sea. (j574.92)

Wild Fox: A True Story by Cherie Mason. This story begins, "Have you ever touched the nose of a wild red fox? I have." (j599.7.M)

A Year on Monhegan Island by Julia Dean. Have you ever wondered what it's like to live on an island? (j974.1.D)

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Picture Books

Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey. Little Sal and Little Bear both lose their mothers while eating blueberries and almost end up with the other's mother!

Burt Dow, Deep-Water Man by Robert McCloskey. Burt goes fishing, takes refuge from a storm in a whale's stomach, and decorates a whole school of whale's tails with striped band-aids.

Cocoa Ice by Diana Appelbaum. A girl in Santo Domingo tells how cocoa is harvested during the late 1800s, while her counterpart in Maine tells about the harvesting of ice near the Kennebec River. (JYR)

Counting Our Way to Maine by Maggie Smith. On a trip to Maine, the family counts from one baby to twenty fireflies.

Fairy Houses by Tracy Kane. One summer Kristen vacations on an island off the coast of Maine where she finds small houses for fairies to live in.

Fourth of July Bear by Kathryn Lasky. Rebecca misses her best friend Emily until she meets Amanda, who invites her to be in a parade.

Grandmother Bryant's Pocket by Jacqueline Briggs Martin. A young girl goes to live with her grandparents following the death of her dog Patches and begins to overcome her fears. (JYR)

Island Alphabet: An ABC of Maine Islands by Kelly Paul Briggs. From Allen Island to Uncle Zeke's. Includes a rhyme and an informational paragraph for each island.

Island Boy by Barbara Cooney. Matthais sails around the world but always returns to the island her loves.

Island Rescue by Charles E. Martin. Mae breaks her leg and must be rescued and brought to the mainland hospital.

L is for Lobster: A Maine Alphabet by Cynthia Furlong Reynolds.

Lighthouse Dog to the Rescue by Angeli Perrow. Spot, a Springer spaniel living on Penobscot Bay in the 1930's, rings the lighthouse bell to guide the mailboat safely through a storm.

Lobster Boat by Brenda Guiberson. Tommy spends the day on a lobster boat helping uncle Russ tend the traps, set bait, pull up the traps, and sell their catch.

Marooned by Ken Thomas. Two brothers are marooned on a tiny island and find their way home.

Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney. As a child Great-aunt Alice Rumphius resolved that when she grew up she would go to faraway places, live by the sea in her old age, and do something to make the world more beautiful - and she does!

Molly's Seasons by Ellen Kandoian. Molly observes the changing seasons in Maine and wonders what it is like in other parts of the world.

Muwin and the Magic Hare retold by Susan Hand Shetterly. Muwin the bear chases the Great Magic Hare of the Woods in this Passamaquoddy trickster tale. (Folk and Fairy Tales)

My Island Grandma by Kathryn Lasky. A little girl describes all the things she does with her grandmother during the summer.

One Morning in Maine by Robert McCloskey. It's a big day for a little girl when she discovers her first loose tooth and makes a trip to the grocery store on the mainland.

The Sea Chest by Toni Buzzeo.  A young girl listens as her great-great-aunt, a lighthouse keeper's daughter, tells of her childhood living on a Maine island, and of the infant that washed ashore after a storm.

Time of Wonder by Robert McCloskey. A slice of summer life in Penobscot Bay.

To the Island by Charlotte Agell. Four animal friends enjoy an island outing.

The Town That Got Out of Town by Robert Priest. When the residents of Boston leave town over Labor Day weekend, the city's buildings and landmarks pull themselves out of the ground and head for Portland.

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