Adventure for Older Readers

 

Aiken

Dangerous Games

Dido Twite becomes involved with puzzling games, diseases, Aratu Island people, pearl snakes, sting monkeys and the Cliffs of Death. Are these simple games or, more likely, dangerous adventures?

 

Alexander

The Rope Trick

Motivated by her desire to learn a legendary rope trick, the magician Princess Lidi and her troupe embark on a journey through Renaissance Italy that intertwines adventure, love and mystery.

 

Bo

The Edge

A teenaged gang member accused of various crimes finds redemption working and snowboarding at a ski lodge in the mountains surrounding Canada's Glacier National Park.

 

Bodett

Williwaw!

In their father's absence, 13-year-old September and her younger brother Ivan disobey his orders by taking the boat out on their Alaska bay, where they are caught in a terrifying storm called a williwaw.

 

Burgess

The Copper Treasure

In the 1850's in London, three young boys try to retrieve a valuable roll of copper from the bottom of the Thames River so that they can buy their way onto a ship and sail away to see the world.

 

Campbell

Shark Callers

Two teenage boys face the challenge of their lives when a volcano erupts causing a massive tidal wave in the South Seas.

 

Clements

A Week in the Woods

The fifth grade's annual camping trip in the woods tests Mark's survival skills and his ability to relate to a teacher who seems out to get him.

 

Dalton, Annie

Isabel: Taking Wing

In 1592, twelve-year-old Isabel dreams of adventure and finds it, not only on her journey from her London home to her aunt's manor house in Northamptonshire, but also through the healing arts her aunt teaches her. (Girls of Many Lands)

 

DeFelice

Lostman's River

Thirteen-year-old Tyler unwittingly gets involved with vicious Everglades poachers and must question his own values and the future of this Florida swamp.

 

Fleischman

The Whipping Boy

A bratty prince and his whipping boy have many adventures when they inadvertently trade places after becoming involved with dangerous outlaws.

 

Furlong

Robin's Country

A mute orphan boy, with only shadowy recollections of his past, runs away from his cruel master and eventually joins Robin Hood and his followers in their forest hideaway.

 

Hirsch, Odo

Bartlett and the Ice Voyage

When an impatient queen longs to taste the delicious but fragile melidrop fruit, two explorers use “inventiveness, desperation, and perserverance” to try to bring it to her.

 

Hobbs, Valerie

Charlie's Run

Hoping to stop his parents' impending separation and keep them from getting a divorce, 11-year-old Charlie runs away from their house in the California countryside and finds a ride to the coast.

 

Hobbs, Will

Jason's Gold

When news of the discovery of gold in Canada's Yukon Territory in 1897 reaches 15-year-old Jason, he embarks on a 10,000-mile journey to strike it rich. (Look for other Will Hobbs books for adventure too).

 

Hoobler

The Ghost in the Tokaido Inn

While attempting to solve the mystery of a stolen jewel, Seikei, a merchant's son who longs to be a samurai, joins a group of kabuki actors in eighteenth-century Japan.

 

Horowitz

The Devil and His Boy

In 1593, 13-year-old Tom travels through the English countryside to London, where he falls in with a troupe of actors and finds himself in great danger from several sources.

 

Karr

Bone Dry

In the 1840s, Dr. Asa B. Cornwall, a phrenologist, and his fourteen-year-old assistant, Matthew Morrissey, travel from Paris to Northern Africa to seek the missing skull of Alexander the Great.

 

Kehret

Earthquake Terror

Twelve-year-old Jonathan Palmer must keep himself and his partially paralyzed sister alive until help arrives as his California family become earthquake victims.

 

Kimmel

The Sword of the Samurai

Seven short stories about samurai warriors, their way of life, courage, wit, and foolishness.

 

Maynard

Rock River

Twelve-year-old Luke's summertime adventures along the river are haunted by the memory of his older brother Robert, who died being a daredevil in the same place a year and a half earlier.

 

Moore

The Man With the Silver Oar

In 1718, fifteen-year-old Daniel leaves his guardian uncle's Quaker household to stowaway on a ship in pursuit of a pirate captain bent on raiding the coast of North America before returning to port in Hispaniola.

 

Napoli

Trouble on the Tracks

While traveling across the Australian outback on a train, 12-year-old Zach and his younger sister Eve uncover an endangered bird smuggling ring and try to save two trains from a full-speed collision.

 

Nolan

The Spy Who Came In From the Sea

A 14-year-old moves to Florida at the height of WWII to be with his Navy seaman father and gets involved with more than he bargains for.

 

Oppel

Silverwing

A newborn bat named Shade becomes separated from his colony during migration and encounters great adventure searching for his group as he grows in ways that prepare him for even greater journeys.

 

Osborne

Adaline Falling Star

Feeling abandoned by her deceased Arapaho mother and her explorer father, Kit Carson, Adaline runs away from the prejudiced cousins with whom she is staying and comes close to death in the wilderness with only a dog for company.

 

Pringle

Dog of Discovery: a Newfoundland's Adventures with Lewis and Clark

A detailed account of the Lewis and Clark expedition features the dog that was its most unusual member.

 

Pullman

The Firework-Maker's Daughter

Chulak and his talking elephant help Lila seek the Royal Sulphur from the sacred volcano so that she can become a master maker of fireworks like her father.

 

Robinet

Twelve Travelers, Twenty Horses

On the way to California with their kind new master, thirteen-year-old Jacob, his mother, and other slaves are caught up in adventures that include trying to stop a plot to help the South secede from the Union.

 

Roop

Girl of the Shining Mountains

Sacagawea describes the hardships and triumphs of her trip with Lewis and Clark. At the age of sixteen she acted as guide, interpreter and sometime negotiator often saving the expedition from disaster.

 

Smith

Jaguar

Fourteen-year-old Jacob must contend with dangerous animals and fortune hunters on an expedition to a jaguar preserve in Brazil.

 

Staples

Shabanu

A young Indian girl living in the harsh Indian desert, as she experiences trials, adventures, and troubles in the traditional Indian world.

 

Strasser

Gator Prey

After a plane crash in the swampy Everglades, two teenagers help their parents survive alligators, mosquitos, quicksand, and worse.

 

Stevenson

Treasure Island

A fearsome sea captain arrives one day at the inn run by Jim Hawkins's parents and he brings with him a treasure map which leads to the adventure of a lifetime.

 

Tolkien

The Hobbit

Bilbo Baggins is a respectable hobbit until the wizard Gandalf chooses him to share in an adventure from which he may never return.

 

Turner

The Thief

The king's scholar seeks an ancient treasure so he selects Gen, the best thief from the king's prison and Gen relishes the adventure which takes him to a remote temple of the gods.

 

Twain

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

Tom lies to his Aunt Polly, tricks his friends into whitewashing his fence, wins the heart of Becky Thatcher, and has dangerous adventures with his sidekick Huckleberry Finn.

 

Wallace, Barbara Brooks

Cousins in the Castle

A new friend comes to Amelia's rescue when she finds herself the victim of a dastardly villain's fiendish plans.

 

Wallace, Bill

Journey Into Terror

A country kid and his half-brother from the city must team up to save their lives when they are hunted by men involved with espionage and murder.

 

Winthrop

The Battle for the Castle

An exciting mix of medieval sorcery, twentieth century know-how and the most malevolent RATS to inhabit any time period.