SPHDZ by Jon Scieszka

Book 1 in the Spaceheadz series.
From the Publisher: "Michael K. just started fifth grade at a new school. As if that wasn't hard enough, the kids he seems to have made friends with apparently aren't kids at all. They are aliens. Real aliens who have invaded our planet in the form of school children and a hamster. They have a mission to complete: to convince 3,400,001 kids to BE SPHDZ. But with a hamster as their leader, "kids" who talk like walking advertisements, and Michael K as their first convert, will the SPHDZ be able to keep their cover and pull off their assignment?"

 Publisher: Simon & Schuster, 2010, 160 pp.

Sluggers Blastin' the Blues by Loren Long & Phil Bildner

From the Publisher: "The year is 1899, and the Travelin' Nine are barnstorming their way across the good ol' U.S. of A., trying to raise money to pay off the Payne family's big-league debt. After jumping off the train to retrieve the baseball, Woody and Griffith find themselves stranded. When they come across a familiar face, they get back on track and Griffith learns just how magical their baseball is. With the Rough Riders down a player, Graham finally gets his chance to play with them and show what he is made of. But he better be careful. There is no telling what the Chancellor is willing to sacrifice in order to use Graham's abilities to his own evil ends. And Ruby is still concerned that there is a mole in their midst and is more determined than ever to find out who is betraying them. With the opportunity to raise the most money yet at the game in New Orleans, they can't afford to let anything get back to the Chancellor. All this and there is still a game to play. Things are about to get rough in the Big Easy!"

Publisher: Simon & Schuster, 2010, 434 pp.

Keeper by Kathi Appelt

From the Publisher: "To ten-year-old Keeper, this moon is her chance to fix all that has gone wrong...and so much has gone wrong. But she knows who can make things right again: Meggie Marie, her mermaid mother who swam away when Keeper was just three. A blue moon calls the mermaids to gather at the sandbar, and that's exactly where she is headed — in a small boat, in the middle of the night, with only her dog, BD (Best Dog), and a seagull named Captain. When the riptide pulls at the boat, tugging her away from the shore and deep into the rough waters of the Gulf of Mexico, panic sets in, and the fairy tales that lured her out there go tumbling into the waves. Maybe the blue moon isn't magic and maybe the sandbar won't sparkle with mermaids."
Publisher: Simon & Schuster, 2010, 399 pp.

This Means War by Ellen Wittlinger

Juliet's longtime best  friend, Lowell has suddenly decided it is uncool to be friends with a girl.  Friendless, Juliet meets Patsy who suggests a series of tests to prove girls are far superior to boys.  Set in 1962 during the thirteen days of the Cuban Missile Crisis. 
Publisher, Simon and Schuster, 2010, 211 pp.

Missing in Action by Dean Hughes

From the Publisher: "Dirty. Lazy. Good-for-nothing. Jay Thacker is used to hearing himself called names because his dad is half-Navajo. But he's hoping, now that he and his mom have moved to stay with his grandparents because of WWII, that things could be different. Delta is a tiny town in Utah, nothing like Salt Lake, where they used to live. And Jay's grandfather is an elder in the church, a beloved and well-respected man. Jay begins to make friends and even to make some money as he works the fields for his grandfather. There's just one problem: he works alongside a young man named Ken, who's from the camps in nearby Topaz. Which means Ken is a Jap. And Jay's dad, who's been fighting for the navy out in the Pacific, was recently declared Missing in Action." Publisher: Simon & Schuster, 2010, 228 pp.

Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper

From the Publisher: "Eleven-year-old Melody has a photographic memory. Her head is like a video camera that is al
ways recording.  She's the smartest kid in her whole school, but no one knows it. Most people, her teachers and doctors included, don't think she's capable of learning, and up until recently her school days consisted of listening to the same preschool-level alphabet lessons again and again and again. If only she could speak up, if only she could tell people what she thinks and knows . . . but she can't, because Melody can't talk. She can't walk. She can't write.Being stuck inside her head is making Melody go out of her mind, that is, until she discovers something that will allow her to speak for the first time ever. At last Melody has a voice . . . but not everyone around her is ready to hear it." 
Publisher: Simon & Schuster, 2010, 295 pp.

Wishing for Tomorrow: the sequel to A Little Princess by Hilary McKay

From the Publisher: "Nothing is quite the same at Miss Minchin’s Select Seminary for Young Ladies since Sara Crewe went away with the Indian gentleman. Lavinia is once again the girls’ leader, but she hungers for a more interesting life. Lottie is still busy making mischief, as is the new neighbor, the red-headed boy. Alice, the new maid, brings a breath of fresh air and slapdash practicality to the school. But Sara is much missed — especially by her best friend, Ermengarde. Can Ermengarde find her own way and be happy? Will she and Sara ever be able to be friends the way they were before?  Hilary McKay opens the door to Miss Minchin’s again and invites listeners to take a peek at the new adventures beginning in a beloved tale."

Publisher:  Simon & Schuster, 2010, 273 pp.

Willowood by Cecilia Galante

From the Publisher: "There's nothing ten-year-old Lily Sinclair likes about her new life in the city with her single mom. She misses her best friend, who seems to have forgotten her and their secret place, Willowood. She never sees her mom, who's working long hours at her new job. She's managed to make an enemy of the class bully. Mrs. Hiller from across the hall, who takes care of Lily after school, keeps preparing yucky healthy snacks for her. And she can't get her mother to tell her anything about her absent father. Her only source of comfort is her beloved pet gecko, Weemis. Everything changes when Mrs. Hiller introduces Lily to the owner of the Pet Palace, a nearby pet store, and his adult Down's syndrome son, Nate Lily finds herself with an unofficial after school job—and forges a tentative friendship with Nate that's threatened by a dark secret about Nate Lily knows nothing about."
Publisher: Simon & Schuster, 2010,  272 pp.

A Million Shades of Gray by Cynthia Kadohata

From the Publisher: "A boy and his elephant escape into the jungle when the Viet Cong attack his village immediately after the Vietnam war." Publisher: Simon & Schuster, 2010, 216 pp.