The boy watched the men chain his father and throw him in the back of the wagon.  Sounder growled, and the men shot the dog.  The boy looks for the dog.  He looks for his father.  And on one of those journeys, he chances to meet a man who teaches him to read.  (MK) 

  1971  Byars, Betsy.  Summer of the Swans.  New York: Viking, 1970. 

Sara didn't know what was wrong with her.  One day she loved her orange sneakers.  The next day she thought they were gross.  Her moods were unaccountable, and Sara did not know what had changed her.  But when Charlie, her mentally retarded younger brother disappears, Sara forgets her own miseries as she searches for him. (JP) 

  1972  O’Brien, Robert C.  Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH.  New York: Atheneum, 1971. 

Mrs. Frisby’s son is very ill, and she will not be able to move before the plow destroys her winter home.  The owl advises her to go to the rats for help, and there she hears a fantastic story.  These rats, along with her late husband, were involved in an experiment at the National Institute of Mental Health that made them extremely intelligent.  But will the rats help Mrs. Frisby?  (RR) 

  1973  George, Jean Craighead.  Julie of the Wolves.  New York: Harper, 1972. 

Faced with a home situation she finds intolerable, Miyax, a young Eskimo girl, decides to run away to San Francisco to meet her pen pal who calls her Julie. She becomes lost on the North Slope of Alaska, but is accepted by a pack of Arctic wolves. After learning their language and earning their trust, Julie becomes a member of the pack.  Forced by circumstances to rethink her Eskimo past, Miyax/Julie begins to see that her future will never be easy.  (MV) 

  1974  Fox, Paula.  The Slave Dancer.  New York: Bradbury, 1973. 

Before he knows what's happening, Jesse has been kidnapped and taken aboard a slave ship bound for Africa.  After many weeks of sailing, the day comes for the slaves to be loaded on the ship and Jesse finds out what his job is to be—to play his fife while the slaves are forced to dance.  In the next months, Jesse experiences horrors as he tries to survive this nightmare. (JP) 

  1975  Hamilton, Virginia. M.C. Higgins the Great.  New York: Macmillan, 1974. 

How will M.C. save his family’s home on Sarah’s Mountain?  Great-great grandmother Sarah, was born on the mountain, and M.C. is not willing to give it up without a fight.  When two strangers enter his life, M.C. realizes his own identity and begins to take control of his destiny. (KR) 

  1976  Cooper, Susan.  The Grey King.  New York: Atheneum, 1975. 

The Grey King is the fourth of five books in The Dark is Rising Series.  Will Stanton doesn’t know the old North Wales story—that within a certain hill a gold harp will be found by a boy and a white dog with silver eyes. It is Will’s destiny to find the harp, but first, he must awaken King Arthur’s Knights to battle the forces of Darkness.  (SF) 

  1977  Taylor, Mildred D.   Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry.   New York: Dial, 1976. 

The Logan family lives in Mississippi in the 1930's.  Times are tough, especially for a black family in the segregated South.  Despite all odds, the Logans instill in their children determination and strong values.  Cassie and her siblings are taught to stand up for what they believe despite the dangers. (JP) 

  1978  Paterson, Katherine.  Bridge to Terabithia.  New York: Crowell, 1977. 

All Jesse wants out of life is to be the fastest runner in the fifth grade.  But when Leslie moves into the old house down the hill from his place, she beats him in every race.  She scubas, writes, and she’s very brave. She also becomes his best friend, and together they build a make-believe kingdom.  When tragedy separates the two friends, one of them must find courage.  (AB) 

  1979  Raskin, Ellen.  The Westing Game.  New York: Dutton, 1978. 

A multi-millionaire is found dead (sort of), and leaves a will (sort of), to sixteen heirs (sort of), who must play his little games to have a chance at the money.  Both the characters and the puzzle of the plot were fascinating, in the Agatha Christie tradition.  (RR)