From My Pen
An Annotated Bibliography of Tales Told through Letters or Diaries for Grades 2-8
 Alice by Accident
Lynne Reid Banks
J BAN / 140 pages / grades 3-6
Nine-year-old Alice must write about herself for an assignment in her London school, and writes about her single mother, her absent father, her grandmother, and her often confusing life.
Tangerine
Edward Bloor
J BLO / 294 pages / grades 6-8
Twelve-year-old Paul, who lives in the shadow of his football hero brother Erik, fights to play soccer despite his near blindness and slowly begins to remember the incident that damaged his eyesight.
A Gathering of Days
Joan W. Blos
J BLO / 144 pages / grades 4-6
The journal of a 14-year-old girl, kept the last year she lived on the family farm, records daily events in her small New Hampshire town.
Wenny Has Wings
Janet Lee Carey
J CAR / 232 pages / grades 5-9
Having had a near-death experience in the accident that killed his younger sister, eleven-year-old Will tries to cope with the situation by writing her letters.
Strider
Beverly Cleary
J CLE / 179 pages / grades 4-7
In diary entries, Leigh tells how he comes to terms with his parents' divorce, acquires joint custody of an abandoned dog, and joins the track team at school.
Read also: Dear Mr. Henshaw
A Ceiling of Stars
Ann Howard Cree
J CRE / 85 pages / grades 5-8
In a series of letters and journal entries, 12-year-old Vivien describes being left by her mother and struggling to survive on the streets while searching for her family.
The Wanderer
Sharon Creech
J CRE / 315 pages / grades 5-9
Thirteen-year-old Sophie and her cousin Cody record their transatlantic crossing aboard the Wanderer, a 45-foot sailboat, which, along with family, is en route to visit their grandfather in England.
Catherine, Called Birdy
Karen Cushman
J CUS / 169 pages / grades 6-9
The 13-year-old daughter of an English country knight keeps a journal of her life, in which she longs for adventures and her efforts to avoid being married off.
P. S. Longer Letter Later
Paula Danziger
J DAN / 234 pages / grades 5-8
Twelve-year-old best friends Elizabeth and Tara-Starr continue their friendship through letter-writing after Tara-Starr's family moves to another state.
Sequel: Snail Mail No More
If I Ever Return Again
Corinne Demas
J DEM / 197 pages / grades 5-8
In 1856, 12-year-old Celia Snow sets sail on her father's whaling ship and writes to her cousin Abigail about her adventures.
All Their Names Were Courage
Sharon Denslow
J DEN / 135 pages / grades 2-6
In 1862, William Burd, a Civil War soldier, corresponds with his sister, Sallie, who is writing to generals asking about their horses in order to write a book.
By Lizzie
Mary Eccles
J ECC / 116 pages / grades 3-6
Lizzie, the middle child of divorced parents, uses her mother's old typewriter to record the events in her life the year before she turns ten.
Holding Up the Earth
Dianne E. Gray
J GRA / 210 pages / grades 5-9
Fourteen-year-old Hope visits her foster mother's Nebraska farm and gets a picture of the past in letters and diaries of four girls her age who lived there before her.
Don’t You Dare Read This, Mrs. Dunphrey
Margaret Peterson Haddix
J HAD / 108 pages / grades 6-9
In the journal she is keeping for English class, 16-year-old Tish chronicles the changes in her life when her abusive father returns home after a two-year absence.
Letters from Rifka
Karen Hesse
J HES / 148 pages / grades 4-7
In letters to her cousin, a young Jewish girl relates her family's 1919 flight from Russia when she must be left in Belgium when the others emigrate to America.
Letters to Julia
Barbara Ware Holmes
J HOL / 234 pages / grades 6-8
In her journal, parts of her novel, and letters to an editor, a 15-year-old budding author reveals her journey of self-discovery in the midst of a dysfunctional family.
Dear Emma
Johanna Hurwitz
J HUR / 150 pages / grades 3-7
In her letters to a Vermont friend, 8th grader Dossi, a Russian Jewish immigrant living in New York City in 1910, shares her thoughts about her new brother-in-law, the diphtheria epidemic, and the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire.
In Ned’s Head
Anders Jacobsson
J JAC / 133 pages / grades 3-6
Eleven-year-old Ned, who prefers the name Treb, uses his diary to record his wild thoughts about romance, school, and the rest of his eventful life.
My Brother Made Me Do It
Peg Kehret
J KEH / 130 pages / grades 4-6
In letters to an elderly pen pal, 11-year-old Julie tells of her mischievous younger brother, her painful juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, and her struggle to finish a fund-raising race on crutches.
Letters from Camp
Kate Klise
J KLI / 178 pages / grades 4-7
Sent to Camp Happy Harmony to get along, pairs of brothers and sisters send letters home about their suspicions of the singing family running the camp.
Regarding the Fountain: A Tale, in Letters, of Liars and Leaks
Kate Klise
J KLI / 138 pages / grades 3-6
When the principal asks a fifth-grader to write a letter regarding the purchase of a new drinking fountain for their school, he finds that all sorts of chaos results.
Trial by Journal
Kate Klise
J KLI / 238 pages / grades 3-7
In this illustrated novel told through journal entries, news clippings, and letters, 12-year-old Lily finds herself on the jury of a trial she’s investigating.
My Palace of Leaves in Sarajevo
Marybeth Lorbiecki
J LOR / 53 pages / grades 3-7
In 1991, 10-year-old Nadja begins writing to her hopeful and kind cousin in Minnesota and reveals the horrors of war in this former republic of Yugoslavia.
Amelia’s Notebook
Marissa Moss
J MOS / 32 pages / grades 3-6
Nine-year-old Amelia records her thoughts and feelings about moving, school, her older sister, and friendship. Also read:
Amelia Writes Again; Amelia Hits the Road; Amelia Takes Command; Luv Amelia, Luv Nadia; The All-New Amelia; Amelia Works it Out; Amelia’s Family Ties
Dear Whiskers
Ann Whitehead Nagda
J NAG / 75 pages / grades 2-4
Jenny is discouraged when her 2nd grade pen pal is a new student from Saudi Arabia who speaks little English, but as she works with her they become friends.
Pirate Diary: the Journal of Jake Carpenter
Richard Platt
J PLA / 64 pages / grades 4-7
The fictional diary of a 10-year-old boy who, in 1716 sets off from North Carolina to become a sailor, but ends up a pirate instead.
For Your Eyes Only!
Joanne Rocklin
J ROC / 136 pages / grades 4-6
The entries in the journals of two 6th grade students reveal much about their feelings, families, and interest in poetry.
Doing Time Online
Jan Siebold
J SIE / 88 pages / grades 4-6
Twelve-year-old Mitchell must make amends by participating in an online chat with a nursing home resident after pulling a prank that injures an elderly woman.
Love for Your Friend, Hannah
Mindy Skolsky
J SKO / 246 pages / grades 4-6
From her home in rural New York, Hannah writes letters to her best friend, a pen pal, and even to President and Mrs. Roosevelt.
Sea Monkey Summer
Cheryl Ware
J WAR / 135 pages / grades 3-6
The summer before 7th grade, Venola Mae Cutright, Belington, West Virginia's best newspaper carrier, writes a series of humorous letters to her best friend and her boss. Also in the series: Catty-Cornered and Venola in Love
The Diary of Melanie Martin, or, How I survived Matt the Brat, Michelangelo, and the Leaning Tower of Pizza
Carol Weston
J WES / 144 pages / grades 3-6
Fourth-grader Melanie Martin writes in her diary, describing her family's trip to Italy and all that she learned.
Sequel: Melanie Martin Goes Dutch
Dear Austin: Letters from the Underground Railroad
Elvira Woodruff
J WOO / 137 pages / grades 3-6
In 1853, in letters to his older brother, 11-year-old Levi describes his adventures in the Pennsylvania countryside with his black friend Jupiter and his experiences with the Underground Railroad.
Sorcery and Cecelia, or the Enchanted Chocolate Pot
Patricia Wrede
J WRE / 316 pages / grades 7-9
In 1817 in England, two young cousins, Cecilia living in the country and Kate in London, write letters of their exploits and confrontations with evil wizards.
Dear Papa
Anne Ylvisaker
J YLV / 184 pages / grades 5-8
In September of 1943, one year after her father's death, nine-year-old Isabelle begins writing letters to him and other family members, relating important events in her life and how she feels about them.
The Amazing and Death Defying Diary of Eugene Dingman
Paul Zindel
J ZIN / 186 pages / grades
Fifteen-year-old Eugene Dingman records in his diary his summer spent as a waiter in a hotel, learning to cope with rejection from a girl as well as from his own father.
Series:
- Dear America
- Dear Mr. President
- My Name is America
- The Royal Diaries
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