by received and decoded by Jon Scieszka (2001)
A transmission received from outer space in a combination of different Earth languages tells of an alien schoolboy's fantastic excuse for being late to school again.
Joanna Metzger
Selected for "The Space Program," ten-year-old Roger Webb is whisked away to a planet intended as a model society, where members of diverse alien cultures live together in harmony and peace, but he unwittingly becomes a pawn in a plot to overthrow the king.
Robert Westall
In a small village, Ralph, a young shepherd, discovers a weird pile of stones. By digging into the stones, he discovers a strange "sleeping" creature with ointments and a dangerous weapon buried alongside. Before he knows it, he has awakened a dangerous and terrifying secret.
Sylvia Louise Engdahl
When young Elana unexpectedly joins the team leaving the spaceship to study the planet Andrecia, she becomes an integral part of an adventure involving three very different civilizations, each one centered on the third planet from the star in its own solar system. First published in 1970 and winner of a Newbery Honor the following year. At once a tale of fantasy as well as science fiction, it is as innovative and captivating today as when it was written. This is arguably one of the most sophisticated novels to wear the Newbery Honor seal in terms of its deep philosophy. Yet it is also a fast-paced adventure that marries the romantically moral traditions of dragons and magic with the fantastic and speculative conventions of science fiction.
Janet Asimov
Twelve-year-old Ginnela and her younger brother Pete find themselves trapped on a disabled spaceship and must figure out how to survive.