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Lexile/Reading Level
Recommended for 9-12 Grade & Adult

Genre/Category
Fiction | Historical | Mystery

Historical Time Period
Ancient Japan
Date
1000s
Topic
Japanese | Murder | Mystery
Geographic Region
Asia | Japan
Main Character
Man/Men
Format
Book | Ebook

Masuda Affair (Sugawara Akitada #7)

Author: Parker, I.J.Part of a Series: Sugawara Akitada

A Sugawara Akitada Mystery of Ancient Japan – Eleventh-century Japan. Government official Sugawara Akitada finds a small mute boy on a deserted road. Akitada, still grieving for his own small son, determines to find the boy’s parents. Meanwhile, Akitada’s faithful servant Tora has troubles of his own: he has lost his new bride to a powerful man who pursues beautiful women and will stop at nothing to possess them. The trails of these two seemingly unrelated cases lead Akitada and Tora to the entertainers and prostitutes of the amusement quarter, and murder follows in their footsteps . . .

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Please note: Our posting a book in our Homeschool Librarian database does not mean that we endorse its contents. Please use your own discretion when selecting books for your child to read. Also, we are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Purchases made through our affiliate links help support this site. Book descriptions are sourced from either Amazon.com or GoodReads.
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Lexile/Reading Level
Recommended for 9-12 Grade & Adult

Genre/Category
Fiction | Historical | Mystery

Historical Time Period
Ancient Japan
Date
1100's
Topic
Asian | Culture and Traditions | Japanese | Murder | Mystery
Geographic Region
Asia | Japan
Main Character
Man/Men
Format
Audiobook | Book | Ebook

Hell Screen (Sugawara Akitada #5)

Author: Parker, I.J.Part of a Series: Sugawara Akitada

Eleventh-century Japan: After a difficult but successful assignment as provisional governor of Eichigo, Akitada Sugawara is finally allowed to return to Heian Kyo. But instead of a triumphant homecoming accompanied by his beautiful wife and young son, Akitada must ride ahead of his entourage to the sickbed of his dying mother. Fading light and a steady downpour interrupt his journey, forcing him to take refuge in a temple where a brilliantly illustrated hell screen and a piercing cry disturb his restless sleep.

Upon his arrival, Akitada finds his mother, sick and bitter, cursing his return, while his youngest sister, Yoshiko, forsakes her own happiness to serve as the old woman’s nurse and maid. Only his sister Akiko seems fortunate—married to a wealthy nobleman, Toshikage, and expecting their first child. But appearances prove to be deceptive, for it is not long before Akitada is asked to help clear his brother-in-law’s name. In the course of his investigation Akitada learns that his night at the temple was disturbed by more than a terrible scream. A woman has been murdered, and because of his reputation for detective work, Akitada must solve another mystery. Personal and professional interests begin to merge as Akitada becomes ensnared in a tangled web of deceit and malevolence that will, in the end, strike very close to home.

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Borrow from Open Library

Please note: Our posting a book in our Homeschool Librarian database does not mean that we endorse its contents. Please use your own discretion when selecting books for your child to read. Also, we are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Purchases made through our affiliate links help support this site. Book descriptions are sourced from either Amazon.com or GoodReads.
FavoriteLoadingAdd To My Booklist
Lexile/Reading Level
Recommended for 9-12 Grade & Adult

Genre/Category
Fiction | Historical | Mystery

Historical Time Period
Ancient Japan
Date
1000s
Topic
Asian | Culture and Traditions | Japanese | Murder | Mystery
Geographic Region
Asia | Japan
Main Character
Man/Men
Format
Book | Ebook

Fires of the Gods (Sugawara Akitada #8)

Author: Parker, I.J.Part of a Series: Sugawara Akitada

A Sugawara Akitada Novel – Eleventh-century Japan. Sugawara Akitada’s ailing wife is expecting a child, and when he loses his job and tries to confront the nobleman who is responsible for his dismissal, he ends up suspected of his murder. With no income and a growing family to support, Akitada desperately plunges into the investigation of this crime, aided by his faithful servant Tora, inadvertently placing not only his own life, but also the lives of his wife and child, in grave danger . . .

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Please note: Our posting a book in our Homeschool Librarian database does not mean that we endorse its contents. Please use your own discretion when selecting books for your child to read. Also, we are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Purchases made through our affiliate links help support this site. Book descriptions are sourced from either Amazon.com or GoodReads.
FavoriteLoadingAdd To My Booklist
Lexile/Reading Level
Recommended for 9-12 Grade & Adult

Genre/Category
Fiction | Historical | Mystery

Historical Time Period
Ancient Japan
Date
1000s
Topic
Asian | Culture and Traditions | Japanese | Murder | Mystery
Geographic Region
Asia | Japan
Main Character
Man/Men
Format
Book | Ebook

Emperor’s Woman (Sugawara Akitada #10)

Author: Parker, I.J.Part of a Series: Sugawara Akitada

She was intended to be the emperor’s concubine, but she died at the bottom of a cliff near Prince Atsuhira’s private villa. The palace covered up the scandal. Months later, Akitada is drawn into the case when his best friend is accused of plotting against the emperor. Atsuhira, his alleged co-conspirator, refuses to defend himself. The mystery of the lady’s death unravels slowly, bringing danger to Akitada, whose household is already threatened by an ill-fated relationship between Genba and a prostitute which leads to his arrest for the brothel keeper’s murder.

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Please note: Our posting a book in our Homeschool Librarian database does not mean that we endorse its contents. Please use your own discretion when selecting books for your child to read. Also, we are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Purchases made through our affiliate links help support this site. Book descriptions are sourced from either Amazon.com or GoodReads.
FavoriteLoadingAdd To My Booklist
Lexile/Reading Level
Recommended for 9-12 Grade & Adult

Genre/Category
Fiction | Historical | Mystery

Historical Time Period
Ancient Japan
Date
1000s
Topic
Asian | Culture and Traditions | Japanese | Murder | Mystery
Geographic Region
Asia | Japan
Main Character
Man/Men
Format
Audiobook | Book | Ebook

Dragon Scroll (Sugawara Akitada #1)

Author: Parker, I.J.Part of a Series: Sugawara Akitada

In an adventure filled with highway bandits, unscrupulous politicians, and renegade monks, The Dragon Scroll introduces readers to the lively world of eleventh-century Japan and an irrepressible hero—Sugawara Akitada. On his first official assignment, Akitada—an impoverished nobleman and earnest young government clerk in the Ministry of Justice—is sent from the capital city on a nearly impossible mission to the distant province of Kazusa to discover why tax convoys are disappearing. In the politically murky world of the Japanese court, he has been set up to fail. Against the odds, the ever-resourceful Akitada, his elderly servant Seimei, and his impudent bodyguard Tora are determined to fulfill their mission and discover the truth in a town of dangerous secrets.

Find on Amazon.com

Please note: Our posting a book in our Homeschool Librarian database does not mean that we endorse its contents. Please use your own discretion when selecting books for your child to read. Also, we are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Purchases made through our affiliate links help support this site. Book descriptions are sourced from either Amazon.com or GoodReads.
FavoriteLoadingAdd To My Booklist
Lexile/Reading Level
Recommended for 9-12 Grade & Adult

Genre/Category
Fiction | Historical | Mystery

Historical Time Period
Ancient Japan
Date
1000s
Topic
Culture and Traditions | Japanese | Murder | Mystery
Geographic Region
Asia | Japan
Main Character
Man/Men
Format
Book | Ebook

Crane Pavilion (Sugawara Akitada #12)

Author: Parker, I.J.Part of a Series: Sugawara Akitada

After the loss of his wife and newborn son, Akitada returns home, ostensibly to care for his motherless children, but really to withdraw from the world into his grief. When his friends and family join in an effort to draw him out of his seclusion by tempting him with a mystery, he responds halfheartedly until he becomes intrigued by the young woman’s alleged suicide and the slipshod way in which the police investigated. But more serious problems arise: he faces dismissal and punishment for having left his last post without permission. Then Tora and Saburo are arrested for the murder of a gambler. Their dilemma forces Akitada to delve into the world of a gangster boss who controls gambling and prostitution, and this time Akitada will not escape.

Praise for the Akitada series:

“Elegant and entertaining . . . Parker has created a wonderful protagonist in Akitada. She puts us at ease in a Japan of one thousand years ago.” The Boston Globe

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Please note: Our posting a book in our Homeschool Librarian database does not mean that we endorse its contents. Please use your own discretion when selecting books for your child to read. Also, we are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Purchases made through our affiliate links help support this site. Book descriptions are sourced from either Amazon.com or GoodReads.
FavoriteLoadingAdd To My Booklist
Lexile/Reading Level
Recommended for 9-12 Grade & Adult

Genre/Category
Fiction | Historical | Mystery

Historical Time Period
Ancient Japan
Date
1000s
Topic
Culture and Traditions | Japanese | Murder | Mystery
Geographic Region
Asia | Japan
Main Character
Man/Men
Format
Audiobook | Book | Ebook

Convict’s Sword (Sugawara Akitada #6)

Author: Parker, I.J.Part of a Series: 26 Fairmount Avenue | Sugawara Akitada

The latest in the “terrifically imaginative” (The Wall Street Journal) Akitada mystery series brings eleventh-century Japan to life

I. J. Parker’s phenomenal Akitada mystery series has been gaining fans with each new novel. The latest, The Convict’s Sword, is the most fully realized installment to date, weaving history, drama, mystery, romance, and adventure into a story of passion and redemption. Lord Sugawara Akitada, the senior secretary in the Ministry of Justice, must find the mysterious killer of a man condemned to live in exile for a crime he did not commit. Meanwhile, Akitada’s retainer, Tora, investigates the sudden death of a blind street singer, whose past life is a bigger mystery than anyone thought. Told in Parker’s clever, vivid prose, The Convict’s Sword is a must-read for those who love well-written mysteries in an exotic setting.

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Please note: Our posting a book in our Homeschool Librarian database does not mean that we endorse its contents. Please use your own discretion when selecting books for your child to read. Also, we are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Purchases made through our affiliate links help support this site. Book descriptions are sourced from either Amazon.com or GoodReads.
FavoriteLoadingAdd To My Booklist
Lexile/Reading Level
Recommended for 9-12 Grade & Adult

Genre/Category
Fiction | Historical | Mystery

Historical Time Period
Ancient Japan
Topic
Culture and Traditions | Japanese | Murder | Mystery
Geographic Region
Asia | Japan
Main Character
Man/Men
Format
Audiobook | Book | Ebook

Rashomon Gate (Sugawara Akitada #2)

Author: Parker, I.J.Part of a Series: Sugawara Akitada

From the author of The Dragon Scroll comes an ingenious new novel of murder and malfeasance in ancient Japan, featuring the detective Sugawara Akitada. The son of reduced nobility forced to toil in the Ministry of Justice, Akitada is relieved when an old friend, Professor Hirata, asks him to investigate a friend’s blackmail. Taking a post at the Imperial University, he is soon sidetracked from his primary case by the murder of a young girl and the mysterious disappearance of an old man—a disappearance that the Emperor himself declares a miracle. Rashomon Gate is a mystery of magnificent complexity and historical detail that will leave readers yearning for more.

Find on Amazon.com
Borrow from Open Library

Please note: Our posting a book in our Homeschool Librarian database does not mean that we endorse its contents. Please use your own discretion when selecting books for your child to read. Also, we are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Purchases made through our affiliate links help support this site. Book descriptions are sourced from either Amazon.com or GoodReads.
FavoriteLoadingAdd To My Booklist
Lexile/Reading Level
Recommended for 9-12 Grade & Adult

Genre/Category
Fiction | Historical | Mystery

Historical Time Period
Ancient Japan
Topic
Murder | Mystery | Prince | Prisoner
Geographic Region
Asia | Japan
Main Character
Man/Men
Format
Audiobook | Book | Ebook

Island of Exiles (Sugawara Akitada #4)

Author: Parker, I.J.Part of a Series: Sugawara Akitada

In I.J. Parker’s newest mystery set in eleventh-century Japan, Akitada disguises himself as a prisoner to solve the, murder of a prince

As her audience grows with each evocative historical thriller featuring Sugawara Akitada, I. J. Parker returns with a gripping tale of political intrigue and cold-blooded murder in ancient Japan. When the exiled Prince Okisada, the most illustrious prisoner of the penal colony on Sado Island, is poisoned, Akitada is called upon by the emperor’s envoys to investigate incognito. Posing as a prisoner, he discovers a deadly conspiracy, only to fall into the hands of brutal guards and disappear. It falls to Tora, Akitada’s devoted assistant, to begin his own dangerous search of the island for his lost friend and the truth.

Find on Amazon.com
Borrow from Open Library

Please note: Our posting a book in our Homeschool Librarian database does not mean that we endorse its contents. Please use your own discretion when selecting books for your child to read. Also, we are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Purchases made through our affiliate links help support this site. Book descriptions are sourced from either Amazon.com or GoodReads.
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Lexile/Reading Level
Recommended for 9-12 Grade & Adult

Genre/Category
Fiction | Historical

Historical Time Period
Ancient Japan
Topic
Asian | Friendship | Helplessness | War
Geographic Region
Asia | Japan
Main Character
Man/Men | Woman/Women
Format
Ebook

Dust Before the Wind (Hollow Reed #3)

Author: Parker, I.J.Part of a Series: Hollow Reed

The war and false reports have dispersed the Yamada family. Toshiko, now a woman alone and homeless in a man’s world, fails to find help from the emperor and is forced to earn a living as an entertainer in the brothels on the Yodo River. Sadahira, devastated by the loss of his family, seeks refuge as a healer in Hiraizumi, a distant northern province. And Hachiro, who has made his peace with his father, learns of his death and returns to his old life in the capital. There he avenges his dojo master’s murder and takes up the way of the sword again. When their paths finally cross again, Toshiko, Hachiro, and Sadahira are must make the most difficult choices of all.

The final book of the trilogy focuses on the helplessness of women in times of war, and on the complex characters of the two men, one who wants to preserves life at all cost, and the other whose fate it is to dispense death. Their conflicting desires and the turbulent times form a story that is both tragic and full of hope.

Find on Amazon.com

Please note: Our posting a book in our Homeschool Librarian database does not mean that we endorse its contents. Please use your own discretion when selecting books for your child to read. Also, we are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Purchases made through our affiliate links help support this site. Book descriptions are sourced from either Amazon.com or GoodReads.
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What is my Child’s Lexile Measure?

GRADELEXILE
1st0-300L
2nd140-500L
3rd330-700L
4th445-810L
5th565-910L
6th665-1000L
7th735-1065L
8th805-1100L
9th855-1165L
10th905-1195L
11th/12th940-1210L
College+1210+

Find out more about Lexile Measures.

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Please note: Our posting a book in our Homeschool Librarian database does not mean that we endorse its contents. Please use your own discretion when selecting books for your child to read. Also, our posts may contain affiliate links to Amazon.com. Purchases made through our affiliate links help support this site.

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