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The Voice That Challenged a Nation
by Russell Freedman"A voice like yours," celebrated conductor Arturo Toscanini told contralto Marian Anderson, "is heard once in a hundred years." This insightful account of the great African American vocalist considers her life and musical career in the context of the history of civil rights in this country. Drawing on Anderson's own writings and other contemporary accounts, Russell Freedman shows readers a singer pursuing her art despite the social constraints that limited the careers of black performers in the 1920s and 1930s. Though not a crusader or a spokesperson by nature, Marian Anderson came to stand for all black artists -- and for all Americans of color -- when, with the help of such prominent figures as Eleanor Roosevelt, she gave her landmark 1939 performance on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, which signaled the end of segregation in the arts.
Carefully researched, expertly told, and profusely illustrated with contemporary photographs, this Newbery Honor and Sibert Medal-winning book is a moving account of the life of a talented and determined artist who left her mark on musical and social history. Through her story, Newbery Medal-winning author Russell Freedman, one of today's leading authors of nonfiction for young readers, illuminates the social and political climate of the day and an important chapter in American history. Notes, bibliography, discography, index.
Newbery Honor book and Winner of the Sibert Medal
Volcano
by Patricia LauberMay 18, 1980, 8:32 A. M. : An earthquake suddenly triggered an avalanche on Mount St. Helens, a volcano in southern Washington State. Minutes later, Mount St. Helens blew the top off its peak and exploded into the most devastating volcanic eruption in U. S. history.
What caused the eruption? What was left when it ended? What did scientists learn in its aftermath? In this extraordinary photographic essay, Patricia Lauber details the Mount St. Helens eruption and the years following. Through this clear accurate account, readers of all ages will share the awe of the scientists who witnessed both the power of the volcano and the resiliency of life.
Newbery Medal Honor book
The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle
by Hugh LoftingThe Voyages of Doctor Dolittle is a high-seas adventure of exploration, shipwreck, derring-do, and of course, talking animals. The animals talk because Doctor Dolittle is no ordinary doctor. He has learned the secret of animal language, and uses his talents to help out his friends in the animal world. Now nine-year-old Tommy Stubbins, the son of a shoemaker, has the opportunity to become Dolittle's assistant, and join him on his journeys. Together with their animal companions they will travel to the strange Spidermonkey Island and beyond, in search of a colleague who has gone missing.
The second of Hugh Lofting's Doctor Dolittle series, The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle was awarded the prestigious Newbery Medal for children's fiction.
The Voyages of Doctor Doolittle
by Hugh LoftingThe Voyages of Doctor Dolittle is a high-seas adventure of exploration, shipwreck, derring-do, and of course, talking animals. The animals talk because Doctor Dolittle is no ordinary doctor. He has learned the secret of animal language, and uses his talents to help out his friends in the animal world. Now nine-year-old Tommy Stubbins, the son of a shoemaker, has the opportunity to become Dolittle's assistant, and join him on his journeys. Together with their animal companions they will travel to the strange Spidermonkey Island and beyond, in search of a colleague who has gone missing.
The second of Hugh Lofting's Doctor Dolittle series, The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle was awarded the prestigious Newbery Medal for children's fiction.
Walk Two Moons
by Sharon Creech"How about a story? Spin us a yarn."
Instantly, Phoebe Winterbottom came to mind.
"I could tell you an extensively strange story," I warned.
"Oh, good!" Gram said. "Delicious!"
And that is how I happened to tell them about Phoebe, her disappearing mother, and the lunatic.
As Sal entertains her grandparents with Phoebe's outrageous story, her own story begins to unfold--the story of a thirteen-year-old girl whose only wish is to be reunited with her missing mother.
In her own award-winning style, Sharon Creech intricately weaves together two tales, one funny, one bittersweet, to create a heartwarming, compelling, and utterly moving story of love, loss, and the complexity of human emotion.
Newbery Medal Winner
The Wanderer
by David Diaz and Sharon Creech"The sea, the sea, the sea. It rolled and rolled and called to me. Come in, it said, come in."
Thirteen-year-old Sophie hears the sea calling, promising adventure and a chance for discovery as she sets sail for England with her three uncles and two cousins. Sophie's cousin Cody isn't sure he has the strength to prove himself to the crew and to his father. Through Sophie's and Cody's travel logs, we hear stories of the past and the daily challenges of surviving at sea as The Wanderer sails toward its destination -- and its passengers search for their places in the world.
Newbery Honor Book
The War that Saved My Life
by Kimberly Brubaker BradleyAn exceptionally moving story of triumph against all odds set during World War 2, from the acclaimed author of Jefferson's Sons and for fans of Number the Stars. Nine-year-old Ada has never left her one-room apartment. Her mother is too humiliated by Ada's twisted foot to let her outside. So when her little brother Jamie is shipped out of London to escape the war, Ada doesn't waste a minute--she sneaks out to join him. So begins a new adventure of Ada, and for Susan Smith, the woman who is forced to take the two kids in. As Ada teaches herself to ride a pony, learns to read, and watches for German spies, she begins to trust Susan--and Susan begins to love Ada and Jamie. But in the end, will their bond be enough to hold them together through wartime? Or will Ada and her brother fall back into the cruel hands of their mother? This masterful work of historical fiction is equal parts adventure and a moving tale of family and identity--a classic in the making.
Winner of the Newbery Medal
Winner of the Schneider Family Book Award
Nominee for the 2018 Young Reader's Choice Award (Pacific Northwest Library Association)
Watercress
by Andrea Wang and Jason ChinCaldecott Medal Winner, Newbery Honor Book, APALA Award Winner
A story about the power of sharing memories—including the painful ones—and the way our heritage stays with and shapes us, even when we don’t see it.
While driving through Ohio in an old Pontiac, a young girl's Chinese immigrant parents spot watercress growing wild in a ditch by the side of the road. They stop the car, grabbing rusty scissors and an old paper bag, and the whole family wades into the mud to gather as much as they can. At first, she's embarrassed. Why can't her family just get food from the grocery store, like everyone else? But when her mother shares a bittersweet story of her family history in China, the girl learns to appreciate the fresh food they foraged—and the memories left behind in pursuit of a new life.
Together, they make a new memory of watercress.
Author Andrea Wang calls this moving, autobiographical story “both an apology and a love letter to my parents.” It’s a bittersweet, delicate look at how sharing the difficult parts of our histories can create powerful new moments of family history, and help connect us to our roots. Jason Chin’s illustrations move between China and the American Midwest and were created with a mixture of traditional Chinese brushes and western media. The dreamy, nostalgic color palette brings this beautiful story to life. An endnote from the author describes her personal connection to the story, and an illustrator’s note touches on both the process of the painting, and the emotional meaning brought to the work.
Waterless Mountain
by Laura Adams ArmerYounger Brother lives in a dry land, and he dreams of finding the wide water of the Pacific Ocean. This gentle coming-of-age story, rooted in the traditional culture of the Navajo, recounts Younger Brother's journey toward finding his vocation as a medicine man. Under the guidance of his uncle, the boy learns about the ancient songs, customs, and ceremonies of his people as well as the modern-day magic of movies and airplanes.
Written in the 1930s by an authority on Native American life and lore, this Newbery Medal winner offers a vivid portrait of Navajo beliefs and traditions.
The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963
by Christopher Paul CurtisA wonderful middle-grade novel narrated by Kenny, 9, about his middle-class black family, the Weird Watsons of Flint, Michigan. When Kenny's 13-year-old brother, Byron, gets to be too much trouble, they head South to Birmingham to visit Grandma, the one person who can shape him up. And they happen to be in Birmingham when Grandma's church is blown up.
Newbery Honor book
The Wednesday Wars
by Gary D. SchmidtIn this Newbery Honor-winning novel, Gary D. Schmidt offers an unforgettable antihero. The Wednesday Wars is a wonderfully witty and compelling story about a teenage boy’s mishaps and adventures over the course of the 1967–68 school year in Long Island, New York.
Meet Holling Hoodhood, a seventh-grader at Camillo Junior High, who must spend Wednesday afternoons with his teacher, Mrs. Baker, while the rest of the class has religious instruction. Mrs. Baker doesn’t like Holling—he’s sure of it. Why else would she make him read the plays of William Shakespeare outside class? But everyone has bigger things to worry about, like Vietnam. His father wants Holling and his sister to be on their best behavior: the success of his business depends on it. But how can Holling stay out of trouble when he has so much to contend with? A bully demanding cream puffs; angry rats; and a baseball hero signing autographs the very same night Holling has to appear in a play in yellow tights! As fate sneaks up on him again and again, Holling finds Motivation—the Big M—in the most unexpected places and musters up the courage to embrace his destiny, in spite of himself.
We Dream of Space
by Erin Entrada KellyNewbery Medalist and New York Times–bestselling author Erin Entrada Kelly transports readers to 1986 and introduces them to the unforgettable Cash, Fitch, and Bird Thomas in this pitch-perfect middle grade novel about family, friendship, science, and exploration. A great choice for readers of Kate DiCamillo, Rita Williams-Garcia, and Rebecca Stead. Cash, Fitch, and Bird Thomas are three siblings in seventh grade together in Park, Delaware. In 1986, as the country waits expectantly for the launch of the Space Shuttle Challenger, they each struggle with their own personal anxieties.Cash, who loves basketball but has a newly broken wrist, is in danger of failing seventh grade for the second time. Fitch spends every afternoon playing Major Havoc at the arcade on Main and wrestles with an explosive temper that he doesn’t understand. And Bird, his twelve-year-old twin, dreams of being NASA’s first female shuttle commander, but feels like she’s disappearing. The Thomas children exist in their own orbits, circling a tense and unpredictable household, with little in common except an enthusiastic science teacher named Ms. Salonga. As the launch of the Challenger approaches, Ms. Salonga gives her students a project—they are separated into spacecraft crews and must create and complete a mission. When the fated day finally arrives, it changes all of their lives and brings them together in unexpected ways. Told in three alternating points of view, We Dream of Space is an unforgettable and thematically rich novel for middle grade readers. We Dream of Space is illustrated throughout by the author.
The Westing Game
by Ellen RaskinA Newbery Medal Winner"A supersharp mystery...confoundingly clever, and very funny." —Booklist, starred review A bizarre chain of events begins when sixteen unlikely people gather for the reading of Samuel W. Westing’s will. And though no one knows why the eccentric, game-loving millionaire has chosen a virtual stranger—and a possible murderer—to inherit his vast fortune, on things for sure: Sam Westing may be dead…but that won’t stop him from playing one last game! Winner of the Newbery Medal Winner of the Boston Globe/Horn Book Award An ALA Notable Book "Great fun for those who enjoy illusion, word play, or sleight of hand." —The New York Times Book Review"A fascinating medley of word games, disguises, multiple aliases, and subterfuges—a demanding but rewarding book." —The Horn BookFrom the Trade Paperback edition.
What Hearts
by Bruce BrooksFour interrelated stories focus on Asa's keen intelligence and ability for forgiveness in the face of his mother's emotional instability and his own unsettled life.
After his mother divorces his father and remarries, Asa's sharp intellect and capacity for forgiveness help him deal with the instabilities of his new world.
Newbery Honor book
What Jamie Saw
by Carolyn ComanJamie’s mother is there to catch the baby —this time. She does what she must to keep her family out of harm’s way, but still the shock waves of Van’s act reverberate through their lives. What Jamie Saw is a moving, visceral dramatization of violence in the home, told not from the point of view of a victim, but as witnessed by a nine-year-old boy. The impact of observed violence perpetrated against loved ones is profound and destructive, and altogether too common. Drawing on his mother’s desperate strength, his own determination, and help from an unexpected friend, Jamie confronts his fear and anxiety -- learning, adapting, and triumphing.
A Newbery Honor Book.
The Wheel on the School
by Meindert DejongWhy do the storks no longer come to the little Dutch fishing village of Shora to nest? It was Lina, one of the six schoolchildren who first asked the question, and she set the others to wondering. And sometimes when you begin to wonder, you begin to make things happen. So the children set out to bring the storks back to Shora. The force of their vision put the whole village to work until at last the dream began to come true.
Winner, 1955 Newbery Medal
When Shlemiel Went to Warsaw and Other Stories
by Isaac Bashevis SingerEight stories based on traditional Jewish themes from Eastern Europe including Shrewd Todie & Lyzer the Miser; Tsirtsur & Peziza; Rabbi Leib & the Witch Cunegunde; The Elders of Chelm & Genendel's Key; Shlemiel, the Businessman; Utzel & His Daughter Poverty; Menaseh's Dream; When Shlemiel went to War
Newbery Medal Honor Book
When You Reach Me
by Rebecca SteadWinner of the 2010 John Newbery Medal
Four mysterious letters change Miranda’s world forever.
By sixth grade, Miranda and her best friend, Sal, know how to navigate their New York City neighborhood. They know where it’s safe to go, like the local grocery store, and they know whom to avoid, like the crazy guy on the corner.
But things start to unravel. Sal gets punched by a new kid for what seems like no reason, and he shuts Miranda out of his life. The apartment key that Miranda’s mom keeps hidden for emergencies is stolen. And then Miranda finds a mysterious note scrawled on a tiny slip of paper:
I am coming to save your friend’s life, and my own.
I must ask two favors. First, you must write me a letter.
The notes keep coming, and Miranda slowly realizes that whoever is leaving them knows all about her, including things that have not even happened yet. Each message brings her closer to believing that only she can prevent a tragic death. Until the final note makes her think she’s too late.
When You Trap a Tiger
by Tae KellerAn uplifting story of a girl discovering a secret family history when she makes a deal with a magical tiger from her grandmother's stories, the Korean version of "Once upon a time..."
Some stories refuse to stay bottled up...When Lily and her family move in with her sick grandmother, a magical tiger straight out of her halmoni's Korean folktales arrives, prompting Lily to unravel a secret family history.
Long, long ago, Halmoni stole something from the tigers. Now they want it back. And when one of the tigers approaches Lily with a deal--return what her grandmother stole in exchange for Halmoni's health--Lily is tempted to agree. But deals with tigers are never what they seem! With the help of her sister and her new friend Ricky, Lily must find her voice...and the courage to face a tiger.
Tae Keller, the award-winning author of The Science of Breakable Things, shares a sparkling tale about the power of stories and the magic of family.
A New York Times Bestseller
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon
by Grace LinIn the valley of Fruitless mountain, a young girl named Minli lives in a ramshackle hut with her parents. In the evenings, her father regales her with old folktales of the Jade Dragon and the Old Man on the Moon, who knows the answers to all of life's questions. Inspired by these stories, Minli sets off on an extraordinary journey to find the Old Man on the Moon to ask him how she can change her family's fortune. She encounters an assorted cast of characters and magical creatures along the way, including a dragon who accompanies her on her quest for the ultimate answer.
Grace Lin, author of the beloved Year of the Dog and Year of the Rat, returns with a wondrous story of adventure, faith, and friendship. A fantasy crossed with Chinese folklore, Where the Mountain Meets the Moon is a timeless story reminiscent of The Wizard of Oz. Her beautiful illustrations, printed in full-color, accompany the text throughout. Once again, she has created a charming, engaging book for young readers.
Newbery Honor book
The Whipping Boy
by Sid FleischmanThis Newbery winning book is about an orphan named Jemmy. As the whipping boy Jemmy must take the whippings for the royal heir, Prince Brat. Jemmy plans to run away from the castle. Unfortunately Prince Brat beats him to it, and takes Jemmy along. Jemmy then hears he's charged with the Prince's abduction. Will Jemmy escape or be hanged for this crime?
The White Stag
by Kate SeredyYielding to the command of their gods, the Huns and Magyars, led by Attila, stalk the white stag in a search for the promised land that takes them from Asia to Europe.
Newbery Medal Winner
Whittington
by Alan ArmstrongBernie keeps a barn full of animals the rest of the world has no use for-two retired trotters, a rooster, some banty hens, and a Muscovy duck with clipped wings who calls herself The Lady.
When the cat called Whittington shows up one day, it is to the Lady that he makes an appeal to secure a place in the barn. The Lady's a little hesitant at first, but when the cat claims to be a master ratter, that clinches it.
Bernie's orphaned grandkids, Abby and Ben, come to the barn every day to help feed the animals. Abby shares her worry that Ben can't really read yet and that he refuses to go to Special Ed. Whittington and the Lady decide that Abby should give Ben reading lessons in the barn. It is a balm for Ben when, having toughed out the daily lesson, Whittington comes to tell, in tantalizing installments, the story handed down to him from his nameless forebearer, Dick Whittington's cat-the legend of the lad born into poverty in rural England during the Black Death, who runs away to London to seek his fortune.
This is an unforgettable tale about how learning to read saves one little boy. It is about the healing, transcendent power of storytelling and how, if you have loved ones surrounding you and good stories to tell, to listen to, and to read, you have just about everything of value in this world.
Newbery Honor book
The Winter Room
by Gary PaulsenA Newbery Honor Book by the New York Times–bestselling author of Northwind. “A compelling description of farming in a bygone time.” —Publishers WeeklyALA/YALSA Best Book for Young AdultsALA Notable Book for ChildrenJudy Lopez Memorial Award for Children’s LiteratureFollowing the turn of the seasons, eleven-year-old Eldon traces the daily routines of his life on a farm and his relationship with his older brother Wayne. During the winter, with little work to be done on the farm, Eldon and Wayne spend the quiet hours with their family, listening to their Uncle David’s stories. But Eldon soon learns that, although he has lived on the same farm, in the same house with his uncle for eleven springs, summers, and winters, he hardly knows him.“It is the palpable awareness of place and character that is unforgettable. Paulsen, with a simple intensity, brings to consciousness the texture, the smells, the light and shadows of each distinct season. He has penned a mood poem in prose.” —School Library Journal“More a prose poem than a novel, this beautifully written evocation of a Minnesota farm perhaps 40 years ago consists of portraits of each of the four seasons, along with four brief stories told by old Uncle David.” —Kirkus Reviews
The Wish Giver
by Bill BrittainA Newbery Honor Book that the New York Times called "an eerie delight," The Wish Giver is an engaging literary folk story about those who get what they wish for—whether they want it or not.The people of Coven Tree are no strangers to magic. In fact, the town's very name comes from a gnarled old tree where covens of witches used to gather. Even now, imps and fiends continue to appear, frightening the townsfolk with their devilish pranks. Usually these creatures are easy to spot. They have a particular smell, or sound, or way of moving, that betrays their dark nature. But Thaddeus Blinn showed none of these signs when he came to Coven Tree. He was just a funny little man who drifted into town with a strange tale about being able to give people whatever they wished—for only fifty cents.There was nothing scary about him. At least, not until the wishing began...