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Young Reader's Choice Award Winners
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Sixth Grade Can Really Kill You
by Barthe DeclementsHelen figures that she'll coast through sixth grade-until she comes face to face with her new teacher, Mrs. Lobb. Strict "Mrs. Blob" rules the class like a sergeant, and Helens' practical jokes make her crack down even more. It wouldn't be so bad if Helen got good grades-but the harder she works, the more she fails. Is Helen going to be stuck in sixth grade forever?
The Giver
by Lois LowryThis haunting story centers on twelve-year-old Jonas, who lives in a seemingly ideal, if colorless, world of conformity and contentment. Not until he is given his life assignment as the Receiver of Memory does he begin to understand the dark, complex secrets behind his fragile community.
Lois Lowry has written three companion novels to The Giver, including Gathering Blue, Messenger, and Son.
Newbery Medal Winner
Winner of Pacific Northwest Library Association’s Young Reader’s Choice Senior Award
The War with Grandpa
by Robert Kimmel SmithPeter thinks the only way he can reclaim his room is by declaring war on his grandfather.
Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award, William Allen White Award, Tennessee Children's Choice Book Award, Parents' Choice Award, An IRA-CBC Children's Choice, Mark Twain Award, Young Hoosier Award, South Carolina Children's Book Award, Pacific Northwest Library Association Young Reader's Choice Award, Georgia Children's Book Award.
Diary of a Wimpy Kid
by Jeff KinneyBoys don't keep diaries--or do they?
The launch of an exciting and innovatively illustrated new series narrated by an unforgettable kid every family can relate to It's a new school year, and Greg Heffley finds himself thrust into middle school, where undersized weaklings share the hallways with kids who are taller, meaner, and already shaving. The hazards of growing up before you're ready are uniquely revealed through words and drawings as Greg records them in his diary.
In book one of this debut series, Greg is happy to have Rowley, his sidekick, along for the ride. But when Rowley's star starts to rise, Greg tries to use his best friend's newfound popularity to his own advantage, kicking off a chain of events that will test their friendship in hilarious fashion.
Author/illustrator Jeff Kinney recalls the growing pains of school life and introduces a new kind of hero who epitomizes the challenges of being a kid.
As Greg says in his diary, "Just don't expect me to be all 'Dear Diary' this and 'Dear Diary' that." Luckily for us, what Greg Heffley says he won't do and what he actually does are two very different things.
The Swamp Fox of the Revolution
by Stewart H. HolbrookHistory of a small band of backwoodsmen who carried on a private war with the British redcoats in South Carolina during the American Revolution. Led by Francis Marion, these guerrilla fighters struck fear into the hearts of the English.
City of Bones
by Cassandra ClareWhen fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder -- much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It's hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing -- not even a smear of blood -- to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy? This is Clary's first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It's also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace's world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know. . . . Exotic and gritty, exhilarating and utterly gripping, Cassandra Clare's ferociously entertaining fantasy takes readers on a wild ride that they will never want to end.
Winner of Pacific Northwest Library Association’s Young Reader’s Choice Senior Award
Because of Winn-Dixie
by Kate DiCamilloRecalling the fiction of Harper Lee and Carson McCullers, here is a funny, poignant, and utterly genuine first novel from a major new talent.
The summer Opal and her father, the preacher, move to Naomi, Florida, Opal goes into the Winn-Dixie supermarket--and comes out with a dog. A big, ugly, suffering dog with a sterling sense of humor. A dog she dubs Winn-Dixie. Because of Winn-Dixie, the preacher tells Opal ten things about her absent mother, one for each year Opal has been alive. Winn-Dixie is better at making friends than anyone Opal has ever known, and together they meet the local librarian, Miss Franny Block, who once fought off a bear with a copy of WAR AND PEACE. They meet Gloria Dump, who is nearly blind but sees with her heart, and Otis, an ex-con who sets the animals in his pet shop loose after hours, then lulls them with his guitar.Opal spends all that sweet summer collecting stories about her new friends and thinking about her mother. But because of Winn-Dixie or perhaps because she has grown, Opal learns to let go, just a little, and that friendship--and forgiveness--can sneak up on you like a sudden summer storm.
Newbery Medal Honor book
Rewind
by William SleatorNot long after learning that he was adopted, eleven-year-old Peter is hit by a car and then given several chances to alter events that could lead to his death.
11 Birthdays
by Wendy MassThis hilarious novel from award-winning author Wendy Mass is now available in paperback! It's Amanda's 11th birthday and she is super excited---after all, 11 is so different from 10. But from the start, everything goes wrong. The worst part of it all is that she and her best friend, Leo, with whom she's shared every birthday, are on the outs and this will be the first birthday they haven't shared together. When Amanda turns in for the night, glad to have her birthday behind her, she wakes up happy for a new day. Or is it? Her birthday seems to be repeating iself. What is going on?! And how can she fix it? Only time, friendship, and a little luck will tell. . .
Miss Pickerell Goes to Mars
by Ellen MacgregorMiss Pickerell goes to visit her pet cow one morning and finds a rocketship in the pasture! It's a mission to Mars, and a curious Miss Pickerell finds herself accidentally locked inside!
Eva
by Peter DickinsonEva's hospital room looks out onto the skyscrapers of a huge city, but since waking up from her coma she only dreams of trees
Thirteen-year-old Eva opens her eyes to find herself in a hospital, her body paralyzed while it heals from a devastating accident. Her mother says that Eva will be able to move her hands and face soon and that everything is going to be fine, but something in her voice tells Eva it's not that simple. The doctors give Eva a keyboard that turns her typing into speech and controls a mirror that rotates to look around the room and out the window--every direction except back at her bed. What are the doctors trying to hide from her? And why, in an overpopulated world where humans have tamed all the wild places, does Eva keep dreaming of a forest she's never seen?
Winner of Pacific Northwest Library Association’s Young Reader’s Choice Senior Award
Rapunzel's Revenge
by Shannon Hale and Dean HaleOnce upon a time, in a land you only think you know, lived a little girl and her mother ... or the woman she thought was her mother. Every day, when the little girl played in her pretty garden, she grew more curious about what lay on the other side of the garden wall ... a rather enormous garden wall. And every year, as she grew older, things seemed weirder and weirder, until the day she finally climbed to the top of the wall and looked over into the mines and desert beyond. Newbery Honor-winning author Shannon Hale teams up with husband Dean Hale and brilliant artist Nathan Hale (no relation) to bring readers a swashbuckling and hilarious twist on the classic story as you've never seen it before. Watch as Rapunzel and her amazing hair team up with Jack (of beanstalk fame) to gallop around the wild and western landscape, changing lives, righting wrongs, and bringing joy to every soul they encounter.
The Indian in the Cupboard
by Lynne Reid BanksA young man receives two presents that will change his life: a plastic miniature Indian that magically comes to life inside a mysterious old cupboard.From the Hardcover edition.
A Mouse Called Wolf
by Dick King-SmithWolfgang Amadeus Mouse ("Wolf," for short) has a big name for such a little mouse. But the name fits. His favorite pastime is listening to Mrs. Honeybee, the lady of the house, play the piano. If only he could sing along to the music!
One day, Wolf decides to try -- and to his surprise, out of his mouth comes a perfect melody.It's not long before Wolf is singing everything from "Three Blind Mice" to Chopin to the Beatles, all to Mrs. Honeybee's accompaniment. Then an accident leaves Mrs. Honeybee in danger, and it's up to Wolf to save her... the only way he knows how.
Winner of Pacific Northwest Library Association’s Young Reader’s Choice Award
Hope Was Here
by Joan BauerWhen Hope and her aunt move to small-town Wisconsin to take over the local diner, Hope's not sure what to expect. But what they find is that the owner, G.T., isn't quite ready to give up yet--in fact, he's decided to run for mayor against a corrupt candidate. And as Hope starts to make her place at the diner, she also finds herself caught up in G.T.'s campaign--particularly his visions for the future. After all, as G.T. points out, everyone can use a little hope to help get through the tough times... even Hope herself.
Newbery Medal Honor book
Winner of Pacific Northwest Library Association’s Young Reader’s Choice Senior Award
Shiloh
by Phyllis Reynolds NaylorMarty will do anything to save his new friend Shiloh in this Newbery Medal–winning novel from Phillis Reynolds Naylor.When Marty Preston comes across a young beagle in the hills behind his home, it's love at first sight—and also big trouble. It turns out the dog, which Marty names Shiloh, belongs to Judd Travers, who drinks too much and has a gun—and abuses his dogs. So when Shiloh runs away from Judd to Marty, Marty just has to hide him and protect him from Judd. But Marty's secret becomes too big for him to keep to himself, and it exposes his entire family to Judd's anger. How far will Marty have to go to make Shiloh his?
Blubber
by Judy BlumeBlubber is a good name for her, the note from Wendy says about Linda. Jill crumples it up and leaves it on the corner of her desk. She doesn't want to think about Linda or her dumb report on the whale just now. Jill wants to think about Halloween.But Robby grabs the note, and before Linda stops talking it has gone halfway around the room.That's where it all starts. There's something about Linda that makes a lot of kids in her fifth-grade class want to see how far they can go -- but nobody, least of all Jill, expects the fun to end where it does.A New York Times Outstanding Book of the Year
The Face on the Milk Carton
by Caroline B. CooneyNo one ever really paid close attention to the faces of the missing children on the milk cartons. But as Janie Johnson glanced at the face of the ordinary little girl with her hair in tight pigtails, wearing a dress with a narrow white collar--a three-year-old who had been kidnapped twelve years before from a shopping mall in New Jersey--she felt overcome with shock. She recognized that little girl--it was she. How could it possibly be true? Janie can't believe that her loving parents kidnapped her, but as she begins to piece things together, nothing makes sense. Something is terribly wrong. Are Mr. and Mrs. Johnson really Janie's parents? And if not, who is Janie Johnson, and what really happened?
Winner of Pacific Northwest Library Association’s Young Reader’s Choice Senior Award
Danny Dunn and the Homework Machine
by Raymond Abrashkin and Jay WilliamsCan Danny program Miniac, a miniature automatic computer, to do his homework for him? His attempts seem to be going well until an old enemy, Snitcher, tries his hand at sabotage.
Maniac Magee
by Jerry SpinelliJeffrey Lionel "Maniac" Magee might have lived a normal life if a freak accident hadn't made him an orphan. After living with his unhappy and uptight aunt and uncle for eight years, he decides to run--and not just run away, but run. This is where the myth of Maniac Magee begins, as he changes the lives of a racially divided small town with his amazing and legendary feats.
Newbery Medal Winner
Winner of Pacific Northwest Library Association’s Young Reader’s Choice Junior Award
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
by Ian FlemingWen resourceful inventor Caractacus Pott saves the enormous green roadster from the scrap heap, it doesn't take long for his family to realize that they have a pretty amazing auto. Their day trip to the beach turns into an exciting sea voyage, complete with a secret cave and a gang of ruthless mobsters (who have a giant stockpile of explosives)! The Potts quickly learn that CHITTY CHITTY Bang Bang may be their only hope!
The Incredible Journey
by Sheila Burnford and Carl BurgerInstinct told them that the way home lay to the west. And so the doughty young Labrador retriever, the roguish bull terrier and the indomitable Siamese set out through the Canadian wilderness. Separately, they would soon have died. But, together, the three house pets faced starvation, exposure, and wild forest animals to make their way home to the family they love. The Incredible Journey is one of the great children's stories of all time--and has been popular ever since its debut in 1961.
Winner of Pacific Northwest Library Association’s Young Reader’s Choice Award
Dragon Rider
by Cornelia FunkeWith a lonely boy named Ben on board, the brave young dragon Firedrake sets out on a magical journey to find the mythical place where silver dragons can live in peace forever.
Winner of Pacific Northwest Library Association’s Young Reader’s Choice Junior Award
The Midwife's Apprentice
by Karen CushmanFrom the author of "Catherine, Called Birdy" comes another spellbinding novel set in medieval England.
The girl known only as Brat has no family, no home, and no future until she meets Jane the Midwife and becomes her apprentice. As she helps the sharp-tempered Jane deliver babies, Brat-who renames herself Alyce-gains knowledge, confidence, and the courage to want something from life: "A full belly, a contented heart, and a place in this world."
Medieval village life makes a lively backdrop for the funny, poignant story of how Alyce gets what she wants. A concluding note discusses midwifery past and present.
A Newbery Medal Winner.
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
by John BoyneBerlin 1942. When Bruno returns home from school one day, he discovers that his belongings are being packed in crates. His father has received a promotion and the family must move from their home to a new house far far away, where there is no one to play with and nothing to do. A tall fence running alongside stretches as far as the eye can see and cuts him off from the strange people he can see in the distance.But Bruno longs to be an explorer and decides that there must be more to this desolate new place than meets the eye. While exploring his new environment, he meets another boy whose life and circumstances are very different to his own, and their meeting results in a friendship that has devastating consequences.