Special Collections
Bluebonnet Award Winners
Description: The Texas Bluebonnet Award winners are selected by librarians, teachers, parents, students and other interested persons and are appropriate for grades 3-6. #award
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Ramona and Her Father
by Beverly Cleary and Tracy DockrayRamona just wants everyone to be happy. If only her father would smile and joke again, her mother would look less worried, her sister would be cheerful, and Picky-picky would eat his cat-food. But Ramona's father has lost his job, and nobody in the Quimby household is in a very good mood.
Ramona tries to cheer up the family as only Ramona can -- by rehearsing for life as a rich and famous star of television commercials, for instance -- but her best efforts only make things worse. Her sister, Beezus, calls her a, pest, her parents lose patience with her, and her teacher claims she's forgotten her- manners. But when her father admits he wouldn't trade her for a million dollars, Ramona knows everything is going to work out fine in the end.
Newbery Medal Honor Book
Winner of Pacific Northwest Library Association’s Young Reader’s Choice Award
Fountas and Pinnell Level: O
Lexile: 691L - 770L
Reading Recovery: 34
DRA: 34
PM Readers: 24 Silver
Grade: 3
Ages: 8 - 9
Learning A to Z Level: S
Accelerated Reader (ATOS): 3.9 - 5.1
Nothing's Fair in Fifth Grade
by Barthe DeclementsWhen fat Elsie Edwards walks into Jenny Sawyer's fifth grade class, she's the last person Jenny expects to be friendly with. Elsie is not only fat, she steals everyone's lunch money to buy candy. And when the book club money disappears, the whole class is punished. Nothing's fair! The teacher, Mrs. Hanson, is very strict. Fractions are impossible. And Jenny is assigned as Elsie's guide in school. Nothing's fair! But Elsie turns out to be a math genius. She helps Jenny learn fractions. Elsie's diet begins to work. Then Jenny and her friends discover that Elsie's fat really covers up a good friend. Nothing's fair-but some things are not as bad as they seem!
The Houdini Box
by Brian SelznickVictor is forever trying to escape from locked trunks, walk through walls, and perform any number of Houdini's astonishing magic tricks. . . without success. Then -- amazingly -- he actually meets his idol, and begs Houdini to explain himself. A mysterious locked box is the magician's only answer, and Victor is left to wonder: Does the box contain the secrets to the most famous magic tricks ever performed?
The Hot and Cold Summer
by Johanna HurwitzRory and Derek were best friends but with Bolivia visiting next door, would their friendship last?
Help Me, Mr. Mutt!
by Janet StevensResponding to disgruntled dogs nationwide, Mr. Mutt, Canine Counselor, has solutions to the most sticky dilemmas. But Mr. Mutt has his own problem to solve: the cat (aka The Queen), who has her own idea of who's in charge. Now Mr. Mutt is the one who needs help--quick! Through letters and newspaper clippings--and with plenty of their trademark humor--Janet Stevens and Susan Stevens Crummel give voice to despairing dogs everywhere.
The Ghost of Fossil Glen
by Cynthia DefeliceAllie Nichols is being pursued by a ghost. Her friend Karen calls Allie a liar and doesn't want to hear "stuff like that". But her old pal, Dub, listens eagerly as Allie tells him about the voice that guides her down a steep cliff side, the girl she imagines who begs, "Help me", and a terrible nightmare in which that girl falls to her death. Who is that girl? Is she the ghost? And what does the ghost want from Allie?
The Dollhouse Murders
by Betty Ren WrightTwelve-year-old Amy knows there is some connection between Aunt Claire's old dollhouse in the attic and a deadly secret from years ago.
Winner of Pacific Northwest Library Association’s Young Reader’s Choice Award
A Dog Called Kitty
by Bill WallaceTHE PUPPY WAS SMALL AND FUZZY, WITH A FRIENDLY WAGGING TAIL-- AND RICKY WAS AFRAID OF HIM! When the pup shows up at the farm, small and fuzzy with a floppy wet tongue and a bushy tail that's always wagging, no one knows where he's from. Motherless and hungry, he needs to be fed or he'll starve to death. Most boys would welcome such a dog into their lives; feed it and train it and raise it to be a good farm pet. But Ricky's different. Ever since he was attacked as a baby by a mad dog, he's been afraid of them. This is an unforgettable adventure story about the trust that grows up between a boy and a mongrel. Winner of the Texas Bluebonnet, the Oklahoma Sequoyah, and the Nebraska Golden Sower Awards Cover art copyright © 1992 by Rudy Nappi www.scholastic.com This edition is available for distribution only through the school market.
The Day The Crayons Quit
by Drew Daywalt and Oliver JeffersPoor Duncan just wants to color. But when he opens his box of crayons, he finds only letters, all saying the same thing: His crayons have had enough! They quit! Beige Crayon is tired of playing second fiddle to Brown Crayon. Black wants to be used for more than just outlining. Blue needs a break from coloring all those bodies of water. And Orange and Yellow are no longer speaking--each believes he is the true color of the sun.
What can Duncan possibly do to appease all of the crayons and get them back to doing what they do best?
Kids will be imagining their own humorous conversations with crayons and coloring a blue streak after sharing laughs with Drew Daywalt and New York Times bestseller Oliver Jeffers. This story is perfect as a back-to-school gift, for all budding artists, for fans of humorous books such as Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willems and The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Sciezka and Lane Smith, and for fans of Oliver Jeffers' Stuck, The Incredible Book Eating Boy, Lost and Found, and This Moose Belongs to Me.
New York Times Bestseller
Christina's Ghost
by Betty Ren Wright[From The Back Cover] "The last thing Christina wants to do this summer is stay with grumpy Uncle Ralph in his old Victorian house. She's sure she'll have an awful time. But on her very first day there, Christina meets a sad, mysterious little ghost boy who seems to need her help. Soon Christina discovers the house contains a mystery that was never solved ... and that the ghost boy has something to do with it all. But how can she make Uncle Ralph help her solve the puzzle? What is the evil, chilling presence that lurks in the attic? And why is it trying so hard to frighten her away?" Many, many spooky books by this author are in the Bookshare collection. including Ghosts Beneath Our Feet, and A Ghost in the House.
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
Aliens for Breakfast
by Stephanie Spinner and Steve Bjorkman and Jonathan EtraIt's been ten years since Richard Bickerstaff sat down to breakfast and an alien climbed out of his cereal bowl! Join Richard and Aric, a tiny, wisecracking creature from the planet Ganoob, as they battle to save the world from evil aliens in Aliens for Breakfast, Aliens for Lunch, and Aliens for Dinner. We're reissuing the trilogy with brand-new covers sporting a space age 10th Anniversary logo. Now a new generation of readers can experience the fun and adventure that won these books rave reviews and loyal fans! From the Hardcover edition.