Caldecott Winners

 Mom on her computer, sister on her cell phone, Dad working in the kitchen.....sound familiar? BLACKOUT written and illustrated by John Rocco is the story of a typical summer night inside a busy family's apartment where no one is available to play even a simple board game. Outside, horns honk, streetlights blare and the summer city night is hot and noisy. Then......the lights go out......and the magic begins! Families and neighbors play together and  street parties emerge above and below the apartment. This story will take you back to simpler times and memories of long nights playing outside in the dark.This book was named as a 2012 Caldecott Honor Book. You will love it! ( Disney-Hyperion Books, 2011)

                                                                                                                   

 A BALL FOR DAISY written and illustrated by Chris Raschka is the 2012 Caldecott Medal Winner. This delightful wordless picture book shows you all the fun a dog can have with her ball. We follow Daisy through a range of emotions and activities she experiences with her ball.....joy, excitement, security, and then we move to worry and sorrow when another dog pops her ball! Sadness takes over Daisy at the loss of her round plastic companion, but then a thoughtful gesture restores her good nature and all ends well! (Farrar Straus Giroux, 2011)

The Notorious Benedict Arnold

The only fact most people know about Bendict Arnold is that he was a traitor whose deceit had major repercussions for our American Revolutionary cause. Did you also know that he was a General who was fearless in the line of fire and a genius at strategy? He was actually one of America’s first war heroes, but his drive for fame and recognition became his ultimate downfall. The biography, THE NOTORIOUS BENEDICT ARNOLD by Steve Sheinkin, includes first -person accounts, action packed battle scenes and a look at the private life of one of America’s most infamous villains. This well told story was awarded the 2012 YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults. (Flash Point/Roaring Book Press,2010).

Morris and Printz Award Winning YA Literature

"Living in Lily, Arkansas, is sometimes like living in the land that time forgot, " says 17 year old Cullen Witter. The summer before his senior year of high school, his entire world is shaken. His cousin dies of an overdose and his younger brother goes missing. In WHERE THINGS COME BACK, by John Corey Whaley, two tales are tightly woven into a page turning thriller. Cullen's pain in searching for his brother and his grief in watching his parents and aunt struggle through loss is so  poignantly written. I found myself connecting to every aspect of his small town life, and I realized that even big things can happen in small places. Woven into the story is the subplot of the Lazarus woodpecker, thought to be extinct, that allegedly reappears in Lily and begs the question "Do things ever come back?". This beautifully written story is the 2012 winner of the William C. Morris Award for a debut book written for teens as well as a Printz Award winner for excellence in YA literature.( Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2011)

Parent of a Picky Eater?

What is a parent to do when his child refuses to eat the meal that's prepared for him? Get creative. TALES FOR VERY PICKY EATERS, by Josh Schneider, is the wacky tale of James' refusal to eat his broccoli, oatmeal, lasagna, milk, and eggs."What else is there to eat?" he asks his father. "Well....there's dirt or already chewed gum," replies his father. This, along with other creative techniques, are eventually successful in getting James to eat his food.This book won the 2012 Theodor Seuss Geisel award for the most distinguished beginning reader book.(Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2011)

Coretta Scott King Author Book Winner

HEART AND SOUL: THE STORY OF AMERICA AND AFRICAN AMERICANS, written and illustrated by Kadir Nelson, is a moving story that chronicles the lives of African Americans throughout U.S. history. The story begins with slavery and moves through the Civil War, Reconstruction , Westward Expansion, the Depression, World Wars, and the Civil Rights Movement.It  discusses the injustices and struggles African Americans faced as they helped define their country. It is a story of hope, inspiration, and courage. Beautiful oil painting illustrations depict African American life from the colonial days to the present.This book was awarded the Coretta Scott King Author Award.(Balzer + Bray, 2011).

Schneider Middle School Book Awards

WONDERSTRUCK, by Brian Selznick, is the unique tale of two deaf children growing up 50 years apart. Rose is a deaf girl growing up in the 1920s. Her story is told solely through beautiful pencil- sketched illustrations. She runs away to NYC to find the star Lillian Mayhew, her birth mother. Lillian is furious when she sees her, so Rose runs away again, this time to the same museum as Ben. Ben's story takes place 50 years later and is told through text only. Ben travels to NYC in search of his father. Eventually, they meet in a bookstore and realize that Rose is Ben’s grandmother. She tells him the story of his father. Their intertwining stories are uniquely told in an overlap of text and pictures.Tween readers are sure to love this book written by the creator of The Invention of Hugo Cabret. This book was named as a Schneider Family Award Winner for middle school readers (ages 9-13). (Scholastic Press, 2011)

                                                                                                                                
CLOSE TO FAMOUS, by Joan Bauer, is the delightfully sweet (no pun intended) of Foster McFee. Chased out of town by an Elvis impersonator, Foster and her mother end up in the small town of Culpepper. Foster has big dreams. She is a baker with an enormous talent for making muffins and cupcakes. She dreams of one day having her own cooking show like her idol, Sonny Kroll.There's one small problem. Foster can't read. She listens and memorizes her recipes, but she can't read a cookbook. With the help of an award winning actress living in Culpepper to escape Hollywood, she learns to read. She and her mother begin their new life in this wonderful town full of interesting characters. This feel good story is full of determination and perseverance. It was recently named as a Schneider Award winner for middle school books.(Viking, 2011).

Elephants and Bears....oh my!

I BROKE MY TRUNK, written and illustrated by Mo Willems, is part of the adorable Elephant and Piggie series. Elephant Gerald is careful. Piggie is not. In this book, Gerald tells Piggie the long, crazy story about how he broke his trunk.This beginning reader book has clean pages with simple illustrations and sentences. Colored thought bubbles surround Gerald and Piggie's conversation making it easy to distinguish who is saying what.Elephants thought bubbles are gray and Piggie's are pink.This delightfully charming book was named as a Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor book.(Hyperion Books for Children, 2011)
 

I WANT MY HAT BACK, written and illustrated by Jon Klassen, is about a bear who has lost his hat and worries he will never see it again.......or wait, has he? Bear asks friend after friend if they have seen his missing hat. Their replies are written in contrasting colors of ink. Simple sentences, clean pages, and earth tones provide a neutral canvas against the missing hat's pop of bright red.Will you spot it? This beginning reader book is a Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor recipient.(Candlewick Press, 2011)