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)

Overcoming Obstacles

THE RUNNING DREAM, written by Wendelin Van Draanen, is the story of Jessica, a middle school student and track star. Her life’s passion is running. It’s what she does, who she is, and all she knows. She is well on her way to an athletic scholarship. This dream comes to a tragic end, however, when the bus carrying her and her track team crashes and Jessica loses her leg. Now, her motivation for getting up each day is suddenly gone, and she wonders how she can go on.  Jessica has to relearn everything…including how to walk. This story follows Jessica’s journey in the year after her accident when her amputated leg is still in bandages.  She learns to use crutches and walk with a prosthetic leg. Her team raises money to buy her a “running leg” so she can rejoin the team. As Jessica heals, we go through the process of seeing the person instead of the disability. She becomes friends with a girl in her class who has cerebral palsy and learns to see her in a different light. This heart touching  story was recently named as a Schneider Family Book Award winner for teens.(Alfred A. Knopf, 2011).





 

INSIDE OUT AND BACK AGAIN, written by Thanhha Lai, is the story of 10 year-old Kim Ha who is forced to leave Saigon with her mother and older brothers during the peak of the Vietnam War. Her father has been MIA for nine years, and the family continually hopes for his return. Knowing that if they go, there will be no real way for their father to find them again, the family is faced with the heart wrenching decision to leave behind the world they know and love. On a  ship with tight quarters and little food to eat, the family slowly makes their way to the United States. They end up in Alabama in the early-70's, with racial tensions at an all time high. Ha is bullied at school, and her teachers think she is dumb because she hasn’t learned English yet. Throughout all of her obstacles, she remains strong. A semi-autobiographical story, this unforgettable novel is written in free verse poems broken into four main chapters: Saigon, At Sea, Alabama, and From Now On. This novel was recently named as a Newbery Honor Book recipient.( HarperCollins, 2011).

Child's Play

ME...JANE , written and illustrated by Patrick McDonnell, is the charming story of Jane Goodall.As a young girl., Jane receives a stuffed toy chimpanzee that she takes everywhere she goes. She explores birds, spiders, squirrels and other plants and animals in her backyard.She makes sketches and takes detailed notes of her findings. She dreams of one day traveling to Africa to study and help the animals there. The story ends with the realization of this dream and an actual photograph of Jane Goodall with a baby chimpanzee.This sweet story is a Caldecott Honor Book winner.(Little, Brown and Company, 2011).
 

 BALLOONS OVER BROADWAY, written and illustrated by Melissa Sweet, is a Sibert Award Winner. This is the story of Tony Sarg , the puppeteer of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. As a boy, Tony loves marionettes and puppets. He spends all of his spare money on toys that are curious and interesting.Fascinated by these puppets, he studies them and the mechanics behind how they move. He later moves to London and then New York where he begins performing on Broadway. Macy's commissions him to design their parade in 1928.It is such a hit and becomes a tradition we still enjoy today.(Houghton Mifflin, 2011).