Award Winning Books - Annotated Bibliography Example

Elementary/Middle School (Grades 3-8) Award Winning Books Annotated Book List Alexie, S. (2007). The absolutely true diary of a part-time Indian. (Ellen Forney, Illus.). New York. Little Brown Bks Young Readers Junior is a 14 year-old Spokane Indian and a budding cartoonist. He leaves his school on the reservation and transfers to an all-white town high school. The story is based on the author's own experiences. Junior is determined to improve himself and overcome handicaps of birth, circumstances, and race. Forney's illustrations reflect Junior's cartoons and chronicles a native American's adolescence. Genre: Semi-autobiographical Fiction Suggested Grade Level: Grades 7-8 Awards/ Honors: National Book Awards Young People's Literature Winner 2007 Applegate, K. (2007). Home of the brave. New York. Holtzbrinck Publishers Kek is a Sudanese-African immigrant to America. After the murder of his father and brother, he gets separated from his mother in an African camp. With the belief that his mother is alive, he travels by boat to Minnesota in winter to live with relatives. As an immigrant he experiences both failures and triumphs as he continues to hope that his mother is alive. Written in free verse, the book highlights the importance of attitude to the achievement of goals for young readers. Genre: Multicultural, Fiction Suggested Grade Level: Grades 6-8 Awards/ Honors: Golden Kite Award Winner 2007 Bartoletti, S. C. (2005). Black potatoes: the story of the great Irish famine, 1845-1850. Boston. Houghton Mifflin Company. The year 1845 in Ireland, when overnight a mysterious blight attacked the potato crops turning them black and threatening food supply of 6 million people. The blight continued on for the next 5 years causing 1 million deaths and 2 million Irish fleeing their homeland. Ethnic and religious prejudices are tackled in the book as well as references to present crises in society. The book also features black and white sketches gathered from contemporary newspapers during the period. Genre: Historical, International, Nonfiction Suggested Grade Level: Grades 5-7 Awards/ Honors: NCTE Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children Winner 2002 Bartoletti, S. (2005). Hitler youth: growing up in Hitler's shadow. New York. Scholastic, Inc. The author portrays how the young people of Germany became loyal to Hitler including interviews with surviving Hitler Youth members. It highlights Hitler's tactics for dominating the young people who were "a powerful political force". The book includes stories of young heroes who dared to oppose Hitler as well as those who opted to support him. Genre: Historical, Nonfiction Suggested Grade Level: Grades 6-8 Awards/ Honors: Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award Honor 2006 Bolden, T. (2007). M. L. K.: the journey of a king. (Bob Adelman, Ed.). New York. HNA Books. M.L.K. is Marthin Luther King, Jr. and this book is his biography as told by Bolden in words and scrapbook pictures. The book focuses on MLK's principle of selfless love for one's neighbor as he expounded in his sermons, his daily life and his support of nonviolent protests, and is very inspirational for young readers. Genre: Biography, Nonfiction Suggested Grade Level: Grades 5-8 Awards/ Honors: NCTE Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children Winner 2008 Burns, L. (2007). Tracking trash: flotsam, jetsam, and the science of ocean motion. Boston. Houghton Mifflin Company. Dr. Curtis Ebbesmeyer is an oceanographer whose attention is drawn to ocean trash in the form of Nike sneakers appearing on the beaches in Seattle. With volunteer beachcombers and supportive fellow scientists Dr. Curt tracks ocean trash while studying ocean currents. Frightening accounts about trash destroying birds and sea creatures form the climax, which is resolved by the work of the scientists which prevent further destruction. The book is about marine environment conservation and the science of ocean currents and includes a glossary and lists of related books and websites. Genre: Science & Nature, Nonfiction Suggested Grade Level: Grades 5-8 Awards/ Honors: Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards Honor 2007 Canales, V. (2007). Tequila worm. New York. Random House Children's Books. Sofia is a Mexican-American girl from Southern comes and comes from a family of storytellers. At 14, the bright young girl gets a scholarship in an elite school in Austin and is torn between homesickness and wanting to get a good education. The book includes interesting vignettes about Mexican culture including eating a critter soaked in mescal to cure homesickness. The book is engaging with its absurd humor as well as serious issues of discrimination, separation and death. Genre: Multicultural Fiction Suggested Grade Level: Grades 6-8 Awards/ Honors: Pura Belpr Award Narrative 2006 Coville, B. (2005). My teacher fried my brains. (John Pierard, Illus.). New York. Aladdin Paperbacks. Duncan Dougal is a 7th grader who believes that one of his teachers is an alien. The story is about his quest to discover the alien teacher before his brains get fried to a pulp, to save the school and to save the planet. Pierard's illustrations accompany the book. Genre: Science Fiction Suggested Grade Level: Grades 3-6 Awards/ Honors: North Carolina Children's Book Awards Junior Book 1996 Crowe, E. (2007). Surfer of the century: the life of Duke Kahanamoku. (Richard Waldrep, Illus.). New York. Lee & Low Books Inc. Duke Paoa Kahanamoku dropped out of high school and fought against racism in early 20th century America in pursuit of his dream of becoming the surfing star of the ocean. This biography as told by Crowe with arresting action and drama is complemented by spectacular air-brushed illustrations reminiscent of the 1900s by award-winning Waldrep. The book highlights the sportsmanlike conduct which children can learn from. Genre: Biography, Nonfiction Suggested Grade Level: Grades 7-8 Awards/ Honors: Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature Winner Illustrator in Children Literature 2007 Curtis, C.P. (2007). Elijah of Buxton. New York. Scholastic Inc. Elijah Freeman, 11 years old, is the first black child born free in Buxton, a settlement of runaway slaves in Canada. He therefore has no realization of the imports of slavery until Right Reverend Deacon Doctor Zephariah Connerly the Third, a preacher steals the money of Elijah's friend meant to buy freedom for an entire family in America. Elijah then pursues the preacher and the story goes on to a sad yet uplifting ending. Set in the mid 1800s and written with a combination of comedic and tear-jerking sequences, the story portrays the horrors of the past for better appreciation of the present. Genre: Historical, Fiction Suggested Grade Level: Grades 3-6 Awards/ Honors: Coretta Scott King Book Awards Author 2008 DiCamillo, K. (2006). The miraculous journey of Edward Tulane. (Bagram Ibatoulline, Illus.). Somerville, MA. Candlewick Press. Edward Tulane is a vain rabbit made of China owned by Abilene who loves him dearly. The fantasy tale depicts Edward as cold hearted until he gets lost when he is tossed overboard during Abilene's trans-Atlantic voyage. Edward then embarks on his journey, learning how to love, experiencing pain and cruelty, despairing then learning to love again. Ibatoulline's sepia-toned gouache and color illustrations add to the drama of this story. Genre: Fantasy Suggested Grade Level: Grades 3-6 Awards/ Honors: Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards Honor 2007 Engle, M. (2006). The poet slave of Cuba. (Sean Qualls, Illus.) New York: Henry Holt & Company, Incorporated. Set in 1797 Cuba, this is the biography of a Cuban slave named Juan Francisco Manzano who escapes slavery and becomes a celebrated poet. Written in lyrical verse, Juan's life story reflects both beauty and cruelty. Juan spends his early years in the household of a wealthy slave owner and experiences a tortured slave's life until he manages to escape on horseback. Qualls' impressionistic charcoal illustrations, historical notes and excerpts of Manzano's poetry are included in the book. Genre: Biography, Poetry, International, Nonfiction Suggested Grade Level: Grades 6-8 Awards/ Honors: Amricas Book Award for Children's and Young Adult Literature 2006 Gerson, Mary-Joan. (2001). Fiesta femenina. celebrating women in Mexican exile. (Maya Christina Gonzalez, Illus.) Cambridge, MA: Barefoot Books. Eight Mexican cultural traditions are depicted in Gerson's re-told folktales of Mexican heroines. Stories include those from the Mayan, Mixtec, Zapotec, Aztec and Yaqui peoples highlighting the important roles of women like Rosha, a young girl who rescues the sun; the goddess Tangu Yuh; the Zapotec princess Kesne and the Virgin Mary of Guadalupe. Modern contemporary paintings executed in vibrant colors serve as illustrations for the stories. A glossary of Spanish words and phrases, a pronunciation guide and a map of Mexico accompany the book. Genre: Folklore, International Suggested Grade Level: Grades 3-6 Awards/ Honors: Aesop Prize 2001 Green, J. (2006). Looking for Alaska. New York. Penguin Young Readers Group Miles Halter is a misfit Florida teenager who leaves for boarding school in Alabama. Miles is obsessed about famous last words, like Francois Rabelais' "I go to seek a great perhaps." So he embarks on this quest as he settles in Alabama, experiencing false starts, pranks, and moments of exhilaration. The novel is about real kids and the pressures of growing up. Genre: Contemporary Fiction Suggested Grade Level: Grades 7-8 Awards/ Honors: Michael L. Printz Award Winner 2006 Grimes, N. (2003). Bronx masquerade. New York. Penguin Young Readers Group After Wesley Boone writes a poem for his high school English class, students get inspired and clamor for weekly poetry sessions. The poet/author bares the poetic voices of 18 teenagers as they share their lives, thoughts, fears beyond the masquerade. Genre: Poetry Suggested Grade Level: Grades 6-8 Awards/ Honors: NCTE Award for Poetry for Children Poet 2006 Hathaway, B. (2004). Missy Violet and me. Boston. Houghton Mifflin Company Set in the early 1900s, 11 year-old Viney learns about birth, death and babies while working for the local midwife, Missy Violet, during the summer. She then experiences getting scared, having fun and being exhilarated as she eventually becomes Missy Violet's best helper girl. The story conveys the rhythm of rural life in the South. Genre: Historical, Fiction Suggested Grade Level: Grades 3-6 Awards/ Honors: John Steptoe Award for New Talent 2005 Klages, E. (2008). The green glass sea. New York. Penguin Group (USA). It is 1943, and Dewey Kerrigan is 11 years old. She is going to New Mexico to be with her mathematician father. When she arrives at Los Alamos, a town that officially does not exist, she gets embroiled in everyday camp life as scientists and mathematicians with their families construct and test the first nuclear bomb. The story portrays tensions between adults and children brought on by the war experience. Genre: Historical, Fiction Suggested Grade Level: Grades 6-8 Awards/ Honors: Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction 2007 Le Guin, U. (2004). A wizard of earthsea. Earthsea series #1. New York. Bantam Books. Ged is a poor blacksmith's son destined to become the greatest sorcerer in Earthsea. He is sent to Roke Island to study sorcery but he lets his arrogance take over him and he unleashes an evil spirit out to destroy him. The story is about learning, mastering the powers and hard work and sacrifice to restore the balance. Genre: Fantasy, Fiction Suggested Grade Level: Grades 6-8 Awards/ Honors: Margaret A. Edwards Award 2004 Meltzer, M. (2000). Driven from the land: the story of the dust bowl. Oregon. Marshall Cavendish Inc. Set during the period of the Great Depression, the historical text describes prevailing economic and environmental conditions. The book includes fascinating historical accounts relating the plight of farmers to events in other parts of the world, with quotations from those who suffered as well as from government officials tried to help alleviate the suffering. Genre: Historical, Nonfiction Suggested Grade Level: Grades 5-8 Awards/ Honors: Laura Ingalls Wilder Award 2001 Miyabe, M. (2007). Brave story. (Alexander Smith, Trans.) San Francisco. VIZ Media LLC Wataru is a 10 year-old boy living a chaotic life and who hopes to save his parents' marriage. He enters a fantasy world where a goddess resides who can change destiny. Within the fantasy world he gets help from Lizard Boy, Cat Girl and a fire-breathing dragon to reach the Tower of Destiny so he can bring his parents back together again. Genre: International, Fantasy Suggested Grade Level: Grades 4-7 Awards/ Honors: Mildred L. Batchelder Award Winner 2008 Naylor, P. R. (2002). The boys start the war. New York. Random House Children's Books. Set in Buckman, West Virginia, the Hatford boys and the Benson brothers are best friends. But the Benson brothers had to move to Georgia and their house has been rented out to the Malloys, a family of girls. The Hatfords decide to make life miserable for the Malloy girls so they will be forced to leave and the Benson's can return if they can't keep their house rented. So ensues a fun-filled war of wits between the Hatfords and the Malloys. Genre: Humor, Contemporary Fiction Suggested Grade Level: Grades 3-6 Awards/ Honors: North Carolina Children's Book Awards Junior Book 1995 Selznick, B. (2007). The invention of Hugo Cabret. (Brian Selznick, Illus.). New York. Scholastic, Inc. Set in 1931, Hugo is 12 years old, an orphan who repairs clocks and lives within a train station in Paris. His anonymity is jeopardized when he meets a bookish girl and a bitter old man who operates a toy booth in the station. Selznick's amazing illustrations rolls picture book, graphic novel and film into one intricate mystery story. Genre: Historical, International, Mystery, Fiction Suggested Grade Level: Grades 6-8 Awards/ Honors: Randolph Caldecott Medal 2008 Schlitz, A. (2007). Good masters! sweet ladies! : voices from a medieval village. (Robert Byrd, Illus.) Somerville, MA. Candlewick Press. This is a collection of short one-person plays, 17 monologues and two dialogues about the people living in or near a medieval English manor. The plays depict life in the manor locality during he 13th century. The watercolor and ink illustrations of Byrd faithfully represent scenes in medieval England. Genre: Historical, International, Fiction Suggested Grade Level: Grades 5-8 Awards/ Honors: John Newberry Medal Winner 2008 Schmidt, G. (2007). The wednesday wars. Boston. Houghton Mifflin Company Holling Hoodhood is a 7th grader at Camillo Junior High in Long Island in 1967. The book is about his escapades and starts with a Wednesday with his stern teacher, Mrs. Byrd when half of his classmates who are Jewish attend Hebrew school while the other half who are Catholics attend catechism. Other chapters include the Vietnam War, air raid drills, a Vietnamese refugee among others. Genre: Humor Suggested Grade Level: Grades 5-8 Awards/ Honors: John Newberry Medal Honor 2008 Smith, C. (2007). Twelve rounds to glory: the story of Muhammad Ali. (Bryan Collier, Illus.). Somerville, MA. Candlewick Press. Presented in 12 chapters mimicking 12 rounds of boxing, this is a biography of Muhammad Ali written in rap-inspired poems. Collier's watercolor and collage illustrations provide a visual treat that enhances reading of the verse. Aside from being an unconventional biography, this book highlights triumphs and failings as Ali faced his fights in the ring, against societal prejudice, the war in Vietnam and his Parkinson's disease. Genre: Biography, Nonfiction Suggested Grade Level: Grades 5-8 Awards/ Honors: Coretta Scott King Book Awards Author Honor 2008 St. George, J. (2004). So You Want to Be President (David Small, Illus.). New York. Penguin Young Readers Group. This collection of often humorous anecdotes about the U.S. presidents from George Washington to Bill Clinton is presented as a handbook of hints to the qualifications and characteristics of people who aspire for the U.S. presidency. Small's caricatures are done in watercolor, ink, and pastel and characterize the personalities of the characters. The book is refreshing reading when children study the topic on US presidents. Genre: Historical, Nonfiction Suggested Grade Level: Grades 3-6 Awards/ Honors: Randolph Caldecott Medal 2001 Taylor, M. (2003). The land. New York. Penguin Group (USA) Set after the Civil War, Paul Edward Logan's mother is a part-Indian, part-African slave. His father is a white plantation landowner. He grows up torn between 2 worlds. Colored people distrust him while white people discriminate against him. At the age of 14 he sets out to achieve his dream of land that he can call his own. The story portrays the best and worst of humanity as life goes on with the evils of racism and the successes of hard work. Genre: Historical, Fiction Suggested Grade Level: Grades 6-8 Awards/ Honors: Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction 2002 Thimmesh, C. (2006). Team moon: how 400,000 people landed Apollo 11 on the moon. Boston. Houghton Mifflin Company. The author has gathered direct quotes from different people who were in one way or the other involved with the Apollo 11 moon landing mission, revealing very human worries and concerns. These include the seamstress who made the space suit, the engineers who created the heat shield and many others. The book reveals the dedication, ingenuity and hard work of the team which put the first man on the moon. Genre: Nonfiction Suggested Grade Level: Grades 4-7 Awards/ Honors: Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award Winner 2007 Trueman, T. (2001). Stuck in neutral. New York. HarperCollins Publishers. Set in Seattle, Shawn McDaniel is 14 years old and suffers from severe cerebral palsy. He relates the story of his life, his family and his condition. The book raises issues about euthanasia between Shawn and his father. It portrays the differing perceptions of a physically handicapped teenager and the people around him. Genre: Contemporary Fiction Suggested Grade Level: Grades 5-7 Awards/ Honors: Michael L. Printz Award Honor 2001 Van Draanen, W. (1998). Sammy Keyes and the hotel thief . New York. Random House. Sammy Keyes is a 7th grader who lives with her grandmother in a seniors building. She witnesses a robbery at the hotel across the street with her binoculars. The young sleuth pursues clues to the solution of the robbery while going through several adventures. Children will appreciate Sammy's sharp powers of observation and deduction while enjoying a hilarious, action story. Genre: Mystery Suggested Grade Level: Grades 3-6 Awards/ Honors: Edgar Allan Poe Awards Winner Best Young Adult Mystery Book 1999 Reference List Alexie, S. (2007). The absolutely true diary of a part-time Indian. (E. Forney, Illus.). New York. Little Brown Books Young Readers. Applegate, K. (2007). Home of the brave. New York. Holtzbrinck Publishers. Bartoletti, S. C. (2005). Black potatoes: the story of the great Irish famine, 1845-1850. Boston. Houghton Mifflin Company. Bartoletti, S. (2005). Hitler youth: growing up in Hitler's shadow. New York. Scholastic, Inc. Bolden, T. (2007). M. L. K.: The Journey of a king. (B. Adelman, Ed.). New York. HNA Books. Burns, L. (2007). Tracking trash: flotsam, jetsam, and the science of ocean motion. Boston. Houghton Mifflin Company. Canales, V. (2007). Tequila worm. New York. Random House Children's Books. Coville, B. (2005). My teacher fried my brains. (J. Pierard, Illus.). New York. Aladdin Paperbacks. Crowe, E. (2007). Surfer of the century: the life of Duke Kahanamoku. (R. Waldrep, Illus.). New York. Lee & Low Books Inc. Curtis, C.P. (2007). Elijah of Buxton. New York. Scholastic Inc. DiCamillo, K. (2006). The miraculous journey of Edward Tulane. (B. Ibatoulline, Illus.). Somerville, MA. Candlewick Press. Engle, M. (2006). The poet slave of Cuba. (S. Qualls, Illus.) New York: Henry Holt & Company, Incorporated. Gerson, M. (2001). Fiesta femenina. Celebrating women in Mexican exile. (M. Gonzalez, Illus.) Cambridge, MA: Barefoot Books. Green, J. (2006). Looking for Alaska. New York. Penguin Young Readers Group Grimes, N. (2003). Bronx masquerade. New York. Penguin Young Readers Group Hathaway, B. (2004). Missy Violet and me. Boston. Houghton Mifflin Company. Klages, E. (2008). The green glass sea. New York. Penguin Group (USA). Le Guin, U. (2004). A wizard of Earthsea. Earthsea series #1. New York. Bantam Books. Miyabe, M. (2007). Brave story. (Alexander Smith, Trans.) San Francisco. VIZ Media LLC Meltzer, M. (2000). Driven from the land: the story of the dust bowl. Oregon. Marshall Cavendish Inc. Naylor, P. R. (2002). The boys start the war. New York. Random House Children's Books. Schlitz, A. (2007). Good masters! sweet ladies! : voices from a medieval village. (R. Byrd, Illus.) Somerville, MA. Candlewick Press. Schmidt, G. (2007). The wednesday wars. Boston. Houghton Mifflin Company Selznick, B. (2007). The invention of Hugo Cabret. (B. Selznick, Illus.). New York. Scholastic, Inc. Smith, C. (2007). Twelve rounds to glory: the story of Muhammad Ali. (B. Collier, Illus.). Somerville, MA. Candlewick Press. St. George, J. (2004). So you want to be president (D. Small, Illus.). New York. Penguin Young Readers Group. Taylor, M. (2003). The land. New York. Penguin Group (USA) Thimmesh, C. (2006). Team moon: how 400,000 people landed Apollo 11 on the moon. Boston. Houghton Mifflin Company. Trueman, T. (2001). Stuck in neutral. New York. HarperCollins Publishers. Van Draanen, W. (1998). Sammy Keyes and the hotel thief. New York. Random House. Read More