Award Winning and Notable Children's Books PreK - 8

It is night. Inside a house, a child is getting ready for bed. A hall light is switched on, toys and animals are settled in their places. Papa reads a story, Mama comes in to say good night, dreams wait to enter sleep... And if the moon could talk, it would tell of the many different nighttime activities that it sees from its vantage point, outside the house and high, high above.

Something mysterious is about to happen on Thurber Street. ZAP! Will the events of one afternoon change Henry's life forever?

It's a rainy, rainy day, and Baby Duck hates rain. Mrs. Duck says she's never heard of a duck not liking rain. But then Grampa Duck and Baby Duck come down from the attic with a little umbrella and rubber boots that belonged to . . . whom? . . . Mrs. Duck! Baby Duck grabs them up with glee and goes outside to play.

Retells the life of the legendary African American hero who raced against a steam drill to cut through a mountain. 1995 Honor book

When he was a young man, Allen Say's grandfather left his home in Japan to explore the world. He began his journey by crossing the Pacific Ocean on a steamship, then wandered the deserts, farmlands, and cities of North America. Allen Say lovingly tells the story of his own family's cross-cultural history in elegant watercolor paintings that earned him a Caldecott Medal in 1994.

Alexander narrates his original tale with folkloric verve and his own mellow brand of irony; Hyman realizes the African setting in...splendid illustrations.

"It's a pillar," says one. "It's a fan," says another. One by one, the seven blind mice investigate the strange Something by the pond. And one by one, they come back with a different theory. It's only when the seventh mouse goes out-and explores the whole Something-that the mice see the whole truth. 1993 Honor book

A pair of mandarin ducks, separated by a cruel lord who wishes to possess the drake for his colorful beauty, reward a compassionate couple who risk their lives to reunite the ducks.

"(Young's) command of page composition and his sensitive use of color give the book a visual force that matches the strength of the story and stands as one of the illustrator's best efforts." --Booklist "Absolutely splendid." -- Kirkus Reviews. "An extraordinary and powerful book." -- Publisher's Weekly The now-classic Chinese retelling of Little Red Riding Hood, and one of the most celebrated picture books of our time. 1990 Caldecott Medal book.

Take a journey through time with seven women who left their indelible imprints on the past. Their history is a story and more. They were farmers and artists and missionaries and storytellers. They fought many battles but never in any wars. They were devout and determined and tireless and beloved. They were brave beyond compare. 1998 Award book

Inside this volume are poems to make you laugh and poems to make you dream...and wonder ...and think. Some are exuberant and some are quirky and some are sad, but each and every one will leave you hungry for more. So open the book, dig in-and enjoy!

When you take an original, lasso-throwing, boot-stomping cowboy, pack all his belongings in the car and move him from the wide open spaces of the West to swamp country, you can expect run-ins with the local alligators, a snafu or two at home, and a western-style showdown with Big Head Ed, the school bully. A cowboy of uncommon bravery discovers that with the right ingredients, home can be anywhere. Full color.

During the Great Depression, a family seeking work finds employment for two weeks digging potatoes in Idaho.

Fanny Agnes is a farm girl with a big dream--to marry a prince. When the town mayor announces he is throwing a grand ball, Fanny is convinced her time has come.

Hoping for trees or a flower garden, Tiffany transplants and cares for some seedlings that she finds and is surprised by what they become.

This tall-tale competition between a Tennessee woods-woman extraordinaire and a hungry, fearsome bear. Thundering Tarnation has a bottomless appetite for settler's grub. When word goes out about a competition to hunt this four-legged forest of stubble, a young woman, second to none in buckskin bravery, signs up. "How about 1995 Honor book

Owen had a fuzzy yellow blanket. "Fuzzy goes where I go," said Owen. But Mrs. Tweezers disagreed. She thought Owen was too old for a blanket. Owen disagreed. No matter what Mrs. Tweezers came up with, Blanket Fairies or vinegar, Owen had the answer. But when school started, Owen's mother knew just what to do, and everyone -- Owen, Fuzzy, and even Mrs. Tweezers -- was happy. 1994 Honor book

With the help of Eskimos, Jan Welzl survives a perilous journey from central Europe to the Arctic regions in the late 1800s.

Raven, the Native American trickster, feels sorry for those who must live in darkness, and he decides to help. He flies over mountains, valleys, and lakes and discovers that light is being kept hidden inside the house of the Sky Chief. Using his cleverness, Raven finds a way to bring light to the world.

"Mad about dragons, the boy who narrates this picture book is pleased when his doting parents decide to take him to Indonesia, home of the Komodo dragon....[The boy] takes the road less traveled through the jungle, where he encounters the dragon of his dreams....

If you were a fuzzy caterpillar crawling through the tall, tall grass on a sunny afternoon, what would you see? To find out, just follow the tiny tour guide as he inches his way through the pages of this book. You'll see ants and bees and birds--hip-hopping bunnies too. You'll even hear the sounds some of them make. Crunch, munch, caterpillars lunch..Crack, snap, wings flap... Beginning as the sun is high in the sky and ending as fireflies blink and the moon rises above, this backyard tour is one no child will want to miss.

After the flood, Noah calls out of the ark a variety of little-known animals, many of which are now endangered.

Sophie is so shy, she goes to the supermarket when it's empty. She would give anything to learn how to dance, but she doesn't dare sign up for lessons. So, she borrows a how-to book from the Book-Mobile. Soon she has learned all the right steps. And then magically...a dance partner appears at her front door.

In this lively alphabet rhyme, the letters of the alphabet race up the cocunut tree. Will there be enough room? Oh, no - Chicka Chicka Boom! Boom! A told B, and B told C, I'll meet you at the top of the coconut tree. In this lively alphabet rhyme, all the letters of the alphabet race each other up the cocunut tree. Will there be enough room? Oh, no - Chicka Chicka Boom! Boom!

Have you ever gone on a bear hunt? Come along on this one with a brave young family -- four children (including the baby) and their father. They're not scared. With them you will cross a field of tall, wavy grass ("Swishy swashy!"), wade through a deep, cold river ("Splash splosh!"), struggle through swampy mud ("Squelch squerch!"), find your way through a big, dark forest ("Stumble trip!"), fight through a whirling snowstorm ("Hoooo woooo!"), and enter a narrow, gloomy cave. WHAT'S THAT?

After dark in a Mexican border town, a father holds open a hole in a wire fence as his wife and two small boys crawl through. So begins life in the United States for many people every day. And so begins this collection of twelve autobiographical stories by Santa Clara University professor Francisco Jiménez, who at the age of four illegally crossed the border with his family in 1947. "The Circuit," the story of young Panchito and his trumpet, is one of the most widely anthologized stories in Chicano literature. At long last, Jiménez offers more about the wise, sensitive little boy who has grown into a role model for subsequent generations of immigrants. These independent but intertwined stories follow the family through their circuit, from picking cotton and strawberries to topping carrots--and back agai--over a number of years. As it moves from one labor camp to the next, the little family of four grows into ten. Impermanence and poverty define their lives. But with faith, hope, and back-breaking work, the family endures. 1998 Honor book

Curious about death, three sixth-grade boys decide to spy on an old man waiting for him to die, but they end up becoming his friends.

Poppy the deer mouse urges her family to move next to a field of corn big enough to feed them all forever, but Mr. Ocax, a terrifying owl, has other ideas.

A collection of nine stories by the popular Canadian author, including The Night of the Pomegranate, Save the Moon for Kerdy Dickus, and The Hope Bakery.

Elana is thrilled to be living all the way up on the eighth floor of an apartment building in New York City. With her new life comes changes -- is her shiny scooter up to the cracks and potholes of city sidewalks? And will she be able to make new friends?

Ajeemah and his son Atu each struggle to escape slavery in Jamaica. Awards: ALSC Notable Children's Book; BL Editors' Choice; Boston Globe/Horn Book; SLJ Best Book; YALSA Best Book for Young Adults.

Since summer was six years old she lived with dear Aunt May and Uncle Ob. Now, six years later, Aunt May has died. Summer, who misses May with all her might, is afraid something will happen to Ob. Most days Ob seems like he doesn't want to go on. But then Ob feels May's spirit around him and he wants to contact her. Cletus Underwood, a strange boy from school, reads about someone who could help him do that. Summer wants to hear from May too. Ob and Summer don't know what to expect when they set off on their search for some sign from May. They only know they need something to ease their sorrow and give them strength to go on living--always knowing they will never stop missing may.

As the lone "young lady" on a transatlantic voyage in 1832, Charlotte learns that the captain is murderous and the crew rebellious.

A modern classic about a racially divided small town and a boy who runs. Jeffrey 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.

Frankie tags along when his older brother and cousin go out to steal bicycles from people in the "rich" part of town. On the spur of the moment, his cousin steals a pet rabbit from a stranger's backyard and gives it to Frankie. Frankie takes the rabbit home, and keeps it as his secret. Both the rabbit and the secret are dearer to him than anything he has ever possessed. On the other side of town, however, Addie and her neighbor Maynard aren't about to give up searching for Addie's beloved pet. One small incident sets off a larger chain of events in which the youngest citizens of two very different worlds collide.

Tiger Ann Parker wants nothing more than to get out of the rural town of Saitter, Louisiana--far away from her mentally disabled mother, her "slow" father who can't read an electric bill, and her classmates who taunt her. So when Aunt Dorie Kay asks Tiger to spend the summer with her in Baton Rouge, Tiger can't wait to go. But before she leaves, the sudden revelation of a dark family secret prompts Tiger to make a decision that will ultimately change her life. Set in the South in the late 1950s, this coming-of-age novel explores a twelve-year-old girl's struggle to accept her grandmother's death, her mentally deficient parents, and the changing world around her. It is a novel filled with beautiful language and unforgettable characters, and the importance of family and home.

This year, as in other years, Lily has planned a spectacular summer in Rockaway, in her family's cozy house on stilts over the Atlantic Ocean. But by the summer of 1944, World War II has changed almost everyone's life. Lily's best friend, Margaret, and her family have moved to a wartime factory town, and worse, much worse, Lily's father is on his way overseas to the war. There's no one else Lily's age in Rockaway until Albert comes, a refugee from Hungary, a boy with a secret sewn into his coat. Albert has lost most of his family in the war; he's been through things Lily can't imagine. But when they join together to rescue and care for a kitten, they begin a special friendship. For Lily and Albert have their own secrets to share: they both have told lies, and Lily has told a lie that may cost Albert his life. 1998 Honor book

A poem celebrating the people, sights, and sounds of Harlem. 1998 Honor book

The magical Moorfolk reject Saaski and secretly exchange her for a perfect human baby. Saaski grows up loved by her human parents but harassed by the other villagers. She escapes to the moors where she learns of her history and sets out to rescue the stolen human child. 1997 Honor book

Around 5:00 a.m. on a warm Sunday morning on October 1953, my Aunt Belle left her bed and vanished from the face of the earth. Everyone in Coal Station, Virginia, has a theory about what happened to Belle Prater, but twelve-year-old Gypsy wants the facts, and when her cousin Woodrow, Aunt Belle's son moves next door, she has her chance. Woodrow isn't as forthcoming as Gypsy hopes, yet he becomes more than just a curiosity to her-- during their sixth-grade year she finds that they have enough in common to be best friends. Even so, Gypsy is puzzled by Woodrow's calm acceptance of his mother's disappearance, especially since she herself has never gotten over her father's death. When Woodrow finally reveals that he's been keeping a secret about his mother, Gypsy begins to understand that there are different ways of finding the strength to face the truth, no matter how painful it is. 1997 Honor book

This is the engrossing story of four generations of women, going back to Great-Grandmother GrandMin.... 'Who did you say you were?" GrandMin asks Angela, and not for the first time. Angela answers patiently, but she cannot get used to the fact that GrandMin does not know her. Twelve-year-old Angela, her brother, Brian, and their parents are spending their vacation with Gram and GrandMin. Angela is lonely in her mother's hometown of Gatesville, once called Jericho. There are no young people her age in the town, and their visit has to be prolonged when Gram sprains her ankle.

"Slim" decides to live with her father & his lover, who is dying of AIDS. At a support group, she meets Isaiah, whose pregnant mother also has AIDS.

When his class of underachievers is assigned to spend three torturous weeks taking care of their own babies in the form of bags of flour, Simon makes amazing discoveries about himself while coming to terms with his long-absent father.

At first resentful of being sent to spend a summer with her grandmother on a Maine island, Elizabeth gradually adjusts and learns a great deal about herself.

Jonas's world is perfect. Everything is under control. There is no war or fear of pain. There are no choices. Every person is assigned a role in the community. When Jonas turns 12 he is singled out to receive special training from The Giver. The Giver alone holds the memories of the true pain and pleasure of life. Now, it is time for Jonas to receive the truth. There is no turning back.

In this thought-provoking examination of freedom, patriotism, and respect, ninth-grader Philip Malloy is kept from joining the track team by his failing grades in English class. Convinced that the teacher just doesn't like him, Philip concocts a plan to get transferred out of her class. Breaking the school's policy of silence during the national anthem, he hums along, and ends up in a crisis at the center of the nation's attention.

A teenage boy accompanies his father, who has recently escaped from prison, on a trip that turns out to be a time of often painful discovery for them both. 1993 Honor book

Fourteen short stories dealing with various aspects of love.

Poems describe the daily experiences of four girls growing up in a small town in Georgia in the early 1950s.

Zoe discovers that her house is occupied by the ghost of an eleven-year-old girl, who carries her back to the day of her death in 1870 to try to alter that tragic event.

"Leon's Story is a powerful, wonderful thing!" -- Nikki Giovanni I remember that as a young boy I used to look in the mirror and I would curse my color, my blackness. But in those days they didn't call you "black." They didnt say "minority." They called us "colored" or "nigger." Leon Tillage grew up the son of a sharecropper in a small town in North Carolina. Told in vignettes, this is his story about walking four miles to the school for black children, and watching a school bus full of white children go past. It's about his being forced to sit in the balcony at the movie theater, hiding all night when the Klansmen came riding, and worse. Much worse. But it is also the story of a strong family and the love that bound them together. And, finally, it's about working to change an oppressive existence by joining the civil rights movement.

The most spectacular photographs ever created on the subject of water appear in this unique science book by Walter Wick. The camera stops the action and magnifies it so that all the amazing states of water can be observed -- water as ice, rainbow, steam, frost, dew. Readers can examine a drop of water as it falls from a faucet, see a drop of water as it splashes on a hard surface, count the points of an actual snowflake, and contemplate how drops of water form clouds. Evaporation, condensation, capillary, attraction, and surface tension are explained through simple text and illustrated by pictures that reveal water in its many awesome transformations. The last pages of the book feature experiments that welcome the reader into the world of scientific investigation. In A Drop of Water, Walter Wick embraces two disciplines, art and science, and stimulates the reader as aesthetic and scientific observer.

Between 1854 and 1930, more than 200,000 orphaned or abandoned children were sent west on orphan trains to find new homes. Some were adopted by loving families; others were not as fortunate. In recent years, some of the riders have begun to share their stories. Andrea Warren alternates chapters about the history of the orphan trains with the story of Lee Nailling, who in 1926 rode an orphan train to Texas when he was nine years old.

The wife of one president and the mother of another, Abigail Adams was an extraordinary woman in her own right. She experienced the gathering storm of the Revolutionary War and saw the battle of Bunker Hill from a hilltop near her home. The letters written by Abigail Adams to her friends and family bring the Revolutionary period alive, mingling details of everyday life with the momentous events of her time. Abigail Adams is given her own place in history in this award-winning biography, which captures the personality of its subject and the time in which she lived.

The intriguing story of Eleanor Roosevelt traces the life of the former First Lady from her early childhood through the tumultuous years in the White House to her active role in the founding of the United Nations after World War II. 1994 Honor book.

Published to coincide with African-American History Month, here is the stirring, award-winning biography of Sojourner Truth--preacher, abolitionist, and activist for the rights of African-Americans and women. A rich profile.

Thirteen artists describe how they work & the media they use, with examples of their art work as children. Also use Volume One (1992).

Cynthia Rylant and Barry Moser present a gentle yet poignant picture, in words and images, of the people of Appalachia-their homes, food, dogs, surroundings, and views of the world.It is a personal and authentic perspective--one that shares the Appalachian spirit of family and connection to nature.

In the days before microphones and TV interviews, getting people to listen to you was not an easy task. But James Madison used his quiet eloquence, intelligence and passion for unified colonies to help shape the Constitution, steer America through the turmoil of two wars, and ensure that our government, and nation, remained intact.

Martha Graham, the American dancer, teacher, and choreographer, revolutionized the world of modern dance. She possessed a great gift for revealing emotion through dance, expressing beliefs and telling stories in an utterly new way.

"When every kid on the block wanted to become a policeman or fireman, I wanted to be an artist. It was the first thing that I was good at, the first thing that really made me special. I had skills the other kids didn't have. Art saved my life." These are the words of Chuck Close, one of America's most celebrated artists and the subject of this inspiring and thought-provoking book.

Lou Gehrig's perseverance is legendary. During fourteen years as a first baseman for the New York Yankees, he played in a record 2,130 consecutive games, earning himself the nickname Iron Horse. Lou loved baseball and considered himself a very lucky man, even though on his thirty-sixth birthday he was diagnosed with a rare and fatal disease.

A biography of the Italian Renaissance artist and inventor who, at about age 30, began writing his famous notebooks which contain the outpourings of his amazing mind.

The Parabola Storytime series is a collection of stories and myths by the leading storytellers of Native American tribes. Originally produced by "Parabola" magazine in audio format, many of these stories appear here in written form for the first time, with the permission of tribal elders, and are enhanced by artwork authentic to the tradition. These stories evoke the beauty, wisdom, and living spirit of surviving oral traditions. In these six Iroquois tales, animals showcase the best of human emotions and spirit.

The haystack was once a familiar sight on the prairie landscape. It was a model of the practical and responsible use of natural resources as well as a symbol of pastoral bounty and of the enduring farming tradition.

The definitive book about puberty and sexual health for today's kids and teens, now fully updated for its twentieth anniversary. For two decades, this universally acclaimed book on sexuality has been the most trusted and accessible resource for kids, parents, teachers, librarians, and anyone else who cares about the well-being of tweens and teens.

The Great Fire of 1871 was one of most colossal disasters in American history. Overnight, the flourshing city of Chicago was transformed into a smoldering wasteland. The damage was so profound that few people believed the city could ever rise again.

Forty short poems that show a keen observation of common phenomena in nature.

Part history, part biography, this is a fine study of Grant & his pivotal role in the Civil War.

It's no secret that Beethoven went deaf, that Mozart had constant money problems, and that Gilbert and Sullivan wrote musicals. But what were these people--and other famous musicians--really like? What did they eat? What did they wear? How did they spend their time? And--possibly most interesting of all--what did their neighbors think?

Lois Ehlert uses watercolor collage and pieces of actual seeds, fabric, wire, and roots in this innovative and rich introduction to the life of a tree. A special glossary explains how roots absorb nutrients, what photosynthesis is, how sap circulates, and other facts about trees.

Presents the handshape for each letter of the American manual alphabet accompanied by an object whose name begins with that letter.

This engaging narrative account of Orville and Wilbur Wright, two men with little formal schooling but a knack for solving problems, follows their interest from a young age in the developing field of aeronautics.

In this welcome reissue, celebrated author and illustrator Diane Stanley and her husband, Peter Vennema, paint an impressive portrait of the remarkable queen who loved her people so dearly and ruled them so well. Elizabeth's forceful personality, colorful court, and devoted subjects come vividly to life in this stellar picture-book biography.

Explains how insects grow, describing the various stages of incomplete and complete metamorphosis.

Photographs without text feature shadows and reflections of various objects, animals, and people.