Louisiana Young Readers

1
Louisiana Young Readers Choice Award

• Grades 3 - 5

2
Aliens from EarthWhen Animals and Plants Invade
Other Ecosystems
This book offers a fascinating look at what can
happen when a foreign (alien) plant or animal
enters an ecosystem where it doesn't belong.

• ByMary Batten

3
Alligator Sue
Sue, who lives on a houseboat deep in Louisianas
Atchafalaya Swamp, is swept away by a hurricane
and is adopted by a mama alligator in this funny,
wise tale.

• BySharon Arms Doucet

4
Almost To Freedom
This book tells the compelling story of a young
girls dramatic escape from slavery via the
Underground Railroad, from the perspective of her
beloved rag doll.

• ByVaunda Micheaux Nelson

5
Attack of the Mutant Underwear
Fifth-grader Cody Carson keeps a journal of his
hopes for a fresh start in a town where nobody
knows about his humiliating mistakes of the past,
but before school even begins, so does his
embarrassment.

• ByTom Birdseye

6
Duel of the IroncladsThe Monitor vs. the Virgina
An interesting description of the construction,
battles and historical impact of the Civil War
battleships, the Monitor and the Virginia,
focusing on the Battle of Hampton Roads.

• By
• Patrick OBrien

7
Granny Torrelli Makes Soup
Twelve-year-old Rosie, just had a fight with her
best friend Bailey a boy shes known all of her
life. Rosie and Bailey have always had their ups
and downs (many stemming from Baileys
blindness), but it seems that lately things are
growing so much more complicated.

• BySharon Creech

8
Locomotion
Fifth-grader Lonnie Collins Motion, an
African-American boy whose parents were killed in
a fire five years ago, is given an assignment by
his teacher to write different forms of poetry.
The 60 poems reveal his innermost thoughts about
his family, his friends and his place in the
world.

• By
• Jacqueline Woodson

9
The Man Who Went to the Far Side of the MoonThe
Story of Apollo 11 Astronaut Michael Collins
This is the biography of astronaut, Michael
Collins, who circled the moon in the Apollo 11
space capsule while his colleagues Neil Armstrong
and Buzz Aldrin landed the lunar module and
walked on the moon.

• By
• Bea Uusma Schyffert

10
Moons Cloud Blanket
In this retelling of a Native American tale, the
Moon weaves a blanket of clouds around a mother
and her children who are freezing in a cypress
tree, having sought shelter from a flood.

• ByRose Anne St. Romain

11
Niagara Falls, or Does It?
Fourth-graders Hank, Ashley and Frankie are
excitedly preparing for a magic show at the Rock
N Bowl when Hanks creative alternative to an
English essay lands him in detention and grounded
the week of the show.

• By Henry Winkler

12
River BoyThe Story of Mark Twain
In this picture biography noted historian William
Anderson tells the colorful story of Sams life
as he grows from a mischievous boy into the
enterprising author Mark Twain.

• By
• William Anderson

13
Rodzina
A grieving, but resourceful twelve-year-old
Polish American girl is boarded onto an orphan
train in Chicago with fears about traveling to
the West and a life of unpaid slavery.

• By
• Karen Cushman

14
Sacagawea
This biography of the Shoshone girl, Sacagawea,
is beautifully illustrated and tells of her life
from age eleven when she was kidnapped by the
Hitdatsa to the end of her journey with Lewis and
Clark, plus speculation about her later life.

• By
• Lise Erdrich

15
Snowed In With Grandmother Silk
Ruddy is disappointed when his parents go on a
cruise and he must stay with his fussy
grandmother for a whole week. An unexpected
snowstorm reveals a surprising side of
Grandmother Silk.

• By
• Carol Fenner

16
Up the Learning Tree
A young slave boy risks his life to learn how to
read and, with the unsuspecting help of a teacher
from the North, begins to realize his dream in
this inspiring picture book.

• By
• Marcia Vaughan