Young Readers' Choice

1
2006-2007 Young Readers' Choice Award
Selections 3rd-4th Grades
2
After losing his job, Michael's father surprises
the family by purchasing a yacht in which they
will sail around the world. In the first weeks at
sea, Michael, his parents, and his dog, Stella,
zigzag from England to Australia and across the
Coral Sea. In the middle of the night, he and
Stella are swept overboard in a fierce storm, and
he later awakens on an island beach. The island
has a hostile jungle that challenges his ability
to survive. Yet when he finds fresh water and
food mysteriously laid out for him each morning,
he realizes that he is not alone. He soon comes
face-to-face with Kensuke, an old Japanese
soldier. For nearly a year, the man and boy help
each other, but will Michael live forever on the
island with Kensuke?
Kensuke's Kingdom by Michael Morpurgo
3
Set in 1853, this book consists of letters
written by 11-year-old Levi Ives to his older
brother Austin. Remaining with his guardian,
Miss Amelia, Levi cant wait to join Austin on
the family claim in Oregon. In his letters to
Austin, Levi describes his adventures in the
Pennsylvania countryside with his friend,
Jupiter, the son of a former slave. When
Jupiter's sister, Darcy, is captured by slave
traders, the two boys undertake a dangerous
journey south to try to free her. While hiding in
the woods, they meet Harriet Tubman, and Levi
realizes that Miss Amelia and some of his
neighbors are part of the Underground Railroad.
Rich in adventure, mystery, and suspense, this
book depicts Levi's struggle to understand the
prejudicial attitudes of others. A great
historical fiction read!
Dear Austin by Elvira Woodruff
4
One day, a boy named Milo is walking through the
library when a book called, Be a Perfect Person
in Just Three Days! falls on his head, as if the
book wanted him to read it. It wasn't what he
was looking for but it still caught his
attention, so he took it home. The book is by
Dr. K. Pinkerton Silverfish and in it, Dr.
Silverfish tells him to do so many different
things, from wearing a stalk of broccoli around
his neck for 24 hours to just turning the page.
Also, Milo is told by Dr. Silverfish to only read
one chapter a day. Does Milo end up being
perfect? Read this book to find out!
Be a Perfect Person in Just Three Days! by
Stephen Manes
5
Jamie is special, full of surprises, and
unpredictable. He can get into trouble, and then
quickly get out of it. He courts danger, and
always escapes. And he has an answer for every
impossible question. But when something sudden
and terrible happens to Jamie, his best friend
has to face the tragedy alone. Now there are
questions that not even Jamie could have
answered. How could Jamie be alive one minute,
and the next, gone forever? How can some
things, like flowers or playing games in the sun
or the taste of the blackberries Jamie loved,
go on without him - and still be so full of joy
and pleasure? See how Jamies best friend, the
narrator, deals with his loss and learns to how
to continue to live life without his best friend.
A Taste of Blackberries by Doris Buchanan Smith
6
This book has twenty-three poems that are mostly
silly, and some are even gross. "Booger Love,"
for example, gleefully lists the possible uses
for a...well, you know. In other poems, a girl
finds herself holding a baby brother with a
suddenly stinky diaper, aliens play Spaceball,
and tooth fairy is a no-show. These are
hilarious poems that all kids can relate to.
Plus, the poems are hilariously illustrated by
Tedd Arnold who is famous for the Parts and
Fly Guy books. A great poetry book!
Giant Children by Brod Bagert
7
In 1925, due to an outbreak of diphtheria, there
was an urgent need for antitoxin serum in Nome,
Alaska. But the closest location of the serum
was in Anchorage 1,000 miles away. The only means
of getting it to Nome in time was by sled dog
team. Extreme temperatures and frightening
weather climates contributed to the near loss of
the serum in the lengthy trip, as well as the
loss of several dogs. Will the courage and
strength of Leonhard Seppala and other mushers
and Togo, Balto, and other courageous sled dogs,
be enough to deliver the serum in time to help
the community?
The Great Serum Race by Debbie S. Miller
8
How do children live around the world? This
beautiful masterpiece shows you how children are
leading their lives in different and fascinating
ways. It not only shows what life is like for
about 18 children from different parts of the
world, but it gives invaluable information about
what children need to survive and what people are
doing to ensure that all children get these needs
fulfilled. The book is divided into four main
chapters Survival, Development, Protection, and
Participation. Read this book to see what its
like to be a child from different parts of the
world.
A Life Like Mine by Unicef
9
Lucy Rose is trying to adjust to all the changes
in her life. Her parents have separated, and
she and her mother have moved to Washington, DC,
to be closer to Lucy's maternal grandparents.
The third grader misses her dad and her old
friends, and she is struggling to fit in at her
new school. She must also deal with Adam Melon,
a boy in her class who teases her. Lucy wants a
pet to replace the dog she left with her father,
so she repeatedly asks her teacher to let her
care for the class guinea pig. As you probably
guessed, something goes wrong while she cares of
the guinea pig. Lucy's story, which is told in
diary format, is one shared by many children who
are adjusting to life in broken families. Lucy
meets her challenges with humor and honesty. A
laugh out-loud book!
Lucy Rose,Here's the Thing About Me by Katy
Kelly
10
It's another outing for the companions of
Bunnicula, the vampire rabbit. Harold, Chester,
and Howie, beloved pets of the Monroe family, are
taken along on an overnight camping trip. The
crew meets a couple of men, Bud and Spud, and
their dog, Dawg, who seem to have sinister
intentions. Dawg leads Harold, Chester, and
Howie on a nightlong romp in the woods, during
which the resourceful cat, Chester, tells the
most interesting tale the story behind the
birth of Bunnicula. Can Dawg be trusted? Will
the animals survive the night alone and be
reunited with the Monroe family? Read this book
to find out!
Nighty-Nightmare by James Howe
11
Four children, Jane, Mark, Katharine, and
Martha, are looking forward to a dull summer
until they discover a magical coin that has the
ability to grant wishes. After a number of
experiments and misadventures, they learn that
the coin grants only half of every wish. For
instance, Martha, the youngest child, wishes
for her cat to talk, but since the charm only
performs half wishes, the cat speaks partly
gibberish.  During the course of the book, they
learn about the magic - thwarting it and being
thwarted by it - and about themselves, and
discover exactly what they've always needed.
This is a great adventure book!
Half Magic by Edward Eager
12
2006-2007 Young Readers' Choice Award
Selections 5th-6th Grades
13
Corinna, 14, knows that she is unusual-her
silver hair grows two inches a night her skin is
translucent and she has an amazing way with the
Folk, dangerous beings who live beneath the
ground. Corinna disguises herself as a boy,
renames herself Corin, and works as a Folk
Keeper for the Rhysbridge Foundling home, until a
great Lord and Lady arrive looking for her. The
girl doesn't understand why she has been invited
to live in a great Manor House. Life at the
Manor brings complications a budding friendship
with the young heir and an attempt on her life by
a greedy relative. Eventually, she learns that
she is much more unusual than she had thought-
she is half-Sealfolk, and so must belong always
to the sea. Written in diary form, this tale
takes place in a mythical England of an earlier
time, when humans and magical beings lived side
by side, but not always amicably.
14
The one-room schoolhouse that 14 year-old Ida and
seven other children attend is to be closed
early. If Ida and her friend Tom don't finish
eighth grade and take their exams, they'll lose
their chance to attend high school. Without a
diploma, Ida will never fulfill her dream of
becoming a teacher and seeing the world beyond
the mountains. After Tom suggests that she
could conduct the classes, the secret school
commences and is subsequently threatened by a
county administrator, the local school board, and
an angry parent. Will the students finish the
school year? Find out when you read this book.
The Secret School by Avi
15
Every kid thinks about running away at one point
or another few get farther than the end of the
block. Young Sam Gribley leaves his NYC
apartment, gets to the end of the block and
keeps going--all the way to the Catskill
Mountains of upstate New York. With only a
penknife, a ball of cord, an axe, some flint and
steel, and 40, he uses his smarts and the
resources from the land to survive. There he
sets up house in a huge hollowed-out tree, with a
falcon and a weasel for companions and his wits
as his tool for survival. In a spellbinding,
touching, funny account, Sam learns to live off
the land, and grows up a little in the process.
Blizzards, hunters, loneliness, and fear all
battle to drive Sam back to city life. But his
desire for freedom, independence, and adventure
is stronger.
My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George
16
Eleven year-olds Petra and Calder may be in Ms.
Hussys sixth grade class, but they barely know
each other. Its only after a near collision
during a field trip to the Art Museum, that they
discover their shared worship of art. Their
friendship is strengthened when a creative thief
steals a valuable Vermeer painting en route to
Chicago, their home town. When the thief leaves
a trail of public clues via the newspaper, they
decide to try and recover the painting
themselves. But tracking down the Vermeer isnt
easy, as Calder and Petra try to figure out what
a set of pentominos, a mysterious book about
unexplainable phenomena, and a suddenly very
nervous Ms. Hussey have to do with a centuries
old artwork. When the thief ups the ante by
declaring that he or she may very well destroy
the painting, the two friends know they have to
make the pieces of the puzzle fit before its too
late!
Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett
17
Doc Altenheimer, an 87-year-old apple rancher,
seems to be ready to sell his 320 acres that make
up a good part of Dillontown and its baseball
field. He surprises young Tom and the rest of
the town by proposing that the decision to sell
should ride on a baseball game between the locals
and the well-equipped summer-camp team down the
road. There is the villainous mayor who wants new
roads and expensive houses built. A mysterious
boy, Cruz de la Cruz, arrives on horseback
claiming to know the secret of hitting and brings
hope and spirit back to the residents. Cruz and
Tom seek out an old baseball legend, Dante Del
Gato, to convince him to be their coach. Will
Toms team win the game to save Dillontown? Read
this exciting tale!
The Boy Who Saved Baseball by John H. Ritter
18
This book is for those of you who love
stomach-flipping facts, most of which are
connected to the human body. Whether describing
the mites that live on dead skin, in the nose,
and around eyelashes or maggots that clean out
pus, this book is sure to keep readers turning
pages to discover more. Cartoon characters
named Scientist A and Scientist B give additional
facts. The text reveals tidbits about dandruff
(complete with a shiny black "Dandruff Landing
Pad"), ear wax, tooth scum, and digestive
difficulties that are unsuited for polite
conversation. Szpirglas proves that gross facts
are cool, and the book may just convince kids
who think science is boring to take another look.
Gross Universe by Jeff Szpirglas
19
In modern-day India, a boy named Anand
perseveres in difficult circumstances. His
father is gone, his sister has had a breakdown,
and he and his mother struggle to keep a shack's
roof over their heads. Anand is kind to an old
man, Abhaydatta, a healer who is charged with
bringing home an irreplaceable conch shell,
stolen from his brotherhood. What follows is a
classic quest story in which Anand and feisty,
orphaned Nisha eventually continue the quest for
the shell on their own. Faced with various
challenges, Anand makes choices that change his
life. Fantasy lovers will really enjoy this
adventure!
The Conch Bearer by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
20
When his ship wrecks, Jack, a nineteenth-century
cabin boy, finds himself stranded on a remote
island near New Zealand. Once inhabited by
farmers, the island now has only sheep and sheep
dogs, left behind after the people abandoned
their homes. When Jack arrives, the dogs have
split into two groups one that loyally cares for
the sheep and another, called wild fangos, who
attack them. The story is told in two voices-
Jack's and Moxies, a young dog. As Jack
negotiates the two canine groups and learns to
survive in his new world, he achieves a bond so
deep that he can communicate with the dogs.
The Boy Who Spoke Dog by Clay Morgan
21
This is a memoir of the Esmés life when she was
in 5th grade. Each chapter is a different event
in her life. Esmé tells us about the night she
and her mother became "egg vigilantes" against a
car illegally parked next to a fire hydrant,
which she does feel guilty about her
freewheeling first school, where kids sat on
sofas instead of at desks and could choose disco
dancing instead of math the Passover dinner
when she stole a matzoh right out from under a
rabbi the life-threatening Chicago snowstorms
and lessons about love from tea-reading gypsies
and Popeye cartoons. This is a memoir of what
it is like growing up that will make you laugh
out loud.
Sing a Song of Tuna Fish by Esme Raji Codell
22
Ty Cutter loves baseball, but he is just not cut
out to play the game. He is awkward and nervous
and totally unlike his sister, Daisy, who excels
at anything she tries. Worse yet, he has been
forced to play every inning during the Pee Wee
League season while the more talented players
warm the bench because his father, "the
Professor," coaches the team. This novel starts
at the top of the first inning and takes you to
the ending of a humiliating playoff game. Ty
tells his story in between the play-by-play and
talks with the only teammate who will speak to
himDaisy. Runs are scored, runners are called
out, balls are caught while the siblings banter
and discuss their father's bullying behavior and
their views on life. Many sad, heart-warming,
and funny parts.
Out Standing in My Field by Patrick Jennings
23
2006-2007 Young Readers' Choice Award
Selections 7th-8th Grades
24
YRCA 7/8
The Teacher's Funeral by Richard Peck
25
YRCA 7/8
Inkheart by Cornelia Funke
26
YRCA 7/8
Shakespeare Bats Cleanup by Ron Koertge
27
YRCA 7/8
Montmorency- Thief, Liar, Gentleman? by Eleanor
Updale
28
YRCA 7/8
We Beat the Street by The Three Doctors
29
YRCA 7/8
A Boy No More by Harry Mazer
30
YRCA 7/8
Acceleration by Graham McNamee
31
YRCA 7/8
The Tiger's Apprentice by Laurence Yep
32
YRCA 7/8
Guys Write for Guys Read edited by Jon Scieszka
33
YRCA 7/8
The Slave Dancer by Paula Fox