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2008 ALA Awards
And The Winners Are...
John Newbery Medal
Randolph Caldecott Medal
Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal
Coretta Scott King Award
Schneider Family Book Award
Theodor Seuss Geisel Beginning Reader Award
Odyssey Award for Excellence in Audiobook Production
The American Library Association (ALA), the oldest and largest library association in the world, has announced its 2008 awards, honoring the best books published for children and young adults in 2007. And we have them for you right here!
Curious about the ALA and its awards? Here's a little background...
Since 1921, the American Library Association has awarded prizes to the best of the best children's books. Each year, one exceptional book receives the John Newbery Medal --- and runners up may be named Newbery Honor Books. Also, one awesomely illustrated book is awarded the Randolph Caldecott Medal, with other cool picture books named Caldecott Honor titles. And though the names and works of contenders are hotly debated each year, no one really knows who will win. Committee members are sworn to secrecy, until the announcement is made at the ALA Midwinter Meeting in January.
The Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal, established by the Association for Library Service to Children in 2001 with support from Bound to Stay Bound Books, Inc., is awarded annually to the author(s) and illustrator(s) of the most distinguished informational book published in English during the preceding year. The award is named in honor of Robert F. Sibert, the long-time President of Bound to Stay Bound Books, Inc. of Jacksonville, Illinois.
The Coretta Scott King Award is given to an African American author and an African American illustrator for an outstandingly inspirational and educational contribution. The books promote understanding and appreciation of the culture of all peoples and their contribution to the realization of the American dream. The Award is further designed to commemorate the life and works of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and to honor Mrs. Coretta Scott King for her courage and determination to continue the work for peace and world brotherhood.
The Schneider Family Book Awards honor an author or illustrator for a book that embodies an artistic expression of the disability experience for child and adolescent audiences. Three annual awards each consisting of $5,000 and a framed plaque will be given annually in each of the following categories: birth through grade school (age 0-8), middle school (age 9-13) and teens (age 14-18). (Age groupings are approximations). The book must emphasize the artistic expression of the disability experience for children and or adolescent audiences. The book must portray some aspect of living with a disability or that of a friend or family member, whether the disability is physical, mental or emotional.
The Theodor Seuss Geisel Award is given annually to the author(s) and illustrator(s) of the most distinguished American book for beginning readers published in English in the United States during the preceding year. The winner(s), recognized for their literary and artistic achievements that demonstrate creativity and imagination to engage children in reading, receives a bronze medal. Honor Book authors and illustrators receive certificates, which are presented at the ALA Annual Conference. The award was established in 2004 and first presented in 2006. It is named for the world-renowned children’s author, Theodor Geisel, a.k.a. Dr. Seuss.
The Odyssey Award for Excellence in Audiobook Production, ALA’s newest award, is given to the producer of the best audiobook produced for children and/or young adults, available in English in the United States. The selection committee may also select honor titles. The Odyssey Award is jointly given, administered by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) and the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), divisions of ALA, and is sponsored by Booklist magazine.
2008 Newbery Winner
GOOD MASTERS! SWEET LADIES! Voices from a Medieval Village
written by Laura Amy Schlitz
illustrated by Robert Byrd
Candlewick Press
ISBN: 9780763615789
Ages 10-up
96 pages
July 2007
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Maidens, monks and millers’ sons --- in these pages, readers will meet them all. There’s Hugo, the lord’s nephew, forced to prove his manhood by hunting a wild boar; sharp-tongued Nelly, who supports her family by selling live eels; and the peasant’s daughter, Mogg, who gets a clever lesson in how to save a cow from a greedy landlord. There’s also mud-slinging Barbary (and her noble victim); Jack, the compassionate half-wit; Alice, the singing shepherdess; and many more.
2008 Newbery Honors
ELIJAH OF BUXTON
Christopher Paul Curtis
Scholastic Press
ISBN: 9780439023443
Ages 9-up
288 pages
August 2007
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Eleven-year-old Elijah is the first child born into freedom in Buxton, Canada, a settlement of runaway slaves just over the border from Detroit. He’s best known in his hometown as the boy who made a memorable impression on Frederick Douglass. But things change when a former slave steals money from Elijah’s friend, who has been saving to buy his family out of captivity in the South. Elijah embarks on a dangerous journey to America in pursuit of the thief, and he discovers firsthand the unimaginable horrors of the life his parents fled --- a life from which he’ll always be free, if he can find the courage to get back home.
FEATHERS
Jacqueline Woodson
G. P. Putnam's Sons
ISBN: 9780399239892
Ages 8-up
208 pages
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"Hope is the thing with feathers" starts the poem Frannie is reading in school. Frannie hasn't thought much about hope. Each day, her friend Samantha seems a bit more "holy." There is a new boy in class everyone is calling the Jesus Boy. And although the new boy looks like a white kid, he says he's not white. Who is he?
During a winter full of surprises, good and bad, Frannie starts seeing a lot of things in a new light --- her brother's deafness, her mother's fear, the class bully's anger, her best friend's faith and her own desire for "the thing with feathers."
THE WEDNESDAY WARS
Gary D. Schmidt
Clarion Books
ISBN: 9780618724833
Ages 10-up
272 pages
May 2007
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Meet Holling Hoodhood, a seventh-grader at Camillo Junior High, who must spend Wednesday afternoons with his teacher, Mrs. Baker, while the rest of the class has religious instruction. Mrs. Baker doesn’t like Holling --- he’s sure of it. Why else would she make him read the plays of William Shakespeare outside class? But everyone has bigger things to worry about, like Vietnam. His father wants Holling and his sister to be on their best behavior: the success of his business depends on it. But how can Holling stay out of trouble when he has so much to contend with?
2008 Caldecott Winner
THE INVENTION OF HUGO CABRET
Brian Selznick
Scholastic Press
ISBN: 9780439813785
Ages 9-12
544 pages
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Author Talk
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Orphan, clock keeper and thief, 12-year-old Hugo lives in the walls of a busy Paris train station, where his survival depends on secrets and anonymity. But when his world suddenly interlocks with an eccentric, bookish girl and a bitter old man who runs a toy booth in the station, Hugo's undercover life, and his most precious secret, are put in jeopardy. A cryptic drawing, a treasured notebook, a stolen key, a mechanical man and a hidden message from Hugo's dead father form the backbone of this intricate, tender and spellbinding mystery.
2008 Caldecott Honors
FIRST THE EGG
written and illustrated by Laura Vaccaro Seeger
Roaring Brook Press
ISBN: 9781596432727
Ages 4-8
32 pages
September 2007
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This is a book about transformations... from egg to chicken, seed to flower, and caterpillar to butterfly. But it's also a book about creativity as paint becomes picture, word becomes story... and commonplace becomes extraordinary.
HENRY'S FREEDOM BOX
Ellen Levine
illustrated by Kadir Nelson
Scholastic Press
ISBN: 9780439777339
Ages 4-8
40 pages
January 2007
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Throughout his entire life, freedom has always been just beyond Henry's reach. As a child, he is torn away from his family and put to work in a warehouse. Much later on, when he has a family of his own, he is devastated once again when his wife and children are sold at a slave market. With nothing left to lose, Henry risks his life for the sake of freedom --- he packs himself into a wooden crate and mails himself North to "a place where there are no slaves!"
KNUFFLE BUNNY TOO: A Case of Mistaken Identity
written and illustrated by Mo Willems
Hyperion Books for Children
ISBN: 9781423102991
Ages 3-6
48 pages
September 2007
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Trixie can't wait to bring her one-of-a-kind Knuffle Bunny to school and show him off to everyone. But when she gets there, she sees something awful: Sonja has the same bunny. Suddenly, Knuffle Bunny doesn't seem so one-of-a-kind anymore. Chaos ensues until the bunnies are taken away by Ms. Greengrove. After school, Trixie finally gets her beloved bunny back. But in the middle of the night, Trixie realizes something. She has the wrong bunny!
THE WALL: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain
written and illustrated by Peter Sis
Farrar, Straus & Giroux
ISBN: 9780374347017
Ages 8-up
56 pages
August 2007
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Through annotated illustrations, journals, maps and dreamscapes, Peter Sís shows what life was like for a child who loved to draw, proudly wore the red scarf of a Young Pioneer, stood guard at the giant statue of Stalin and believed whatever he was told to believe. But adolescence brought questions. Cracks began to appear in the Iron Curtain, and news from the West slowly filtered into the country. Sís learned about beat poetry, rock ’n’ roll, blue jeans and Coca-Cola. He let his hair grow long, secretly read banned books and joined a rock band. Then came the Prague Spring of 1968, and for a teenager who wanted to see the world and meet the Beatles, this was a magical time. It was short-lived, however, brought to a sudden and brutal end by the Soviet-led invasion.
2008 Robert F. Sibert Winner
THE WALL: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain
written and illustrated by Peter Sis
Farrar, Straus & Giroux
ISBN: 9780374347017
Ages 8-up
56 pages
August 2007
Click here to buy from Amazon.com
Through annotated illustrations, journals, maps and dreamscapes, Peter Sís shows what life was like for a child who loved to draw, proudly wore the red scarf of a Young Pioneer, stood guard at the giant statue of Stalin and believed whatever he was told to believe. But adolescence brought questions. Cracks began to appear in the Iron Curtain, and news from the West slowly filtered into the country. Sís learned about beat poetry, rock ’n’ roll, blue jeans and Coca-Cola. He let his hair grow long, secretly read banned books and joined a rock band. Then came the Prague Spring of 1968, and for a teenager who wanted to see the world and meet the Beatles, this was a magical time. It was short-lived, however, brought to a sudden and brutal end by the Soviet-led invasion.
2008 Robert F. Sibert Honors
LIGHTSHIP
written and illustrated by Brian Floca
Richard Jackson Books/Simon & Schuster
ISBN: 9781416924364
Ages 4-7
48 pages
March 2007
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Once, lightships anchored on waters across America, on the oceans and in the Great Lakes, floating where lighthouses could not be built. Smaller than most ships, but more steadfast, too, they held their spots, through calm and storm, to guide sailors toward safe waters.
In these pages, one lightship and her crew (and cat) again hold their place. The crew goes again from bow to stern, from keel to mast, to run their engines, shine their lights, and sound their horns. They run the small ship that guides the large ships. They are the crew (and cat) that work to make the ocean safe, that hold their place, so other ships can sail. Come aboard!
NIC BISHOP SPIDERS
written and illustrated by Nic Bishop
Scholastic Press
ISBN: 9780439877565
Ages 4-8
48 pages
September 2007
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For the first to third grade set, spiders are fascinating and suitably gruesome, especially when looked at in EXTREME close-up. Amazing images show the beauty and otherworldliness of spiders. Simple, engaging text conveys basic information about spiders as well as cool and quirky facts. One stop-action montage shows a spider leaping 20 times its body length!
2008 Coretta Scott King Author Winner
ELIJAH OF BUXTON
Christopher Paul Curtis
Scholastic Press
ISBN: 9780439023443
Ages 9-up
288 pages
August 2007
Read a Review
Click here to buy from Amazon.com
Eleven-year-old Elijah is the first child born into freedom in Buxton, Canada, a settlement of runaway slaves just over the border from Detroit. He’s best known in his hometown as the boy who made a memorable impression on Frederick Douglass. But things change when a former slave steals money from Elijah’s friend, who has been saving to buy his family out of captivity in the South. Elijah embarks on a dangerous journey to America in pursuit of the thief, and he discovers firsthand the unimaginable horrors of the life his parents fled --- a life from which he’ll always be free, if he can find the courage to get back home.
2008 Coretta Scott King Author Honors
NOVEMBER BLUES
written by Sharon M. Draper
Atheneum/Simon & Schuster
ISBN: 9781416906988
Ages 12-up
320 pages
October 2007
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When November Nelson loses her boyfriend, Josh, to a pledge stunt gone horribly wrong, she thinks her life can't possibly get any worse. But Josh left something behind that will change November's life forever, and now she is faced with the biggest decision she could ever imagine. How in the world will she tell her mom? And how will Josh's parents take the news? She has never needed a friend more.
Jericho Prescott lost his best friend when he lost his cousin, Josh, and the pain is almost more than he can bear. His world becomes divided into "before" and "after" Josh's death. He finds the only way he can escape the emptiness he feels is to quit doing the things that made him happy when his cousin was alive, such as playing his beloved trumpet, and take up football, where he hopes the physical pain will suppress the emotional. But will hiding behind shoulder pads really help? And will his gridiron obsession prevent him from being there for his cousin's girlfriend when she needs him most?
TWELVE ROUNDS TO GLORY: The Story of Muhammad Ali
written by Charles R. Smith Jr.
illustrated by Bryan Collier
Candlewick Press
ISBN: 9780763616922
Ages 10-up
80 pages
November 2007
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From the moment a fired-up teenager from Kentucky won 1960 Olympic gold to the day in 1996 when a retired legend, hands shaking from Parkinson’s, returned to raise the Olympic torch, the boxer known as "The Greatest" waged many a fight. Some were in the ring, against opponents like Sonny Liston and Joe Frazier; others were against societal prejudice and against a war he refused to support because of his Islamic faith. Charles R. Smith Jr.’s rap-inspired verse weaves and bobs and jabs with relentless energy, while Bryan Collier’s bold collage artwork matches every move --- capturing the "Louisville loudmouth with the great gift of rhyme" who shed the name Cassius Clay to take on the world as Muhammad Ali.
2008 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Winner
LET IT SHINE
Three Favorite Spirituals
written and illustrated by Ashley Bryan
Atheneum/Simon & Schuster
ISBN: 9780689847325
Ages 4-8
48 pages
January 2007
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With a kaleidoscope of color and cut paper, Hans Christian Anderson Award nominee and two-time Coretta Scott King Award winner Ashley Bryan celebrates three favorite spirituals: "This Little Light of Mine," "Oh, When the Saints Go Marching In" and "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands." The power of these beloved songs simply emanates through his joyous interpretations.
2008 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honors
JAZZ ON A SATURDAY NIGHT
written and illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon
The Blue Sky Press/Scholastic
ISBN: 9780590478939
Ages 4-8
40 pages
September 2007
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If you have ever been lucky enough to hear great jazz, then you will understand the pure magic of this book. Leo and Diane Dillon use bright colors and musical patterns that make music skip off the page in this toe-tapping homage to many jazz greats. From Miles Davis and Charlie Parker to Ella Fitzgerald, here is a dream team sure to knock your socks off. Learn about this popular music form and read a biography of each player pictured --- and then hear each instrument play on a specially produced CD.
THE SECRET OLIVIA TOLD ME
written by N. Joy
illustrated by Nancy Devard
Just Us Books
ISBN: 9781933491080
Ages 4-8
32 pages
September 2007
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Olivia has a secret --- a BIG secret. It’s a secret that she tells only to Jade, her very best friend. And Jade promises she won’t say a word. But the secret is really big and really juicy. What happens when Jade slips and the secret gets out?
2008 Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Author Talent Award
BRENDAN BUCKLEY’S UNIVERSE AND EVERYTHING IN IT
written by Sundee T. Frazier
Delacorte Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 9780385734394
Ages 9-12
208 pages
October 2007
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Ten-year-old Tae Kwon Do blue belt and budding rock hound Brendan Buckley keeps a "Confidential" notebook for his top-secret scientific discoveries. And he's found something totally top secret. The grandpa he's never met, who his mom refuses to talk about or see, is an expert mineral collector and lives nearby! Secretly, Brendan visits Ed DeBose, whose skin is pink, not brown like Brendan's, his dad's, or that of Grampa Clem's, who recently died. Brendan sets out to find the reason behind Ed's absence, but what he discovers can't be explained by science, and now he wishes he'd never found him at all.
2008 Schneider Family Picture Book Winner
KAMI AND THE YAKS
written by Andrea Stenn Stryer
illustrated by Bert Dodson
Bay Otter Press
ISBN: 9780977896110
Ages 5-8
48 pages
April 2007
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Just before the start of a new trek, a Sherpa family discovers that their yaks are missing. Young Kami, anxious to help his brother and father maintain their livelihood, sets off by himself to find the wandering herd. A spunky deaf child who is unable to speak, Kami attempts to summon the yaks with his shrill whistle. Failing to rout them, he hustles up the steep mountainside to search the yaks' favorite grazing spots. On the way he encounters the rumblings of a fierce storm that quickly becomes more threatening.
2008 Schneider Family Middle School Award Winner
REACHING FOR SUN
Tracie Vaughn Zimmer
Bloomsbury USA Children’s Books
ISBN: 9781599900377
Ages 10-14
144 pages
March 2007
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Josie Wyatt knows what it means to be different. Her family’s small farmhouse seems to shrink each time another mansion grows up behind it. She lives with her career-obsessed mom and opinionated Gran, but has never known her father. Then there’s her cerebral palsy: even if Josie wants to forget that she was born with a disability, her mom can’t seem to let it go. Yet when a strange new boy --- Jordan --- moves into one of the houses nearby, he seems oblivious to all the things that make Josie different.
2008 Schneider Family Teen Award Winner
HURT GO HAPPY
Ginny Rorby
Starscape
ISBN: 9780765353047
Ages 10-up
272 pages
July 2007
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Thirteen-year-old Joey Willis is used to being left out of conversations. Though she’s been deaf since the age of six, Joey’s mother has never allowed her to learn sign language. She strains to read the lips of those around her, but often fails.
Everything changes when Joey meets Dr. Charles Mansell and his baby chimpanzee, Sukari. Her new friends use sign language to communicate, and Joey secretly begins to learn to sign. Spending time with Charlie and Sukari, Joey has never been happier. She even starts making friends at school for the first time. But as Joey’s world blooms with possibilities, Charlie’s and Sukari’s choices begin to narrow --- until Sukari’s very survival is in doubt.
2008 Theodor Seuss Geisel Winner
THERE IS A BIRD ON YOUR HEAD!
written and illustrated by Mo Willems
Hyperion Books for Children
ISBN: 9781423106869
Ages 4-8
64 pages
July 2007
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In THERE IS A BIRD ON YOUR HEAD!, Gerald discovers that there is something worse than a bird on your head --- two birds on your head! Can Piggie help her best friend?
2008 Theodor Seuss Geisel Honors
FIRST THE EGG
written and illustrated by Laura Vaccaro Seeger
Roaring Brook Press
ISBN: 9781596432727
Ages 4-8
32 pages
September 2007
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This is a book about transformations... from egg to chicken, seed to flower, and caterpillar to butterfly. But it's also a book about creativity as paint becomes picture, word becomes story... and commonplace becomes extraordinary.
HELLO, BUMBLEBEE BAT
written by Darrin Lunde
illustrated by Patricia J. Wynne
Charlesbridge Publishing
ISBN: 9781570913747
Ages 3-6
32 pages
July 2007
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My name is Bumblebee Bat.
I may be small,
but I'm a great flyer.
I live in a secret cave with my brothers and sisters.
Want to know more? Then open this book and fly with Bumblebee Bat into the night.
A series of questions and answers introduce children to the life and habitat of the exotic and endangered Bumblebee Bat. Scientifically accurate illustrations make these exotic animals accessible to young readers.
JAZZ BABY
written by Lisa Wheeler
illustrated by R. Gregory Christie
Harcourt Children’s Books
ISBN: 9780152025229
Ages 3-7
40 pages
November 2007
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With a simple clap of hands, an itty-bitty beboppin' baby gets his whole family singing and dancing. Sister's hands snap. Granny sings scat. Uncle soft-shoes --- and Baby keeps the groove. Things start to wind down when Mama and Daddy sing blues so sweet. Now a perfectly drowsy baby sleeps deep, deep, deep.
VULTURE VIEW
written by April Pulley Sayre
illustrated by Steve Jenkins
Henry Holt and Company
ISBN: 9780805075571
Ages 4-8
32 pages
October 2007
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Turkey vultures soar on the balmy air, looking for their next stinky feast. These birds don’t hunt --- they like their food to be already dead, and their eating habits serve a very important ecological role. Vultures are part of nature’s clean-up crew.
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2008 Odyssey Award for Excellence in Audiobook Production Winner
JAZZ
written by Walter Dean Myers
illustrated by Christopher Myers
read by James "D Train" Williams and Vaneese Thomas
Live Oak Media
ISBN: 9781430100225
Ages 5-10
December 2007
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From the award-winning father and son team who delivered BLUES JOURNEY, this new presentation of poetry and paintings explores the history and development of jazz music. Fifteen original poems reflect the spirit and rhythm of jazz through the ages, from ragtime to swing to be-bop and fusion, and gorgeous artwork offers a glowing visual interpretation in this tribute to a truly American art form. Original music was composed for each poem and performed by a live jazz ensemble, while two outstanding jazz vocalists alternate with narration and song.
2008 Odyssey Award for Excellence in Audiobook Production Honors
BLOODY JACK: Being an Account of the Curious Adventures of Mary "Jacky" Faber, Ship's Boy
written by L. A. Meyer
read by Katherine Kellgren
Listen & Live Audio
ISBN: 9781593160944
Ages 12-up
April 2007
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Life as a ship's boy aboard HMS Dolphin is a dream come true for Jacky Faber. Gone are the days of scavenging for food and fighting for survival on the streets of 18th-century London. Instead, Jacky is becoming a skilled and respected sailor as the crew pursues pirates on the high seas.
There's only one problem: Jacky is a girl. And she will have to use every bit of her spirit, wit, and courage to keep the crew from discovering her secret. This could be the adventure of her life --- if only she doesn't get caught.
DOOBY DOOBY MOO
written by Doreen Cronin
illustrated by Betsy Lewin
read by Randy Travis
Scholastic/Weston Woods
ISBN: 9780545042819
Ages 3-7
When Duck finds out about a talent show at the county fair, he and the animals on the farm start rehearsing. While Farmer Brown tries to figure out what the animals are up to, Duck is determined they will enter the contest and win!
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS
written by J.K. Rowling
read by Jim Dale
Listening Library
ISBN: 9780739360385
Ages 9-up
July 2007
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Internal and external struggle, and, eventually, peaceful resolution are the key ingredients in the heady potion that is HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS. Loyal readers get one final, long, complex draught from J.K. Rowling’s decade-old concoction in the concluding book of the series.
SKULDUGGERY PLEASANT
written by Derek Landy
read by Rupert Degas
HarperChildrenAudio
ISBN: 9780061341045
Ages 10-up
April 2007
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Meet Skulduggery Pleasant, a skeleton. Sure, he may lose his head every once in a while (in fact, he won his current skull in a poker match), but he's much more than he appears to be. Skulduggery avoided the grave so he could save the world from an ancient evil. In order to defeat it, he will need the help of a new partner: a not-so-innocent 12-year-old girl named Stephanie.
TREASURE ISLAND
written by Robert Louis Stevenson
read by Alfred Molina
Listening Library
ISBN: 9780739350461
All ages
May 2007
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Robert Louis Stevenson’s cherished, unforgettable adventure magically captures the thrill of a sea voyage and a treasure hunt through the eyes of its teenage protagonist, Jim Hawkins. Crossing the Atlantic in search of the buried cache, Jim and the ship’s crew must brave the elements and a mutinous charge led by the quintessentially ruthless pirate Long John Silver. Brilliantly conceived and splendidly executed, it is a novel that has seized the imagination of generations of adults and children alike.
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