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2009 ALA Youth Media Awards
And The Winners Are...
• John Newbery Medal
• Randolph Caldecott Medal
• Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal
• Coretta Scott King Award
• Laura Ingalls Wilder Award
• Schneider Family Book Award
• Theodor Seuss Geisel Beginning Reader Award
• Odyssey Award for Excellence in Audiobook Production
Each year the American Library Association (ALA) honors books and media for children and teens. Recognized worldwide for the high quality they represent, ALA awards --- including the Newbery, Caldecott, Sibert and Coretta Scott King Book Awards --- guide parents, educators, librarians and others in selecting the best materials for youth. Selected by committees composed of librarians and other literature and media experts, the awards encourage original and creative work in the field of children’s and young adult literature and media.
The John Newbery Medal honors the author of the year's most outstanding contribution to children's literature. Presented every year since 1922, the Medal is named for 18th-century British bookseller John Newbery. Henrik Van Loon won the first Newbery Medal in 1922 for THE STORY OF MANKIND. Receiving the Newbery Medal virtually guarantees that the winning book will remain in print and on library and bookstore shelves for years to come.
The Randolph Caldecott Medal honors the illustrator of the year's most distinguished American picture book for children. Presented every year since 1938, the medal is named for Randolph Caldecott, a 19th-century English illustrator known for the action, vitality and humor of his picture books. Receiving the Caldecott Medal virtually guarantees that the winning book will remain in print and on library and bookstore shelves for years to come.
The Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal was awarded for the first time in 2001 to Marc Aronson for SIR WALTER RALEIGH AND THE QUEST FOR EL DORADO. It is given to honor the authors, illustrators and/or photographers of the most distinguished informational book published for children in the preceding year. Informational books are defined as those written and illustrated to present, organize and interpret documentable factual material. 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 Laura Ingalls Wilder Award, established in 1954, honors an author or illustrator whose books are published in the U.S. and have, over a period of years, made a substantial and lasting contribution to literature for children. The award is named in honor of Laura Ingalls Wilder, author of the popular Little House series of books, which later became the basis for a television series. Wilder's first book, LITTLE HOUSE IN THE BIG WOODS (1932), was published when she was 65, and she received the first award in 1954.
The Schneider Family Book Award is donated by Dr. Katherine Schneider, and honors an author or illustrator for a book that embodies an artistic expression of the disability experience for child and adolescent audiences. Three annual awards are presented for the best Teen, Middle School and Children’s Book.
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 is presented to the producer of the best audiobook produced for youth available in English in the United States. The first Odyssey Award for Excellence in Audiobook Production was given in January 2008. Honor titles may also be selected. The award is jointly 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.
2009 Newbery Winner
 THE GRAVEYARD BOOK
Neil Gaiman
HarperCollins Children’s Books
ISBN: 9780060530921
Ages 10-up
320 pages
September 2008
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Bod is an unusual boy who inhabits an unusual place --- he's the only living resident of a graveyard. Raised from infancy by the ghosts, werewolves and other cemetery denizens, Bod has learned the antiquated customs of his guardians' time as well as their timely ghostly teachings --- like the ability to Fade. Can a boy raised by ghosts face the wonders and terrors of the worlds of both the living and the dead? And then there are things like ghouls that aren't really one thing or the other.
2009 Newbery Honors
 AFTER TUPAC & D FOSTER
Jacqueline Woodson
Putnam Juvenile
ISBN: 9780399246548
Ages 10-up
160 pages
January 2008 • Click here to buy from Amazon.com
The day D Foster enters Neeka and her best friend’s lives, the world opens up for them. D comes from a world vastly different from their safe Queens neighborhood, and through her, the girls see another side of life that includes loss, foster families and an amount of freedom that makes the girls envious. Although all of them are crazy about Tupac Shakur’s rap music, D is the one who truly understands the place where he’s coming from, and through knowing D, Tupac’s lyrics become more personal for all of them.
The girls are 13 when D’s mom swoops in to reclaim D --- and as magically as she appeared, she now disappears from their lives. Tupac is gone, too, after a fatal shooting. As the narrator looks back, she sees lives suspended in time and realizes that even all-too-brief connections can touch deeply.
 SAVVY
Ingrid Law
Dial Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 9780803733060
Ages 9-11
352 pages
May 2008
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For generations, the Beaumont family has harbored a magical secret. They each possess a “savvy” --- a special supernatural power that strikes when they turn 13. Grandpa Bomba moves mountains, her older brothers create hurricanes and spark electricity…and now it’s the eve of Mibs’s big day.
As if waiting wasn’t hard enough, the family gets scary news two days before Mibs’s birthday: Poppa has been in a terrible accident. Mibs develops the singular mission to get to the hospital and prove that her new power can save her dad. So she sneaks onto a salesman’s bus…only to find the bus heading in the opposite direction. Suddenly Mibs finds herself on an unforgettable odyssey that will force her to make sense of growing up --- and of other people, who might also have a few secrets hidden just beneath the skin.
 THE SURRENDER TREE: Poems of Cuba’s Struggle for Freedom
Margarita Engle
Henry Holt Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 9780805086744
Ages 12-up
176 pages
April 2008
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It is 1896. Cuba has fought three wars for independence and still is not tree. People have been rounded up in reconcentration camps with too little food and too much illness. Rosa is a nurse, but she dares not go to the camps. So she turns hidden caves into hospitals for those who know how to find her.
Black, white, Cuban, Spanish --- Rosa does her best for everyone. Yet who can heal a country so torn apart by war? Acclaimed poet Margarita Engle has created another breathtaking portrait of Cuba.
 THE UNDERNEATH
written by Kathi Appelt
illustrated by David Small
Atheneum/Simon & Schuster
ISBN: 9781416950585
Ages 8-12
320 pages
May 2008
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A calico cat, about to have kittens, hears the lonely howl of a chained-up hound dog deep in the backwaters of the bayou. She dares to find him in the forest, and the hound dares to befriend this creature he is supposed to hate. They are an unlikely pair, about to become an unlikely family. Ranger urges the cat to hide underneath the porch, to raise her kittens there because Gar-Face, the man living inside the house, will surely use them as alligator bait should he find them. But they are safe in the Underneath...as long as they stay in the Underneath. Kittens, however, are notoriously curious creatures. And one kitten's one moment of curiosity sets off a chain of events that is astonishing, remarkable and enormous in its meaning.
2009 Caldecott Winner
 THE HOUSE IN THE NIGHT
written by Susan Marie Swanson
illustrated by Beth Krommes
Houghton Mifflin Books for Children
ISBN: 9780618862443
Ages 3-6
40 pages
May 2008
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A spare, patterned text and glowing pictures explore the origins of light that make a house a home in this bedtime book for young children. Naming nighttime things that are both comforting and intriguing to preschoolers --- a key, a bed, the moon --- this timeless book illuminates a reassuring order to the universe.
2009 Caldecott Honors
 A COUPLE OF BOYS HAVE THE BEST WEEK EVER
written and illustrated by Marla Frazee
Harcourt Children's Books
ISBN: 9780152060206
Ages 6-9
40 pages
March 2008
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When James and Eamon go to a week of Nature Camp and stay at Eamon's grandparents' house, it turns out that their free time spent staying inside, eating waffles and playing video games is way more interesting than nature. But sometimes things work out best when they don't go exactly as planned.
In this moving and hilarious celebration of young boys, childhood friendships, and the power of the imagination, Marla Frazee captures the very essence of summer vacation and what it means to be a kid.
 HOW I LEARNED GEOGRAPHY
written and illustrated by Uri Shulevitz
Farrar Straus Giroux
ISBN: 9780374334994
Ages 4-8
32 pages
April 2008
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Having fled from war in their troubled homeland, a boy and his family are living in poverty in a strange country. Food is scarce, so when the boy’s father brings home a map instead of bread for supper, at first the boy is furious. But when the map is hung on the wall, it floods their cheerless room with color. As the boy studies its every detail, he is transported to exotic places without ever leaving the room, and he eventually comes to realize that the map feeds him in a way that bread never could.
 A RIVER OF WORDS: The Story of William Carlos Williams
written by Jen Bryant
illustrated by Melissa Sweet
Eerdmans Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 9780802853028
Ages 7-up
34 pages
July 2008
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Willie loved to write --- words gave him freedom and peace. But he also knew that he needed to earn a living, so when he grew up he went off to medical school and became a doctor --- one of the busiest men in town! Yet he never stopped writing.
In this picture book biography of William Carlos Williams, Jen Bryant's engaging prose and Melissa Sweet's stunning mixed-media illustrations celebrate the amazing man who found a way to earn a living and to honor his calling to be a poet.
2009 Robert F. Sibert Winner
 WE ARE THE SHIP: The Story of Negro League Baseball
written and illustrated by Kadir Nelson
Jump at the Sun/Hyperion Books for Children
ISBN: 9780786808328
Ages 8-up
96 pages
January 2008
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The story of Negro League baseball is the story of gifted athletes and determined owners; of racial discrimination and international sportsmanship; of fortunes won and lost; of triumphs and defeats on and off the field. It is about hundreds of unsung heroes who overcame segregation, hatred, terrible conditions and low pay to do the one thing they loved more than anything else in the world: play ball.
Using an “Everyman” player as his narrator, Kadir Nelson tells the story of Negro League baseball from its beginnings in the 1920s through its decline after Jackie Robinson crossed over to the majors in 1947.
2009 Robert F. Sibert Honors
 BODIES FROM THE ICE: Melting Glaciers and the Rediscovery of the Past
James M. Deem
Houghton Mifflin Books for Children
ISBN: 9780618800452
Ages 9-12
64 pages
October 2008
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In 1991, mountain climbers on the Niederjoch Glacier on the Italian-Austrian border came across something unexpected: a body. It had been a very warm summer, and five bodies had already turned up in the area. But something here was different. The materials found with the body suggested it might be very old, perhaps from the 1800s. But radiocarbon dating proved the iceman was 5,300 years older, from the Copper Age. He was named Ötzi and he is the oldest human mummy preserved in ice ever found.
James M. Deem takes us on a captivating and creepy journey to learn about glaciers, hulking masses of moving ice that are now offering up many secrets of the past.
 WHAT TO DO ABOUT ALICE?: How Alice Roosevelt Broke the Rules, Charmed the World, and Drove Her Father Teddy Crazy!
written by Barbara Kerley
illustrated by Edwin Fotheringham
Scholastic Press
ISBN: 9780439922319
Ages 5-7
48 pages
March 2008
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Theodore Roosevelt had a small problem. Her name was Alice. Alice Lee Roosevelt was hungry to go places, meet people, do things! Father called it running riot. Alice called it eating up the world. Whether she was entertaining important White House visitors with her pet snake or traveling the globe, Alice bucked convention and turned every new experience into an adventure!
Brimming with affection and wit, this spirited biography gives readers a peek at family life inside the White House. Prose and pictures spring, gambol and two-step across the pages to celebrate a maverick American heroine.
2009 Coretta Scott King Author Winner
WE ARE THE SHIP: The Story of Negro League Baseball
written and illustrated by Kadir Nelson
Jump at the Sun/Hyperion Books for Children
ISBN: 9780786808328
Ages 8-up
96 pages
January 2008
• Click here to buy from Amazon.com
The story of Negro League baseball is the story of gifted athletes and determined owners; of racial discrimination and international sportsmanship; of fortunes won and lost; of triumphs and defeats on and off the field. It is about hundreds of unsung heroes who overcame segregation, hatred, terrible conditions and low pay to do the one thing they loved more than anything else in the world: play ball.
Using an “Everyman” player as his narrator, Kadir Nelson tells the story of Negro League baseball from its beginnings in the 1920s through its decline after Jackie Robinson crossed over to the majors in 1947.
2009 Coretta Scott King Author Honors
 BECOMING BILLIE HOLIDAY
written by Carole Boston Weatherford
illustrated by Floyd Cooper
Wordsong
ISBN: 9781590785072
Ages 12-up
117 pages
October 2008
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Before the legend of Billie Holliday, there was a girl named Eleanora. The world, however, would know her as Billie Holliday, possibly one of the greatest jazz singers of all time. Eleanora's journey into legend took her through pain, poverty and run-ins with the law. By the time she was 15, she knew she possessed something that could change her life --- a voice. Eleanora could sing! Her remarkable voice led her to a place in the spotlight with some of the era's hottest big bands. Billie Holliday sang as if she lived each lyric and in many ways she had.
Through a sequence of raw and poignant poems, award-winning poet Carole Boston Weatherford chronicles Eleanora Fagan's metamorphosis into Billie Holliday and the dream she pursued with passion.
 THE BLACKER THE BERRY
written by Joyce Carol Thomas
illustrated by Floyd Cooper
Amistad/HarperCollins
ISBN: 9780060253752
Ages 4-8
32 pages
July 2008
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Black is dazzling and distinctive, like toasted wheat berry bread; snowberries in the fall; rich, red cranberries; and the bronzed last leaves of summer. In this lyrical and luminous collection, Coretta Scott King honorees Joyce Carol Thomas and Floyd Cooper celebrate these many shades of black beautifully.
 KEEPING THE NIGHT WATCH
written by Hope Anita Smith
illustrated by E.B. Lewis
Henry Holt Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 9780805072020
Ages 8-13
80 pages
March 2008
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So many unanswered questions weigh down 13-year-old C.J. as he struggles to understand why his father walked out. His father is back now, though C.J. is not as quick to forgive as the other members of his family. He still feels the weight of responsibility that fell on his shoulders when Daddy was gone, and he’s not prepared to give that up. But C.J.’s anger is making him a stranger in his own home, and instead of life seeming better now that Daddy has returned, it feels worse. Through powerful poems, Hope Anita Smith chronicles the nuanced emotions of a family that is slowly learning to heal and put the pieces back together.
2009 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Winner
THE BLACKER THE BERRY
written by Joyce Carol Thomas
illustrated by Floyd Cooper
Amistad/HarperCollins
ISBN: 9780060253752
Ages 4-8
32 pages
July 2008
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Black is dazzling and distinctive, like toasted wheat berry bread; snowberries in the fall; rich, red cranberries; and the bronzed last leaves of summer. In this lyrical and luminous collection, Coretta Scott King honorees Joyce Carol Thomas and Floyd Cooper celebrate these many shades of black beautifully.
2009 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honors
 BEFORE JOHN WAS A JAZZ GIANT: A Song of John Coltrane
written by Carole Boston Weatherford
illustrated by Sean Qualls
Henry Holt Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 9780805079944
Ages 5-9
32 pages
April 2008
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Young John Coltrane was all ears. And there was a lot to hear growing up in the South in the 1930s: preachers praying, music on the radio, the bustling of the household. These vivid noises shaped John’s own sound as a musician. Carole Boston Weatherford and Sean Qualls have composed an amazingly rich hymn to the childhood of jazz legend John Coltrane.
 THE MOON OVER STAR
written by Dianna Hutts Aston
illustrated by Jerry Pinkney
Dila Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 9780803731073
Ages 6-8
32 pages
October 2008
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In July 1969, the world witnessed an awe-inspiring historical achievement when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to set foot on the moon. For the young protagonist of this lyrical and hopeful picture book, that landing is something that inspires her to make one giant step toward all of the possibilities that life has to offer.
WE ARE THE SHIP: The Story of Negro League Baseball
written and illustrated by Kadir Nelson
Jump at the Sun/Hyperion Books for Children
ISBN: 9780786808328
Ages 8-up
96 pages
January 2008
• Click here to buy from Amazon.com
The story of Negro League baseball is the story of gifted athletes and determined owners; of racial discrimination and international sportsmanship; of fortunes won and lost; of triumphs and defeats on and off the field. It is about hundreds of unsung heroes who overcame segregation, hatred, terrible conditions and low pay to do the one thing they loved more than anything else in the world: play ball.
Using an “Everyman” player as his narrator, Kadir Nelson tells the story of Negro League baseball from its beginnings in the 1920s through its decline after Jackie Robinson crossed over to the majors in 1947.
2009 Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Author Award
Shadra Strickland, illustrator of BIRD
 BIRD
written by Zetta Elliott
Lee & Low Books
ISBN: 9781600602412
Ages 8-12
48 pages
October 2008
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Young Mekhai, better known as Bird, loves to draw. With drawings, he can erase the things that don't turn out right. In real life, problems aren't so easily fixed. As Bird struggles to understand the death of his beloved grandfather and his older brother's drug addiction, he escapes into his art. Drawing is an outlet for Bird's emotions and imagination, and provides a path to making sense of his world. In time, with the help of his grandfather's friend, Bird finds his own special somethin' and wings to fly.
2009 Laura Ingalls Wilder Award Winner
Ashley Bryan is the winner of the 2009 Laura Ingalls Wilder Award honoring an author or illustrator, published in the United States, whose books have made a substantial and lasting contribution to literature for children.
Born in 1923 in New York City, Bryan has been painting since childhood. His education, interrupted by Army service in World War II, includes a degree from Columbia University. A painter, reteller, illustrator of children’s books and Professor Emeritus at Dartmouth College, he lives and works on Little Cranberry Island in Maine. His award-winning works include WALK TOGETHER CHILDREN, an ALA Notable Book in 1974, and BEAUTIFUL BLACKBIRD, Coretta Scott King Book Award Winner in 2004. In addition, Bryan has received one other Coretta Scott King Book Award, plus six honors.
Dynamic use of line marks Bryan’s varied art forms, which include chalk sketches, full-color paintings, stylized drawings and cut-paper collages. Grounded in the stories, poetry and songs of the common man --- past and present --- Bryan’s work celebrates the individual life, rejoices in cultural specificity and embraces a shared humanity
BEAUTIFUL BLACKBIRD showcases the unique characteristics of Ashley Bryan’s works. His rhythmic cadence retells a Zambian tale about how African birds attained their distinctive markings. Bold, colorful cut-paper collages, striking geometric designs and energetic visual movement capture the spirit of a community enriched by the individuality of its members.
2009 Schneider Family Picture Book Winner
 PIANO STARTS HERE: The Young Art Tatum
written and illustrated by Robert Andrew Parker
Schwartz & Wade
ISBN: 9780375839658
Ages 4-8
40 pages
January 2008
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Regardless of whether they’ve heard of jazz or Art Tatum, young readers will appreciate how Robert Andrew Parker uses simple, lyrical storytelling and colorful and energetic ink-and-wash illustrations to show the world as young Art Tatum might have seen it. Tatum came from modest beginnings and was nearly blind, but his passion for the piano and his acute memory for any sound that he heard drove him to become a virtuoso who was revered by both classical and jazz pianists alike.
2009 Schneider Family Middle School Award Winner
 WAITING FOR NORMAL
Leslie Connor
HarperCollins Children’s Books
ISBN: 9780060890889
Ages 10-up
304 pages
February 2008
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Twelve-year-old Addie's mother is a complete mess, even disappearing for days on end. Addie adores her stepfather, but then her mom divorces him, too. Despite all of the hardships she suffers, Addie always tries to keep hope in her heart. Someday life will get better. Won't it?
2009 Schneider Family Teen Award Winner
 JERK, CALIFORNIA
Jonathan Friesen
Puffin/Penguin Young Readers Group
ISBN: 9780142412039
Ages 12-up
352 pages
September 2008
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Twitch, Jerk, Freak. Sam Carrier has been called them all. Because of his Tourette’s syndrome, Sam is in near constant motion with tics and twitches and verbal outbursts. So, of course, high school is nothing but torment. Forget friends; forget even hoping that beautiful, perfect Naomi will look his way. And home isn’t much better with his domineering stepfather reminding him that the only person who was more useless than Sam was his dead father, Jack. But then an unexpected turn of events unearths the truth about his father. And suddenly Sam doesn’t know who he is, or even where he’ll go next.
2009 Theodor Seuss Geisel Winner
 ARE YOU READY TO PLAY OUTSIDE?: An Elephant and Piggie Book
Mo Willems
Disney-Hyperion
ISBN: 9781423113478
Ages 4-8
64 pages
October 2008
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Winning unanimous rave reviews, Mo Willems's Elephant and Piggie series continues to charm readers. Featuring two lovable and funny characters, an optimistic (and sometimes reckless) pig and a cautious, pessimistic elephant, these books make reading irresistible to the beginning readers. Children who sat on their parents' laps to have Pigeon read to them will eagerly take the plunge with these books to start reading on their own.
In ARE YOU READY TO PLAY OUTSIDE?, Piggie can't wait to go play in the sunshine. But will a rainy day ruin all the fun?
2009 Theodor Seuss Geisel Honors
 CHICKEN SAID, “CLUCK!”
written by Judyann Ackerman Grant
illustrated by Sue Truesdell
HarperCollins Children’s Books
ISBN: 9780060287238
Ages 3-5
32 pages
October 2008
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Earl and Pearl are planting pumpkins. Chicken wants to help. But it seems like the only thing Chicken is good at is getting in the way. Then grasshoppers invade the pumpkin patch, and Earl and Pearl can do nothing to stop them. Suddenly it's up to Chicken to save the day!
 ONE BOY
written and illustrated by Laura Vaccaro Seeger
Roaring Brook Press
ISBN: 9781596432741
Ages 2-6
48 pages
September 2008
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At the start of ONE BOY, readers see a sad boy surrounded by empty, lonely chairs. At his feet is a bag with paint brushes peeking out. The text reads “ONE boy” which --- with a turn of the page and a look through a cleverly cut hole --- turns into “all alONE.” Page after page, the book becomes populated with seals, apes and monkeys, all examples of words-within-words. Finally, we come back to “ONE boy” who is “all dONE,” and we discover where all the characters came from.
 STINKY
written and illustrated by Eleanor Davis
The Little Lit Library/Raw Junior, LLC
ISBN: 9780979923845
Ages 4-8
40 pages
August 2008
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Stinky is a monster who loves pickles and possums --- but is terrified of people! When a new kid enters his swamp, this adorable little monster comes up with all sorts of crazy plans to scare him away. But Stinky quickly learns to conquer his fear, as he realizes that bats, rats and toads aren't the only friends you can find in the swamp. This hilarious and heart-warming story by ferociously talented newcomer Eleanor Davis proves that even monsters can make new friends... warts and all!
 WOLFSNAIL: A Backyard Predator
written by Sarah C. Campbell
photographs by Sarah C. Campbell and Richard P. Campbell
Boyds Mills Press
ISBN: 9781590785546
Ages 4-9
32 pages
May 2008
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This true tale of horror begins in the leaf litter beside a quaint porch in Jackson, Mississippi. The wolfsnail is on the prowl. Big, strong and fast (for a snail), the wolfsnail has a taste for meat. In some areas, it is called the cannibal snail. It has earned the name. Soon, the predator finds the slime trail of a smaller snail and follows the path toward its prey. When the chase ends and the dramatic feast is done, nothing remains of the smaller snail but an empty shell. This photographic story of a day in the life of a wolfsnail offers a unique and dramatic introduction to the food chain. Young readers will be fascinated by this little-known predator and the impact it has had on habitats where it does not belong.
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2009 Odyssey Award for Excellence in Audiobook Production Winner
 THE ABSOLUTELY TRUE DIARY OF A PART-TIME INDIAN
written and narrated by Sherman Alexie
Recorded Books
ISBN: 9780316013680
Ages 12-up
January 2008
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In his first book for young adults, bestselling author Sherman Alexie tells the story of Junior, an aspiring cartoonist growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation. Determined to take his future into his own hands, Junior leaves his troubled school on the reservation to attend an all-white farm town high school where the only other Indian is the school mascot.
2009 Odyssey Award for Excellence in Audiobook Production Honors
 CURSE OF THE BLUE TATTOO: Being an Account of the Misadventures of Jacky Faber, Midshipman and Fine Lady
written by L.A. Meyer
narrated by Katherine Kellgren
Listen & Live Audio
ISBN: 9781593161347
Ages 12-up
April 2008
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After being forced to leave HMS Dolphin and Jaimy, her true love, Jacky Faber is making a new start at the elite Lawson Peabody School for Young Girls in Boston. But growing up on the streets of London and fighting pirates never prepared Jacky for her toughest battle yet: learning how to be a fine lady.
Everything she does is wrong. Her embroidery is deplorable, her French is atrocious, and her table manners --- disgusting! Then there's the small matter of her blue anchor tattoo…
Despite her best efforts, Jacky can't seem to stay out of trouble long enough to dedicate herself to being ladylike. But what fun would that be, anyway?
 ELIJAH OF BUXTON
written by Christopher Paul Curtis
narrated by Mirron Willis
Listening Library
ISBN: 9780739367193
Ages 9-up
March 2008
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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.
 I’M DIRTY!
written by Kate and Jim McMullan
narrated by Steve Buscemi
Weston Woods Studios
ISBN: 9780545094498
Ages 4-7
January 2008
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Clank! Rattle! Bang!
Who's making all that noise?
"Backhoe Loader, reporting for duty."
Cleaning up a mess? Easy as pie.
Make that a mud pie.
RRRRRM! RRRRRM!
Who wants to be clean when it's so much fun being dirty?
Clunk!
I just LOVE my job!
 MARTINA THE BEAUTIFUL COCKROACH: A Cuban Folktale
written and narrated by Carmen Agra Deedy
Peachtree Publishers
ISBN: 9781561454679
Ages 4-8
September 2008
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Martina the beautiful cockroach doesn’t know coffee beans about love and marriage. That’s where her Cuban family comes in. While some of the Cucarachas offer her gifts to make her more attractive, only Abuela, her grandmother, gives her something really useful: un consejo increíble, some shocking advice.
At first, Martina is skeptical of her Abuela’s unorthodox suggestion, but when suitor after suitor fails the Coffee Test, she wonders if a little green cockroach can ever find true love. Soon, only the gardener Pérez, a tiny brown mouse, is left. But what will happen when Martina offers him café cubano?
 NATION
written by Terry Pratchett
narrated by Stephen Briggs
Harper Children’s Audio
ISBN: 9780061658211
Ages 12-up
September 2008
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Mau is the only one left after a giant wave sweeps his island village away. But when much is taken, something is returned, and somewhere in the jungle, Daphne --- a girl from the other side of the globe --- is the sole survivor of a ship destroyed by the same wave. Together the two confront the aftermath of catastrophe. Drawn by the smoke of Mau and Daphne's sheltering fire, other refugees slowly arrive: children without parents, mothers without babies, husbands without wives --- all of them hungry and all of them frightened. As Mau and Daphne struggle to keep the small band safe and fed, they defy ancestral spirits, challenge death himself and uncover a long-hidden secret that literally turns the world upside down.
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