Children S Sequoyah Annotated Masterlist, 2012-2013

Children’s Sequoyah Annotated Masterlist, 2012-2013

Angleberger, Tom. The Strange Case of Origami Yoda. New York: Amulet, 2010. 160 p. Gr. 3—6.

Tommy and his friends try to decide whether or not a paper finger puppet of Yoda, worn and voiced by their loser classmate Dwight, can really predict the future and give reliable advice. If Tommy follows Yoda’s guidance at the 6th grade dance, will he dance with the cutest girl in school or make a fool of himself?

Behrens, Andy. The Fast and the Furriest. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2010. 256 p. Gr. 4—7.

Twelve-year-old Kevin Pugh and his beagle Cromwell live the couch-potato life although his former-pro-athlete father disapproves. A dog-agility competition on television and Cromwell’s talent for the sportinspire Kevin to form Team Cromwell and compete; but is it enough to satisfy his father?

Draper, Sharon D. Out of My Mind. New York: Atheneum, 2010. 304 p. Gr. 4—6.

Most people think ten-year-old Melody is mentally handicapped because cerebral palsy makes her unable to speak or control her body, but her mind is incredibly gifted. They are astonished when a new adaptive computer lets her show her knowledge, but she must still face a world that is often cruel and always difficult.

George, Jean Craighead. The Buffalo are Back.New York: Dutton Children’s Books,
2010. 32p. Gr. 2—5.

The story of the buffalo is intertwined with the story of the prairie. Learn how both were nearly lost and how people like President Theodore Roosevelt helped to bring them back.

Jenkins, Steve and Robin Page. How to Clean a Hippopotamus: A Look at Unusual Animal Partnerships. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2010. 32 p. Gr. 2—6.

Concise text and Jenkins’paper collage illustrations create a symbiosis of their own as they show how various animal pairs live and work together to their mutual benefit. Both familiar and lesser known examples are included as well as supplementary material on the creatures’ size, habitant and habits.

Mone, Gregory. Fish. New York: Scholastic Press, 2010. 256 p. Gr. 3—7.

Twelve-year-old “Fish” Reidy is waylaid while delivering a package for his uncle and soon finds himself onthe Scurvy Mistress amidst a crew of crusty, ill-tempered pirates. Fish works to earn the Captain’s trust and must use cleverness, courage and his incredible swimming ability to survive the pirate life and thwart a deadly mutiny.

Nelson, S. D. Black Elk’s Vision: A Lakota Story. New York: Abrams Books, 2010. 47p.Gr. 3—6.

The clash of white and Lakota cultures is clearly depicted in this first-person account of the Battles of Little Big Horn and Wounded Knee through the eyes and visions of Black Elk, a Lakota wachisha wakan –medicine man,as well as his later travels to New York City and Europe with Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show.

O’Connor, Barbara. The Fantastic Secret of Owen Jester. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2010. 168 p. Gr. 4—7.

Young Owen discovers a two-man submarine that has fallen off a passing train, and he and his friends plan to launch it in the pond near Owen’s rural Georgia home to search for Tooley Graham, his enormous, recently liberated pet frog. But their plans may fall apart after Owen’s annoying neighbor Viola discovers their secret.

Polacco, Patricia. The Junkyard Wonders. New York: Philomel, 2010. 48 p. Gr. 2—5.

Young Trisha looks forward to her new school, where she thinks she will no longer be in a special class and is dismayed to find she is in Room 206, the “junkyard.” But her wise teacher instills pride and unity in all her “Junkyard Wonders” by showing them that a junkyard is a place of infinite possibilities just waiting to be developed.

Ramsey, Calvin. Ruth and the Green Book.Minneapolis, MN: Carolrhoda Books, 2010. 32p. Gr. 2—5.

Ruth, an African-American child, relates her family’s car trip from Chicago to visit relatives in Alabama, the racism they encounter and the help they receive from other African-Americans and the Green Book.

Resau, Laura. Star in the Forest. New York: Delacorte, 2010. 149 p. Gr. 4—8.

Eleven-year-old Zitlally takes refuge in an old junkyard near her Colorado trailer park after herillegal immigrant father is deported to Mexico. In this metal “forest” she makes a needed friend and discovers and cares for a neglected dog,believingit to be her father’s “spirit dog” that she must keep safe so her father will return.

Singer, Marilyn. Mirror Mirror: A Book of Reversible Verse. Illustrated by Josée Masse. New York: Dutton, 2010. 32 p. Gr. 3—6.

Singer’s original poetic form she callsreversos retell 14 classic folk tales from two viewpoints which are reflected in the split illustrations. Each poem is paired with an inverted version of the same lines in reverse order, changing the perspective and literally turning the tale on its head.

Spinelli, Eileen. The Dancing Pancake. New York: Random House, 2010. 256 p. Gr.
3—7.

Sixth-grader Bindi’s once normal life is spun out of control when her parents separate, forcing her to move to a new apartment, find new friends and help her mother with a new business venture, The Dancing Pancake. The staff and customers of the café help Bindi adjust to life’s changes, both good and bad, in this novel in verse.

Vanderpool, Clare. Moon over Manifest. New York: Delacorte Books for Young Readers, 2010. 368 p. Gr. 4—8.

Twelve-year-old Abilene Tucker, the daughter of a vagabond, is sent to stay with her father’s old friend in Manifest, Kansas, where her dad grew up.While her father works on the railroad in 1936, she learns more about him, his past, and the mysteries of Manifest.

Wells, Rosemary. On the Blue Comet. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press, 2010. 329p. Gr. 4—7.

During the Great Depression 11-year-old Oscar Ogilvie and his father lose their house and beloved train sets. Oscar must live with stern Aunt Carmen when his father goes west to find work, and his loneliness leads him on a great adventure through time and space aboard the Blue Comet.

Not Quite Sequoyah, 2012-2013

Crum, Shutta. Thomas and the Dragon Queen. Illustrated by Lee Wildish. New York: Knopf, 2010. 272 p. Gr. 3—5.

A dragon has captured the princess, but all the knights are away at war; so Thomas, the smallest of squires, is promoted to knight and charged with saving the princess from a horrible fate. As twelve-year-old Thomas undertakes the quest he must overcome trials, monsters, and — most of all — the dragon of self-doubt.

D'Agnese, Joseph. Blockhead: the Life of Fibonacci. Illustrated by John O'Brien. New York: Henry Holt, 2010. 40p. Gr. 2—5.

Leonardo Fibonacci is now considered one of the greatest Western mathematicians, but as a child he daydreamed about numbers so much that people called him "Blockhead." This first-person account of his life points out there's nothing stupid about following your passion.

Greenberg, Jan and Sandra Jordan. Ballet for Martha: Making Appalachian Spring. Illustrated by Brian Floca. New York: Flash Point, 2010. 48 p. Gr. 2—6.

The successful collaboration of choreographer Martha Graham, composer Aaron Copland and set designer Isamu Noguchi is presented in first person narrative and watercolor illustrations that capture the spirit of the ballet as well as the creation process and the value of teamwork.

Gutman, Dan. Roberto and Me. Baseball Card Adventures series. New York: HarperCollins, 2010. 192 p. Gr. 4—7.

Stosh is time traveling again, using a 1969 Roberto Clemente card in hopes of saving the Pirates star from the 1972 plane crash that took his life. Along the way he visits Woodstock, warns Clemente, and learns that sometimes you may change history, and sometimes history changes you.

Halls, Kelly Milner, and Sumner, William. Saving the Baghdad Zoo: A True Story of Hope and Heroes. New York: HarperCollins, 2010. 64 p. Gr. 4—7.

As war rages in Baghdad in 2003, U.S. Army Captain William Sumner undertakes a dangerous mission to rescue the abandoned animals of the Baghdad Zoo and palace grounds. Sumner works for years with an international team of zoologists, veterinarians, conservationists, and others to rehabilitate the neglected lions, tigers, and other exotic animals.

Holm, Jennifer L. Turtle in Paradise. New York: Random House, 2010. 191 p. Gr. 4—6.

During the Great Depression eleven-year-old Turtle is sent to live with relatives in Key West after her mother is hired to keep house for a lady who dislikes children. Florida is like paradise to Turtle, who finds herself emerging from the cocoon she has woven around her.

McElligott, Matthew and Larry David Tuxbury. Benjamin Franklinstein Lives! New York: Putnam, 2010. 128 p. Gr. 4—7.

Benjamin Franklin never died; but was preserved in a suspended animation chamber hidden in the Philadelphia building where, 200 years later, young Victor Godwin lives and has prepared a sure-fire science fair-winning project. But what’s a budding scientist to do when Ben is reanimated by a lightning strike and accidentally ruins Victor’s project?

Paulsen, Gary. Woods Runner.New York: Wendy Lamb, 2010. 164p. Gr. 5—8.

Samuel, 13, returns from hunting to find his Pennsylvania settlement has been ravaged by British soldiers and Native Americans. When he discovers his parents are being held prisoner in New York City, Samuel determines to find and free them.

San Souci, Robert D. Haunted Houses (Are You Scared Yet?). New York: Henry Holt, 2010. 276 p. Gr. 4—6.

San Souci weaves ten chilling, multi-cultural tales around a diverse group of haunted houses, including a doghouse, a doll house, an old Japanese tea house, a long-deserted mansion, and a hunting lodge in the woods.

Schwabach, Karen. Storm before Atlanta. New York: Random House, 2010. 320 p. Gr. 5—8.

Jeremy, a young indentured servant, longs for the excitement of battle,so he runs away to join the Union army, where he experiences the grim reality of war, sees the cruelty of slavery and befriends a young Confederate soldier and a slave girl. Together they discover the Peace Society, an underground organization of Confederate soldiers with Union sympathies that has profound effects on all their lives.

TenNapel, Doug.Ghostopolis. New York: Graphix, 2010. 272p. Gr. 5—8.

Garth, a terminally ill boy, is accidentally pulled into the ghost world withoutdying first. In this bizarre environment he meets both good and evil characters –including his own youthful grandfather – and cannot return to his own world until the mistake that brought himthere can be corrected.

Wallace, Sandra Neil. Little Joe. New York: Knopf, 2010. 192 p. Gr. 3—6.

Nine-year-old Eli is thrilled at the prospect of raising his first calf, a large Angus bull he names Little Joe. His father and grandfather help him learn to properly care for the animal and accept the realities of farm life in this contemporary realistic parallel to the fantasy of Charlotte’s Web.

Wells, Rosemary. My Havana: Memories of a Cuban Boyhood. New York: Candlewick. 2010. 65p. Gr. 3-4

Architect Secundino Fernandez recalls his childhood and draws images of his home in Havana during the rise of Fidel Castro’s regime and his family’s later move to Spain and finally to New York City.

Wiles, Deborah. Countdown. New York: Scholastic, 2010. 400 p. Gr. 5—7.

Franny Chapman, like most eleven-year-olds in 1962, must not only learn to handle issues with friends and family but also cope with the nationwide fear of Communism and nuclear war. Bits of actual speeches, song excerpts, news articles and period photographs draw readers into the tale and the tension of the Cold War.

Williams-Garcia, Rita. One Crazy Summer.New York: Amistad, 2010. 224p. Gr. 4—7.

Eleven-year-old Delphine and her two younger sisters arrive in Oakland in the summer of 1968 to visit the mother they barely know. The cold welcome they receive foreshadows a difficult monthof learning about their mother’s life as poet, printer and fringe member of the Black Panthers and why she resents their intrusion into it.