Books
& Booklists
Let's READ!
Check
out the 2009 Newbery and Caldecott award winners!
John
Newbery medal
by Neil Gaiman
A delicious mix of murder, fantasy, humor and human longing, the tale of Nobody Owens is told in magical, haunting prose. A child marked for death by an ancient league of assassins escapes into an abandoned graveyard, where he is reared and protected by its spirit denizens.
Newbery Honor Books
The Underneath by Kathi Appelt, illustrated by David Small
The Surrender Tree: Poems of Cuba's Struggle for Freedom by Margarita Engle
Savvy by Ingrid Law
After Tupac and D Foster by Jacqueline Woodson
Randolph
Caldecott medal
 by Susan Marie Swanson, illustrated by Beth Krommes
Richly detailed black-and-white scratchboard illustrations expand this timeless bedtime verse, offering reassurance to young children that there is always light in the darkness. Krommes' elegant line, illuminated with touches of golden watercolor, evoke the warmth and comfort of home and family, as well as the joys of exploring the wider world.
Caldecott
Honor Books
A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever by Marla Frazee
How I Learned Geography by Uri Shulevitz
A River of Words: The Story of William Carlos Williams
illustrated by Melissa Sweet and written by Jen Bryant
Coretta
Scott King Award
Honoring African American authors and illustrators
of outstanding books for children and young adults
Author award
by Kadir Nelson
Kadir Nelson scores a homerun with this fascinating and well-documented history of Negro League Baseball told in the voice of an "everyman" narrator. Dignified, riveting full-page illustrations capture the spirit of these larger-than-life men who loved the game, despite the prejudice they faced.
Keeping the Night Watch by Hope Anita Smith
The Blacker the Berry by Joyce Carol Thomas
Becoming Billie Holiday by Carole Boston Weatherford
Illustrator award
by Joyce Carol Thomas,
illustrated by Floyd Cooper
We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball by Kadir Nelson
The Moon Over Star by Dianna Hutts Aston, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney
Before John Was a Jazz Giant: A Song of John Coltrane by Carole Boston Weatherford,
illustrated by Sean Qualls
Coretta Scott
King/John Steptoe New Talent Award - Illustrator
by Zeta Elliott, illustrated by Shadra Strickland
Sibert
Medal
by Kadir Nelson
Kadir Nelson scores a homerun with this fascinating and well-documented history of Negro League Baseball told in the voice of an "everyman" narrator. Dignified, riveting full-page illustrations capture the spirit of these larger-than-life men who loved the game, despite the prejudice they faced.
Bodies from the Ice: Melting Glaciers and Rediscovery of the Past written by James M. Deem
What to Do about Alice?: How Alice Roosevelt Broke the Rules,
Charmed the World, and Drove Her Father Teddy Crazy!
written by Barbara Kerley, illusrated by Edwin Fotheringham
Take a look at the websites below.
Kid’s Place and the Spaghetti Book Club offer you the chance to
write a review online. Tell readers what you liked about your favorite
books. Be a critic - maybe you read something you didn’t like,
let everyone know what was bad or good about what you read.
Book Reviews by Kids for Kids.
http://www.spaghettibookclub.org/index.shtml
Book Reviews by selected young readers.
http://www.bravemonster.com/current_kidreview.htm
SurLaLune Fairy Tales features 47 annotated fairy
tales, including their histories, similar tales
across cultures, modern interpretations and over
1,500 illustrations.
http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/
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Thanksgiving books for pre-schoolers.
 One
is a Feast for Mouse: a Thanksgiving Tale by Judy
Cox
(Pre-K—K) The remains of a Thanksgiving
dinner are irresistible to a little mouse that
creeps out of his hole to help himself to one
small pea. But soon, greed gets the better of
him and before he knows it, he has taken one of
every leftover tidbit, including the gravy boat
and platter of turkey. Before he makes it safely
back home, however, the cat spies him and pounces,
knocking everything on the floor. The mouse escapes
just in time, while the cat gets the blame, and
to his delight he finds one "teensy-tiny,
round and toothsome, green and luscious pea"
for which he exclaims: "Give thanks! One
is a feast for me!" Whimsical, large-scale
illustrations drawn in acrylics, pastels, and
colored pencils are a perfect complement to the
story. Plenty of action and humor as well as a
thoroughly satisfying ending make this a wonderful
holiday read-aloud.
(Review courtesy of School Library Journal)
 Turkey
Bowl by Phil Bildner
(Pre-K—Grade 1) For his first eight
years, Ethan hasn’t been old enough to play
in his family’s annual Thanksgiving football
game. But he’s got memories aplenty, like
when it was so cold they called it the Ice Bowl,
and when it was so rainy it became the Mud Bowl.
Finally old enough to play, Ethan bounds downstairs
only to be dismayed by the news that a huge snowstorm
has made the roads too dangerous for the family
to get through. He and the neighborhood kids glumly
watch an empty, snowed-out field, until Ethan
decides they can have their own game no matter
the conditions. The story bounces from exuberance
to despondency and right back, much like the best
football games. Payne’s paintings have a
suitable old-timey quality to them, with plucky
kids bedecked in ancient leather helmets and too-big
pads. A nostalgic tribute to one of the great
sports traditions of all time: the marriage of
turkey and tackling shared by families on Thanksgiving.
(Review courtesy of Booklist)
 Beauty
and the Beaks: a Turkey’s Cautionary Tale
by Mary Jane Auch
(Pre-K—Grade 1) Wonderfully creative handmade
characters and sets are the highlight of this
over-the-top chicken tale about a beauty shop,
a vain Tom turkey, and Thanksgiving Day dinner.
One day, a self-important turkey enters The Chic
Hen and announces that he's been invited to a
special dinner. When Beauty, the owner of the
shop, discovers that he is not invited for dinner
but as dinner, she and the other hens strategize
to save the frantic fowl. Their best and final
plan—to put him in a dress and save him
from the oven—works well. Every word that
begins with the letters "ex" (and there
are many of them) are spelled to fit the theme:
"eggsercise," "eggsploring,"
"eggstensive," etc. The illustrations
are well worth poring over. The author made chicken
mannequins with polymer eyes, beaks, and shoes,
as well as wool wings and yarn feathers. Her husband
designed the sets, built them, and photographed
the images, adjusting their size. A humorous story
about dressing a turkey, but not in the usual
manner.
(Review courtesy of School Library Journal)
 Over
the River: a Turkey’s Tale by Derek Anderson
(Pre-K—Grade 1) Anderson's amusing acrylic
artwork provides a new twist on a favorite holiday
song. The book contains the familiar lyrics, but
the illustrations show that in this version, it's
a turkey family on the way to Grandma's house.
As a young bird carrying a Pilgrim doll and his
parents walk through the snowy woods, they meet
a horse that knows the way/to carry the sleigh
and does so–literally, trotting up a hill
with a sled tucked under one arm. Meanwhile, a
young hunter and a barely ferocious-looking hound
are going over their plan to catch a gobbler for
dinner. They give chase as the birds come into
view, but an odd scarecrow (the turkeys in disguise)
temporarily stops the pursuers in their tracks.
Then the horse screeches downhill on the sled
right into the middle of everything, and the pie
is ruined. But, this is Thanksgiving, after all,
and everyone sits down for a nice meal–except
for the boy, who is still outside hunting down
his hunting hound. This is a fun, humorous addition
to Thanksgiving collections.
(Review courtesy of School Library Journal)
Thanksgiving books for elementary-schoolers.
 Amelia
Bedelia Talks Turkey by Herman Parish.
(Grades K-2) In her newest adventure, Amelia Bedelia
volunteers to direct the third-grade Thanksgiving
play, with the help of handyman Cousin Alcolu. The
ditzy housekeeper manages to misinterpret every
homonym and slip on every pun, creating a hilarious
pageant that is wildly applauded by both children
and adults. Parish ably continues his aunt's legacy
by creating another comical chapter book for newly
independent readers. Children will enjoy the silly
mishaps and misunderstandings while reinforcing
their ability to distinguish between same-sounding
words that have different meanings. The ink and
watercolor illustrations are light and airy, adding
another layer of humor and familiarity to this latest
escapade.
(Review courtesy of School Library Journal)
 The
Peterkins’ Thanksgiving by Elizabeth Spurr
(Grades 1-3) Spurr and Halperin team up again
to present this companion to The Peterkins' Christmas.
Here, the silly characters almost miss their Thanksgiving
feast. Dressed in their Sunday best, they sit
down at the table—upstairs, of course—and
Mrs. Peterkin rings her china bell, signaling
Amanda the cook to send dinner up. Sadly, the
meal was substantially delayed, due to an odd
circumstance. The food, it seems, is stuck in
the dumbwaiter. Agamemnon, who is relied upon
for answers because he had been to college, has
a solution. The family must eat downstairs in
the kitchen. Happily, they're not too proud to
do so, but, unfortunately, the dumbwaiter still
won't budge. After some amusing discussion, they
decide they must call a carpenter but, of course,
he can't come until later because he is at his
relatives' house. All's well in the end, however,
and this odd family does get to enjoy a satisfying
Thanksgiving repast. This is a fine, entertaining
tale.
(Review courtesy of School Library Journal)
 Gooney
Bird and the Room Mother by Lois Lowry
(Grades 2-3) The lively hero of the chapter book
Gooney Bird Greene (2002) is back in her idyllic
second-grade classroom, as the children get ready
to celebrate a pageant of the First Thanksgiving.
Dressed in various exuberant outfits, Gooney is
in charge, and she even shows her wonderful teacher
a thing or two. Gooney Bird's focus is on the
wonder of words—from cajole and ennui to
fiasco. Her special word is incognito, because
she has arranged to get a room mother for the
class, whose identity must be kept secret until
the day of the pageant. Relaxed black-and-white
illustrations capture the diverse classroom. The
lessons are fun (including the history of Squanto),
as are the classroom characters. Best of all is
the story, which builds to a tense, beautiful
climax as the identity of the room mother is revealed.
(Review courtesy of Booklist)
 Turkey
Monster Thanksgiving by Anne Warren Smith
(Grades 3-5) Since her mother left to become a
traveling country-and-western singer, fourth-grader
Katie, her three-year-old brother Tyler and their
father have spent Thanksgiving lounging in their
pajamas, munching on pizza and popcorn, and watching
football on TV. When her perfectionist classmate
Claire Plummer taunts her with pictures from Beautiful
Living of perfect celebrations, Katie starts to
think that a grand dinner would help cement her
family together, but she is embarrassed about
her brother's rude table manners. Then she accidentally
invites her teacher to Thanksgiving dinner, and
she and her father scramble to come up with a
meal. Readers are apt to sympathize with Katie's
concerns about the cohesiveness of her family,
while deft touches of humor add comic relief.
(Review courtesy of School Library Journal)
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ones! 
The Graveyard
Book
Grade
1 Reading List