Oak Lawn School Library: RICBA 2015 Nominees

When their two worlds collide in seventh grade, fraternal twins and opposites Owen and Russell find themselves in direct competition at school, on the court, and at home.

Award-winning author Sandra Markle explores the diverse world of bats. How does being big help one kind of bat? How does being little help another kind? Sometimes these extremes offer the key to survival.

As a young Russian Jewish girl in the early 1900s, Anna and her family lived in fear of the Czar's soldiers. The family lived a hard life and had few possessions - their treasure was a beautiful china tea set.

Charlie Bumpers is sure he does not stand a chance of getting along with his fourth grade teacher and despite his best efforts to be neat and well-behaved; he always seems to be in trouble until he discovers her secret.

Zach, Alice, and Poppy, friends from a Pennsylvania middle school who have long enjoyed acting out imaginary adventures with dolls and action figures, embark on a real-life quest to Ohio to bury a doll made from the ashes of a dead girl.

Kyle Keeley is the class clown and a huge fan of all games. His hero, Luigi Lemoncello, the most notorious and creative gamemaker in the world, just so happens to be the genius behind the construction of the new town library. Kyle wins a coveted spot as one of twelve kids invited for an overnight sleepover in the library, hosted by Mr. Lemoncello.

Gregory Korenstein-Jasperton is an eleven-year-old boy who likes to write stories and poems and is not excited by math, but he has a problem -- he is the middle child in a family of math geniuses and his father expects him to participate in the City Math contest.

Gaby Ramirez Howard volunteers at the animal shelter by writing adoption advertisements and would like to adopt a cat named Feather but with her mother deported to Honduras Gaby has no home herself.

In this novel told through poems, nine-year-old Sam loves fishing with his dad, so when his pesky little sister horns in on their fishing trip, he is none too pleased. Includes primer on rhyme, poetry techniques, rhythm, stanzas, and poetic forms.

When eleven-year-old musician Elvis freezes during a competition, he's whisked away to tiny Wares Grove, New Jersey. Misfit local girl Cecilia, meanwhile, is trying to coax music out of trees. With Aaron's help, Cecilia's wish is fulfilled -- only not in the way they expect. The tall-tale element adds depth to this story about a kid coping with the pressures of fame.

A history of the Galapagos Island, describing how the island formed and animals came to inhabit it.

Kelsey Greene is the best reader in the third grade — well, maybe tied for best with know-it-all Simon Ellis. When the principal, Mr. Boone, announces a school-wide reading contest — complete with a pizza party for the winning class and a special certificate for the top readers in each grade — she knows she's just the person to lead Mrs. Molina's third graders to victory.

Twelve-year-old Tee moves to Nome, Alaska with her father, brother, and dog Henry, and one day when Tee is walking Henry down the street, a mysterious shadow appears to be following them.

Deza Malone, the smartest girl in her class in Gary, Indiana, accompanies her mother and older brother on a trip to find her father, an African American man who left to find work after the Great Depression hit.

When Tony's mother is sent to jail, he is sent to stay with a great uncle he has never met in Sierra Nevada.

When Jack Baker’s mother dies, his father deposits him in the Morton Hill Academy for Boys in Maine, far from the only home he has ever known — Kansas.

In this picture book biography, award-winning author and illustrator Kadir Nelson tells the story of Mandela, a global icon, in poignant free verse and glorious illustrations.

Fourth grader Odessa Green-Light lives with her mom and her toad of a little brother, Oliver. Her dad is getting remarried, which makes no sense according to Odessa. If the prefix "re" means "to do all over again," shouldn't he be remarrying Mom?

Relates the tale of Rumpelstiltskin's childhood and youth, explaining why his name is so important, how he is able to spin straw into gold, and why a first-born child is his reward for helping the miller's daughter-turned-queen.

As a dark force engulfs the land, the fate of Erdas has fallen on the shoulders of four young strangers who each have forged a rare bond with their spirit beasts -- a bond that gives great powers to all of them.