Norwood Elementary School Library: RI Children Book Award NOMINEES 2017

The companion to Raina Telgemeier's #1 New York Times bestselling and Eisner Award-winning graphic memoir, Smile. Raina can't wait to be a big sister. But once Amara is born, things aren't quite how she expected them to be. Amara is cute, but she's also a cranky, grouchy baby, and mostly prefers to play by herself. Their relationship doesn't improve much over the years, but when a baby brother enters the picture and later, something doesn't seem right between their parents, they realize they must figure out how to get along. They are sisters, after all. Raina uses her signature humour and charm in both present-day narrative and perfectly placed flashbacks to tell the story of her relationship with her sister, which unfolds during the course of a road trip from their home in San Francisco to a family reunion in Colorado.

From W. Bruce Cameron, the author of theNew York Times andUSA Today bestselling novelA Dog's Purpose, which is now a major motion picture! Ellie's Story is a heartwarming illustrated novel adapted for young readers from the beloved andNew York Times bestsellingA Dog's Purpose by W. Bruce Cameron. Ellie is a very special dog with a very important purpose. From puppyhood, Ellie has been trained as a search-and-rescue dog. She can track down a lost child in a forest or an injured victim under a fallen building. She finds people. She saves them. It's what she was meant to do. But Ellie must do more. Her handlers—widowed Jakob, lonely Maya—need her too. People can be lost in many ways, and to do the job she was born to do, Ellie needs to find a way to save the people she loves best. Ellie's Story is an inspiring tale for young animal lovers. Adorable black-and-white illustrations by Richard Cowdrey bring Ellie and her world to life. A discussion and activity guide at the end of the book will help promote family and classroom discussions aboutEllie's Storyand the insights it provides about humankind's best friends.

Inside Out and Back Again meets One Crazy Summer and Brown Girl Dreaming in this novel-in-verse about fitting in and standing up for what's right It's 1969, and the Apollo 11 mission is getting ready to go to the moon. But for half-black, half-Japanese Mimi, moving to a predominantly white Vermont town is enough to make her feel alien. Suddenly, Mimi's appearance is all anyone notices. She struggles to fit in with her classmates, even as she fights for her right to stand out by entering science competitions and joining Shop Class instead of Home Ec. And even though teachers and neighbors balk at her mixed-race family and her refusals to conform, Mimi's dreams of becoming an astronaut never fade--no matter how many times she's told no. This historical middle-grade novel is told in poems from Mimi's perspective over the course of one year in her new town, and shows readers that positive change can start with just one person speaking up.

The love between brothers is key to Matt Tavares’s tale of Dominican pitcher Pedro Mart#65533;nez, from his days of throwing rocks at mangoes to his years as a major-league star. Before Pedro Mart#65533;nez pitched the Red Sox to a World Series championship, before he was named to the All-Star team eight times, before he won the Cy Young three times, he was a kid from a place called Manoguayabo in the Dominican Republic. Pedro loved baseball more than anything, and his older brother Ramon was the best pitcher he’d ever seen. He’d dream of the day he and his brother could play together in the major leagues—and here, Matt Tavares tells the story of how that dream came true. In a fitting homage to a modern day baseball star, the acclaimed author-illustrator examines both Pedro Mart#65533;nez’s improbable rise to the top of his game and the power that comes from the deep bond between brothers.

A powerful new middle-grade novel from the Newbery Honor author of Rules. When Lily's blind dog, Lucky, slips his collar and runs away across the wide-open blueberry barrens of eastern Maine, it's Salma Santiago who manages to catch him. Salma, the daughter of migrant workers, is in the small town with her family for the blueberry-picking season. After their initial chance meeting, Salma and Lily bond over painting bee boxes for Lily's grandfather, and Salma's friendship transforms Lily's summer. But when Salma decides to run in the upcoming Blueberry Queen pageant, they'll have to face some tough truths about friendship and belonging. Should an outsider like Salma really participate in the pageant-and possibly win? Set amongst the blueberry barrens and by the sea, this is a gorgeous new novel by Newbery Honor author Cynthia Lord that tackles themes of prejudice and friendship, loss and love.

Calvin and Hobbes meets Big Nate meets Bone in HILO-the hilarious, action-packed New York Times Bestselling GRAPHIC NOVEL SERIES kids AND critics love! "A Total BLAST," says the Miami Herald! D.J. and his friend Gina are totally normal kids. But Hilo isn't! Hilo doesn't know where he came from, or what he's doing on Earth. (Or why going to school in only your underwear is a BAD idea!) . . . But UH-OH, what if Hilo wasn't the only thing to fall to our planet? Can the trio unlock the secrets of Hilo's past? Can Hilo SURVIVE a day at school? Find out in HILO-a laugh-out-loud, epic story of friendship! Adventure! (And the occasionaly mutant robot ant).   Praise for HILO * Children's Choice 5th-6th Grade Book of the Year! * Nominated for multiple State Awards--including the Pennsylvania's Young Reader's Choice Award! "More giant robotic ants and people going 'Aaaah!' than in the complete works of Jane Austen"--Neil Gaiman, bestselling author "Every kid would love a pal like HILO, and every kid will love this book!" --Lincoln Peirce, bestselling author of the Big Nate series "HILO is delightful, silly, tender, and most importantly: funny." --Jeff Smith, bestselling author of the Bone series "Fast paced, furiously funny, and will have kids waiting on the edge of their seats for more."--Jeffrey Brown, bestselling author of Jedi Academy "Action-packed...and amazing fun!"--Brad Meltzer, bestselling author of the Ordinary People Change the World series  "HILO is loads of slapstick fun with a touch of tenderness that kids will love."--Dan Santat, Caldecott Medal Winner "High energy and HILARIOUS!"--Gene Luen Yang, National Ambassador for  Young People's Literature "A perfect book for any kid who ever needed a friend and then had one with superpowers fall from space." --Seth Meyers, actor, comedian and writer * "Universally appealing. A wholeheartedly weird and wonderful tale of friendship, acceptance, and robots."--Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review * "A must-have."--School Library Journal, Starred Review "The most enjoyable hero to hit the library shelves in years. Good clean laser-beams-coming-outta-your-hands fun for the whole family."--http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/ "A total blast."--The Miami Herald "A story that can be enjoyed by the entire family."--The New York Times

A story of a boy, his dog, and the mountains they face together. In all the ways that matter, Mark is a normal kid. He's got a dog named Beau and a best friend, Jessie. He likes to take photos and write haiku poems in his notebook. He dreams of climbing a mountain one day. But in one important way, Mark is not like other kids at all. Mark is sick. The kind of sick that means hospitals. And treatments. The kind of sick some people never get better from. So Mark runs away. He leaves home with his camera, his notebook, his dog, and a plan. A plan to reach the top of Mount Rainier. Even if it's the last thing he ever does. The Honest Truth is a rare and extraordinary novel about big questions, small moments, and one incredible journey.

In the latest eye-catching escape into the kingdom of Animalia, Steve Jenkins and Robin Page reveal the skills animals use to survive in the wild in an imaginative and humorous how-to format. With step-by-step instructions, readers learn about specific behaviors; how to catch thousands of fish like a humpback whale or how to sew up a nest like a tailorbird. This fascinating and fun illustrated nonfiction melds science, art, biology, and the environment together in a detailed and well-researched book about animals who live and survive in our world today.  

When the ship goes down, the sharks come out . . . Stranded in the war torn Pacific, Patrick and his younger brother Teddy are finally homeward-bound. They've stowed away on one of the US Navy's finest ships, and now they just need to stay hidden. But Japanese torpedoes rip their dream apart. And the sinking ship isn't the worst of it. Patrick and Teddy can handle hunger and dehydration as they float in the water and wait to be rescued. If they're smart, they can even deal with the madness that seems to plague their fellow survivors. No, the real danger circles beneath the surface. And it has teeth . . . Based on the true events of the 1945 sinking of the USS Indianapolis, author Michael P. Spradlin tells a harrowing story of World War II.

An elderly African American woman, en route to vote, remembers her family's tumultuous voting history in this picture book publishing in time for the fiftieth anniversary of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.   As Lillian, a one-hundred-year-old African American woman, makes a "long haul up a steep hill" to her polling place, she sees more than trees and sky--she sees her family's history. She sees the passage of the Fifteenth Amendment and her great-grandfather voting for the first time. She sees her parents trying to register to vote. And she sees herself marching in a protest from Selma to Montgomery. Veteran bestselling picture-book author Jonah Winter and Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award winner Shane W. Evans vividly recall America's battle for civil rights in this lyrical, poignant account of one woman's fierce determination to make it up the hill and make her voice heard. "Moving.... Stirs up a potent mixture of grief, anger, and pride at the history of black people's fight for access to the ballot box." --The New York Times "A much-needed picture book that will enlighten a new generation about battles won and a timely call to uphold these victories in the present." --Kirkus Reviews, Starred "A valuable introduction to and overview of the civil rights movement." --Publishers Weekly, Starred "An important book that will give you goose bumps." --Booklist, Starred

"Fans of Beverly Cleary's Quimbys, Judy Blume's Hatchers, and, more recently, Jeanne Birdsall's Penderwicks will fervently hope that more Fletcher misadventures are yet to come." --School Library Journal, Starred The start of the school year is not going as the Fletcher brothers hoped. Each boy finds his plans for success veering off in unexpected and sometimes diastrous directions. And at home, their miserable new neighbor complains about everything. As the year continues, the boys learn the hard and often hilarious lesson that sometimes what you least expect is what you come to care about the most.  Praise for The Misadventures of the Family Fletcher    A Junior Library Guild Selection  [set star] "Their banter is realistic, and the disorder of their everyday lives, convincing. The Fletcher family rules!" --Kirkus Reviews, Starred  "Dana Alison Levy has gloriously reimagined the classic family story into a thoroughly modern mold, and it works perfectly." --Bruce Coville, bestselling author of My Teacher Is an Alien and the Unicorn Chronicles [P1]  [set star] "With its semi-episodic structure, laugh-out-loud humor, and mix of zaniness and love, Levy's debut offers something truly significant: a middle-grade family story featuring gay parents and interracial families that is never about either issue." --School Library Journal, Starred  "Levy provides a compelling, compassionate, and frequently hilarious look at their daily concerns. By book's end readers will want to be part of (or at least friends with) this delightful family." --The Horn Book 

When forced to choose between staying with her guardian and being with her big brother, Ari chose her big brother. There’s just one problem—Gage doesn’t actually have a place to live. When Ari’s mother died four years ago, she had two final wishes: that Ari and her older brother, Gage, would stay together always, and that Ari would go to Carter, the middle school for gifted students. So when nineteen-year-old Gage decides he can no longer live with their bossy guardian, Janna, Ari knows she has to go with him. But it’s been two months, and Gage still hasn’t found them an apartment. He and Ari have been "couch surfing," staying with Gage’s friend in a tiny apartment, crashing with Gage’s girlfriend and two roommates, and if necessary, sneaking into a juvenile shelter to escape the cold Maine nights. But all of this jumping around makes it hard for Ari to keep up with her schoolwork, never mind her friendships, and getting into Carter starts to seem impossible. Will Ari be forced to break one of her promises to Mama? Told in an open, authentic voice, this nuanced story of hiding in plain sight may have readers thinking about homelessness in a whole new way.

The thrilling finale to the New York Times-bestselling Masterminds series from middle grade star author Gordon Korman. Perfect for fans of Rick Riordan and James Patterson. After a serious betrayal from one of their former friends, the clones of Project Osiris are on the run again. Now separated into pairs, Eli and Tori and Amber and Malik are fighting to survive in the real world. Amber and Malik track down the one person they think can help them prove the existence of Project Osiris, notorious mob boss Gus Alabaster, also known as Malik’s DNA donor. But as Malik gets pulled into the criminal world—tantalized by hints of a real family—his actions put him and Amber into greater danger. Eli and Tori get sucked into even bigger conspiracies as they hunt down Project Osiris’s most closely guarded secrets—who does Eli’s DNA come from? With a surprising new ally and another cross-country adventure, the four will have to work together to overcome the worst parts of themselves if they are going to end Project Osiris once and for all.

From the New York Times bestselling author of I Am A Genius of Unspeakable Evil and I Want to Be Your Class President "A witty mash-up of favorite fantasy motifs."--New York Times Book Review "Ratscalibur is funny, it's scary, and it's sweet, like life. But it has talking rats and magic, so it's better than life."--Jimmy Fallon "Full of clever dialogue and hilarious puns...Don't be surprised if this novel achieves best-seller status." --Booklist "The only way I could've liked this more is if I were eleven."--Ira Glass "A charming take on an old favorite."--Publishers Weekly   When Joey is bitten by an elderly rat, he goes from aspiring seventh-grader to three-inch tall rodent. At first, Joey is amazed by his new rat self. The city streets call to him at night. Smells that would have repelled him before are suddenly tantalizing. (A chicken bone? Yes! A squashed cockroach? Like perfume!) And wow, the freedom! But when a bout of hunger leads Joey to pull the spork from the scone, he finds himself at the center of a longtime rat prophecy. Joey has unwittingly unlocked the sword Ratscalibur; and now, it is up to him to protect his new rat friends from the evil crows who seek to destroy their peaceful kingdom. But what does an eleven-year-old know about actual swordplay? And what happens when Joey no longer wants to be a rat? From the Hardcover edition.

Ruby’s mom is in prison, and to tell anyone the truth is to risk true friendship in this novel that accurately and sensitively addresses a subject too often overlooked—from the author of The Summer Before Boys. Eleven-year-old Ruby Danes is about to start middle school, and only her aunt knows her deepest, darkest, secret: her mother is in prison. Then Margalit Tipps moves into Ruby’s condo complex, and the two immediately hit it off. Ruby thinks she’s found her first true-blue friend—but can she tell Margalit the truth about her mom? Maybe not. Because it turns out that Margalit’s family history seems closely connected to the very event that put her mother in prison, and if Ruby comes clean, she could lose everything she cares about most.

The companion to Raina Telgemeier's #1 New York Times bestselling and Eisner Award-winning graphic memoir, Smile. Raina can't wait to be a big sister. But once Amara is born, things aren't quite how she expected them to be. Amara is cute, but she's also a cranky, grouchy baby, and mostly prefers to play by herself. Their relationship doesn't improve much over the years, but when a baby brother enters the picture and later, something doesn't seem right between their parents, they realize they must figure out how to get along. They are sisters, after all. Raina uses her signature humour and charm in both present-day narrative and perfectly placed flashbacks to tell the story of her relationship with her sister, which unfolds during the course of a road trip from their home in San Francisco to a family reunion in Colorado.

When the Ku Klux Klan’s unwelcome reappearance rattles Stella’s segregated southern town, bravery battles prejudice in this New York Times bestselling Depression-era “novel that soars” (The New York Times Book Review) that School Library Journal called “storytelling at its finest” in a starred review. Stella lives in the segregated South—in Bumblebee, North Carolina, to be exact about it. Some stores she can go into. Some stores she can’t. Some folks are right pleasant. Others are a lot less so. To Stella, it sort of evens out, and heck, the Klan hasn’t bothered them for years. But one late night, later than she should ever be up, much less wandering around outside, Stella and her little brother see something they’re never supposed to see, something that is the first flicker of change to come, unwelcome change by any stretch of the imagination. As Stella’s community—her world—is upended, she decides to fight fire with fire. And she learns that ashes don’t necessarily signify an end.

"Folks say Old Auntie takes a girl and keeps her fifty years--then lets her go and takes another one."     Thirteen-year-old Daniel Anderson doesn't believe Brody Mason's crazy stories about the ghost witch who lives up on Brewster's Hill with Bloody Bones, her man-eating razorback hog. He figures Brody's probably just trying to scare him since he's the new kid . . . a "stuck-up snot" from Connecticut. But Daniel's seven-year-old sister Erica has become more and more withdrawn, talking to her lookalike doll. When she disappears into the woods oneday, he knows something is terribly wrong. Did the witch strike? Has Erica been "took"?

A 2016 Caldecott Honor Book and Coretta Scott King (Illustrator) Award Winner Hailing from the Trem neighborhood in New Orleans, Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews got his nickname by wielding a trombone twice as long as he was high. A prodigy, he was leading his own band by age six, and today this Grammy-nominated artist headlines the legendary New Orleans Jazz Fest. Along with esteemed illustrator Bryan Collier, Andrews has created a lively picture book autobiography about how he followed his dream of becoming a musician, despite the odds, until he reached international stardom. Trombone Shorty is a celebration of the rich cultural history of New Orleans and the power of music.

It's never easy when your magic goes wonky. For Nory, this means that instead of being able to turn into a dragon or a kitten, she turns into both of them at the same time -- a dritten. For Elliott, the simple act of conjuring fire from his fingertips turns into a fully frozen failure. For Andres, wonky magic means he's always floating in the air, bouncing off the walls, or sitting on the ceiling. For Bax, a bad moment of magic will turn him into a . . . actually, he'd rather not talk about that. Nory, Elliott, Andres, and Bax are just four of the students in Dunwiddle Magic School's Upside-Down Magic class. In their classroom, lessons are unconventional, students are unpredictable, and magic has a tendency to turn wonky at the worst possible moments. Because it's always amazing, the trouble a little wonky magic can cause . . .

Fifth grade is one crazy ride in this middle grade novel about two best friends. Rip and Red are best friends whose fifth-grade year is nothing like what they expected. They have a crazy new tattooed teacher named Mr. Acevedo, who doesn't believe in tests or homework and who likes off-the-wall projects, the more "off" the better. And guess who's also their new basketball coach? Mr. Acevedo! Easy-going Rip is knocked completely out of his comfort zone. And for Red, who has autism and really needs things to be exactly a certain way, the changes are even more of a struggle.But together these two make a great duo who know how to help each other—and find ways to make a difference—in the classroom and on the court. With its energetic and authentic story and artwork,A Whole New Ballgame by Phil Bildner is a fresh, fun book about school, sports, and friendship. “Cartoony illustrations lend energy and personality to the likable cast of characters. A school story with heart.” —Kirkus Reviews This title has Common Core connections.