The Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award

Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award 1996-97

The Dorothy Canfield Children's Book Award, first given in 1957, is co-sponsored by the Vermont State PTA and the Vermont Department of Libraries.

These books, to be read during the 1996-1997 school year, comprise the master list for the award to be made in 1997. Voting forms for this master list will be mailed to all Vermont schools and public libraries in spring, 1997, so children can vote for their favorite book. The master list titles have been selected to satisfy the reading interests of children in grades 4-8;

The grades listed should be regarded more as maturity levels than reading levels.


The Dorothy Canfield Fisher books are carefully selected and highly recommended by a committee of eight, but because maturity level and interest level may vary from community to community, each library should choose the books in accordance with its own selection policy. For your convenience, we have included annotations of the books.



List of Authors and Titles
Numbers in ( )= suggested grade level

  1. Alexander, Lloyd.......(5).........THE ARKADIANS
  2. Avi...............(4)......................POPPY
  3. Carey, Peter..........(3)..............THE BIG BAZOOHLEY
  4. Cofer, Judith O........(7)............AN ISLAND LIKE YOU
  5. Coman, Carolyn.......(6)............WHAT JAMIE SAW
  6. Conly, Jane Leslie.......(5).........TROUT SUMMER
  7. Crew, Linda..........(6)...............FIRE ON THE WIND
  8. Curtis, Christopher Paul...(5)....THE WATSONS GO TO BIRMINGHAM - 1963
  9. Cushman, Karen........(6)...........THE MIDWIFE'S APPRENTICE
  10. Gaeddert, LouAnn......(4)..........HOPE
  11. Haas, Jessie...........(3)...............A BLUE FOR BEWARE
  12. Henkes, Kevin.........(5).............PROTECTING MARIE
  13. Hobbs, Will............(5).............KOKOPELLI'S FLUTE
  14. Hurwin, Davida W......(7).........A TIME FOR DANCING
  15. Kenna, Kathleen.......(4)...........A PEOPLE APART
  16. Lynch, Chris..........(7).............SLOT MACHINE
  17. Manley, Joan..........(5).............SHE FLEW NO FLAGS
  18. Marrin, Albert.......(7).............THE SEA KING: SIR FRANCIS DRAKE AND HIS TIMES
  19. Napoli, Donna Jo......(3)............JIMMY, THE PICKPOCKET OF THE PALACE
  20. Naylor, Phyllis R........(6)..........ALICE THE BRAVE
  21. Nelson, Vaunda M.......(5).........POSSIBLES
  22. Oughton, Jerrie........(6)............MUSIC FROM A PLACE CALLED HALF MOON
  23. Park, Barbara.......(4)...............MICK HARTE WAS HERE
  24. Plummer, Louise.....(7)............THE UNLIKELY ROMANCE OF KATE BJORKMAN
  25. Randle, Kristen D. .....(7)..........THE ONLY ALIEN ON THE PLANET
  26. Soto, Gary............(4)...............CANTO FAMILIAR
  27. Stanley, Diane.........(4).............THE TRUE ADVENTURE OF DANIEL HALL
  28. Taylor, Mildred D......(4)..........THE WELL
  29. Turner, Megan W........(5).........INSTEAD OF THREE WISHES
  30. Woodson, Jacqueline.....(7)........FROM THE NOTEBOOKS OF MELANIN SUN

  1.  Alexander, Lloyd..........THE ARKADIANS.
    To escape the wrath of the king and his wicked soothsayers, an honest young man joins with a poet turned-jackass and a young girl with mystical powers on a series of epic adventures. ISBN 0-525-45415-2.
  2.  Avi..........POPPY.
    Poppy the deer mouse urges her family to move next to a field of corn big enough to feed them all forever, but Mr. Ocax, a terrifying owl, has other ideas. ISBN 0-531-094839.
  3.  Carey, Peter..........THE BIG BAZOOHLEY.
    When his family runs low on funds while on a trip to Toronto, nine-year-old Sam, hoping to win $10,000, allows himself to be "borrowed" and entered in a contest to find the Perfecto Kiddo. ISBN 0-8050-3855-8.
  4.  Cofer, Judith Ortiz..........AN ISLAND LIKE YOU: STORIES OF THE BARRIO.
    Twelve stories about young people caught between their Puerto Rican heritage and their American surroundings. ISBN 0-531-06897-8.
  5.  Coman, Carolyn..........WHAT JAMIE SAW.
    Having fled to a family friend's hillside trailer after his mother's boyfriend tried to throw his baby sister against a wall, nine-year-old Jamie finds himself living an existence full of uncertainty and fear. ISBN 1-886910-02-2.
  6.  Conly, Jane Leslie.........TROUT SUMMER.
    A sister and brother spend a largely unsupervised summer in a cabin near a river, where they befriend an elderly eccentric man with much to teach them, and where they try to come to terms with their parents' failing marriage and make decisions about their own future. ISBN 0-8050-3933-3.
  7.  Crew, Linda.........FIRE ON THE WIND.
    Based on the Tillamook forest fire of 1933 in Oregon, this is a vivid picture of the life of logging families, as well as the coming of age story of thirteen-year-old Storie. ISBN 0-385-32185-6.
  8.  Curtis, Christopher Paul..........THE WATSONS GO TO BIRMINGHAM - 1963.
    The ordinary interactions and everyday routines of the Watsons, an African American family living in Flint, Michigan, are drastically changed after they go to visit Grandma in Alabama in the summer of 1963. ISBN 0-385-32175-9.
  9.  Cushman, Karen..........THE MIDWIFE'S APPRENTICE.
    In medieval England, a nameless, homeless girl is taken in by a sharp-tempered midwife and, in spite of obstacles and hardship, eventually gains the three things she most wants: a full belly, a contented heart, and a place in this world. ISBN 0-395-69229-6.
  10.  Gaeddert, LouAnn..........HOPE.
    In 1851 orphans Hope and John are placed in a community of Shakers, where they encounter a way of life that is strange yet comfortable. ISBN 0-689-80128-9.
  11.  Haas, Jessie..........A BLUE FOR BEWARE.
    Lily and her friend Mandy compete against each other in a horse show for the first time. ISBN 0-688 13678-8.
  12.  Henkes, Kevin..........PROTECTING MARIE.
    Relates twelve-year-old Fanny's love hate relationship with her father, a temperamental artist, who has given Fanny a new dog after giving away the one she loved. ISBN 0 688-13958-2.
  13.  Hobbs, Will..........KOKOPELLI'S FLUTE.
    Thirteen-year-old Tepary discovers an old flute in a cliff dwelling in New Mexico, and through its power he learns about ancient Native American magic. ISBN 0-689-31974-6.
  14.  Hurwin, Davida Wills..........A TIME FOR DANCING.
    Seventeen-year-old best friends Samantha and Juliana tell their stories in alternating chapters after Juliana is diagnosed with cancer. ISBN 0-316-38351-1.
  15.  Kenna, Kathleen..........A PEOPLE APART.
    A photo essay about the lives of the Old Order Mennonites. ISBN 0-395-67344-5.
  16.  Lynch, Chris..........SLOT MACHINE.
    When overweight thirteen-year-old Elvin Bishop is sent to camp at St. Paul's Seminary Retreat Center, he and his two best friends are forced to try out various sports in order to find out where they belong. ISBN 0-060-023584-5.
  17.  Manley, Joan B..........SHE FLEW NO FLAGS.
    In early 1944, as the war rages around them, an American family travels from India to the United ship, under blackout conditions, through the enemy waters of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. ISBN 0-395-71130-4.
  18.  Marrin, Albert..........THE SEA KING: SIR FRANCIS DRAKE AND HIS TIMES.
    Filled with graphic details of life at sea, this is a riveting portrait of a great explorer and seafarer. ISBN 0-689-31887-1.
  19.  Napoli, Donna JO...........JIMMY THE PICKPOCKET OF THE PALACE.
    Jimmy, the froglet son of an enchanted frog-prince, tries to save his pond from the evil hag and in the process, finds himself transformed into a human boy. ISBN 0-525-45357-1.
  20.  Naylor, Phyllis Reynolds...........ALICE THE BRAVE.
    The summer before eighth grade, Alice tries to confront her fears, not the least of which is a fear of deep water. ISBN 0-689-80095-9.
  21.  Nelson, Vaunda Micheaux...........POSSIBLES.
    Following the death of her father, a twelve year old girl takes a summer job instead of going to camp with a friend as planned. ISBN 0-399-22823-3.
  22.  Oughton, Jerrie...........MUSIC FROM A PLACE CALLED HALF MOON.
    In 1956 in Half Moon, North Carolina, thirteen-year-old Edie Jo comes to terms with her own prejudice and the death of a friend. ISBN 0-395-70737-4.
  23.  Park, Barbara..........MICK HARTE WAS HERE.
    Thirteen-year-old Phoebe recalls her younger brother Mick and his death in a bicycle accident. ISBN 0-679 87088-1.
  24.  Plummer, Louise...........THE UNLIKELY ROMANCE OF KATE BJORKMAN.
    In this funny spoof of romance novels seventeen-year-old Kate hopes for love when her older brother's friend Richard comes to stay at their house during Christmas vacation. ISBN 0-385-32049-3.
  25.  Randle, Kristen..........THE ONLY ALIEN ON THE PLANET.
    After moving to the East Coast, Ginny enters her senior year of high school and uncovers the behind a new friend's refusal to speak. ISBN 0-590-46309-8.
  26.  Soto, Gary..........CANTO FAMILIAR.
    Twenty-five poems about the pleasures and woes that Mexican American children experience growing up. ISBN 0-15 200067-4.
  27.  Stanley, Diane..........THE TRUE ADVENTURE OF DANIEL HALL.
    Based on an autobiographical account, this details the adventures of a New Bedford boy on sea and land in 1856. ISBN 0-8037-1468-8.
  28.  Taylor, Mildred D..........THE WELL: DAVID'S STORY.
    In Mississippi in the early 1900's, ten-year-old David Logan's family generously shares their well water with both white and black neighbors in an atmosphere of potential racial violence. ISBN 0-8037-1802-0.
  29.  Turner, Megan Whalen...........INSTEAD OF THREE WISHES.
    A collection of seven stories featuring such elements of fantasy as leprechauns, ghosts, and the supernatural. ISBN 0-688-13922-1.
  30.  Woodson, Jacqueline.........FROM THE NOTEBOOKS OF MELANIN SUN.
    Melanin Sun's comfortable, quiet life is shattered when his mother reveals she has fallen in love with a white woman. ISBN 0-590-45880-9.