DOROTHY CANFIELD FISHER CHILDREN'S BOOK AWARD
MASTERLIST 2004-2005
These books, to be read during the 2004-2005 school year, comprise the master list for the award to be made in 2005. Voting forms will be made available to all Vermont schools and public libraries in spring, 2005, 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. PLEASE NOTE GRADE LEVEL BEFORE ORDERING THE BOOKS. The grades listed should be regarded more as maturity levels than reading levels.
MASTERLIST OF ANNOTATIONS
Anderson, M.T. Strange Mr. Satie. Introduces the life of the French composer, Erik Satie, who spent his entire career challenging established conventions in music. $16.99. ISBN 0-670-03637-4. Gr. 4 up.
Arrington, Frances. Prairie Whispers. Only twelve-year-old Colleen knows that her baby sister died just after she was born and that Colleen put another baby in her place, until the baby's father shows up and makes trouble for her and her family on the South Dakota prairie in the 1860s. $17.99. ISBN 0-399-23975-8. Gr. 5 up.
Bradley, Kimberly Brubaker. For Freedom: The Story of a French Spy. Despite the horrors of World War II, a French teenager pursues her dream of becoming an opera singer, which takes her to places where she gains information about what the Nazis are doing - information that the French Resistance needs. $17.99. ISBN 0-385-90087-2 (PLB); $15.95. ISBN 0-385-72961-8 (Tr.). Gr. 6 up.
Cameron, Ann. Colibri. Kidnapped when she was very young by an unscrupulous man who has forced her to lie and beg to get money, a twelve-year-old Mayan girl endures an abusive life, always wishing she could return to the parents she can hardly remember. $17.00. ISBN 0-374-3 1519-1. Gr. 6 up.
Christensen, Bonnie. The Daring Nellie Bly: America's Star Reporter. Introduces the life of Nellie Bly, who, as a "stunt reporter" for the New York World newspaper in the late 1800s, championed women's rights and traveled around the world faster than anyone ever had. $18.99. ISBN 0375-91568-0 (PLB); $16.95. ISBN 0-375-81568-6 (Tr.). Gr. 4 up.
Codell, Esme Raji. Sahara Special. Struggling with school and her feelings since her father left, Sahara gets a fresh start with a new and unique teacher who supports her writing talents and the individuality of each of her classmates. $16.49. ISBN 0-7868-2627-4 (PLB); $15.99. ISBN 0-7868-0793-8 (Tr.). Gr. 4 up.
Collins, Suzanne. Gregor the Overlander. When eleven-year-old Gregor and his two-year-old sister are pulled into a strange underground world, they trigger an epic battle involving people, bats, rats, cockroaches, and spiders while on a quest foretold by ancient prophecy. $16.95. ISBN 0-439-43536-6. Gr. 4 up.
Cushman, Karen. Rodzina. A twelve-year-old Polish American girl boards an orphan train in Chicago with fears about traveling to the West and a life of unpaid slavery. $16.00. ISBN 0-618-13351-8. Gr. 5 up.
DiCamillo, Kate. The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup, and a Spool of Thread. The adventures of Despereaux Tilling, a small mouse of unusual talents, the princess that he loves, the servant girl who longs to be a princess, and a devious rat determined to bring them all to ruin. $17.99. ISBN 0-7636-1722-9. Gr. 4 up.
Divakaruni, Chitra B. The Conch Bearer. In India, a healer invites twelve-year-old Anand to join him on a quest to return a magical conch to its safe and rightful home, high in the Himalayan mountains. $16.95. ISBN 0761319352. Gr. 5 up.
DuPrau, Jeanne. The City of Ember. In the year 241, twelve-year-old Lina trades jobs on Assignment Day to be a messenger, to run to new places in her beloved but decaying city, perhaps even to glimpse Unknown Regions. $17.99. ISBN 0-375-92274-1 (PLB); $15.95. ISBN 0-375-82273-9 (Tr.). Gr. 5 up.
Franklin, Kristine L. Grape Thief. In 1925, in a small Washington State community made up of families from different ethnic backgrounds, twelve-year-old Cuss tries to stay in school as he watches those around him struggle with various financial difficulties. $16.99. ISBN 0-7636-1325-8. Gr. 5 up.
Freedman, Russell. In Defense of Liberty. Describes the origins, applications of, and challenges to the ten amendments to the United States Constitution that comprise the Bill of Rights. $17.47. ISBN 0-8234-1585-6. Gr. 6 up.
Greenberg, Jan. Runaway Girl: The Artist Louise Bourgeois. Introduces the life of renowned modern artist Louise Bourgeois, who is known primarily for her sculptures. $19.95. ISBN 0-8109-4237-2. Gr. 7 up.
Hahn, Mary Downing. Hear the Wind Blow. With their mother dead and their home burned, a thirteen-year-old boy and his little sister set out across Virginia in search of relatives during the final days of the Civil War. $15.00. ISBN 0-618-18190-3. Gr. 6 up.
Henkes, Kevin. Olive's Ocean. On a summer visit to her grandmother's cottage by the ocean, twelve-year-old Martha gains perspective on the death of a classmate, on her relationship with her grandmother, on her feelings for an older boy, and on her plans to be a writer. $16.89. ISBN 0-06-053544-X (PLB); $15.99. ISBN 0-06-053543-1 (Tr.). Gr. 5 up.
Kinsey-Warnock, Natalie. Gifts from the Sea. Quila and her father, living alone in a remote Maine lighthouse in the 1850s, find their lives profoundly changed when a baby washes ashore and they decide to keep her as part of their family. $16.99. ISBN 0-375-92257-1 (PLB); $14.95. ISBN 0-375-82257-7 (Tr.). Gr. 4 up.
Koertge, Ron. Shakespeare Bats Cleanup. When a fourteen-year-old baseball player catches mononucleosis, he discovers that keeping a journal and experimenting with poetry not only helps fill the time, it also helps him deal with life, love, and loss. $15.99. ISBN 0-7636-2116-1. Gr. 7 up.
Lekuton, Joseph Lemasolai. Facing the Lion: Growing up Maasai on the African Savanna. A member of the Maasai people describes his life as he grew up in a northern Kenya village and traveled to America to attend college. $15.95. ISBN 0-7922-5125-3. Gr. 6 up.
McCaffrey, Laura Williams. Alia Waking. Alia and her best friend Kay long to join the Keentens, a sisterhood of warrior women, but after a punishment caring for captives, Alia begins to question everything that once was certain in her life. $15.00. ISBN 0-618-19461-4. Gr. 5 up.
Morris, Gerald. The Ballad of Sir Dinadan. Though he would rather pursue his talent as a musician, eighteen-year-old Dinadan is forced to follow his older brother Tristram's path and become a knight. Set at the time of King Arthur. $15.00. ISBN 0-618-19099-6. Gr. 6 up.
O'Dell, Kathleen. Agnes Parker...Girl in Progress. As she starts sixth grade, Agnes faces challenges with her old best friend, a wonderful new friend, a longtime bully, and herself. $16.99. ISBN 0-8037-2648-1. Gr. 4 up.
Paulsen, Gary. How Angel Peterson Got His Name: And Other Outrageous Tales About Extreme Sports. Author Gary Paulsen relates tales from his youth in a small town in northwestern Minnesota in the late 1940s and early 1950s, such as skiing behind a souped-up car and imitating daredevil Evel Knievel. $14.99. ISBN 0-385-90090-2 (PLB); $12.95. ISBN 0-385-72949-9 (Tr.). Gr. 5 up.
Peck, Richard. The River Between Us. During the early days of the Civil War, the Pruitt family takes in two mysterious young ladies who have fled New Orleans to come north to Illinois. $16.99. ISBN 0-8037-2735-6. Gr. 7 up.
Seidler, Tor. Brainboy and the DeathMaster. When Darryl, a twelve-year-old orphan, is adopted by a technology genius, he finds himself the star of his very own life-threatening video game. $17.89. ISBN 0-06-019182-6; $16.99. ISBN 0-06-029181-8 (Tr.). Gr. 4 up.
Swinburne, Stephen R. The Woods Scientist. A devoted nature lover and animal tracker, Sue Morse shares her knowledge and love of some of the creatures that inhabit America's woodlands. $16.00. ISBN 0-618-04602-X. Gr. 4 up.
White, Ruth. Tadpole. In rural Kentucky in 1955, Serilda Collins, single mother of four lively girls, discovers that her orphaned nephew is being subjected to brutality. $16.00. ISBN 0-374-31002-5. Gr. 5 up.
Wong, Janet S. Minn and Jake. Fifth-grader Minn, the tallest girl in school, begins a rocky friendship with Jake, a new student who is not only very short, but is also afraid of the worms and lizards that Minn likes to collect. $16.00. ISBN 0-374-34987-8. Gr. 4 up.
Woodson, Jacqueline. Locomotion. In a series of poems, eleven-year-old Lonnie writes about his life after the death of his parents, separated from his younger sister, living in a foster home, and finding his poetic voice at school. $15.99. ISBN 0-399-23115-3. Gr. 5 up.
Yolen, Jane. Sword of the Rightful King. Merlinnus the magician devises a way for King Arthur to prove himself the rightful King of England - pulling a sword from a stone, but trouble arises when someone else removes the sword first. $17.00. ISBN 0152025278. Gr. 7 up.