Kakapo Rescue: Saving the World's Strangest Parrot by Sy Montgomery

Kakapo Rescue: Saving the World's Strangest Parrot by Sy Montgomery

Houghton Mifflin Books for Children
May 2010
80 pgs.

Summary

On remote Codfish Island off the southern coast of New Zealand live the last 91 kakapo parrots on earth. Originally this bird numbered in the millions before humans brought predators to the islands. Now on the isolated island refuge, a team of scientists is trying to restore the kakapo population.

The Boneshaker by Kate Milford

The Boneshaker by Kate Milford
Clarion Books
May 2010
372 pgs.

Summary

When Jake Limberleg brings his traveling medicine show to a small Missouri town in 1913, thirteen-year-old Natalie senses that something is wrong and, after investigating, learns that her love of automata and other machines make her the only one who can set things right.

Tell Us We're Home by Marina Budhos

Tell Us We're Home by Marina Budhos
Atheneum Books for Young Readers
May 2010
297 pgs.

Summary

Three immigrant girls from different parts of the world meet and become close friends in a small New Jersey town where their mothers have found domestic work, but their relationships are tested when one girl's mother is accused of stealing a precious heirloom.

Fish by Gregory Mone

Fish by Gregory Mone
Scholastic Press
June 2010
241 pgs.

Summary

Eleven-year-old Fish, seeking a way to help his family financially, becomes a reluctant cabin boy on a pirate ship, where he soon makes friends--and enemies--and is asked to help decipher clues that might lead to a legendary treasure.

Alchemy and Meggy Swann by Karen Cushman

Alchemy and Meggy Swann by Karen Cushman
Clarion Books
April 2010
167 pgs.

Summary

In 1573, the crippled, scorned, and destitute Meggy Swann goes to London, where she meets her father, an impoverished alchemist, and eventually discovers that although her legs are bent and weak, she has many other strengths.

Keeper by Kathi Appelt

Keeper by Kathi Appelt
Atheneum Books for Young Readers
May 2010
399 pgs.

Summary

On the night of the blue moon when mermaids are said to gather on a sandbar in the Gulf of Mexico, ten-year-old Keeper sets out in a small boat, with her dog BD and a seagull named Captain, determined to find her mother, a mermaid, as Keeper has always believed, who left long ago to return to the sea.

Top Choices - List 1

I've been researching titles that have received starred reviews, as well as looking up the usual suspects--those authors that seem to turn up year after year as writers of the best children's literature.
There will be 4 lists total, with an average of 10 - 15 titles per list. This seems pretty daunting, but by the time fall gets here, we might have eliminated some titles for consideration in our children's club and of course, in our Adult Mock Newbery Club. Now that I've got a list of approximately 75 titles, I can go ahead and give you the 1st list.

I'll post a new list every 2-3 mos.

List 1: July 1
List 2: August 1
List 3: October 11
List 4: December 1

The Extraordinary Mark Twain (According to Susy) by Barbara Kerley

A Million Shades of Gray by Cynthia Kadohata

Woods Runner by Gary Paulsen

After Ever After by Jordan Sonnenblick

Ashes by Kathryn Lasky

One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia

Sit In: How Four Friends Stood Up by Sitting Down by Andrea Pinkney

The Dreamer by Pam Munoz Ryan


Incorrigible Children of Ashton of Place: The Mysterious Howling by Maryrose Wood

The Night Fairy by Laura Amy Schlitz

Now it's time to hear from you. Which of these titles spoke to you?  Or did they?  What titles would you put on the list?

Falling In by Frances O'Roark Dowell

Falling In by Frances O'Roark Dowell
Atheneum Books For Young Readers
March 2010
245 pgs.

Summary

Middle-schooler Isabelle Bean follows a mouse's squeak into a closet and falls into a parallel universe where the children believe she is the witch they have feared for years, finally come to devour them.

Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper

Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper
Atheneum Books for Young Readers
March 2010
295 pgs.

Summary

Considered by many to be mentally retarded, a brilliant, impatient fifth-grader with cerebral palsy discovers a technological device that will allow her to speak for the first time.

Crunch by Leslie Connor

Crunch by Leslie Connor
Katherine Tegen Books
March 2010
330 pgs.

Summary
The oldest Mariss brother, fourteen-year-old Dewey, attempts to be the "embodiment of responsibility" as he juggles the management of the family's bicycle repair business while sharing the household and farm duties with his siblings after a sudden energy crisis strands their parents far from home.

Drizzle by Kathleen Van Cleve

Drizzle by Kathleen Van Cleve
Dial Books for Young Readers
March 2010
358 pgs.

Summary

When a drought threatens her family's magical rhubarb farm, eleven-year-old Polly tries to find a way to make it rain again.

Three Rivers Rising by Jame Richards

Three Rivers Rising by Jame Richards

Alfred A Knopf
April 2010
293 pgs

Summary

Sixteen-year-old Celestia is a wealthy member of the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club, where she meets and falls in love with Peter, a hired hand who lives in the valley below, and by the time of the torrential rains that lead to the disastrous Johnstown flood of 1889, she has been disowned by her family and is staying with him in Johnstown. Includes an author's note and historical timeline.

Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine

Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine

Philomel
April 2010
235 pgs.

Summary

Ten-year-old Caitlin, who has Asperger's Syndrome, struggles to understand emotions, show empathy, and make friends at school, while at home she seeks closure by working on a project with her father.

The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: The Mysterious Howling by Maryrose Wood

The Mysterious Howling by Maryrose Wood (Book 1)
The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place (series title)
Balzer and Bray
February 2010
267 pgs.

Summary
Fifteen-year-old Miss Penelope Lumley, a recent graduate of the Swanburne Academy for Poor Bright Females, is hired as governess to three young children who have been raised by wolves and must teach them to behave in a civilized manner quickly, in preparation for a Christmas ball.

The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan

The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan

Disney/Hyperion

May 2010

516 pgs.

Summary

After their father's research experiment at the British Museum unleashes the Egyptian god Set, Carter and Sadie Kane embark on a dangerous journey across the globe--a quest which brings them ever closer to the truth about their family, and their links to a secret order that has existed since the time of the pharaohs.

The Night Fairy by Laura Amy Schlitz

The Night Fairy by Laura Amy Schlitz
Candlewick Press
February 2010
117 pgs.

Summary
When Flory the night fairy's wings are accidentally broken and she cannot fly, she has to learn to do everything differently.

Some titles that will be on our 2011 Mock Newbery list

With the help of my friend Kathy, I've started to compile a handy dandy list of contenders for the 2011 Newbery Award. Have I read any of them yet? Well, I've seen the covers of many and am dreaming about reading them...does that count? Guess my answer is no. Future looms large with great reads--looking forward to these titles. Some have been published, many are upcoming:

The Night Fairy by Schlitz

They Called Themselves the KKK by Bartoletti

A Million Shades of Gray by Kadohata

One Crazy Summer by Williams-Garcia

Mockingjay by Collins

A Conspiracy of Kings by Turner

As Easy as Falling Off the Face of the Earth by Perkins

Any favorites I've missed? Feel free to share suggestions with me! Much appreciated. I'll be keeping a running list soon, along with space for folks to post their comments and questions concerning specific titles.

A Conspiracy of Kings by Megan Whalen Turner

A Conspiracy of Kings by Megan Whalen Turner

Greenwillow Books

March 2010

316 pgs.

Summary

Kidnapped and sold into slavery, Sophos, an unwilling prince, tries to save his country from being destroyed by rebellion and exploited by the conniving Mede empire.

The Dreamer by Pam Munoz Ryan

The Dreamer by Pam Munoz Ryan
Scholastic Press
April 2010
372 pgs.

Summary
A fictionalized biography of the Nobel Prize-winning Chilean poet Pablo Neruda, who grew up a painfully shy child, ridiculed by his overbearing father, but who became one of the most widely-read poets in the world.

As Easy As Falling Off the Face of the Earth by Lynne Rae Perkins

As Easy As Falling Off The Face of the Earth by Lynne Rae Perkins
Greenwillow Books
April 2010
352 pgs.
Summary
A teenaged boy encounters one comedic calamity after another when his train strands him in the middle of nowhere, and everything comes down to luck.