Home of the Brave by Katherine Applegate

Grades: 5-6

Committee Annotation:
Forced to flee his home in Africa, Kek faces new experiences like airplanes, snow, and school. A friend and a cow, along with some courage and creativity, help him find his way in his new country.

Subjects: Refugees, immigration, Sudan, Minnesota, grief, homesickness, problem-solving, resilience, mothers and sons, friendship, cows, free verse, point of view.

Author website: http://www.katherineapplegate.com/

Spiders by Nic Bishop

Grades: 3-6

Committee Annotation:
Become a spider expert with these EXTREME close-up photos and astonishing, sometimes gruesome, arachnid facts. Gaze into their eyes and can almost feel their fangs!

Subjects: Spiders, photography

Author website: http://www.nicbishop.com/

Klipfish Code by Mary Casanova

Grades: 4-6

Committee Annotation:
While her parents work for the underground during World War II in Norway, a 13 year-old girl and her younger brother are sent to her unbending grandfather. What secrets do her grandfather and the soldier she tried to save hold for her?

Subjects: Family, underground movement, German occupation of Norway, WWII, family loyalty, patriotism, brothers and sisters

Author website: http://www.marycasanova.com/

Surfer of the Century by Ellie Crowe

Grades: 3-6

Committee Annotation:
Duke, known as the father of modern surfing, once rode a 30-foot wave for almost two miles onto Waikiki Beach. This native Hawaiian was also the fastest swimmer in the world for 12 years.

Subjects: Swimming, surfing, Hawaii, overcoming prejudice, the Olympics

Author website: http://www.elliecrowe.com/

Lemonade War by Jacqueline Davies

Grades: 3-5

Committee Annotation:
Evan is starting fourth grade in six days. Unfortunately, so is his younger and smarter sister. When Evan's anger develops into a competition- who can make more money selling lemonade- it's full out war.

Subjects: Competitions, brothers and sisters, skipping a grade, arithmetic, problem-solving, marketing, franchises, donating money, charities

Author website: http://www.jacquelinedavies.net/

Finding Stinko by Michael De Guzman

Grades: 5-6

Committee Annotation:
Newboy hasn't spoken in three years. After running away from his foster home, he discovers Stinko-a broken ventriloquist dummy who gives him back his voice- and he finds help in other unexpected places as he makes his way in the city on his own.

Subjects: Mutism, ventriloquism, runaways, foster homes, friendship, life on the street

Author website: none

White Elephant by Sid Fleischman

Grades: 3-6

Committee Annotation:
Run-run, an orhaned elephant trainer in old Siam, angers Prince Noi the Idle. As punishment, the prince sends him a sacred white elephant which must be cared for, but he cannot be used for work.

Subjects: Humorous stories, elephants, friendship, Thailand

Author website: http://www.sidfleischman.com/

Comets, Stars, the Moon and Mars by Douglas Florian

Grades: 3-6

Committee Annotation:
Imaginative collage illustrations complete with cut-outs, "I spy-like" details and snippets of photographs, book illustrations and charts complement Florian's lively poems. "A galactic glossary" adds to the fun facts with details spanning our Universe to "the great beyond."

Subjects: Poetry, outer space, planets, constellations, galaxies, black holes, comets, solar systems, collage, paintings

Author website: http://www.storybookart.com/meet_dflorian.html

Igraine the Brave by Cornelia Funke

Grades: 3-6

Committee Annotation:
Igraine is from a family of magicians but she longs to be a knight. She gets her chance when her parents turn themselves into pigs at the same time. Osmund the Greedy attacks their castle. Can Igraine, her brother, two parental pigs, a sorrowful knight, and some magical singing books save the day?

Subjects: Fantasy, magic, magicians, spells, knights, knighthood, brothers and sisters, family, gender roles, pigs, books, adventures

Author website: http://www.corneliafunkefans.com/mainSiteMozUSA.html

Deep and Dark and Dangerous by Mary Downing Hahn

Grades: 4-6

Committee Annotation:
A shadowy figure haunts a 13 year-old girl at her aunt's summer cottage. Is this figure connected with the secret that has haunted her aunt and mother for 30 years? A haunting experience for all.

Subjects: Family secrets, ghosts, haunting, mothers and daughters, cousins, friendship.

Author website: none

Just Grace by Charise Harper

Grades: 3-5

Committee Annotation:
Wanting to help others and being an understanding person (so she thinks), Grace's good intentions backfire when she tries to help a neighbor.

Subjects: Empathy, neighbors, schools, friendship, emotions and feelings

Author website: http://www.chariseharper.com/

Being Teddy Roosevelt by Claudia Mills

Grades: 3-5

Committee Annotation:
What 4th grader Riley wants most is to own a saxophone and to take music lessons. Researching Teddy Roosevelt for a biography book project inspires Riley to be as tenacious as Teddy and to persevere to achieve his ultimate goal.

Subjects: Conduct of life, perseverance, ethics, single-parents families, friendship, schools, self-esteem

Author website: http://www.claudiamillsauthor.com/

How to Steal a Dog by Barbara O’Connor

Grades: 4-6

Committee Annotation:
Nobody knows, not even her best friend, that Georgina, her mother and her brother got kicked out of their apartment and must live in their car. Georgina sees an old poster offering $500 for the return of a dog- if she could only get $500 for a month's rent-but how? Could she really steal a dog?

Subjects: Homelessness, single-parent families, brothers and sisters, family problems, dogs, friendship, money schemes

Author website: http://www.barboconnor.com/

Beowulf: A hero’s tale retold by James Rumford

Grades: 5-6

Committee Annotation:
Here's the simple epic story of Beowulf, whose heroic deeds include the defeat of the monster Grendel, Grendel's mother and a dragon that threatened the kingdom. A beautifully illustrated adaption of this timeless classic.

Subjects: Adventure, monsters, dragons, epic poetry, folklore, legends, mythology, Anglo-Saxon England

Author website: none

First Light by Rebecca Stead

Grades: 5-6

Committee Annotation:
Peter's mother has kept a secret from him all his life. When he accompanies his parents on a scientific expedition to Greenland and meets Thea, a girl who lives in a community hidden underground, he begins to unravel the mystery.

Subjects: Science fiction, adventure, Greenland, global warming, family secrets, dishonesty

Author website: http://classof2k7.com/authors/rebecca_stead.php

Emma-Jean Lazarus Fell Out of a Tree by Lauren Tarshis

Grades: 5-6

Committee Annotation:
Emma-Jean is both a quirky and logical seventh grader who lacks people skills. She has no need for friends but after stumbling upon a classmate sobbing in the girl's restroom, Emma-Jean uses her problem-solving ability to help, leading to some rather interesting results.

Subjects: Friendship, peer pressure, bullying, middle school, problem-solving, rational thinking, meddling, family, grief, point of view

Author website: http://www.laurentarshis.com/

Dragon's Egg by Sarah L. Thomson

Grades: 4-6

Committee Annotation:
Mella must save a dragon's egg! To accomplish this she must face fierce fire-breathing dragons, the king's knights, and an amazing adventure.

Subjects: Fantasy, adventure, dragons, quests, knights

Author website: http://home.earthlink.net/~slthomson/index.shtml

Birmingham, 1963 by Carole B. Weatherford

Grades: 4-6

Committee Annotation:
The shock, the horror. Four young people gone forever. A girl remembers turning ten during the time of the Civil Rights marches, sit-ins, and bombings by the Klu Klux Klan.

Subjects: Civil Rights Movement, Alabama, African-Americans, Klu Klux Klan, racism, church bombing, loss, free verse, photography

Author website: http://www.caroleweatherford.com/

Leepike Ridge by N.D. Wilson

Grades: 5-6

Committee Annotation:
Eleven year-old Tom's lazy trip down a stream on a piece of packing foam turns into a nightmare when he is sucked under a mountain into a series of underground caverns- and washes ashore beside a dead body! This is just the beginning of his amazing quest for survival and a way out.

Subjects: Adventure, missing persons, caves, mothers and sons, buried treasure, survival, rivers

Author website: www.ndwilson.com

My name is Sally Little Song by Brenda Woods

Grades: 4-6

Committee Annotation:
Can Sally and her family escape slavery and the slave hunters to find safety withe Seminole Indians in Florida?

Subjects: Historical fiction, slavery, escaped slaves, Seminole Indians, tribal life, survival

Author website: http://brendawoods.net/index.html