Special Collections
ALA Award Winners - Children's
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Esperanza Rising (Scholastic Gold)
by Pam Muñoz RyanEsperanza Rising joins the Scholastic Gold line, which features award-winning and beloved novels. Includes exclusive bonus content!Esperanza thought she'd always live a privileged life on her family's ranch in Mexico. She'd always have fancy dresses, a beautiful home filled with servants, and Mama, Papa, and Abuelita to care for her. But a sudden tragedy forces Esperanza and Mama to flee to California and settle in a Mexican farm labor camp. Esperanza isn't ready for the hard work, financial struggles brought on by the Great Depression, or lack of acceptance she now faces. When Mama gets sick and a strike for better working conditions threatens to uproot their new life, Esperanza must find a way to rise above her difficult circumstances-because Mama's life, and her own, depend on it.
Henry And Mudge And The Great Grandpas
by Cynthia Rylant and Suçie StevensonHenry (and of course Mudge) loves to visit Great Grandpa Bill. He lives in a house with a lot of other grandpas who like to play with a little boy and his dog. But when Henry discovers a swimming pond near the grandpas' house, he finds out how much fun the grandpas really can be.
Winner of the Theodore Seuss Geisel Medal
A Hand Full of Stars
by Rafik SchamiExperience a wonderfully complex world of characters and cultures as you explore modern Damascus with a spirited teenage boy.Amid the turmoil of modern Damascus, one teenage boy finds his political voice in a message of rebellion that echoes throughout Syria and as far away as Western Europe. Inspired by his dearest friend, old Uncle Salim, he begins a journal to record his thoughts and impressions of family, friends, life at school, and his growing feelings for his girlfriend, Nadia. Soon the hidden diary becomes more than just a way to remember his daily adventures; on its pages he explores his frustration with the government injustices he witnesses. His courage and ingenuity finally find an outlet when he and his friends begin a subversive underground newspaper.Warmed by a fine sense of humor, this novel is at once a moving love story and a passionate testimony to the difficult and committed actions being taken by young people around the world. This book is not only suited for teenagers, it is also quite exciting to read for adults!
Tales For Very Picky Eaters
by Josh Schneider2012 Winner of the Theodor Seuss Geisel Award! James is a very picky eater. His dad has to get creative--very creative--in order to get James to eat foods he thinks he doesn't like. He presents James with a series of outlandish scenarios packed with fanciful and gross kid-friendly details--like pre-chewed gum as an alternative to broccoli and lumpy oatmeal that grows so big it eats the dog--in an effort to get James to eat. But it is eventually James himself who discovers that some foods are not so bad, after all, if you're willing to give them a try. This irreverently hilarious early reader, it explores a universal point of contention between parent and child in a playful, satisfying way.
Winner of the Theodore Seuss Geisel Medal
The Shadows of Ghadames
by Joelle StolzIN THE LIBYAN CITY of Ghadames, Malika watches her merchant father depart on one of his caravan expeditions. She too yearns to travel to distant cities, and longs to learn to read like her younger brother. But nearly 12 years old, and soon to be of marriagable age, Malika knows that--like all Muslim women--she must be content with a more secluded, more limited life. Then one night a stranger enters her home . . . someone who disrupts the traditional order of things--and who affects Malika in unexpected ways."I was enchanted by this story of a brave Berber girl who dares to dream and its filigree of details about harem life, ancient trade routes, goddesses and healers. The real beauty of The Shadows of Ghadames is that it transcends the exotic to explore universal truths about the condition of being human."--Suzanne Fisher Staples, author of Newbery Honor Book,Shabanu: Daughter of the WindFrom the Hardcover edition.
Fox the Tiger
by Corey R. TaborFun-loving, mischievous Fox wishes he were a tiger. Tigers are big and fast and sneaky. So he decides to become one! Soon Turtle and Rabbit are joining in the fun. But will Fox want to be a tiger forever?
In Fox the Tiger, this winning trickster character and his animal friends learn that the best thing to be is yourself. Fox the Tiger is a My First I Can Read book, which means it’s perfect for shared reading with a child.
A Faraway Island
by Annika ThorTorn from their homeland, two Jewish sisters find refuge in Sweden. It's the summer of 1939. Two Jewish sisters from Vienna—12-year-old Stephie Steiner and 8-year-old Nellie—are sent to Sweden to escape the Nazis. They expect to stay there six months, until their parents can flee to Amsterdam; then all four will go to America. But as the world war intensifies, the girls remain, each with her own host family, on a rugged island off the western coast of Sweden. Nellie quickly settles in to her new surroundings. She’s happy with her foster family and soon favors the Swedish language over her native German. Not so for Stephie, who finds it hard to adapt; she feels stranded at the end of the world, with a foster mother who’s as cold and unforgiving as the island itself. Her main worry, though, is her parents—and whether she will ever see them again. From the Hardcover edition.
Crossing Bok Chitto
by Tim TingleThere is a river called Bok Chitto that cuts through Mississippi. In the days before the War Between the States, in the days before the Trail of Tears, Bok Chitto was a boundary. On one side of the river lived the Choctaws. On the other side lived the plantation owners and their slaves. If a slave escaped and made his way across Bok Chitto, the slave was free.
Moribito
by Nahoko UehashiYou've never read a fantasy novel like this one! The deep well of Japanese myth merges with the Western fantasy tradition for a novel that's as rich in place and culture as it is hard to put down.Balsa was a wanderer and warrior for hire. Then she rescued a boy flung into a raging river -- and at that moment, her destiny changed. Now Balsa must protect the boy -- the Prince Chagum -- on his quest to deliver the great egg of the water spirit to its source in the sea. As they travel across the land of Yogo and discover the truth about the spirit, they find themselves hunted by two deadly enemies: the egg-eating monster Rarunga . . . and the prince's own father.
My Family for the War
by Anne C. VoorhoeveWinner of the Mildred L. Batchelder medal for most oustanding children's book in translation. Escaping Nazi Germany on the kindertransport changes one girl's life forever At the start of World War II, ten-year-old Franziska Mangold is torn from her family when she boards the kindertransport in Berlin, the train that secretly took nearly 10,000 children out of Nazi territory to safety in England. Taken in by strangers who soon become more like family than her real parents, Frances (as she is now known) courageously pieces together a new life for herself because she doesn't know when or if she'll see her true family again. Against the backdrop of war-torn London, Frances struggles with questions of identity, family, and love, and these experiences shape her into a dauntless, charming young woman. Originally published in Germany, Anne Voorhoeve's award-winning novel is filled with humor, danger, and romance.
The Murderer's Ape
by Jakob WegeliusA captivating story about dark truths and heinous crimes as well as unexpected friendships, with detailed black-and-white illustrations throughout. Perfect for fans of mystery and detective stories.
Sally Jones is not only a loyal friend, she’s an extraordinary individual. In overalls or in a maharaja’s turban, this unique gorilla moves among humans without speaking but understanding everything. She and the Chief are devoted comrades who operate a cargo boat. A job they are offered pays big bucks, but the deal ends badly, and the Chief is falsely convicted of murder. For Sally Jones this is the start of a harrowing quest for survival and to clear the Chief's name. Powerful forces are working against her, and they will do anything to protect their secrets.
*Winner of the 2018 Batchelder Award
Are You Ready to Play Outside? (An Elephant and Piggie Book)
by Mo WillemsMeet Elephant Gerald and Piggie. Gerald is careful. Piggie is not. Piggie cannot help smiling. Gerald can. Gerald worries so that Piggie does not have to. Gerald and Piggie are best friends. In Are You Ready to Play Outside? Piggie can't wait to go play in the sunshine. But will a rainy day ruin all the fun?
Winner of the Theodore Seuss Geisel Medal
There Is a Bird on Your Head!
by Mo WillemsGerald and Piggie are best friends. In There Is a Bird On Your Head!, Gerald discovers that there is something worse than a bird on your head--two birds on your head! Can Piggie help her best friend?
Winner of the Theodore Seuss Geisel Medal