CALDECOTT - HONOR BOOK

AUTHOR - LAURA VACCARO SEEGER 

GRADES - PRE-1

NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY FOR GIVING AND SHARING 

AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION - NOTABLE CHILDREN'S BOOK 

This creative cutout book encourages children to think about the color of things. As you open to the first page, you see the words Lemons are not. On the opposite page you see a cutout of a red lemon with the caption RED. Upon turning the page, the cutout lemon turns yellow as it uses the color from page one. This pattern continues throughout the book.  Ask the listener what the real color of each item is before turning the page.

There are no followup questions as each page encourages critical thinking.

AUTHOR - KATE DECAMILLO 

GRADES - 2-4  

CHRISTOPHER AWARD ☮️ - 

presented to authors who "affirm the highest values of the  human spirit by making a positive difference in the world." 

BOSTON GLOBE HORN BOOK AWARD 👍🏿

SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL - STARRED REVIEW 

REBECCA CAUDILL YOUNG READERS BOOK AWARD

This story begs to be read aloud as indicated by the numerous awards it has received. Edward Tulane is a rabbit doll who experiences love, love lost, and love found again. He is part of a loving family when he gets tossed overboard on an ocean liner. He is saved by a fisherman, gets thrown into a garbage dump, rescued by a hobo, tossed off a train, and eventually finds his way into the hands of a sick child. While the ending is somewhat predictable, it takes nothing away from this tale that celebrates the human spirit. The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane is a book that you will read to your classes repeatedly. It is that good.  

1. What place do you think Edward enjoyed being the most? Explain.
     

    Answers will vary. 

2. What do you think was Edward’s worst experience?
     Answers will vary. 

3. What character do you think showed the most love in this story?      

    Answers will vary. Possible answers - The hobo used his clothes to dress

    Edward. Abilene loved Edward so much that she took him to bed with her

    and was constantly talking to him. Bryce gave Edward to his ailing sister

    to make her feel  better.


AUTHOR - DR. SEUSS 

GRADES - PRE-2  

AMERICAN BOOKSELLERS -  BOOK OF THE YEAR (ABBY) AWARD -     CHILDREN 

 NEA - TEACHERS TOP 100 BOOKS FOR CHILDREN👍🏿

Unlike his other books with funny looking characters and silly names, Dr. Seuss relates feelings to colors as he encourages children to talk about their emotions. For example, he compares black to anger by writing - “Then come my black days, mad  and loud. I howl. I growl at every cloud.” Each page lends itself to discussion.

1. Create a book about a particular emotion. For example, each 
child could finish 

    this sentence - I really get angry when …. .     A picture could accompany the 

    response. If they are not printing yet, they can dictate to you. 

2. Have the class respond to this question:  How are black days different from 

    yellow days? 

3. What color are you right  now?

AUTHOR - STACEY RODERICK 

GRADES - PRE-2

TEXAS 2X2 READING LIST, TEXAS LIBRARY ASSOCIATION BEST BOOKS FOR KIDS AND TEEN - STARRED  SELECTION    

CANADIAN CHILDREN'S BOOK CENTRE - WINNER 2017 

DELAWARE DIAMONDS AWARD, DIAMOND STATE READING ASSOCIATION

Eight sea animals are presented in the form of a guessing game. Each animal is given a four page spread. On the first two pages, you see a part of the animal. Readers are asked to identify the creature. The following pages show the animal in its habitat along with an informative paragraph.

1. (For second graders) Create a class game. Have children work in pairs. They 

    must find six animals on the computer and make two copies of each one. They

    cut out a body part for each one and paste it on one side of a 5x8 card. The

    other copy is pasted on the back of the card. To make the game more

    interesting, assign each pair of students a specific body part such as eyes. 

2. Have students create new animals by mixing body parts. They must name

    their new animal and describe its behavior based on the parts selected.

AUTHOR -KATHERINE APPLEGATE 

GRADES - 3-6

NEWBERY MEDAL -WINNER - 👍🏿

given to the author for the most distinguished  contributions to American literature for children”.
 

NEW YORK TIMES - BESTSELLER 

BULLETIN FOR THE CENTER OF CHILDREN'S BOOKS - STARRED REVIEW YOUNG READERS' CHOICE AWARD - OLDEST AWARD CHOSEN BY      CHILDREN 

AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSN. - NOTABLE CHILDREN'S BOOK

Based on a true story, Ivan, a silverback gorilla, was captured in Africa and  taken to a mall in the United States where he lived for twenty-seven years. During that time, he never saw a live gorilla. He led a rather  lonely life. After a public outcry, he was placed in the Atlanta Zoo.  

1. What do you think was the worst thing that happened to Ivan?     

    Answers will vary. Perhaps the death of Stella or the death of his parents 2.  At the end of the story, Ivan was happy living in a zoo. Is a zoo a good place 

    for wild animals? 

3.  What did you like best about this story?


AUTHOR - MO WILLEMS 

GRADES - PRE-1

CALDECOTT MEDAL - HONOR

IRMA AND JAMES BLACK AWARD - WINNER

Honoring outstanding books for young children in which text and illustrations are inseparable, each enhancing the other to produce a singular whole.


CHARLOTTE ZOLOTOW AWARD - HONOR
👍🏿

The Charlotte Zolotow Award is an American literary award presented annually for outstanding writing in a picture book published in the United States during the preceding year.

HORN BOOK - FANFARE

AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION - NOTABLE CHILDREN'S BOOK

NOTABLE CHILDREN’S BOOK IN THE LANGUAGE ARTS AWARD

This is the first of the three Knuffle Bunny tales. Trixie, the baby leaves her bunny doll at the laundromat. Since she cannot talk, she cannot communicate with her father what just happened. Fortunately, Mom comes to the rescue and the crisis is over. 

1. Did you ever lose a favorite toy? Did you feel like Trixie?

2. When Trixie started to cry, she went boneless. What does that mean?

AUTHOR - MO WILLEMS 

GRADES - PRE-1

CHRISTOPHER AWARD - ☮️

This award is presented to authors who "affirm the highest values of the human spirit by making a positive difference in the world." It is given by the Christophers, a Christian organization founded in 1945 by the Maryknoll priest James Keller.

COOPERATIVE CHILDREN’S BOOK CENTER (CCBC)👍🏿

A best of the year list of Pre-K-12 books created annually by librarians.

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY - BEST BOOKS  

This is the third of the three Knuffle Bunny tales. A little girl leaves her favorite doll on a plane. For several days, she is grief-stricken. Then she feels better when she realizes that the doll might bring happiness to another child. On the return home, she finds the doll on the plane. She is overjoyed. Then she did something quite unexpected. She gave the doll to a baby who was crying. This made the baby happy as well as the other passengers.

Do you have a favorite toy? Why do you like it

AUTHOR - LAURIE HALSE ANDERSON 

GRADES - 2-4

ONCE UPON A WORLD - BOOK AWARD☮️

This award was established by Sonia Levitin and her family to “support and perpetuate the values and mandate of the Simon Wiesenthal Center & Museum of Tolerance by honoring children’s books … which deal with issues of tolerance, diversity, human understanding and social justice, thus inspiring a young reader to promote positive change in the world.”

OPPENHEIM TOY PORTFOLIO GOLD AWARD

Share this book just before the Thanksgiving holiday. It is a most informative and interesting account of Sarah Hale and her quest to make Thanksgiving a national holiday. This determined woman persisted for over thirty years to accomplish her goal. She also supported schools for girls and argued against slavery.

1. If you could create a national holiday, what would it be?

2. There is a saying that "the pen is mightier than the sword."

     How is that true in this story?                          

AUTHOR - KATHLEEN KRULL 

GRADES - 3 - 5

JANE ADDAMS CHILDREN'S BOOK AWARD☮️

The Jane Addams Children’s Book Award annually recognizes children’s books of literary and aesthetic excellence that effectively engage children in thinking about peace, social justice, global community, and equity for all people.

CHRISTOPHER AWARD - HONOR BOOK ☮️

This award is presented to authors who "affirm the highest values of the human spirit by making a positive difference in the world." 

AMERICAS AWARD - HONOR

Portraying Latin America, the Caribbean or Latinos in the United States

SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL - BEST CHILDREN'S BOOKS

PURA BELPRE HONOR BOOK ☮️

This award is named after Pura Belpre, the first Latina librarian at the New York Public Library. The award is presented annually to a Latino/Latina writer and illustrator whose work best portrays, affirms and celebrates the Latino cultural experience in an outstanding work of literature for children and youth.

AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION - NOTABLE BOOK FOR CHILDREN

This dramatic story of Chavez's 340 mile march to protest the working conditions of migrant  farm workers in California  is the central idea of this well-written biography. However, his family experienced financial difficulties and they had to move to California where they worked on farms. The wages were low and the living conditions were terrible. This caused young Cesar to think about organizing  and protesting for worker rights. This easy to read biography is just perfect for upper elementary students.

1. If Cesar did not move to California and work on farms, would he have become

    a leader for farm workers?

2. Why do you think the farm owners treated their workers so poorly?                                        

AUTHOR - MIRANDA PAUL

GRADES - 1-4

GREEN EARTH BOOK AWARD - HONOR☮️

 is the nation’s first environmental stewardship book award for children and young adult books.

EL DIA DE LOS NINOS/EL DIA DE LOS LIBROS SELECTION☮️

Highlighting diverse children’s books to honor the culture and languages of all children

WE ARE KID LIT COLLECTIVE SUMMER READING LISTS☮️

recognizing the humanity of Indigenous and People of Color (IPOC) in youth literature, people with disabilities, and people from the LGBTQIA+ communities

CHILDREN’S AFRIKANA BOOK AWARD - COMMENDED

When goats die after eating plastic bags, a young woman decides to do something about plastic bag pollution. She collects the bags and washes them. Then she makes plastic threads which she crochets into purses. Other women also follow suit and donate part of their earnings to improve the health of their community. This is a wonderful story that promotes ecological awareness and illustrates how one person can make a difference. The author provides added information about this project along with a short bibliography of similar books.

This picture story written in verse, illustrates the unfairness of the separate but equal doctrine. The last few pages contrast the old order with conditions after more humane laws were passed.

What can you do to make your community a better place?

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