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2009 Master List
Rebecca Caudill Young Readers' Book Award
Illinois' Children's Choice Award, Grades 4-8
Please Note: The numbers in parentheses indicate grade/interest level as determined by the Steering Committee for the Rebecca Caudill Young Readers' Book Award and are included to help guide readers to titles which may be most appropriate for them. To participate in the program registered organizations must provide participants access to at least 12 of the titles. Teachers, librarians and parents are encouraged to evaluate these books in order to determine their appropriateness to individual students and school communities.
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Alabama Moon
Key, Watt
Farrar Straus Giroux, 2006. (Gr. 7-8)
After the death of his father, ten-year-old Moon leaves their forest shelter home and is sent to
an Alabama institution, becoming entangled in the outside world he has never known and
making good friends, a relentless enemy, and finally a new life.
Author's website * Book Author interview on Alabama Moon |
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Black Storm Comin'
Wilson, Diane Lee
Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2005. (Gr. 6-8)
Twelve-year-old Colton, son of a black mother and a white father, takes a job with the Pony
Express in 1860 after his father abandons the family on their California-bound wagon train,
and risks his life to deliver an important letter that may affect the growing conflict between
the North and South.
Pony Express Website 1 * Website 2 * Website 3
Pony Express California * Teacher Resources (PDF)
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A Drowned Maiden's Hair: A Melodrama
Schlitz, Laura Amy
Candlewick Press, 2006. (Gr. 5-8)
At the Barbary Asylum for Female Orphans, eleven-year-old Maud is adopted by three
spinster sisters, moonlighting as mediums, who take her home and reveal to her the role she
will play in their séances.
author video
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Gossamer
Lowry, Lois
Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006. (Gr. 4-6)
While learning to bestow dreams, a young dream giver tries to save an eight-year-old boy
from the effects of both his abusive past and the nightmares inflicted on him by the
frightening Sinisteeds.
Author's website * Book
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Hattie Big Sky
Larson, Kirby
Delacorte Press, 2006. (Gr. 6-8)
After inheriting her uncle's homesteading claim in Montana, sixteen-year-old orphan Hattie
Brooks travels from Iowa in 1917 to make a home for herself and encounters some
unexpected problems related to the war being fought in Europe.
Author's website * Author
Book 1 * Book 2 * Teacher Resource
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The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Selznick, Brian
Scholastic Press, 2007. (Gr. 4-8)
When twelve-year-old Hugo, an orphan living and repairing clocks within the walls of a Paris train station in 1931,meets a mysterious toy seller and his goddaughter, his undercover life and his biggest secret are jeopardized.
Author * Book * George Méliès |
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Letters From Wolfie
Sherlock, Patti
Viking, 2004. (Gr. 5-8)
Certain that he is doing the right thing by donating his dog, Wolfie, to the Army's scout program in Vietnam, thirteen-year-old Mark begins to have second thoughts when the Army refuses to say when and if Wolfie will ever return.
Author's website
War dogs 1 * War dogs 2 * War dogs 3 * War dogs 4 |
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Life as We Knew It
Pfeffer, Susan Beth
Harcourt, Inc., 2006. (Gr. 7-8)
Through journal entries, sixteen-year-old Miranda describes her family's struggle to survive after a meteor hits the moon, causing worldwide tsunamis, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions.
Author's blog * Author bio
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Oh, Rats! : The Story of rats and people
Marrin, Albert
Dutton Children's Books, 2006. (Gr. 4-8)
Marrin presents astonishing facts about rats, including their history and survival, interaction with man, role in epidemics and diseases, as well as contribution to mankind.
Author's website
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Project Mulberry
Park, Linda Sue
Clarion Books, 2005. (Gr. 4-6)
While working on a project for an after-school club, Julia, a Korean American girl, and her friend Patrick learn not just about silkworms, but also about tolerance, prejudice, friendship, patience, and more. Between the chapters are short dialogues between the author and main character about the writing of the book.
Author's website * Silkworm diary with photos
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shug
Han, Jenny
Simon & Schuster, 2006. (Gr. 6-8)
Annemarie Wilcox, or Shug as her family calls her, is beginning to think there's nothing worse than being twelve. She's too tall, too freckled, and way too flat-chested. Shug is sure that there's not one good or amazing thing about her. And now she has to start junior high, where the friends she counts most dear aren't acting so dear anymore -- especially Mark...
Author's website
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Please Note: The numbers in parentheses indicate grade/interest level as determined by the Steering Committee for the Rebecca Caudill Young Readers' Book Award and are included to help guide readers to titles which may be most appropriate for them. To participate in the program registered organizations must provide participants access to at least 12 of the titles. Teachers, librarians and parents are encouraged to evaluate these books in order to determine their appropriateness to individual students and school communities.
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