Children’s Book Week, May 11-17, 2009

Last month, the S-collection celebrated El Dia de Los Ninos/El Dia de Los Libros, an annual event that promotes literacy for children of all linguistic and cultural backgrounds. The celebration and promotion of young readers continues this month, with Children’s Book Week, an annual event sponsored by the Children’s Book Council. As part of Children’s Book Week, held this year from May 11-17, youth are invited to vote for their favorite titles and authors as part of the Children’s Choice Book Awards, the only reader-driven awards given to authors and illustrators of books for children and teens. Please visit www.bookweekonline.com to help young readers vote for their favorite books, get tips on planning an event in your classroom or library, or for more information on the history of Children’s Book Week.

And the nominees for this year’s awards are…
Grades K-2 category:
Staake, Bob.
The Donut Chef. 2008.
In this delicious tale, a baker hangs out his shingle on a small street and soon the line for his donuts stretches down the block. But it’s not long before the competition arrives and a battle of the bakers ensues.
[Education S Collection SE. St111d]

Himmelman, John.
Katie Loves the Kittens. 2008.
When Sara Ann brings home three little kittens, Katie the dog’s enthusiasm frightens the kittens away, until she learns that quiet patience is sometimes needed to begin a friendship.
[Education S Collection SE. H576k]

Willems, Mo.
The Pigeon Wants a Puppy! 2008.
The pigeon really, really wants a puppy, but when a puppy arrives the pigeon changes its mind.
[Education S Collection SE. W667pp]

Mariconda, Barbara.
Sort it Out! 2008.
Packy the Packrat’s mother has had enough! It’s time that he sorts through his ever-growing collection of trinkets and puts them away.

Rubin, Adam.
Those Darn Squirrels! 2008.
Old Man Fookwire is a grump. The only thing he likes to do is paint pictures of the birds that visit his backyard. So he decides to get them to stay by putting up beautiful birdfeeders filled with seeds and berries. Unfortunately, the squirrels like the treats, too, and make a daring raid on the feeders.
Grades 3-4 category:
Holm, Jennifer.
Babymouse #8: Puppy Love. 2007.
Babymouse doesn’t exactly have a great history with pets–even her goldfish ran away from home. But all that’s about to change. Will Babymouse get the dog of her dreams?

Swain, Ruth Freeman.
Underwear: What We Wear Under There. 2008.
With uproarious illustrations by John O’Brian, Ruth Freeman Swain sets out to discover the truth behind this curious topic. A time line is included.

Williams, Dinah.
Spooky Cemeteries. 2008.
Do the dead tell tales? Readers will find out in this scary trip through 11 of the world’s spookiest graveyards!

Brennan-Nelson, Denise.
Willow. 2008.
Miss Hawthorn doesn’t like painting out of the lines, until new student Willow joins the class. Magical things can happen when your imagination is allowed to run wild, and for Miss Hawthorn the notion of what is art and what is possible is forever changed.

DK Publishing.
One Million Things: A Visual Encyclopedia. 2008.
Featuring gorgeous photographs that illustrate and educate, this visual encyclopedia is jam-packed with thousands and thousands of images that bring more than one million things to light.
Grades 5-6 category:
Claybourne, Anna.
100 Most Dangerous Things on the Planet. 2008.
Kids will learn how to handle natural disasters, extreme weather, dangerous animals, and being lost in the wild. From asteroid strikes to avalanches, being lost in a cave to being attacked by an alligator, this is the ultimate survival guide!

Kibuishi, Kazu.
Amulet: The Stonekeeper. 2008.
Emily’s and Narvin’s mother is kidnapped and dragged into a strange and magical world where, it seems, the children’s great-grandfather has been before. It’s up to the children to set things right and save their mother’s life.
[Center for Children’s Books S. K533s]

Boos, Ben.
Swords: An Artist’s Devotion. 2008.
Illustrated with breathtaking intricacy, a celebration of swords and swordsmen spans history and cultures to review the ancient warriors who lived by the sword, from Beowulf to medieval knights, and from stealthy ninja and samurai to legendary maidens of war.
[Education S Collection Q. S.623.441 B64449s]

Lupica, Mike.
The Big Field. 2008.
When fourteen-year-old baseball player Hutch feels threatened by the arrival of a new teammate named Darryl, he tries to work through his insecurities about both Darryl and his remote and silent father, who was once a great ballplayer too.
[Education S Collection S. L973b]

Myracle, Lauren.
Thirteen. 2008.
Winnie’s thirteenth year brings many joys and challenges as she negotiates her relationship with her first boyfriend and realizes that change is inevitable in her friends, family, and even herself.
[Education S Collection S. M996th]
Teen Category:
Meyer, Stephenie.
Breaking Dawn. 2008.
In the fourth and final book in the #1 bestselling teen vampire Twilight Saga, questions will be answered and the fate of Bella and Edward will be revealed.
[Uni High M5758b]

Collins, Suzanne.
The Hunger Games. 2008.
In a future North America, where the rulers of Panem maintain control through an annual televised survival competition pitting young people from each of the twelve districts against one another, sixteen-year-old Katniss’s skills are put to the test when she voluntarily takes her younger sister’s place.
[Education S Collection S. C696h]

Dessen, Sarah.
Lock and Key. 2008.
When she is abandoned by her alcoholic mother, high school senior Ruby winds up living with Cora, the sister she has not seen for ten years, and learns about Cora’s new life, what makes a family, how to allow people to help her when she needs it, and that she too has something to offer others.
[Education S Collection S. D472l]

Greer, John.
Paper Towns. 2008.
One month before graduating from his Central Florida high school, Quentin “Q” Jacobsen basks in the predictable boringness of his life until the beautiful and exciting Margo Roth Spiegelman, Q’s neighbor and classmate, takes him on a midnight adventure and then mysteriously disappears.
[Education S Collection S. G823p]

Cabot, Meg.
Airhead. 2008.
Sixteen-year-old Emerson Watts, an advanced placement student with a disdain for fashion, is the recipient of a “whole body transplant” and finds herself transformed into one of the world’s most famous teen supermodels.
[Education S Collection S. C1125ai]
* Descriptions of books not yet in our collection are taken from the publishers’ websites. Books listed without call numbers are being ordered for the S-Collection.