Award Winners

Mr. Poppers Penguins - Richard and Florence Atwater
Newbery Honor, 1939
Reading level: Grade 4-5
Publisher: Little Brown & Company, 1938

     Mr. Popper is a poor house painter who dreams of adventures larger than his simple life. After sending a letter to his hero Admiral Drake, who is currently exploring the Antarctic, the Popper family receives a surprise package. This surprise package, a penguin named Captain Cook, soon becomes 12 penguins. Mr. Popper now has more adventure then he ever dreamed of.  Mr. Popper and his amazing penguins, quickly become the most popular people in Stillwater. This classic and quite humorous piece of children's literature is an quick and easy read, the story is constantly moving but easy to follow. A excellent book for any nature lover.

Because of Winn-Dixie - Kate DiCamillo
Newbery Honor,  2001
Reading level: Grade 4-5
Publisher: Candlewick Press 2000

     10-year old India Opal's mother deserted her and her preacher father. They start life in a new town and India Opal has no friends. One day, she claims a happy, ugly, horse of a mutt she named Winn Dixie, as her own to prevent him from going to the pound. That one event and "Because of Winn-Dixie", Opal starts a chain of serendipitous events meeting and befriending the residents of her new town She learns to see people with her heart and not what others say about them. The only reason I read this book was because a 10 year old recommended it. I'm glad I did.


Doctor De Soto - William Steig
Newbery Honor, 1983
Reading Level: Grade 3-4
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1982

     With Mrs. De Soto as his assistant, Dr. De Soto: the mouse dentist, treats all animals big and small, except "cats and other dangerous animals." One day, a fox shows up with a horrible toothache, and feeling sorry for the fox, He decides to take his chances. When the fox comes back for his new tooth, will the good Doctor end up as the fox's next meal or will he out smart the fox? This tale of kindness makes a wonderful read aloud, and there are many resources for lesson plans located on the net.


Al Capone Does My Shirts - Gennifer Choldenko
Newbery Honor, 2005
Reading Level: Grade 6-8
Publisher: Putnam Juvenile, 2004

     When his father gets a job at a prison, Moose Flanagan and his family move to Alcatraz Island. He is forced to give up baseball and help care for Natalie, his autistic sister, when she gets rejected from a special school. To complicate his life even further, he meets Piper, the irresistibly cute and troublesome warden's daughter. Slowly, Moose adapts to life on Alcatraz and even helps his sister fit in. Interestingly, the story is set in 1935 when guards lived on the island with their families and when the prison's most famous inmate, Al Capone, was a resident. The unusual coming-of-age story holds the readers interest with what life was like in that setting in 1935.

Outside Over There - Maurice Sendak

National Book Award for Children's Books, 1982

Reading Level: K-2

Publisher: Harper Collins, 1982

     When father is away at sea, Ida is in charge of watching her baby sister. when Ida is not looking Goblins in robes take her away. Yes, it won an National Book Award, but it does not change the fact that this book is creepy. The "ice baby" illustration was enough to make me dislike this one. Although it does utilize a old style font that helps create the creepy atmosphere of the book, children seem to love this one. 

The Tale of Despereaux - Kate DiCamillo

Newbery Award, 2004

Reading Level: Grade 3-5

Publisher: Candlewick, 2004

     A tale with four unlikely heroes: Despereaux Tilling (a small mouse with big ears), Miggery Sow (an imaginative servant child hard of hearing), Chiaroscuro (a rat longing for the light), and Princess Pea with whom Despereaux has fallen in love with. Kate DiCamillo tells this tale in a "Dear Reader" style. She explains everything that might be hard to understand. It is divided into 4 "books" or chapters and the first three are told in reverse, with the most recent events being first and then going backwards in time. This allows the reader to easily put together the pieces of the story together themselves. The captioned illustrations helped explain portions of the story that a reader might have trouble imagining, Miggory Sow's "clouted ears" for example. I would have to say this was my favorite read this week.

A Step From Heaven - An Na
Michael L. Printz Award, 2002
Reading Level 8-12
Publisher: Speak, 2003

     When she was 4 years old Korean, Young Ju immigrated to America with her parents, She believed since the plane is going into the sky, America must be closer to heaven. The family soon finds out the difficulties before them. Their economic struggles, difficulties with language, and a drunk abusive father are only some of the problems they encounter. Adapting to a culture different from her own Young Ju's courage throughout the book is astonishing. The book is written in the first person, where english is not her language. The first few chapters starts out as thoughts from a four year old and is sometimes difficult to decipher, but as the book progresses and Young Ju learns english the storytelling flows much better.

Ramona and Her Mother - Beverly Cleary

National Book Award, 1981

Reading Level: 2-5

Publisher: Scholastic, 1984

      Both her parents work, her sister is a becoming a teen, Ramona, at 7 1/2 tries to win her mothers heart, but nothing works out for Ramona. When she adds bluing to the bathtub to make the water look more like an ocean, she and her friend fall into the tub and blue themselves. When everyone forgets to turn on the slow cooker, and dinner is not ready, an argument between Mom and Dad erupts. She begins to believe there she is not loved and everything is going downhill. Even when she tries to please herself and "fulfill her lifelong dream of squeezing an entire tube of toothpaste", Mom is not pleased, but Mom has one trick up her sleeve. As an adult, you tend to forget that the littlest things effect a child's perspective so greatly. Written from the perspective of a 7 year old, this book reminds you of that. It also teaches the young reader that not everything is how it seems.