During World War I, British and American ships were painted with bold colors and crazy patterns from bow to stern. Why would anyone put such eye-catching designs on ships? Desperate to protect ships from German torpedo attacks, British lieutenant-commander Norman Wilkinson proposed what became known as dazzle. These stunning patterns and colors were meant to confuse the enemy about a ship’s speed and direction. By the end of the war, more than four thousand ships had been painted with these mesmerizing designs.
2018-2019 Crown Award
Reading Level: 6.1
Published by Millbrook Press
Copyright August 31, 2017
ISBN# 978-1512410143 (HB)
Elsie Mae is pretty sure this’ll be the best summer ever. She gets to explore the cool, quiet waters of the Okefenokee Swamp around her grandparents’ house with her new dog, Huck, and she’s written a letter to President Roosevelt that she’s confident will save the swamp from a shipping company and make her a major hometown hero. Then, news reaches Elsie Mae of some hog bandits stealing from swamper families, and she sees another opportunity to make her family proud while waiting to hear back from the White House. But when her cousin Henry James, who dreams of one day becoming a traveling preacher like his daddy, shows up and just about ruins her investigation with his ‘Hallelujahs,’ Elsie Mae will learn the hard way what it really means to be a hero.
2018-2019 Crown Award
Reading Level: 0.0
Published by Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Copyright September 4, 2017
ISBN# 978-1492640226 (HB)
When Reena, her little brother, Luke, and their parents first move to Maine, Reena doesn’t know what to expect. She’s ready for beaches, blueberries, and all the lobster she can eat. Instead, her parents ‘volunteer’ Reena and Luke to work for an eccentric neighbor named Mrs. Falala, who has a pig named Paulie, a cat named China, a snake named Edna and that stubborn cow, Zora.
2018-2019 Crown Award
Reading Level: 4.4
Published by HarperCollins
Copyright August 29, 2016
ISBN# 978-0062415240 (HB)
Nick Newton is not a Genius. He’s just a merely average boy from the country of Thauma. He may not be brilliant like his mom and dad or a child prodigy like his sister, but he won’t let that stop him from uncovering the mysteries of a clockwork factory or revealing a war hero’s greatest secret. With help from two new friends and his butler named Jude, Nick embarks on an adventure that will change his life forever.
2018-2019 Crown Award
Reading Level: 0.0
Published by JourneyForth
Copyright October 18, 2016
ISBN# 978-1628562354 (PB)
Joe and Ravi might be from very different places, but they’re both stuck in the same place: SCHOOL. Joe’s lived in the same town all his life, and was doing just fine until his best friends moved away and left him on his own. Ravi’s family just moved to America from India, and he’s finding it pretty hard to figure out where he fits in. Joe and Ravi don’t think they have anything in common—but soon enough they have a common enemy (the biggest bully in their class) and a common mission: to take control of their lives over the course of a single crazy week.
2018-2019 Crown Award
Reading Level: 4.8
Published by Scholastic Press
Copyright May 9, 2016
ISBN# 978-0545846608 (HB)
Flowers blooming in sheets of snow make way for happy frogs dancing in the rain. Summer swims move over for autumn sweaters until the snow comes back again. In Julie Fogliano’s skilled hand and illustrated by Julie Morstad’s charming pictures, the seasons come to life in this gorgeous and comprehensive book of poetry.
2018-2019 Crown Award
Reading Level: 4.9
Published by Roaring Brook Press
Copyright February 29, 2016
ISBN# 978-1596438521 (HB)
Zoe Reindeer considers herself ‘just Zoe’ never measuring up to her too-perfect older sister or her smarty-pants little brother. Truthfully, though, she’d rather just blend in with the plants at the family business, Doc Reindeer’s Exotic Plant Wonderland. She does have one friend, Q, and he’s the best one ever, but he’s moving away, leaving Zoe to fend for herself, and she doesn’t know what she’ll do without him. That is until a tall astronomer from Madagascar comes to the nursery looking for a Baobab tree. His visit starts a ball rolling that makes Zoe long for real adventures, not just imaginary ones, and shows her that perhaps her first real adventure is finally beginning.
2018-2019 Crown Award
Reading Level: 4.5
Published by Nancy Paulsen Books
Copyright August 15, 2016
ISBN# 978-0399170973 (HB)
Stephen Satlow is an eight-year-old boy living in Brooklyn, New York, which means he only cares about one thing-the Dodgers. Steve and his father spend hours reading the sports pages and listening to games on the radio. Aside from an occasional run-in with his teacher, life is pretty simple for Steve. But then Steve hears a rumor that an African American family is moving to his all-Jewish neighborhood. It’s 1948 and some of his neighbors are against it. Steve knows this is wrong. His hero, Jackie Robinson, broke the color barrier in baseball the year before.
2018-2019 Crown Award
Reading Level: 4.3
Published by Scholastic Press
Copyright January 25, 2016
ISBN# 978-0545804516 (HB)
