On the last night of summer, Emma tags along with her game warden father on a routine call. They’re supposed to rescue a wild rabbit from a picket fence, but instead they find a little bunny. Emma convinces her father to bring him home for the night. The next day, Emma starts public school for the very first time after years of being homeschooled. More than anything, Emma wants to make a best friend in school. But things don’t go as planned. On the first day of school, she’s paired with a boy named Jack for a project. He can’t stay on topic, he speaks out of turn, and he’s obsessed with animals. Jack doesn’t fit in, and Emma’s worried he’ll make her stand out. Emma and Jack bond over her rescue rabbit. But will their new friendship keep Emma from finding the new best friend she’s meant to have?
2020-2021 Crown Award
Reading Level: 4.3
Published by Scholastic Press
Copyright April 26, 2019
ISBN# 978-0545914246 (HB)
Carter G. Woodson was born to two formerly enslaved people ten years after the end of the Civil War. Though his father could not read, he believed in being an informed citizen. So Carter read the newspaper to him every day. When he was still a teenager, Carter went to work in the coal mines. There he met a man named Oliver Jones, and Oliver did something important: he asked Carter not only to read to him and the other miners, but also research and find more information on the subjects that interested them. “My interest in penetrating the past of my people was deepened,” Carter wrote. His journey would take him many more years, traveling around the world and transforming the way people thought about history.
2020-2021 Crown Award
Reading Level: 4.5
Published by Peachtree Publishing Company C
Copyright February 1, 2019
ISBN# 978-1561459346 (HB)
Billie has lived with her great-aunt ever since her mom passed away and her dad left. Billie’s big brother, Leo, is about to leave, too, for the warfront. But first, she gets one more weekend with him at the ranch. Billie’s surprised when Leo brings home a fellow Marine from boot camp, Denny. She has so much to ask Leo—about losing her best friend and trying to find their father—but Denny, who is Navajo, or Diné, comes with something special: a gorgeous, but injured, stray dog. As Billie cares for the dog, whom they name Bear, she and Bear grow deeply attached to each other. Soon enough, it’s time for Leo and Denny, a Navajo Code Talker, to ship out. Billie does her part for the war effort, but she worries whether Leo and Denny will make it home, whether she’ll find a new friend, and if her father will ever come back. Can Bear help Billie—and Denny—find what’s most important?
2020-2021 Crown Award
Reading Level: 4.1
Published by Scholastic Press
Copyright April 24, 2018
ISBN# 978-0545840750 (HB)
Aiden has been afraid of the ocean since his brother’s ship was sunk by the Germans. Then the call comes in: British forces are stranded at Dunkirk, and they need help from civilian boats.
2020-2021 Lamplighter Award
Reading Level: 5.1
Published by Scholastic Press
Copyright November 27, 2018
ISBN# 978-1338226850 (HB)
Og the Frog has just moved into Room 26, and the place is hopping. There are lively kids, new routines, and a furry neighbor who seems to squeak all day. Luckily, everyone seems friendly and—BING, BANG, BOING!—some even put juicy crickets in his tank. But just as Og is getting used to this new life, there is talk of sending him back to the pond. Sure, he misses his friends, but now he has a lot more time for his favorite hobby—making up songs and poems—and he loves listening to his new friends and giving them encouraging BOINGS just when they need them. And there’s that steady supply of crickets . . . Og doesn’t want to say goodbye to his new life or his furry neighbor. But will his classmates decide to keep Og as their classroom pet or take him back to his old life, at the pond?
2020-2021 Crown Award
Reading Level: 4.2
Published by G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Reader
Copyright July 3, 2018
ISBN# 978-1524739942 (HB)
When Louisiana Elefante’s granny wakes her up in the middle of the night to tell her that the day of reckoning has arrived and they have to leave home immediately, Louisiana isn’t overly worried. After all, Granny has many middle-of-the-night ideas. But this time, things are different. This time, Granny intends for them never to return. Separated from her best friends, Raymie and Beverly, Louisiana struggles to oppose the winds of fate (and Granny) and find a way home. But as Louisiana’s life becomes entwined with the lives of the people of a small Georgia town — including a surly motel owner, a walrus-like minister, and a mysterious boy with a crow on his shoulder — she starts to worry that she is destined only for good-byes.
2020-2021 Crown Award
Reading Level: 4.5
Published by Candlewick Press
Copyright October 2, 2018
ISBN# 978-0763694630 (HB)
In the same way that Love Does has struck a deep chord with adults, kids will experience God in new and thrilling ways and see that living out our faith certainly isn’t boring! With this book, children will laugh, dream, and be inspired to make a difference for God.
2020-2021 Crown Award
Reading Level: 0.0
Published by Thomas Nelson
Copyright October 23, 2018
ISBN# 978-0718095222 (HB)
This tender exploration of loss illuminates how kindness, empathy, and friendship can lift our spirits and see us through many tomorrows. It will resonate with anyone who has experienced hardship or grief, from the death of a loved one or a pet, to a friend moving away, or the transition to a new home or family situation.
2020-2021 Gallery Award
Reading Level: 2.2
Published by Scholastic Press
Copyright April 26, 2019
ISBN# 978-1338214888 (HB)
A responsible little boy who’s eager to do his part wakes up joyful and ready to celebrate his favorite day of all. But there’s a lot of work to do—pies to be baked, deviled eggs to be filled—and the boy has lots of jobs to complete before he can enjoy the fun . . . the world’s best picnic!
2020-2021 Gallery Award
Reading Level: 0.0
Published by Neal Porter Books
Copyright May 14, 2019
ISBN# 978-0823442881 (HB)
It’s time to tell a special tale that will warm the hearts of readers of all ages. Seeds and Trees revels in the power of words. It explores their effects on feelings and emotions. And it does so through the journey of two different seeds.
2020-2021 Gallery Award
Reading Level: 0.0
Published by The Treasured Tree
Copyright June 12, 2018
ISBN# 978-1947165687 (HB)
What makes an oak tree an oak tree and what makes a squirrel a squirrel? In Squirrel’s Family Tree, things aren’t always what they seem. As squirrel searches for, finds, and hides her acorn treasures beneath the shadows of the great oak trees in the forest, little does she know the role she plays in creating the very environment she forages in.
2020-2021 Gallery Award
Reading Level: 3.3
Published by Orchard Book
Copyright January 29, 2019
ISBN# 978-1338187366 (HB)
You and your children can learn all about the Gaines family’s story of becoming gardeners in Joanna’s first children’s book—starting with the first little fern Chip bought for Jo. Over the years, the family’s love for gardening blossomed into what is now a beautiful, bustling garden.
2020-2021 Gallery Award
Reading Level: 0.0
Published by Thomas Nelson
Copyright April 26, 2019
ISBN# 978-1400314225 (HB)
“Misery loves company,” Mama says to James Otis. It’s been a rough couple of months for them, but Mama says as long as they have their health and strength, they’re blessed. One Sunday before Valentine’s Day, Reverend Dennis makes an announcement during the service—the Temples have lost everything in a fire, and the church is collecting anything that might be useful to them. James thinks hard about what he can add to the Temple’s “love box,” but what does he have worth giving?
2020-2021 Gallery Award
Reading Level: 3.6
Published by Schwartz & Wade
Copyright January 8, 2019
ISBN# 978-0375836152 (HB)
Celebrate the weird, wonderful, and the downright bizarre in this compelling compendium of unusual animals. From the green fur of a three-toed sloth, to the pink and wiggly appendage of the star-nosed mole, there’s something new to marvel at on every page.
2020-2021 Crown Award
Reading Level: 0.0
Published by Words & Pictures
Copyright November 23, 2018
ISBN# 978-0760363393 (HB)
The wonder of light has fascinated readers for ages. Walter Wick’s mesmerizing photographs paired with simple yet fascinating text and scientific observations help readers understand the secrets and complexity of light.
2020-2021 Lamplighter Award
Reading Level: 6.9
Published by Scholastic Press
Copyright February 26, 2019
ISBN# 978-0439165877 (HB)
Mary Lemist Titcomb (1852–1932) was always looking for ways to improve her library. As librarian at the Washington County Free Library in Maryland, Titcomb was concerned that the library was not reaching all the people it could. She was determined that everyone should have access to the library—not just adults and those who lived in town. Realizing its limitations and inability to reach the county’s 25,000 rural residents, including farmers and their families, Titcomb set about to change the library system forever with the introduction of book-deposit stations throughout the country, a children’s room in the library, and her most revolutionary idea of all—a horse-drawn Book Wagon. Soon book wagons were appearing in other parts of the country, and by 1922, the book wagon idea had received widespread support. The bookmobile was born!
2020-2021 Lamplighter Award
Reading Level: 6.3
Published by Harry N. Abrams
Copyright April 10, 2018
ISBN# 978-1419728754 (HB)
Twelve-year-old Ruby Moon Hayes does not want her new classmates to ask about her father. She does not want them to know her mother has been arrested. And she definitely does not want to make any friends. Ruby just wants to stay as silent and invisible as a new moon in the frozen sky. She and her mother won’t be staying long in Vermont anyway, and then things can go back to the way they were before everything went wrong. But keeping to herself isn’t easy when Ahmad Saleem, a Syrian refugee, decides he’s her new best friend. Or when she meets “the Bird Lady,” a recluse named Abigail who lives in a ramshackle shed near Ruby’s house. Before long Ahmad and Abigail have become Ruby’s friends―and she realizes there is more to their stories than everyone knows.
2020-2021 Lamplighter Award
Reading Level: 4.1
Published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Copyright February 5, 2019
ISBN# 978-0374309053 (HB)
Frankie knows she’ll be in big trouble if Dad discovers she secretly posted a dating profile for him online. But she’s determined to find him a wife, even if she ends up grounded for life. Frankie wants what she had before Mom died. A family of three. Two is a pair of socks or the wheels on a bicycle or a busy weekend at the B&B where Frankie and Dad live. Three is a family. And Frankie’s is missing a piece. But Operation Mom is harder to pull off than Frankie expects. None of the Possibles are very momish, the B&B’s guests keep canceling, Frankie’s getting the silent treatment from her once best friend, and there’s a maybe-ghost hanging around. Worst of all, Gram and Dad are definitely hiding secrets of their own. If a smart cookie like Frankie wants to save the B&B and find her missing piece, she’s going to have to figure out what secrets are worth keeping and when it’s time to let go.
2020-2021 Lamplighter Award
Reading Level: 4.1
Published by Scholastic Press
Copyright January 30, 2018
ISBN# 978-1338143560 (HB)
As a boy, Alan wanted to fly planes. As a young navy pilot, Alan wished he could paint the view from the cockpit. So he took an art class to learn patterns and forms. But no class could prepare him for the beauty of the lunar surface some 240,000 miles from Earth. In 1969, Alan became the fourth man and first artist on the moon. He took dozens of pictures, but none compared to what he saw through his artistic eyes. When he returned to Earth, he began to paint what he saw. Alan’s paintings allowed humanity to experience what it truly felt like to walk on the moon.
2020-2021 Gallery Award
Reading Level: 3.4
Published by Orchard Books
Copyright May 28, 2019
ISBN# 978-1338259537 (HB)
Adolf Hitler’s Nazi party is gaining strength and becoming more menacing every day. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a pastor upset by the complacency of the German church toward the suffering around it, forms a breakaway church to speak out against the established political and religious authorities. When the Nazis outlaw the church, he escapes as a fugitive. Struggling to reconcile his faith and the teachings of the Bible with the Nazi Party’s evil agenda, Bonhoeffer decides that Hitler must be stopped by any means possible!
2020-2021 Lamplighter Award
Reading Level: 7.6
Published by Harry N. Abrams
Copyright September 18, 2018
ISBN# 978-1419728389 (HB)
Do you ever talk before you think? Mess up? Let others down? That’s what Peter did, again and again and again, and it led him to abandoning his best friend, Jesus. Peter loved Jesus. He felt terrible when he pretended not to know him. He thought all was lost when Jesus died. But Jesus is not like our other friends. He wants to forgive us when we are really sorry, even when we mess up again and again and again. And because Jesus died and rose again he can. Jesus’ death took the punishment for all of Peter’s mistakes and all our mistakes, and his resurrection showed the penalty was lifted. After he rose from the dead, Jesus went and found Peter and forgave him, and he can do the same for us. Peter spent the rest of his life telling people that if they put their trust in Jesus, they could be forgiven too again and again and again. Children know all about failing, but they don’t always experience true forgiveness. This book points them to Jesus, the one who will forgive them again and again and again.
2020-2021 Gallery Award
Reading Level: 0.0
Published by The Good Book Company
Copyright November 1, 2018
ISBN# 978-1784983024 (HB)
Grace and Ellie have been best friends since second grade. Ellie’s always right in the center of everything—and Grace is usually happy to be Ellie’s sidekick. But what happens when everything changes? This time it’s Grace who suddenly has everyone’s attention when she accidentally starts a new fad at school. It’s a fad that has first her class, then her grade, and then the entire school collecting and trading and even fighting over . . . buttons?! A fad that might also get her in major trouble and could even be the end of Grace and Ellie’s friendship. Because Ellie’s not used to being one-upped by anybody. There’s only one thing for Grace to do. With the help of Hank—the biggest button collector in the sixth grade—she will have to figure out a way to end the fad once and for all. But once a fad starts, can it be stopped?
2020-2021 Crown Award
Reading Level: 5.0
Published by Random House Books for Young Readers
Copyright August 1, 2019
ISBN# 978-0399557590 (HB)
Two years ago, the Prince Warriors lost one of their own, but now they must stand firm . . . because death is coming once again. In this sequel to Priscilla Shirer’s best-selling trilogy, the Prince Warriors return to Ahoratos to find it bare and dangerous. The Winter War is upon them
2020-2021 Lamplighter Award
Reading Level: 4.5
Published by B&H Kids
Copyright August 15, 2018
ISBN# 9781462796755 (HB)
Juliet is now an official member of the Starry Beach Club, and loves working with her new friends, Emma and Carmen, to make people’s wishes come true. Living away from her dad is still hard, and she misses her best friend from her old town, but she has her friends and the bookmobile, and San Diego feels more like home than ever. But then she learns that the bookmobile is going to have to shut down. The owner of the parking lot wants to start charging rent, and soon the bookmobile won’t be able to stay in business. The Starry Beach Club comes up with different ways to save their favorite store, but none seem to work. But then Emma gets the idea to have a crafts fair…and she wants Juliet to sell her paintings! Juliet is nervous, and isn’t sure whether she’s ready to put herself on display. Meanwhile, Carmen is feeling anxious about the possibility of her mother being deported. Will Juliet be able to be brave for herself and for Carmen?
2020-2021 Lamplighter Award
Reading Level: 0.0
Published by Scholastic Press
Copyright July 9, 2019
ISBN# 978-1338195774 (HB)