An introduction to the life of Marian Anderson, an extraordinary singer, whose life and career encouraged social change. She was the first African American to perform at the Metropolitan Opera.
2004-2005 Crown Award
Reading Level: 0.0
Published by Scholastic
Copyright October 1, 2002
ISBN# 0-439-26967-9 (PB, HB)
An Asian cook and a Chinese New Year celebration help a ten-year-old girl at a stagecoach station regain her confidence after smallpox scars her face.
2004-2005 Crown Award
Reading Level: 0.0
Published by HarperCollins
Copyright November 30, 2001
ISBN# 0-06-029325-X (PB, HB)
A father takes his sleepless child out in the night to see the moon and the animals as a way to relax them both.
2005-2006 Crown Award
Reading Level: 0.0
Published by HarperCollins
Copyright April 15, 2003
ISBN# 0-688-15143-4 (HB)
In August 1965, twelve-year-old Eden is excited when her cousin from Mississippi comes to visit her in Los Angeles, but their priorities and plans change when the Watts Riots erupt around them.
2023-2024 Crown Award
Reading Level: 4.4
Published by Nancy Paulsen Books
Copyright January 11, 2022
ISBN# 978-1524741587 (HB)
When Sammy tries to look for God with his binoculars, his grandfather explains where and how to find Him.
2005-2006 Crown Award
Reading Level: 0.0
Published by HarperCollins
Copyright April 15, 2003
ISBN# 0-06-051909-6 (HB)
Nine-year-old sad and silent Philip finds his voice with the help of some four legged friends when he moves next to Zoe’s family who are rarely sad or silent.
2015-2016 Crown Award
Reading Level: 3.1
Published by Simon and Schuster
Copyright March 19, 2013
ISBN# 1442421711 (PB, 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)
Aliki combines literature, history, biography, archaeology, and architecture in this richly detailed and meticulously researched introduction to Shakespeare’s world—his life in Elizabethan times, the theatre world, and the famous Globe.
2001-2002 Crown Award
Reading Level: 0.0
Published by HarperCollins
Copyright April 7, 1999
ISBN# 006-027820-X (PB, HB)
William Still’s parents escaped slavery but had to leave two of their children behind, a tragedy that haunted the family. As a young man, William went to work for the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society, where he raised money, planned rescues, and helped freedom seekers who had traveled north. And then one day, a strangely familiar man came into William’s office, searching for information about his long-lost family. Could it be?
2021-2022 Crown Award
Reading Level: 0.0
Published by Peachtree
Copyright November 1, 2020
ISBN# 9781561459353 (HB)
During World War II, after moving with her parents to Willow Run, Michigan, when her father gets a job in the B-24 bomber-building factory, eleven-year-old Meggie learns about different kinds of bravery from all of the people around her.
2007-2008 Crown Award
Reading Level: 4.2
Published by Wendy Lamb Books
Copyright September 13, 2005
ISBN# 0-385-90096-1 (PB)
Sam arrives for his first day of school, along with his imaginary friend Winston Churchill, who encourages him to persevere with his cerebral palsy.
2010-2011 Crown Award
Reading Level: 5.0
Published by Bright Sky Press
Copyright April 1, 2008
ISBN# 9781933979144 (HB)
Siria loves everyone at Pop’s firehouse. And she loves the stars in the winter sky. Her mother, who died, named her after Sirius—the Dog Star, brightest in January. But starry nights can fill with flames, and Siria sneaks out to chase the fire trucks. If she’s there, everyone will be safe. Still, Siria’s not brave like Pop. Her best friend Douglas used to chase with her, and it wasn’t so scary. But she did something wrong; they’re not friends now. This winter, Siria must learn to be brave. Because she’s got to fix things with Douglas; and when Pop is injured, she needs courage, and her friends, more than ever.
2017-2018 Crown Award
Reading Level: 3.8
Published by Wendy Lamb Books
Copyright January 6, 2014
ISBN# 978-0375838927 (PB)
A lonely old farmer whose wife has died acquires new hope for keeping going after helping rescue a mare in a snowstorm on Christmas Eve.
2006-2007 Crown Award
Reading Level: 0.0
Published by Sleeping Bear Press
Copyright September 22, 2004
ISBN# 1-58536-231-X (HB)
Anna is concerned that her recently adopted baby sister is not thriving, so she and her classmates create a science project that may save the day.
2016-2017 Crown Award
Reading Level: 3.9
Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Copyright April 1, 2014
ISBN# 978-0544225251 (HB)
Foreshadowing his amazing career as an inventor, Edison made his first laboratory in his family’s cellar in Ohio when he was just nine years old. This is among the interesting pieces of information Dooling offers about the young Al, as he was called.
2007-2008 Crown Award
Reading Level: 3.5
Published by Holiday House
Copyright October 31, 2005
ISBN# 0-8234-1868-5 (PB, HB)
Zack has a problem. A turkey problem. A TOM turkey to be exact. Every weekend Zack goes to his grandparents’ farm with his father. As soon as he and his dad pull up in the truck, that ol’ Tom turkey’s right there, waiting, ready to peck, peck, peck at Zack’s legs. Now, Zack isn’t usually a scaredy-cat but this is different. The bird is flat out mean, and has clearly got it out for Zack.
2019-2020 Crown Award
Reading Level: 4.9
Published by Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books
Copyright October 3, 2017
ISBN# 978-1481437790 (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)
Jasmine Green loves animals. Her mother is a veterinarian. Her father is a farmer. And her brother and sister are . . . well, they’re mostly annoying. But being in the Green family means seeing and taking care of animals all the time. While helping her mom on a house call, Jasmine visits a new litter of piglets and discovers a forgotten runt hidden underneath its brothers and sisters. Poor little piglet. It is so tiny that it can’t even drink! Its owner refuses to rescue it. So it is up to Jasmine to save the pig . . . secretly. What will happen if anyone finds out?
2022-2023 Crown Award
Reading Level: 4.6
Published by Walker Books US
Copyright March 17, 2020
ISBN# 978-1536210248 (HB)
Ben and Nora discover through a mail-order DNA test kit that their youngest sister was adopted and must unravel a family secret.
2023-2024 Crown Award
Reading Level: 3.2
Published by Katherine Tegen Books
Copyright September 28, 2021
ISBN# 978-0062885852 (HB)
The year before they become the orphans known as the Boxcar children, Henry, Jesse, Violet, ad Benny Alden live with their parents at Fair Meadow Farm. Times were hard but theirs was a happy family.
2015-2016 Crown Award
Reading Level: 3.1
Published by Albert Whitman
Copyright September 1, 2012
ISBN# 0807566160 (PB, HB)
When an unintended flight over Michigan in her class science project—a lawn chair held aloft by balloons—brings her instant celebrity, Clara Poole is invited to be the spokesperson for a round-the-world adventure race. But when her overprotective father refuses, Clara forges his signature in a moment of defiance and runs away to Paris to take her place in the skies. If only she’d read the fine print first.
2024-2025 Crown Award
Reading Level: 0.0
Published by Pixel+Ink
Copyright July 4, 2023
ISBN# 978-1645951599 (HB)
An orphaned African grey parrot who can speak 127 words. A girl so sick, she has forgotten what it means to try. Fate––and a banana nut muffin––bring them together. Will their shared encounter help them journey through storms inside and out? Will they lose their way, or will they find what really matters?
2017-2018 Crown Award
Reading Level: 3.8
Published by Square FIsh
Copyright July 14, 2015
ISBN# 978-1250062826 (PB)
It’s 1964, the Space Race is well underway, and eleven-year-old Magnolia Jean Crook and the other residents of Totter, Texas, are over the moon about UFOs.The whole town is gearing up for the First Annual Come on Down Day—in just one week, they are hoping to host any and all space aliens who would like to visit Earth. But right before the kick-off party, a meteorite goes missing—and MJ’s beloved grandmother Mimi, who is the vice president of the Totter Unidentified Flying Object Organization, is the prime suspect.
2024-2025 Crown Award
Reading Level: 0.0
Published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Copyright April 18, 2023
ISBN# 978-1665914192 (HB)
Someone’s stealing nuts from the forest, and it’s up to Detective Gordon to catch the thief! Unfortunately, solving this crime means standing in the snow and waiting for a long time…. If only he had an assistant—someone small, fast, and clever―to help solve this terrible case. A brilliant detective story by one of Sweden’s top children’s writers and illustrated in full color throughout. A book to read alone or aloud!
2017-2018 Crown Award
Reading Level: 4.0
Published by Gecko Press
Copyright February 28, 2015
ISBN# 978-1927271490 (HB)
It is the summer of 1964 and Glory is excited about spending it at the town’s swimming pool. She is devastated when it closes due to the segregation issue, and she cannot get straight answers from anyone around her.
2014-2015 Crown Award
Reading Level: 4.2
Published by Scholastic
Copyright December 29, 2014
ISBN# 9780545331814 (PB)
When Lily’s blind dog, Lucky, slips his collar and runs away across the wide-open blueberry barrens of eastern Maine, it’s Salma Santiago who manages to catch him. Salma, the daughter of migrant workers, is in the small town with her family for the blueberry-picking season. After their initial chance meeting, Salma and Lily bond over painting bee boxes for Lily’s grandfather, and Salma’s friendship transforms Lily’s summer. But when Salma decides to run in the upcoming Blueberry Queen pageant, they’ll have to face some tough truths about friendship and belonging. Should an outsider like Salma really participate in the pageant-and possibly win?
2017-2018 Crown Award
Reading Level: 4.4
Published by Scholastic, Inc.
Copyright May 26, 2015
ISBN# 978-0545700276 (HB)
This is the story of Jane Addams, the first American woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, who transformed a poor neighborhood in Chicago by opening up her house as a community center.
2017-2018 Crown Award
Reading Level: 4.5
Published by Henry Holt and Co.
Copyright June 23, 2015
ISBN# 978-0805090499 (HB)
It’s 1937 and the government is pushing to bring electricity to the mountains of southeastern Kentucky. It’s all Cora can think of; radios with news from around the world, machines that keep food cold, lightbulbs by which to read at night! Cora figures she can help spread the word by starting a school newspaper and convincing her neighbors to support the Rural Electrification Act. But resistance to change isn’t easy to overcome, especially when it starts at home. Cora’s mother is a fierce opponent of electrification. She argues that protecting the landscape of the holler—the trees, the streams, the land that provides for their way of life—is their responsibility. But Cora just can’t let go of wanting more.
2024-2025 Crown Award
Reading Level: 5.5
Published by Holiday House
Copyright July 11, 2023
ISBN# 978-0823453849 (HB)
Zoologist Nicola Davies presents an illustrated novel for young readers that proves you don’t need two arms to be strong. Pedru has always wanted to be a great hunter like his father, but after a lion takes his arm, he worries that he’ll always be the crippled boy instead. Pedru longs to kill the lion that mauled him and strengthens himself to be ready for the hunt. But when the opportunity arises, will Pedru have the strength to turn his back on revenge? Zoologist Nicola Davies perfectly merges a heart-pounding adventure with an important message about conservation, and Annabel Wright’s gorgeous black-and-white illustrations bring Pedru’s story to life.
2017-2018 Crown Award
Reading Level: 5.4
Published by Candlewick Press
Copyright February 24, 2014
ISBN# 978-0763666200 (HB)
You gotta know the rules to play the game. Ball is life. Take it to the hoop. Soar. What can we imagine for our lives? What if we were the star players, moving and grooving through the game of life? What if we had our own rules of the game to help us get what we want, what we aspire to, what will enrich our lives? Illustrated with photographs by Thai Neave, The Playbook is intended to provide inspiration on the court of life. Each rule contains wisdom from inspiring athletes and role models such as Nelson Mandela, Serena Williams, LeBron James, Carli Lloyd, Steph Curry and Michelle Obama. Kwame Alexander also provides his own poetic and uplifting words, as he shares stories of overcoming obstacles and winning games in this motivational and inspirational book just right for graduates of any age and anyone needing a little encouragement.
2018-2019 Crown Award
Reading Level: 0.0
Published by HMH Books for Young Readers
Copyright February 13, 2017
ISBN# 978-0544570979 (HB)
In this unique nonfiction picture book, the main character is a bicycle that starts its life like so many bicycles in North America, being owned and ridden by a young boy. The boy, Leo, treasures his bicycle so much he gives it a name—- Big Red. But eventually Leo outgrows Big Red, and this is where the bicycle’s story takes a turn from the everyday, because Leo decides to donate it to an organization that ships bicycles to Africa. Big Red is sent to Burkina Faso, in West Africa, where it finds a home with Alisetta, who uses it to gain quicker access to her family’s sorghum field and to the market. Then, over time, it finds its way to a young woman named Haridata, who has a new purpose for the bicycle—- renamed Le Grand Rouge—- delivering medications and bringing sick people to the hospital.
2017-2018 Crown Award
Reading Level: 4.0
Published by Kids Can Press
Copyright February 28, 2015
ISBN# 978-1771380232 (HB)
The Serpent Slayer and the Scroll of Riddles is a time travel adventure with a twist—middle school students will discover theological themes as they travel through God’s Word. By placing the characters into Bible events, Champ Thornton and Andrew Naselli show the Bible is far from being a boring book full of instructions. Readers will discover life-changing truths they’ll never forget.
2024-2025 Crown Award
Reading Level: 0.0
Published by New Growth Press
Copyright February 14, 2022
ISBN# 978-1645072331 (PB)
When Sammy Shine’s plane takes off unexpectedly, he ends up in a whole new world; no longer does he live in comfort in his shoebox in Hank’s room. Now he’s lost in the woods, with no way to get home and a dangerous new enemy. Fortunately, a group of new friends, including a mouse, an injured crow, a newt, and a shrew, will help him find and repair his plane so he can try to get back home.
2018-2019 Crown Award
Reading Level: 4.1
Published by Peachtree Publishers, Ltd
Copyright March 31, 2016
ISBN# 978-1561458660 (HB)
Amelia Earhart’s famous aviator goggles go missing and eleven-year-old Millie has to find them before the night is over in this girl-powered middle grade mystery.
2022-2023 Crown Award
Reading Level: 4.2
Published by Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books
Copyright June 30, 2020
ISBN# 978-1534418851 (HB)
When a child appears at the monastery of the Order of the Chronicles of Sorrowing, Brother Edik nurses her back to health. When he uncovers her dangerous secret, she is sent away into the world with a goat and a boy.
2023-2024 Crown Award
Reading Level: 4.4
Published by Candlewick
Copyright September 28, 2021
ISBN# 978-1536213614 (HB)
Even though she’s only 12 years old, Lily McKinley already feels the weight of the world’s brokenness. She’s seen it in her mother’s exhaustion, her grandmother’s illness, and the cruelty of Adam, the bully at her school. But most tragically, she experienced it two months ago when her father died in a terrible accident. As an artistic daydreamer, Lily has a brilliant imagination to help her cope, but that imagination often gets her into trouble. One day, it transports her to a fantasy world called the Somnium Realm, where her father’s secret history embroils her in an epic quest. With the help of a dragon guide named Cedric, Lily battles evil shrouds, harpies, and other creatures to find her way through grief, rescue the world from evil, and discover the power of redemption.
2024-2025 Crown Award
Reading Level: 0.0
Published by Crossway
Copyright May 10, 2022
ISBN# 978-1433579479 (PB)
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)
Selvi is a free spirit who loves climbing in the beautiful mountains behind her home. There, she befriended Lokka, a leopard with a beautiful coat and huge golden eyes. Together, they roam the wilderness as they please.But when hunters come with bows and arrows, Selvi knows she must stop them before they hurt Lokka. But what can she do against such powerful enemies, especially when the friends and family she turns to for help are not all they seem to be? To rescue her leopard friend, first Selvi must outwit the poachers and expose the mastermind behind it all.
2024-2025 Crown Award
Reading Level: 4.6
Published by Peachtree
Copyright May 9, 2023
ISBN# 978-1682635810 (HB)
Twelve-year-old Isaiah Rawlings wished for only one thing this summer, a camping trip outside of Kentucky. I’m so tired of camping in my backyard, he groaned. Isaiah pleads with his parents to reconsider their usual summer trip to dusty old museums and big cities.When his dad unexpectedly announces a trip to Grand Teton National Park, Isaiah is ecstatic! On the second night of camping, He wakes to a thunderous noise that grows louder and louder. The ground begins to tremble. Earthquake?! Isaiah scrambles from his tent…When Isaiah, his cousin Ethan, and sister Sadie investigate the next morning, tracks lead them back to a broken fence. As they scan the surrounding area, something seems off…Why? More than one set of tracks lead into the park. Was this stampede accidental or is there more to the story?
2024-2025 Crown Award
Reading Level: 4.9
Published by Bakken Books
Copyright March 20, 2022
ISBN# 979-8436149448 (PB)
When their father goes missing after a mysterious train crash, Everett and his little sister Bea find a curious pen in his belongings, and its magical Ink begins to rewrite their once-ordinary lives. The Ink leads them to a world they never knew existed—one teeming with impossible magic, formidable allies, and villains who are determined to destroy everything they hold dear. Together, Everett and Bea embark on an adventure through secret tunnels in England and Scotland to find and protect the last Inkwell, and ultimately to save their father. But in order to do so, Everett must find a way to tap into the most magical power of all: his courage. Perfect for fans of The Silver Arrow, the Bookwanderers, and Inkheart, this classic battle of good and evil pits creativity against the forces that would seek to blot it out for good.
2024-2025 Crown Award
Reading Level: 0.0
Published by WorthyKids
Copyright September 13, 2022
ISBN# 978-1546001980 (HB)
While spending the summer with his grandmother on Dewees Island, eleven-year-old Jake finds two friends also struggling with family issues. Together, they try to save a sea turtle nest.
2023-2024 Crown Award
Reading Level: 3.8
Published by Aladdin
Copyright June 15, 2021
ISBN# 978-1534427273 (HB)
Bell has spent his whole life—all eleven years of it—on Mars. But he’s still just a regular kid—he loves cats and any kind of cake, and is curious about the secrets the adults in the US colony are keeping. Like, why don’t they have contact with anyone on the other Mars colonies? Why are they so isolated? When a virus breaks out and the grown-ups all fall ill, Bell and the other children are the only ones who can help. It’s up to Bell—a regular kid in a very different world—to uncover the truth and save his family…and possibly unite an entire planet.
2022-2023 Crown Award
Reading Level: 4.0
Published by Random House Books for Young Readers
Copyright January 5, 2021
ISBN# 978-0593121818 (HB)
Bob sets out on a dangerous journey in search of his long-lost sister with the help of his two best friends, Ivan and Ruby. As a hurricane approaches and time is running out, Bob finds courage he never knew he had and learns the true meaning of friendship and family.
2022-2023 Crown Award
Reading Level: 3.9
Published by HarperCollins
Copyright May 5, 2020
ISBN# 978-0062991317 (HB)
When Theo gets off a bus in Destiny, Florida, he’s left behind the only life he’s ever known. Now he’s got to live with Uncle Raymond, a Vietnam War vet and a loner who wants nothing to do with this long-lost nephew. Thank goodness for Miss Sister Grandersole’s Rooming House and Dance School. The piano that sits in Miss Sister’s dance hall calls to Theo. He can’t wait to play those ivory keys. When Anabel arrives things get even more enticing. This feisty girl, a baseball fanatic, invites Theo on her quest to uncover the town’s connection to old-time ball players rumored to have lived there years before. A mystery, an adventure, and a musical exploration unfold as this town called Destiny lives up to its Name.
2017-2018 Crown Award
Reading Level: 4.1
Published by Scholastic Press
Copyright May 10, 2016
ISBN# 978-0545538251 (PB)
.png)