2019-2020 Crown Book List

A Boy Called Bat			Author Elana K. Arnold		2019-2020 Crown
Illustrated by Charles Santoso	Publisher Walden Pond Press	ISBN# 978-0062445827 (HB)	Copyright 3/14/2017	Intl. Setting	Reading Level 4.60
For Bixby Alexander Tam (nicknamed Bat), life tends to be full of surprises—some of them good, some not so good. Today, though, is a good-surprise day. Bat’s mom, a veterinarian, has brought home a baby skunk, which she needs to take care of until she can hand him over to a wild-animal shelter. But the minute Bat meets the kit, he knows they belong together. And he’s got one month to show his mom that a baby skunk might just make a pretty terrific pet.

A Boy Called Bat, by Elana K. Arnold, ISBN 978-0062445827, RL4.60. For Bixby Alexander Tam (nicknamed Bat), life tends to be full of surprises—some of them good, some not so good. Today, though, is a good-surprise day. Bat’s mom, a veterinarian, has brought home a baby skunk, which she needs to take care of until she can hand him over to a wild-animal shelter. But the minute Bat meets the kit, he knows they belong together. And he’s got one month to show his mom that a baby skunk might just make a pretty terrific pet.

Confessions from the Principal’s Kid			Author Robin Mellom		2019-2020 Crown
Illustrated by	Publisher HMH Books for Young Readers	ISBN# 978-0544813793 (HB)	Copyright 8/1/2017	Intl. Setting	Reading Level 3.90
During the school day, fifth-grader Allie West is an outsider. Everyone knows the principal’s kid might tattle to her mom! But after school, Allie is an insider. She’s friendly with the janitor, knows the shortest routes around the building, and hangs out with the Afters, a group of misfits whose parents are teachers at their school. Although Allie secretly loves her insider life, she’s sick of being an outsider—so she vows to join the Pentagon, the popular math team led by her ex–best friend. But can Allie change her status without betraying where she really belongs?

Confessions from the Principal’s Kid, by Robin Mellom, ISBN 978-0544813793, RL3.90. During the school day, fifth-grader Allie West is an outsider. Everyone knows the principal’s kid might tattle to her mom! But after school, Allie is an insider. She’s friendly with the janitor, knows the shortest routes around the building, and hangs out with the Afters, a group of misfits whose parents are teachers at their school. Although Allie secretly loves her insider life, she’s sick of being an outsider—so she vows to join the Pentagon, the popular math team led by her ex–best friend. But can Allie change her status without betraying where she really belongs?

Ellie, Engineer			Author Jackson Pearce		2019-2020 Crown
Illustrated by Tuesday Mourning	Publisher Bloomsbury USA Childrens	ISBN# 978-1681195193 (HB)	Copyright 1/16/2018	Intl. Setting	Reading Level 4.50
Ellie is an engineer. With a tool belt strapped over her favorite skirt (who says you can’t wear a dress and have two kinds of screwdrivers handy, just in case?), she invents and builds amazing creations in her backyard workshop. Together with her best friend Kit, Ellie can make anything. As Kit’s birthday nears, Ellie doesn’t know what gift to make until the girls overhear Kit’s mom talking about her present—the dog Kit always wanted! Ellie plans to make an amazing doghouse, but her plans grow so elaborate that she has to enlist help from the neighbor boys and crafty girls, even though the two groups don’t get along. Will Ellie be able to pull off her biggest project yet, all while keeping a secret from Kit?

Ellie, Engineer, by Jackson Pearce, ISBN 978-1681195193, RL4.50. Ellie is an engineer. With a tool belt strapped over her favorite skirt (who says you can’t wear a dress and have two kinds of screwdrivers handy, just in case?), she invents and builds amazing creations in her backyard workshop. Together with her best friend Kit, Ellie can make anything. As Kit’s birthday nears, Ellie doesn’t know what gift to make until the girls overhear Kit’s mom talking about her present—the dog Kit always wanted! Ellie plans to make an amazing doghouse, but her plans grow so elaborate that she has to enlist help from the neighbor boys and crafty girls, even though the two groups don’t get along. Will Ellie be able to pull off her biggest project yet, all while keeping a secret from Kit?

The Hiding Game			Author Gwen Strauss		2019-2020 Crown
Illustrated by Herb Leonhard	Publisher Pelican Publishing Company, Inc.	ISBN# 978-1455622658 (HB)	Copyright 2/8/2017	Intl. Setting	Reading Level 0.00
At their new home in the Villa Air-Bel, Aube and her family are used to things being hidden. Among the secrets kept at the château are a radio, a cow, and—most secret of all—Aube herself. Even with the threat of Nazi capture looming over their heads, life at the villa has been colorful for the refugees awaiting their escape to safety. Joined by writers, musicians, artists, and great thinkers like Marc Chagall and Max Ernst, Aube spends each day singing, playing games, and creating art. Together, this lively congregation are able to fight back fear and hatred with bravery and laughter—not just for young Aube, but for themselves as well.

The Hiding Game, by Gwen Strauss, ISBN 978-1455622658, RL0.00. At their new home in the Villa Air-Bel, Aube and her family are used to things being hidden. Among the secrets kept at the château are a radio, a cow, and—most secret of all—Aube herself. Even with the threat of Nazi capture looming over their heads, life at the villa has been colorful for the refugees awaiting their escape to safety. Joined by writers, musicians, artists, and great thinkers like Marc Chagall and Max Ernst, Aube spends each day singing, playing games, and creating art. Together, this lively congregation are able to fight back fear and hatred with bravery and laughter—not just for young Aube, but for themselves as well.

I Love You, Michael Collins			Author Lauren Baratz-Logsted		2019-2020 Crown
Illustrated by	Publisher Farrar, Straus and Giroux	ISBN# 978-0374303853 (HB)	Copyright 6/20/2017	Intl. Setting	Reading Level 5.10
It’s 1969 and the country is gearing up for what looks to be the most exciting moment in U.S. history: men landing on the moon. Ten-year-old Mamie’s class is given an assignment to write letters to the astronauts. All the girls write to Neil Armstrong (“So cute!”) and all the boys write to Buzz Aldrin (“So cool!”). Only Mamie writes to Michael Collins, the astronaut who will come so close but never achieve everyone else’s dream of walking on the moon, because he is the one who must stay with the ship. After school ends, Mamie keeps writing to Michael Collins, taking comfort in telling someone about what’s going on with her family as, one by one, they leave the house thinking that someone else is taking care of her―until she is all alone except for her cat and her best friend, Buster. And as the date of the launch nears, Mamie can’t help but wonder: Does no one stay with the ship anymore?

I Love You, Michael Collins, by Lauren Baratz-Logsted, ISBN 978-0374303853, RL5.10. It’s 1969 and the country is gearing up for what looks to be the most exciting moment in U.S. history: men landing on the moon. Ten-year-old Mamie’s class is given an assignment to write letters to the astronauts. All the girls write to Neil Armstrong (“So cute!”) and all the boys write to Buzz Aldrin (“So cool!”). Only Mamie writes to Michael Collins, the astronaut who will come so close but never achieve everyone else’s dream of walking on the moon, because he is the one who must stay with the ship. After school ends, Mamie keeps writing to Michael Collins, taking comfort in telling someone about what’s going on with her family as, one by one, they leave the house thinking that someone else is taking care of her―until she is all alone except for her cat and her best friend, Buster. And as the date of the launch nears, Mamie can’t help but wonder: Does no one stay with the ship anymore?

Moto and Me: My Year as a Wildcat’s Foster Mom			Author Suzi Eszterhas		2019-2020 Crown
Illustrated by Suzi Eszterhas	Publisher Owlkids	ISBN# 978-1771472425 (HB)	Copyright 4/11/2017	Intl. Setting	Reading Level 5.30
Moto and Me tells the remarkable firsthand story of wildlife photographer Suzi Eszterhas’s care for an orphaned baby serval—a small, spotted wildcat—in Kenya. When a grass fire separates the serval from his family, a ranger asks Suzi, who is living in a bush camp and is skilled with animals, to be the serval’s foster mom.

Moto and Me: My Year as a Wildcat’s Foster Mom, by Suzi Eszterhas, ISBN 978-1771472425, RL5.30. Moto and Me tells the remarkable firsthand story of wildlife photographer Suzi Eszterhas’s care for an orphaned baby serval—a small, spotted wildcat—in Kenya. When a grass fire separates the serval from his family, a ranger asks Suzi, who is living in a bush camp and is skilled with animals, to be the serval’s foster mom.

The Tiny Hero of Ferny Creek Library			Author Linda Bailey		2019-2020 Crown
Illustrated by Victoria Jamieson	Publisher Greenwillow Books	ISBN# 978-0062440938 (HB)	Copyright 6/20/2017	Intl. Setting	Reading Level 3.70
Eddie is a tiny green bug who loves to read and who lives behind the chalkboard in the fourth-grade classroom with his parents, his 53 brothers and sisters, and his aunt Min. But when Aunt Min goes to the school library to read a book and never returns, Eddie leaves the comfort of his home for the first time and makes the dangerous trek through Ferny Creek Elementary School to find her. After dodging running sneakers, falling books, and terrifying spiders, Eddie reaches the library, where he discovers Aunt Min stuck in a perilous situation! To top it all off, there’s a substitute librarian who aims to close the library for good and get rid of all the books!

The Tiny Hero of Ferny Creek Library, by Linda Bailey, ISBN 978-0062440938, RL3.70. Eddie is a tiny green bug who loves to read and who lives behind the chalkboard in the fourth-grade classroom with his parents, his 53 brothers and sisters, and his aunt Min. But when Aunt Min goes to the school library to read a book and never returns, Eddie leaves the comfort of his home for the first time and makes the dangerous trek through Ferny Creek Elementary School to find her. After dodging running sneakers, falling books, and terrifying spiders, Eddie reaches the library, where he discovers Aunt Min stuck in a perilous situation! To top it all off, there’s a substitute librarian who aims to close the library for good and get rid of all the books!

Vilonia Beebe Takes Charge			Author Kristin L. Gray		2019-2020 Crown
Illustrated by	Publisher Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books	ISBN# 978-1481458429 (HB)	Copyright 3/7/2017	Intl. Setting	Reading Level 4.30
Being responsible is NOT easy. Fourth grader Vilonia hasn’t lost her rain coat in the three weeks she’s had it and she’s brushed her teeth every night andshe’s volunteered to be the Friday Library Helper. But all that hard work is worth it if it means she can get a dog. Besides, this dog isn’t just because Vilonia has wanted one for pretty much ever. It’s also to help Mama, who’s been lost in one, big sadness fog for forty-three days—ever since Nana died. But Vilonia read that pets can help with sadness. Now all she has to do is keep the library goldfish alive over spring break, stop bringing stray animals home, and help Mama not get fired from her job. And she’s got to do all of it before the Catfish Festival. Easy as pie, right?

Vilonia Beebe Takes Charge, by Kristin L. Gray, ISBN 978-1481458429, RL4.30. Being responsible is NOT easy. Fourth grader Vilonia hasn’t lost her rain coat in the three weeks she’s had it and she’s brushed her teeth every night andshe’s volunteered to be the Friday Library Helper. But all that hard work is worth it if it means she can get a dog. Besides, this dog isn’t just because Vilonia has wanted one for pretty much ever. It’s also to help Mama, who’s been lost in one, big sadness fog for forty-three days—ever since Nana died. But Vilonia read that pets can help with sadness. Now all she has to do is keep the library goldfish alive over spring break, stop bringing stray animals home, and help Mama not get fired from her job. And she’s got to do all of it before the Catfish Festival. Easy as pie, right?

Wishtree			Author Katherine Applegate		2019-2020 Crown
Illustrated by Charles Santoso	Publisher Feiwel & Friends; First Edition edition	ISBN# 978-1250043221 (HB)	Copyright 11/26/2017	Intl. Setting	Reading Level 4.20
Red is an oak tree who is many rings old. Red is the neighborhood “wishtree”―people write their wishes on pieces of cloth and tie them to Red’s branches. Along with a crow named Bongo and other animals who seek refuge in Red’s hollows, this wishtree watches over the neighborhood. You might say Red has seen it all. Until a new family moves in. Not everyone is welcoming, and Red’s experience as a wishtree is more important than ever.

Wishtree, by Katherine Applegate, ISBN 978-1250043221, RL4.20. Red is an oak tree who is many rings old. Red is the neighborhood “wishtree”―people write their wishes on pieces of cloth and tie them to Red’s branches. Along with a crow named Bongo and other animals who seek refuge in Red’s hollows, this wishtree watches over the neighborhood. You might say Red has seen it all. Until a new family moves in. Not everyone is welcoming, and Red’s experience as a wishtree is more important than ever.

Zack and the Turkey Attack			Author Phyllis Reynolds Naylor		2019-2020 Crown
Illustrated by Vivienne	Publisher Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books	ISBN# 978-1481437790 (HB)	Copyright 10/3/2017	Intl. Setting	Reading Level 4.90
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.

Zack and the Turkey Attack, by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, ISBN 978-1481437790, RL4.90. 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.