Award Winning Books
Celebrate Good Books
with the winners of this year's book awards
And the Envelope Please!
The list below is the list of book award winners announced by the American Library Association on January 2007. The other major children’s book awards are the Massachusetts Children’s Book Award and the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award which are announced in May.
Newbery Award for the year's best children's book
The Higher Power of Luck by Susan Patron
Level: Grades 4-6
Lucky has lost her mother and is living with a guardian. She worries that her guardian might leave her and searches for her higher power to help her.
Honor Books
Penny from Heaven by Jennifer Holm
Level: Grades 4-6
In 1953, Penny searches to learn more about her dead father and what keeps her relatives apart. The reader learns of the prejudice against Italian Americans during World War II and the fear of polio during the 1950s outbreak of the disease.
Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson
Level: Grades 4-6
Sixteen year old Hattie faces life alone on the Montana prairie in 1918.
Rules by Cynthia Lord
Level: Grades 4-7
Catherine must make rules for her autistic brother so he can make it through the outside world. As Catherine makes a friend who has another disability she learns that acceptance is more important than rules.
Caldecott Award for the best picture book
Flotsam by David Wiesner
Level: Grades K-4
A wordless picture book about the life beneath the oceans surface.
Honor Books
Gone Wild: An Endangered Alphabet Book by David McLimans
Level: Grades 3-5
A black and white book of intricate drawings of the alphabet and endangered animal form
Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom by Carole Weatherford and illustrated by Kadir Nelson
Level: Grades 2-4
A retelling of the courage of Harriet Tubman and her use of the Underground Railroad to free slaves
Batchelder Award for the best children's book in translation
The Pull of the Ocean by Jean Claude Mourlevat
Level: Young Adult - Grades 5-8
Yann, a mute 10 year old, leads his siblings across France to the ocean to escape from abusive parents.
Honor Books
The Last Dragon by Silvana De
Mari
Level: Grades 4-7
A young elf, two humans, and a dragon attempt to fulfill a prophecy in this fantasy story.
( The last honor book, The Killer's Tears, is for high school students.)
Pure Belpre Award
for the best Latino culture children's narrative
The Tequila Worm by Viola Canales
Level: Grades 5-8
When Sofia is confronted by prejudice at school, her solution is to prove that she is smarter than the others. Her efforts lead to an offer of a scholarship to a private school. Now she must confront her own fears and those of her family.
for the best Latino culture children's picture book
Dona Flor: A Tall Tale about a Giant Woman with a Great Big Heart by Raul Colon
Level: Grades K-3
A new tall tale about the American Southwest
Honor Books
Cesar: Si, Se Puede! Yes We Can! by Carmen Bernier-Grand
Level: Grades K-3
A poetic introduction to the words and deeds of Cesar Chavez
Becoming Naomi Leon by Pam Munoz Ryan
Level: Grades 4-7
Naomi and her brother live with their grandmother. When their mother shows up and wants to take Naomi away, the three of them set off to find the children's father and gain his help in keeping the children with their grandmother.
Theodor Geisel Award for the best beginning reader
Zelda and Ivy: The Runaways by Laura McGee Kavasnosky
Three short stories about the fox sisters and their attempts to avoid cucumber sandwiches.
Honor Books
Mercy Watson Goes for a Ride by Kate DiCamillo and illustrated by Chris Van Dusen
Mercy, the pig, finally gets to drive.
Move over, Rover! by Karen Beaumont and illustrated by Jane Dyer
Rover's friends all squeeze into his dog house.
Not a Box by Antonette Portis
A bunny plays with a box.
Robert Silbert Medal for the best children's informational book
Team Moon : How 400,000 People Landed Apollo 11 on the Moon by Catherine Thimmesh
Level: Grades 5 and up
The story of the landing of Apollo 11 on the moon and all the people who made it a reality.
Honor Books
Freedom Riders: John Lewis and Jim Zwerg on the Front Lines of the Civil Rights Movement by Ann Bausum
Level: Grades 5-9
The work of the 1961 Freedom Riders is explored in this work which includes text, as well as, photos and songs from the time.
Quest for the Tree Kangaroo: An Expedition to the Cloud Forest of New Guinea by Sy Montgomery
Level: Grades 4-8
With brillant photographs showing their work and progress, an international team searches for the tree kangaroo.
Sydney Taylor Book Award for the best Jewish children's literature
(Please note: The committee divides the winners into three categories; best book for young readers, best book for older readers and best book for teen readers. In addition to the winners and four honor books in each of these categories, the committee also creates a list of notable books in each category. The complete list of honor books and notable books may be found at http://www.jewishlibraries.org/ajlweb/awards/st_books.htm )
Winner for Younger Readers
Hanukkah at Valley Forge by Stephen Krensky and illustrated by Greg Harlin
Level: Grades 1-5
During the American Revolution, the Jewish soldiers in General Washington's Valley Forge camp celebrate Hanukkah.
Winner for Older Readers
Julia's Kitchen by Brenda Ferber
Level: Grades 4-8
Cara has lost her mother and younger sister in a house fire. In her grief, she struggles with her relationship with her father and her beliefs.
Scott O'Dell Award for the best children's historical fiction published in and set in America
The Green Glass Sea by Ellen Klages
Level: Grades 5-8
Set in 1943, a young girl moves to Los Alamos where her father is doing secret government research for the war effort.
Coming in May 2007
The 2007 Nominees for the
Massachusetts Children's Book Award
Introduction
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Massachusetts Children’s Book Award?
The MCBA is a statewide contest for children in grades 4 through 6 in which they become the judges in a literature contest. Students across the state will be reading books from the booklist printed below. Each student who wishes to participate must read or listen to at least five of the books below by the end of February vacation. Voting will take place at our school with the totals from all of the participating schools being collated at Salem State College. The winner is announced in early May.
What reading levels are the books?
Since children in grades 4-6 will be participating, the reading levels of the books range from grade 3 to grade 7 reading levels.
Do I have to participate?
No, this is a voluntary activity but it is fun. This past year we had sixty children participating at North Beverly School.
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