Along came Spider by James Preller

Grades: 4-6

Committee Annotation:
Spider, trying to fit in with the "in-crowd," struggles with loyalty to his life-long friend and neighbor, Trey, whose quirky personality is seen as uncool. Can the librarian and new student Ava help them through this rough time?

Subjects: Friendship, Boy-Girl Friendship, Popularity, Cliques, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Moral Dilemma, Loyalty, Peer Pressure, Growing Up, Librarians, Point of View, Acceptance

Author web site: http://www.jamespreller.com/
(*Note*: This site is a BLOG and may be blocked by school filters)

Alvin Ho allergic to girls, school and other scary things by Lenore Look

Grades: 3-5

Committee Annotation:
In a series of laugh-out-loud vignettes, Alvin, a boy who is afraid of everything, tells us about his inability to talk at school, his quirky, but supportive family, and his search for a friend.

Subjects: Fear, Anxiety, Self-Confidence, Friendship, Selective Mutism, Humorous Stories, Boy-Girl Friendship, Chinese Americans, Concord, MA, Therapists, Middle Children, Handicapped Children, First Person Narrative

Author web site: none

Boys of steel: the creators of Superman by Marc Tyler Nobleman

Grades: 3-6

Committee Annotation:
Jerry Seigel and Joe Shuster, two super- nerdy teens bonded over their love of science fiction. Together they created a new superhero, Superman, in a new format, the comic book, but it took years of trial and tribulations to get it published.

Subjects: Jerry Siegal, Joe Shuster, Biography, Cartoonists, Superman, Comic Books, Superheroes

Author web site: http://noblemania.blogspot.com/
(*Note*: this is a BLOG and may be blocked by school filters)

Brendan Buckley’s universe and everything in it by Sundee Frazier

Grades: 4-6

Committee Annotation:
Brendan's love of rocks and minerals leads him to his grandfather, whom he has never met. Will their common interest bring them close together, or will family differences keep them apart?

Subjects: Grandfathers, Bi-racial Families, Minerals, Rock Collecting, Tae Kwon Do, Family, Bullies, Racism

Author web site: http://www.sundeefrazier.com/bb.php

Dexter the tough by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Grades: 3-5

Committee Annotation:
Just how tough is he? At his new school, Dexter's journal entry claims that he beat up a student but what really happened?

Subjects: Friendship, Authorship, Schools, Bullies, New Students, Writing, Truth, Illness of a Parent, Grandparents, Moving

Author web site: Margaret Peterson Haddix

Eleven by Patricia Reilly Giff

Grades: 4-6

Committee Annotation:
Sam, a non-reader, sees his picture in an old newspaper clipping but what does it say? When he asks the new girl at school to help him, what he learns, and the questions that arise, may change the everything he knows about himself and his family.

Subjects: Grandfathers, Woodworking, Reading, Orphans, Family, Memories, Friendship

Author web site: http://www.randomhouse.com/features/patriciareillygiff/index.htm

Knucklehead by Jon Scieszka

Grades: 4-6

Committee Annotation:
How much trouble can one boy and his five brothers get into? A lot! These memories of Halloween, sword fighting, brother sitting, school, and sports will make you laugh out loud.

Subjects: Autobiography, Humor, Family Life, Brothers, Memoir, Growing Up

Author web site: http://www.jsworldwide.com/

The leanin' dog by KA Nuzum

Grades: 4-6

Committee Annotation:
Dessa Dean hasn't left her family's cabin since her mother died. Left alone while her father hunts she hears the whimpering of a injured animal. Can she overcome her fears and save "the leanin' dog?"

Subjects: Survival, Wilderness, Winter, Single Parent Families, Dogs, Trust, Friendship, Grief, Animal Rescue, Colorado, Loss of a Parent,

Author web site: http://www.kanuzum.com/

The magic half by Annie Barrows

Grades 4-6

Committee Annotation:
Look through the lens and travel back in time to 1935. Could a daring rescue of a girl named Molly bring Miri the twin sister she's always longed to have?

Subjects: Twins, Time Travel, Brothers and Sisters, Friendship

Author web site: http://www.anniebarrows.com/magichalf/

Pale male: citizen hawk of New York City by Janet Schulman

Grades: 3-6

Committee Annotation:
The birdwatchers of Central Park were buzzing about a young red-tailed hawk that had been spotted. What adventure would the hawk find in the park?

Subjects: Red-Tailed Hawks, New York City, Bird-Watching, Love of Nature, Wilderness Preservation

Author web site: none

Puppy power by Judy Cox

Grades: 3-4

Committee Annotation:
Boisterous Fran has trouble controlling herself, but learning how to train her gigantic Newfoundland puppy helps her gain enough self-control to win the part of the princess in the school play.

Subjects: Self-Control, Newfoundland Dogs, Dog Training, Schools, Friendship, Bullies

Author web site: http://www.judycox.net/

Rickshaw girl by Mitali Perkins

Grades: 3-5

Committee Annotation:
When Naima damages her father's new rickshaw, she knows she could use her artistic ability to earn the money to have it repaired, but in Bangladesh girls are not allowed to work so she must disguise herself as a boy.

Subjects: Painting, Artists, Family Life, Roles of Girls and Boys, Bangladesh, Earning Money

Author web site: http://www.mitaliperkins.com/

Savvy by Ingrid Law

Grades: 4-6

Committee Annotation:
Mibs must use not only her magical gift, but also her wits to get to the hospital to see her injured father. When she and her companions sneak onto a bible salesman's bus, they have no idea what unusual and life changing adventures they will encounter on their journey.

Subjects: Magic, Brothers and Sisters, Friendship, Adolescence, Courage, Determination, Illness of a Parent

Author web site: http://www.ingridlaw.com/

The seer of shadows by Avi

Grades: 5-6

Committee Annotations:
Horace Carpetine, an apprentice to an unscrupulous photographer, is forced to deceive a client by planting a ghostly image in a photograph. He finds that he has the ability to bring a ghost to life through his images, with dangerous consequences.

Subjects: Photography, Ghosts, Swindlers, Revenge, New York City, Friendship

Author web site: http://www.avi-writer.com/

Shooting the moon by Frances O'Roark Dowell

Grades: 5-6

Committee Annotation:
Jamie's father is the commander of an army base and her life is the army but when her brother is reported missing in Vietnam, she starts questioning her idealism about war.

Subjects: Vietnam War, Military Bases, Children of Military Personnel, Separation, Soldiers, United States Army, Photography, Friendship

Author web site: http://www.francesdowell.com/

Someone named Eva by Joan M. Wolf

Grades: 5-6

Committee Annotation:
Eleven-year-old Milada is not Jewish, so why did German soldiers take her from her family in Czechoslovakia in 1942, and will she ever see them again?

Subjects: Historical Fiction, World War II, Boarding Schools, Brainwashing, Nazis, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Germany, Separation

Author web site: http://www.jmwolf.com/

Squirrel world by Johanna Hurwitz

Grades: 3-4

Committee Annotations:
Two curious squirrels living in Central Park embark on an exciting, though sometimes dangerous, adventure into the heart of New York City. Will they make it safely back on their own, or will they rely on the bravery of relatives to rescue them?

Subjects: Adventure and Adventurers, Squirrels, City and Town Life, New York City, Central Park, Family

Author web site: none

Amulet. Book 1, The Stonekeeper by Kazu Kibushi

Grades: 4-6

Committee Annotation:
Emily and her brother Navin are lost in an alternative world of Alledia as they chase the tentacled beast that kidnapped their mother. The key to their survival lies in Emily's amulet and her ability to control its powers.

Subjects: Alternate Worlds, Kidnapping, Monsters, Inventions, Single Parent Families, Comic Books, Fantasy, Graphic Novels, Robots, Survival, Adventure, Rescue, Special Powers

Author web site: none

Swindle by Gordon Korman

Grades: 4-6

Committee Annotation:
How far would you go to get back what is rightfully yours? When Griffin Bing is cheated out of a priceless baseball card he makes a plan. With an unlikely group of sixth graders, Griffin will need to be daring and resourceful in order to outsmart the swindler.

Subjects: Baseball Cards, Adventure, Crime, Swindlers, Babe Ruth, Friendship

Author web site: http://www.gordonkorman.com/

Tap dancing on the roof by Linda Sue Park

Grades: 4-6

Committee Annotation:
Do you like funny poetry with a twist at the end? Sijo, a form of Korean poetry similar to haiku, will capture your imagination.

Subjects: Poetry, Korean Form of Poetry, Sijo, Everyday Life, Humor, Play on Words

Author web site: http://www.lindasuepark.com/