2016 Bluestem Awards
Grades 3, 4, 5
Bluestem Awards
Below are the twenty books up for consideration this year. Students must read at least 4 of the books to become eligible to vote.
Please support our readers by reading the titles aloud, helping kids get their hands on books, and generating conversations about their reading. There are links to our library and the public libraries below to check book availability.
Thanks for supporting the students at Whittier in becoming the voracious readers they are. Voting will start the third week in February in the LLC.
The 100 Year Old Secret by Tracy Barrett
Xena and Xander Holmes are Americans living in London for a year. When they discover their great-great-great grandfather was Sherlock Holmes and given his unsolved casebook, they ask themselves, will they be able to solve his unsolved case?
Little Dog Lost by Marion Dane Bauer
A boy, a dog, and an old man are lonely before the boy plans a rally. The dog looks for a boy and all the townspeople run to the old man's aid when lightning strikes his home and a miracle happens.
Dorko the Magnificent by Andre Beaty
Robbie Darko is an old-school, pull a rabbit out of your hat style magician, but despite his best efforts, something always goes wrong with his tricks until crotchety Grandma Melvyn moves in and teaches him something about the true meaning of magic.
Masterpiece by Elise Broach
After Marvin, a beetle, makes a miniature drawing as an eleventh birthday gift for James, a human with whom he shares a house, the two new friends work together to help recover a Durer drawing stolen from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. 2015 All School Read
Matilda by Roald Dahl
Matilda applies her untapped mental powers to rid the school of the evil, child-hating headmistress, Miss Trunchbull, to restore her nice teacher, to financial security.
Fortunately the Milk by Neil Gaiman
While picking up milk for his children's cereal, a father is abducted by aliens and finds himself on a wild adventure through time and space.
How Do You Burp in Space? And Other Tips Every Space Tourist Needs to Know by Susan E. Goodman
Want to blast into orbit? Walk on the moon? Snag a personal photo of a shooting star? Well your time is coming! And when it does, you're going to need How Do You Burp in Space?
Escape From Mr. Lemoncello’s Library by Chris Grabenstein
Twelve-year-old Kyle gets to stay overnight in the new town
library, designed by his hero (the famous gamemaker Luigi
Lemoncello), with other students but finds that come morning he must work with friends to solve puzzles in order to escape.
The 13-Story Treehouse by Andy Griffeths
Andy and Terry are trying hard to write their next book but they are constantly distracted by the many animals and special rooms in their thirteen story treehouse.
Glory Be by Augusta Scattergood
Gloriana faces her twelfth birthday in 1964 and struggles with the changes she sees happening around her. While she struggles to understand the shift in her relationships with her sister who is about to enter high school and her best friend, Frankie, Gloriana witnesses tempers rise in a debate over a segregated public pool.
The Junction of Sunshine and Lucky by Holly Schindler
Auggie and her grandfather use found objects to transform the appearance of their home and, in the process, change a whole town's perceptions of beauty and art.
Rump: The True Story of Rumplestiltskin by Liesl Shurtliff
The tale of Rumpelstiltskin's childhood and youth is explained, such as why his name is so important, how he is able to spin straw into gold, and why a first-born child is his reward for helping the miller's daughter-turned-queen. A new spin on an old tale.
Alex the Parrot by Stephanie Spinner
Presents the true story of an African grey parrot named Alex and explains how its intelligence changed the way scientists view the brain.
The Sinking of the Titanic, 1912 by Lauren Tarshis
Ten-year-old George Calder's life changes forever as he, his little sister, Phoebe, and their Aunt Daisy set out across the ocean on the "Titanic" in 1912.
Regarding the Fountain by Kate Klise
When the principal asks a fifth-grader to write a letter regarding the purchase of a new drinking fountain for their school, he finds that all sorts of chaos results.
The Adventures of a South Pole Pig by Chris Kurtz
Flora the pig ditches the sedentary life on the farm for an
adventure in Antarctica, where she escapes the knife and lives her dream of pulling a sled with a team of dogs.
Brave Girl: Clara and the Shirtwaist Makers’ Strike of 1909 by Michelle Markel
Story of how young immigrant Clara Lemlich, fought
the poor treatment of her fellow factory workers and led the largest walkout of women workers in the country.
Stay: The True Story of Ten Dogs by Michaela Muntean
Luciano Anastasini is a man who calls the circus home. When he and ten homeless dogs are brought together, fate and remarkable second chances unfold.
Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
After a plane crash, thirteen-year-old Brian spends fifty-four days in the wilderness, learning to survive initially with only the aid of a hatchet given him by his mother, while learning also to survive his parents' divorce.
Sidekicks by Dan Santat
Captain Amazing tries to hire a new sidekick when he feels he is getting too old to be a reliable superhero, but his pets have different ideas.