William Allen White Books
2017-2018
How this works...
- Read SIX books from the 3rd-5th grade list OR FIVE books from the 6th-8th grade list by Wednesday, April 4.
- Let Mrs. Yoder (or Mrs. Buller) know which books you've read. Be prepared to share details and what you think!
- Those students who have read the required number from at least one of the lists AND reported to Mrs. Yoder by Wednesday, April 4 will be invited to a breakfast/voting party Tuesday morning, April 10.
3rd-5th Grade Master List
Crenshaw by Katherine Applegate
- realistic fiction/fantasy (F APP)
- Jackson and his family have hit hard times. Again. They may have to live in their van. Again.
- Crenshaw is a cat. He's large, outspoken, and imaginary. He has appeared in Jackson's life again in order to help him, but will an imaginary friend be able to help Jackson and his family now?
- Publisher: Feiwel and Friends, 2015.
The Amazing Age of John Roy Lynch by Chris Barton
- illustrated biography (IL 921 LYN)
- John Roy Lynch was born a slave in Mississippi. He was a slave until the Emancipation Proclamation was passed. Although many people were unhappy with this change in society, John Roy Lynch used it to make himself better. He was appointed to serve in the courts in Mississippi and eventually was elected to the United States Congress.
- Publisher: Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, 2015.
Circus Mirandus by Cassie Beasley
- fantasy fiction (F BEA)
- Micah believes the stories his dying Grandpa Ephraim has told him about the magical Circus Mirandus, with an invisible tiger, a flying birdwoman, and the Man Who Bends Light, even though Micah's Great-Aunt doesn't approve.
- Finally his grandpa provides proof that the Circus is real, and Micah sets out to find the Lightbender to save his grandfather.
- Publisher: Puffin Books, 2015.
George by Alex Gino
- realistic fiction (F GIN)
- When people look at George, they think they see a boy. But George knows she's a girl.
- She doesn't know how she's ever going to be able to tell anyone, until she finds out her class is going to put on the play Charlotte's Web. She knows if she can figure out a way to play Charlotte, she'll get her dream part and be able to let people know who she really is.
- Publisher: Scholastic Press, 2015.
Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt
- realistic fiction (F HUN)
- by the author of One For the Murphys
- Because Ally has gone to so many schools, she has been able to hide the fact that she can't read. She doesn't want to tell anyone or ask for help because she feels like it's something that can't be fixed. Only when she meets her teacher Mr. Daniels does Ally start to gain confidence and understand that everyone is different and that's OK.
- Publisher: Scholastic, 2015.
A Handful of Stars by Cynthia Lord
- realistic fiction (F LOR)
- by the author of Rules
- Lily and Salma meet when Salma finds Lily's dog who has run away. Salma is the daughter of migrant workers and is only in town for the blueberry picking season.
- Lily and Salma become close friends, but their friendship is tested when Salma decides to compete in the local Blueberry Queen pageant. Should someone like Salma really get to compete, and possibly win?
- Publisher: Scholastic Press, 2015.
The Book Itch: Freedom, Truth, and Harlem's Greatest Bookstore by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson
- illustrated narrative (IL NEL)
- Lewis's father, Lewis Micheaux Sr., decides to open a bookstore in Harlem in the 1930s. This bookstore is not like any other--it brings people together from all over the world. Celebrities like Muhammad Ali and Malcolm X visit the bookstore. Lewis Micheaux Sr and his bookstore helped foster new ideas and helped people stand up for what they believed in.
- Publisher: Carolrhoda Books, 2015.
Lucky Strike by Bobbie Pyron
- realistic fiction/fantasy (F PYR)
- Nate and Genesis Beam (Gen) are best friends. Nate would like just a little bit of luck in his life--win a prize, call a coin toss correctly, whatever--but Gen doesn't believe in any of that.
- One day Nate is struck by lightning--and survives!--and suddenly he has luck! But will Gen be able to fit in with him now that his world has changed?
- Publisher: Scholastic Inc., 2015.
Poet: the remarkable story of George Moses Horton by Don Tate
- illustrated biography (IL 921 HOR)
- This book tells the story of George Moses Horton, a slave in North Carolina who taught himself to read.
- He was able to buy himself time to read and write, but he was not able to buy his freedom. He became the first African American to be published in the South.
- Publisher: Peachtree Publishers, 2015.
Funny Bones: Posada and his Day of the Dead Calaveras by Duncan Tonatiuh
- illustrated biography (IL 921 POS)
- This book tells the story of Mexican Jose' Guadalupe (Lupe) Posada, the creator of calavera drawings. Calavera drawings are skeletons doing every day activities. These drawings have become an important part of Mexico's Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) festival, but many people do not know about the artist who created them.
- Publisher: Abrams, 2015.
6th-8th Grade Master List
The War that Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
- historical fiction (F BRA)
- Ada has never been out of her apartment because her mother is too ashamed of Ada's twisted foot. But when her brother Jamie is sent away from London because of WWII, Ada sneaks away to join him.
- The two are sent to a woman named Susan Smith, and they begin to develop a friendship. Ada experiences things for the first time, such as learning to read and riding a horse. Eventually the war reaches them, though. Will their bond with Susan be strong enough to survive war time or will the kids be sent back to their cruel mother?
- Publisher: Puffin Books, 2015.
Drowned City: Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans by Don Brown
- graphic nonfiction (PB BRO)
- In graphic format, this book tells the story of Hurricane Katrina and its devastation on New Orleans. It also tells the story of the city's justice and injustice in the aftermath of the storm.
- Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers, 2015.
Stella By Starlight by Sharon Draper
- historical fiction (F DRA)
- Stella lives in segregated North Carolina. She knows there are some things she can do and some things she can't, some places she can go and some places she can't, because of the segregation. But the Klan hasn't bothered them in years, and for the most part life is OK.
- One night, though, Stella and her brother see something they're not supposed to see, and it changes Stella's world and that of her community. She decides she has to fight fire with fire.
- Publisher: Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books, 2015.
Enchanted Air: Two Cultures, Two Wings: a memoir by Margarita Engle
- memoir told in verse (921 ENG)
- Enchanted Air tells the story of Margarita Engle's childhood, balancing between two cultures during the Cold War.
- Her mother comes from Cuba, a tropical island country. Most of the time she lives in noisy Los Angeles, though, and can only dream of when she can visit Cuba again.
- When the tension erupts in the Cold War and Cuba and the United States turn against each other, Margarita wonders how she will balance her love for both countries.
- Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2015.
Took: a ghost story by Mary Downing Hahn
- mystery/suspense fiction (F HAH)
- New kid Daniel doesn't really believe the stories about the ghost witch that lives up the hill with Bloody Bones, her man-eating razorback hog. But Daniel's little sister Erica has been acting more and more strange, and when she disappears into the woods one day he knows something is terribly wrong. Did the witch strike? Has Erika been "took?"
- Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers, 2015.
Roller Girl by Victoria Jamieson
- graphic novel (PB JAM)
- Astrid and Nicole have always done everything together. But the summer before Junior High, Astrid decides to sign up for roller derby camp while Nicole signs up for dance class. That begins the most difficult summer of Astrid's life, when she's trying to figure out friendships and roller derby and the start of junior high.
- Publisher: Dial Books, 2015.
In the Footsteps of Crazy Horse by Joseph Marshall III
- realistic/historical fiction (F MAR)
- Jimmy McClean is a Lakota boy. When he take a trip with his grandfather, Nyles High Eagle, he learns more about his Lakota heritage, especially the history of Crazy Horse. Crazy Horse, along with Sitting Bull, was the last of the Lakota people to surrender to the US Army after the Battle of the Little Bighorn.
- This tells the story of Jimmy at the same time as telling the story of the history of Crazy Horse, and how he learns about himself because of the stories of Crazy Horse.
- Publisher: Scholastic, 2015.
The Nest by Kenneth Oppel
- fantasy fiction (F OPP)
- The summer has brought all kinds of worries for Steve. Worries for his baby brother who is fighting to survive, worries for his parents who are struggling to cope with it, and worries about the wasp's nest attached to the eaves of his house. When a mysterious wasp queen appears in his dreams with promises to "fix" his baby brother, Steve thinks his prayers have been answered. But saying yes doesn't always turn out like one thinks it's going to.
- Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books, 2015.
The Seventh Most Important Thing by Shelley Pearsall
- realistic fiction (F PEA)
- Arthur is almost sent to juvie because the brick he threw hit Junk Man. He's saved from that sentence by Junk Man himself, who suggests 120 hours of community service working for him.
- He is given a shopping cart and a list: glass bottles, foil, cardboard, pieces of wood, lightbulbs, coffee cans, and mirrors. He can't believe he's supposed to rummage through people's trash to find these things, but in the search realizes there's more than meets the eye in Junk Man and in the trash he's collecting.
- Publisher: Yearling, 2015.
Echo: a novel by Pam Munoz Ryan
- historical fiction (F RYA)
- Lost in a mysterious forest, Otto meets three sisters who involve him in a quest involving a prophecy, a promise, and a harmonica.
- Decades later, Friedrich in Germany, MIke in Pennsylvania, and Ivy in California all become connected when the harmonica also lands in their lives. Each of them faces challenges they must face. And ultimately the harmonica brings them together.
- Publisher: Scholastic Press, 2015.
Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer: the spirit of the Civil Rights Movement by Carole Boston Weatherford
- illustrated biography (IL 921 HAM)
- This book tells the story of civil rights champion Fannie Lou Hamer from the 1950s to her death in 1977 despite multiple beatings and abuses. She was an important part of the Freedom Summer of 1964 and gave a speech at the Democratic National Convention that helped convince people to support the Freedom Democrats. She represented determination, hope, and strength during a difficult time in the country.
- Publisher: Candlewick, 2015.