Jamestown News Article

March 10, 2010

by

Carol Reed

NCCBA 2010 Junior Book Nominations

              Each year the North Carolina School Library Media Association accepts nominations for junior books, from children, grades 3-6, and librarians. In any school or library in our state, children may read the books on the list and then vote for their favorite. Below is a list of this year’s nominated books. Many of them are award winning titles. Many are just fun. Why not read some of them with your children after school or at bed time? Bishop, Nic. Frogs. Nic Bishop's photographs show all different kinds of frogs, big ones, very tiny ones, frogs with beautiful colors of skin, and one frog you can see inside. Bertholf, Bret. The Long Gone Lonesome History of Country Music. A journey through the history of country music.Cabot, Meg. Moving Day. Nine-year-old Allie Finkle has rules for everything and is even writing her own rule book, but her world is turned upside-down when she learns that her family is moving across town, which will mean a new house, school, best friend, and plenty of new rules.Creech, Sharon. Hate That Cat. Jack is studying poetry again in school, and he continues to write poems reflecting his understanding of famous poems and how they relate to his life.Davies, Nicola. Extreme Animals: the Toughest Creatures on Earth. Animals adapt to their surroundings for survival. Learn how they survive in conditions that humansnever would. Are you ready for the competition? From the persevering emperor penguins of the South Pole to the brave bacteria inside bubbling volcanoes, from the hardy reptiles of the driest deserts to the squash-proof creatures of the deepest sea beds, animals have adapted to survive in conditions that would kill a human faster than you can say "coffin....Frost, Helen. Diamond Willow. In a remote area of Alaska, twelve-year-old Willow helps her father with their sled dogs when she is not at school, wishing she were more popular, all the while unaware that the animals surrounding her carry the spirits of dead ancestors and friends who care for her.Haddix, Margaret Peterson. Found. When thirteen-year-olds Jonah and Chip, who are both adopted, learn they were discovered on a plane that appeared out of nowhere, full of babies with no adults on board, they realize that they have uncovered a mystery involving time travel and two opposing forces, each trying to repair the fabric of time.Kadohata, Cynthia. Cracker: the Best Dog in Vietnam. A young soldier in Vietnam bonds with his bomb-sniffing dog.Law, Ingrid. Savvy. Recounts the adventures of Mibs Beaumont, whose thirteenth birthday has revealed her "savvy"—a magical power unique to each member of her family--just as her father is injured in a terrible accident.Lowry, Lois. The Willoughbys. In this tongue-in-cheek take on classic themes in children's literature, the four Willoughby children set about to become "deserving orphans" after their neglectful parents embark on a treacherous around-the-world adventure, leaving them in the care of an odious nanny.MacLachlan, Patricia. Edward's Eyes. Edward is one of a large and close family that loves baseball, music, books, and each other, and when he unexpectedly dies and his parents donate his organs, his wonderful eyes go to a perfect recipient.Sidman, Joyce. This is Just to Say: Poems of Apology and Forgiveness.

When Mrs. Merz asks her sixth grade class to write poems of apology, they end up liking their poems so much that they decide to put them together into a book. Not only that, but they get the people to whom they apologized to write poems back. In haiku, pantoums, two-part poems, snippets, and rhymes, Mrs. Merz’s class writes of crushes, overbearing parents, loving and losing pets, and more....