Austin Waldorf School Book Awards

For the second year, the Library committee will be awarding the Austin Waldorf School Children’s Choice Awards in September. The following books are the finalists for this year. Your children read those for their upcoming grade over the summer and then vote for their favorite at the beginning of the 2011-2012 school year.                                                                                                          
The books are:

Grades 3-4 The books for these grades are intentionally at late third grade level, so if your child is not there yet, I am confident that you will enjoy reading them to or with them.

Little Joe, by Sandra Neil Wallace
This book is about Eli’s relationship with Little Joe, the first calf he gets to raise on his own, as well as with his distant father and understanding grandfather. It looks as though Little Joe will be a winner at the County Fair Cattle Show. But a blue ribbon pretty well insures that he will be sold to the highest bidder and then sent to the butcher. With the help of his grandfather there’s a happy ending for Eli and Little Joe and for Eli and his father.  There are some particularly memorable passages in this sweet, thoughtful book.  We particularly enjoyed the chapter about saving salamanders.

White Crane, by Sandy Fussell
Niya is studying to become a samurai warrior in the Cockroach Ryu. Niya is an unusual samurai student because he only has one leg. Each of the other Cockroaches has similar challenges. Their sensei is a legendary warrior, so old that many people are astonished to learn he is still living. Every year the Samurai ryus meet at the Samurai Trainee Games. This year the Cockroaches are determined to defeat the fierce and arrogant Dragon Ryu and win the games. With their huge disadvantages, their only chance is to train harder than any others and to work together better than any others. In doing so, they become true friends. This is a lighthearted book with a nice helping of adventure and competition.

Grades 5-6

Moon Over Manifest, by Clare Vanderpool--Winner of this year’s Newbery Award.
This book is made up of two stories, connected across eighteen years by a mystery and a mining town called Manifest, KS. The first is set in 1936. Twelve year-old Abilene’s father sends her to Manifest to live with his friend while he works for the railroads. The night she arrives she finds a box with mementos and a letter dated January, 1918. The letter is from Ned to Jinx. Ned reminds Jinx to stay alert because “The Rattler” is always watching. Abilene and two new friends are intrigued and decide to spy out the identity of “The Rattler.” In the course of spying, Abilene meets an old woman, who, without Abilene saying a word about the letter, gradually tells her Ned and Jinx’s story from 1917-1918.  The characters are well-drawn, the writing excellent, the details rich, and the suspense and excitement well-timed.

Touch Blue, by Cynthia Lord
Tess Brooks is eleven and lives on an island off the coast of Maine. She loves her family’s fishing lifestyle on the island. Then her best friend’s family moves away leaving the island school with too few students. The state of Maine threatens to close it which would mean that Tess and her family would have to move to the mainland. The islanders decide to take in foster children to expand the population and save their school. The Brooks take a 13 year-old boy, Aaron. Even though Aaron is unhappy on the island, Tess never gives up hope that he will grow to enjoy her family and the island. Things don’t always go according to plan, but they might work out anyway.  The characters are likeable and hard working, the adults are admirable, and the island feels very real.

The Year Money Grew on Trees, by Aaron Hawkins
If fourteen year-old Jackson does all the work and gives her the first $8000 of the proceeds, his neighbor will give him the deed to her apple orchard. He agrees and signs a contract because otherwise he’ll have to work for one of the meaner men in town. Jackson is fairly wily himself and talks his sisters and cousins into helping him for a portion of the profits. He doesn’t tell them about his contract or the fact that there may not be any profits. The children are amazingly resourceful when meeting the many challenges they encounter. This is NOT a non-fiction book masquerading as fiction. Without being at all preachy, you get pulled in and find yourself cheering them on. The description of how they manage on their own reminds me of the Swallows and Amazons series.

Grades 7-8

The Crowfield Curse, by Pat Walsh
While gathering firewood for the medieval abbey where he is a servant, Will rescues a magical creature called a hob. The creature’s leg is caught in a trap and is seriously injured. Will secretly takes him to Brother Snail’s hut because he believes brother Snail can heal him. The hob tells Will about a great winged creature who was killed by an arrow and buried by the monks many years before.  Shortly after, two men come to stay at the abbey, and start asking questions about something buried in the woods. They are particularly interested in Will and he finds himself drawn into a world of powerful magic.  Pat Walsh uses of the faith and superstitions of the middle ages to effectively underpin the fantasy. The characters are complex and believable and it is easy to immerse yourself in the story. I read this book in one sitting.

Scrawl, by Mark Shulman
Tod is a bully, plus he’s been caught doing something particularly bad. His punishment is daily detention with the guidance counselor where he spends his time writing his story in a notebook. We soon learn that he’s smart; he does his homework and makes good grades, so why is he a bully? This is a fast-paced, suspenseful, and sometimes funny book. This is a surprising book. Most of us weren’t drawn to it; the cover’s not appealing and some of us weren’t sure we wanted to read a book about a bully, but all of the committee who read it truly liked it.

Scumble, by Ingrid Law
A savvy is an unusual power that is unique to Ledger Kale’s extended family. Their savvy will first show itself on their thirteenth birthday and Ledger’s savvy birthday is at the beginning of this book. His father is hoping it will be supersonic speed, so the reality is disappointing. Instead, it breaks things apart, from tools and car parts, to an entire motorcycle. But the worst comes when Ledger wreaks havoc on his cousin’s wedding and then level’s his Uncle’s barn. His parents decide he needs to stay on his Uncle’s farm until he learns to scumble (control) his savvy. To make things more interesting, there is an unwelcome witness to all this in the person of Sarah Jane, a wannabe reporter and the daughter of the businessman who is threatening to foreclose on the farm.  The characters are delightful and there’s plenty of action with a satisfying ending.

Read Aloud

We are offering three remarkably gentle read alouds this year. They are all older books; two of them are already known and beloved by some in our community. The other is relatively new, but worth a read.

Comet in Moominland, by Tove Jansson
If you’re a first grade parent, you probably know this book as Mr. Beshears read four of the books in this series to his class. He said the story, the setting, and the character of the books captured the children’s imaginations and they lived into it. Through the years there have been other classes where the Moomintrolls caught the children’s fancy. The Riverbank Review said of the books: “You will declare yourself a citizen of Moominvalley and call the stories your own—the Moomin world is that compelling.”

The Naming of Tishkin Silk, by Glenda Millard
Griffin Silk was born February 29. His father says he is surely an uncommon boy. In fact, the whole family is uncommonly delightful. But Griffin carries a fear around with him that he is the reason his baby sister died and his mother is still in the hospital. He thinks this is so because he was jealous and didn’t love her enough. The Silk family babies are named on their first birthday, so his baby sister had not been named. Griffin calls her Tishkin to himself.  Then he meets Layla, who connects with him and his family. Layla  and griffin come up with a plan that will help to heal not only Griffin but the whole family. This book may be difficult for some children, so read it yourself first. Although, because it is heartwarming, told with much love and no drama, I believe most children will find it fascinating.

The Wind Boy, by Ethel Cook Eliot
This has been a community favorite for many years. If your family hasn’t read it, please do so now. It is a special story of Nan, a strange girl from the purple mountains, who answers an ad for a general housework girl and amazing things begin to happen.

The Library will be open on Wednesday afternoons from 1:00-4:00 p.m. this summer, beginning June 8.  We will have 3 copies of each book in the library.