Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy

by:  Gary D. Schmidt
2005 Newbery Honor Book

Growing up.
Becoming friends with someone you never thought you would.
Prejudice.
Injustice.
Standing up for what you believe in and for what is right.


Awesome!

From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
1968 Newbery Winner

by:  E. L. Konigsburg

Claudia and Jamie run away from home to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  Claudia hopes to teach her parents a lesson in Claudia appreciation and she needs her brother because he has money.


Claudia still feels the same after running away.  And she was hoping to feel different.  When the statue of the angel comes to the museum surrounded by mystery, Claudia just knows if she can solve the mystery she will become different.  That's where Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler come in.

Pictures of Hollis Woods

by:  Patricia Reilly Giff
2003 Newbery Honor Book

Great Read !!

Hollis Woods... is the place where a baby was abandoned
... is the baby's name
... is an artist
... is now 12 and has been in so many foster homes she has lost track.  
Will she get her wish - to belong to a real family?

Chains
by:  Laurie Halse Anderson

Set at the time of the Revolutionary War.  Isabell is a young slave who was promised freedom.  When that promise gets broken, it's up to Isabel to wage her own war to get her freedom back.  This is an amazing story of the life of a very brave girl that will leave you wanting to read the sequel, Forge!

Crispin : the cross of lead

by:  Avi
2003 Newbery Winner

Asta's son is the only name he has.  He and his mom are nothing but poor peasants in 14th century medieval England.

Accused of something he didn't do, Asta's son gets declared a wolf's head.  This means anyone who sees him may kill him.

He knows he must run away if he is to survive.  With his newly revealed name - Crispin - and his mother's cross of lead he runs!

Very good book!

One Crazy Summer
by:  Rita Williams-Garcia
2011 Newbery Honor Book

Delphine is the oldest of 3 girls.  She is only 11 years old but acts 25 by the way she has to watch out for her sisters.  They were abandoned by their mother when the youngest was just a baby. This summer they are going on a big trip on an airplane to visit their long lost mother.  It turns out to be one crazy summer!

Awesome!

The Higher Power of Lucky
by:  Susan Patron

2007 Newbery Winner

What is a higher power 
and how does a person get one? 
These are questions Lucky, 
a ten-year-old girl, 
asks herself after the death 
of the mother.

The Invention of Hugo Cabret
by:  Brian Selznick

2008 Caldecott Winner
- A novel in words and pictures -

This is an awesome "Graphic" Novel!  Must read.

Hugo lives in the walls of a busy train station in Paris.  His survival depends on secrets and him staying hidden.

284 pages are original drawings that tell a story.

Sounder
by:  William Armstrong

1969 Newbery Winner

Sounder is a strong and faithful coon dog.  He will do whatever it takes to help his owners survive the hard times.  But when father is put in jail for stealing food for his family even the wounded Sounder has to run and hide.

The Underneath
by:  Kathi Appelt

2009 Newbery Honor Book

This is the story of four unlikely best friends...a dog, a cat, and two kittens.  The friends have a nice life as long as they stay under the porch of the house where the wicked old man, Gar, lives.

This is a wonderful, very well written story, however, please be warned that there is some animal abuse and sadness.

Criss Cross
by:  Lynne Rae Perkins

2005 Newbery Winner

She was wondering if the grass really could
be greener on the other side of the fence.
It depends on who was standing in the grass.
Maybe you had to go take a look.

Excellent!

Turtle in Paradise
by:  Jennifer L. Holm
2011 Newbery Honor Book

It's 1935 and times are hard.  Turtle's mother needs a job and Turtle can't come with her.  Turtle is sent to Key West, Florida to stay with relatives she has never met.  Thrown in with a bunch of rough and tumble boy cousins isn't easy.  Turtle may be a girl, but she is tough and she will prove it - tough as the shell on a turtle.

Best historical fiction I'v read in a long time!

Walk Two Moons
by:  Sharon Creech

1995 Newbery Winner

Thirteen-year-old Salamanca Tree Hiddle, known as Sal, is on a trip with her grandparents in search of her mother.  Along the way Sal tells a story about her friend Phoebe.  Phoebe receives mysterious messages, met a "potential lunatic," and her mother also has disappeared.

Wonderful story.

Kira - Kira
by:  Cynthia Kadohata

2005 Newbery Winner

Glittering.  That's how Katie's sister makes everything seem.  "Kira-Kira" means glittering in Japanese.

When Katie and her family move from a Japanese community in Iowa to the Deep South of Georgia, it's Lynn who explains to her why people stop and stare at them.

When Lynn becomes ill, and the whole family begins to fall apart, it is up to Katie to find a way to remind them all that there is always something kira-kira in the future.

When You Reach Me
by:  Rebecca Stead

2010 Newbery Winner

Miranda and Sal are in 6th grade. They are best friends and live in New York. When Sal gets punched by a kid on the street for no reason, everything changes.

The the mysterious letters start showing up in the strangest places. Miranda isn't supposed to tell about the letters but they are scaring her. Should she keep them a secret...?

This is a MUST READ!

Island of the Blue Dolphins
by:  Scott O'Dell

1960 Newbery Winner

Far off the coast of California is a harsh rock known as San Nicolas Island.  In the early 1800s an Indian girl lived alone there for 18 years!  This book is her story.

Number the Stars

by:  Lois Lowry
1990 Newbery Winner

Through Annemarie's eyes, we see the Danish Resistance as they manage to smuggle almost the entire Jewish population (7900) across the sea to Sweden.

The Penderwicks, A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy
by:  Jeanne Birdsall

The beginning: Mr. Penderwick and his four daughters; Batty age 4, Rosalind age 12, Skye age 11, are on their way to a 3 week summer vacation... Unfortunately, they are lost.

Awesome book!

The Family Under the Bridge
by:  Natalie Savage Carlson

1959 Newbery Honor Book

Armond is homeless and lives under a bridge.  He likes his simple life.  Then one day, he meets some children that became homeless and everything changes.  Will Armand help the children?  Will the children get what they want for Christmas, a home?

The Sign of the Beaver
by:  Elizabeth George Speare

1984 Newbery Honor Book

Matt is just 13 years old.  Yet he is left to guard his family's new cabin in the wilderness.  His father has to get the rest of the family.  It's only after Matt meets a resourceful Indian boy that he begins to discover new ways to survive in the forest.
Will his family ever return?