Novels for Grades 4 - 6

1. Black-Eyed Susan Nominees 2011-2012 Novels for Grades 4 - 6

2. What is the Black-Eyed Susan Award? • Established in 1992 • Named for the Maryland state flower • Purpose – To promote reading and lifelong reading habits • Fiction or nonfiction from the last 3 years • Winner is chosen by Maryland Students

3. What do I have to do? • Read at least 3 of the 10 nominees by April • Answer a few quick questions about each book (in writing or at lunch/recess) • Come to the voting party and cast your vote!

4. And the nominees are: • The Case of the Case of Mistaken Identity • By Mac Barnett Seventh-grader Steve Brixton is an avid reader of the Bailey Brothers series, and he's about to get a chance to put the detective tactics he's read so much about into practice. He's out to solve a mystery being investigated by America's most secret crime solving agency: the United States Department of Library Sciences. It will take all of Steve's skills to navigate this story of intrigue and crime as he tracks down the missing quilt (yes, quilt) containing all of America's secrets. http://books.simonandschuster.com/Case-of-the-Case-of-Mistaken-Identity/Mac-Barnett/Brixton-Brothers-The/9781416978152

5. Turtle in Paradise • By Jennifer L. Holm Life isn't like the movies, and eleven-year-old Turtle is no Shirley Temple. She's smart and tough and has seen enough of the world not to expect a Hollywood ending. After all, it's 1935, and jobs and money and sometimes even dreams are scarce. So when Turtle's mama gets a job housekeeping for a lady who doesn't like kids, Turtle says goodbye without a tear and heads off to Key West, Florida, to stay with relatives she's never met. http://www.jenniferholm.com/02_mybooks/01_overview.html http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=js4maKSJ7tk&feature=youtu.be

6. Dream of Night • By Heather Henson Untamable. Damaged. Angry. Once full of promise and life, now a fiery knot of resentment and detachment. This is the story of Dream of Night, an injured and abused racehorse. It’s also the story of Shiloh, a sarcastic eleven-year-old foster child. By chance, Dream of Night and Shiloh both find themselves under the care of JessalynDiLima. Just in time—it’s a last chance for them both. http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dream-of-night-heather-henson/1100374588

7. The Girl Who Could Fly • By Victoria Forester Piper McCloud can fly. Just like that. Easy as pie. Problem is, the good folk of Lowland County are afraid of Piper. And her ma’s at her wit’s end. So it seems only fitting that she leave her parents’ farm to attend a top-secret, maximum-security school for kids with exceptional abilities. School is great at first with a bunch of new friends whose skills range from super-strength to super-genius. But Piper is special, even among the special. And there are consequences too dire to talk about. Too crazy to consider. And too dangerous to ignore. http://www.victoriaforester.com/writing.html

8. After All, You’re Callie Boone • By Winnie Mack "It’s the worst summer on record for nearly-twelve-year-old Callie Boone. Not only has she been ditched by her best friend for someone more 'awesome', but she may never live down her recent humiliation at the community pool. ” http://wplnewchildrensbooks.blogspot.com/2010/03/after-all-youre-callie-boone.html

9. Bone is a stray dog, all alone in the world, looking for a safe place to call home. Charlie is devastated by the death of his older brother, but at least he has his brother’s dog to comfort him.  All Henry wants is a dog of his own, and even when his best friend moves away, his parents still won’t let him have one. Bone, Charlie, and Henry don’t know each other, but their lives are about to connect in a very surprising way. Because dogs, and dog lovers, have a way of finding each other . . . Everything For a Dog • By Ann M. Martin http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmXGOCp5hDs http://us.macmillan.com/everythingforadog/AnnMartin

10. Emily’s Fortune • By Phyllis Reynolds Naylor When Emily Wiggins is unexpectedly orphaned, she is left all alone except for her turtle, Rufus. What in blinkin' bloomers should Emily do? Emily's neighbors have the answer. Emily must travel by stagecoach to honorable Aunt Hilda.What a hootin', tootin' grand idea! But Miss Catchum of the Catchum Child-Catching Services will get a big bonus for making Emily live with her next of kin, vicious Uncle Victor. How in ding dong dickens will Emily escape Miss Catchum? http://www.randomhouse.com/book/200606/emilys-fortune-by-phyllis-reynolds-naylor

11. The Gold Rush Kid • By Mary Waldorf When 12-year-old Billy McGee’s mother dies suddenly of typhoid fever, he and his older sister, Edna, are faced with the unhappy prospect of getting sent to live with distant relatives. Instead, Edna disguises herself as a boy, and the two set out from their home in Skagway, Alaska, for the Yukon Territory. http://lookingglassreview.com/html/the_gold_rush_kid.html http://www.google.com/search?q=klondike+images&hl=en&biw=1680&bih=862&prmd=imvns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=la2TTrKVE6jz0gHp_tS_Bw&ved=0CB4QsAQ

12. A Long Walk to Water: Based on a True Story • By Linda Sue Park A story of one boy’s struggle to survive in the war-torn country of Sudan. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkxkisRUmMM

13. 42 Miles • By Tracie Vaughn Zimmer JoEllen's parents divorced when she was very young, so she was used to splitting her time between them, shuttling four blocks from one Cincinnati apartment to another. But when her dad moved to the old family farm last year, her life was suddenly divided. Now on weekdays she's a city girl, called Ellen, who hangs out with her friends, plays the sax, and loves old movies. And on weekends she's a country girl, nicknamed Joey, who rides horseback with her cousin, Hayden, goes fishing, and listens to bluegrass. So where do her loyalties lie? Who is the real JoEllen? http://www.tracievaughnzimmer.com/TVZ/42.html

14. Check one out next time you come in!