South Carolina Children’s Book Award Nominees

1. South Carolina Children’s Book Award Nominees 2009-2010

2. Attack of the Turtle by Drew Carlson During the Revolutionary War, 14-year-old Nathan Wade helps his cousin build and launch an unusual ship designed to explode bombs underwater.

3. The Aurora County All-Stars by Deborah Wiles House Jackson, the 12-year-old captain and star pitcher of the Aurora County All-Stars, can finally play baseball again after being benched by a broken elbow. When an old enemy returns to town and threatens to cancel the team’s one and only game, House comes up with an unusual plan to save it.

4. Brendan Buckley’s Universeand Everything In It by Sundee Tucker Frazier Brendan Buckley, a biracial 10-year-old, is stunned to meet his white grandfather for the first time at a local rock collecting show. When his parents refuse to answer his questions, Brendan begins secretly spending time with his grandfather to find out what had happened to break up the family so many years before.

5. The Castle Corona by Sharon Creech Two orphaned peasant children discover a mysterious pouch, the contents of which lead them to the majestic Castle Corona, where their lives may be transformed forever.

6. Dragon’s Egg by Sarah L. Thomson When 12-year-old Mella stumbles on a huge dragon’s egg near her family’s inn, she and her friend Roger embark on a dangerous journey to return it to Dragontooth Mountain.

7. Eleven by Patricia Reilly Giff The day before he turns 11, Sam MacKenzie finds a locked box containing evidence that he was kidnapped years earlier. He is terrified of the number eleven, and a large castle and terrifying boat ride haunt his dreams. With the help of his friend Caroline, Sam must solve the mystery of who he really is.

8. Emma-Jean Lazarus FellOut of a Tree by Lauren Tarshis Seventh-grader Emma-Jean Lazarus is brilliant, logical, curious, and strange. After she successfully carries out an elaborate plan to help a fellow student, Emma-Jean decides to use logic to solve the problems of her other classmates, but things don’t work out as she plans.

9. A Friendship for Today by Patricia McKissack It is 1954, and 12-year-old Rosemary Patterson learns that she will be attending an all-white school in the fall. When her best friend is diagnosed with polio, Rosemary must face the challenges of the new school year alone.

10. Lawn Boy by Gary Paulsen When his grandmother gives him an old lawnmower for his birthday, the 12-year-old narrator decides he might as well earn a few bucks mowing other people’s lawns. Things get crazy as Lawn Boy’s business expands beyond his wildest dreams.

11. Leepike Ridge by Nathan D. Wilson A fierce current carries 11-year-old Tom Hammond over the rapids to an underground beach beneath Leepike Ridge. As he tries to stay alive and find his way home, Tom discovers that the cave holds the key to his father’s mysterious death, a dead body, and a very much alive but equally trapped castaway.

12. The Lemonade War by Jacqueline Davies Fourth-grader Evan and his sister Jessie have a contest to see who can sell the most lemonade before summer vacation ends. They use creativity, business strategies, hard work, and sneaky tricks as each tries to come out on top.

13. Me and the Pumpkin Queen by Marlane Kennedy Eleven-year-old Mildred plans to win first prize for the biggest pumpkin at the Circle-ville, Ohio Pumpkin Festival. She wants more than anything to win for her mother, a big fan of the pumpkin festival, who died when Mildred was six. But she finds out that growing a 1,000 pumpkin is hard work, and she can’t do it all alone.

14. The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart A mysterious eccentric recruits four equally eccentric and unusually gifted children to become undercover agents at the Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened in order to help him try to stop an evil man from taking over the world.

15. The Mysterious Case of the Allbright Academy by Diane Stanley Eighth-grader Franny, her sister Zoe, and her brother J.D. have been asked to attend prestigious Allbright Academy. After her best friend from home comments on how much she and her school friends have changed (and not always in good ways), Franny and her friends start investigating and uncover a sinister plot.

16. No Talking by Andrew Clements When Dave Packer challenges fellow fifth-grader Lynsey Burgess to a “no talking” contest, with the boys competing against the girls, they find that it’s much more difficult than they anticipated.

17. On the Wings of Heroes by Richard Peck During World War II, while Davy Bowman’s older brother is off training to fly B-17s, life goes on in his small midwestern town.Davy gets into some scrapes, encounters quirky townspeople, has a run-in with his shotgun-toting substitute teacher, and tries to help the war effort.

18. Paint the Wind by Pam Muñoz Ryan Maya is angry when her grandmother dies and she must go to live in Wyoming with her aunt, uncle, and pain-in-the-neck cousin. When she sees Artemisia, the horse her mother used to ride, it’s love at first sight. If only Maya could get close to Artemisia, then maybe Maya’s painful feelings will go away.

19. Rickshaw Girl by Mitali Perkins Ten-year-old Naima wants to help her father earn money for the family, but in Bangladesh, a girl is supposed to help her mother at home. With creativity and determination, Naima finds an unusual way to get her wish.

20. Swindle by Gordon Korman On a sleepover with his friends in an abandoned house, sixth-grader Griffin Bing finds a rare and valuable Babe Ruth baseball card. When a crooked collector tricks him out of the million-dollar card, Griffin and his friends use their unique talents to try to steal the card back.

21. Two-Minute Drill by Mike Lupica Brainiac sixth-grader Scott wants more than anything to make the football team. Too bad he’s the clumsiest player on the field. When Chris, the star quarterback, encourages him to try out for the team, Scott doesn’t know about the secret Chris is keeping, or what Scott’s own secret might mean for him and the team.