2014-2015 Reading Competition Books

 

Counting By 7's                       By Holly Goldberg Sloan               FIC SLO

Twelve-year-old genius and outsider Willow Chance must figure out how to connect to other             people and find a surrogate family for herself after her parents are killed in a car accident.

 

Enchantress From The Stars       By Sylvia Louise Engdahl              FIC ENG

Three civilizations from different planets in widely varying stages of development clash in what could be either a mutually disastrous or beneficial encounter. 

 

The Dolphins Of Shark Bay        By  Pamela S Turner               599.53 TUR

Ride alongside the author Pamela S. Turner and her scientific team and meet a cast of dolphin characters large enough (and charismatic enough) to rival a Shakespearean play—Puck, Piccolo, Flute, and Dodger among them. You will fall in love with this crew, both human and finned, as they seek to answer the question: just why are dolphins so smart? And what does their behavior tell us about human intelligence, captive animals, and the future of the ocean? Beautiful photos of dolphins in their natural habitat and a funny, friendly, and fast-paced text make this another winner in the Scientists in the Field series.

 

Flora & Ulysses : The Illuminated Adventures         By  Kate DiCamillo          FIC DIC

Photographs and text recount Caitlin O'Connell's experiences observing African elephants in their natural habitat, describing the discoveries she made about elephant communication.

 

 

Golden Boy                      By  Tara Sullivan                       (FIC SUL) 

Born albino in a Tanzanian village, Habo suffers virulent prejudice for his pale skin, blue eyes, and yellow hair, even from his own family. At 13, he runs away to the city of Dar-es-Salaam, where he thinks he will find more acceptance: there are even two albino members of the government there. He finds a home as an apprentice to a blind sculptor who knows Habo is a smart boy with a good heart, and he teaches Habo to carve wood. But Habo is being pursued by a poacher who wants to kill him and sell his body parts on the black market to superstitious buyers in search of luck.

 

If I Ever Get Out Of Here             By Eric L Gansworth               FIC GAN

Caldecott medalist Allen Say chronicles his experiences as an artist during World War II, and describes his relationship with his mentor NoroShinpei, Japan's leading cartoonist. 

 

Left For Dead : A Young Man's Search For Justice For The USS Indianapolis

                                                By  Peter Nelson                940.54 NEL

Recalls the sinking of the U.S.S. Indianapolis at the end of World War II, the Navy cover-up and unfair court martial of the ship's captain, and how a young boy helped the survivors set the record straight fifty-five years later. 

 

The Lightning Dreamer: Cuba's Greatest Abolitionist     By Margarita Engle      FIC ENG

In free verse, evokes the voice of Gertrudis Gomez de Avellaneda, a book-loving writer, feminist, and abolitionist who courageously fought injustice in nineteenth-century Cuba. 

 

 

Maritcha : A Nineteenth-Century American Girl          By Tonya Bolden        92 LYO

Based on an actual memoir written by MaritchaRimond Lyons, who was born in New York City, this poignant story tells what it was like to be a black child born free during the days of slavery.

 

The Not-So-Star-Spangled Life Of Sunita Sen             By Mitali Perkins         FIC PER

The arrival of her grandparents from India causes thirteen-year-old Sunita to resent her Indian heritage and to be embarrassed by the differences she feels between herself and her friends in California.

 

One Came Home                 By Amy Timberlake                FIC TIM

In 1871 Wisconsin, thirteen-year-old Georgia sets out to find her sister Agatha, presumed dead when remains are found wearing the dress she was last seen in, and before the end of the year gains fame as a sharpshooter and foiler of counterfeiters. 

 

One Crazy Summer                  By Rita Williams-Garcia               FIC WIL

In the summer of 1968, after traveling from Brooklyn to Oakland, California, to spend a month with the mother they barely know, eleven-year-old Delphine and her two younger sisters arrive to a cold welcome as they discover that their mother, a dedicated poet and printer, is resentful of the intrusion of their visit and wants them to attend a nearby Black Panther summer camp.

 

Rascal                          By North, Sterling               92 NOR

The author recalls his carefree life in a small midwestern town at the close of World War I, and his adventures with his pet raccoon, Rascal. 

 

The Red Pyramid                    By Rick Riordan                 FIC RIO

Brilliant Egyptologist Dr. Julius Kane accidentally unleashes the Egyptian god Set, who banishes the doctor to oblivion and forces his two children to embark on a dangerous journey, bringing them closer to the truth about their family and its links to a secret order that has existed since the time of the pharaohs. 

 

Small As An Elephant              By Jennifer Jacobson              FIC JAC

Abandoned by his mother in an Acadia National Park campground, Jack tries to make his way back to Boston before anyone figures out what is going on, with only a small toy elephant for company. 

 

Splendors And Glooms            By Laura Amy Schlitz              FIC SCH

When Clara vanishes after the puppeteer Grisini and two orphaned assistants were at her twelfth birthday party, suspicion of kidnapping chases the trio away from London and soon the two orphans are caught in a trap set by Grisini's ancient rival, a witch with a deadly inheritance to shed before it is too late. 

 

 

Starry River Of The Sky           By Grace Lin                 FIC LIN

The moon is missing from the remote Village of Clear Sky, but only a young boy named Rendi seems to notice! Rendi has run away from home and is now working as a chore boy at the village inn. He can't help but notice the village's peculiar inhabitants and their problems-where has the innkeeper's son gone? Why are Master Chao and Widow Yan always arguing? What is the crying sound Rendi keeps hearing? And how can crazy, old Mr. Shan not know if his pet is a toad or a rabbit?

But one day, a mysterious lady arrives at the Inn with the gift of storytelling, and slowly transforms the villagers and Rendi himself.

 

Titanic : Voices From The Disaster        By Deborah Hopkinson          910.9163 HOP

Draws on stories from survivors and archival photographs to describe the history of the "Titanic" from its launch to its sinking. 

 

To Dance: A Ballerina’s Graphic Novel          By Siena Cherson Siegel            741.5 SIE

Dancers are young when they first dream of dance. Siena was six -- and her dreams kept skipping and leaping, circling and spinning, from airy runs along a beach near her home in Puerto Rico, to dance class in Boston, to her debut performance on stage with the New York City Ballet. 

 

Witches: The Absolutely True Tale Of Disaster In Salem     

                                             By  Rosalyn Schanzer                133.4 SCH

Presents a history of the witch hunts in colonial-era Salem, Massachusetts, featuring primary source accounts, and describes the victims, accused witches, corrupt officials, and impact of the events on society.