Book Lists

2013 Notable Children's Books (Grade 3-5)

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Each year a committee of the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) identifies the best of the best in children's books. According to the Notables Criteria, "notable" is defined as: Worthy of note or notice, important, distinguished, outstanding. As applied to children's books, notable should be thought to include books of especially commendable quality, books that exhibit venturesome creativity, and books of fiction, information, poetry and pictures for all age levels (birth through age 14) that reflect and encourage children's interests in exemplary ways. This list is for Middle Readers – Grades 3-5, ages 8-10.

24 results found

Zombie Makers

by: Rebecca L. Johnson
Zombie Makers
Are zombies real? Scientists know this for sure: dead people do not come back to live and start walking around, looking for trouble. But there are things that can take over the bodies and brains of innocent creatures, turning them into senseless slaves. Meet nature's zombie makers--including a fly-enslaving fungus, a suicide worm, and a cockroach-taming wasp--and their victims.

Wonder

by: R. J. Palacio
release date: Jan 01, 2012
Wonder
Wonder is a children's novel written by R. J. Palacio,[2] published on 14 February 2012. R. J. Palacio wrote Wonder after an incident where her son noticed a girl with a severe facial difference and started to cry. Fearing he would react badly, Palacio attempted to remove her son from the situation so as not to upset the girl and her family but ended up worsening the situation. Natalie Merchant's song of the same name made her realize that the incident could illustrate a valuable lesson. Palacio was inspired by Merchant's lyrics and she began writing. She named the book directly after the song and used the song's chorus as the prologue of the first chapter.
Categories: Children's Middle Grade Books / Young Adult, Children's Middle Grade Books / Fiction, Children's Middle Grade Books / Children's, Children's Middle Grade Books / Realistic

Unspoken

by: Henry Cole
release date: Nov 01, 2012
Unspoken
In this wordless picture book, a young Southern farm girl discovers a runaway slave hiding behind the corn crib in the barn and decides to help him.

Twelve Kinds of Ice

by: Ellen Bryan Obed
release date: Nov 06, 2012
Twelve Kinds of Ice
From the first ice, a thin skin on a bucket of water, through thickly-iced fields, streams, and gardens, a girl, her family, and friends anticipate and enjoy a winter of skating, ending with an ice show complete with costumes, refreshments, and clowns.

Titanic

by: Deborah Hopkinson
release date: Mar 01, 2012
Titanic
Critically acclaimed nonfiction author Deborah Hopkinson pieces together the story of the TITANIC and that fateful April night, drawing on the voices of survivors and archival photographs. In this award-winning book, critically acclaimed author Deborah Hopkinson weaves together the voices and stories of real TITANIC survivors and witnesses to the disaster -- from the stewardess Violet Jessop to Captain Arthur Rostron of the CARPATHIA, who came to the rescue of the sinking ship. Packed with heartstopping action, devastating drama, fascinating historical details, loads of archival photographs on almost every page, quotes from primary sources, and painstaking back matter, this gripping story, which follows the TITANIC and its passengers from the ship's celebrated launch at Belfast to her cataclysmic icy end, is sure to thrill and move readers.

Three Times Lucky

by: Sheila Turnage
release date: Jan 01, 2012
Three Times Lucky
Washed ashore as a baby in tiny Tupelo Landing, North Carolina, Mo LoBeau, now eleven, and her best friend Dale turn detective when the amnesiac Colonel, owner of a cafe and co-parent of Mo with his cook, Miss Lana, seems implicated in a murder.

A Black Hole Is Not a Hole

by: Carolyn Cinami DeCristofano
release date: Feb 01, 2012
A Black Hole Is Not a Hole
What is a black hole? Where do they come from? How were they discovered? Can we visit one? Carolyn Cinami DeCristofano takes readers on a ride through the galaxies (ours, and others), answering these questions and many more about the phenomenon known as a black hole. In lively and often humorous text, the book starts off with a thorough explanation of gravity and the role it plays in the formation of black holes. Paintings by Michael Carroll, coupled with real telescopic images, help readers visualize the facts and ideas presented in the text, such as how light bends, and what a supernova looks like. A BLACK HOLE IS NOT A HOLE is an excellent introduction to an extremely complex scientific concept. Back matter includes a timeline which sums up important findings discussed throughout, while the glossary and index provide a quick point of reference for readers. Children and adults alike will learn a ton of spacey facts in this far-out book that’s sure to excite even the youngest of astrophiles.

Bomb

by: Steve Sheinkin
release date: Jan 01, 2012
Bomb
In December of 1938, a chemist in a German laboratory made a shocking discovery: When placed next to radioactive material, a Uranium atom split in two. That simple discovery launched a scientific race that spanned 3 continents. In Great Britain and the United States, Soviet spies worked their way into the scientific community; in Norway, a commando force slipped behind enemy lines to attack German heavy-water manufacturing; and deep in the desert, one brilliant group of scientists was hidden away at a remote site at Los Alamos. This is the story of the plotting, the risk-taking, the deceit, and genius that created the world's most formidable weapon. This is the story of the atomic bomb.

Brothers at Bat

by: Audrey Vernick
release date: Apr 03, 2012
Brothers at Bat
Documents the story of the Baseball Hall of Fame honorees, tracing how the Acerra family of New Jersey formed their own semi-pro baseball team in the 1930s and became the longest-running all-brother team in history.

Chuck Close

by: Chuck Close
release date: Apr 01, 2012
Chuck Close
This fascinating, interactive autobiography presents Chuck Close's story, his art, and a discussion of the many processes he uses in the studio. The question-and-answer format is based on real kids' inquiries about Close's life and work, and his answers to them. Close, who is wheelchair-bound and paints with a brush strapped to his arm, discusses the severe dyslexia and face blindness he has struggled with since childhood, as well as a collapsed spinal artery that left him nearly paralyzed at the age of 48.
An engaging feature of the book is a mix-and-match Chuck Close self-portrait section. This hands-on component encourages the reader to create new and interesting combinations of Close's techniques and images. The book also includes an illustrated chronology of Close's life, a list of museums where his work can be seen, and an index.

Praise for Chuck Close: Face Book
STARRED REVIEW
"Art lovers of all ages will revel in this vivid, wonderfully affecting book, which is almost as ingenious and memorable as Close himself."
–Kirkus Reviews, starred review

STARRED REVIEW
"Close describes his work with candor and insight. The high quality printing and lush colors of the reproductions make it easy for readers to share that excitement. A nifty mix-and-match section lets readers compare the methods used in 14 of the artist's self-portraits."
–Publishers Weekly, starred review

STARRED REVIEW
“Excellent-quality reproductions of his paintings appear throughout. A readable and engaging look at a fascinating artist and his methods of working.”
–School Library Journal, starred review

"Chuck Close's art and life story are the ideal way to introduce art and artists to children."
–Horn Book

"A winner. Chuck Close's honest, personal memoir about his life and work makes an ideal book for kids who find school challenging, who are creative or who see the world a bit differently from their peers. In other words, this one's for most everyone."
–Shelf Awareness

Awards:
WINNER - 2012 Boston Globe Horn Book Nonfiction Award
New York Public Library's Children's Books 2012: 100 Books for Reading and Sharing list
Publishers Weekly Best Books of 2012 list: Children's Nonfiction
Capitol Choices 2013 - Noteworthy Titles for Children and Teens
Orbis Pictus Recommended Book 2013
Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC) Choices 2013 list - The Arts
2013 ALA/ALSC Notable Book
 

Each Kindness

by: Jacqueline Woodson
release date: Oct 02, 2012
Each Kindness
When Ms. Albert teaches a lesson on kindness, Chloe realizes that she and her friends have been wrong in making fun of new student Maya's shabby clothes and refusing to play with her.

Electric Ben

by: Robert Byrd
release date: Sep 13, 2012
Electric Ben
Electric Ben is now a 2013 Boston Globe-Horn Book Nonfiction Book Award Winner, a Kirkus Reviews Best Children's Book, a Horn Fanfare Book, and a Robert F. Sibert Honor book! “a true standout…bright, witty, informative and cleverly organized as the man himself.” – The New York Times A true Renaissance man, Benjamin Franklin was the first American celebrity. In pictures and text, master artist Robert Byrd documents Franklin's numerous and diverse accomplishments, from framing the Constitution to creating bifocals. The witty, wise, and endlessly curious Franklin is the perfect subject for Byrd's lively style and vibrant art. The pages pulse with facts, quotes, and captions, while the inventive design and intricately detailed illustrations make a striking tribute to the brilliant American.

George Bellows: Painter with a Punch!

by: Robert Burleigh
George Bellows: Painter with a Punch!
No punches are pulled in this fascinating biography that covers the life and work of the prolific artist George Bellows. Having spent most of his adult life in New York City, Bellows left behind an extraordinary body of work that captures life in this dynamic city: bustling street scenes, ringside views of boxing matches, and boys diving and swimming in the East River. Art reproductions and photographs from his youth round out the book.

Praise for George Bellows

STARRED REVIEW
"Upbeat prose, photographs, and reproductions of George Bellows's paintings provide an insightful homage to the urban artist and athlete. Burleigh places readers right in the moment."
—Publishers Weekly, starred review

“The book's excellent reproductions of Bellows' work will excite young readers and budding artists. A fine portrait of an artist not on everyone's radar but whose work can be readily understood and appreciated by youngsters.”
—Kirkus Reviews

"Veteran biographer Burleigh breathes a great deal of vitality into Bellows' short but significant life and career. Accompanied by Bellows' striking and powerful works, this is an artist bio that, like its subject, packs a punch."
—Booklist

"Burleigh tells Bellows's story with immediacy and with a firm grasp of his audience, striking the right balance of broad stroke and detail. Burleigh's admiration of his subject comes through loud and strong and infectiously. And there are handsome reproductions of Bellows's work...This impressive book captures the connection between the man and the world he observed during his short life. A new generation of young urban observers will be grateful."
—New York Times

"This is a beautifully illustrated biography of painter George Bellows. Bellows found his inspiration in the working class, including the gritty night life of the city... Burleigh adds to the interest of the story through direct quotes that are well-documented."
—Library Media Connection

"Burleigh is an enthusiastic and adept tour guide through Bellows's New York milieu. Crisp reproductions coordinate closely with the text, so readers will easily connect..."
—The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

Award
Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC) Choices 2013 list - The Arts
2013 ALA/ALSC Notable Book
 

Helen's Big World

by: Doreen Rappaport
Helen's Big World
This picturebook biography is an excellent and accessible introduction for young readers to learn about one of the world's most influential luminaries. With her signature style of prose laced with stirring quotes, Doreen Rappaport brings to life Helen Keller's poignant narrative. Acclaimed illustrator Matt Tavares beautifully captures the dynamism and verve of Helen Keller's life and legacy, making Helen's Big World an unforgettable portrait of a woman whose vision for innovation and progress changed America-and the world-forever.

Island

by: Jason Chin
release date: Sep 18, 2012
Island
Charles Darwin first visited the Galápagos Islands almost 200 years ago, only to discover a land filled with plants and animals that could not be found anywhere else on earth. How did they come to inhabit the island? How long will they remain? Thoroughly researched and filled with intricate and beautiful paintings, this extraordinary book by Award-winning author and artist Jason Chin is an epic saga of the life of an island—born of fire, rising to greatness, its decline, and finally the emergence of life on new islands. Chin's approach makes this book a must-have common core tool for teachers and librarians introducing scientific principals to young students. Island is one of Kirkus Reviews' Best Children's Books of 2012

Liar

by: Justine Larbalestier
Liar
In a “sexy, suspenseful read,” #1 New York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts delivers “a slow-burning fuse of a plot that ultimately explodes in a nail-biting conclusion.”* Shelby Foxworth lost her husband. Then she lost her illusions… The man who took her from Tennessee to an exclusive Philadelphia suburb left her in crippling debt. He was an adulterer and a liar, and when Shelby tracks down his safe-deposit box, she finds multiple IDs. The man she loved wasn’t just dead. He never really existed. Shelby takes her three-year-old daughter and heads south to seek comfort in her hometown, where she meets someone new: Griff Lott, a successful contractor. But her husband had secrets she has yet to discover. Even in this small town, surrounded by loved ones, danger is closer than she knows—and threatens Griff, as well. And an attempted murder is only the beginning... *Booklist (starred review)

May B.

by: Caroline Starr Rose
release date: Jan 10, 2012
May B.
When a failed wheat crop nearly bankrupts the Betterly family, Pa pulls twelve-year-old May from school and hires her out to a couple new to the Kansas frontier.

The Mighty Mars Rovers

by: Elizabeth Rusch
release date: Jun 18, 2012
The Mighty Mars Rovers
The story of the two robot vehicles, Spirit and Opportunity, that were sent to explore Mars, lasting far past their projected lives of three months and sending back invaluable images of the environmentally hostile planet.

Moonbird

by: Phillip Hoose
release date: Jul 17, 2012
Moonbird
B95 can feel it: a stirring in his bones and feathers. It's time. Today is the day he will once again cast himself into the air, spiral upward into the clouds, and bank into the wind. He wears a black band on his lower right leg and an orange flag on his upper left, bearing the laser inscription B95. Scientists call him the Moonbird because, in the course of his astoundingly long lifetime, this gritty, four-ounce marathoner has flown the distance to the moon—and halfway back! B95 is a robin-sized shorebird, a red knot of the subspecies rufa. Each February he joins a flock that lifts off from Tierra del Fuego, headed for breeding grounds in the Canadian Arctic, nine thousand miles away. Late in the summer, he begins the return journey. B95 can fly for days without eating or sleeping, but eventually he must descend to refuel and rest. However, recent changes at ancient refueling stations along his migratory circuit—changes caused mostly by human activity—have reduced the food available and made it harder for the birds to reach. And so, since 1995, when B95 was first captured and banded, the worldwide rufa population has collapsed by nearly 80 percent. Most perish somewhere along the great hemispheric circuit, but the Moonbird wings on. He has been seen as recently as November 2011, which makes him nearly twenty years old. Shaking their heads, scientists ask themselves: How can this one bird make it year after year when so many others fall? National Book Award–winning author Phillip Hoose takes us around the hemisphere with the world's most celebrated shorebird, showing the obstacles rufa red knots face, introducing a worldwide team of scientists and conservationists trying to save them, and offering insights about what we can do to help shorebirds before it's too late. With inspiring prose, thorough research, and stirring images, Hoose explores the tragedy of extinction through the triumph of a single bird. Moonbird is one The Washington Post's Best Kids Books of 2012. A Common Core Title.

The One and Only Ivan

by: Katherine Applegate
release date: Jan 17, 2012
The One and Only Ivan
Having spent 27 years behind the glass walls of his enclosure in a shopping mall, Ivan has grown accustomed to humans watching him. He hardly ever thinks about his life in the jungle. Instead, Ivan occupies himself with television, his friends Stella and Bob, and painting. But when he meets Ruby, a baby elephant taken from the wild, he is forced to see their home, and his art, through new eyes.
Categories: Children's Middle Grade Books / Fiction, Children's Middle Grade Books / Children's, Children's Middle Grade Books / Picture Book, Children's Middle Grade Books / Animal

See You at Harry's

by: Jo Knowles
See You at Harry's
Twelve-year-old Fern feels invisible in her family, where grumpy eighteen-year-old Sarah is working at the family restaurant, fourteen-year-old Holden is struggling with school bullies and his emerging homosexuality, and adorable, three-year-old Charlie is always the center of attention, and when tragedy strikes, the fragile bond holding the family together is stretched almost to the breaking point.

Splendors and Glooms

by: Laura Amy Schlitz
release date: Aug 28, 2012
Splendors and Glooms
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
release date: Oct 02, 2012
Starry River of the Sky
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. As she tells more stories and the days pass in the Village of Clear Sky, Rendi begins to realize that perhaps it is his own story that holds the answers to all those questions.

The Beetle Book

by: Steve Jenkins
release date: Apr 03, 2012
The Beetle Book
Beetles squeak and beetles glow. Beetles stink, beetles sprint, beetles walk on water. With legs, antennae, horns, beautiful shells, knobs, and other oddities—what’s not to like about beetles? The beetle world is vast: one out of every four living things on earth is a beetle. There are over 350,000 different species named so far and scientists suspect there may be as many as a million. From the goliath beetle that weighs one fourth of a pound to the nine inch long titan beetle, award-winning author-illustrator Steve Jenkins presents a fascinating array of these intriguing insects and the many amazing adaptations they have made to survive.
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