Volunteer State Book Award Nominations 20062007 K3

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Volunteer State Book Award Nominations 2006-2007
Grades K-3
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• By Shirin Yim Bridges
• Ruby lives in a home with her grandfather
  (who "did what rich men did in old China he
  married many wives"). A tutor teaches any of the
  100 assorted grandchildren who wish to learn, but
  Ruby is the only girl who continues to study
  while also keeping pace with learning her many
  household duties. One day, her teacher shows
  Ruby's grandfather a poem she has written in
  calligraphy "Alas, bad luck to be born a girl
  worse luck to be/ born into this house where only
  boys are cared for." Grandfather questions her
  about the poem, and she confides her wish to go
  to university. Will Ruby get her wish? from
  Publishers Weekly

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• By Eve Bunting
• A good-natured cow gives a lift to a variety
  of animals she meets on the way to a wedding.
  Whats the surprise? Well, you will just have to
  open the book! from Booklist

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• By James Carville
• Mama always said, "You're never poor if you
  have a loving family and one good friend." Well,
  Lu has a family but no friend -- so maybe she is
  just a little poor. How it all changes one day
  down on the Louisiana bayou -- when Lu comes
  face-to-face with a for-real, live swamp ghost --
  is at the heart of this story. from Book
  Description

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• By Leslie Connor
• Instead of a pretty keepsake as a reminder
  of her homeland, the practical Miss Bridie
  selects a shovel to accompany her to a new life
  in America in 1856. Once in New York City, the
  implement is employed in a variety of ways over
  her lifetime. It turns out that, with a shovel,
  you can succeed at anything through your own
  ingenuity and hard work. from School Library
  Journal

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• By Shutta Crum
• When a passing farm cart drops an egg right
  in his path, Fox looks at the fluffy chick
  popping out and thinks, "Snack!" But the chick
  looks at Fox and thinks, "Papa. How will Fox get
  Fluff to find his true Papa? Maybe, its just as
  well if he doesnt, because it turns out Fox has
  been he's even turned into a vegetarian. Will
  Fluff be able to change Fox? from Booklist

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• By Jacqueline Farmer
• All about pumpkins! There are directions for
  carving a pumpkin and recipes for making a pie
  and toasting the seeds. Includes pumpkin
  superlatives, words for pumpkin in a dozen
  countries, and recommended books and Web sites.
  from Booklist

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• By Pam Flowers with Ann Dixon
• Anna may be the smallest dog in the litter,
  but she's surely the most determined. In this
  incredible true story, Anna joins a dog team for
  a 2,500-mile expedition across the top of the
  world. You will learn that even the smallest,
  seemingly the most powerless among us, are big
  enough to try their best. There is information
  about the real Anna at the end of the book.
  from Book Description

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• By Michael Garland
• Zack's exciting new teacher has a magic
  storybook. But Miss Smith's book isn't for
  everybody, and when stuffy Principal Rittenrotten
  has to fill in for her one morning, adventure
  fills the school causing chaos. Fortunately,
  Miss Smith shows up just in time and returns them
  to the safety of the book's pages, leaving the
  principal confused and her students forever in
  her debt. from School Library Journal

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• By Campbell Geeslin
• In this story set in Mexico, a young girl
  longingly watches her papa blow into a pipe to
  create bottles, and dreams about doing the same.
  Papa disapproves, with comments about her size
  and gender. After a long journey on which Elena
  finds her own special gift, Elena soon realizes
  how special she is. Her Papa does too! from
  School Library Journal

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• By Angela Johnson
• To escape his backbreaking work in the
  Mississippi cotton fields, a young,
  nineteenth-century African American boy dreams of
  trains. His hero is Casey Jones, who, with his
  black engineer Sims Web, sounds a "soul-speaking
  whistle" as he drives his engines past the boy's
  fields, "dreaming me away." from Booklist

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• By Barbara Kerley
• Photos depict people collecting, transporting,
  and drinking water while the text reminds readers
  that "Everyone/Everywhere" enjoys "A nice, cool
  drink of water." from School Library Journal

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• By Lester L. Laminack
• Every Saturday morning, a
• young boy pedals his bike through town,
  passing familiar landmarks like the bank and the
  gas station, until he reaches his grandmother's
  house. The two share a special day talking, doing
  chores, and finally baking and feasting on
  Mammaw's special teacakes. from School Library
  Journal

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• By George Ella Lyon
• A young woman raises sheep, shears them,
  cards and spins the wool, dyes the yarn, and
  weaves it at a loom. She is an artist who takes
  pleasure from and applies patience to each phase
  of her work. The final spread reveals what the
  woman is weaving a picture of her sheep in their
  pasture. from School Library Journal.

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• By Laura Numeroff
• Beatrice doesn't like books. The last place
  she wants to be is in the library, but her older
  brother has to complete a report on dinosaurs and
  she is in his care. Beatrice repeatedly attempts
  to distract her brother from his work she clings
  to him with adoring and overly exaggerated
  interest she taps him on the shoulder and
  proclaims, "I'm bored" and she holds his tail as
  she trails his every move. Finally reaching his
  limit, Henry drops Beatrice off in the storytime
  room. To her grudging amazement, her interest is
  piqued and she even laughs out loud when the
  librarian reads a story about a roller-skating
  mouse. When Henry is ready to go, he finds
  Beatrice sitting quietly in a big stuffed chair,
  totally absorbed in the book. from School
  Library Journal

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• By Linda Sue Park
• Set in 19th-century Korea, this story
  centers around an actual bonfire signal system
  that assures the king that all is well in the
  land. When Father breaks his ankle, his son must
  ascend alone into the darkness with a bucket of
  burning coals. A sense of inherited mission
  pervades the conclusion as Sang-hee learns that
  he, too, is "part of the king's guard." from
  School Library Journal

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• By Patricia Polacco
• An African American boy trains a wild duck
  to perform to John Philip Sousa marches. Edward
  lives on a farm near Memphis, but during the week
  he stays at the Peabody Hotel, where he works
  with his dad. When he finds a duckling on the
  family farm, he convinces his father to let the
  creature stay with them at the hotel. The whole
  staff comes to love the duckling, and everyone
  helps Edward keep his pet hidden from Mr. Schutt,
  the gruff hotel manager. Of course, Mr. Schutt
  eventually finds out, but his anger turns to
  delight when Edward shows him how he has trained
  the duck to perform tricks to Sousa's music.
  from Booklist

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• By Mike Reiss
• "My name is Smitty./I come from the city/And I
  live by one simple rule./I may not be
  smartest-/No athlete, no artist-/But I've never
  been late for school." On this particular day,
  however, Smitty faces a variety of obstacles as
  he races through New York City on his way to
  class. He encounters hurdles of snow and floods,
  a ghoulish bus driver, a giant robot, a T. rex
  skeleton dripping with drool, and more. from
  School Library Journal

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• By Coleen Salley
• They're baaaaack--that silly, diapered
  Epossumondas and Mama in her flowered dress and
  yellow hat. This time Epossumondas is thinking
  about tails skunks have black-and-white ones
  foxes have bushy, red ones and hares have
  powder-puff ones. But Epossumondas' tail is long,
  naked, and pink. How come? Mama tells him a story
  about great-great-grandpa Papapossum and since
  then "no possum has ever had hair on his tail."
• from Booklist

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• By Jody Fickes Shapiro
• It's time to pick apples on Grandma and
  Grandpa's farm and then sell the fruit at the
  roadside stand. "Apple smell is in the air-
  apple perfume everywhere." Join the family as
  they pick apples! from School Library Journal

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• By Betty Ren Wright
• Billy is disappointed that his cousins won't
  be visiting to help celebrate his December
  birthday. The day takes an unexpected turn,
  however, when the same weather that kept his
  cousins away brings all the members of his
  mixed-grade, one-room schoolhouse (along with the
  teacher) to his house to spend the night. from
  School Library Journal

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Read and Enjoy and Vote!

• Book Jacket Material summaries from Amazon.com
  at www.amazon.com or from Barnes and Noble at
  www.barnesandnoble.com or from the MTSU Voyager
  catalog.
• For educational use only.
• Contact Kathy Patten at http//www.mtsu.edu/kpat
  ten/vsba.html