Charlie May Simon Children

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Charlie May Simon Childrens Book Award

• 2009-2010 Reading List

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Jack Plank Tells Tales by Natalie Babbitt

• Yes, Jack Plank started out to be a pirate. His
  shipmates all liked him, and their ship, the
  Avarice, was certainly very beautiful. But after
  a while it was clear that he wasnt much good at
  plundering. He just didnt have the knack for it.
  So what to do? Jack did the only thing he could
  do. He went ashore to look for another line of
  work. The town was called Saltwash, on the coast
  of the Caribbean Sea, and he had a lot of helpful
  advice from the people in Mrs. DelFresnos
  boardinghouse. Somehow, though, each career he
  looked into seemed to have something wrong with
  it. And every night at dinner in the
  boardinghouse, he tried to explain why. For who
  would want to work where there might be a troll,
  or the danger of getting a crab caught in your
  beard? Or what about a music-loving crocodile?
  There were other things, too, that ran against
  every suggestion and took the wind out of his
  sails. At last, Jack sadly decided he wouldnt be
  good at anything onshore and would have to go
  back to sea, pirate or not. But sometimes, as you
  probably know already, things work out very
  nicely when you least expect it.

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No Talkingby Andrew Clements

• "You have the right to remain silent."
  However...The fifth-grade girls and the
  fifth-grade boys at Laketon Elementary don't get
  along very well. But the real problem is that
  these kids are loud and disorderly. That's why
  the principal uses her red plastic bullhorn. A
  lot. Then one day Dave Packer, a certified
  loudmouth, bumps into an idea -- a big one that
  makes him try to keep quiet for a whole day. But
  what does Dave hear during lunch? A girl, Lynsey
  Burgess, jabbering away. So Dave breaks his
  silence and lobs an insult. And those words spark
  a contest Which team can say the fewest words
  during two whole days? And it's the boys against
  the girls. How do the teachers react to the
  silence? What happens when the principal feels
  she's losing control? And will Dave and Lynsey
  plunge the whole school into chaos? This funny
  and surprising book is about language and
  thought, about words unspoken, words spoken in
  anger, and especially about the power of words
  spoken in kindness...with or without a bullhorn.
  It's Andrew Clements at his best --
  thought-provoking, true-to-life, and very
  entertaining.

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The Many Rides of Paul Revereby James Cross
Giblin

• Paul Revere is commonly remembered as the
  legendary hero of Longfellows poem about his
  midnight ride. In this bright, informative
  biography, Giblin follows Paul Revere from his
  humble beginnings as a French immigrants son, to
  his work as a silversmith and a rider for
  Americas mounting insurgency against England.
  With precise, accessible prose, and stirring
  images of the period, Giblin chronicles Reveres
  many daring rides and his far-flung professional
  accomplishments. Along the way, he portrays a
  brave, compassionate, and multitalented American
  patriot. Illustrated with black-and-white
  archival photos and lithographs.

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How to Save Your Tailby Mary Hanson

• How does a cookie-baking Rat named Bob save his
  tail from being gobbled by two hungry cats? By
  serving them cookies and telling them fantastic
  fairy tales about his family, of course. There's
  the story about great-grand uncle Mustard who
  upgrades his family to a lovely three-bedroom
  brick house. (All's well until some wolves with
  snout-warts show up.) And there's the one about
  how starving Grandma Lois was forced to take a
  job spinning straw into gold. (Impossible to do .
  . . until a hairy chimney troll comes along.)
  With allusions to classic fairy tales, plus a
  storytelling rat to rival Scheherazade, this
  book--which also includes black-and-white
  illustrations, a family tree, and a map of Bob's
  neighborhood--is sure to hold both cats and kids
  captive.

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Edwards Eyesby Patricia MacLachlan

• Jake is a part of an extraordinary family.He has
  a life filled with art, music, and long summer
  nights on the Cape. He has hours and days and
  months of baseball. But, more than anything in
  this world, Jake knows he has Edward. From the
  moment he was born, Jake knew Edward was destined
  for something. Edward could make anyone laugh and
  everyone think. During one special year, he
  became the only one in the neighborhood who could
  throw a perfect knuckleball. It was a pitch you
  could not hit. That same year, Jake learned there
  are also some things you cannot hold.Patricia
  MacLachlan, one of the most beloved children's
  book authors writing today, has painted a deeply
  stirring, delicately lyrical portrait of a child,
  a son, a family, and a brother. Through Edward's
  eyes, we see what gifts all of these things truly
  are to those around them, and how those gifts
  live on and grow.

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A Friendship for Todayby Patricia McKissack

• The year is 1954, the place is Missouri, and
  twelve-year-old Rosemary Patterson is about to
  make history. She is one of the first African
  American students to enter the white school in
  her town. Headstrong, smart Rosemary welcomes the
  challenge, but starting this new school gets more
  daunting when her best friend is hospitalized for
  polio. Suddenly, Rosemary must face all the
  stares and whispers alone. But when the girl who
  has shown her the most cruelty becomes an
  unlikely confidante, Rosemary learns important
  truths about the power of friendship to overcome
  prejudice.

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Lawn Boyby Gary Paulsen

• One day I was 12 years old and broke. Then
  Grandma gave me Grandpa's old riding lawnmower. I
  set out to mow some lawns. More people wanted me
  to mow their lawns. And more and more. . . . One
  client was Arnold the stockbroker, who offered to
  teach me about "the beauty of capitalism. Supply
  and Demand. Diversify labor. Distribute the
  wealth." "Wealth?" I said. "It's groovy, man, "
  said Arnold. If I'd known what was coming, I
  might have climbed on my mower and putted all the
  way home to hide in my room. But the lawn
  business grew and grew. So did my profits, which
  Arnold invested in many things. And one of them
  was Joey Pow the prizefighter. That's when my
  12th summer got really interesting.

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Rickshaw Girlby Mitali Perkins

• Naima is a talented painter of traditional alpana
  patterns, which Bangladeshi women and girls paint
  on their houses for special celebrations. But
  Naima is not satisfied just painting alpana. She
  wants to help earn money for her family, like her
  best friend, Saleem, does for his family. When
  Naima's rash effort to help puts her family
  deeper in debt, she draws on her resourceful
  nature and her talents to bravely save the day.

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The Wednesday Warsby Gary D. Schmidt

• Gary D. Schmidt offers an unforgettable antihero
  in THE WEDNESDAY WARS--a wonderfully witty and
  compelling novel about a teenage boy's mishaps
  and adventures over the course of the 1967-68
  school year. Meet Holling Hoodhood, a
  seventh-grader at Camillo Junior High, who must
  spend Wednesday afternoons with his teacher, Mrs.
  Baker, while the rest of the class has religious
  instruction. Mrs. Baker doesn't like
  Holling--he's sure of it. Why else would she make
  him read the plays of William Shakespeare outside
  class? But everyone has bigger things to worry
  about, like Vietnam. His father wants Holling and
  his sister to be on their best behavior the
  success of his business depends on it. But how
  can Holling stay out of trouble when he has so
  much to contend with? A bully demanding cream
  puffs angry rats and a baseball hero signing
  autographs the very same night Holling has to
  appear in a play in yellow tights! As fate sneaks
  up on him again and again, Holling finds
  Motivation--the Big M--in the most unexpected
  places and musters up the courage to embrace his
  destiny, in spite of himself.

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Eggsby Jerry Spinelli

• Nine-year-old David has recently lost his mother
  to a freak accident, his salesman father is
  constantly on the road, and he is letting his
  anger out on his grandmother. Sarcastic and bossy
  13-year-old Primrose lives with her childlike,
  fortuneteller mother, and a framed picture is the
  only evidence of the father she never knew.
  Despite their differences, David and Primrose
  forge a tight yet tumultuous friendship,
  eventually helping each other deal with what is
  missing in their lives. This powerful, quirky
  novel about two very complicated, damaged
  children has much to say about friendship, loss,
  and recovery.

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Feathersby Jacqueline Woodson

• Hope is the thing with feathers starts the poem
  Frannie is reading in school. Frannie hasnt
  thought much about hope. There are so many other
  things to think about. Each day, her friend
  Samantha seems a bit more holy. There is a new
  boy in class everyone is calling the Jesus Boy.
  And although the new boy looks like a white kid,
  he says hes not white. Who is he? During a
  winter full of surprises, good and bad, Frannie
  starts seeing a lot of things in a new light- her
  brother Seans deafness, her mothers fear, the
  class bullys anger, her best friends faith and
  her own desire for the thing with feathers.
  Jacqueline Woodson once again takes readers on a
  journey into a young girls heart and reveals the
  pain and the joy of learning to look beneath the
  surface.

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Book cover images and summaries courtesy of
BooksinPrint.comSlides created by Cathy
HowserArkansas State Library