Book Awards Assignment

There are so many book awards available to review, learn about, and use to find books to read.  I recently reviewed six different book awards: Newbery Medal, California Reader Medal, Caldecott Medal, Robert F. Sibert Award, Pura Belpre Award, and the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award. Each of these awards has specific criteria for selection.  The one takeaway I have from this is research is that because each award has its own set of criteria, there are not a lot of duplicate winners, so you will see a variety of books represented.

Book Awards Assignment Link

Informational- Written Review

Barbed Wire Baseball

Marissa Moss

Retrieved from https://www.amazon.com/Barbed-Wire-Baseball-Internment-Hardcover/dp/B00ZQC2B9U/ref=sr_1_2?crid=ZHQHRLG80P7F&keywords=barbed+wire+baseball&qid=1561433902&s=gateway&sprefix=barbed+wire+bas%2Caps%2C199&sr=8-2

Perseverance and hope are two characteristics that Japanese American Kenichi “Zeni” Zenimura embodies throughout the book titled Barbed Wire Baseball.  This true tale tells the story of Zeni’s life before and during World War II.

Zeni always wanted to become a baseball player, but because of his size, his parents and others said it would never happen.  Due to Zeni never letting go of his dream, he did become a successful baseball player that played with Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth. 

His dream was short-lived because of the Japanese attacks on Pearl Harbor.  At this time in America, most Japanese Americans were moved into internment camps.  Although Zeni was a successful athlete, he and his family were forced to move into an internment camp where he wasn’t willing to give up on his baseball dream. 

To find out how Zeni took this negative situation and made it a more positive experience for himself and others, you will need to check out the book from the library.

Awards and Distinctions
2018 California Young Medal Winner- Picture Books for Older Readers
2014 Asian/ Pacific American Award for Literature, Honor

Moss, Marissa. (2016). Barbed Wire Baseball. New York: Abrams Books for Young Readers.

Fantasy- Read Aloud

Where the Wild Things Are

Maurice Sendak

Retrieved from https://www.amazon.com/s?k=where+the+wild+things+are&i=stripbooks&crid=36HSH0GVOHQEV&sprefix=where+the+wi%2Cstripbooks%2C338&ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_12

Boys and girls, have you ever been sent to your room as a punishment?  If you have been sent to your room, you will be able to think about how you handle it and compare it to the way Max handles it.  You will eat this book and love it!  Click on the link below to listen to the read-aloud.

Link to the Where the Wild Things Are  Read Aloud

Awards and Distinctions
1964 Caldecott Medal Winner

Sendak, Maurice. (1991). Where the Wild Things Are. New York: Harper Collins Publishers.

Historical Fiction Display

Historical Fiction Display

I worked with sixth grade ELA and History teacher, Jasmine Aguilera on this display.  Jasmine has been given the green light to teach from more novels than the Wonders guaranteed viable curriculum next year.  Because of this new turn of events and because we are an IB school, Jasmine wanted to teach a unit around the refugee and immigration crisis using the novel Refugee by Alan Gratz.

Historical Fiction

Wolf Hollow

Lauren Wolk

Retrieved from https://www.amazon.com/Wolf-Hollow-Lauren-Wolk/dp/1101994843/ref=sr_1_1?crid=225MKZEQS8JJS&keywords=wolf+hollow+by+lauren+wolk&qid=1560373435&s=gateway&sprefix=wolf+hollow%2Caps%2C185&sr=8-1

"The year I turned twelve, I learned how to lie.  The year I turned twelve, I learned that what I said and what I did mattered."  

It is the autumn of 1943 when Annabelle turns twelve and her comfortable upbringing in rural Pennsylvania takes a turn for the worse.  School has started and the "incorrigible" Betty Glengarry moves into town to live with her grandparents.  Once Betty knows how comfortable Annabelle's family lives, she makes Annabelle's life miserable.  She threatens to beat Annabelle's brothers up, but because Annabelle is older and bigger than her two brothers, she decides to do what she can to keep Betty away from her brothers.  To keep Betty happy, she listens to her demands until one day, Annabelle stands up for herself.  After this act of bravery, Betty turns her negative attention to a quiet and strange World War I veteran named Toby.  Annabelle knows Toby and doesn't believe the accusations that are being made against him.  

You will be on the edge of your seat after every chapter, wondering what is going to happen next.  The protagonist's outlook on her situation is haunting as you witness her having to make decisions that go against her beliefs and the way she has been raised.

 Awards and Distinctions
2017 John Newbery Medal
2017 Jane Addams Children's Book Awards, Honor
2016 Junior Library Guild Selections, Middle Selections

Wolk, Lauren. (2016). Wolf Hollow. New York: Puffin Books.

Contemporary Realistic Fiction

Counting By 7's

Holly Goldberg Sloan

Retrieved from https://www.amazon.com/Counting-7s-Holly-Goldberg-Sloan-ebook/dp/B007FEF8E2/ref=sr_1_1?crid=239TSG5O7EKKK&keywords=counting+by+7%27s+book&qid=1560139635&s=gateway&sprefix=counting+by+%2Caps%2C210&sr=8-1

You’ll laugh, cry, and rejoice as you read Counting by 7’s by Holly Goldberg Sloan.  Counting by 7’s is a tragic, but uplifting novel about a 7th-grade girl named Willow Chance.  Willow was adopted at birth by two adoring parents that encourage Willow to be who she wants to be.  Willow has a genius IQ and has a difficult time connecting with her peers.  She would prefer gardening in her backyard, counting by sevens or diagnosing medical conditions over socializing with the other seventh grade students.  She is living her best life until a fateful afternoon where her life is turned upside down.  While reading, you’ll be taken on a hero's journey to see how Willow adjusts to her new life and finds some normalcy.  Pick up a copy of Counting by 7’s to see how Willow tackles the adversity she now faces head-on with the help of a few new friends. 

Awards and Distinctions
Notable Children's Books. 1995- 2019, Commended, 2014
Junior Library Guild Selections, 2014, Audio Books Selection
Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People, Social Interactions & Relationship Selection, 2014

Sloan, Holly Goldberg. (2013).  Counting by 7's. New York: Scholastic, Inc.

Pinterest Poetry Board

Click here to be taken to my Pinterest Poetry Board.