I wish this book existed when I was in fifth grade.  I know what it’s like to be Hero Netherfield, the weird new kid who is so easy to tease.  This move will be different for Hero, though.  She befriends the woman who lives next door and finds out that her family’s new house holds a big secret.  The secret might even be connected to the true identity of William Shakespeare! This is a fun puzzle to try to solve along with Hero.

Julia and Patrick have to do some kind of project for their agricultural club, but they don’t have enough space to do a typical farm project.   Patrick comes up with the idea of raising silkworms, but Julia really doesn’t want to do.  The project reminds her of Korea, where her parents came from.  She wants to do a more “American” project.

In the book, Julia shares her opinion of how the story is going with Ms. Park, the author.  You don’t see that very often in books!

The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron, illustrated by Matt Phelan (Simon & Schuster/Richard Jackson)

Honor Books

Penny from Heaven by Jennifer L. Holm (Random House)
Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson (Delacorte Press)
Rules by Cynthia Lord (Scholastic)

Moose Flanagan’s life is uprooted when his electrician father takes a job as a prison guard on Alcatraz. His parents are trying to find a place that can help Moose’s older sister, Natalie, who has what we would know as autism today. Although his parents are always telling him that everything is not as black and white as it seems, they seem to have a hard time remembering that fact themselves.

The book includes fascinating facts about life on Alcatraz, and shows what life is like for the sibling of an autistic person. Gennifer Choldenko knows what she’s writing about. Her own sister had a severe form of autism.

Mark Twain Award Nominee 2006-2007

Originally posted April 10, 2005

Everything is changing for Charli this summer. First, her mom just married her gym teacher, and that’s not turning out as well as Charli had thought it would. Then, her aunt and uncle take in Sophia, a snooty orphan who can tell when something bad is about to happen. Even Charli can tell something bad is going to happen when Uncle Will announces he is going to turn the town’s haunted mansion into a bed and breakfast. Can Charli and Sophia get over their dislike for each other long enough to stop terrible things from happening?

Mark Twain Award Nominee 2005-2006