Mark Twain Readers Award

The Mark Twain Award is a readers choice award selected by the children in the state of Missouri. Children in grades 3-5 are encouraged to read the nominee books before voting for their favorite book.  Voting is taking place at the Arnold Branch now until March 13, 2014.




2013-2014 Mark Twain Nominees

13 Gifts by Wendy Mass
Shortly before her thirteenth birthday, shy and withdrawn Tara is sent to stay with her aunt, uncle, and cousin in her parents' hometown of Willow Falls, where she makes friends and becomes involved with an elderly buyer and seller of collectibles, who seems to be trying to give Tara some kind of mysterious message.

Barn Boot Blues by Catherine Friend
Meet Taylor McNamara. She's twelve. She's a city girl. But her parents have just moved her onto a sheep farm in the middle of nowhere. She's trying to get into the spirit of farming, but things aren't going very well. Meet the farm animals: 40 chickens, 20 sheep, 10 ducks, and 4 goats, one of which can pee on his own head. Taylor's job is to collect eggs every morning, which she can only do using an umbrella to catch the chicken poop.

Close to Famous by Joan Bauer
The residents of Culpepper, despite their grand aspirations, have made little progress toward achieving their goals, but unexpected events and surprises put the ambitions of the residents of Culpepper to the test.

Hidden by Helen Frost
Years after Darra Monson's father stole a minivan with Wren Abbott hiding in the back, the girls come face to face at summer camp and together they try to work through what happened to them and the impact it had on their lives.

In Front of God and Everybody by K.D. McCrite
In the summer of 1986, eleven-year-old April Grace, who lives on a rural Arkansas farm with her family, across a field from her grandmother, has her sense of Christian charity tested when a snooty couple from San Francisco moves into a dilapidated house down the road and her grandmother takes up with a loud, obnoxious, and suspicious-acting Texan.

Missing on Superstition Mountain by Elise Broach
Simon, Henry, and Jack Barker decide to ignore their parents' warning to stay away from Superstition Mountain in order to search for their missing cat Josie, but they begin to see the wisdom of their mom and dad's advice when they find three human skulls.

Pie by Sarah Weeks
After the death of Polly Portman, whose award-winning pies put the town of Ipswitch, Pennsylvania, on the map in the 1950s, her devoted niece Alice and Alice's friend Charlie investigate who is going to extremes to find Aunt Polly's secret pie crust recipe. Includes fourteen pie recipes.

Sparrow Road by Sheila O'Connor
Twelve-year-old Raine spends the summer at a mysterious artists colony and discovers a secret about her past.

The Underdogs by Mike Lupica
Small but fast twelve-year-old Will Tyler, an avid football player in the down-and-out town of Forbes, Pennsylvania, takes matters into his own hands to try and finance the city's football team, giving the whole community hope in the process.

The Unwanteds by Lisa McMann
In a society that purges thirteen-year-olds who are creative, identical twins Aaron and Alex are separated, one to attend University while the other, supposedly Eliminated, finds himself in a wondrous place where youths hone their abilities and learn magic.

Will at the Battle of Gettysburg by Laurie Calkhoven
In 1863, twelve-year-old Will, who longs to be a drummer in the Union army, is stuck in his sleepy hometown of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, but when the Union and Confederate armies meet right there in his town, he and his family are caught up in the fight. Includes historical notes, glossary, and a time line of events.

Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick
Having lost his mother and his hearing in a short time, twelve-year-old Ben leaves his Minnesota home in 1977 to seek the father he never knew in New York City, and meets there Rose, who is also longing for something missing from her life. Ben's story istold in words; Rose's in pictures.

Truman Readers Award

The Truman Readers Award is a readers choice award selected by youth in the state of Missouri.  Youth in grades 6-8 are encouraged to read the nominee books before voting for their favorite book for the award.  Voting is taking place at the Arnold Branch now until March 13, 2014.


2013-2014 Truman Reader Nominees

Cloaked by Alex Flinn
Seventeen-year-old Johnny is approached at his family's struggling shoe repair shop in a Miami, Florida, hotel by Alorian Princess Victoriana, who asks him to find her brother who was turned into a frog.


The Death Catchers by Jennifer Ann Kogler
Through a letter to her English teacher, fourteen-year-old Lizzy Mortimer of Crabapple, California, relates her discovery that she and her eccentric grandmother are kin to Morgan le Faye, charged with saving the last descendant of King Arthur from an untimely death that would endanger the world.

The Eleventh Plague by Jeff Hirsch
Twenty years after the start of the war that caused the Collapse, Stephen, his father, and grandfather travel America scavenging, but when his father decides to save the lives of two strangers, Stephen's life is turned upside down.

The Emerald Atlas by John Stephens
Kate, Michael, and Emma have passed from one orphanage to another in the ten years since their parents disappeared to protect them, but now they learn that they have special powers, a prophesied quest to find a magical book, and a fearsome enemy.

The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson
A fearful sixteen-year-old princess discovers her heroic destiny after being married off to the king of a neighboring country in turmoil and pursued by enemies seething with dark magic.

Legend by Marie Lu
In a dark future, when North America has split into two warring nations, fifteen-year-olds Day, a famous criminal, and prodigy June, the brilliant soldier hired to capture him, discover that they have a common enemy.

Lost in the River of Grass by Ginny Rorby
When two Florida teenagers become stranded on a tiny island in the Everglades, they attempt to walk ten miles through swampland to reach civilization.

Michael Vey: The Prisoner of Cell 25 by Richard Paul Evans
Michael Vey, a fourteen-year old who has Tourette's syndrome and special electric powers, finds there are others like him, and must rely on his powers to save himself and the others from a diabolical group seeking to control them.

The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson
Rory, of Boueuxlieu, Louisiana, is spending a year at a London boarding school when she witnesses a murder by a Jack the Ripper copycat and becomes involved with the very unusual investigation.

The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen
Jessica thinks her life is over when she loses a leg in a car accident. She's not comforted by the news that she'll be able to walk with the help of a prosthetic leg. Who cares about walking when you live to run? As she struggles to cope with crutches and a first cyborg-like prosthetic, Jessica feels oddly both in the spotlight and invisible. People who don't know what to say, act like she's not there ...

Silhouetted by Blue by Traci L. Jones
After the death of her mother in an automobile accident, seventh-grader Serena, who has gotten the lead in her middle school play, is left to handle the day-to-day challenges of caring for herself and her younger brother when their father cannot pull himself out of his depression.

Variant by Robison F. Wells
After years in foster homes, seventeen-year-old Benson Fisher applies to New Mexico Maxfield Academy in hopes of securing a brighter future, but instead he find that the school is a prison and no one is what he or she seems.

Show Me Readers Award

The Show Me Readers Award is a readers choice award selected by the children of the state of Missouri.  Children in grades K-3 are encourage to read at least three of the nominee books before voting for their favorite for the award.  Voting is taking place at the Arnold Branch now until March 13, 2014.


2013-2014 Show Me Reader Nominees

A Book for Black-Eyed Susan by Judy Young
While traveling along the Oregon Trail, ten-year-old Cora and her newborn baby sister suffer the loss of their mother and are separated, but Cora stitches a book to tell the dark-eyed baby of their journey and family.

Charlie the Ranch Dog by Ree Drummond
While Charlie, a sleepy basset hound, tells about the busy life of a ranch dog, his best friend Suzie, a Jack Russell terrier, is getting the work done.

The Day Dirk Yeller Came to Town by Mary Casanova
When outlaw Dirk Yeller arrives in Cowtown looking for something to take away his cat-scratch fever, young Sam, whose pa says he is "a world-a-trouble and curious as a tomcat," knows just what this dangerous and jittery criminal needs to calm him down.

Grandpa's Tractor by Michael Garland
When Grandpa Joe takes little Timmy to the old farm where he grew up, they explore the boarded-up house and fallen-down barn still standing in a developed area, as well as the rusty old tractor Grandpa Joe remembers as being brand new when he was a boy.

Painter and Ugly by Robert J. Blake
Painter and Ugly, two sled dogs who are inseparable best friends, are put on different teams for the Junior Iditarod, but they manage to find their way back to one another for the big race.

Peanut Butter and Homework Sandwiches by Lisa Broadie Cook
When his teacher is out sick for a week, Martin MacGregor has a difficult time with the homework assigned by the substitute teacher.

A Pet for Miss Wright by Judy Young
A lonely writer searches for the perfect pet to keep her company in her solitary work.

Princess Kim and Too Much Truth by Maryann Cocca-Leffler
Young Kim discovers that there is a difference between being honest and always speaking the truth.

Three Hens and a Peacock by Lester Laminack
When life on the Tucker farm is disrupted by the arrival of a peacock, whose shrieking and strutting bring many welcome visitors, the hens complain that they are doing all of the work until the hound suggests a trade.

Willow and the Snow Day Dance by Denise Brennan Nelson
When Willow's family moves to a new home, she makes friends with all of the neighbors, even unsmiling Mr. Larch, through her letters inviting each to be as generous as she is.

Nursery Rhyme Comics

We usually learn our nursery rhymes as small children.  So we think of them as being for preschoolers. 

Nursery Rhyme Comics will change that!

This is a collection of nursery rhymes, both familiar fhymes and more obscure rhymes, where each nursery rhyme is illustrated by a different comic book, magna, or children's book illustrator.  Some illustrators interpret the the rhymes just as they are written.  Others feel the need to have their characters comment on the action in asides.  Others interpret them in ways we've never thought of before.

Nursery Rhyme Comics is great fun for children, and adults, of all ages!

Reality Is Sometimes Scarier Than Horror

I've stated before that to me the scariest books are the ones that take place in everyday life.  Stories of kidnappings, murders, and abuse.  Here are some scary realistic books for teens . . .

The Boy From the Basement by Susan Shaw
A twelve-year-old boy is confined to his basement without food or clothing.

The Missing Girl by Norma Fox Mazer
In Mallory, New York, as five sisters, aged eleven to seventeen, deal with assorted problems, conflicts, fears, and yearnings, a mysterious middle-aged man watches them, fascinated, deciding which one he likes the best.

After by Amy Efaw
In complete denial that she is pregnant, straight-A student and star athlete Devon Davenport leaves her baby in the trash to die, and after the baby is discovered, Devon is accused of attempted murder.
 Tangerine by Edward Bloor
Twelve-year-old Paul, who lives in the shadow of his football hero brother Erik, fights for the right to play soccer despite his near blindness and slowly begins to remember the incident that damaged his eyesight.

Pictures in the Dark by Patricia McCord
Life with their mentally ill mother becomes unbearable for twelve-year-old Sarah and fifteen-year-old Carlie as they are deprived of food and forbidden to use the bathroom.

Books for Black History Month

Every February we celebrate the achievements of African-Americans and the Civil Rights movement during Black History Month.  Here are some great picture books to share with your child for Black History Month . . .

The Beatitudes: From Slavery to Civil Rights by Carole Boston Weatherford
The Beatitudes form the backdrop for Weatherford's free-verse poem that traces the African American journey from slavery to civil rights.

Boycott Blues: How Rosa Parks Inspired a Nation by Andrea Davis Pinkney
Illustrations and rhythmic text recall the December, 1955, bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama.

Sit-In: How Four Friends Stood Up by Sitting Down by Andrea Davis Pinkney
A celebration of the momentous Woolworth's lunch counter sit-in when four college students staged a peaceful protest that became a defining moment in the struggle for racial equality and the growing Civil Rights Movement.

Show Way by Jacqueline Woodson
The making of "Show ways," or quilts which once served as secret maps for freedom-seeking slaves, is a tradition passed from mother to daughter in the author's family.

Below by Meg McKinlay

On the day Cassie was born, the mayor flipped the switch and flooded her hometown of Old Lower Grange.  They rebuilt New Lower Grange right next to the lake created by the dam.  Twelve years later, Cassie is drawn to the man-made lake.  Cassie and her friend Liam spend the days swimming and exploring the revealed city as the water levels drop in the lake due to drought.  The problem is that someone doesn't want them finding the secrets at the bottom of the lake.

I really enjoyed this mystery story.  The characters were of Cassie and Liam could have been any child in the world.  It wasn't until towards the end of the book that I realized that the story was actually set in Australia.  The mystery was interesting and fun to uncover with the characters.  A great book for all kids.