Great Kids Can Read Award Nominees 2018 - 2019
Between the Lines
by Sandra Neil Wallace Growing up in North Carolina during the 1940s and ’50s, Ernie Barnes was a quiet black kid who loved to draw and paint. Though he had little interest in sports, he excelled at high-school football and earned a scholarship to college, where an art teacher inspired him to paint what he saw around him. He played in the NFL for five years before retiring to devote himself to art. Barnes painted what he knew, from neighborhood memories to football players in action. As a college student, he once asked to see paintings by African American artists at the local art museum and was told, “Your people don’t express themselves in that way.” He knew otherwise. Can I Touch Your Hair by Irene Latham When they can’t find partners quick enough, Charles and Irene get stuck working together on their poetry project. To Irene, Charles is too opinionated. To Charles, Irene is mousy and dull. They are too different, especially since Irene is white and Charles is black. Girl Running: Bobbi Gibb & the Boston Marathon by Annette Bay Pimentel Because Bobbi Gibb is a girl, she's not allowed to run on her school's track team. But after school, no one can stop her--and she's free to run endless miles to her heart's content. She is told no yet again when she tries to enter the Boston Marathon in 1966, because the officials claim that it's a man's race and that women are just not capable of running such a long distance. So what does Bobbi do? She bravely sets out to prove the naysayers wrong and show the world just what a girl can do. The Half-Court Hero (Zach & Zoe Mysteries, Book #1) by Mike Lupica Zach and Zoe are twins with a passion for sports of all kinds. Both are in a weekend basketball tournament. The court where they are to play is in pretty rough shape: broken benches, no nets, and it's in need of repainting. A mysterious benefactor begins nightly repairs on the court, and Zoe and Zach gather clues to solve the mystery of the do-gooder. Hammering for Freedom: The William Lewis Story by Rita Hubbard Born into slavery in Chattanooga, Tennessee, William "Bill" Lewis learned the blacksmith trade as soon as he was old enough to grip a hammer. He proved to be an exceptional blacksmith and earned so much money fixing old tools and creating new ones that he was allowed to keep a little money for himself. With just a few coins in his pocket, Bill set a daring plan in motion Oits & Will Discover the Deep: The Record Setting Dive of the Bathysphere by Barb Rosenstock The suspenseful, little-known true story of two determined pioneers who made the first dive into the deep ocean. On June 6, 1930, engineer Otis Barton and explorer Will Beebe dove into the ocean inside a hollow metal ball of their own invention called the Bathysphere. They knew dozens of things might go wrong. A tiny leak could shoot pressurized water straight through the men like bullets! A single spark could cause their oxygen tanks to explode! No one had ever dived lower than a few hundred feet...and come back. But Otis and Will were determined to become the first people to see what the deep ocean looks like. Rescue & Jessica: A Life-Changing Friendship by Jessica Kensky This story is about the relationship between a disabled girl and her black lab service dog. The book follows two struggles: that of Rescue, a lab in training as a service dog, and of Jessica, a girl hospitalized by an injury, who must learn to cope with prosthetics, a wheelchair, and a whole new world of challenges. Both are worried about their futures in the world—Rescue about performing his service duties, and Jessica over relearning everyday activities. Stealing the Sword by Wendy Mass At the flea market nine-and-a-half-year-old Chase and his younger sister Ava acquire an old suitcase filled with rows of carefully packed strange objects, and when they handle one of the objects (a dragon-headed doorknob) they find themselves in King Arthur's castle, on a mission to save the King--and pursued by a strange man whom they first saw at the flea market, who is after their suitcase. Saving Winslow by Sharon Creech Louie doesn't have the best luck when it comes to nurturing small creatures--not even lightning bugs, worms, or goldfish. So when his father brings home a sickly, newborn mini donkey, he's determined to save him. He names him Winslow. Taking care of him helps Louie feel closer to his brother, Gus, who is far, far away in the army. Everyone worries that Winslow won't survive, especially Louie's quirky new friend, Nora. But as Louie's bond with Winslow grows, surprising events prove that this fragile donkey--and Louie--are stronger than anyone could have imagined. Write to Me by Cynthia Grady Young Katherine Tasaki tells Miss Breed, her librarian, that she and her family will be leaving San Diego soon. Aware of the new wartime law relocating Japanese Americans to remote prison camps, Miss Breed hands the girl a self-addressed, stamped postcard and asks her to write. At the train station, she hugs the departing children and gives them books and postcards. Later, she sends letters as well as boxes of books, seeds, soap, and craft supplies. She writes magazine articles about the treatment of Japanese American families, and letters requesting a library and school for the children. And when the war ends, she welcomes Katherine and other children home. |