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These books have been selected by Vermont public school librarians and are recommended for summer reading for children and young adults. For more recommendations, see your school or public librarian!
2000 Caldecott Award
* Taback, Simms. JOSEPH HAD A LITTLE
OVERCOAT. Viking. 2000
Newbery Award and Coretta Scott King Award
* Curtis, Christopher Paul. BUD, NOT
BUDDY. Delacorte.
2000 Michael L. Printz Award
* Myers, Walter Dean. MONSTER.
HarperCollins.
For a list of Honor books and other awards presented by the American Library Association, go to: www.ala.org/alscawards.html#notable
Grades K-4
Compiled by Vermont-NEA members Sharon Damkot, Librarian, Essex Elementary,
and Judy Kaplan, Librarian, Founders Memorial School.
* Avi. RAGWEED. Avon, 1999. In
this prequel to Poppy, country mouse Ragweed leaves his home and family and
travels to the big city, where he finds excitement, danger, and sees cats for
the first time.
* Cleary, Beverly. RAMONA’S
WORLD. Morrow, 1999. Yeah! A new Ramona book! She’s in fourth grade
now and has a baby sister.
* Cowley, Joy. RED-EYED TREE
FROG. Scholastic, 1999. Award-winning photographs by Nic Bishop document a
night in the rain forest of Central America as a little frog searches for food
while also being careful not to become dinner for some other animal.
* Cuneo, Diane. MARY LOUISE LOSES HER
MANNERS. Doubleday, 1999. When Mary Louise starts saying things like
“fleas” and “spank you” instead of “please” and
“thank you,” she realizes that she has lost her manners and goes in
search of them, leaving a trail of trouble behind her.
* Dunbar, Paul Laurence. JUMP BACK,
HONEY. Hyperion, 1999. A collection of Dunbar’s poems which are
particularly appealing to children. Beautifully illustrated by well-known
African-American illustrators.
* Feiffer, Jules. MEANWHILE.
HarperCollins, 1997. Using a “magical” word from his comic books,
Raymond escapes from his mother’s call into a series of dangerous
adventures.
* Fleischman, Paul. WESLANDIA.
Candlewick, 1999. Talk about a summer project! Wesley’s garden produces a
crop of unusual plants which provide him food, shelter, and clothing. He
creates his own civilization and changes his life.
* Gauthier, Gail. CLUB EARTH.
Putnam, 1999. When their house becomes a vacation resort for aliens from other
planets, Robby and Will enjoy the excitement before finally finding a way to
get rid of their free-loading guests.
* Hamilton, Virginia. THE PEOPLE
COULD FLY. Knopf, 1987. Retold African-American folktales of animals,
fantasy, the supernatural, and the desire for freedom.
* Hopkins, Lee Bennett, selector.
SPORTS! SPORTS! SPORTS! HarperCollins, 1999. A collection of
easy-to-read poems celebrating the joy and anguish of participating in sports.
* Moss, Marissa. THE ALL-NEW
AMELIA. Pleasant, 1999. Hoping to impress the new girl in her class while
they work together in an archeological dig project, Amelia tries to improve by
giving herself a makeover, and almost loses a friend in the process.
* Naylor, Phyllis Reynolds. THE GRAND
ESCAPE. Atheneum, 1993. Marco and Polo, two pampered housecats, make a
grand escape to the outside world. They have adventures aplenty as they search
for food and shelter and solve three Great Mysteries, a requirement for joining
a club of wild alley cats. The sequel, The Healing of Texas Jake, also
has excitement, adventure, and humor.
* Osborne, Mary Pope. AMERICAN TALL
TALES. Knopf, 1991. An illustrated collection of tall tales about such
American folk heroes as Paul Bunyan, Sally Ann Thunder Ann Whirlwind, Pecos
Bill, and John Henry.
* San Souci, Robert D. SUKEY AND THE
MERMAID. Four Winds, 1992. Unhappy with her life at home, a poor girl
receives kindness and wealth from a mermaid.
* Sierra, Judy, reteller. TASTY BABY
BELLY BUTTONS. Knopf, 1999. In this Japanese folktale, a young heroine
outwits the monstrous oni, who travel around Japan in search of their favorite
treat — tasty baby belly buttons.
* Thompson, Colin. THE LAST
ALCHEMIST. Knopf, 1999. An alchemist obsessed with making gold finds that
his final experiment has an unexpected result. Escher—like illustrations
are a visual feast.
* Van Allsburg, Chris. THE WRECK OF
THE ZEPHYR. Houghton, 1983. A boy’s ambition to be the greatest sailor
in the world brings him to ruin when he misuses his new ability to sail his
boat in the air.
Grades 5-8
Compiled by Vermont-NEA member Barbara Ellingson, Librarian, Moretown
School.
* Avi. THE TRUE CONFESSIONS OF
CHARLOTTE DOYLE. Orchard, 1990. As the lone girl on a transatlantic voyage
in 1832, Charlotte meets danger, a murderous captain, a rebellious crew, and
rats while her family thinks she is safely chaperoned on a voyage home.
* Babbitt, Natalie. TUCK
EVERLASTING. Farrar, 1986. The Tuck family finds a spring that promises
everlasting life. Add a kidnapping, a murder, and a jail break and you have a
memorable story about youth, old age, and life. A modern classic.
* Bawden, Nina. THE REAL PLATO
JONES. Clarion, 1993. A story with many layers. Plato Jones tries to come
to terms with his mixed Greek/Welsh heritage and with his grandfathers, one of
whom is supposed to be a World War II hero, and one of whom is presumed to be a
traitor. Family secrets and a likable main character.
* Blumberg, Rhoda. THE INCREDIBLE
JOURNEY OF LEWIS AND CLARK. Beech Tree, 1995. Blumberg’s description
of the expedition led by Lewis and Clark to explore the unknown regions in
western America at the beginning of the nineteenth century is completely
riveting. Heavily illustrated.
* Christopher, John. THE WHITE
MOUNTAINS. S&S, 1967. In a future world, technology is primitive and
cities have been destroyed. Tripods have taken over, capturing humans and
turning them into servants. Will Parker and his companions plan an escape in
this suspenseful SF novel.
* Conly, Jane Leslie. TROUT
SUMMER. Holt, 1995. A sister and brother spend a mostly unsupervised summer
in a cabin near a river, where they befriend an elderly man with much to teach
them, and where they work out some decisions for their own future.
* Cooper, Susan. KING OF SHADOWS.
S&S, 1999. A time travel adventure centered around a boy who is a talented
actor, his personal concerns, and his participation in a Shakespearean troupe
under the guidance of Will Shakespeare himself.
* Cooper, Susan. OVER SEA, UNDER
STONE. Harcourt, 1988 (reissue). The three Drews, their great uncle
Merriman, and the mysterious Will Stanton battle the forces of the dark. The
first title in THE DARK IS RISING sequence.
* Fox, Paula. WESTERN WIND.
Orchard, 1993. Twelve-year-old Elizabeth resents being sent to stay with her
artist grandmother on a small, isolated Maine island after the birth of a new
baby brother. Her grandmother and a young neighbor help her to see things
differently.
* George, Jean, FRIGHTFUL’S
MOUNTAIN. Dutton, 1999. Sam Gribley’s falcon has been taken from him
because the government says he is too young to be licensed to keep her. This
latest book in the My Side of the Mountain series abounds with nesting birds,
poachers, and others who would harm Sam’s beloved falcons.
* Hoover, H.M. ORVIS. Viking,
1987. On an earth that has become an inhospitable wilderness, Toby and her
friend Thaddeus find themselves lost in “The Empty” with Orvis, an
obsolete robot who is their only hope of protection and survival.
* Klise, Kate. REGARDING THE
FOUNTAIN. Avon, 1998. A school needs a cheap drinking fountain, but the
woman who builds the fountain wishes to build an original one, with design
assistance from students. The story is told through a comic and pun-filled
series of letters.
* Morris, Juddi. THE HARVEY GIRLS;
THE WOMEN WHO CIVILIZED THE WEST. Walker, 1994. The true story of the Fred
Harvey restaurants, set up to serve the railroad travelers in the western
United States beginning in the late 1800’s. These jobs opened the world of
work, independence and travel to many young women who worked in the
restaurants, raising the standards for travel food and patron behavior.
* Morrison, Lillian, compiler. AT THE
CRACK OF THE BAT: BASEBALL POEMS. Hyperion, 1992. An illustrated collection
of poems about the game and personalities of baseball.
* O’Dell, Scott. ISLAND OF THE
BLUE DOLPHINS. Houghton, 1960. On an island off the coast of California, a
young Indian girl survives alone for eighteen years with courage and serenity.
Based on a real event.
* Perkins, Lynne Rae. ALL ALONE IN
THE UNIVERSE. Greenwillow, 1999. Debbie is dismayed when her best friend,
Maureen, starts spending time with ordinary, boring Glenna. She feels alone in
the universe. This first-person narrative is sharp, funny, and true.
* Voigt, Cynthia. HOMECOMING.
Atheneum, 1981. Abandoned by their mother, four children begin a search for a
home and an identity. Led by thirteen-year-old Dicey, they walk along the
coastal highway of Connecticut to a new beginning. The first of the Tillerman
stories.
* Watkins, Yoko Kawashima. SO FAR
FROM THE BAMBOO GROVE. Lothrop, 1986. This fictionalized autobiography
tells about the flight of the author and her sister as they embark on a
harrowing journey from Korea to Japan after World War II.
Grades 9-12
Compiled by Vermont-NEA member Dan Greene, Librarian, U32 High School, East
Montpelier.
* Avi. MIDNIGHT MAGIC.
Scholastic, 1999. Avi offers a medieval mystery with a nervous king, an
exasperatingly playful princess, a diabolical count, an oddly ubiquitous
kitchen boy, a magician who doesn’t believe in magic, and a servant who
knows far too much for his own good. This is a mystery that will keep you
guessing to the very end.
* Bangs, Richard. THE LOST RIVER: A
MEMOIR OF LIFE, DEATH, AND TRANSFORMATION ON WILD WATER. Sierra Club Books,
1999. If you read and enjoyed either The Perfect Storm or Into Thin Air, then
this is the book for you. In the early 1970s, in a quest to run the last
unexplored rivers of Africa, two young men drowned. Twenty-three years later,
Bangs returns with the survivors of the earlier trip to close the circle.
* Bear, Greg. DARWIN’S
RADIO. Ballantine, 1999. Bear’s powerfully written, brilliantly
inventive novel combines cutting-edge science and unforgettable characters,
illuminating dazzling new technologies—and their dangers.
* Chamberlin, Ann. THE MERLIN OF ST.
GILLES’S WELL. Tor, 1999. This should be the beginning of a classic
series. Almost a new genre of magical-historical-realism. This is the story of
Joan of Arc in terms of ancient pagan beliefs. A fascinating, hard-to-put-down
book.
* Evanovich, Janet. HIGH FIVE.
St. Martin’s Press, 1999. Stephanie Plum, the klutzy bounty hunter of four
other books by Janet Evanovich, sets off on her fifth adventure looking for her
Uncle Fred, who is missing. Things soon turn very serious as murderers,
detectives and the type of assorted oddballs that only Janet Evanovich could
dream up start pursuing her. Great fun.
* Fredriksson, Marianne. SIMON’S
FAMILY. Ballantine, 1999. Simon Larsson is a pensive and thoughtful boy
growing up in Sweden during World War II, fortunate to be safe within a
remarkably loving and cohesive community. Half-Jewish, he is being raised by
his Scandinavian aunt and uncle, who adopted him as their own at birth. A
coming of age story exploring relationships between fantasy, myth and reality.
* Greenlaw, Linda. THE HUNGRY
OCEAN. Hyperion, 1999. Greenlaw, described in The Perfect Storm as
one of the best sea captains (and the world’s only female swordfish boat
captain) on the East Coast, tells of a month-long memorable fishing trip.
* MacLean, John. FIRE ON THE
MOUNTAIN. Morrow, 1999. The a tense narrative of the South Canyon fire of
1994 that burned for 10 days, and of the smokejumpers, federal managers,
“hotshots” and politicians involved in the tragedy that cost $4.5
million and the lives of 14 firefighters.
* Maguire, Gregory. CONFESSIONS OF AN
UGLY STEPSISTER. HarperCollins, 1999. The story of Isis, stepsister to
Cinderella, set in seventeenth-century Holland.
* Lewin, Michael Z. CUTTING
LOOSE. Henry Holt, 1999. Masquerading as a man, a young woman sets out to
find her friend’s killer in New York and London at the turn of the
century. Her disguise proves to be simultaneously liberating and imprisoning.
* Smith, Diane. LETTERS FROM
YELLOWSTONE. Viking, 1999. A spectacular natural backdrop, a feisty
heroine, and a rich period of American history converge in a unique epistolary
novel about observation and independence.
* Weir, Alison. ELEANOR OF
AQUITAINE. Ballantine, 1999. A vibrant portrait of an exceptional Middle
Ages woman who was wife of both the King of France and the King of England, and
the mother of two kings of England.
This list is edited by Leda Schubert, School Library Media Consultant, Vermont Department of Education, and published as a community service by the Vermont-National Education Association, 10 Wheelock Street, Montpelier, Vermont 05602, (802) 223-6375
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