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Kutztown University Children’s Literature Conference 2016

Notable books for Grades 5 and up - 2015 and early 2016

Find the award winners at the following sites:

http://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/notalists/ncb

https://www.kirkusreviews.com/issue/best-of-2015/section/middle-grade/

https://www.kirkusreviews.com/issue/best-of-2015/section/teen/

http://www.ala.org/yalsa/booklistsawards/bookawards

Betsy Bird’s 2016 Newbery predictions from March 2016:http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2016/01/01/100-magnificent-childrens-books-2015/

Battle of the Kids’ Books 2016 Brackets:http://blogs.slj.com/battleofthebooks/2016/02/17/the-2016-brackets/

PW Children’s Best Books of 2015 - They are ALL here:http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/childrens-book-news/article/ 68552-pw-s-best-children-s-books-of-2015.html

My Favorites - so far - by Karen Maurer

Middle Grade fiction (in alphabetical order by author)

Crenshaw , by Katherine Applegate, (9781250043238) Jackson has been homelessbefore and he knows that his parents are struggling, again.

The return of his imaginaryfriend, Crenshaw, a six foot tall cat, does nothing to calm his fears. The lying in thisbook is the "everything is all right" kind, harmless on the surface but nasty anddangerous, nonetheless. Middle Grade c2015

Maybe a Fox by Kathi Appelt and Alison McGhee. (9781442482425) Before school oneday, Jules Sherman’s sister runs into the forest promising to be back before the busarrives. She never returns. A fox kit is born with an unusual purpose. A rare

catamount is sighted in the same forest. Jules doesn’t have Sylvie to remind her of herdead mother. Whew!! That’s a whole lot of grief to pack into one middle grade novel. Itdoesn’t feel heavy as you read because the animals’ stories help to move things along.Middle grade c2106.

The Thing about Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin. (9780316380867) Death, when it comes to ayoung friend makes no sense at all. Suzy and Franny left school on bad terms and then

KUCLC 2016 Karen Maurer

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23310699-crenshaw?ac=1&from_search=1http://blogs.slj.com/battleofthebooks/2016/02/17/the-2016-brackets/http://blogs.slj.com/battleofthebooks/2016/02/17/the-2016-brackets/http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2016/01/01/100-magnificent-childrens-books-2015/http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2016/01/01/100-magnificent-childrens-books-2015/http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2016/01/01/100-magnificent-childrens-books-2015/http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2016/01/01/100-magnificent-childrens-books-2015/http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2016/01/01/100-magnificent-childrens-books-2015/http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2016/01/01/100-magnificent-childrens-books-2015/http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2016/01/01/100-magnificent-childrens-books-2015/http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2016/01/01/100-magnificent-childrens-books-2015/https://www.kirkusreviews.com/issue/best-of-2015/section/teen/https://www.kirkusreviews.com/issue/best-of-2015/section/teen/https://www.kirkusreviews.com/issue/best-of-2015/section/teen/https://www.kirkusreviews.com/issue/best-of-2015/section/middle-grade/https://www.kirkusreviews.com/issue/best-of-2015/section/middle-grade/http://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/notalists/ncbhttp://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/notalists/ncbhttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23310699-crenshaw?ac=1&from_search=1https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23310699-crenshaw?ac=1&from_search=1http://blogs.slj.com/battleofthebooks/2016/02/17/the-2016-brackets/http://blogs.slj.com/battleofthebooks/2016/02/17/the-2016-brackets/http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2016/01/01/100-magnificent-childrens-books-2015/http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2016/01/01/100-magnificent-childrens-books-2015/http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2016/01/01/100-magnificent-childrens-books-2015/http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2016/01/01/100-magnificent-childrens-books-2015/https://www.kirkusreviews.com/issue/best-of-2015/section/teen/https://www.kirkusreviews.com/issue/best-of-2015/section/teen/https://www.kirkusreviews.com/issue/best-of-2015/section/middle-grade/https://www.kirkusreviews.com/issue/best-of-2015/section/middle-grade/http://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/notalists/ncbhttp://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/notalists/ncb

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Franny died. Now Suzy is obsessed with the idea that a jelly fish sting killed her ex-bestfriend. Chapters are interspersed with information on ocean life. Middle Grade c2015

Book Scavenger by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman. (9781627791151) On the trail of abook hidden during a game of Book Scavenger, an online reading and book retrieval

game site, a girl and her friend witness a shooting. Clever mystery - still I am takenaback when middle grade fiction offers up violent crime. #2 is due in 1/2017 MiddleGrade c2015

The Astounding Broccoli Boy by Frank Cottrell Boyce. (9780062400178) Rory, thesmallest boy in his class and the most bullied, turns green after being dunked in astream. In isolation in the hospital he finds he is not alone. Meanwhile the Killer Kittenvirus - carried by cats and debilitating but usually not fatal - has all of Britain in its grasp.Has Rory become a superhero? Is his roommate able to walk through locked doors?Can they save London? Middle Grade c 2015

Chasing Secrets by Gennifer Choldenko. (9780375990632) There are rumors thatplague has broken out in Chinatown.

Lizzie's uncle, the owner of one of the biggestnewspapers in town, refuses to believe the rumors without proof.

But Chinatown isquarantined and trapped inside is Lizzie's cook and friend, Jing.

Jing leaves behind asecret - a real LIVE secret.

And that secret teaches Lizzie to look at her world in awhole new way. Middle Grade c2015

All Rise for the Honorable Perry T. Cook by Leslie Connor. (9780062333469) Perry wasborn and raised in Blue River Co-Educational Correctional Institute.

Right after Perryenters middle school, the Butler County DA decides that Perry needs a “real” family andtakes Perry in as a foster child. Perry just wants to be with his Mom. How Perry solves

the mysteries in his mother’s case, and shows the DA the errors of his ways makes acompelling read. Keep the hankies handy. Middle Grade. c2016

Confessions of an Imaginary Friend, by Michelle Cuevas. (9780525427551) It takes afew short chapters for Jacques Papier to realize that HE is the imaginary friend his“twin”’s parents refer to. In an attempt to become less imaginary, Jacques takes aHUGE gamble and loses - for quite a while. Middle Grade c2015

Grayling’s Song by Karen Cushman (9780544301801) When Grayling’s mother, ahealer and magic user, takes root as a tree, Grayling must find a way to reverse thecurse. All the powerful magic users have been turned into trees. The source of this evil

is surprising and not so easy to dispel. Middle Grades, June 2016

George by Alex Gino. (9780545812542) Everyone thinks George is a boy. When shetries out for the part of Charlotte in her class’ production of Charlotte’s web, her teacheraccuses her of wasting the teacher’s time. George’s best friend, Kelly, gets the part andtogether they switch places in the play’s second performance. And George tells herfamily who and what she truly is - a girl trapped in a boy’s body. There is some bullying


https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23615684-chasing-secrets?from_search=true&search_version=servicehttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23615684-chasing-secrets?from_search=true&search_version=service

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here but my wish is that every transgender child could have such supportive friends andfamilies. Middle grade, c2015.

Lost in the Sun by Lisa Graff.(9780399164064) Trent had a terrible accident in fifthgrade that fills his mind with guilt and self-accusation. He makes only one friend in his

first year of middle school. Her secrets are as deep and as dread as Trent’s. How willthey survive? Middle Grade c 2015

Dear Hank Williams by Kimberley Willis Holt,(9780805080223) is a novel in letters.

TateP. Ellerbee decides that the rising star, Hank Williams, will be her pen pal for her classpen pal project. She is more than faithful in writing to Mr. Williams, and in return shereceives three signed photographs.

And the reader learns just how Tate spins tales tomake herself feel better about her absent parents and other difficulties.

All is revealedin the end, in this clever and emotionally satisfying book.

Set between 1948 and 1949,this is also a well-researched look at rural America in the aftermath of WWII. MiddleGrade c2015

Unusual Chickens for the Extraordinary Poultry Farmer by Kelly Jones.(9780385755528) The chickens that Sophie finds on her great-uncle’s farm haveextraordinary powers. One chicken can move things with her mind. Another is like aninja hen. The notes that Sophie finds and the poultry farmer correspondence coursethat just arrives in the mail are welcome guides to caring for unusual chickens. Mysteryabounds! Middle Grade c2015

Nooks & Crannies by Jessica Lawson. (9781481419215) Tabitha Crum has AWFULparents. You can’t even guess. They are thrilled when she is invited to spend aweekend at the Countess of Windermere’s country estate with five other children. Four

of those children have pretty awful parents, too. No matter. The “Countess” has anagenda and it doesn’t involve happy endings. Middle Grade c2015

The Shrunken Head (The Curiosity House #1) by Lauren Oliver. Four unusual childrenlive comfortably and well in the Curiosity House, a stationary sideshow on TimesSquare. Among the artifacts is a shrunken head. Its theft threatens the four childrenand the rest of the residents with kidnap, homelessness, prison or worse. Middle Gradec2015. The Screaming Statue is out in May 2016.

Pax by Sara Pennypacker. (9780062377012) Pax has never lived in the wild before heis released. Peter sneaks away from his grandfather’s house to find his pet. The book

parallels their journeys. Pax meets with foxes who teach him to survive. Peterstumbles onto a shell shocked hermit who nurses Peter’s broken foot. There is a nottoo subtle subtext about the causes of war and the value of peace. Middle gradec2016. Betsy Bird has this on her Newbery Predictions list.

Towers Falling by Jewell Parker Rhodes.(9780316262224) Deja lives in a homelessshelter with her parents. Her mother holds two jobs because her father suffers from anincurable cough and emotional problems. When the entire fifth grade begins a local


https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22544766-dear-hank-williams?ac=1&from_search=1https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22544766-dear-hank-williams?ac=1&from_search=1https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22544766-dear-hank-williams?ac=1&from_search=1

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history unit that will end with a visit to the World Trade Center memorial, Deja discoversanswers to questions she didn’t even know to ask. This is pretty moving stuff withoutbeing overwrought. Middle Grades, out July, 2016.

Fog Diver by Joel Ross. (9780062352934) Chess, Hazel, Swedish and Bea are fog

divers, dropping into the fog that poisons the surface of Earth, to retrieve scraps ofhuman technology for resale. Chess has a secret, causing him to be hunted by LordKodoc, the cruel leader of the Roof-toppers, who live on the mountain tops in the safestregions of the earth. This action-packed sci-fi novel has a well-built future world and ascrappy and likable cast of characters. Fog Divers 2 comes out in May. Middle Grade,c2015

Orbiting Jupiter by Gary D. Schmidt. (9780544462229) Jack’s new foster brother,Joseph, is a father at thirteen. He pines for his infant daughter, Jupiter. Jack’s parentsand Jack’s caseworker pull together to help Joseph succeed, even when he is his ownworst enemy. Spare writing makes this all the more dramatic. Middle Grade /YA 2015

The Marvels by Brian Selznick. (9780545448680). Text and artwork alternate as theytell two stories that eventually weave together. One story follows Billy Marvel, a youngactor from 1766. The other follows a boy in the 1990s who hides out in his uncle’shouse. Middle grade 2015

Look out for the Fitzgerald-Trouts by Esta Spalding.(9780316298582). Four childrenwho share - or don’t - a variety of parents live in a car on the beach of a small tropicalisland. The kids are getting bigger. The car is getting smaller. The oldest girl, Kim,decides the four children need a home, even if it means entering the jungle of the blood-sucking iguanas. I call this “The Boxcar children with bloodsucking iguanas minus the

kindly grandfather”. Middle grades. May 10th, 2016

The Book of Kings by Cynthia Voigt. (9780307976895) I want to live in Max's hometown and become a solutioneer.

Max Starling must rescue his parents who have beentricked into playing the King and Queen of a small, oppressed South American nation.

So, he, his grandmother, his tenant, Ari who is also a Baron, his "assistant" Pia's father,two boys who may end up being good friends and Max's painting teacher all pile on to aocean liner, leaving behind the idyllic city of Queensbridge. Don't DO it, Max! Here is adelightful adventure, full of headstrong people. Middle Grade c2015

Young Adult

The Art of Not Breathing by Sarah Alexander . (9780544633889) Elsie twin’s brotherdrowned five years ago on their 11th birthday. Elsie still cannot remember whathappened that day but she is sure it is her fault. When she cuts school and meets Tay,an intriguing older boy, he introduces her to free diving. Deep under the water, holdingher breath, Elsie can remember more and more clearly that awful day. YA c2016


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Inheritance of Ashes by Leah Bobet.(9780544281110) Misunderstandings between twosisters seem to mirror the war their men just finished fighting. A stranger becomes theirhired man and brings weird and inexplicable creatures with him. The army searches forthe hero of the war. The stranger tries to go home. The sisters want to keep their farm.

The townsfolk fear the wicked things that appear and the man who brought them. YAc2015

The Great American Whatever by Tim Federle.(9781481404099) Quinn lost his oldersister and screenplay collaborator when she ran a red light. Their latest screenplay isonly three quarters finished. Quinn hasn’t told anyone, quite yet, that he is gay. Whenhe drops out of school and attends a party at a college he finds love and, eventually,sex. Secrets are revealed. Grief, gender identity, creative crisis, mix it up with cleverwriting and believable, although sometimes too snappy, dialogue. YA c2016

Galgorithm by Aaron Karo. (9781481440639) With little to no success of his own, a teen

gives out relationship advice to everyone - including an adult. He has a secret formula -and it works for everyone, until someone spills the beans. YA c 2015

The Improbable Theory of Ana and Zak by Brian Katcher. (9780062272799) Zak findshimself FORCED to attend the Scholastic Team finals with Ana on the same weekendas his all-time favorite event, The WashingCon. When Uptight Ana’s younger brotherditches the Quiz team’s hotel room for the Con, Zak and Ana have to bring him back.Cosplay CENTRAL. Crazy times ensue. YA c 2015

The Museum of Heartbreak by Meg Leder. (9781481432108) I almost didn't finish thisbook since I liked the characters so much and I was worried the ending would be

bittersweet. But the organization by "artifacts" of a relationship was so enticing, I had tokeep reading. I am glad I did. Romantic, clever, contemporary, - yeah, I liked it - a lot.YA June 2016

Character, Driven by David Lubar (9780765316332) Cliff loves words, playing withthem savoring them, and using them to surprise. So the opening to this novel is ashocker and it traps the reader. This appears to be just the story of a teenagerdesperately seeking first love and first lust. But the signs of struggle are there for thereader who looks. Cliff’s has bigger problems than “getting the girl”. YA c2016

You Were Here by Cori McCarthy. (9781492617044). Graduation Day. Five years

before, Jaycee’s older brother, Jake, did a backflip from the swing and broke his neck.Now Jaycee tries to revive his memory by visiting all the secret places he did. Jake’sbest childhood friend, Jaycee’s ex-best friend, the ex-bestie’s boyfriend and theboyfriend’s best friend join this crew of daredevils. Alternating chapters spell out what isgoing on in each person’s life as they tangle with old resentments, fading love, brokenhearts and letting go. YA c2016


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A Tangle of Gold by Jaclyn Moriarty. (9780545397407) It’s here! Rejoice! Theconclusion to the Colors of Madeleine begins with Elliott and his father back in Cello,Princess Ko in MAJOR trouble and Madeleine stranded here on earth. YA c 2016.

The Shepherd’s Crown by Terry Pratchett. (9780062429971) Something wicked in the

Faerie world is stirring. Tiffany Aching finds herself the witch in charge of TWO holdingswith a lot more responsibility. Then, there’s Geoffrey, the younger son of a headstrongLord, wandering toward a fall. Oh, and wee free men. YA c2105

I Am Princess X by Cherie Priest. (9780545620857) Mai and Libby became friends in5th grade and for years they wrote and illustrated a comic they called Princess X. ThenLibby and her mother drove off the bridge over Puget Sound and were lost. When Maireturns to Seattle 2 or 3 years later, she sees Princess X stickers and referenceseverywhere. But all the Princess X notebooks were burned when Libby died. Mainever believed that the body dragged from the water could actually be Libby. A bitmelodramatic, this book is an exciting, action packed mix of graphics and text. YA

c2015

The Blackthorn Key by Kevin Sands. (9781481446518). Christopher Rowe, apprenticeto an apothecary, must find out who is killing the apothecaries of London. Set in theMiddle Ages, this is an engrossing mystery - mixed with mischief and a dash ofmayhem. Historical fiction, I think. Some magic may be hinted at. YA/Middle Grade c2015

Anna and the Swallow Man by Gavriel Savit. (9780553513349) 7 year old Anna waitsfor her father to come home from work for three days. When the Swallow Man talks toher, Anna follows him. Together they navigate the perils of the Second World War as

Anna grows up. Who is he? What is his purpose? Those pages just keep turning. YAc2016.

The Hired Girl by Laura Amy Schlitz. (9780763678180) When Jane's unhappy fatherburns her journals - they are a waste of her time - Jane runs off to Baltimore and gets a

job as a hired girl in the home of a department store owner and entrepreneur.

Her job iscomplicated by the clash of cultures. Jane's mother was Catholic. The family sheworks for are observant Jews. Jane is NOT 18 as she claims but only 14, so she makessome choices and behaves in ways that threaten to get her fired.

YA c2015

Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys. Joana, Florian, Emilia, the wandering boy, the shoe

poet - they hurry to escape from the war, imprisonment and death. Desperate tosurvive, they use their talents to help each other. They finally board the Gustloff on theBaltic Sea. Its sinking is called the deadliest maritime disaster ever. 10,000 peoplewere on board when the ship was torpedoed. Who will survive? YA c 2015


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The Hollow Boy by Jonathan Stroud. (9781484709689) The third in the Lockwood andCo. ghost hunters series ends with a true cliffhanger. Lockwood hires an assistantwhen Lucy takes a vacation, cramping Lucy’s style. Meanwhile, a huge outbreak in thecenter of town has taken up all the attention of the other major ghost hunting companiesin town. Lockwood and Co. was NOT asked to help out. Big mistake. YA, Middle

Grade, c2015

The Emperor of Any Place by Tim Wynne-Jones. (9780763669737) The night thatEvan’s father, Cliff, died he mentioned that his dad may have been a murderer. Cliff wasreading the diary of a Japanese soldier that day. When Evan looked at the book, it toldan incredible story of two soldiers shipwrecked on a South Sea island. Add the phonecalls from the American soldier’s family asking permission to publish the book andEvan’s grandfather, Griff’s, military and unforgiving bearing and you have an engrossingfantasy dressed in historical fiction garb. I call this one “Life of Pi Lite”. YA c2015

Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman. (9780061134111) Caden switches between real

life - full of threats and omens - and imaginary life as a crew member on a deep seaexploration. The only thing that is the same in both places is his dreams. When hestarts taking interminable walks, when he goes for days without sleeping, Caden’sparents have him committed. Well-written and scary. YA c 2015

Shadowshapers by Daniel Jose Older. (9780545591614) When the murals in Sierra’sneighborhood shed tears, and her abuelo becomes incoherent, Sierra discovers herfamily’s secret. They are shadowshapers, who use art and music to commune withspirits. Abuelo shared this secret with an outsider years before. Sierra must stop thatoutsider from killing off the Shadowshapers. YA c2015.

Non-FictionSamurai Rising : The Epic Life of Minamoto Yoshitsune by Pamela S. Turner. BecauseYoshitsune’s father kidnapped the Retired Emperor, Yoshitsune was exiled to a Buddhistmonastery when still very young. He eventually escaped and learned the ways of theSamurai. Yoshitsune’s life reads like background to the novel Shogun. Turner includescopious notes, a timeline, advice on pronunciation and a “cast of characters.” BetsyBird (SLJ blogger) has this on her Newbery 2017 watchlist. YA Bio c2016

The Octopus Scientists by Sy Montgomery. (9780544232709) Octopi are incrediblyfluid and amazingly smart and this book gives a lot of information about these shell-lessmollusks and the people who study them. c2105

Most Dangerous : Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War by StevenSheinkin. (9781596439528) The secrets that Daniel Ellsberg released to the publicshook the foundations of a generation’s faith in its government. We learned that ourgovernment - any government - exists on lies. c2015


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Turning 15 on the Road to Freedom : My Story of the 1965 Selma Voting Rights March by Lynda Blackmon Lowery as told to Elspeth Leacock and Susan Buckley.(9780803741232) The first person narrative, simple line drawings and periodphotographs make this march come alive with tension, fear and determination. c2015.

Books unread but worthy of mention:

The Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo (9781627792127). Kaz Brekker pulls together animpressive team of talented criminals for the biggest caper of his life. I started this grittyfantasy with dense, complex writing. I promise to finish it. The magic that has beenimprisoned is so intriguing. Definitely YA. c2015

The Lightning Queen by Laura Resau. (9780545800846) 11-year-old Teo, grieving forhis mother and sister and alone with his goats in the Mexican hills, is befriended byEsma, who claims to be the Gypsy Queen of Lightning. And it will take Teo’s American

grandson to finish the adventure these two begin. Also there is a rescued duck, a three-legged skunk and a goat in this book. I have to read it. Middle grade. c2015

Conviction by Kelly Loy Gilbert. (9781423197386). Braden’s father a well-knownChristian radio host, is on trial for murder. Braden has to testify. Meanwhile, Bradenhas to pitch against the son of the police officer his father is accused of killing.Convicted Christian radio hosts and baseball - the all-American YA novel. c2015

Ollie’s Odyssey by William Joyce. A Favorite toy, an evil clown Toy King, a kidnap and arescue. And illustrations by William Joyce!!!!!! This might not fit Middle Grade but we allknow 5th and 6th grade students who will enjoy this clever chapter book. Middle Grade,

c2016.

Booked by Kwame Alexander. (9780544570986). Alexander hands us another versenovel about sports, junior high boys, relationships and families. This book centers onNick, soccer, and his desire to tell a girl that he wants to go out with her. The book justarrived on the shelves this month but it is receiving a lot of praise. April 2016.

Nimona by Noelle Stevenson (9780062278234).”Nemeses! Dragons! Science!Symbolism! All these and more await in this brilliantly subversive, sharply irreverent epicfrom Noelle Stevenson.” - Goodreads. Graphic Novel YA c2015

Thank you!My name is Karen Maurer.I have 30 years experience working in children’s libraries.You can see my latest reviews on my blog.http://booksnstories.blogspot.com.If you have questions or suggestions for future book reviews, email me [email protected].

mailto:[email protected]://booksnstories.blogspot.com/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://booksnstories.blogspot.com/http://booksnstories.blogspot.com/

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