Voice of Youth Award Books 2003-2004 3rd and 4th grades
Avi. Poppy. 1995.
Dimwood Forest is ruled by the owl, Mr. Ocax. All mice in the woods
have been warned to fear him. One night two mice, Poppy and Ragweed,
venture out against these warnings. Poppy wants to dance in the moonlight,
but Ragweed has more dangerous plans.
Betsy Byars. Tornado. 1996.
When a tornado comes near the family farm, Pete, the farmhand, gathers
everyone in the cellar except the father, who’s caught in the cornfield.
Peter entertains the family in the cellar with tales of his dog, Tornado,
who blew into his life, doghouse and all, during another tornado.
Ann Cameron. The Stories Julian Tells. 1981.
Julian likes to tell tall tales, especially to his younger brother,
Huey. He claims that a catalog is where cats come from and fig leaves will
make you grow taller. More often than not, Julian’s tales lead to trouble
for these brothers.
Margaret Peterson Haddix. The Girl with 500 Middle Names. 2001.
Janie Sams is the new kid at a school where all the other kids are
from families with more money than hers. She decides to do something
totally unexpected in order to stand out among all the other kids.
Dick King-Smith. The Three Terrible Trins. 1994.
The three terrible trins are raised to avenge their father’s death.
When they are old, fit, and brave enough, they begin a campaign of terror
aimed at the two house cats. It will take the help of four different mouse
clans to pull it off.
Lois Lowry. Attaboy, Sam! 1992.
Sam is planning on giving his mother homemade perfume for her
birthday. To make it, he gathers all of her favorite smells in Ziploc bags
and stores them in his room. He collects pipe tobacco, freshly washed
hair, chicken soup, yeasty bread, new baby, and more. The stash in his
toybox is starting to stink!
Candice F. Ransom. Fire in the Sky. 1997.
Stenny isn’t the most popular guy in his class. In an effort to get
attention from his class mates, he lies about a planned tour of an
airship, the Hindenburg. When he sneaks away from home to view the landing
area, he finds himself caught in the horror of the Hindenburg going up in
flames. Will he be courageous and help or turn and go home? Read more about Fire in the Sky in Kids' Books We Love!
George Selden. The Cricket in Times Square. 1960.
Chester Cricket is transported to New York City’s Times Square via a
picnic basket where he meets Tucker Mouse and Harry Cat. He takes up
residence in the Bellinis’ newsstand where he meets a young boy named
Mario. The four friends try to save the nearly bankrupt newsstand.
James Solheim. It’s Disgusting—and We Ate It!: True Food Facts
From Around the World—and Throughout History! 1998.
All the foods in this book are taken from the diets of real people.
Would you eat them? Try some fried termites for breakfast, corn fungus for
lunch, whole mouse stew for dinner, and top it all off with a dessert of
pigeon pate!
Barbara Brooks Wallace. The Twin in the Tavern. 1993.
Taddy is orphaned with only these words from his dying uncle, “find
your twin and you wil know who you are.” When he goes to work at the
Mainyard mansion he finds a boy who looks just like him. Can this be the
mysterious twin he’d been told about?
