Voice of Youth Award Books 2005-2006 3rd and 4th grades
Bonners, Susan. The Silver Balloon. 1997.
Gregory sends off his helium balloon with his name and address
attached. A few weeks later he receives a letter, signaling the beginning
of a beautiful, unusual friendship with a farmer.
Clements, Andrew. Frindle. 1996.
It all starts innocently enough. Nick's special assignment is to find
out how words are added to the dictionary. He had never before thought
that this might actually be decided by a real person. Nick decides to make
up his very own word, "frindle," with hilarious results. Read more about Frindle in Kids' Books We Love!
Gannett, Ruth Stiles. My Father's Dragon. 1948.
A little boy is determined to rescue an unfortunate baby dragon that
is being used by a group of lazy animals to transport them across a river.
Gilson, Jamie. Hello, My Name is Scrambled Eggs. 1985.
When Harvey's family hosts a family of Vietnamese refugees, he can't
wait to turn 12-year-old Tuan into a real American boy, but how does Tuan
feel about this? Does he really want to become Harvey's clone?
Gleitzman, Morris. Toad Rage. 2004.
Limpy, a cane toad, just can't understand why humans hate his kind so
much. Why else would their cars run so many of his family members over?
Something has to be done to improve human-toad relations! Read more about Toad Rage in Kids' Books We Love!
Hopkinson, Deborah. Pioneer Summer. 2002.
The year is 1885 and Charlie's dad has decided to move their family
from Boston to Kansas in order to vote and prevent Kansas from becoming a
slave-holding state. Charlie is stunned. He can't believe he has to leave
his beloved grandfather and old dog behind to start a new life in the
prairie.
Mead, Alice. Junebug. 1995.
Reeve McLains, a.k.a. Junebug, has a 10th birthday coming up, but he
is not looking forward to it. In fact, he decides to ignore it. Being 10
means you're fair game for the gang members in the housing project where
his family lives. Junebug does not want to carry a gun like Trevor. He has
dreams. Read more about Junebug in Kids' Books We Love!
Taylor, Mildred D. The Gold Cadillac. 1987.
It's 1950 in Detroit and 'Lois and her sister Wilma, two African
American girls, are thrilled when their dad comes home in the family's
brand new Cadillac. They can't understand why their mother doesn't share
the excitement, won't ride in the car, and even opts to walk instead. Then
dad decides to take the Cadillac to visit family in Mississippi, a trip
that changes the family's outlook on life forever.
Van Allsburg, Chris. Jumanji. 1981.
Peter and Judy are truly bored when they decide to give the board game
they find under a tree a try. The baffling adventure that follows is more
thrilling than they could have imagined in their wildest dreams.
Yolen, Jane and Stemple, Heidi Elisabet Yolen. The Mary Celeste: An
Unsolved Mystery from History. 1999.
The mystery starts on December 4, 1872, the day that the Mary Celeste
is discovered by the crew of another ship, 600 miles west of the coast of
Portugal on the open seas of the Atlantic. Plenty of food, water, and
essential supplies are all found and in perfect order, but no one is left
on board. What could have happened to Captain Briggs, his family, and his
men?
