2016
Louisiana Young Readers’ Choice Award
Grades 3 - 5
Brave Girl
Clara and the Shirtwaist Makers’ Strike of 1909
By
Melissa Sweet
When Clara arrived in America, she
couldn't speak English. She didn't know
that young women had to go to work, that
they traded an education for long hours
of labor, that she was expected to grow
up fast. That didn't stop her. She went to
night school, spent hours studying
English, and helped support her family by
sewing in a shirtwaist factory. She never
quit or accepted that girls should be
treated poorly and paid little. Fed up with
the mistreatment of her fellow laborers,
Clara led the largest walkout of women
workers the country had seen.
Case File 13: Zombie Kid
Even though traveling to a relative’s funeral
causes Nick to miss trick-or-treating with
his friends this year, the trip to Louisiana is
not all bad. He returns home with a cursed
amulet that, as his friends Carter and
Angelo quickly diagnose, is slowly turning
him into a zombie. For the three
supernatural-loving friends, this is better
than any Halloween dress-up. A hilarious
horror adventure ensues as they try to
undo the curse.
By
J. Scott Savage
Elvis and the Underdogs
By
Jenny Lee
Benji is a small ten-year-old boy with a big
personality. Born premature, Benji is sickly,
accident-prone, and at the hospital so often
he even has his own punch card. So when
Benji wakes up one day from a particularly
bad spell, his doctors take the radical step
of suggesting he get a therapy dog. But
when a massive crate arrives at Benji's
house, out walks a two-hundred-pound
Newfoundland who can talk! Elvis’ big,
direct personality helps Benji learn to
overlook his physical circumstances,
overcome bullying, and make new friends.
Farmer Will Allen and the
Growing Table
Will Allen is no ordinary farmer. A former
basketball star, he's as tall as his truck, and
he can hold a cabbage, or a basketball, in
one hand. But what is most special about
Farmer Will is that he can see what others
can't see. When he looked at an abandoned
city lot he saw a huge table, big enough to
feed the whole world. No space, no problem.
Poor soil, there's a solution. Needed help,
found it. He succeeds in building an urban
farm, engaging the community and creating
healthy food in a way that is affordable and
new to them.
By
Jacqueline Briggs Martin
Fortunately, the Milk
Dad took an awfully long time to run to the
corner shop to buy milk for the cereal.
Despite his children’s suspicions, dad
claims that he was definitely not chatting
with a friend he met on the street. He says
he was held up by an unfortunate
adventure involving a stegosaurus, space
travel, a hot air balloon, pirates, and a
near-encounter with the end of the world.
Fortunately, thanks to his efforts and
dedication, the milk survived the whole
ordeal.
By
Neil Gaiman
Henry and the Cannons:
An Extraordinary True Story of the American Revolution
In 1775 in the dead of winter, a
bookseller named Henry Knox
dragged 59 cannons from Fort
Ticonderoga to Boston—225 miles
of lakes, forest, mountains, and
few roads. It was a feat of
remarkable ingenuity and
determination and one of the most
remarkable stories of the
Revolutionary War.
By
Don Brown
Hey, Charleston!:
The True Story of the Jenkins Orphanage Band
By
Anne F. Rockwell
In 1891, Reverend Daniel Joseph
Jenkins opened his orphanage in
Charleston, South Carolina. He soon
had hundreds of children and needed a
way to support them. Jenkins asked
townspeople to donate old band
instruments and found teachers to
show the kids how to play. Soon the
orphanage had a band. They
performed as far away as Paris and
London, and they earned enough
money to support the orphanage that
still exists today. They also helped
launch the music we now know as jazz.
Hoop Genius:
How a Desperate Teacher and a Rowdy Gym Class Invented Basketball
By
John Coy
Taking over a rowdy gym class right before
winter vacation is not something James
Naismith wants to do at all. The last two
teachers of this class quit in frustration. The
students, a bunch of energetic young men,
are bored with all the regular games and
activities. Naismith needs something new,
exciting, and fast to keep the class happy
or someone's going to get hurt. Saving this
class is going to take a genius. Discover
the true story of how Naismith invented
basketball in 1891 at a school in
Springfield, Massachusetts.
Mountain Dog
Uncle Tío and his mountain rescue dog
Gabe are the perfect medicine for Tony
after his mother is sent to jail for
dogfighting. Though he feels lost when he
is first sent to live with the uncle he has
never met, he finds stability and security
with him as a new family. With his Tió and
a search-and-rescue dog named Gabe by
his side, he learns how to track wild
animals, is welcomed to the Cowboy
Church, and makes new friends at the
Mountain School. Most importantly though,
it is through Gabe that Tony discovers
unconditional love for the first time.
By
Margarita Engle
Rump:
The True Story of Rumplestiltskin
When 12-year-old Rump finds an old spinning
wheel, he discovers he has a gift for spinning
straw into gold. His best friend, Red Riding
Hood, warns him that magic is dangerous,
and she's right. With each thread he spins, he
weaves himself deeper into a curse. To break
the spell, Rump must go on a perilous quest,
fighting off pixies, trolls, poison apples, and a
wickedly foolish queen. The odds are against
him, but with courage and friendship-and a
cheeky sense of humor-he just might triumph
in the end.
By
Liesl Shurtliff