Black Eyed Susan
Award
What is the Black Eyed
Susan Award?
• The Black-Eyed Susan Book Award is
a children's choice award for the
state of Maryland. Each year since
1992, the Black-Eyed Susan Book
Award has been given to authors
and/or illustrators of outstanding
books chosen for the award by
Maryland students.
How a book is selected
• Books may be fiction or nonfiction.
• Books must have a copyright date of the
current year or one of the preceding three
years and be readily available.
• Each title selected will have received
positive reviews from appropriate
professional journals.
• Books must have been read, discussed, and
voted upon by the appropriate Black-Eyed
Susan reading committee before being
placed on the appropriate list.
Deciding a Winner
• Students who vote for the winning titles must have followed
the "Guidelines for School Participation" before voting.
Students may cast one vote for the book they consider to be
the most outstanding book in each of the categories. All
votes from schools across the state of Maryland are
submitted to the Black-Eyed Susan Book Award committee
to be tallied in order to determine the winners. The winning
authors and/or illustrators receive an award engraved with
the book title, the year, and the Black-Eyed Susan Book
Award logo. Authors, illustrators, and publishers recognize
the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award as an honor
bestowed by Maryland student readers.
What category will I read
for?
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Picture Books (must
read 8 out of the 15)
Grades 4-6 (must
read at least 3 out of
the 10)
Grades 6-9 (must
read at least 3 out of
the 10)
High School
Picture Books
Now & Ben : the Modern
Inventions of Benjamin Franklin
Presents the life and
accomplishments of
Benjamin Franklin, one of
the nation's most beloved
figures, credited with
introducing bifocals,
daylight savings time,
lightning rods, and the
establishment of post
offices.
Who is Melvin Bubble?
An introduction to
six-year-old Melvin
Bubble as
presented by his
family, friends, and
others.
Bob and Otto
Otto the worm is
shocked to
discover that his
best friend Bob is
actually a
caterpillar who
emerges one day as
a butterfly.
Dogku
When a homeless dog
shows up at the back
door, a family takes
him in, feeds and
bathes him, and names
him Mooch, but as the
day draws to a close,
the kids await to see
if Mooch will be
allowed to become a
new member of the
family..
Martina the Beautiful
Cockroach: a Cuban Folktale
In this humorous
retelling of a Cuban
folktale, a
cockroach
interviews her
suitors in order to
decide whom to
marry.
This Jazz Man
Presents an
introduction to jazz
music and nine wellknown jazz musicians,
set to the rhythm of
the traditional song,
"This Old Man."
Includes brief facts
about each. musician
The Luck of the Loch Ness
Monster : a Tale of Picky Eating
Have you ever wondered
how the loch ness monster
came to be? Well this is
the tale for you. A little
girl is off on a long boat
journey and has to eat
oatmeal each morning. She
hates the oatmeal and
throws it over board when
a tiny worm goggles it up!
That tiny worm grows and
grows and turns into
"Nessie"
Knock, Knock!
Presents a collection
of "knock-knock" jokes
featuring
contributions from
such writers and
artists as Tomie
dePaola, Saxton
Freymann, Brett
Helquist, and Laurie
Keller..
The Chicken-Chasing Queen
of Lamar County
A young farm girl
tries to catch her
favorite chicken,
until she learns
something about
the hen that makes
her change her
ways.
Rough, Tough Charley
Stagecoach driver Charley
Parkhurst spoke few words
but rode many miles.
Throughout the West,
folks trusted and
respected Charley despite
his crusty demeanor. After
years on the road and even
losing an eye, Charley
retired, bought a house,
and joined the Odd Fellows.
But only in death was
Charley's life-long secret
revealed.
Velma Gratch & the Way
Cool Butterfly
Velma starts first
grade in the shadow of
her memorable older
sisters, and while her
newfound interest in
butterflies helps her
to stand out, it also
leads to an interesting
complication.
Across the Alley
Jewish Abe's
grandfather wants him
to be a violinist while
African-American
Wille's father plans
for him to be a great
baseball pitcher, but it
turns out that the two
boys are more
talented when they
switch hobbies.
Mind Your Manners, B.B.
Wolf
When B.B. Wolf, who
now lives in the Villain
Villa Retirement
Residence, is invited to
the library for a
storybook tea, he is
careful to follow the
advice of his crocodile
friend and impresses
everyone with how
polite he can be.
Scaredy Squirrel
Scaredy Squirrel
thinks about all the
things that could
happen to him if he
left the safety of
his home, but he
has no choice when
he accidentally
drops his
emergency kit.
Small Beauties : the Journey
of Darcy Heart O'Hara
Darcy Heart O'Hara, a
young Irish girl who
neglects her chores to
observe the beauties
of nature and
everyday life, shares
"family memories" with
her homesick parents
and siblings after the
O'Haras are forced to
emigrate to America in
the 1840s.
Chapter Books
(Grades 4-6)
The Puzzling World of
Winston Breen
Puzzle-crazy, twelveyear-old Winston and
his ten-year-old sister
Katie find themselves
involved in a dangerous
mystery involving a
hidden ring. Puzzles
for the reader to solve
are included
throughout the text.
No Talking
The noisy fifth
grade boys of
Laketon
Elementary School
challenge the
equally loud fifth
grade girls to a "no
talking" contest.
The Story of Jonas
In the mid-1800s, a
slave boy dreams
of escaping to
freedom while on a
journey from
Missouri to the
gold fields of
Kansas Territory
with his master's
n'er-do-well son.
The Ghost of Poplar Point
Prompted by the ghost of a
young Seneca Indian girl,
twelve-year-old Allie and her
friend Dub are determined,
despite the opposition of an
unscrupulous property
developer, that the historical
pageant celebrating the
founding of their town tells
the truth about the fate of
the Seneca people who lived
there during the Revolutionary
War.
The Thing about Georgie
Georgie's dwarfism
causes problems, but
he could always rely on
his parents, his best
friend, and classmate
Jeanie the Meanie's
teasing, until a
surprising
announcement, a new
boy in school, and a
class project shake
things up.
Witch Catcher
Having just moved into
the West Virginia
home they inherited
from a distant
relative, twelve-yearold Jen is surprised
that her father is
already dating a local
antiques dealer, but
more surprised by
what the spooky
woman really wants.
Out of Order
For years, Lily was the
oldest in her family; then,
as soon as her mom married
Frank and their two
families blended together,
Lily became a middle child.
"Out of Order" looks at
what it means to suddenly
have a whole new family
and a new place in the birth
order. In this book, 4 kids,
ages 9 to 15, have to learn
how to adjust in order to
get along and still keep
their personalities (and
their sanity!).
A Friendship for Today
In 1954, when
desegregation
comes to Kirkland,
Missouri, ten-yearold Rosemary faces
many changes and
challenges at
school and at home
as her parents
separate.
How to Steal a Dog
Living in the family car in
their small North Carolina
town after their father
leaves them virtually
penniless, Georgina,
desperate to improve their
situation and unwilling to
accept her overworked
mother's calls for
patience, persuades her
younger brother to help
her in an elaborate scheme
to get money by stealing a
dog and then claiming the
reward that the owners are
bound to offer.
Big One-Oh
Determined not to be
weird all his life like
his neighbor, Charley
Maplewood decides to
throw himself a tenth
birthday party,
complete with a "house
of horrors" theme, but
first he will have to
make some friends to
invite.