Arkansas Diamond
Award Nominated
books
2015-2016
The Fort That Jack Built
by: Brett Helquist
In this imaginative interpretation of the
nursery rhyme “The House That Jack
Built,” young Jack builds an amazing fort
in the middle of the living room, using
the chairs, blankets, and other objects on
hand. Unfortunately, those objects
belong to his family members, so when
they want their things back—there goes
the walls and roof! Jack struggles to keep
his fortress going as it crumbles piece by
piece. Finally, Grandma saves the day
with her quilts for a sweet, satisfying
ending filled with family fun.
The Day the Crayons Quit
by: Drew Daywalt
Poor Duncan just wants to color.
But when he opens his box of
crayons, he finds only letters, all
saying the same thing: We quit!
Beige is tired of playing second
fiddle to Brown. Blue needs a
break from coloring all that
water, while Pink just wants to
be used. Green has no
complaints, but Orange and
Yellow are no longer speaking to
each other.
What is Duncan to do?
No Pirates Allowed! Said Library Lou
by: Rhonda Greene
At Seabreezy Library, things were
just right. Booklovers were cozy.
The sky was blue-bright when-Shiver me timbers!--through
Seabreezy's door stormed big
Pirate Pete and his parrot, Igor!
Argh!! Things are looking--and
smelling!!--a little fishy at
Seabreezy Library. When the big
X on Pirate Pete's treasure map
leads him and his parrot-sidekick
Igor to believe buried treasure is
hidden at the library, the patrons
are quaking in their shoes.
Lottie Paris and the Best Place
by: Angela Johnson
Lottie Paris has a favorite place.
The library! She loves to go there
and read about space. She knows
there are rules at the library, but
sometimes they are not so easy to
follow.
The library is Carl’s favorite
place, too. And he loves to read
about dinosaurs. When Lottie
and Carl meet, they become fast
friends. Now Lottie reads about
dinosaurs, and Carl loves space!
My Lucky Birthday
by: Keiko Kasza
Just as Alligator Al is planning the perfect
birthday dinner for himself, there is a knock
on his door. It's a delicious-looking piglet—
how lucky! But as Al prepares his feast, the
piglet makes some suggestions. Shouldn’t Al
have a big birthday cake? Piglet can tell him
how to make one. And wouldn’t the
celebration be more fun with fancy
decorations and party guests? Piglet would
be happy to ask some friends to come over.
Al is so lucky that Piglet is there to help...or
is he? Could Piglet have a clever party trick
up his sleeve?
http://www.keikokasza.com/books.php
Otis and the Puppy
by: Loren Long
Otis and his farm friends love to play
hide-and-seek. Otis especially loves to
be "It," finding his friends as they
hide. Yet when the newest addition to
the farm—a bounding puppy who
can't sit still and has a habit of licking
faces—tries to hide, he finds his
attention wandering and is soon lost
in the forest. Night falls and Otis,
knowing his new friend is afraid of the
dark, sets out to find him. There's just
one problem: Otis is also afraid of the
dark.
http://www.lorenlong.com/Books/View/3/Otis-and-the-Puppy
Miss Moore Thought Otherwise
by: Jan Pinborough
Once upon a time, American children
couldn’t borrow library books.
Reading wasn’t all that important for
children, many thought. Luckily Miss
Anne Carroll Moore thought
otherwise! This is the true story of
how Miss Moore created the first
children’s room at the New York
Public Library, a bright, warm room
filled with artwork, window seats, and
most important of all, borrowing
privileges to the world’s best
children’s books in many different
languages.
www.missmoorethoughtotherwise.com
The Blessing Cup
by: Patricia Polacco
A single china cup from a tea set left
behind when Jews were forced to
leave Russia helps hold a family
together through generations of
living in America, reminding them of
the most important things in life.
The Favorite Daughter
by: Allen Say
Yuriko hates her name when the
children make fun of it and call her
"Eureka!" Though she is half
Japanese, the teasing makes her
want to hide, to retreat even from
the art projects she used to love.
Fortunately she has a patient, kind
father who finds gentle ways of
drawing her out and reminding
Yuriko of the traditions they share
that have always brought her joy:
walks in lovely Golden Gate Park,
lunch at their favorite sushi
restaurant, watching the fog blow in
off the bay.
Becoming Babe Ruth
by: Matt Tavares
Before he was known as the Babe, George
Herman Ruth was just a boy who lived in
Baltimore and got into a lot of trouble. But
when he turned seven, his father brought
him to the gates of Saint Mary’s Industrial
School for Boys, and his life changed
forever. At Saint Mary’s, he was expected to
study hard and follow a lot of rules. But
there was one good thing about Saint
Mary’s: almost every day, George got to play
baseball.Under the watchful eye of Brother
Matthias, George evolved as a player and as
a man, and when he set off into the wild
world of big-league baseball, the school, the
boys, and Brother Matthias were never far
from his heart.
The Very Inappropriate Word
by: Jim Tobin
Michael loves interesting words (hard
words like ELASTIC, little words like
VAST, and big words like
SMITHEREENS) and is always on the
lookout for words to collect. Then one
day, he picks up a new word. A badword.
An inappropriate word. At least, that’s
what his friend says. But Michael kind of
likes the word. He thinks he might try it
out.
At school.
Bad idea.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kT85VWbw4yg
Students in grades K-3 will
vote on these titles in April of
2016.