Beverly Cleary Award Nominees 2009

2009
Nominees

The Beverly Cleary Children's Choice Award, sponsored by the Oregon Association of School Libraries (OASL), was established in the spring of 2002.

The purpose of this award is to encourage reading by highlighting good quality literature (fiction and nonfiction) written on the second - third grade reading level, taking into account text, format and the illustrations of the books. This contest will encourage books that students may not otherwise find on their own and are not necessarily the popular best sellers.

All elementary school-age children in Oregon are invited to participate in this contest. Students should read (or listen to) at least two of the nominated books. Voting will take place in March 2009.

Nominees for the 2009 award are:

Star Jumper
by Frank Asch

Determined to get far away from his evil little brother, Alex works to design a spaceship that will take him so far away from Earth that not even the NASA experts can find him.

The Boy Who Saved Cleveland
by James Giblin,
illustrated by Michael Dooling

During a malaria epidemic in late eighteenth-century Cleveland, Ohio, ten-year-old Seth Doan surprises his family, his neighbors, and himself by having the strength to carry and grind enough corn to feed everyone.

The Year of the Dog
by Grace Lin

Frustrated at her seeming lack of talent for anything, a young Taiwanese American girl sets out to apply the lessons of the Chinese Year of the Dog, those of making best friends and finding oneself, to her own life.

Ruby Lu, Empress of Everything
by Lenore Look,
illustrated by Anne Wilsdorf

After Ruby Lu's deaf cousin, Flying Duck, and her parents come from China to live with her, Ruby finds life challenging as she adjusts to her new family, tries to mend her rocky relationship with her friend Emma, and faces various adventures in summer school. Second in a series

Away West
by Patricia McKissack,
illustrated by Gordon James

In 1879, thirteen-year-old Everett Turner leaves a life of struggle on his family's farm and runs away to St. Louis, where he works in a livery stable before heading to the all-Black town of Nicodemus, Kansas. Second in a series.

Clementine
by Sara Pennypacker,
illustrated by Marla Frazee

While sorting through difficulties in her friendship with her neighbor Margaret, eight-year-old Clementine gains several unique hairstyles while also helping her father in his efforts to banish pigeons from the front of their apartment building.

	Star Jumper by Frank Asch	Determined to get far away from his evil little brother, Alex works to design a spaceship that will take him so far away from Earth that not even the NASA experts can find him.
	The Boy Who Saved Cleveland by James Giblin, illustrated by Michael Dooling	During a malaria epidemic in late eighteenth-century Cleveland, Ohio, ten-year-old Seth Doan surprises his family, his neighbors, and himself by having the strength to carry and grind enough corn to feed everyone.
	The Year of the Dog by Grace Lin	Frustrated at her seeming lack of talent for anything, a young Taiwanese American girl sets out to apply the lessons of the Chinese Year of the Dog, those of making best friends and finding oneself, to her own life.
	Ruby Lu, Empress of Everything by Lenore Look, illustrated by Anne Wilsdorf	After Ruby Lu's deaf cousin, Flying Duck, and her parents come from China to live with her, Ruby finds life challenging as she adjusts to her new family, tries to mend her rocky relationship with her friend Emma, and faces various adventures in summer school. Second in a series
	Away West by Patricia McKissack, illustrated by Gordon James	In 1879, thirteen-year-old Everett Turner leaves a life of struggle on his family's farm and runs away to St. Louis, where he works in a livery stable before heading to the all-Black town of Nicodemus, Kansas. Second in a series.
	Clementine by Sara Pennypacker, illustrated by Marla Frazee	While sorting through difficulties in her friendship with her neighbor Margaret, eight-year-old Clementine gains several unique hairstyles while also helping her father in his efforts to banish pigeons from the front of their apartment building.