Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award Program

2013 - 2014

Categories

• Picture Book: 15 titles nominated

• Grades 4 – 6: 10 chapter books

nominated – all fiction

• Grades 4 – 6: Graphic Novels! NEW!

• Grades 6 – 8: 10 chapter books

• High School: 10 chapter books

How Does It Work?

• 10 books are nominated.

• Students in Maryland read at least 3

of the nominees for the Grades 4 – 6

Chapter Book and Graphic Novels.

• Students vote in April.

• Winner is announced at the beginning

of May.

Previous Winners

• Frindle, by Andrew Clements

• Because of Winn Dixie, by Kate DiCamillo

• Trading Places with Tank Talbott, by Dori

Butler

• Swindle, by Gordon Korman

• 11 Birthdays, by Wendy Mass

• Last year’s winner:

• Wild Wings, by Gill Lewis

The 2013 – 2014 Grades 4 – 6

Chapter Book Nominees are:

The 2013 – 2014 Grades 4 – 6

Graphic Novel Nominees are:

Grades 4 – 6 Chapter Book

Descriptions:

Glory Be, by Augusta Scattergood

Historical Fiction.

Set in Hanging Moss, Mississippi, in 1964,

Gloriana June Hemphill – known as Glory –

deals with a changing world. From the new

girl in town, to the public debate about who

can use the public swimming pool, Glory

needs to summon the courage to find out

what is really true and who is lying.

Book Trailer

Grave Robber’s Apprentice, by Allan Stratton

Fantasy Fiction

Hans, an orphan raised by a grave robber, helps

Countess Angela Gabriela, nearly thirteen, when

she is torn away from her dream of being a

professional puppetteer by an evil archduke out to

destroy her parents.

Book Trailer

The Great Wall of Lucy Wu,

by Wendy Wan-Long Shang

Realistic Fiction

Eleven-year-old aspiring basketball player and

interior designer Lucy Wu is excited about having

her own bedroom, until she learns that her great-

aunt is coming to visit and Lucy will have to share

her room with her for several months, shattering

her plans for a perfect sixth-grade year.

Book Trailer

Looking For Me, by Betsy Rosenthal

Historical Fiction

In 1936 Baltimore, an eleven-year-old

Jewish girl, one of twelve siblings, tries

to find her place in her overcrowded

family.

Book Trailer

May B., by Caroline Starr Rose

Historical Fiction

When a failed wheat crop nearly

bankrupts the Betterly family, Pa

pulls twelve-year-old May, who

suffers from dyslexia, from school

and hires her out to a couple new to

the Kansas frontier.

Book Trailer

The Mighty Miss Malone,

by Christopher Paul Curtis

Historical Fiction

With love and determination befitting the

"world's greatest family," twelve-year-old

Deza Malone, her older brother Jimmie,

and their parents endure tough times in

Gary, Indiana, and later Flint, Michigan,

during the Great Depression.

Book Trailer

The PS Brothers, by Maribeth Boelts

Realistic Fiction

Sixth-graders Russell and Shawn, poor

and picked on, work together scooping

dog droppings to earn money for a

Rottweiler puppy to protect them from

bullies, but when they learn the puppies'

owner is running an illegal dog-fighting

ring, they are torn about how to respond..

Book Trailer

Saint Louis Armstrong Beach,

by Brenda Woods

Realistic Fiction

As Hurricane Katrina bears down on

New Orleans, Saint is stuck in the city

after escaping evacuation so he can look

for his dog, Shadow, and he, Shadow,

and an elderly neighbor, Miz Moran, take

shelter in her attic.

Summer At Forsaken Lake,

by Michael Beil

Realistic Fiction

Book Trailer

Twelve-year-old Nicholas and his ten-

year-old, twin sisters, Hetty and Haley,

spend the summer with their Great-

Uncle Nick at Forsaken Lake, where he

and their new friend Charlie investigate

the truth about an accident involving

their families many years before.

Ungifted, by Gordon Korman

Realistic Fiction

Due to an administrative mix-up,

troublemaker Donovan Curtis is sent to

the Academy of Scholastic Distinction, a

special program for gifted and talented

students, after pulling a major prank at

middle school.

Book Trailer

Graphic Novel

Descriptions

Gabby & Gator, by James Burks

When an outcast sewer

alligator named Gator meets

a little girl named Gabby,

whose quirkiness and

environmental concern

make it difficult for her to fit

in, they both find out what it

is like to have a friend who

accepts them for who they

are.

Book Trailer

Giants Beware! By Jorge Aguirre

Claudette wants

nothing more than to

slay a giant but her

little village is too safe

and quiet.

Book Trailer

Hilda and the Midnight Giant,

by Luke Pearson

Hilda finds her world turned upside down as

she faces the prospect of leaving her snow-

capped birthplace for the hum of the

megalopolis. Her mother, an architect, has

been offered a prestigious position in the

bustling metropolis that she would find hard

to reject. Besides, the tiny elven creatures

making a daily habit of bombarding them

with threats isn't making Hilda's case any

better. As she seeks ways to stall her

mother's decision, Hilda rushes to befriend

the very source of her malady - will they help

or hinder her? More importantly, who is this

mysterious Midnight Giant?

Little White Duck, by Na Liu

A young girl describes

her experiences

growing up in China,

beginning with the

death of Chairman Mao

in 1976.

Luz Makes a Splash, by Claudia Davila

With a heat wave and

a drought threatening

the city's water

supply, Luz and her

friends dive into the

fight to save the

swimming pond and

Friendship Park.

Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales: One Dead Spy,

by Nathan Hale

Nathan Hale, who was an officer

and spy for the American rebels

during the Revolutionary War,

shares his story, from his

unlucky days at Yale to his later

unlucky days as an officer, with

a hangman and British officer.

Sidekicks, by Dan Santat

When Captain Amazing

feels he is getting too old

to be a reliable superhero,

he tries to hire a new

sidekick, but his pets have

different ideas.

Book Trailer

Unsinkable Walker Bean,

by Aaron Renier

In order to save his ailing

grandfather from a curse, boy

inventor Walker Bean must

return an accursed pearl skull

to the witches who created it,

and face pirates, magical

machines., and deadly

peril along the way.

Wrinkle In Time, by Hope Larson

(Based on the novel by Madeline L’Engle)

A graphic novel adaptation of

the classic tale in which Meg

Murry and her friends become

involved with unearthly

strangers and a search for

Meg's father, who has

disappeared while engaged in

secret work for the

government.

Book Trailer

Zita the Spacegirl, by Ben Hatke

When young Zita discovers a

device that opens a portal to

another place, and her best

friend is abducted, she is

compelled to set out on a

strange journey from star to

star in order to get back home.

Book Trailer

Here’s what YOU do -----

• Read them!

• Keep track of what your read:

– Check off on the sheet in the yellow folder.

– Check off on your copy of the titles sheet.

• You MUST read 3 titles in each category

in order to vote.

• Voting will take place in April.

• NO RESERVES!!!!!

Which one do YOU want to read first?

Which one do you think will win?

Which one do YOU want to read first?

Which one do you think will win?