Monarch Award

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Monarch Award

• Nominees 2007

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Almost Late to School and More School Poems
By Carol Diggory Shields (Dutton, 2003) Here are
rhymes about jump rope, fund raisers, snakes,
nicknames, and an attack of the giggles but the
best one is on the very last page, Poem for Two
Voices. Find a friend and read it
together. MORE Lunch Money by Carol Diggory
Shields
3
Clever Beatrice An Upper Peninsula Conte By
Margaret Willey (Atheneum, 2001) Beatrice is
smart but the giant isnt. Her family is so poor
that they are down to their last meal. So
Beatrice sets out to win a bet with the giant and
get cash. How can she make him believe that she
is stronger than he is? Clever Beatrice. As is
common with many folktales, readers can dissect
this for ethical behavior and other points of
view. Beautiful pictures. MORE Not One Damsel
in Distress World Folktales for Strong Women by
Jane Yolen.
4
Come to My Party and Other Shape Poems By Heidi
Roemer (Holt, 2004) A visual delight with poetry
about seasonal items such as birds, kites, and
ocean waves. Charming shape poems to help
children make connections between the visual and
the auditory. A great tool for reading teachers
wonderful for read aloud. MORE A Poke in the
I, by Paul Janeckzo and Outside the Lines by
Brad Burg.
5
Coming On Home Soon By Jacqueline Woodson
(Putnam. 2004) A gentle, tender story of a little
girl during World War II who loves and misses her
mother. Mom has gone to Chicago to work while Ada
Ruth stays home with her grandmother. Woodson
and Lewis deserve the Caldecott honor for this
book. Words and pictures create a mood that small
children will feel and understand. MORE Owl
Moon by Jane Yolen Smoky Night by Eve Bunting
6
Elisa Michaels, Bigger Better By Johanna
Hurwitz (HarperCollins, 2003) Six short stories,
in chapters, about second-grader Elisa Michaels
and her family. Elisa has an eleven year old
brother, Russell, and a two year old brother,
Marshall. Elisa calls him Marshie because hes
soft as a marshmallow. Elisas experiences will
be familiar and comforting as well as fresh and
funny to her lucky readers. RL GR 2-4 Younger
for Read Aloud MORE Eliza books E for Eliza,
Summertime for Eliza and 4 more.
7
Falling for Rapunzel By Leah Wilcox (Putnam,
2003) This silly take on a serious, even scary
fairy tale removes all fear as well as any other
intent for this ancient tale. What is has here is
a persistent prince and a Rapunzel ever-willing
to toss her belongings out of her tower window.
Rhymes that rhyme and usually scan and pictures
that pop add much frivolity to the nonsense.
MORE Sleeping Ugly by Jane Yolen Chicken
Little by Stephen Kellogg The True Story of the
Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka Cinderella
Penguin by Janet Perlman.
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Goin Someplace Special By Patricia McKissack
(Atheneum, 2001) This is a story about a child,
irrepressible in her love of life and belief in
herself, who must face a difficult time to reach
a place she loves. Tricia Ann is allowed to go to
the public library by herself for the first time
in the 1950s segregated South. The librarys
sign said, All are Welcome. Tricia Ann was
reassured by others as she faced indignities to
get there. McKissack herself faced these
injustices which makes the story all the more
believable. MORE Mirandy and Brother Wind by
Patricia McKissack.
9
Gus and Grandpa at Basketball By Claudia Mills
(Farrar, 2001) The best of the best in an easy to
read book is here in this fresh, real and worthy
read. Dan is learning to play basketball. He is
on the team and he practices at Grandpas.
Grandpa understands what its like to be learning
and playing for the first time. Genuine
relationships and facets of the game are
illustrated. Good read-aloud. Good for kids,
especially boys, just reading on their own. MORE
Gus and Grandpa and five others in the series.
10
I Aint Gonna Paint No More By Karen Beaumont
(Harcourt, 2005) Glorious color, joyful artistic
abandon and a traditional song band together to
make an appealingly gleeful read-aloud. It can be
sung or spoken with equal effectiveness. Young
children will be singing along and you all will
have a great time. MORE Compare with Old Black
Fly by Jim Aylesworth illustrations by Stephen
Gammell.
11
Judy Moody Gets Famous By Megan McDonald
(Candlewick, 2001) Judy Moody is in the mood for
FAME when she thinks that everyone but her is
famous for something. She is especially
determined since archrival Jessica has a tiara
and a newspaper picture because she won the
spelling bee. Judy sets out to become famous, but
her plans never quite make it. When she does
something because she wants to and not for fame,
the newspaper picks up this story and Judy is
famous, anonymously. She decides she likes having
this little secret. MORE Judy Moody and six
other titles in this winning series for third
grade readers.
12
Manana Iguana By Ann Whitford Paul (Holiday
House, 2004) The Little Red Hen with a Latin
twist and a few Spanish words. Iguana, Conejo,
Tortuga, and Culebra are excited about having a
spring party, but only Iguana is willing to do
any of the work. MORE The Little Red Hen Makes
a Pizza by Philemon Sturges a version of the
original Little Red Hen by Byron Barton.
13
Mercy Watson to the Rescue By Kate DiCamillo
(Candlewick, 2005) Mercy Watson is a very lucky
pig. She lives in a house with Mr. and Mrs.
Watson who love her dearly. She eats toast and
naps on the couch and listens to her special
lullaby. She is lonely only at night after the
lights go out and the lullaby is over. One night
she climbs in bed with the Watsons, but, oh,
there is a creeek and a crack and the bed begins
to sink. Mercy hops out of bed in search of . . .
you guessed it, toast, but she finds more than
that in this action packed night-time
frolic. MORE Dumpy La Rue by Elizabeth Winthrop
Hog-eye by Susan Meddaugh
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Mighty Jackie The Strike Out Queen By Marissa
Moss (Simon Schuster, 2004) Jackie Mitchell
could play baseball and she could pitch. Her dad
told her she could be good at whatever she worked
at. She dreamed of playing in the World Series
but the closest she got was striking out The
Sultan of Swat, Babe Ruth himself. A true story
of a time before girls were allowed to play
sports thank heaven times have changed. MORE
The Girl Who Struck Out Babe Ruth by Jean L. S.
Patrick Dirt on their Skirts by Doreen
Rappaport.
15
Mrs. Watson Wants Your Teeth By Alison McGhee
(Harcourt, 2004) Whats a girl to do when she
hears from her bus partner on the first day of
first grade that her new teacher is a 300 year
old alien with a purple tongue who collects baby
teeth? -- Keep her mouth shut for the WHOLE
year! Yes, but then, theres a problem . . . Can
she solve it? Harry Bliss cartoons add
giggle-ready comical detail. MORE Miss Nelson is
Missing by James Marshall Teach Us, Amelia
Bedelia by Peggy Parish
16
My Light By Molly Bang (Blue Sky Pr ,
2004) Molly Bang makes electricity seem like a
tangible, real thing in this unusual book linking
the light of the sun with all the energy of the
earth. The illustrations help to make the
connections that help us realize how much the sun
means to us in ways that go beyond sunbathing and
growing plants. Accessible to children and
adults, this is a book to think about. MORE I
wish there were more like this.
17
Superdog The Heart of a Hero By Caralyn Buehner
(HarperCollins, 2003) Dexter the Dachshund is
tired of the constant ribbing he takes from
Cleevis the Cat, so he trains exhaustively and
bones up on super-heroism. He buys a costume
and begins doing small heroic deeds, but Cleevis
still taunts him until the old tomcat himself is
in need of a super rescue. Readers will cheer
this all heart hound and want more. MORE
Fannys Dream by Caralyn Buehner.
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The Tale of Tricky Fox A New England Trickster
Tale By Jim Aylesworth (Scholastic, 2001) Tricky
Fox knows he is tricky and is proud of it. He
even bets he can trick a little old lady out of a
pig. Illinois author and first grade teacher,
Jim Aylesworth retells this old folktale with his
rich talent for rhythm and rhyme. He adds a tiny
twist at the end that will cause more tricksters
than Tricky Fox to sit up and take notice. The
illustrations are a perfect match. MORE Zomo the
Rabbit by Gerald McDermott Love and Roast
Chicken by Barbara Knutson
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What Do You Do With A Tail Like This By Steve
Jenkins (Houghton, 2003) Tails, noses, mouths,
ears, eyes and feet of very different animals are
each grouped together on one page allowing
speculation about what the animal is and how it
uses its body part. The explanations follow on
the next double page spread. Great for
interactive discussion about important animal
characteristics. Addresses IL State Learning
Goals in science for Elementary. MORE Actual
Size Biggest, Strongest, Fastest and other books
by Steve Jenkins.
20
Whos Afraid of the Big Bad Book By Lauren Child
(Hyperion, 2002) Herb, who is not very good at
caring for his books, is sucked inside one of
them when he falls asleep reading. Disgruntled by
misplaced moustaches, horned heads and cut-out
characters, none of the protagonists wants him in
their stories. Herb must make amends and manages
to appease everyone but the ill-mannered
Goldilocks. MORE Prerequisites Puss in Boots,
Rapunzel, Cinderella, Hansel and Gretel,
Goldilocks and the Three Bears.
21
Wild About Books By Judy Sierra (Knopf, 2004) In
this story in rhyme, bookmobile librarian Molly
McGrew accidentally drives her library into the
zoo and the zoo critters are drawn to this new
thing called reading. They crawl all over each
other and the books to find out more. Bright bold
color, plenty of action, and rhyme that boths
scans and rhymes is a lot to ask for but its all
here. MORE Pair with other books about animals
that love books such as Book! Book Book! by
Deborah Bruss.