Pennsylvania Young Readers

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(No Transcript)
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Pennsylvania Young Readers Choice Award

• 2012-2013
• Grade 3 Grade 6

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Unforgettable Season The Story of Joe DiMaggio,
Ted Williams and the Record-Setting Summer of '41
by Phil Bildner illustrated by S. D. Schindler
At the start of the 1941 baseball season,
neither Joe DiMaggio of the New York Yankees nor
Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox were beloved
by baseball fans. But all that soon changed with
DiMaggios 56 game hitting streak and Williams
impressive .400 batting average. Baseball appeals
to all ages and genders and whether you are a
Yankee Fan or a Red Sox Fan, you cant help but
admire the winning spirit and work ethic of these
two baseball legends. This book reads as if it
were a conversation between the reader and an
avid baseball fan as he alternates between the
amazing summers of Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams
and the our joy and love of the game. Play ball!
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Because Of Mr. Terupt by Rob Buyea What do
you do when your teacher is not acting normal?
Do you complain about him? Seven fifth graders at
Snow Hill School discuss how their lives have
been changed by Mr. Terupt. He does not teach in
the normal way, instead he lets the students
figure things out for themselves. When Mr. Terupt
goes into a coma after getting hit on the head
with an ice ball thrown by a student, they all
realize that he is a very special person. Read
this book to find out what good news all the
students get when Mr. Terupt comes back for the
last day of school.
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Spunky Tells All by Ann Cameron illustrated by
Lauren Castillo Spunky the dog lives with Julian
and Huey Bates from The Stories Julian Tells
series and describes his family from a dogs
point of view. Being a clever dog he knows what
Sit, Stay, Come, Shake Hands and Good Dog mean.
Unfortunately, Spunky also knows what Bad Dog
means too. When he misbehaves and accidentally
swallows Mr. Bates sock, he is in big trouble.
Discussing Spunkys problem without even asking
his opinion, Julian suggests getting a cat to
keep Spunky company. The family agrees and a
fluffy spoiled cat named Fiona moves in.
Horrified by his new playmate Spunky tries to
ignore her nasty tricks of drinking out of his
water bowl and mushing up his Nibbles. Read to
find out what Spunky does when Fiona goes missing
and no one in the Bates family can find her.
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The Cheshire Cat A Dickens of a Tale Carmen Agra
Deedy and Randall Wright illustrated by Barry
Moser For Skilley, a ragged eared cat with
multiple scrapes, scars and a broken tail, the
famous pub, Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese seems like
the perfect place to relax. Famous for the
grandest cheese in England, the pub is infested
with fat mice indulging themselves. Tired of a
life scavenging and battling other Toms for food,
Skilley finds hes ready for a change. He slinks
in the front door of Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese.
Noticing his cruel-looking appearance, the
innkeeper realizes almost immediately this mouser
is just what the inn requires. The Cheshire
Cheese attracts the finest writers in London,
such as Charles Dickens, Wilkie Collins, William
Makepeace Thackery, and Edward Bulwer-Lytton.
Skilley does notice that Mr. Dickens often
curiously examines him. Life soon proves to be
difficult at the Inn as the mice are too clever
to manipulate and an old nemesis returns. H
threatens to become the head mouser of Ye Olde
Cheshire Cheese and finish off a fight the two
adversaries began long ago. Read to discover the
secret that Skilley is too ashamed to share and
some unimaginable friendships that change his
life forever.
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Titanic Sinks! by Barry Denenberg Weve all
read books about the catastrophic sinking of the
Titanic. This one is different. Dennenberg gives
us a remarkably fresh perspective by presenting a
combination of fact and fiction to retell the
story from the building and launching of the
world class ship to its unbelievable sinking and
botched rescue. The author creates a true you
are there feeling through photographs, fictional
diary entries, newspaper articles, journalists
notes, interviews, menus, provision lists and
much more. We meet both the heroes and the
cowards. We sense the initial denial and
confusion, and then feel the fear and panic in
our chest as the reality of the situation becomes
obvious. We cant help but ask ourselves what we
would have done if we were there. Dennenberg
based everything on factual information from
extensive research. It includes plenty of
fascinating photographs including one picture of
the iceberg that may have been the one to take
down the Titanic. You wont be able to put this
book down until the last page is read.
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Tuesday at the Castle by Jessica Day George
Princess Celies favorite day is Tuesday
thats the day that the Castle Glower adds a new
room, moves a room, or redecorates. Celies
family has always had a special relationship with
the Castle, but Celie seems to have an even
closer bond. Disaster strikes. The king and
queens entourage are attacked while they are on
their way to their oldest sons graduation from
Wizard School and now they are missing, presumed
dead. The Councilors are pushing Prince Rolf to
declare himself King. Will the Castle protect the
family or declare allegiance to a new king? Will
Celies maps of the castle help her save the
family and the Castle? If you like action and
adventure, youll want to read this book!
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Belly Up by Stuart Gibbs Wisecracking twelve
year old Teddy Fitzroy and his parents live at
FunJungle Theme Park in San Antonio, Texas.
Everyone is shocked when Henry the Hippo, the
parks star attraction, is found dead, floating
belly up in his pool. The official word is that
the hippo died of natural causes, but Teddy
suspects otherwise and decides to sneak into the
autopsy (super yucky). When Teddy overhears that
Henry was probably murdered, he begins his own
investigation. Teddy strikes up a friendship with
Sunshine McCracken, feisty daughter of JJ
McCracken, owner of FunJungle and soon they are
swimming through the poop infested waters of the
Hippo River looking for evidence. As they creep
closer to the truth, it becomes clear that the
killer wants Teddy to stop his investigation.
First, he is set up in a much too close encounter
with a poisonous mamba snake and then comes face
to face with a hungry tiger. Coincidence? He
doesnt think so. Find out if Teddy survives the
hippo hi-jinks and solves the murder of Henry the
Hippo.
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The Boy Who Invented TV The Story of Philo
Farnsworth by Kathleen Krull illustrated by
Greg Couch What happens to a boy with big ideas
who dreams of bringing people together to share
his sense of wonder in the world? That boy just
might grow up to invent something wonderful, like
television. Philo Farnsworth grew up working
hard, studying hard, and learning about the
thrilling world of magnetism and electricity,
despite being teased and bullied at school. Read
The Boy who Invented TV to find out how a 14-year
old boy plowing a potato field envisioned how
images could be transmitted.
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Benjamin Franklinstein Lives! by Matthew
McElligott and Larry Tuxbury illustrated by
Matthew McElligott. What do potatoes, exploding
volcanoes, and a 200 year-old inventor have in
common? Just ask Victor. Middle school student
Victor is determined to win this years science
fair, so he carefully analyzes and determines the
best paths to follow. But his well-ordered life
and plan are jolted when he discovers a secret
basement in his house that leads to an
electrifying discovery! None other than THE
Benjamin Franklin is alive and wellwith some
slight modifications such as bolts in his neck
and ripples of blue static that shimmer from his
fingers. Join Victor and Ben as they race around
Philadelphia sending shock-waves everywhere they
go!

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Masters of Disaster by Gary Paulsen Henry
Mosley watched a documentary and decided he and
his two friends Riley and Reed should have some
adventures. Im working to create a series of
tasks that will Prove Our Manhood and show us
What Were Made Of. And if we play our cards
right, we might Alter the Course of History a
time or two. And, of course, Impress Girls and
Get Them to Notice Us. Henry designs the
adventures, Riley records them and Reed, of
course, is the one to carry out the assignments.
Their first task is to break the worlds record
for the most forward airborne summersaults on a
bike, and what better place to launch their
attempt then from their vacationing neighbors
roof? How can they top this adventure? Youll
have to read the book to discover more of their
disasters.
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Around the World by Matt Phelan Who hasnt
heard of the book Around the World in Eighty Days
by Jules Verne? Many of us also know that book
was the inspiration for many races around the
world including, most famously, one by
Pennsylvania-born journalist Nellie Bly
(Elizabeth Corchran) in 1889. Phelan includes
three tales of courageous travelers who journey
around the planet. The first is the obscure
cyclist, Thomas Stevens, who in 1884 bicycled
around the world on a bicycle with the huge front
whee! Nelly Blys challenge to travel around the
world in less than 80 days is the second. And the
third traveler in this collection is retired sea
captain Joshua Slocum who sailed around the world
alone in 1895. Phelans graphic novel inspires
all of us to reach for the stars and set our
sights on nothing short of the world.
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Aliens on Vacation by Clete Barrett Smith
David Scrub Elliot isnt happy about leaving
his friends and basketball camp in Florida to
spend the summer with his grandmother at her
Intergalactic Bed and Breakfast in the Pacific
northwest. Scrub soon discovers that the guests
are a bit on the odd side, in fact they appear to
be travelers from other planets! Soon Scrub is in
charge of dressing the aliens and helping them
maintain their cover as tourists while the
local sheriff and his daughter cast their
suspicious eyes over the inn and its strange
inhabitants.
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The Emerald Atlas by John Stephens Life has
been hard for Kate, Michael and Emma. Tossed from
orphanage to orphanage over the past ten years,
they end up in a gloomy, mysterious stone house
in Cambridge Falls, where they appear to be the
only orphans! Touring the mansion, they discover
an iron-barred room with 60 old dormitory beds,
secret passageways, and a mysterious book which
whisks them back to a time in Cambridge Falls
when families are separated, children are
prisoners, dwarves exist and magic is real! The
siblings meet the Countess, Dr. Pym, Abraham and
Gabriel and have to discover who will help and
who is really their enemy. Along the way they
realize it is up to them to not only save
Cambridge Falls, but the world! Are you up to the
challenge to discover the secrets with Kate,
Michael and Emma?
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My Life as a Book by Janet Tashjian
illustrations by Jake Tashjian Twelve year old
Derek Fallon is looking forward to a summer
filled with tossing avocado grenades, smashing
action figures under trucks and climbing onto his
garage roof to mess with the satellite dish in
his California home. His parents have other plans
for him however, and send him to Learning Day
Camp for six weeks. Derek is miserable but
uncovers a major distraction in his attic. He
finds a ten year old newspaper article about an
accidental death of teenage girl on a Marthas
Vineyard beach. His parents dont want to fully
explain the event but somehow Derek knows he is
connected to this mystery. He sets out to
discover the truth behind the girls death. If
you like Wimpy Kids Jeff, you will love Derek
too. This is a very funny, satisfying story.
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Meadowlands A Wetlands Survival Story by Thomas
F. Yezerski Have you ever gone to New York City
with your family by car, train or bus, and passed
an area that looked all swampy and flat. Have you
wondered what it was? Welcome to the Meadowlands,
a huge wetlands area in New Jersey where the
Hackensack River meets the Newark Bay. In this
book, author Thomas Yezerski explains wetlands
areas where freshwater and salt water from the
ocean meet and make the ground swampy, spongy,
and flat. Lots of very interesting plants and
animals thrive in wetlands, things like bog
turtles, ospreys and sunflowers. Read about how
glaciers formed the Meadlowlands thousands of
years ago. Learn about the Lenni Lenape Indians
who first started living there, and the European
settlers who followed them. After decades of
polluting the area with industrial by-products,
read about how people started to realize the
value of the Meadowlands and began efforts to
save them from destruction. If you are a nature
freak who loves exploring outdoors, you are going
to love this book. If you love drawing things
from nature, you are going to love Mr. Yezerski's
art work as well. You might even want to find out
more about mummichogs, and impress your friends!
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Remember, it is easy to participate. Just read or
listen to at least 3 books from the list by March
1, 2013. At that time Mrs. Haltiwanger will
distribute ballots. Votes will be sent to the
awards committee by March 15 and the winning
titles and authors will be announced at the
annual Pennsylvania School Librarians
Conference.Keep reading!!!
Annotations adapted from psla.org.