Batchelder Award

Everyone deserves a quiet, restful retirement. But for John, a newly retired classroom skeleton, life is just beginning. When John is adopted by Grams and Gramps and leaves the classroom to live on their farm, every day is an exciting new adventure: John rides in the car for the first time, makes a snow angel, scares away crooks, and becomes a source of comfort for Grams, Gramps, and their grandkids. With delightful illustrations and a charming cast...

"One rainy night, Kazu sees a strange figure in a white kimono sneak out of his house--was he dreaming? Did he see a ghost? The next day at school, the very same person is sitting in his class--and all his friends are convinced that the ghost-girl Akari has been their friend for years. If that isn't weird enough, Kazu learns that his house is in the exact location of an ancient temple called KimyM, which, legend has it, could bring the dead back to...

With help from his recently-deceased grandfather, new friends and their superhero alter egos, and some paint, Rusty stops the bullies who have been terrorizing their small town. As long as the sun is up, Rusty is just Rusty, but come nightfall, he transforms. Armed with his grandfather's broken pocket watch, paintbrushes, and two cans of brown paint, Rusty's alter ego can do anything! The first book in a highly popular, award-winning middle-grade...

When her best friend, the sailor Henry Koskela, is falsely accused of murder, a gorilla named Sally Jones visits the run-down docks of Lisbon, embarks on a dizzying journey across the seven seas, and calls on the Maharaja of Bhapur's magnificent court--all in an attempt to clear Henry's name.

Eddie is five and a half and thinks she is the only one in her family without a special talent. So when she hears her sister say "birthday-Mommy-fluffy-little-squishy," she worries that her sister will give Mom the better present.

Based on a real series of events that happened during World War II, Soldier Bear tells the story of an orphaned bear cub adopted by a group of Polish soldiers in Iran. The soldiers raise the bear and eventually enlist him as a soldier to ensure that he stays with the company. He travels with them from Iran to Italy, and then on to Scotland. Voytek's mischief gets him into trouble along with way, but he also provides some unexpected encouragement for...

In 1939 Sweden, two Jewish sisters wait for their parents to flee the Nazis in Austria. While eight-year-old Nellie settles in quickly, twelve-year-old Stephie feels stranded at the end of the world, with a foster mother who is as cold and unforgiving as the island on which they live.

Loosely based on Charles Perrault's "Tom Thumb," seven brothers in modern-day France flee their poor parents' farm, led by the youngest who, although mute and unusually small, is exceptionally wise.

Why is a girl forbidden to read or receive an education? This story about a Muslim girl bound by traditional Islamic customs but who yearns for something more explores women’s rights, freedom, religion, and identity.
 
In the Libyan city of Ghadames, Malika watches her merchant father depart on one of his caravan expeditions. She too yearns to travel to distant cities, and longs to learn to read like her younger brother.

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