Short List Three

This is the third of four "short lists" we will prepare for this year's Mock Newbery at the Allen County Public Library.

Short List Number 3:

• The Postcard by Tony Abbott

• Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson

• Magic Half by Annie Barrows

• Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

• Hate That Cat by Sharon Creech

• Brooklyn Bridge by Karen Hesse

• My One Hundred Adventures by Polly Horvath

• Clementine's Letter by Sara Pennypacker

• Keeping the Night Watch by Hope Anita Smith

• Little Audrey by Ruth White

Click here to see our 1st reading list of the year which was published in June. Click here to see our 2nd reading list of the year which was published in August. Click here to access all three lists in a printable format.

While we will continue to discuss a wide variety of books on our blog -- and we encourage comments on all of them -- we believe the books on the short lists are particularly strong. They are also destined to be "brought to the table" to be discussed in more depth at our Mock Newbery Election discussion to be held on Saturday, January 19, 2009.

If you'd like to suggest a book for the next (and last) list, just send me an email or leave a comment.

Happy Reading!

Hate That Cat by Sharon Creech

September 12

I hate that cat
like a dog hates a rat
I said I hate that cat
like a dog hates a rat

The abstract is hidden because it may contain spoilers. If you would like to read the full summary, simply use your cursor to highlight the next few lines and it will magically appear.

Abstract: Jack is studying poetry again in school, and he continues to write poems reflecting his understanding of famous poems and how they relate to his life.

Harper Collins; 148 pages

Little Audrey by Ruth White

"It is a golden day in May 1948."

The abstract is hidden because it may contain spoilers. If you would like to read the full summary, simply use your cursor to highlight the next few lines and it will magically appear.

Abstract: In 1948, eleven-year-old Audrey lives with her father, mother, and three younger sisters in Jewell Valley, a coal mining camp in Southwest Virginia, where her mother still mourns the death of a baby, her father goes on drinking binges on paydays, and Audrey tries to recover from the scarlet fever that has left her skinny and needing to wear glasses.

Publisher: Farrar Strauss Giroux, 146 pages

My One Hundred Adventures by Polly Horvath

"All summers take me back to the sea."

The abstract is hidden because it may contain spoilers. If you would like to read the full summary, simply use your cursor to highlight the next few lines and it will magically appear.

Abstract: Twelve-year-old Jane, who lives at the beach in a run-down old house with her mother, two brothers, and sister, has an eventful summer accompanying her pastor on bible deliveries, meeting former boyfriends of her mother's, and being coerced into babysitting for a family of ill-mannered children.

Publisher: Schwartz & Wade; 260 pages

Brooklyn Bridge by Karen Hesse

"The guys say I'm lucky."

The abstract is hidden because it may contain spoilers. If you would like to read the full summary, simply use your cursor to highlight the next few lines and it will magically appear.

Abstract: In 1903 Brooklyn, fourteen-year-old Joseph Michtom's life changes for the worse when his parents, Russian immigrants, invent the teddy bear and turn their apartment into a factory, while nearby the glitter of Coney Island contrasts with the dismal lives of children dwelling under the Brooklyn Bridge.

Publisher: Feiwel and Friends, 229 pages

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

"When I wake up, the other side of the bed is cold."

The abstract is hidden because it may contain spoilers. If you would like to read the full summary, simply use your cursor to highlight the next few lines and it will magically appear.

Abstract: In a future North America, where the rulers of Panem maintain control through an annual televised survival competition pitting young people from each of the twelve districts against one another, sixteen-year-old Katniss's skills are put to the test when she voluntarily takes her younger sister's place.

Publisher: Scholastic, 374 pages

The Magic Half by Annie Barrows

"Only Miri had no twin."

The abstract is hidden because it may contain spoilers. If you would like to read the full summary, simply use your cursor to highlight the next few lines and it will magically appear.

Abstract: Eleven-year-old Miri Gill feels left out in her family, which has two sets of twins and her, until she travels back in time to 1935 and discovers Molly, her own lost twin, and brings her back to the present day.

Publisher: Bloomsbury; 211 pages

Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson

"The best time to talk to ghosts is

just before the sun comes up."

The Summary is hidden because it may contain spoilers. If you would like to read the full summary, simply use your cursor to highlight the next few lines and it will magically appear.

Summary: After being sold to a cruel couple in New York City, a slave named Isabel spies for the rebels during the Revolutionary War.

Publisher: Simon & Schuster; 300 pages

Keeping the Night Watch by Hope Anita Smith

The first one
is the hardest:
"family" dinner.

The abstract is hidden because it may contain spoilers. If you would like to read the full summary, simply use your cursor to highlight the next few lines and it will magically appear.

Abstract: A thirteen-year-old African American boy chronicles what happens to his family when his father, who temporarily left, returns home and they all must deal with their feelings of anger, hope, abandonment, and fear.

Henry Holt and Company; 73 pages

The Postcard by Tony Abbott

"She died today."

The abstract is hidden because it may contain spoilers. If you would like to read the full summary, simply use your cursor to highlight the next few lines and it will magically appear.

Abstract: While in St. Petersburg, Florida, to help clean out his recently-deceased grandmother's house, thirteen-year-old Jason finds an old postcard which leads him on an adventure that blends figures from an old, unfinished detective story with his family's past.

Publisher: Little, Brown and Company; 354 pages

Clementine's Letter by Sara Pennypacker

"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of . . . ouch!"

The Abstract is hidden to prevent possible spoilers. If you'd like to read this brief summary, just highlight it using your cursor and it will magically appear in the following lines.

Abstract: Clementine can't believe her ears; her beloved teacher, Mr. D'Matz, might be leaving them for the rest of the year to go on a research trip to Egypt! No other teacher has ever understood her impulsiveness, her itch to draw constantly, or her need to play 'Beat the Clock' when the day feels too long. And in his place, he's left a substitute with a whole new set of rules that Clementine just can't figure out. The only solution, she decides, is to hatch a plan to get Mr. D'Matz back. If it means ruining her teacher's once-in-a-lifetime chance -- well, it's worth it. Isn't it?

Publisher: Hyperion Books for Children; 150 pages; Pictures by Marla Frazee