The votes are in, and Wendelin Van Draanen has won the 2013 Dorothy Canfield Fisher Book Award for The Running Dream! Planning for the award ceremony is underway.
(Kudos to the readers of Edmunds Middle School, who predicted the winning title!)
2 comments Posted in Uncategorized April 22, 2013
Okay, DCF readers, it’s time to vote! Which book do you think should win, and why?
5 comments Posted in Uncategorized April 9, 2013
by Avi.
In 1893 New York, thirteen-year-old Maks, a newsboy, teams up with Willa, a homeless girl, to clear his older sister, Emma, from charges that she stole from the brand new Waldorf Hotel, where she works. Includes historical notes.
70 comments Posted in City of Orphans Tagged: Historical fiction, Mystery, New York City May 13, 2012
by Joan Bauer
Twelve-year-old Foster McFee and her mother escape from her mother’s abusive boyfriend and end up in the small town of Culpepper, West Virginia, where they use their strengths and challenge themselves to build a new life, with the help of the friends they make there.
57 comments Posted in Close to Famous Tagged: Contemporary, Family, Relocating May 13, 2012
by Martha Brooks
Shortly after her first kiss but before her sixteenth birthday in December, 1941, Marie Claire and her younger brother and sister are sent to a tuberculosis sanatorium near their Manitoba farm.
22 comments Posted in Queen of Hearts Tagged: Family, Historical fiction, Relocating May 13, 2012
by Andrew Clements
When his older brother gets in serious trouble, sixth-grader Clay decides to change his own mischief-making ways, but he cannot seem to shake his reputation as a troublemaker.
69 comments Posted in Troublemaker Tagged: Contemporary, Family, School May 13, 2012
by Jacqueline Davies
When money disappears from fourth-grader Evan’s pocket and everyone thinks that his annoying classmate Scott stole it, Evan’s younger sister stages a trial involving the entire class, trying to prove what happened.
93 comments Posted in Lemonade Crime Tagged: Friendship, Mystery, School May 13, 2012
by Carmen Agra Deedy & Randall Wright
A community of mice and a cheese-loving cat form an unlikely alliance at London’s Cheshire Cheese, an inn where Charles Dickens finds inspiration and Queen Victoria makes an unexpected appearance.
17 comments Posted in Cheshire Cheese Cat Tagged: Animals, Fantasy, Historical fiction May 13, 2012
by Barry Denenberg
In a unique combination of fiction and nonfiction Denenberg presents the true story of the building, launching and sinking of the Titanic.
39 comments Posted in Titanic Sinks! Tagged: Adventure, Historical fiction, Nonfiction May 13, 2012
by Candace Fleming
In alternating chapters, Fleming moves back and forth between Amelia’s life and the exhaustive search for her and her missing plane.
17 comments Posted in Amelia Lost Tagged: Adventure, Biography, Mystery, Nonfiction May 13, 2012
by Helen Frost
When fourteen-year-olds Wren and Darra meet at a Michigan summer camp, both are overwhelmed by memories from six years earlier when Darra’s father stole a car, unaware that Wren was hiding in the back.
39 comments Posted in Hidden Tagged: Adventure, Friendship, Mystery, Poetry May 13, 2012
by Patricia Reilly Giff
Three city siblings, now living on a farm during the Great Depression, must survive on their own when their father takes a construction job miles away
18 comments Posted in R My Name is Rachel Tagged: Animals, Family, Historical fiction, Relocating May 13, 2012
by James Howe
Outspoken thirteen-year-old Addie Carle learns about love, loss, and staying true to herself as she navigates seventh grade, enjoys a visit from her grandmother, fights with her boyfriend, and endures gossip and meanness from her former best friend.
27 comments Posted in Addie on the Inside Tagged: Contemporary, Friendship, Grandparents May 13, 2012
by Jennifer Richard Jacobson
Abandoned by his mother in an Acadia National Park campground, Jack tries to make his way back to Boston before anyone figures out what is going on, with only a small toy elephant for company.
29 comments Posted in Small as an Elephant Tagged: Adventure, Bad parents, Contemporary, Family May 13, 2012
by Thanhha Lai
Through a series of poems, a young girl chronicles the life-changing year of 1975, when she, her mother, and her brothers leave Vietnam and resettle in Alabama.
24 comments Posted in Inside Out and Back Again Tagged: Biography, Family, Relocating May 13, 2012
by Patricia MacLachlan
When Papa goes away for a little while, his family tries to cope with the separation by adopting four dogs and a cat.
32 comments Posted in Waiting For the Magic Tagged: Animals, Contemporary, Family, Fantasy May 13, 2012
by Maile Maloy
Follows a fourteen-year-old American girl whose life unexpectedly transforms when she moves to London in 1952 and gets swept up in a race to save the world from nuclear war.
77 comments Posted in Apothecary Tagged: Fantasy, Historical fiction, Relocating May 13, 2012
by Kadir Nelson
A simple introduction to African-American history, from Revolutionary-era slavery up to the election of President Obama.
13 comments Posted in Heart and Soul Tagged: Nonfiction May 13, 2012
by Katherine and John Paterson
A magical amulet brings power and despair to those who touch it.
50 comments Posted in Flint Heart Tagged: Fantasy May 13, 2012
by Erica Perl
Zelly Fried wants a dog more than anything, so at the urging of her grandfather, during the summer before sixth grade she takes care of a “practice dog” made out of an orange juice jug to show her parents that she is ready for the responsibility, even though she is sometimes not entirely sure about the idea.
38 comments Posted in When Life Gives You O.J. Tagged: Animals, Contemporary, Family, Grandparents May 13, 2012
by Bobbie Pyron
After a car accident strands them at opposite ends of the Blue Ridge Parkway, eleven-year-old Abby and her beloved sheltie Tam overcome months filled with physical and emotional challenges to find their way back to each other.
53 comments Posted in Dog's Way Home Tagged: Adventure, Animals, Contemporary May 13, 2012
by Allen Say
Part memoir, part graphic novel, part narrative history, this presents a complex look at the real-life relationship between a mentor and his student. Contains watercolor paintings, original cartoons, photographs, and maps.
16 comments Posted in Drawing From Memory Tagged: Biography, Graphic, Relocating, School May 13, 2012
by Pat Schmatz
Everything changes for thirteen-year-old Travis, a new student who is trying to hide a learning disability, when he meets a remarkable teacher and a sassy classmate with her own secrets.
15 comments Posted in Bluefish Tagged: Friendship, School May 13, 2012
by Gary D. Schmidt
As a fourteen-year-old who just moved to a new town, with no friends, an abusive father, and a louse for an older brother, Doug Swieteck has everything stacked against him until he finds an ally in Lil Spicer–a fiery young lady. Together, they find a safe haven in the local library, inspiration in learning about the plates of John James Audubon’s birds, and a hilarious adventure on a Broadway stage.
20 comments Posted in Okay For Now Tagged: Bad parents, Family, Friendship May 13, 2012
by Brian Selznick
Spanning the fifty years from 1927 to 1977, the stories of Rose and Ben, told respectively through images and words, come together in New York.
67 comments Posted in Wonderstruck Tagged: Adventure, Graphic, Historical fiction, Mystery, New York City May 13, 2012
by Wendy Wan-Long Shang
Eleven-year-old aspiring basketball star and interior designer Lucy Wu is excited about finally having her own bedroom, until she learns that her great-aunt is coming to visit and Lucy will have to share a room with her for several months, shattering her plans for a perfect sixth-grade year.
21 comments Posted in Great Wall of Lucy Wu Tagged: Contemporary, Family, Grandparents, Sports May 13, 2012
by Roland Smith
Twelve-year-old Chase Masters travels the country with his father, a “storm runner,” but he is tested in ways he never could have imagined when he and a new friend are caught in a hurricane near St. Petersburg, Florida.
62 comments Posted in Storm Runners Tagged: Adventure, Contemporary, Friendship May 13, 2012
by Diane Stanley
From the age of seven when she became scullery maid in a castle, Molly has seen visions of the future which, years later, lead her and friend Tobias on an adventure to keep Alaric, the heir to the throne, safe from a curse.
16 comments Posted in Silver Bowl Tagged: Adventure, Fantasy, Friendship May 13, 2012
by Wendelin Van Draanen
When a school bus accident leaves sixteen-year-old Jessica an amputee, she returns to school with a prosthetic limb and her track team finds a wonderful way to help rekindle her dream of running again.
45 comments Posted in Running Dream Tagged: Contemporary, Friendship, School, Sports May 13, 2012
by Audrey Vernick
With her best friends pulling away from her, her newly-separated parents deciding she should spend the summer at her father’s new home, and a babysitting job she does not want, Marley’s life is already as precarious as an overfull water balloon when a cute boy enters the picture.
43 comments Posted in Water Balloon Tagged: Contemporary, Family, Friendship, Marley May 13, 2012
by Meg Wolitzer
Twelve-year-olds Duncan Dorfman, April Blunt, and Nate Saviano meet at the Youth Scrabble Tournament where, although each has a different reason for attending and for needing to win, they realize that something more important is at stake than the grand prize.
21 comments Posted in Fingertips of Duncan Dorfman Tagged: Competition, Contemporary May 13, 2012
by Lisa Yee
Marley Sandelski has always felt invisible at school when he is not facing bullies, but a series of unexpected events gives him a taste of popularity and insights into some classmates, well-liked or greatly-feared.
24 comments Posted in Warp Speed Tagged: Bullying, Contemporary, Marley, School May 13, 2012
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6 comments Posted in Uncategorized November 11, 2008
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