The Running Dream Wins!

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

Which Book Should Win?

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

City of Orphans

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:  , , May 13, 2012

Close to Famous

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:  , , May 13, 2012

Queen of Hearts

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:  , , May 13, 2012

Troublemaker

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:  , , May 13, 2012

The Lemonade Crime

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:  , , May 13, 2012

The Cheshire Cheese Cat: A Dickens of a Tale

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:  , , May 13, 2012

Titanic Sinks!

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:  , , May 13, 2012

Amelia Lost: The Life and Disappearance of Amelia Earhart

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:  , , , May 13, 2012

Hidden

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:  , , , May 13, 2012

R My Name is Rachel

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:  , , , May 13, 2012

Addie on the Inside

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:  , , May 13, 2012

Small as an Elephant

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:  , , , May 13, 2012

Inside Out and Back Again

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:  , , May 13, 2012

Waiting For the Magic

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:  , , , May 13, 2012

The Apothecary

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:  , , May 13, 2012

Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans

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:  May 13, 2012

The Flint Heart

by Katherine and John Paterson

A magical amulet brings power and despair to those who touch it.

50 comments Posted in  Flint Heart  Tagged:  May 13, 2012

When Life Gives You O.J.

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:  , , , May 13, 2012

A Dog’s Way Home

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:  , , May 13, 2012

Drawing From Memory

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:  , , , May 13, 2012

Bluefish

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:  , May 13, 2012

Okay For Now

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:  , , May 13, 2012

Wonderstruck

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:  , , , , May 13, 2012

The Great Wall of Lucy Wu

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:  , , , May 13, 2012

Storm Runners

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:  , , May 13, 2012

The Silver Bowl

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:  , , May 13, 2012

The Running Dream

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:  , , , May 13, 2012

Water Balloon

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:  , , , May 13, 2012

The Fingertips of Duncan Dorfman

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:  , May 13, 2012

Warp Speed

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:  , , , May 13, 2012

Make Sure Your Comments Count!

Please remember:

  • Comments will not appear until they have been approved by a moderator.
  • Keep your comments (and nicknames) appropriate.
  • **No Spoilers!** (don’t give the endings away).
  • Do not use too many exclamation points. Lines & lines of uninterrupted punctuation make the blog hard to read.
  • Make sure your post makes sense. Gibberish is unhelpful & inappropriate.
  • Posts should be about DCF books.
  • IP addresses are recorded. If we receive many inappropriate comments from one site, we might need to ban everyone using those computers. Please be thoughtful of your fellow readers.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts and opinions!

6 comments Posted in  Uncategorized November 11, 2008


Titles

Themes

Recent Comments