Miss Julie here, to bring you tidings of great joy for we have more new books! This time, I am featuring four books that are written by award winning authors, specifically, Newberry award-winning authors. What is the Newberry award, you might ask? Well, it is bestowed each year upon the children’s author who is deemed to have made the biggest contribution to American children’s literature. So chances are, if you pick up a book written by one of these distinguished authors, you will experience a very well-written, thought provoking book. So without further ado, here are the four new books along with their Goodreads summaries and rankings.
On the Horizon by Lois Lowry Goodreads gives this book 4.26 stars out of 5. The publisher describes this book as:
“From Lois Lowry comes an account of the lives lost in two of WWII’s most infamous events: Pearl Harbor and Hiroshima. With black-and-white illustrations by Kenard Pak.
Lois Lowry looks back at history through a personal lens as she draws from her own memories as a child in Hawaii and Japan, as well as from historical research, in this work in verse for young readers.
On the Horizon tells the story of people whose lives were lost or forever altered by the twin tragedies of Pearl Harbor and Hiroshima. Composed of poems about individual sailors who lost their lives on the Arizona and about the citizens of Hiroshima who experienced unfathomable horror.”
Echo Mountain by Lauren Wolk While this author has not actually won the Newberry Award, she was bestowed with a Newberry Honor in 2017. Echo Mountain has an outstanding 4.43 stars out of 5 on Goodreads, so this is definitely a book to look into. Here’s the description:
“A young heroine in Depression-era Maine is navigating the rocky terrain of her new life on Echo Mountain.
After the financial crash, Ellie and her family have lost nearly everything–including their home in town. They have started over, carving out a new life in the unforgiving terrain of Echo Mountain. Though her sister Esther, especially, resents everything about the mountain, Ellie has found more freedom, a new strength, and a love of the natural world that now surrounds them. But there is little joy, even for Ellie, as they all struggle with the sorrow and aftermath of an accident that left her father in a coma. An accident for which Ellie has accepted the unearned weight of blame.
Urgent for a cure to bring her father back, Ellie is determined to try anything. Following her heart, and the lead of a scruffy mutt, Ellie will make her way to the top of the mountain, in search of the healing secrets of a woman known only as “the hag.” But the mountain still has many untold stories left to reveal to Ellie, as she finds her way forward among a complex constellation of strong women spanning generations.”
We Dream of Space by Erin Entrada Kelly has 4.26 stars out of 5. I haven’t read this book yet, but I intend to soon. I remember crowding around a small TV with my classmates, watching as the Challenger launched, and then staring in disbelief at what we saw. For anyone that isn’t familiar with the history, I’ll let you discover through the book what happened. But suffice it to say, this seems like a captivating read.
“It’s January 1986. The launch of the Challenger is just weeks away, and Cash, Fitch, and Bird Nelson Thomas are three siblings in seventh grade together in Park, Delaware.
Cash loves basketball, Dr. J, and a girl named Penny; he’s also in danger of failing seventh grade for a second time. Fitch spends every afternoon playing Major Havoc at the arcade and wrestles with an explosive temper that he doesn’t understand. And Bird, his twelve-year-old twin, dreams of being NASA’s first female shuttle commander, but feels like she’s disappearing.
The Nelson Thomas siblings exist in their own orbits, circling a tense, crowded, and unpredictable household, dreaming of escape, dreaming of the future, dreaming of space. They have little in common except an enthusiastic science teacher named Ms. Salonga—a failed applicant to the Teacher in Space program—who encourages her students to live vicariously through the launch. Cash and Fitch take a passive interest, but Bird builds her dreams around it.
When the fated day arrives, it changes everything.”
The List of Things That Will Not Change by Rebecca Stead has 4.31 stars out of 5. According to Goodreads:
“After her parents’ divorce, Bea’s life became different in many ways. But she can always look back at the list she keeps in her green notebook to remember the things that will stay the same. The first and most important: Mom and Dad will always love Bea, and each other.
When Dad tells Bea that he and his boyfriend, Jesse, are getting married, Bea is thrilled. Bea loves Jesse, and when he and Dad get married, she’ll finally (finally!) have what she’s always wanted–a sister. Even though she’s never met Jesse’s daughter, Sonia, Bea is sure that they’ll be “just like sisters anywhere.”
As the wedding day approaches, Bea will learn that making a new family brings questions, surprises, and joy.”
We hope you enjoy these four books! If you choose to put a book on hold, remember that wait times have increased because we are quarenteening books for longer. But never fear, we will contact you when your book is ready! Happy reading!