• 2022 Winner

    White Bird

    White Bird: A Wonder Story  by R. J. Palacio

    Tells the story of Julian's Grandmére's childhood as she, a Jewish girl, was hidden by a family in a Nazi-occupied French village during World War II and how the boy she once shunned became her savior and best friend.

     

    2021 Winner

    Blended
    Blended by  Sharon M. (Sharon Mills) Draper
    Piano-prodigy Isabella, eleven, whose black father and white mother struggle to share custody, never feels whole, especially as racial tensions affect her school, her parents both become engaged, and she and her stepbrother are stopped by police.

     

    2020 Winner

    One for Sorrow : A Ghost Story
    One for Sorrow by Mary Downing Hahn
    When unlikeable Elsie dies in the influenza pandemic of 1918, she comes back to haunt Annie to make sure she'll be Annie's best--and only--friend soon.

     

    2019 Winner

    Framed!
    Framed! by James Ponti 

    In Washington, D.C., twelve-year-old Florian Bates, a consulting detective for the FBI, and his best friend Margaret help thwart the biggest art heist in United States history.

     

    2018 Winner

     The War That Saved My Life

    The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley


    A young disabled girl and her brother are evacuated from London to the English countryside during World War II, where they find life to be much sweeter away from their abusive mother.

     

     2017 Winer

    A Million Ways Home
    A Million Ways Home by Dianna Dorisi-Winget

    When her grandmother and guardian suffers a stroke, twelve-year-old Poppy Parker's life turns upside down--but when she witnesses a murder and has to go into witness protection with Detective Brannigan's mother it becomes hard to believe she will ever find a way home, let alone save Gunner, a beautiful German shepherd with an uncertain future.

     

    2016 Winner

    Escape From Mr. Lemoncello's Library
    Escape From Mr. Lemoncello's Library by Chris Grabenstein

    Twelve-year-old Kyle gets to stay overnight in the new town library, designed by his hero (the famous gamemaker Luigi Lemoncello), with other students but finds that come morning he must work with friends to solve puzzles in order to escape.

     

    2015 Winner

    Wonder
    Wonder by R.J. Palacio

    Ten-year-old Auggie Pullman, who was born with extreme facial abnormalities and was not expected to survive, goes from being home-schooled to entering fifth grade at a private middle school in Manhattan, which entails enduring the taunting and fear of his classmates as he struggles to be seen as just another student.

     

    2014 Winner

    The Unwanteds
    The Unwanteds
    by Lisa McMann

    In a society that purges thirteen-year-olds who are creative, identical twins Aaron and Alex are separated, one to attend University while the other, supposedly Eliminated, finds himself in a wondrous place where youths hone their abilities and learn magic.

     

    2013 Winner

    Out of My Mind
    Out of My Mind
    by Sharon Draper

    Considered by many to be mentally retarded, a brilliant, impatient fifth-grader with cerebral palsy discovers a technological device that will allow her to speak for the first time.

     

    2012

    Runaway Twin
    Runaway Twin
    by Peg Kehret

    Thirteen-year-old Sunny, accompanied by a stray dog, takes advantage of a windfall to travel from her Nebraska foster home to Enumclaw, Washington, to find the twin sister from whom she was separated at age three.

     

    2011

    Stolen Children
    Stolen Children
    by Peg Kehret

    Fourteen-year-old Amy's excitement over her first babysitting job ends when she and her three-year-old charge are kidnapped, but a daily videorecording sent to little Kendra's parents allows Amy to send clues, in hopes of being rescued before the kidnappers decide they no longer need her.

     

    2010

    Deep and Dark and Dangerous
    Deep and Dark and Dangerous
    by Mary Downing Hahn

    When thirteen-year-old Ali spends the summer with her aunt and cousin at the family's vacation home, she stumbles upon a secret that her mother and aunt have been hiding for over thirty years.

     

    2009

    The Sea of Monsters
    The Sea of Monsters
    by Rick Riordan

    Demi-god Percy Jackson and his friends must journey into the Sea of Monsters to save their camp. But first Percy will discover a secret that makes him wonder whether being claimed as Poseidon's son is an honor or a cruel joke.

     

    2008

    The Lightning Thief
    The Lightning Thief
    by Rick Riordan

    Twelve-year-old Percy Jackson learns he is a demigod, the son of a mortal woman and Poseidon, god of the sea. His mother sends him to a summer camp for demigods where he and his new friends set out on a quest to prevent a war between the gods. (Film title: Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief)

     

    2007

    Abduction!
    Abduction!
    by Peg Kehret

    Thirteen-year-old Bonnie has a feeling of foreboding on the very day that her six-year-old brother Matt and their dog Pookie are abducted, and she becomes involved in a major search effort as well as a frightening adventure. Matt is missing. Bonnie's brother left his classroom to use the bathroom --and disappeared. A police dog traces his scent to the curb, where he apparently got into a vehicle. But why would Matt go anywhere with a stranger? Overwhelmed with fear, Bonnie discovers that her dog is gone, too. Was Pookie used as a lure for Matt? Bonnie makes one big mistake in her attempt to find her brother. In a chilling climax on a Washington State ferry, Bonnie and Matt must outsmart their abductor or pay with their lives.

     

    2006

    The City of Ember
    The City of Ember
    by Jeanne DuPrau

    In the year 241, twelve-year-old Lina trades jobs on Assignment Day to be a Messenger to run to new places in her decaying but beloved city, perhaps even to glimpse Unknown Regions.

     

    2005

    Wenny Has Wings
    Wenny Has Wings
    by Janet Lee Carey

    After having a near-death experience in the accident that killed his younger sister, Wenny, eleven-year-old Will copes by writing her letters.

     

    2004

    Zach's Lie
    Zach's Lie
    by Roland Smith

    When Jack Osborne is befriended by his school's custodian and a Basque girl, he begins to adjust to his family's sudden move to Elko, Nevada, after entering the Witness Security Program, but the drug cartel against which his father will testify is determined to track them down.

     

    2003

    Because of Winn-Dixie
    Because of Winn-Dixie
    by Kate DiCamillo

    Ten-year-old India Opal Buloni describes her first summer in the town of Naomi, Florida, and all the good things that happen to her because of her big ugly dog Winn-Dixie.

     

    2002

    Dork in Disguise
    Dork in Disguise
    by Carol Gorman

    Starting middle school in a new town, brainy Jerry Flack changes his image from "dork" to "cool kid," only to discover that he'd rather be himself.

     

    2001

    Holes
    Holes
    by Louis Sachar

    As further evidence of his family's bad fortune which they attribute to a curse on a distant relative, Stanley Yelnats is sent to a hellish correctional camp in the Texas desert where he finds his first real friend, a treasure, and a new sense of himself.

     

    2000

    Small Steps: The Year I Got Polio
    Small Steps: The Year I Got Polio
    by Peg Kehret

    The author describes her battle against polio and her efforts to overcome its debilitating effects.

     

    1999

    Saving Shiloh
    Saving Shiloh
    by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

    Sixth-grader Marty and his family try to help their rough neighbor, Judd Travers, change his mean ways, even though their West Virginia community continues to expect the worst of him.

     

    1998

    Titanic Crossing
    Titanic Crossing
    by Barbara Williams

    In 1912, thirteen-year-old Albert considers his younger sister a pest, but things change when they travel with their mother and uncle aboard the Titanic and are caught up in its tragic sinking.

     

    1997

    A Time For Andrew
    A Time For Andrew
    by Mary Downing Hahn

    When he goes to spend the summer with his great-aunt in the family's old house, eleven-year-old Drew is drawn eighty years into the past to trade places with his great-great-uncle who is dying of diptheria.

     

    1996

    The Ghosts of Mercy Manor
    The Ghosts of Mercy Manor
    by Betty Ren Wright

    Twelve-year-old Gwen, an orphan who comes to live with the Mercy family, discovers that the house is haunted by the ghost of a sad-looking young girl and is determined to solve the mystery behind her appearances.

     

    1995

    The Man Who Loved Clowns
    The Man Who Loved Clowns
    by June R. Wood

    Thirteen-year-old Delrita, whose unhappy life has caused her to hide from the world, loves her uncle Punky but sometimes feels ashamed of his behavior because he has Down syndrome.

     

    1994

    Shiloh
    Shiloh
    by Phyllis R. Naylor

    When he finds a lost beagle in the hills behind his West Virginia home, Marty tries to hide it from his family and the dog's real owner, a mean-spirited man known to shoot deer out of season and to mistreat his dogs.

     

    1993

    Maniac Magee
    Maniac Magee
    by Jerry Spinelli

    After his parents die, Jeffrey Lionel Magee's life becomes legendary, as he accomplishes athletic and other feats which awe his contemporaries.

     

    1992

    The Doll in the Garden
    The Doll in the Garden
    by Mary Downing Hahn

    After Ashley and Kristi find an antique doll buried in old Miss Cooper's garden, they discover that they can enter a ghostly turn-of-the-century world by going through a hole in the hedge.

     

    1991

    All About Sam
    All About Sam
    by Lois Lowry

    The adventures of Sam, Anastasia Krupnik's younger brother, from his first day as a newborn through his mischievous times as a toddler.

     

    1990

    There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom
    There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom
    by Louis Sachar

    An unmanageable, but lovable, eleven-year-old misfit learns to believe in himself when he gets to know the new school counselor, who is a sort of misfit, too.

     

    1989

    Sixth-Grade Sleepover
    Sixth-Grade Sleepover
    by Eve Bunting

    Janey worries that the sixth grade Rabbit Reading Club's all-night sleepover will expose her fear of the dark, but it turns out that she is not the only member with a secret.

     

    1988

    Baby-sitting is a Dangerous Job
    Baby-sitting is a Dangerous Job
    by Willo Davis Roberts

    A baby sitter and her three willful charges make a formidable team to outwit their surprised kidnappers.

     

    1987

    The War With Grandpa
    The War With Grandpa
    by Robert Kimmel Smith

    Upset that he has to give up the room he loves to his grandfather, Pete decides to declare war in an attempt to get it back.

     

    1986

    The Dollhouse Murders
    The Dollhouse Murders
    by Betty Ren Wright

    A dollhouse filled with a ghostly light in the middle of the night and dolls that have moved from where she last left them lead Amy and her mentally challenged sister to unravel the mystery surrounding grisly murders that took place years ago.

     

    1985

    A Bundle of Sticks
    A Bundle of Sticks
    by Pat Mauser McCord

    The frequent target of a bully, eleven-year-old Ben gets sick at the thought of fighting back until his father insists he take a self-defense course, and Ben learns that it is okay to be himself.

     

    1984

    Secret Life of the Underwear Champ
    Secret Life of the Underwear Champ
    by Betty Miles

    Ten-year-old Larry is "discovered" on the street and asked to appear in a television commercial. Only later does he find out what he is advertising.

     

    1983

    The Girl With the Silver Eyes
    The Girl With the Silver Eyes
    by Willo Davis Roberts

    A 10-year-old girl, who has always looked different from other children, discovers that she not only has unusual powers but that there are others like her.

     

    1982

    The Boy Who Saw Bigfoot
    The Boy Who Saw Bigfoot
    by Marian T. Place

    A ten-year-old boy, placed once again with new foster parents, becomes involved in a search for Bigfoot.

     

    1981

    Soup For President
    Soup For President
    by Robert Newton Peck

    Rob manages Soup's campaign for class president in their small Vermont town.

     

    1980

    The Pinballs
    The Pinballs
    by Betsy Byars

    Three lonely foster children learn to care about themselves and each other.

     

    1979

    The Champion of Merrimack County
    The Champion of Merrimack County
    by Roger Drury

    The discovery of a bike-riding mouse in the bathtub is just the beginning of a series of humorous communications for the Berryfield family.

     

    1978

    Ramona the Brave
    Ramona the Brave
    by Beverly Cleary

    Six-year-old Ramona tries to cope with an unsympathetic first-grade teacher.

     

    1977

    The Ghost on Saturday Night
    The Ghost on Saturday Night
    by Sid Fleischman

    When Professor Pepper gives Opie tickets to a ghost-raising instead of a nickel in payment for being guided through the dense fog, Opie manages to make money anyway by helping to thwart a bank robbery.

     

    1976

    The Home Run Trick
    The Home Run Trick
    by Scott Corbett

    The Panthers try desperately to convincingly lose a baseball game when they find out the winners must play a girls' team.

     

    1975

    How To Eat Fried Worms
    How To Eat Fried Worms
    by Thomas Rockwell

    Two boys set out to prove that worms can make a delicious meal.

     

    1974

    It's a Mile From Here to Glory
    It's a Mile From Here to Glory
    by Robert C. Lee

    A shy undersized sixteen-year-old finds himself suddenly popular when he becomes star of the track team.

     

    1973

    Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH
    Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH
    by Robert O'Brien

    Having no one to help her with her problems, a widowed mouse visits the rats whose former imprisonment in a laboratory made them wise and long lived.

     

    1972

    Sounder
    Sounder
    by William H. Armstrong

    Angry and humiliated when his sharecropper father is jailed for stealing food for his family, a young black boy grows in courage and understanding by learning to read and with the help of the devoted dog Sounder.

Last Modified on October 31, 2022