Notable Children’s Books Nominees — Summer 2015 #alaac15

The ALSC Notable Children’s Books committee is charged with identifying the best of the best in children’s books. According to the Notables Criteria, “notable” is defined as: Worthy of note or notice, important, distinguished, outstanding. As applied to children’s books, notable should be thought to include books of especially commendable quality, books that exhibit venturesome creativity, and books of fiction, information, poetry and pictures for all age levels (birth through age 14) that reflect and encourage children’s interests in exemplary ways.

If you’re like me, you have been eagerly anticipating the  list of titles to be discussed at the Annual Conference. Here it is!

PICTURE BOOKS

3, 2, 1, Go! by Emily Arnold McCully. Holiday House.

The Bear Ate Your Sandwich by Julia Sarcone-Roach. Random House/Alfred A. Knopf.

Click! by Jeffrey Ebbeler. Holiday House.

Drum Dream Girl: How One Girl’s Courage Changed Music by Margarita Engle. Illus. by Rafael López. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Fetch by Jorey Hurley. Simon & Schuster/A Paula Wiseman Book.

A Fine Dessert: Four Centuries, Four Families, One Delicious Feast by Emily Jenkins. Illus. by Sophie Blackall. Random House/Schwartz and Wade

Fly! by Karl Newsom Edwards. Random House/Alfred A. Knopf.

Grandma in Blue with Red Hat by Scott Menchin. Illus. by Harry Bliss. Abrams.

The Grasshopper and the Ants by Jerry Pinkney. Little Brown and Company.

How to Draw a Dragon by Douglas Florian. Beach Lane Books.

If You Plant a Seed by Kadir Nelson. HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray.

In by Nikki McClure. Abrams/Appleseed.

It’s Only Stanley by Jon Agee. Penguin Group/Dial Books for Young Readers.

Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Peña. Illus. by Christian Robinson. Penguin/Putnam.

Meet the Dullards by Sara Pennypacker. Illus. by Daniel Salmieri. HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray.

My Pen by Christopher Myers. Disney/Hyperion.

New Shoes by Susan Lynn Meyer. Illus. by Eric Velasquez. Holiday House.

P. Zonka Lays an Egg by Julie Paschkis. Peachtree.

A Poem in Your Pocket by Margaret McNamara. Illus. by G. Brian Karas. Schwartz & Wade Books.

Red: A Crayon’s Story by Michael Hall. Harper Collins/Greenwillow Books.

Should You Be a River: A Poem about Love by Ed Young. Little Brown and Company.

Sidewalk Flowers by Jon Arno Lawson. Illus. by Sydney Smith. House of Anansi Press/Groundwood Books.

The Skunk by Mac Barnett. Illus. by Patrick McDonnell. Roaring Brook Press.

Spectacular Spots by Susan Stockdale. Peachtree.

Stormy Night by Salina Yoon. Bloomsbury.

Such a Little Mouse by Alice Schertle. Illus. by Stephanie Yue. Scholastic/Orchard Books.

Supertruck by Stephen Savage. Roaring Book Press/A Neal Porter Book.

Toad Weather by Sandra Markle. Illus. by Thomas Gonzalez. Peachtree.

Whale Trails: Before and Now by Lesa Cline-Ransome. Illus. by G. Brian Karas. Henry Holt and Company/Christy Ottaviano Books.

When Otis Courted Mama by Kathi Appelt. Illus. by Jill McElmurry. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

A Wonderful Year by Nick Bruel. Roaring Brook Press/A Neal Porter Book.

FICTION (INCLUDING FICTION, VERSE NOVELS AND GRAPHIC NOVELS)

Audacity by Melanie Crowder. Penguin/Philomel Books.

Bayou Magic by Jewell Parker Rhodes. Little Brown and Company

Blackbird Fly by Erin Entrada Kelly. Harper Collins/Greenwillow Books.

The Cottage in the Woods by Katherine Coville. Random House/Alfred A. Knopf.

A Dragon’s Guide to the Care and Feeding of Humans by Laurence Yep and Joanne Ryder. Illus. by Mary GrandPré. Random House/Crown Books for Young Readers.

Echo by Pam Muñoz Ryan. Illus. by Dinara Mirtalipova. Scholastic Press.

Finding Serendipity by Angelica Banks. Illus. by Stevie Lewis. Henry Holt and Company.

Fish in a Tree by Linda Mullaly Hunt. Penguin Group/Nancy Paulsen Books.

Footer Davis Probably Is Crazy by Susan Vaught. Simon Schuster/A Paula Wiseman Book.

Honey by Sarah Weeks. Scholastic Press.

The Imaginary by A. F. Harrold. Illus. by Emily Gravett. Bloomsbury.

Listen, Slowly by Thanhhà Lại. HarperCollins.

Moon Bear by Gill Lewis. Illus. by Alessandro Gottardo. Simon Schuster/Atheneum.

The Penderwicks in Spring by Jeanne Birdsall. Alfred A. Knopf.

Princess Academy: The Forgotten Sisters by Shannon Hale. Bloomsbury.

The Question of Miracles by Elana K. Arnold. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Red Butterfly by A. L. Sonnichsen. Illus. by Amy June Bates. Simon & Schuster.

Roller Girl by Victoria Jamieson. Penguin/Dial Books for Young Readers.

Stella by Starlight by Sharon M. Draper. Simon & Schuster/Atheneum.

This Side of Home by Renée Watson. Bloomsbury.

The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley. Penguin/Dial Books for Young Readers.

Wish Girl by Nikki Loftin. Penguin/Razorbill.

NON-FICTION (INCLUDING INFORMATION PICTURE BOOKS, POETRY AND FOLKLORE)

28 Days: Moments in Black History That Changed the World by Charles R. Smith Jr. Illus. by Shane Evans. Roaring Brook Press/A Neal Porter Book.

Big Red Kangaroo by Claire Saxby. Illus. by Graham Byrne. Candlewick Press.

Bird & Diz by Gary Golio. Illus. by Ed Young. Candlewick Press.

The Case for Loving: The Fight for Interracial Marriage by Selina Alko. Illus. by Sean Qualls and Selina Alko. Scholastic/Arthur A Levine Books.

Death of the Hat: A Brief History of Poetry in 50 Objects by Paul B. Janeczko (compiler). Illus. by Chris Raschka. Candlewick Press.

Draw What You See: The Life and Art of Benny Andrews by Kathleen Benson. Illus. by Benny Andrews. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt/Clarion Books.

Earmuffs for Everyone: How Chester Greenwood Became Known as the Inventor of Earmuffs by Meghan McCarthy. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers/A Paula Wiseman Book.

Egg: Nature’s Perfect Package by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page. Illus. by Steve Jenkins. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Emmanuel’s Dream: The True Story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah by Laurie Ann Thompson. Illus. by Sean Qualls. Random House/Schwartz and Wade.

Enormous Smallness: A Story of E. E. Cummings by Matthew Burgess. Illus. by Kris Di Giacomo. Enchanted Lion Books.

Fatal Fever: Tracking Down Typhoid Mary by Gail Jarrow. Highlights/Calkins Creek.

First Flight around the World: The Adventures of the American Fliers Who Won the Race by Tim Grove. Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum/Abram Books.

Flowers Are Calling by Rita Gray. Illus. by Kenard Pak. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Gingerbread for Liberty: How a German Baker Helped with the American Revolution by Mara Rockliff. Illus. by Vincent X. Kirsch. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

In Mary’s Garden by Tina and Carson Kügler. Illus. by Carson Kügler. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Lullaby & Kisses Sweet: Poems to Love with Your Baby by Lee Bennett Hopkins (compiler). Illus. by Alyssa Nassner. Abrams/Appleseed.

One Plastic Bag: Isatou Ceesay and the Recycling Women of the Gambia by Miranda Paul. Illus. by Elizabeth Zunon. Lerner/Millbrook Press.

Rad American Women A to Z: Rebels, Trailblazers, and Visionaries Who Shaped Our History… and Our Future by Kate Schatz. Illus. by Miriam Klein Stahl. City Lights Books.

Raindrops Roll by April Pulley Sayre. Simon & Schuster/Beach Lane.

Swing Sisters: The Story of the International Sweethearts of Rhythm by Karen Deans. Illus. by Joe Cepeda. Holiday House.

Tricky Vic: The Impossibly True Story of the Man Who Sold the Eiffel Tower by Greg Pizzoli. Penguin Group/Viking.

Trombone Shorty by Troy Andrew. Illus. by Bryan Collier. Abram Books.

Turning 15 on the Road to Freedom: My Story of the 1965 Selma Voting Rights March by Lynda Blackmon Lowery. Illus. by P J Loughran. Penguin/Dial Books.

The Notable Children’s Books committee will be meeting Saturday, Sunday, and Monday afternoons from 1:00 to 4:00 during the ALA Annual Conference in San Francisco. The discussions will take place in Room 3022 (W) of the Moscone Convention Center. The books will be discussed in the order they are on the list.