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2010 – 2011 2010 – 2011

Home of the Brave• Kek comes from Africa

where he lived with his mother, father, and brother. But only he and his mother have survived. Now she’s missing, and Kek has been sent to a new home, America. As he waits for word of his mother’s fate, Kek weathers the tough Minnesota winter by finding warmth in new friendships, strength in his memories, and belief in his new country.

• “Moving . . . Kek is both a representative of all immigrants and a character in his own right.”—School Library Journal, Starred Review

• http://us.macmillan.com/homeofthebrave-1

Booktrailer Video

• The "Unsinkable" meets the unthinkable -- A gripping account of the ill-fated maiden voyage of the Titanic.

• http://us.macmillan.com/allstationsdistress

All Stations! Distress!

The Uglified Ducky: A Maynard Moose TaleWilly Claflin

http://www.willyclaflin.com/index.php

You may think you know the story of the Ugly Duckling, but think again. In the capable hands of his alter ego Maynard Moose, storyteller Willy Claflin takes us on a wacky journey where this Uglified Ducky, a hapless young moose, "blunders away" from his home, is mistaken for a baby duck, and endures endless humiliation as he tries to learn to waddle, quack, swim, and fly. Eventually, he finds his true "fambly," who helps him discover his own beauty. In his fractured English, translated in ....

Surfer of the Century: The Life of Duke KahanamokuEllie Crowe

Growing up in Honolulu with the Pacific Ocean as his backyard, Duke Kahanamoku learned to swim and surf at a young age.

By his early twenties, Duke's lightning-fast swimming won him a place on the 1912 United States Olympic team and a gold medal in the 100-meter freestyle race.

Although a swimming champion, Duke's passion was surfing. He traveled the world, introducing surfboarding to Australia and the east and west coasts of the United States. Considered the father of modern surfing, Duke spread his love of the ocean and Hawai’i wherever he went.

http://www.leeandlow.com/books/115/hc/surfer_of_the_century_the_life_of_duke_kahanamoku

14 Cows for AmericaCarmen Deedy

http://14cowsforamerica.com/

Booktrailer

This picture book is about foreign aid involving the United States and a remote village in Kenya, but it’s not what you think. Instead of an earnest tale about Americans helping an impoverished people far away, it opens with a Kenyan named Kimeli returning to his village from New York City in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks.

Umbrella SummerLisa Graff

Who ever knew closing an umbrella could be so hard?

Annie Richards worries about a million things— bicycle accidents, food poisoning, chicken pox, smallpox, typhoid fever, runaway zoo animals, and poison oak.

Why is she so afraid?

http://www.lisagraff.com/index.html

Booktrailer

PiratesDavid L. Harrison

http://www.wordsongpoetry.com/books/picture_book/pirates.html

Pirates have had good publicity for a long time. They're glamorous, swashbuckling, daring adventurers on the trail of riches. Not so much.

A bunch of misfits, thugs, and ne'er-do-wells who spend most of their time bored, waiting for a few moments of excitement and rich booty that could very well get them wounded or killed, or captured and executed. Still, a pirate's life was chosen by many and this collection describes and depicts the high points, the low points, and everything in between for those who swore the oath of the Brotherhood!

That Book Woman

http://books.simonandschuster.com/That-Book-Woman/Heather-Henson/9781416908128

That Book Woman is a rare and moving tale that honors a special part of American history -- the Pack Horse Librarians, who helped untold numbers of children see the stories amid the chicken scratch, and thus made them into lifetime readers.

Down, Down, Down: A Journey to the Bottom of the Sea

Steve Jenkins

Travel

downdowndown

from the surfaceto the bottom of the sea.

http://www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com/catalog/titledetail.cfm?titleNumber=1023024

Dying to Meet You: 43 Old Cemetery Road

Booktrailer

Ignatius B. Grumply moves into the Victorian mansion at 43 Old Cemetery Road hoping to find some peace and quiet so he can crack a wicked case of writer's block.

But 43 Old Cemetery Road is already occupied by eleven-year-old Seymour, his cat Shadow, and an irritable ghost named Olive.

It's hard to say who is more outraged. But a grumpy old ghost just might inspire this grumpy old man--and the abandoned kid? Well, let's just say his last name's Hope.

11 Birthdays11 Birthdays

It's Amanda's 11th birthday and she is super excited — after all, 11 is so different from 10. But from the start, everything goes wrong. The worst part of it all is that she and her best friend, Leo, with whom she's shared every birthday, are on the outs and this will be the first birthday they haven't shared together.When Amanda turns in for the night, glad to have her birthday behind her, she wakes up happy for a new day. Or is it? Her birthday seems to be repeating itself. What is going on?! And how can she fix it? Only time, friendship, and a little luck will tell. . .

The Hinky Pink: An Old TaleMegan McDonald

A happy Hinky-Pink is a fine thing. An unhappy Hinky-Pink pinches!

That is what happens to Anabel, a young seamstress in Old Italy who has only days to finish her dream: sewing a gown for the princess to wear at the Butterfly Ball.

Thanks -- or no thanks -- to the Hinky-Pink, Anabel is woozy for want of sleep. Her lace looks like cheesecloth; her hems, like saddle cinches. Night after night, the Hinky-Pink keeps wrestling her bedclothes to the floor -- and pinching.

What is its problem? And how is Anabel to help?

Squirrels WorldLisa Moser

Squirrel is busy, busy, busy.  He has to help his tree grow.  He has to help the river flow.  He has to help all of his forest friends.  Squirrel helps Mouse get ten ears of corn and a dozen apples- even though she only asked for one.  Squirrel helps Turtle play a new game- even though Turtle just wants to sleep.  Squirrel soaks Rabbit trying to get a lily pad from the pond- even though Rabbit dislikes being wet.

Just when it seems that all of Squirrel’s help always ends in disaster, he saves the day. 

Tap Dancing on the Roof: Sijo (Poems)

A sijo, a traditional Korean verse form, has a fixed number of stressed syllables and a humorous or ironic twist at the end. Like haiku, sijo are brief and accessible, and the witty last line winds up each poem with a surprise.

The verses in this book illuminate funny, unexpected, amazing aspects of the everyday--of breakfast, thunder and lightning, houseplants, tennis, freshly laundered socks.

http://www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com/catalog/titledetail.cfm?titleNumber=111179

Mudshark is the go-to guy for any mysteries that need solving. Lost your shoe? Can’t find your homework? Ask Mudshark. That is, until the Psychic Parrot takes up residence in the school library and threatens to overturn Mudshark’s position as the guy who knows all the answers. The word in school is that the parrot can out-think Mudshark. And right now, the school needs someone who’s good at solving problems. There’s an escaped gerbil running rampant, an emergency in the faculty restroom, and all the erasers are disappearing from the classrooms.

When Mudshark solves the mystery of who’s stealing the erasers, he discovers the culprit has the best of intentions. Now he has to think of a way to prevent the Psychic Parrot from revealing the eraser-thief’s identity. With a bit of misdirection and a lot of quick thinking, Mudshark restores order to the chaos . . . just for the moment.

MudsharkGary Paulsen

http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780385909228

Sparrow Girl

Ming-Li wants to be a farmer, but no one takes such a small girl seriously. When everyone in her village sets out to drive the sparrows from the land blaming them for eating too much seed she decides to take a stand to save some birds. In the end, she proves she has the spirit and wisdom to be a true farmer.

http://www.sarapennypacker.com/pennypacker-sparrow.htm

Jake Ransom and the Skull King's Shadow

James Rollins

When a mysterious envelope arrives for Jake Ransom, he and his older sister, Kady, are plunged into a gripping chain of events. An artifact found by their archeologist parents on the expedition from which they never returned leads Jake and Kady to a strange world inhabited by a peculiar mix of long-lost civilizations, a world that may hold the key to their parents' disappearance-if Jake and Kady can survive long enough to solve the mystery.  http://www.youtube.com/

watch?v=22drw7ukyNc

The Cabinet of Wonders: The Kronos ChroniclesMarie Rutkoskie

Booktrailer

Petra Kronos has a simple, happy life. But it’s never been ordinary. She has a tin spider named Astrophil who likes to hide in her hair and give her advice. Her best friend can trap lightning in a glass sphere. And Petra’s father is able to move metal with his mind. He has been commissioned by the prince of Bohemia to build the world’s finest astronomical clock. Then Petra’s father returns home—blind. The prince has stolen his eyes, enchanted them, and now wears them. Petra doesn’t know why, but she does know this: She will go to Prague and steal her father’s eyes back. When she finds out that her father’s clock has the power to destroy the world, Petra realizes she may never make it home alive.

Calvin Coconut Trouble Magnet

http://www.randomhouse.ca/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780385737012

Fourth-grader Calvin lives near the beach in Oahu with his mom and little sister. Mom says: “You’re the man of the house.” But Calvin’s not great at being the man of the house, or taking care of his responsibilities. He’s too busy having fun with his pals, and avoiding Tito, the bully.

The Fantastic Undersea Life of Jacques CousteauA Picturebook Biography

Booktrailer

Jacques Cousteau was the world’s ambassador of the oceans. His popular TV series brought whales, otters, and dolphins right into people’s living rooms.

From the first moment he got a glimpse of what lived under the ocean’s waves, Cousteau was hooked. And so he set sail aboard the Calypso to see the sea. He and his team of scientists invented diving equipment and waterproof cameras. They made films and televisions shows and wrote books so they could share what they learned.

11 Birthdays

All Stations Distress

The Cabinet of

Wonders

Down Down Down

Sparrow Girl

Mudshark

Squi

rrel

’s

Wor

ldCalvin

Coconut: Trouble Magnet

Dying to Meet You

The Uglified Duckling

The Hinky

Pink

Surf

er o

f the

C

entu

ry Pirates

Tap Dancing on

the Roof

The Fantasti

c

Undersea

Life of

Jacques

Cousteau

Jake Ransom and the Skull

King’s Shadow

Texas Bluebonnet Reading Program

2010-2011

If you read, or have read to you, one of the 20 books listed, do the following:

• When you finish reading the entire book, color the corresponding area of the Texas map.

• If someone else reads the book to you, you may color that area on the map.

• If you read or have read to you at least 5 of the 20 books listed you qualify to vote in January, 2011 for your favorite!

Name:_________________________

Room #__________

Teacher _______________________

Umbrella Summer

14 Cows for America

Hom

e of the

Brave

That Book Woman

When to vote

• Voting is due to the TLA Offices by the last Friday of January by Midnight.

• Select a day or days that do not interfere with the school calendar.• The actually voting can be done in whatever way best suits your set

up.

Winner announced:

The winner is usually announced several days after votes are due.