Sarah, Plain and Tall is a children's book written by Patricia MacLachlan and the winner of the 1986 Newbery Medal, the 1986 Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction, and the 1986 Golden Kite Award. It explores themes of loneliness, abandonment, and coping with change.
Lynn Breeze is a British illustrator and author who specialises in books for babies and toddlers. She has illustrated more than 100 books, and has also written many stories. Breeze is well known for her Pickle series of board books, which introduce infants to household objects, as well as the This Little Baby series. Her books have been translated into various European languages, and have been distributed internationally.
The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle is a historical novel by the American author Avi published in 1990. The book is marketed towards children at a reading level of grades 5–8. The book chronicles the evolution of the title character as she is pushed outside her naive existence and learns about life aboard a ship crossing from England to America in 1832. The novel was well received and won several awards, including being named as a Newbery Honor book in 1991.
Patricia Marie MacLachlan was an American children's writer. She was noted for her novel Sarah, Plain and Tall, which won the 1986 Newbery Medal.
The Lion & the Mouse is a 2009 nearly wordless picture book illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. This book, published by Little, Brown and Company, tells Aesop's fable of The Lion and the Mouse. In the story, a mouse's life is a spared by a lion. Later, after the lion is trapped, the mouse is able to set the lion free. Adapting the fable, with the moral that the weak can help the strong, as a wordless picture book was seen as a successful way of overcoming the brief plot generally found in the source stories. While it was Pinkney's first wordless picture book, it was not the first time he had told the story, having previously included it in his Aesop's Fables, published in 2000. Pinkney, who had received five Caldecott Honors, became the first African American to win the Caldecott Medal for his illustrations in this book. His illustrations were generally praised for their realism and sense of place. The cover illustrations, featuring the title characters but no text, drew particular praise.
Ian's Walk: A Story About Autism is a book about autism by Laurie Lears, who also wrote Waiting for Mr. Goose, a book about Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. The story tells of a child with autism, and a walk with his sisters, and how they begin to understand him after he wanders off. Ian's Walk is regarded as a useful tool to help family members of children with autism understand associated behaviours.
Milagros: Girl from Away is a 2008 children's novel by Cuban-American author Meg Medina. It was first published on 11 November 2008 through Henry Holt and Company and follows a young girl who has to deal with various struggles, including an absentee father. The book took Medina about eighteen months to write.
Locomotive is a 2013 children's book written and illustrated by Brian Floca. A non-fiction book written primarily in free verse, the book follows a family as they ride a transcontinental steam engine train in summer of 1869. The book details the workers, passengers, landscape, and effects of building and operating the first transcontinental railroad. The book also contains prose about the earlier and later history of locomotives. The book took Floca four years to create, which included a change in perspective from following the crew of the train to following a family. Floca conducted extensive research including his own train ride and consultation with experts to ensure he had the details all correct.
Out of My Mind is a 2010 novel by Sharon M. Draper, a New York Times bestselling author. The cover illustration of the fifth edition is by Daniel Chang, and the cover photography is by Cyril Bruneau/Jupiter Images. A reading group guide is enclosed. The book is recommended for ages 10-14 and for grades 5–8. The story was written in first person, featuring Melody Brooks, a girl with cerebral palsy.
The All-I'll-Ever-Want Christmas Doll is a 2007 picture book by Patricia McKissack, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. It is about a girl, Nella, living during the Great Depression, who receives a doll for Christmas. Initially, she doesn't share it with her sisters but later relents after discovering that it's not fun to play by herself.
The Clone Codes is a 2010 science fiction novel by American writers Patricia and Fredrick McKissack. It is about a girl, Leanna, who lives in 22nd century America where human clones and cyborgs are treated like second-class citizens, and what happens when she discovers that her parents are activists and that she is a clone.
Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World's Most Famous Bear is a 2015 children's book written by Canadian author Lindsay Mattick and illustrated by Sophie Blackall. The non-fiction book is framed as a story Mattick is telling to her son. Her great-grandfather, Harry Colebourn bought a bear on his way to fight in World War I, donating the bear to a zoo where it became the inspiration for the character of Winnie-the-Pooh. Finding Winnie was thoroughly researched by both Blackall and Mattick. The book's writing and illustrations were well reviewed and it won the 2016 Caldecott Medal.
Sadie and Ratz is a 2008 chapter book by Sonya Hartnett. It is about Hannah, a girl who finds it difficult to adjust to a little baby brother.
Radiant Child: The Story of Young Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat is a 2016 picture book biography by Javaka Steptoe about Jean-Michel Basquiat. Using a style similar to Basquiat's, the book tells the story of his childhood and early career. It won the 2017 Caldecott Medal and Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award for its illustrations.
Laurie Ann Thompson is an American writer. She is known for her children's books and books for young adults. Thompson is a winner of one of the 2016 Schneider Family Book Awards for her book, Emmanuel's Dream: The True Story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah, which was illustrated by Sean Qualls.
Like Water is a young adult novel written by Rebecca Podos and published in 2017 by Balzer + Bray. The story, which was the recipient of a Lambda Literary Award, centers on Savannah Espinoza, a teenager from New Mexico who begins discovering more about her sexuality when she becomes enamored with a genderqueer teenager, called Leigh.
Baby Bedtime is a 2013 children's picture book by Mem Fox and illustrated by Emma Quay. The book, published in America by Beach Lane Books, and published in Australia by Penguin Books Australia, is about an adult elephant getting her baby ready for bed.
Boom Town is a 1998 historical fiction picture book written by Sonia Levitin, illustrated by Cat Bowman Smith and published by Orchard Books. Boom Town tells the story of Amanda and her family after they move to California to accompany her father in his search for gold during the California Gold Rush. To alleviate her boredom, Amanda figures out how to bake pies, and by a combination of circumstance and cleverness she starts a successful bakery that kickstarts the settlement into becoming a boomtown.
Gracie Graves and the Kids from Room 402 is a 1995 children's book written by Betty Paraskevas and illustrated by Michael Paraskevas. The book describes the students in Gracie Graves's classroom using rhyming poems which are accompanied by drawings. Gracie Graves and the Kids from Room 402 received mixed reviews from critics. It was adapted into an animated series, The Kids from Room 402, which ran from 1999 to 2001.
Waiting-for-Christmas Stories is a 1994 American children's book written by Bethany Roberts and illustrated by Sarah Stapler. The last in the informally named Waiting-for Series, it follows the same format as the first two titles, this time with a holiday flavor. As with the two previous titles, reviews for this instalment were positive. Starting in 1995, publisher Houghton Mifflin would bring out more holiday-themed books by Roberts under the Holiday Mice banner.
