2017-2018 William Allen White Children’s Book Awards

William Allen White Award What is the WAW Book Award? Who was William Allen White? How does it work? Who selects the books? Who votes? Then what happens? History of the Award 2017 - 2018 Book List

What is the WAW Book Award? It is a Children’s Book Award for the state of Kansas. This award is directed by Emporia State University. Source: http://waw.emporia.edu/masterlists/masterlist.htm

Who was William Allen White? He was the editor of the Emporia Gazette newspaper in Emporia, Kansas. In 1896, he became well known because of an editorial he wrote in that newspaper about a political issue of the time. He was NOT the author of these books. Source: http://www.emporia.edu/libsv/wawbookaward

How does it work? Each year books are selected for 2 groups: 3rd – 5th grades & 6th –8th grades. There is one winner for each group. Students across the state are encouraged to read as many books as possible from the list.

Who can vote? Students who have read at least two books from the Master List for their grade level are eligible to vote for their favorite. Ballots are sent to all Kansas schools in February or March. Schools turn their voting results in to Emporia State University in April.

Then what happens? The authors of the winning books are invited to a reception in the fall where they’ll receive a bronze “White Award Medal” at an awards ceremony. Students and teachers are encouraged to attend the award ceremony to meet the authors and listen to their acceptance speeches. This year’s celebration will be Saturday, October 7, 2017, at Emporia State University.

Who selects the books? There is a selection committee who represents Kansas educational and professional organizations concerned with children. They create a master list of titles. Books can be fiction, non-fiction, or poetry and were published during the previous year. Anyone can nominate a book and submit it to the committee.

Selection committee process Members must read at least 50% of nominated books to participate in selection. Executive director & secretary & committee chair do not vote. Only books read by at least 60% of those present at the meeting can be considered. For a title to be placed on the list following discussion of it, at least 60% of those who read it must vote for its placement. Titles are first chosen for the list without regard for age division. Once nominations cease, the lists are divided into grades 3 to 5 & grades 6 to 8. Before we finalize the lists, there is opportunity to reconsider any titles chosen.

History of the Award The book award was began in 1952 by the late Ruth Garver Gagliardo, to honor the memory of William Allen White. It was established to encourage the boys and girls of Kansas to read and enjoy good books. A lot has changed since Ruth Garver Gagliardo created the award and served as its first selection committee chairperson…but the structure she developed remains. c. 1964 ESU Archives

Grades 6 - 8

THE WAR THAT SAVED MY LIFE by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley Dial Books Nine-year-old Ada has never left her one-room apartment. Her mother is too humiliated by Ada’s twisted foot to let her outside. So when her little brother Jamie is shipped out of London to escape the war, Ada doesn’t waste a minute—she sneaks out to join him. So begins a new adventure of Ada, and for Susan Smith, the woman who is forced to take the two kids in. As Ada teaches herself to ride a pony, learns to read, and watches for German spies, she begins to trust Susan—and Susan begins to love Ada and Jamie. But in the end, will their bond be enough to hold them together through wartime? Or will Ada and her brother fall back into the cruel hands of their mother? https://safeshare.tv/x/ss5993039866451

DROWNED CITY: Hurricane Katrina & New Orleans by Don Brown Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Drowned City: Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans by Don Brown by Don Brown On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina's monstrous winds and surging water overwhelmed the protective levees around low-lying New Orleans, Louisiana. Eighty percent of the city flooded, in some places under twenty feet of water. Property damages across the Gulf Coast topped $100 billion. One thousand eight hundred and thirty-three people lost their lives. The riveting tale of this historic storm and the drowning of an American city is one of selflessness, heroism, and courage—and also of incompetence, racism, and criminality. https://safeshare.tv/x/ss599303bfe1785

STELLA BY STARLIGHT by Sharon M STELLA BY STARLIGHT by Sharon M. Draper Atheneum Books for Young Readers Stella by Starlight by Sharon M. Draper When the Ku Klux Klan’s unwelcome reappearance rattles Stella’s segregated southern town, bravery battles prejudice in this New York Times bestselling Depression-era “novel that soars” (The New York Times Book Review) that School Library Journal called “storytelling at its finest” in a starred review. Stella lives in the segregated South—in Bumblebee, North Carolina, to be exact about it. Some stores she can go into. Some stores she can’t. Some folks are right pleasant. Others are a lot less so. To Stella, it sort of evens out, and heck, the Klan hasn’t bothered them for years. But one late night, later than she should ever be up, much less wandering around outside, Stella and her little brother see something they’re never supposed to see, something that is the first flicker of change to come, unwelcome change by any stretch of the imagination. As Stella’s community—her world—is upended, she decides to fight fire with fire. And she learns that ashes don’t necessarily signify an end. https://safeshare.tv/x/ss599303f870e13

ENCHANTED AIR: Two Cultures, Two Wings: A Memoir by Margarita Engle Atheneum Books for Young Readers In this poetic memoir, which won the Pura Belpré Author Award, was a YALSA Nonfiction Finalist, and was named a Walter Dean Myers Award Honoree, acclaimed author Margarita Engle tells of growing up as a child of two cultures during the Cold War. Margarita is a girl from two worlds. Her heart lies in Cuba, her mother’s tropical island country, a place so lush with vibrant life that it seems like a fairy tale kingdom. But most of the time she lives in Los Angeles, lonely in the noisy city and dreaming of the summers when she can take a plane through the enchanted air to her beloved island. Words and images are her constant companions, friendly and comforting when the children at school are not. Then a revolution breaks out in Cuba. Margarita fears for her far-away family. When the hostility between Cuba and the United States erupts at the Bay of Pigs Invasion, Margarita’s worlds collide in the worst way possible. How can the two countries she loves hate each other so much? And will she ever get to visit her beautiful island again? https://safeshare.tv/x/ojV4QBE0kHk

TOOK: A Ghost Story by Mary Downing Hahn Clarion Books Thirteen-year-old Daniel Anderson doesn’t believe Brody Mason’s crazy stories about the ghost witch who lives up on Brewster’s Hill with Bloody Bones, her man-eating razorback hog. He figures Brody’s probably just trying to scare him since he’s the new kid . . . a “stuck-up snot” from Connecticut. But Daniel’s seven-year-old sister Erica has become more and more withdrawn, talking to her lookalike doll. When she disappears into the woods one day, he knows something is terribly wrong. Did the witch strike? Has Erica been “took”? https://safeshare.tv/x/ss5993049ec8bca

ROLLER GIRL by Victoria Jamieson Dial Books for Young Readers For most of her twelve years, Astrid has done everything with her best friend Nicole. But after Astrid falls in love with roller derby and signs up for derby camp, Nicole decides to go to dance camp instead. And so begins the most difficult summer of Astrid's life as she struggles to keep up with the older girls at camp, hang on to the friend she feels slipping away, and cautiously embark on a new friendship. As the end of summer nears and her first roller derby bout (and junior high!) draws closer, Astrid realizes that maybe she is strong enough to handle the bout, a lost friendship, and middle school… in short, strong enough to be a roller girl. In this graphic novel debut that earned a Newbery Honor and five starred reviews, real-life derby girl Victoria Jamieson has created an inspiring coming-of-age story about friendship, perseverance, and girl power! https://safeshare.tv/x/ss599304bd3c384

IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF CRAZY HORSE by Joseph Marshall III Amulet Jimmy McClean is a Lakota boy—though you wouldn’t guess it by his name: his father is part white and part Lakota, and his mother is Lakota. When he embarks on a journey with his grandfather, Nyles High Eagle, he learns more and more about his Lakota heritage—in particular, the story of Crazy Horse, one of the most important figures in Lakota and American history. Drawing references and inspiration from the oral stories of the Lakota tradition, celebrated author Joseph Marshall III juxtaposes the contemporary story of Jimmy with an insider’s perspective on the life of Tasunke Witko, better known as Crazy Horse (c. 1840–1877). The book follows the heroic deeds of the Lakota leader who took up arms against the US federal government to fight against encroachments on the territories and way of life of the Lakota people, including leading a war party to victory at the Battle of the Little Bighorn. Along with Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse was the last of the Lakota to surrender his people to the US army. Through his grandfather’s tales about the famous warrior, Jimmy learns more about his Lakota heritage and, ultimately, himself. https://safeshare.tv/x/ss599304dac3310

THE NEST by Kenneth Oppel Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers Steve just wants to save his baby brother—but what will he lose in the bargain? Kenneth Oppel’s (Silverwing, The Boundless) haunting gothic tale for fans of Coraline, is one of the most acclaimed books of the year, receiving six starred reviews. Illustrations from Caldecott Medalist Jon Klassen. For some kids summer is a sun-soaked season of fun. But for Steve, it’s just another season of worries. Worries about his sick newborn baby brother who is fighting to survive, worries about his parents who are struggling to cope, even worries about the wasp’s nest looming ominously from the eaves. So when a mysterious wasp queen invades his dreams, offering to “fix” the baby, Steve thinks his prayers have been answered. All he has to do is say “Yes.” But “yes” is a powerful word. It is also a dangerous one. And once it is uttered, can it be taken back? https://safeshare.tv/x/ss599304f8aecd7

THE SEVENTH MOST IMPORTANT THING by Shelley Pearsall Random House Children’s Books Arthur T. Owens grabbed a brick and hurled it at the trash picker. Arthur had his reasons, and the brick hit the Junk Man in the arm, not the head. But none of that matters to the judge—he is ready to send Arthur to juvie forever. Amazingly, it’s the Junk Man himself who offers an alternative: 120 hours of community service . . . working for him. Arthur is given a rickety shopping cart and a list of the Seven Most Important Things: glass bottles, foil, cardboard, pieces of wood, lightbulbs, coffee cans, and mirrors. He can’t believe it—is he really supposed to rummage through people’s trash? But it isn’t long before Arthur realizes there’s more to the Junk Man than meets the eye, and the “trash” he’s collecting is being transformed into something more precious than anyone could imagine. https://safeshare.tv/x/S6oYE2gzfVs

ECHO by Pam Munoz Ryan Scholastic Press Echo: A Novel by Pam Munoz Ryan Lost and alone in a forbidden forest, Otto meets three mysterious sisters and suddenly finds himself entwined in a puzzling quest involving a prophecy, a promise, and a harmonica. Decades later, Friedrich in Germany, Mike in Pennsylvania, and Ivy in California each, in turn, become interwoven when the very same harmonica lands in their lives. All the children face daunting challenges: rescuing a father, protecting a brother, holding a family together. And ultimately, pulled by the invisible thread of destiny, their suspenseful solo stories converge in an orchestral crescendo. Richly imagined and masterfully crafted, this impassioned, uplifting, and virtuosic tour de force will resound in your heart long after the last note has been struck. https://safeshare.tv/x/CWNqQIzCToE

VOICE OF FREEDOM: Fannie Lou Hamer, Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement by Carole Boston Weatherford Candlewick Press Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer: The Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement by Carole Boston Weatherford Despite fierce prejudice and abuse, even being beaten to within an inch of her life, Fannie Lou Hamer was a champion of civil rights from the 1950s until her death in 1977. Integral to the Freedom Summer of 1964, Ms. Hamer gave a speech at the Democratic National Convention that, despite President Johnson’s interference, aired on national TV news and spurred the nation to support the Freedom Democrats. Featuring vibrant mixed-media art full of intricate detail, Voice of Freedom celebrates Fannie Lou Hamer’s life and legacy with a message of hope, determination, and strength. https://safeshare.tv/x/0nsmlqPqvGQ

A Million Ways Home Dorisi Winget LAST YEAR’S WINNER A Million Ways Home Dorisi Winget http://www.diannawinget.com/ Reprinted by permission of publisher, Scholastic. Copyright 2014

A Million Ways Home Dorisi Winget LAST YEAR’S WINNER A Million Ways Home Dorisi Winget Reprinted by permission of publisher, Scholastic. Copyright 2014