Charlie May Simon Book Award Nominees School Year

Charlie May Simon Book Award Nominees Sponsored by the ADE and named after respected author Charlie May Simon, this literary competition is celebrating its 39 th year. Voting is open to all fourth, fifth and sixth graders in Arkansas who have read at least three of the following titles. Sponsored by the ADE and named after respected author Charlie May Simon, this literary competition is celebrating its 39 th year. Voting is open to all fourth, fifth and sixth graders in Arkansas who have read at least three of the following titles.

ONE-HANDED CATCH. By Auch, Mary Jane. What would life be like with only one hand? That’s exactly what eleven-year-old Norm finds out when he loses his left hand in an accident at his family’s store. Norm’s love is baseball. Read this humor filled book to find out if Norm can continue playing his beloved sport with only one hand. (Be sure to read the author’s note at the end. The story is based on her husband’s life).

GROOVES: A KIND OF MYSTERY By Kevin Brockmeier Dwayne Ruggles is a short, round seventh-grader who discovers that by rubbing an old-fashioned phonograph needle attached to a Victrola horn in the grooves of his jeans, he can hear a secret message. Then he rubs it in the ripples of potato chips and hears another message. The message is “Help! Us! He’s stealing the light from our eyes!” Does someone need help? And where are they? Dwayne and his two friends seek to solve the message mystery in this quirky, fun book.

ROOM ONE: A MYSTERY OR TWO By Andrew Clements Ted Hammond is the only sixth grader at a one-room school in a small Nebraska town. The town is facing a financial crisis and also a shrinking population. Ted is an avid reader of detective novels and tries to solve each crime halfway through the book. So when he sees a girl's face in the window of one of the abandoned houses on his paper route, he can't resist investigating this mystery.

THE MIRACULOUS JOURNEY OF EDWARD TULANE by Kate DiCamillo "Someone will come for you, but first you must open your heart...." Edward Tulane, is a cold-hearted and proud toy rabbit who loves only himself. Then one day he is separated from the little girl who adores him. He travels across the country, acquiring new owners and listening to their hopes, dreams, and histories.

WATER STREET by Patricia Reilly Giff Set in Brooklyn, New York, in 1875, a young girl named Bird Mallon wants to be a healer like her mother. But she worries about her sister Annie and especially her brother Hughie, who is trying to earn money in illegal bare-knuckle fights. Her new neighbor Thomas Neary is Bird's age and has troubles of his own. Thomas and Bird's friendship brings about changes that affect their lives and the lives of the ones they love.

PENNY FROM HEAVEN by Jennifer L. HolmJennifer In 1953, eleven-year-old Penny gets her arm caught in a washing machine wringer. While she's hospitalized she learns the truth about her father's death. Penny lives with her "plain old American“ mother and grandparents, but she often visits her deceased father's Italian family, where the food is plentiful, and the relatives are loud and welcoming. As she turns twelve during the summer of 1953, Penny learns a lot about herself, her family, and friends.

Thirteen-year-old Ann Fay Honeycutt has the strength and toughness of the hickory trees for which her North Carolina town is named. Ann’s father is off fighting the war in Europe, and Ann has to be strong for her family. But when polio hits the family, Ann’s life is turned upside down. This tear- jearker follows Ann’s journey though trials and tribulations, focusing on her unlikely friendship with a girl named Imogene. BLUE by Joyce Moyer Hostetter

Twelve-year-old Sumiko feels her life has been made up of two parts: before Pearl Harbor and after it (the good part, and the bad part). Raised on a flower farm in California, Sumiko is used to being the only Japanese girl in her class. Even when the other kids tease her, she always has had her flowers and family to go home to. That all changes after the Pearl Harbor, when her family is moved to an internment camp. WEEDFLOWER by Cynthia Kadohata

“No toys in the fish tank“. This is one of many rules that 12-year-old Catherine shares with her autistic younger brother as he tries to make sense of his world. Frustrated with her job taking care of her little brother, Catherine just wants a normal life. Her world is further complicated by a friendship with Jason, a young paraplegic boy she meets at the out-patient clinic. Catherine’s humor make this a very enjoyable book, and yet it also makes us think about our priorities in life. RULES Cynthia Lord

At a time when most women did not even attend college, Marie Curie was a working scientist who discovered two elements, pioneered the science of radioactivity, and won the Nobel prize-twice. SOMETHING OUT OF NOTHING: MARIE CURIE AND RADIUM by Carla Killough McClafferty

Fourteen-year-old Eleanor "Peewee" McGrath is a tomboy and automobile enthusiast. She discovers new possibilities for her future in 1914 when four young librarians pull into her small Indiana town. Peewee idolizes her big brother Jake and helps him out when disaster strikes during the county road race. HERE LIES THE LIBRARIAN by Richard Peck

Grace is a twelve-year-old girl working full-time in a cotton mill in Vermont in the early 1900s. Her French Canadian family came to America for its opportunities. But with low wages and corrupt employers, the family has no alternative but to let their young children quit school and send them to work in the factories. Grace is an avid reader, and wants to help her family, but also wants to stay in school. Read this book to discover Grace’s future in life. COUNTING ON GRACE BY Elizabeth Winthrop

*Book covers images and summaries information from Barnes and Noble. Available at And Follett Library Resources