Young Hoosier Book Awards

1. Young Hoosier Book Awards 20011 –2012 Nominated Books RAH 9/11

2. Young Hoosier Book Awards • Each year Indiana teachers, librarians, and students select 20 new books that they consider some the best new reading for students in each age group. • These titles are promoted to young people throughout the state of Indiana.

3. Students are encouraged to read as many of the selected books as possible. • Students who read 5 or more YHBA books can vote for their favorites. • Ballots are collected throughout the state each April to determine the winning title in each age group.

4. YHBA at Willowcreek • Each year Willowcreek students participate in the YHBA program. • Lists are posted in the media center, in your English classrooms, and on the Willowcreek Media Center website. • You can find the YHBA books at the media center, public library, classrooms, or bookstores.

5. The Competition! • At the media center, we keep track of who reads YHBA books by monitoring AR Tests. • When you pass the AR test on a YHBA book, your name is added to our list.

6. But why read YHBA books? • They’re some of the best new books out there. You’ll probably like most of them. • You’ll impress your English teacher! • You get to vote! Just like a REAL American! • But wait - Willowcreek students who read the most YHBA books...

7. ... Get FREE STUFF! • Top readers are invited to Reading Celebrations. • Award lunches • Games, prizes & gift certificates • Free books

8. This Year’s YHBA Titles

9. Ain’t Nothing But a Manby Scott Reynolds Nelson Historian Scott Reynolds Nelson recounts how he came to discover the real John Henry, an African-American railroad worker who became a legend in the famous song. RL 6.6 PTS 2.0

10. All The Broken Pieces: A Novel in Verse by Ann E. Burg Two years after being airlifted out of Vietnam in 1975, Matt Pin is haunted by the terrible secret he left behind and, now, in a loving adoptive home in the United States, a series of profound events forces him to confront his past. RL 4.1 PTS 2.0

11. Beef Princess of Practical Countyby Michelle Houts Twelve-year-old Libby, the daughter of an Indiana cattle farmer, raises two calves in hopes of winning the annual steer competition at the county fair, but fails to follow her father's warning about developing a bond with animals that are destined to be sold at auction. RL 5.2 PTS 8.0

12. Before Columbus: The Americas of 1491by Charles Mann This study of Native American societies turns conventional wisdom on its head. The book argues that the people of North and South America lived in enormous cities, raised pyramids hundreds of years before the Egyptians did, engineered corn, and farmed the rainforests. RL 8.1 PTS 5.0

13. Brooklyn Nine: A Novel in Nine Innings by Alan Gratz This story follows the fortunes of a German immigrant family through nine generations, beginning in 1845, as they experience American life and play baseball. RL 5.0 PTS 9.0

14. Bull Riderby Suzanne Williams When his older brother, a bull-riding champion, returns from the Iraq War partially paralyzed, fourteen-year-old Cam takes a break from skateboarding to enter a bull-riding contest, in hopes of winning the $15,000 prize and motivating his depressed brother to continue with his rehabilitation. RL 4.1 PTS 9.0

15. Claudette Colvin: Twice Towards Justice by Phillip Hoose Based on extensive interviews with Claudette Colvin and many others, Phillip Hoose presents the first in-depth account of an important yet largely unknown civil rights figure, skillfully weaving her dramatic story into the fabric of the historic Montgomery bus boycott and court case that would change the course of American history. RL 6.8 PTS 5.0

16. The Compoundby Stephanie A. Bodeen After his parents, two sisters, and he have spent six years in a vast underground compound built by his wealthy father to protect them from a nuclear holocaust, fifteen-year-old Eli, whose twin brother and grandmother were left behind, discovers that his father has perpetrated a monstrous hoax on them all. RL 4.1 PTS 8.0

17. Crossing Stonesby Helen Frost In their own voices, four young people, Muriel, Frank, Emma, and Ollie, tell of their experiences during the first World War, as the boys enlist and are sent overseas, Emma finishes school, and Muriel fights for peace and women's suffrage. RL 5.3 PTS 4.0

18. Foundby Margaret Peterson Haddix When thirteen-year-olds Jonah and Chip, who are both adopted, learn they were discovered on a plane that appeared out of nowhere, full of babies with no adults on board, they realize that they have uncovered a mystery involving time travel and two opposing forces, each trying to repair the fabric of time. RL 5.0 PTS 9.0

19. The Girl Who Threw Butterflies by Mick Cochrane Eighth-grader Molly's ability to throw a knuckleball earns her a spot on the baseball team, which not only helps her feel connected to her recently deceased father, who loved baseball, it helps in other aspects of her life, as well. RL 5.1 PTS 7.0

20. Gym Candy by Carl Dueker Groomed by his father to be a star player, football is the only thing that has ever really mattered to Mick Johnson, who works hard for a spot on the varsity team his freshman year, then tries to hold onto his edge by using steroids, despite the consequences to his health and social life. RL 4.6 PTS 9.0

21. The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart After passing a series of mind-bending tests, four children are selected for a secret mission that requires them to go undercover at the Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened, where the only rule is that there are no rules. RL 5.6 PTS 18.0

22. Notes from the Dog by Gary Paulsen When Johanna shows up at the beginning of summer to house-sit next door to Finn, he has no idea of the profound effect she will have on his life by the time summer vacation is over. RL 4.7 PTS 4.0

23. Runaway Twin by Peg Kehret Thirteen-year-old Sunny, accompanied by a stray dog, takes advantage of a windfall to travel from her Nebraska foster home to Enumclaw, Washington, to find the twin sister from whom she was separated at age three. RL 4.7 PTS 6.0

24. Scat by Carl Hiaasen Nick and his friend Marta decide to investigate when a mysterious fire starts near a Florida wildlife preserve and an unpopular teacher goes missing. RL 5.5 PTS 12.0

25. Schooledby Gordon Korman Homeschooled by his hippie grandmother, Capricorn (Cap) Anderson has never watched television, tasted a pizza, or even heard of a wedgie. But when his grandmother lands in the hospital, Cap is forced to move in with a guidance counselor and attend the local middle school. While Cap knows a lot about tie-dyeing and Zen Buddhism, no education could prepare him for the politics of public school. RL 4.9 PTS 6.0

26. A Thousand Never Eversby Shana Burg As the civil rights movement in the South gains momentum in 1963--and violence against African Americans intensifies--the black residents, including seventh-grader Addie Ann Pickett, in the small town of Kuckachoo, Mississippi, begin their own courageous struggle for racial justice. RL 5.1 PTS 11.0

27. When the Whistle Blows by Fran Cannon Slayton Jimmy Cannon tells about his life in the 1940s as the son of a West Virginia railroad man, loving the trains and expecting one day to work on the railroad like his father and brothers. RL 4.9 PTS 6.0

28. Year of the Bomb by Ronald Kidd In 1955 California, as "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" is filmed in their hometown, thirteen-year-old Arnie discovers a real enemy when he and three friends go against a young government agent determined to find communists at a nearby university or on the movie set. RL 3.7 PTS 5.0

29. Don’t forget, if the book you want is checked out, use your BARCODE NUMBER to request it!

30. So what’s your excuse? GET READING!