2011-2012 SC Junior Book Award Nominees

1. 2011-2012SC Junior Book AwardNominees

2. All the Broken Pieces: A Novel in Verseby 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. Lexile 680

3. Also Known as Harperby Ann Leal Writing poetry helps fifth-grader Harper Lee Morgan cope with her father's absence, being evicted, and having to skip school to care for her brother while their mother works, and things look even brighter after she befriends a mute girl and a kindly disabled woman. Lexile 800

4. Anything But Typicalby Nora Baskin Jason, a twelve-year-old autistic boy who wants to become a writer, relates what his life is like as he tries to make sense of his world. Lexile 640

5. Bystanderby James Preller Thirteen-year-old Eric discovers there are consequences to not standing by and watching as the bully at his new school hurts people, but although school officials are aware of the problem, Eric may be the one with a solution. Lexile 600

6. Callie’s Rulesby Naomi Zucker Eleven-year-old Callie Jones tries to keep track of all the rules for fitting in that other middle school students seem to know, but when the town decides to replace Halloween with an Autumn Festival, Callie leads her large family in an unusual protest. Lexile

7. The Demon Kingby Cinda Chima Relates the intertwining fates of former street gang leader Han Alister and headstrong Princess Raisa, as Han takes possession of an amulet that once belonged to an evil wizard and Raisa uncovers a conspiracy in the Grey Wolf Court. Lexile 760

8. Faith, Hope, and Ivy Juneby Phyllis Reynolds Naylor During a student exchange program, seventh-graders Ivy June and Catherine share their lives, homes, and communities, and find that although their lifestyles are total opposites they have a lot in common. Lexile 900

9. Heart of a Shepardby Roseanne Parry Ignatius "Brother" Alderman, nearly twelve, promises to help his grandparents keep the family's Oregon ranch the same while his brothers are away and his father is deployed to Iraq, but as he comes to accept the inevitability of change, he also sees the man he is meant to be. Lexile 850

10. If the Witness Liedby Caroline Cooney Torn apart by tragedies and the publicity they brought, siblings Smithy, Jack, and Madison, aged fourteen to sixteen, tap into their parent's courage to pull together and protect their brother Tris, nearly three, from further media exploitation and a much more sinister threat. Lexile 670

11. The Indigo Notebookby Laura Resau Fifteen-year-old Zeeta comes to terms with her flighty mother and their itinerant life when, soon after moving to Ecuador, she helps an American teenager find his birth father in a nearby village. Lexile 780

12. Leviathanby Scott Westerfield In an alternate 1914 Europe, fifteen-year-old Austrian Prince Alek, on the run from the Clanker Powers who are attempting to take over the globe using mechanical machinery, forms an uneasy alliance with Deryn who, disguised as a boy to join the British Air Service, is learning to fly genetically-engineered beasts. Lexile 790

13. Lifting the Skyby Mackie D’Arge Twelve-year-old Blue, always on the move with her ranch-hand mother, yearns for a real home where her father can find them, and on a remote ranch on a Wyoming reservation she finds that and more, including a mystical ability to heal injuries. Lexile 800

14. Marching for Freedom:walk together, children, and don't you grow wearyby Elizabeth Partridge Recounts the three months of protest that took place before Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s landmark march from Selma, Alabama, to Montgomery to promote equal rights and help African-Americans earn the right to vote. Lexile 960

15. Mission Control, This is Apolloby Mackie D’Arge Recounts various important events from the history of space exploration, covering the Mercury missions, the voyage of Apollo 17, and more, with illustrations by ex-NASA astronaut Alan Bean, who walked on the moon during the Apollo 12 mission. Lexile 1150

16. Operation Redwoodby Susannah French In northern California, Julian Carter-Li and his friends old and new fight to save a grove of redwoods from an investment company that plans to cut them down. Lexile 700

17. The Potato Chip Puzzlesby Eric Berlin Winston and his friends enter an all-day puzzle contest to win fifty-thousand dollars for their school, but they must also figure out who is trying to keep them from winning. Puzzles for the reader to solve are included throughout the text. Lexile 650

18. Skeleton Creekby Patrick Carman Although housebound following an eerie accident, teenaged Ryan continues to investigate the strange occurrences in his hometown of Skeleton Creek, recording his findings in a journal and viewing email video clips sent by fellow detective Sarah. Lexile

19. Slobby Ellen Potter Picked on, overweight genius Owen tries to invent a television that can see the past to find out what happened the day his parents were killed. Lexile 740

20. A Taste for Redby Lewis Harris When some of her classmates disappear, sixth-grader Svetlana, along with her new friends go in search of the missing students using her newfound ability as an Olfactive, one who has heightened smell, hearing, and the ability to detect vampires. Lexile 720

21. War Games:A Novel Based on a True Storyby Audrey Couloumbis What were once just boys' games become matters of life and death as Petros and his older brother Zola each wonder if, like their resistance-fighter cousin, they too can make a difference in a Nazi-occupied Greece. Lexile 720