Ruby Holler
(by Sharon Creech, HarperCollins $16.99 Score:) Dallas and Florida are orphan twins who have been passed from one terrible foster home to another and treated with cruelty. All they have is each other and the hope of one day running away to escape on the train they hear each night. But then they are chosen by an old couple who surprise them again and again with kindness. Ruby Holler, the place they call home, becomes a magical place where hope and trust are restored. 8–12.

Age: Later School Years. Award Year: 2003.

Just Ask Iris
(by Lucy Frank, Atheneum $4.99 Score:) Iris needs a bra, but her Mother doesn't think so. So Iris finds a way to earn the money needed. In the process Iros discovers a great deal about herself and her neighbors. A gutsy gal with a sense of humor! "I liked this book very much. It is about a girl named Iris who needs, no, must have a bra! Mami says she won't buy one for Iris. So Iris takes things into her own hands. SHe begins running errands for people in her building. Even after she earns enough money for her bra, Iris continues working for her new found friends. With ease, this book describes one girl's ability to make friends and fight forwhat she believes in." review by Lily Newman(11 years old)

Age: Later School Years. Award Year: 2002.

Soldier Mom
(by Alice Mead, Farrar Straus $16 Score:) In summer of 1990 when her mom is called up for the reserve and is heading for the Persian Gulf, Jas is a pretty angry seventh grader. This is a book that is sure to resonate with kids who have had to say good-bye to parents leaving for Iraq. 10 & up

Age: Later School Years. Award Year: 2003.

Granny Torrelli Makes Soup
(Sharon Creech, HarperCollins $15.99 Score:) If only every 12-year-old had a granny as wise and able as 12-year-old Rosie’s Granny Torrelli. With Rosie’s busy parents off stage, Granny not only cooks with Rosie, she shares her life stories and helps to heal a rift between Rosie and her best buddy Bailey (who happens to be blind). Written without quotation marks, the prose flows like a play. In Granny’s own words . . . “Tutto va bene! She says it like this: Too-toe vah BAY-nay! It means all is well.” 8–12.

Age: Later School Years. Award Year: 2004.

A Song for Ba
(by Paul Yee/ illus. by Jan Peng Wang, Groundwood $17.95 Score:) Set in the early half of the 20th Century, this is a tender story about a Chinese-American boy being raised by his father and grandfather on the West Coast. Both men are Chinese Opera singers. Although the boy wants to follow their footsteps, his father fears that the audience for Chinese opera is shrinking and there is no future in singing for his son. Secretly, before the grandfather leaves for China, he teaches the boy to sing and in time these lessons are used to help his father regain his voice. Handsome paintings and a well-paced story make this a memorable book for 6’s & up.

Age: Early School Years,Later School Years. Award Year: 2004.

Half and Half
(by Lensey Namioka, Random House $3.99 Score:) With a mother who is Scottish and a father who is Chinese, Fiona is half and half. Yet, she often struggles with the expectations of others – especially her grandparents’ when they come to watch the folk dancing contest. Not as compelling as Yang the Eldest and His Odd Jobs or others in the author’s amusing and touching series about the Yang family and growing up Chinese-American. 9-12. Student Review: “This book pulls you in entirely. I could not stop reading it. It has suspense and lots of problems. There is still a happy ending. I liked this book because it has good characters, the plot is exciting and it is very descriptive. I think that children that are eight, nine and ten will like this book. I recommend Half and Half.” review by Rachel Martel, 10

Age: Early School Years,Later School Years. Award Year: 2005.

The Search for Belle Prater
(by Ruth WHite, Farrar Straus $16 Score:) When Woodrow’s birthday arrives on New Year’s Eve the phone rings, but the person on the other end hangs up. Woodrow is certain it is his mother, Belle Prater, who disappeared a year ago. A sequel to the award-winning Belle Prater’s Boy, this beautifully crafted novel is about young people who not only suffer losses, but have the grit to go on to do something about them. White has also drawn some strong adults that the young people in the story can rely upon. 9–12.

Age: Later School Years. Award Year: 2006.