Jill --
2009's Buckeye Children's Book Award winner for grades 3-5 was Found by Margaret Peterson Haddix. This winner is a memorable one for me, not only because I'm a huge fan of the author, but also because this was my first year as a media specialist and therefore my first time having my school participate in the Buckeye Children's Book Award!
Found is tricky to explain, as the plot has a lot going on -- much like most other MPH books. That's also what sucks you in! Jonah, a 13 year old boy, has always known he was adopted. It's never been a big deal for him, until he and his friend, Chip, start receiving strange letters -- revealing to the boys that Chip is also adopted, and that they are "survivors" of something. Upon further digging, the boys and Katherine (Jonah's sister) uncover a plane that just appeared one day with 36 babies on board, and not a single adult. Jonah and Chip were 2 of those babies. When they fall into a trap set by time-traveling kidnappers, they realize that these people were taking children from history and sending them into the future. Jonah and Chip could very well be a King in Europe from the 1500's, or the missing Lindbergh baby, or any number of historical person that mysteriously disappeared! Mystery solved, the trio decide to stop the kidnappers from doing even more damage, and try to help fix the problems of history resulting from their disappearance. Which means, they must be sent to the past...
With such a complex plot and rich vocabulary, this book is definitely more geared towards the older end of our 3-5th grade age range, but also makes for a wonderful read aloud. You'll have students begging for you to continue! I'm not at all surprised that this was chosen as the winner in 2009. I know my 5th graders were voting for this book like crazy! Just recently, I had 4th/5th grade students clamoring to talk with me about the series, as it was their favorite! Great winner, for sure!
This is also the first in a series of 8 books, so those series-loving kids will have plenty to read through.
Do you remember the first time you had your school(s) participate in the BCBA, Jill?
Please join us in our reading challenge! We welcome anyone at any time! :)
For more information, please see this post.
2009's Buckeye Children's Book Award winner for grades 3-5 was Found by Margaret Peterson Haddix. This winner is a memorable one for me, not only because I'm a huge fan of the author, but also because this was my first year as a media specialist and therefore my first time having my school participate in the Buckeye Children's Book Award!
Found is tricky to explain, as the plot has a lot going on -- much like most other MPH books. That's also what sucks you in! Jonah, a 13 year old boy, has always known he was adopted. It's never been a big deal for him, until he and his friend, Chip, start receiving strange letters -- revealing to the boys that Chip is also adopted, and that they are "survivors" of something. Upon further digging, the boys and Katherine (Jonah's sister) uncover a plane that just appeared one day with 36 babies on board, and not a single adult. Jonah and Chip were 2 of those babies. When they fall into a trap set by time-traveling kidnappers, they realize that these people were taking children from history and sending them into the future. Jonah and Chip could very well be a King in Europe from the 1500's, or the missing Lindbergh baby, or any number of historical person that mysteriously disappeared! Mystery solved, the trio decide to stop the kidnappers from doing even more damage, and try to help fix the problems of history resulting from their disappearance. Which means, they must be sent to the past...
With such a complex plot and rich vocabulary, this book is definitely more geared towards the older end of our 3-5th grade age range, but also makes for a wonderful read aloud. You'll have students begging for you to continue! I'm not at all surprised that this was chosen as the winner in 2009. I know my 5th graders were voting for this book like crazy! Just recently, I had 4th/5th grade students clamoring to talk with me about the series, as it was their favorite! Great winner, for sure!
This is also the first in a series of 8 books, so those series-loving kids will have plenty to read through.
Do you remember the first time you had your school(s) participate in the BCBA, Jill?
Please join us in our reading challenge! We welcome anyone at any time! :)
For more information, please see this post.