2009
Young Reader's Choice Award Nominees

The Pacific Northwest Library Association's Young Reader's Choice Award is the oldest children's choice award in the U.S. and Canada. The award was established in 1940 by a Seattle bookseller, the late Harry Hartman, who believed every student should have an opportunity to select a book that gives her or him pleasure.

Nominations are taken only from the children, teachers, parents and librarians of the Pacific Northwest: Washington, Oregon, Alaska, Idaho, Montana, British Columbia, and Alberta.

Nominated titles were published three years previously, printed in the U.S. or Canada and are already favorites with readers. Only 4th to 12th graders in the Pacific Northwest are eligible to vote. Read at least three books in your grade category and vote for your favorite in March 2009.

Nominees for the 2009 award are:


Junior Division, Grades 4-6

Room One: A Mystery Or Two
by Andrew Clements

Ted Hammond, the only sixth grader in his small Nebraska town's one-room schoolhouse, searches for clues to the disappearance of a homeless family.

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane
by Kate DiCamillo

Edward Tulane, a cold-hearted and proud toy rabbit, loves only himself until he is separated from the little girl who adores him and travels across the country, acquiring new owners and listening to their hopes, dreams, and histories.

The Homework Machine
by Dan Gutman

Four fifth-grade students -- a geek, a class clown, a teacher's pet, and a slacker -- as well as their teacher and mothers, each relate events surrounding a computer programmed to complete homework assignments.

The Year of the Dog
by Grace Lin

Frustrated at her seeming lack of talent for anything, a young Taiwanese American girl sets out to apply the lessons of the Chinese Year of the Dog, those of making best friends and finding oneself, to her own life.

Rules
by Cynthia Lord

Frustrated at life with an autistic brother, twelve-year-old Catherine longs for a normal existence but her world is further complicated by a friendship with a young paraplegic.

Gossamer
by Lois Lowry

While learning to bestow dreams, a young dream-giver tries to save an eight-year-old boy from the effects of both his abusive past and the nightmares inflicted on him by the frightening Sinisteeds.

The Higher Power of Lucky
by Susan Patron

Fearing that her legal guardian plans to abandon her to return to France, ten-year-old aspiring scientist Lucky Trimble determines to run away while also continuing to seek the Higher Power that will bring stability to her life.

To Dance
by Siena Cherson Siegel

In graphic format, the author shares her story of how, after being diagnosed with flat feet, she decided to take ballet classes at the age of six and was accepted to the School of American Ballet when she was eleven.


Intermediate Division, Grades 7-9

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
by John Boyne

Bored and lonely after his family moves from Berlin to a place called "Out-With" in 1942, Bruno, the son of a Nazi officer, befriends a boy in striped pajamas who lives behind a wire fence.

Half-Moon Investigations
by Eoin Colfer

When Fletcher Moon, the youngest detective in the world, is framed for a crime he did not commit, he must team up with the unlikeliest of allies, run from the authorities, and solve the case within twelve hours to clear his name.

Ark Angel
by Anthony Horowitz

After recovering from a near fatal gunshot wound, teenage spy Alex Rider embarks on a new mission to stop a group of eco-terrorists from sabotaging the launch of the first outer space hotel. Sixth in a series.

The Pinhoe Egg
by Diana Wynne Jones

Two powerful young enchanters, Cat, the future Chrestomanci, and Marianne, who is being trained to be Gammer of the Pinhoes, work together as friends to try to end an illegal witches' war and, in the process, right some old wrongs. Sixth in a series.

Fablehaven
by Brandon Mull

When Kendra and Seth go to stay at their grandparents' estate, they discover that it is a sanctuary for magical creatures and that a battle between good and evil is looming. First in a series.

Dairy Queen
by Catherine Gilbert Murdock

After spending her summer running the family farm and training the quarterback for her school's rival football team, sixteen-year-old D.J. decides to go out for the sport herself, not anticipating the reactions of those around her.

Small Steps
by Louis Sachar

Three years after being released from Camp Green Lake, Armpit is trying hard to keep his life on track, but when his old pal X-Ray shows up with a tempting plan to make some easy money scalping concert tickets, Armpit reluctantly goes along. Sequel/companion to Holes.

Endymion Spring
by Matthew Skelton

Having reluctantly accompanied his academic mother and pesky younger sister to Oxford, twelve-year-old Blake Winters is at loose ends until he stumbles across an ancient and magical book, secretly brought to England in 1453 by Gutenberg's mute apprentice to save it from evil forces, and which now draws Blake into a dangerous and life-threatening quest.


Senior Division, Grades 10-12

The Road of the Dead
by Kevin Brooks

Two brothers, sons of an incarcerated gypsy, leave London traveling to an isolated and desolate village, in search of the brutal killer of their sister.

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist
by Rachel Cohn

High school student Nick O'Leary, member of a rock band, meets college-bound Norah Silverberg and asks her to be his girlfriend for five minutes in order to avoid his ex-sweetheart.

An Abundance of Katherines
by John Green

Having been recently dumped for the nineteenth time by a girl named Katherine, recent high school graduate and former child prodigy Colin sets off on a road trip with his best friend to try to find some new direction in life while also trying to create a mathematical formula to explain his relationships.

The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl
by Barry Lyga

A fifteen-year-old "geek" who keeps a list of the high school jocks and others who torment him, and pours his energy into creating a great graphic novel, encounters Kyra, Goth Girl, who helps change his outlook on almost everything, including himself.

New Moon
by Stephenie Meyer

When the Cullens, including her beloved Edward, leave Forks rather than risk revealing that they are vampires, it is almost too much for eighteen-year-old Bella to bear, but she finds solace in her friend Jacob until he is drawn into a "cult" and changes in terrible ways. Second in a series.

Life As We Knew It
by Susan Beth Pfeffer
Through journal entries sixteen-year-old Miranda describes her family's struggle to survive after a meteor hits the moon, causing worldwide tsunamis, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions.
American Born Chinese
by Gene Luen Yang
A graphic novel which alternates three interrelated stories about the problems of young Chinese Americans trying to participate in the popular culture.
The Book Thief
by Markus Zusak
Trying to make sense of the horrors of World War II, Death relates the story of Liesel -- a young German girl whose book-stealing and story-telling talents help sustain her family and the Jewish man they are hiding, as well as their neighbors.