Spotlight On... Grand Canyon Reader Nominees

--by Hanje Richards

The Grand Canyon Reader Award is a reader award program for students in Arizona. Students vote annually on their favorite book in the following categories: Picture, Non-Fiction, Intermediate, ’Tween, and Teen. This blog post features the “Easy Fiction” and “Easy Non-Fiction” nominees for the 2011 Grand Canyon Reader Award that are available at The Copper Queen Library.

In subsequent blog posts, we'll feature books that have been nominated in the other categories and are available at The Copper Queen Library.

Which nominee do YOU think should win?

Easy Fiction Nominees

Chicken Dance (Tammi Sauer) - Meet Marge and Lola, chickens on a mission: to win tickets for the Elvis Poultry Show! But their toughest competition – a pack of menacing ducks – sneers that “all a chicken can do is bawk, flap, and shake.” Can our two feisty chicks show those quackers how to rock ’n’ roll the barnyard?

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The Cow That Laid an Egg (Andy Cutbill) - Marjorie is an insecure cow who wishes she had some special talent. She can't ride a bicycle or do handstands like the other cows. Then one morning (thanks to a bunch of scheming chickens and a paintbrush), Marjorie is astonished to discover something extraordinary: she’s laid an egg!

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Duck Soup (Jackie Urbanovic) - Max the Duck is cooking up an amazing soup. But what's this? …A feather floating in the soup! And where's Max? Brody the Dog, Dakota the Cat, and Bebe the Bird race about in their hilarious search for the missing Max. But remember, sometimes things just aren't as they appear.

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I Need My Monster (Amanda Noll) - Ethan is a little boy who can’t fall asleep without the ragged breathing and claw-scratching of his favorite monster, Gabe. But Gabe has left a note that he’s gone fishing, so Ethan knocks on his floor to summon a series of substitute ghoulies. Herbert, a horned green thing in a vest, doesn’t even have claws. And Ralph, a four-eyed, six-armed blob, has claws, but they’re painted and manicured. And Cynthia – well, no hard feelings, but a boy wants a boy monster, not a girl.

Martha in the Middle (Jan Fernley) - Being in the middle is no fun for Martha. She gets squashed between her siblings when they argue. She never gets called “big and sensible” or “cutesy-wootsy.” Sometimes, she even feels invisible. One day, she gets so fed up, she decides to run away. Luckily, Martha meets a wise frog who points out that the middle is the best bit – the tasty seeds in the sunflower, the sweet peas in the pod, the juiciest part of a watermelon. With beguiling warmth and humor, Jan Fearnley reassures children that being in the middle of things is a choice spot after all.

Princess Pig (Eileen Spinelli) - One day, a sash from a local beauty pageant blows across the farm and lands right on Pig, who takes it as a sign. “I must be a princess,” she squeals. Pony disagrees, but all the other animals in the barnyard are happy to recognize her new title. Pig is delighted to learn that princesses are treated to pretty princess pies, decadent bubble baths, fluffy pillows, and soothing bedtime lullabies... But there is a cost to the grandeur. There are many things that princesses aren’t allowed to do – like sleep late, or roll in the mud, or attend parties in the barn hosted by the common folk. Maybe Pony was right when he said, “It’s a fine thing to be a pig, if a pig is what you are.”

Sloppy Joe (David Keane) - When it comes to being messy, Sloppy Joe is a pro! He slurps, spills, slouches, talks with his mouth full, and never, ever tucks in his shirt. But being messy has its challenges. So, Sloppy Joe sets out to become Neat Joe, only to learn that being messy is a part of who he is – and his family loves him for it!

Sylvie (Jennifer Gordon Sattler) - “Mama, why are we pink?” asks an irrepressible and ever-curious young flamingo named Sylvie. When she learns that it’s due to the little pink brine shrimp they eat, Sylvie takes the maxim “You are what you eat!” to a whole new level. Her new diet leads to some very interesting new looks – from scarlet to stripey to positively purple. Sylvie eventually comes to learn that being yourself is the best thing to be – though with her own flair!

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Woolbur (Leslie Helakoski) - Woolbur is not like other sheep. He hangs out with wild dogs, cards his own wool to avoid the shearing barn, and even dyes his wool blue. “Don't worry!” says Grandpaa when Maa and Paa fret that Woolbur is different. But when they tell their son to follow the flock, the opposite happens – the flock follows him! Soon, everyone is copying his wild hairstyles and taking turns on the spinning wheel. Leave it to Woolbur to find a new way to step ahead of the herd.

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Zarchary Z. Packrat and His Amazing Collections (Brooke Bessesen) - Meet Zachary, a playful packrat who never seems to have enough stuff. He loves art and heirlooms, swap meets and museums. Read along and join the fun as he carefully cares for his favorite collections and seeks out new goodies to stash in his cache. Written in rhyme for readers of all ages.

Easy Non-Fiction Nominees

Jackson and Bud’s Bumpy Ride: Americas First Cross-Country Automobile Trip (Elizabeth Koehler-Pentacoff) - In 1903, Dr. Horatio Jackson overheard a stranger saying that it was just not possible to drive across the United States in one of those unreliable, newfangled automobiles. Jackson disagreed. So, he made a $50 bet with the man that he could drive a car from San Francisco to New York. Jackson bought a used Winton automobile, hired a mechanic named Crocker, packed some supplies, and adopted Bud, a bulldog who became their mascot. The trio's only goal was to make it from San Francisco all the way to New York City in one piece.

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Guess What Is Growing Inside This Egg (Mia Posada) - Gives facts about the many ways animals care for their eggs and young. With fun collage illustrations, Mia Posada's wonderful picture book is about creatures that burst to life from eggs, creating a mini-guessing game for readers. Sea turtles, a spider, and penguins are featured, along with information about each animal.

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Looking Closely Across the Desert (Frank Serafini) - Readers are first challenged to guess the identity of each close-up photograph. The next page reveals the entire photograph of the plant, animal or natural object, accompanied by a simple but detailed description of the habitat. By inspiring children to ask questions and use their imaginations, this book helps build problem-solving skills and encourages curiosity about environments that, examined this closely, are full of unexpected wonders.

Round Like A Ball (Lisa Cambpell Ernst) - Is it a meatball? A basketball? A pearl? As the round hole through the pages of this book grows larger, readers will come closer and closer to guessing the identity of the object that's round like a ball, hot and cold, every color, always moving, and home to us all. With a simple text and glorious collage artwork,Ernst offers a gentle tribute to our planet and a timely reminder that we all need to take care of it.

Trout Are Made of Trees (April Pulley Sayre) - How can a leaf become a fish? Join two young children and their dads to find out, as they observe life in and around a stream. Energetic collage art and simple, lyrical text depict the ways plants and animals are connected in the food web. Back matter provides information about the trout life cycle as well as conservation efforts that kids can do themselves.

Wangari’s Trees of Peace: A True Story of Africa (Jeannette Winter) - When Wangari Maathai was growing up in Kenya, the land was covered with trees. But on returning to her homeland from America, where she was educated on scholarship, she discovered a hot, dry, barren land, stripped of the trees she loved as a child. Starting in her own backyard, Maathai planted trees and encouraged other women to do the same. More than 30 million trees have since been planted by the members of her Green Belt Movement. Maathai was awarded the Nobel Prize in 2004 in recognition of her work.