CHARLIE MAY SIMON READING LIST 2020 2021 GUIDELINES

CHARLIE MAY SIMON READING LIST 2020 -2021

GUIDELINES • For students in grades four, five and six • Students must have read three books or have heard three books • Students vote for one book

GUIDELINES • It is hoped the children will discuss the books that they have read and as a result will become more thoughtful readers. • One person at the school will collect the votes and submit the count to the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education in early

CRITERIA • Books that are second in a series or beyond will not be considered • Books that fall in this category may be considered if recommended by a teacher, library media specialist or committee member

CRITERIA • Books on the 2020 -21 must have been published in 2018. • The author must reside in the United States. • Books published in a previous year or a foreign country will not be considered • Adaptations, retellings and translations will not be considered • The author must be living • Books that children will read anyways are generally not included

2019 -2020 Award Delayed Due to the pandemic, voting on the 2020 reading list is postponed until this fall to allow more students to participate. All schools and public libraries will be notified once schools are back in session and plans for the new vote are in place. Online ballots and school tabulation sheets will be available at that time. Schools may direct questions about the voting process to Cassandra Barnett at the Arkansas Department of Education. The book selected will be the 50 th book to win the Charlie May Simon award. Next year the 50 th anniversary of the Charlie May Simon award will be celebrated.

WHERE THE WATERMELONS GROW By Cindy Baldwin Twelve-year-old Della Kelly of Maryville, North Carolina, tries to come to terms with her mother’s mental illness while her father struggles to save the farm from a record-breaking drought.

WHERE THE WATERMELONS GROW Genre: Realistic fiction Accelerated Reader BL 5. 4 Points 8. 0 Lexile 1020 Word count 51767 Pages 245 Debut novel

BENEFITS OF BEING AN OCTOPUS By Ann Braden Seventh-grader Zoey Albro focuses on caring for three younger siblings and avoiding rich classmates at school until her fascination with octopuses gets her on the debate team and she begins to speak out.

BENEFITS OF BEING AN OCTOPUS Genre: Realistic fiction Accelerated Reader BL 4. 9 Points 8. 0 Reading Counts RL 4. 7 Points 15. 0 Lexile 770 Word count 55703 Pages 254 Debut middle grade novel

BACKYARD BEARS: CONSERVATION, HABITATE CHANGES, AND THE RISE OF URBAN WILDLIFE By Amy Cherrix North Carolina's black bears were once a threatened species, but now their numbers are rising in and around Asheville. But what happens when conservation efforts for a species are so successful that there's a boom in the population? Can humans and bears live compatibly? What are the long-term effects for the bears? A look at black bears--and other animals around the globe--who are rapidly becoming our neighbors in urban and suburban areas.

BACKYARD BEARS: CONSERVATION, HABITATE CHANGES, AND THE RISE OF URBAN WILDLIFE Genre: Nonfiction, Informational Accelerated Reader BL 7. 7 Points 2. 0 Reading Counts RL 9. 7 Points 5 Lexile 1130 Word count 13002 Pages 73

FINDING LANGSTON By Lesa Cline-Ransome Discovering a book of Langston Hughes' poetry in the library helps Langston cope with the loss of his mother, relocating from Alabama to Chicago as part of the Great Migration, and being bullied.

FINDING LANGSTON Genre: Historical fiction Accelerated Reader BL 4. 5 Points 3. 0 Reading Counts RL 4. 6 Points 7. 0 Lexile 760 Word count 22936 Pages 107 Coretta Scott King (Author) Book Award Honor Award ALA Notable/Best Books

SAVING WINSLOW By Sharon Creech A young boy befriends an ailing newborn donkey and nurses him back to health.

SAVING WINSLOW Genre: Realistic fiction Accelerated Reader BL 4. 2 Points 2. 0 Reading Counts RL 4. 3 Points 6 Lexile 690 Word count 16667 Pages 165

LOUISIANA’S WAY HOME By Kate Di. Camillo When Louisiana Elfante's granny wakes her up in the middle of the night to tell her that the day of reckoning has arrived, and they have to leave home immediately, Louisiana isn't overly worried at first. But this time, things are different. Granny intends for them to never return. As her life intersects with the lives of people in Richford, Georgia, she worries that she may only be destined for good-byes

LOUISIANA’S WAY HOME Genre: Realistic fiction, Historical Accelerated Reader BL 4. 5 Points 5. 0 Reading Counts RL 3. 5 Points 9 Lexile 31222 Pages 227

LIFEBOAT 12 By Susan Hood Based on a true WWII story In 1940, a group of British children, their escorts, and some sailors struggle to survive in a lifeboat when the ship taking them to safety in Canada is torpedoed. Includes historical notes.

LIFEBOAT 12 Genre: Historical fiction, Poetry, Action/Adventure Accelerated Reader BL 4 Points 4. 0 Reading Counts RL 4. 4 Points 9 Lexile 610 Word count 26349 Pages 314 Debut Middle grade book 2019 Winner of the SCBWI Golden Kite Award 2019 NCTE Charlotte Huck Award Recommended Title ALA Notable/Best Books

THE SEASON OF STYX MALONE By Kekla Magoon Caleb Franklin and his younger brother, Bobby Gene, spend an extraordinary summer with their new, older neighbor, Styx Malone, a foster boy from the city.

THE SEASON OF STYX MALONE Genre: Realistic fiction Accelerated Reader BL 3. 8 Points 7 Reading Counts RL 2. 8 Points 13 Lexile 510 Word count 53400 Pages 297 Coretta Scott King (Author) Book Award Honor award ALA Notable/Best Books

BOB By Wendy Mass & Rebecca Stead Visiting her grandmother in Australia, Livy, ten, is reminded of the promise she made five years before to Bob, a strange, green creature who cannot recall who or what he is.

BOB Genre: Fantasy, Mystery & suspense Accelerated Reader BL 3. 9 Points 4. 0 Reading Counts RL 3. 3 Points 8 Lexile 590 Word count 29005 Pages 201

THE MISCALCULATIONS OF LIGHTNING GIRL By Stacy Mc. Anulty A lightning strike made Lucy, twelve, a math genius but after years of homeschooling, her grandmother enrolls her in middle school and she learns that life more than numbers.

THE MISCALCULATIONS OF LIGHTNING GIRL Genre: Realistic fiction Accelerated Reader BL 3. 7 Points 7. 0 Reading Counts RL 3. 1 Points 14 Lexile 530 Word count 54622 Pages 293

DEAR SISTER By Alison Mc. Ghee Brother chronicles life with his frequently-annoying Sister, from the time she is born until she is ten and he leaves for college, through a series of letters and drawings.

DEAR SISTER Genre: Realistic fiction, Letters, graphic novel Accelerated Reader BL 3. 6 Points 0. 5 Lexile 560 Word count 3561 Pages 181

PLAYING ATARI WITH SADDAM HUSSEIN: BASED ON A TRUE STORY By Jennifer Roy For forty-two days in 1991, eleven-year-old Ali Fadhil and his family struggle to survive as Basra, Iraq, is bombed by the United States and its allies.

PLAYING ATARI WITH SADDAM HUSSEIN Genre: Historical Fiction Accelerated Reader BL 3. 9 Points 4. 0 Reading Counts RL 3. 2 Points 9 Lexile 560 Guided reading X Word count 29603 Pages 165

AMAL UNBOUND By Aisha Saeed In Pakistan, Amal holds on to her dream of being a teacher even after becoming an indentured servant to pay off her family's debt to the wealthy and corrupt Khan family.

AMAL UNBOUND Genre: Realistic fiction Accelerated Reader BL 4. 2 Points 6. 0 Reading Counts RL 4. 4 Points 12 Lexile 600 Word count 38737 Pages 226

THE GIRL WHO DREW BUTTERFLIES: HOW MARIA MERIAN’S ART CHANGED SCIENCE By Joyce Sidman Explores the extraordinary life and scientific discoveries of Maria Merian, who discovered the truth about metamorphosis.

THE GIRL WHO DREW BUTTERFLIES Genre: Nonfiction, Biography Accelerated Reader BL 7. 7 Points 2. 0 Reading Counts RL 10. 5 Points 6 Lexile 1110 F&P Word count 12720 Pages 121 ALA Notable/Best Books Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award

JUST LIKE JACKIE By Lindsey Stoddard A tough girl with a fragile heart tries her best to care for her aging grandfather-the only family she’s ever known

JUST LIKE JACKIE Genre: Realistic fiction Accelerated Reader BL 5. 1 Points 8. 0 Reading Counts RL 6. 2 Points 12 Lexile 900 Word count 50925 Pages 241

HARBOR ME By Jacqueline Woodson When six students are chosen to participate in a weekly talk with no adults allowed, they discover that when they're together, it’s safe to share the hopes and fears they have to hide from the rest of the world.

HARBOR ME Genre: Realistic fiction Accelerated Reader BL 4. 1 Points 4. 0 Reading Counts RL 3. 5 Points 10 Lexile 630 Word count 31720 Pages 176 ALA Notable/Best Books