Balloons over Broadway: the true story of the puppeteers of Macy's Parade by Melissa Sweet

Grades 3-6

Committee Annotation: As a boy, Tony Sarg invented a method for feeding his family's chickens while still in bed. As an adult, he created awe inspiring, floating, balloons to star in the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade.

Author website: http://melissasweet.net/

Because of Mr. Terupt by Rob Buyea

Grades: 4-6

Committee Annotation: Seven fifth-graders at Snow Hill School in Connecticut relate how their lives are changed for the better by "rookie teacher" Mr. Terupt.

Author website: http://www.robbuyea.com/

The cheshire cheese cat: a Dickens of a tale by Carmen Agra Deedy and Randall Wright

Grades: 3-6

Committee Annotation: A community of mice and a cheese-loving cat form an unlikely alliance at London's Cheshire Cheese, an inn where Charles Dickens finds inspiration and Queen Victoria makes an unexpected visit.

Author website: www.cheshirecheesecat.com

Floors by Patrick Carman

Grades: 4-6

Committee Annotation: Ten-year-old Leo's future and the fate of the extraordinary Whippet Hotel, where his father is the maintenance man, are at stake when a series of cryptic boxes lead Leo to floors, strange puzzles, and unexpected alliances.

Author website: http://www.patrickcarman.com/

Fractions = trouble by Claudia Mills

Grades: 3-4

Committee Annotation: When Wilson Williams is struggling with fractions and his parents hire a math tutor for him, he is mortified. He is determined to make sure that no one finds out, not even his best friend, Josh.

Author website: http://www.claudiamillsauthor.com/

The great wall of Lucy Wu by Wendy Wan-Long Shang

Grades: 3-6

Committee Annotation: Eleven-year-old aspiring basketball star and interior designer Lucy Wu is excited about finally having her own bedroom, until she learns that her great-aunt is coming to visit from China and Lucy will have to share her bedroom with her for several months. Will this and her parents forcing her to attend Chinese school bring an end to her plans for a perfect sixth-grade year?

Author website: none

Inside out and back again by Thanhha Lai

Grades: 4-6

Committee Annotation: Based on the author's own life, a ten-year-old girl experiences the culture shock of moving to America from Viet Nam; this story expresses both the humor and the heartbreak of this time in her life.

Author website: none

Jake by Audrey Couloumbis

Grades: 4-6

Committee Annotation: What is a family? It has always been just Jake and his mom until she is hospitalized suddenly and he finds himself alone. Jake needs help and finds it in unexpected places.

Author website: none

Marty Mcguire by Kate Messner & Brian Floca

Grades 3-6

Committee Annotation: When tomboy Marty is cast as a princess in a school play, she doesn't want anything to do with it until her parents force her to take part. It's only then that she discovers that she can adapt and still be herself.

Author website: http://www.katemessner.com/marty-mcguire/

My life as a stunt boy by Janet Tashhijian

Grades: 3-6

Committee Annotation: Derek Fallon has the opportunity of a lifetime when he gets to perform skateboarding stunts and other disciplines of parkour in a movie opposite teen idol, Tanya Billings. But when he learns that he must wear a wig, and his friends post the embarrassing videos of him on the Internet, he wonders if life can get any worse.

Author website: none

A Nation's Hope: the story of boxing legend Joe Louis by Matt A. de la Pena

Grades: 3-6

Committee annotation: When an African American boxer has a 1938 bout with Adolph Hitler's "Master Race" German heavyweight, it becomes more than just a boxing match: the honor of the entire racially divided United States is at stake!

Author website: http://www.mattdelapena.com/

Pie by Sarah Weeks

Grades: 4-6

Committee annotation: Alice's Aunt Polly is the best pie maker in the country. When she dies suddenly, the whole town tries to discover how to make pies like Aunt Polly. Alice, however, is trying to find out who the mysterious stranger is that is lurking around town looking for the answer...

Author website: http://www.sarahweeks.com/sweeks-pie.htm

The P.S. Brothers by Maribeth Boelts

Grades: 3-6

Committee Annotation: Sixth-graders Russell and Shawn, poor and picked on, work together "pooper scooping" up dog droppings to earn money for a rottweiler puppy who will protect them from bullies. When they learn that the puppies' owner is running an illegal dog-fighting ring, they are torn on how to respond.

Author website: http://www.maribethboelts.com/

Sidekicks by Dan Santat

Grades: 3-6

Committee annotation: In this graphic novel, Captain Amazing feels he is getting too old to be a reliable superhero, so he tries to hire a new sidekick, but his super power pets have different ideas. When the arch villain Dr. Havoc returns to town Captain Amazing finds himself in trouble. Can his pet save the day?

Author website: http://www.dantat.com/DANTAT.COM/DAN_SANTAT_author___illustrator.html

Small as an elephant by Jennifer Richard Jacobson

Grades: 4-6

Committee annotation: Abandoned by his mother in an Acadia National Park campground, Jack tries to make his way back to Boston before anyone figures out what is going on, with only a small toy elephant for company.

Author website: http://jenniferjacobson.com/small-as-an-elephant/

Tortilla Sun by Jennifer Cervantes

Grades: 4-6

Committee Annotation: While spending a summer in New Mexico with her grandmother, twelve-year-old Izzy makes new friends, learns to cook, and for the first time hears stories about her father, who died before she was born.

Author website: none.

When life gives you O.J. by Erica S. Perl

Grades: 3-6

Committee Annotation: Zelly Fried wants a dog more than anything, so at the urging of her grandfather, during the summer before sixth grade, she takes care of a "practice dog" made out of an orange juice jug to show her parents that she really is ready for the responsibility, even though she is sometimes not entirely sure about the idea.

Author website: http://www.ericaperl.com/when-life-gives-you-oj/

Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick

Grades: 4-6

Committee Annotation: The lives of Rose and Ben, two deaf children growing up 50 years apart, intersect at the American Museum of Natural History. Why is Rose running away? Who is Ben's father? Are their lives connected? Explore the words and the pictures to discover the truth.

Author website: none.

Won-ton: a cat tale told in Haiku by Lee Wardlaw

Grades: 3-6

Committee Annotation: A skeptical shelter cat finally finds a home with the perfect boy. Typical in senryu (a form of haiku) with expressive illustrations; this whole literary package is heartwarming and unforgettable.

Author website: http://www.leewardlaw.com/

Worst of friends- Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and the true story of an American Feud by Suzanne Tripp Jurmain

Grades: 4-6

Committee Annotation: These two best friends worked together to help form a new nation, but can they fix their broken friendship?

Author website: none