Books in Award Young Readers series

Addy has worn hearing aids for as long as she can remember. Her mother tells her this makes her special, but now that Addy's in grade six, she wants to be special for what she's done. When Addy joins the school running club to keep her best friend, Lucy, company, she discovers she is a gifted runner. Lucy isn't, which is problematic. Further troubles surface when Addy gets paired on a school project with Sierra, a smart, self-assured new classmate who wears a cochlear implant. Addy is surprised to discover hearing loss is all they have in common—and a shared disability is not enough of a foundation for a friendship. True friends support each other, even if they have different passions and dreams. More importantly, Addy comes to understand that she is defined by more than her hearing loss. She has the power to choose how people will see her, and she does.

It's Christmas time all across America and Jenny is feeling left out. Her secular parents, born to different faiths that they no longer observe, don't believe in celebrating Christmas. She never seemed to mind before, but this year it bothers her--maybe because they're home and not on the Florida coast where they usually go at this time of the year to avoid the holiday hoopla. All around her the neighbors have decorated their houses with festive lights, while her house by contrast looks drab and uninviting during the long, cold winter nights. Itfs made her feel like an outsider. Why does her family have to be different? She talks with her mom and dad about their reasons for not observing the holidays.Then one day a teacher gives her "an awesome idea": she tells Jenny about the winter solstice and ancient traditions among many peoples of the northern hemisphere who celebrate this shortest day of the year in anticipation of the longer, warmer, and brighter days of the coming spring. Why don't we celebrate the winter solstice, too? Jenny wonders.Her parents can't help but agree and a few days later they bring home a potted pine from the local nursery for the living room. What fun they all have placing their special decorations on the solstice tree. And best of all, Jenny can now invite any of her friends, no matter what their religious backgrounds are, to admire her beautiful tree. Everyone can participate!This charming story will help children and parents enjoy the winter season in a meaningful and all-inclusive fashion.

When Nick and his pals suddenly find themselves short a man for the NBA-sponsored three-on-three tournament they plan to enter during the summer holidays, the solution seems simple enough. Nick, Kia and Mark are the key players on the team, so the fourth, though mandatory according to the rules, doesn't really have to be good at the game. A surprise visit from Nick's mother's cousin brings Ned, who is exactly Nick's age but not exactly an athlete, into the picture and onto the team. The other three teammates figure that as long as they don't actually have to use Ned in a game they will be fine. Then Mark sprains his ankle and can't play in the tournament. Suddenly Nick and Kia must find a way to make Ned an integral part of the team. This turns out to be no small task!

This unique, sensitively written novel for young readers about life on a modern farm skillfully interweaves two stories, one from the animal perspective of a cow named Emily and the other from the human viewpoint of a twelve-year-old boy named Chris. Author Nicholas Read eloquently describes how two very different lives encounter similar disruptions and are ultimately brought together in a life-and-death adventure.Though Emily's early experiences on the farm are pleasant, she soon senses her mother's unmistakable signals that all is not well. Before long she must face the cruel realities of branding, a livestock market, confinement in a feedlot, and finally a frightening ride in a cattle truck. Chris, too, is dealing with the harsh reality of a broken home and being forced to move from the city to the country to start a new life when his mother decides to remarry. Compared to the busy city, Chris finds the country to be a lonely place, and he has trouble making friends until he meets Gina, a true free spirit with a love for animals. How Chris and Gina scheme to rescue Emily from a sad fate makes a fascinating and instructive tale.Parents who care about animals will want their children to read this charming, engrossing story.

In the late 1850s in and around Carson City, struggles between the Indians and the local whites are growing. During the struggles, Joselyn, a young orphan, meets Sarah Winnemucca, a Paiute girl who becomes her friend and gives her some valuable advice. When Joselyn takes that advice and escapes from the Carson City Home for Unfortunate Children, she has no idea that her boy's disguise and her love for and expertise with horses will lead her straight to the Pony Express. Joselyn becomes Jo and turns to a life that demands all her inner strength and resources. Then the meanest man on the route learns her secret and uses it to extract a promise that kept or broken could mean death.

Kaylee used to love to fly. With two pilots for parents, how could she not? But when her father's plane goes down and neither the wreckage nor his body is found, she develops a terror of flying. She is too afraid to convince her mother to take her back to the Caribbean to search for her father. And she is haunted by fear whenever her mother goes up to fight fires in a water bomber. Kaylee escapes her fear and her grief on treks with her dog, Sausage, through the forest, the Big Tangle, near her home. But, one day, fire follows her into the forest and events conspire against her until the only escape is resting on pontoons at the dock on Booker Bay.

Ellen has lost her brother, and she shares with readers just how his death has changed the way her family interacts and the way she thinks about herself and others.This sensitive book is designed to generate discussion between children and adults as each page provides opportunities for communication, understanding, expression of feelings, and support from the little girl's parents.As the story moves through young Ellen's experiences, it arrives at a universal problemhow to commemorate the birthday of the child who has died. The suggestions presented here have been highly recognized and recommended by bereavement counselors and support groups. Although written for the young child, A Birthday Present for Daniel reaches out to all who have experienced the loss of a loved one.Juliet C. Rothman of Annapolis, MD, is assistant professor at the National Catholic School for Social Services, Catholic University of America, editor of the Healthcare Ethics book series, and author of Saying Goodbye to Daniel.

Mary is certain that her parents are giving her new shoes for Christmas, but the Depression has hit her Saskatchewan farming family hard. Mary tries to hide her disappointment when she receives a crude homemade doll instead. She ends up liking the doll much more than she expects, but the doll fuels the rivalry between Mary and her older sister, Judith. Then, when the doll disappears a few weeks later during a snowstorm, Mary and Judith's relationship changes once again.