KBA Grades 3-5
Nov 20, 2014
KBA
Grades 3-5
2013 KBA Winner
KBA NomineesGrades 3-52014
Title: An Elephant in the GardenAuthor: Michael Morpurgo
Lizzie and Karl's mother, Mutti, working at a local zoo in
Dresden, Germany, during World War II while their father is away fighting in France, brings home Marlene, a baby elephant that is
slated to be destroyed as the Allied bombing grows closer, and
when they are forced to flee, Mutti feels they must take
Marlene with them, adding even more danger to their journey.AR Level: 5.2
Points: 5
Listen to an excerpt: http://michaelmorpurgo.com/books/an-elephant-in-the-garden
Michael Morpurgo
From the author’s website
Title: Flutter: the Story of Four Sisters and One Incredible Journey
Author: Erin E. Moulton
AR Level: 4.5Points: 6
Nine-and-a-half-year-old Maple and her older sister,
Dawn, must work together to face treacherous terrain,
wild animals, and poachers as they trek through
Vermont's Green Mountains seeking a miracle for their prematurely-born sister.
Title: Last Laughs: Animal EpitaphsAuthor: J. Patrick Lewis and Jane Yolen
Humorous, pun-filled poetry describes the demise of a variety of our beloved pets and animal companions.
What is an epitaph?
What does demise mean?
Last Laughs: Animal Epitaphs by J. Patrick Lewis and Jane Yolen
• The pun is a form of word play which suggests two or more meanings
• An epitaph is a short text honoring a deceased person, strictly speaking that is inscribed on their tombstone or plaque
(www.wikipedia.com)
J. Patrick Lewis
From the author’s website
Jane Yolen
From the author’s website
Title: May B: a NovelAuthor: Caroline Starr Rose
AR Level: 4.3
Points: 2
When a failed wheat crop nearly bankrupts her family, May is sent to spend several
months helping out on a neighbor’s Kansas prairie farm,
but finds herself abandoned and alone with winter
approaching. May must fight to survive the harsh conditions and her own internal struggles with reading and school in this
novel in verse.
Caroline Starr RoseBook Trailer
Coming 2015!Blue Birds
Blue Birds, a middle-grade novel in verse, centers on a forbidden friendship between Alis, the only girl in Virginia's doomed first settlement, and Kimi, a Roanoke girl.
Coming 2014!Over in the Wetlands
Based on the traditional rhyme, Over in the Meadow, this picture book follows the animals of the Louisiana shoreline as they prepare for and withstand a hurricane.
From the author’s website
Title: The One and Only Ivan Author: Katherine Applegate
AR Level: 3.6Points: 4
When Ivan, a gorilla who has lived for years in a down-and-
out circus-themed mall, meets Ruby, a baby elephant that has been added to the
mall, he decides that he must find her a better life.
http://theoneandonlyivan.com/
Winner of the 2013 Newbery Award
Katherine Applegate
The One and Only Ivan is a work of fiction, but the inspiration for this imagined tale lies with a true story.
Ivan, a real gorilla, lived at Zoo Atlanta, but on the way to that happy ending, he spent almost three decades without seeing another of his own kind before being moved to Zoo Atlanta in 1994From the book’s website
Title: The Secret TreeAuthor: Natalie Standiford
AR Level: 3.5
Points: 6
In her last summer before middle school, Minty
navigates a new friendship while investigating the
mysteries in her neighborhood, including the Witch House, the Man Bat, and the Secret Tree, where people leave secrets written
on slips of paper.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAnURGc-lH8
Natalie Standiford
March 2014
Title: Three Times LuckyAuthor: Sheila Turnage
AR Level: 3.9Points: 9
Eleven-year-old Mo LoBeau and her best friend Dale
Earnhardt Johnson III help investigate a murder in the
small town of Tupelo Landing, North Carolina, while Mo
searches for her birth mother and works in the café run by her "adoptive" parents, the
Colonel and Miss Lana.
Sheila Turnage
From the author’s website
Title: Wild LifeAuthor: Cynthia DeFelice
AR Level: 5.5
Points: 5
When twelve year-old Erik, who has just received his hunting
license, is sent to a small town in North Dakota to live with
grandparents he hardly knows, the threat of a hostile
grandfather and losing the dog he rescued prompts Erik to run away in this story of adventure
and survival.
http://cynthiadefelice.com/
Cynthia DeFelicewww.cynthiadefelice.com(site includes Book Trailer)
From the author’s website
Title: WonderAuthor: R.J. Palacio
AR Level: 4.8
Points: 11
Ten-year-old Auggie Pullman, born with an
extreme facial deformity, struggles to fit in as he makes the
transition from homeschooling to private school.
http://rjpalacio.com/
Title: Barnum's Bones: How Barnum Brown Discovered the Most Famous Dinosaur in the World
Author: Tracey E. Fern
AR Level: 6.2
Points: 0.5
True story about early 20th century
paleontologist, Barnum Brown who discovers the first
documented skeleton of the Tyrannosaurus
Rex and other important dinosaurs.
http://www.traceyfern.com/barnumsbones.html
2014 Kentucky Bluegrass Award Nominees Grades 3-5
Recreated by: Christy HavensLibrary Media Specialist, North Butler Elementary School
Feel free to use, share, edit, etc.