Kids and Families

Favoread Award Winners, 2007-2000

Vote for the 2008 Favoread Award winners!

click on the book cover for a summary

2007 Winners
Molly Moon's Incredible Book of Hypnotism by Georgia Byng
Redwall by Brian Jacques
Spy X: The Code by Peter Lerangis

2006 Winners
City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau
Savage Damsel and the Dwarf by Gerald Morris
I, Freddy by Deitlof Reiche
Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett

2005 Winners
Knight's Castle by Edward Eager
King of the Wind by Marguerite Henry
Mean Margaret by Tor Seidler

2004 Winners
We Are Mesquakie, We Are One by Hadley Irwin
Rabbit Hill by Robert Lawson
The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken

2003 Winners
Freaky Friday by Mary Rodgers
It's Like This, Cat by Emily Cheney Neville
Seven Spiders Spinning by Gregory Maguire

2002 Winners
Chinese Cinderella: The True Story of an Unwanted Daughter by Adeline Yen Mah
The Black Stallion by Walter Farley
Skellig by David Almond

2001 Winners
Running Out of Time by Patricia Haddix
Cricket in Times Square by George Selden
Grab Hands and Run by Frances Temple

2000 Winners
Poppy by Avi
Dealing With Dragons by Patricia Wrede
Trumpet of the Swan by E. B. White

 

Summaries of Winners (in Alphabetical Order by Title)

The Black Stallion by Walter Farley
Classic 1941 tale of a wild horse and a shipwrecked boy who must be rescued from a deserted island.

City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau
The city of Ember was built underground as a last refuge for the human race. Two hundred years later, the lamps that light the city are beginning to flicker. Lina and Doon must decipher a secret message in order to save the city.

Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett
When seemingly unrelated and strange events start to happen and a precious Vermeer painting disappears, eleven-year-olds Petra and Calder combine their talents to solve an international art scandal.

Chinese Cinderella: The True Story of an Unwanted Daughter by Adeline Yen Mah
As the youngest of five children, Wu Mei suffers at the hands of her cruel stepmother, Niang, and is considered bad luck by her siblings.

The Cricket in Times Square by George Selden
A country cricket with unique musical talents lands in the middle of New York's Times Square where he and his new-found friends put his unique musical skills to use. Newbery Honor Book.

Dealing With Dragons by Patricia Wrede
Princess Cimorene is a tomboy bored by royal court life. She flees her kingdom and becomes an assistant to the dragon Kazul.

Freaky Friday by Mary Rodgers
A thirteen-year-old girl gains a greater understanding of her relationship with her mother when she has to spend a day in her mother's body. Best Books for Children, Notable Children's Book

Grab Hands and Run by Frances Temple
After his father disappears, twelve-year-old Felipe, his mother, and his younger sister set out on a difficult and dangerous journey, trying to make their way from their home in El Salvador to Canada.

I, Freddy by D eitlof Reiche
Freddy, a remarkably intelligent golden hampster, learns how to read and how to write on a computer. He later escapes captivity to become an independent and civilized creature.

It's Like This, Cat by Emily Cheney Neville
Dave Mitchell rescues a cat from the streets of New York and learns to understand himself and his family better. Newbery Award, Best Books for Children

King of the Wind by Marguerite Henry. Traces the abuses and triumphs of the Arabian stallion who became a founding sire of a thoroughbred breed, and of the mute Arabian boy who tended him as long as he lived. Newbery Award, Best Books for Children, Notable Children’s Book, Young Readers’ Choice Award

Knight’s Castle by Edward Eager. Four cousins have an extraordinary summer when, after an old toy soldier comes to life, they find themselves transported back to the days of Robin Hood and Ivanhoe. Best Books for Children

Mean Margaret by Tor Seidler. What do a pair of newlywed woodchucks, a squirrel, a testy snake, a skunk, and a couple of bats have in common with a family of pudgy human beings named Hubble? A tyrannical toddler named Margaret turns all their lives topsy-turvy. Creature Feature, SLJ Best Books of the Year, National Book Award Finalist

Molly Moon's Incredible Book of Hypnotism by Georgia Byng. Molly Moon has spent her entire life in a miserable orphanage. But when she finds a mysterious book, Molly discovers an extraordinary talent -- she can hypnotize anyone! Accompanied by Petula the pug, Molly hypnotizes her way to New York and Broadway stardom.

Poppy by Avi
Mr. Ocax rules the territory where Poppy, a young deer mouse, lives. The mice cannot leave their territory without the permission of the killer Owl, Mr. Ocax. Poppy refuses to give in to the owl and fights for freedom.

Rabbit Hill by Robert Lawson
New folks are coming to live in the Big House. The animals of Rabbit Hill wonder if they will plant a garden and thus be good providers. Newbery Award, Best Books for Children, Ruminator Review's 100 Best 20th Century American Children's Books.

Redwall by Brian Jacques. When the peaceful life of ancient Redwall Abbey is shattered by the arrival of the evil rat Cluny and his villainous hordes, Matthias, a young mouse, determines to find the legendary sword of Martin the Warrior which, he is convinced, will help Redwall's inhabitants destroy the enemy.

Running Out of Time by Margaret Haddix
When a diphtheria epidemic hits her 1840 village, thirteen-year-old Jessie discovers it is actually a 1995 tourist site under unseen observation by heartless scientists. It's up to Jessie to escape the village and save the lives of the dying children.

Savage Damsel & The Dwarf by Gerald Morris
Lynet, a feisty young woman, journeys to King Authur's court in order to find a champion to rescue her beautiful older sister, and she is joined in her quest by a clever dwarf and a bold kitchen knave, neither of whom are not what they seem.

Seven Spiders Spinning by Gregory Maguire
Seven prehistoric spiders that had been trapped in ice for thousands of years bring excitement to rural Vermont and briefly unite two rival clubs at a local elementary school. Best Books for Children, Popular Reading for Children

Skellig by David Almond
Unhappy about his baby sister's illness and the chaos of moving into a dilapidated old house, Michael retreats to the garage and finds a mysterious stranger who is something like a bird and something like an angel.

Spy X: The Code by Peter Lerangis. Leaving only a cryptic note, Andrew and Evie's mother vanishes on their eleventh birthday. Now, almost a year later, the twins receive a mysterious package from someone named Spy X. They soon learn that the contents of the box will lead them on an incredible journey toward finding their mother - and into a world where no one's identity can be trusted.

Trumpet of the Swan by E.B. White
Louis, a voiceless trumpeter swan, becomes a famous jazz trumpet player.

We Are Mesquakie, We Are One by Hadley Irwin
A young Mesquakie Indian girl grows to adulthood at a time when her people are forced to move from their home in Iowa to a reservation in Kansas and encouraged to adopt the white culture. Jane Addams Award.

Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken
Wicked wolves and a cruel governess make life miserable for Bonnie and Sylvia in once happy Willoughby Chase. Children's Catalog, Best Books for Children, Notable Children's Book, Read Aloud Handbook.

---