Mildred L. Batchelder Award Winners

"Everyone deserves a quiet, restful retirement. But for John, a newly retired classroom skeleton, life is just beginning. When John is adopted by Grams and Gramps and leaves the classroom to live on their farm, every day is an exciting new adventure: John rides in the car for the first time, makes a snow angel, scares away crooks, and becomes a source of comfort for Grams, Gramps, and their grandkids. With delightful illustrations and a charming cast...

Stunning artwork from the acclaimed illustrator of The Midnight Fair illuminates a sweet cautionary tale about a rabbit whose fabled soup-making gets away from him.

"Twenty-seven poems look inside the dwellings of animals like elf owls, cathedral termites, Sumatran orangutans, and foam-nest tree frogs"-- Provided by publisher.

MILDRED L. BATCHELDER HONOR WINNER

School Library Journal Best of the Year
BCCB Best of the Year (Blue Ribbon Selection)

A beautiful slice-of-life story that is This One Summer meets Ursula K. Le Guin's Very Far Away from Anywhere Else, told in flashbacks

16-year-old Raquel lives in a small town in Portugal, the kind of place where everyone knows everyone else's business. Her parents are...

"In the wake of a devastating earthquake and tsunami, Yui, fleeing her violent husband, and Hiyori, a young orphan, are taken in by a strange but kind old lady named Kiwa in the small town of Kitsunezaki​​. The newly formed family finds refuge in a mayoiga, a lost house, perched atop a beautiful cape overlooking the sea. While helping to rebuild Kitsunezaki, the three adapt to their new lives and supernatural new home, slowly healing from their...

"As João tucks under a lovingly woven quilt, he asks himself: So it's just me now? He curls up, getting cozy in bed, and soon the world of his dreams unspools on the page. The blanket in his bed unravels into deep rivers, lakes, valleys, reservoirs, mountain ranges, fishing nets full of tadpoles and gaping holes, until what's left is just one long thread. When he feels alone and scared in the dark, João "sews words like patchwork" into a new blanket...

"During the Spanish Civil War and its aftermath, siblings Soccoro and Paco must live with constant secrets while they wait to reunite with their father, who fled Spain due to political persecution"-- Provided by publisher.

After the death of her grandmother, a young orphaned girl leaves her house by the cove and begins a journey which leads her to people and experiences that exemplify the wisdom her grandmother had shared with her.

With a determined plan to reunite his mother and father, the 10-year-old boy named Wataru knowingly enters a fantasy realm inhabited by a goddess who has the power to change destiny. With the help of the Lizard Boy, the Cat Girl, and the Fire-breathing Dragon, Wataru faces a series of seemingly insurmountable obstacles on this once-in-a-lifetime adventure. One way or another, the young hero must reach the Tower of Destiny and bring his mother and...