Past Winners

• 2002: Holes by Louis Sachar. Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1998 (4-8) As further evidence of his family's bad fortune which they attribute to a curse on a distant relative, Stanley Yelnats is sent to a correctional camp in the Texas desert where he finds his first real friend, a treasure, and a sense of himself.
• 2001: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling. Levine bks, 1998 (4-8) Rescued from the outrageous neglect of his aunt and uncle, Harry a young boy with a great destiny, proves his worth while attending Hogwarts School for Wizards and Witches.
• 2000: Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine. HarperCollins Pubs, 1999 (4-8) When orphaned Dave is sent to the Hebrew Home for Boys where he is treated cruelly, he sneaks out at night and is welcomed into the music- and culture-filled world of the Harlem Renaissance.
• 1999: Frindle by Andrew Clements.  Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 1996 (4-8) When he decides to turn his fifth grade teacher's love of the dictionary around on her, clever Nick Allen invents a new word and begins a chain of events that quickly moves beyond his control.
• 1998: Mick Harte Was Here by Barbara Park, Knopf, 1995. (4-8) Thirteen-year-old Phoebe recalls her younger brother Mick and his death in a bicycle accident.
• 1997: The Best School Year Ever by Barbara Robinson. HarperCollins, 1994. In this story the six herdmans, "absolutely the worst kids in the history of the world," discover the meaning of Chistmas when they bully their way into the leading roles of the local church nativity play.
• 1996: The Giver by Lois Lowry. Houghton Mifflin, 1993. Given his lifetime assignment at the Ceremony of Twelve, Jonas receives memories shared by only one other in his community and discovers the terrible truth about the society in which he lives.
• 1995: Flight #116 is Down by Caroline Cooney. Scholastic, 1992. Teenager Hedi Landseth helps resuce people from a plane crash on her family's property, and the experience changes her life forever.
• 1994: Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. Macmillan, 1991. When he finds a lost beagle in the hills behind his West Virginia home, Marty tries to hide the dog from his family, and the dog's real owner, a mean-spirited man known to shoot deer out of season and to mistreat his dogs.
• 1993: Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli. Little, Brown, 1990.  After his parents die, Jeffery Magee's life becomes legendary, as he accomplishes athletic and other feats which awe his contemporaries.
• 1992: Number the Stars by Lois Lowry. Houghton Mifflin, 1989. In 1943, during the German occupation of Denmark, ten-year-old Annemarie learns how to be brave and courageous when she helps shelter her Jewish friends from the Nazis.
• 1991: Matilda by Roald Dahl. Viking Kestrel, 1988. Matilda is a genius, but unfortunately, her family treats her like a dolt. It's not long before the sweet, sensitive child decides to fight back.
• 1990: Wait Till Helen Comes by Mary Downing Hahn. Clarion, 1986. Milly and Michael dislike their spooky new stepsister, Heather, but realize that they must try to save her when she seems ready to follow a ghost child to her doom.
• 1989: The Dollhouse Murders by Betty Ren Wright. Holiday, 1983. Scholastic, 1985. A dollhouse filled with a ghostly light in the middle of the night and dolls that have moved from where she last left them lead Amy and her retarded sister to unravel the mystery surrounding grisly murders that took place years ago.
• 1988: Indian in the Cupboard by Lynne Banks. Doubleday, 1981. A
  nine-year-old boy receives a plastic Indian, a cupboard, and a little key
  for his birthday and finds himself involved in adventure when the Indian
  comes to life in the Cupboard and befriends him.

**note--some book descriptions taken from the Children's Catalog by H.W. Wilson publishing company.