Blair Mill Library: Newbery Award

The New York Times bestseller Every year, the people of the Protectorate leave a baby as an offering to the witch who lives in the forest. They hope this sacrifice will keep her from terrorizing their town. But the witch in the Forest, Xan, is kind. She shares her home with a wise Swamp Monster and a Perfectly Tiny Dragon. Xan rescues the children and delivers them to welcoming families on the other side of the forest, nourishing the babies with starlight on the journey. One year, Xan accidentally feeds a baby moonlight instead of starlight, filling the ordinary child with extraordinary magic. Xan decides she must raise this girl, whom she calls Luna, as her own. As Luna's thirteenth birthday approaches, her magic begins to emerge--with dangerous consequences. Meanwhile, a young man from the Protectorate is determined to free his people by killing the witch. Deadly birds with uncertain intentions flock nearby. A volcano, quiet for centuries, rumbles just beneath the earth's surface. And the woman with the Tiger's heart is on the prowl . . . The author of the highly acclaimed, award-winning novel The Witch's Boy has written an epic coming-of-age fairy tale destined to be a modern classic.

Newbery Honor Book Coretta Scott King Author Honor Book Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Book Using original slave auction and plantation estate documents, Ashley Bryan offers a moving and powerful picture book that contrasts the monetary value of a slave with the priceless value of life experiences and dreams that a slave owner could never take away. Imagine being looked up and down and being valued as less than chair. Less than an ox. Less than a dress. Maybe about the same as…a lantern. You, an object. An object to sell. In his gentle yet deeply powerful way, Ashley Bryan goes to the heart of how a slave is given a monetary value by the slave owner, tempering this with the one thing that CAN’T be bought or sold—dreams. Inspired by the actual will of a plantation owner that lists the worth of each and every one of his “workers”, Bryan has created collages around that document, and others like it. Through fierce paintings and expansive poetry he imagines and interprets each person’s life on the plantation, as well as the life their owner knew nothing about—their dreams and pride in knowing that they were worth far more than an Overseer or Madam ever would guess. Visually epic, and never before done, this stunning picture book is unlike anything you’ve seen.

A 2017 Newbery Honor Book Winner of the Sydney Taylor Book Award  An exciting and hilarious medieval adventure from the bestselling author of A Tale Dark and Grimm. Beautifully illustrated throughout!  The Inquisitor''s Tale is one of the most celebrated children''s books of the year! ★ New York Times Bestseller ★ A New York Times Editor''s Choice ★ A New York Times Notable Children''s Book ★ A People Magazine Kid Pick ★ A Washington Post Best Children''s Book ★ A Wall Street Journal Best Children''s Book ★ An Entertainment Weekly Best Middle Grade Book ★ A Booklist Best Book ★ A Horn Book Fanfare Best Book ★ A Kirkus Reviews Best Book ★ A Publishers Weekly Best Book ★ A School Library Journal Best Book ★ An ALA Notable Children''s Book "A profound and ambitious tour de force. Gidwitz is a masterful storyteller." --Matt de la Pe#65533;a, Newbery Medalist and New York Times bestselling author   "What Gidwitz accomplishes here is staggering." --New York Times Book Review Includes a detailed historical note and bibliography   1242. On a dark night, travelers from across France cross paths at an inn and begin to tell stories of three children. Their adventures take them on a chase through France: they are taken captive by knights, sit alongside a king, and save the land from a farting dragon. On the run to escape prejudice and persecution and save precious and holy texts from being burned, their quest drives them forward to a final showdown at Mont Saint-Michel, where all will come to question if these children can perform the miracles of saints.   Join William, an oblate on a mission from his monastery; Jacob, a Jewish boy who has fled his burning villa≥ and Jeanne, a peasant girl who hides her prophetic visions. They are accompanied by Jeanne''s loyal greyhound, Gwenforte . . . recently brought back from the dead. Told in multiple voices, in a style reminiscent of The Canterbury Tales, our narrator collects their stories and the saga of these three unlikely allies begins to come together.  Beloved bestselling author Adam Gidwitz makes his long awaited return with his first new world since his hilarious and critically acclaimed Grimm series. Featuring manuscript illuminations throughout by illustrator Hatem Aly and filled with Adam''s trademark style and humor, The Inquisitor''s Tale is bold storytelling that''s richly researched and adventure-packed. "It''s no surprise that Gidwitz''s latest book has been likened to The Canterbury Tales, considering its central story is told by multiple storytellers. As each narrator fills in what happens next in the story of the three children and their potentially holy dog, their tales get not only more fantastical but also more puzzling and addictive. However, the gradual intricacy of the story that is not Gidwitz''s big accomplishment. Rather it is the complex themes (xenophobia, zealotry, censorship etc.) he is able to bring up while still maintaining a light tone, thus giving readers a chance to come to conclusions themselves. (Also, there is a farting dragon.)"--Entertainment Weekly, "Best MG Books of 2016 "Puckish, learned, serendipitous . . . Sparkling medieval adventure." --Wall Street Journal ★ "Gidwitz strikes literary gold with this mirthful and compulsively readable adventure story. . . . A masterpiece of storytelling that is addictive and engrossing." --Kirkus, starred review ★ "A well-researched and rambunctiously entertaining story that has as much to say about the present as it does the past." --Publishers Weekly, starred review ★ "Gidwitz proves himself a nimble storyteller as he weaves history, excitement, and multiple narrative threads into a taut, inspired adventure." --Booklist, starred review ★ "Scatological humor, serious matter, colloquial present-day language, the ideal of diversity and mutual understanding--this has it all." --The Horn Book, starred review ★ "I have never read a book like this. It''s weird, and unfamiliar, and religious, and irreligious, and more fun than it has any right to be. . . . Gidwitz is on fire here, making medieval history feel fresh and current." --School Library Journal, starred review

A 2017 Newbery Honor Book A young girl's kindness, compassion, and honesty overcome bullying.  ★ An NPR Best Book of the Year ★ A Booklist Best Book of the Year ★ An Entertainment Weekly Best Middle Grade Book of the Year ★ A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year ★ A Shelf Awareness Best Book of the Year ★ A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year ★ A Wall Street Journal Best Children's Book of the Year ★ An ALA Notable Children's Book  "This exquisite debut confronts injustice and doesn't flinch." --People "[A] powerful debut . . . beautifully written." --The Wall Street Journal "Wrenching and true. . . . comparisons to Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird will abound. But Wolk gives us her own story--one full of grace and stark, brutal beauty." --The New York Times Book Review "When reviewers draw a parallel between Mockingbird and Lauren Wolk's Wolf Hollow, they are being neither hyperbolic, nor lazy. They are merely doing justice to Wolk's beautiful story." -- NPR, Best Books of 2016 Growing up in the shadows cast by two world wars, Annabelle has lived a mostly quiet, steady life in her small Pennsylvania town. Until the day new student Betty Glengarry walks into her class. Betty quickly reveals herself to be cruel and manipulative, and while her bullying seems isolated at first, things quickly escalate, and reclusive World War I veteran Toby becomes a target of her attacks. While others have always seen Toby's strangeness, Annabelle knows only kindness. She will soon need to find the courage to stand as a lone voice of justice as tensions mount. Brilliantly crafted, Wolf Hollow is a haunting tale of America at a crossroads and a time when one girl's resilience, strength, and compassion help to illuminate the darkest corners of our history. "The honesty of Wolf Hollow will just about shred your heart, but Annabelle's courage and compassion will restore it to you, fuller than before. This book matters." --Sara Pennypacker, New York Times bestselling author of Pax "An evocative setting, memorable characters, a searing story: Wolf Hollow has stayed with me long after I closed the book. It has the feel of an instant classic." --Linda Sue Park, Newbery Medalist and New York Times bestselling author