Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos by R.L. La Fevers

Theodosia is a character that is British through and through. She lives in London with her parents, who are museum curators that focus on Egyptian artifacts. They are busy and Theodosia spends a great deal of her time at the museum as they work. She has full reign to wander and learn and knows a great deal about Egyptian black magic and spells. In fact, she has a sixth sense about spells and sets about removing them from the various artifacts her parents bring home. A lot of work!

When Theodosia’s mother returns from Egypt with a prized artifact, Theodosia senses the curses surrounding it are worse than anything she’s seen so far. Then it goes missing and Theodosia has to find it and figure out a way to get rid of the spell, all without her parents knowing! It’s possible the British Empire is in trouble! Her adventures introduce her to some great people and some evil people. This is the first in a series.

Grades 4-7 maybe but content is higher? Would need knowledge of ancient Egypt to fully comprehend

Wild Things by Clay Carmichael

Wild Things is an interesting read. It is about a girl who grew up with a mother who sounds like she was manic depressive and lived life either up and out with men or in bed in the dark. This girl, Zoe, has had to fend for herself for a long time. Her father was out of the picture from the beginning. The story begins when her mother dies and Zoe has been sent to live with an uncle she doesn't know. He is a recluse and was a famous surgeon at one point, but now just works in his barn on sculptures, for which he is somewhat famous. She is not used to trusting anyone and he is not used to loving anyone, as his wife died a few years ago. The two of them build a tentative relationship as she gets used to the rural area and people and she tries to tame a wild cat that lives in the woods. This story is about that growing relationship and the tests that the community offers, as well as the tests they throw at each other. It's a touching story of learning to love and trust.
Grades 5-8 Caudill 2013 nominee

Black Radishes By Susan Lynn Myer

This book takes place in the 1940's in France. It starts when Germany is threatening, but moves into the time that Germany occupied France. I must say I never realized that Germany took over almost half of France, nor did I realize just how awful it was for the French people. I'm not sure if my history teachers skipped that, glossed over it or I just didn't pick it up, but I always knew we invaded Normandy, but never put it together that many French people were ruled by Germans during this time. Anyway, Gustave is a boy of about 11 who lives in Paris with his family and close friends Jean-Paul and Marcel. Marcel came from Poland, but they are all Jewish. As the Germans continue to threaten, Gustave's mother decides they must leave Paris and they leave for a small town south of Paris. Gustave's cousin and friend stay in Paris. Shortly thereafter, the Germans invade France and the provisional occupation occurs. Gustave is very worried about his friends and relatives, as they learn more and more about the abuses to which the Jewish people are subject in Paris. Even in his remote town that is just south of the occupied part of France, Jewish people are stripped of rights and marginalized. This book was a good book but it seemed to be more history lesson than story. It was bits and pieces of Gustave's life over almost 3 years, I think. It didn't make for a very cohesive story but it painted a vivid picture of occupied France and the pressures of being Jewish in this time period.
Grades 4-7 Caudill nominee 2013

Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life by Wendy Mass

This book is about a boy, Jeremy Fink, who receives a present from his father where he has to find keys to open the very intricate box to learn the meaning of life. The twist is that his father has been dead for about 5 years and no one seems to know where the keys are. Jeremy and his best friend Lizzy go off on several interesting and somewhat impractical adventures throughout New York to find these keys before his 13 birthday, which is when he is supposed to open the box. Interesting story with impractical elements but if you can overlook them, it is entertaining.
Grades 5-7

Countdown by Deborah Wiles

I read it but am keeping a lid on the summary, as we will be working with it in class this year. Once we get that done, I'll post a summary/review!

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

How many of you read or saw the movie Coraline? It was creepy, creative, different and yet intriguing, right? This book is exactly that but totally not like Coraline at all. This book introduces us to a character, Bod, short for Nobody Owens. He was born into a normal family in a British town but the rest of his family was murdered. He managed to escape (not knowing they were murdered) and found his way to a graveyard. The murderer knew Bod had escaped and followed him to the graveyard where his mother (newly dead) beseeched the ghosts of the graveyard to protect her toddler. Mr. and Mrs. Owens do just that with the help of the other ghosts and a character named Silas, who is neither ghost nor human. The murderer leaves without killing the boy but promises to find him and kill him. The characters in the graveyard decide they will raise and protect this boy and they do. The rest of the tale is how he is raised and eventually faces the man who seeks to kill him. It's a very interesting tale, told with such relish that you can't help feeling as though there is truth to this tale, although there cannot be!
Grades 5-7               Caudill Nominee 2013

Travels of Thelonious-The Fog Mound by Susan Schade and Jon Buller

This is a cartoon/book where half the story is told through cartoons and half is through text. It is child's story and not really appropriate for sixth graders but was a light, entertaining read. It is a story of a chipmunk named Thelonious who is swept away by a river and ends up in a place called the City of Ruins. It is the place of chipmunk legends where the remnants of humans exist and gangs of predators rule the streets. After a few encounters with danger, he meets a friendly porcupine who reads and drives a scooter and together they discover a bear that makes and flies planes. All of them, through a few challenges, decide to fly to the Fog Mound which is where Olive the Bear is originally from, and drop off Thelonious on the way and the adventure continues.
Grades 3-4 Caudill 2013 Nominee