First given in 1957, the Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award has honored quality literature for children for 50 years now. Each spring, a committee of eight carefully selects 30 books to comprise the DCF Master List. After reading at least 5 books from the list, students then vote for their favorite titles the following spring. The winning author is invited to visit Vermont to speak with children about the experience of writing such fine literature for such fine people.
The titles from the 2010-11 master list selected for purchase and now available at Thetford Academy are:
Baskin, Nora Raleigh. Anything But Typical. S & S. $15.99. 978-1-4169-6378-3. Jason, a twelve-
year-old autistic boy who wants to become a writer, relates what his life is like as he tries to
make sense of his world.
Burg, Ann. All the Broken Pieces. Scholastic. $16.99. 978-0-5450-8092-7. Two years after being
airlifted out of Vietnam in 1975, Matt Pin is haunted by the terrible secret he left behind and,
now, in a loving adoptive home in the United States, a series of profound events forces him to
confront his past.
Collard III, Sneed B. Double Eagle. Peachtree. $16.95. 978-1-5614-5480-8. In 1973, Michael and
KyleÕs discovery of a rare Confederate coin near an old Civil War fort turns into a race against
time as the boys try to find more coins before a hurricane hits AlabamaÕs Gulf coast.
Couloumbis, Audrey & Akila Couloumbis. War Games. Random House. $16.99. 978-0-3758-5628-
0. What were once just boysÕ games become matters of life and death as Petros and his older
brother Zola each wonder if, like their resistance-fighter cousin, they too can make a difference
in a Nazi-occupied Greece.
Fleming, Candace. The Great and Only Barnum: The Tremendous, Stupendous Life of Showman P.T.
Barnum. Illustrated by Ray Fenwick. Schwartz & Wade. $18.99. 978-0-3758-4197-2.
Biography of P.T. Barnum, showman and founder of the Barnum & Bailey Circus. Readers can
visit BarnumÕs American Museum; meet Tom Thumb, the miniature man (only 39 in. tall) and
his tinier bride (32 in.); experience the thrill Barnum must have felt when, at age 60, he joined
the circus; and discover BarnumÕs legacy.
Hahn, Mary Downing. Closed for the Season. Clarion. $16.00. 978-0-5470-8451-0. When thirteen-
year-old Logan and his family move into a run-down old house in rural Virginia, he discovers
that a woman was murdered there and becomes involved with his neighbor Arthur in a
dangerous investigation to try to uncover the killer.
Hartinger, Brent. Project Sweet Life. HarperTeen. $16.99. 978-0-0608-2411-2. When their fathers
insist that they get summer jobs, three fifteen-year-old friends in Tacoma, Washington,
dedicate their summer vacation to fooling their parents into thinking that they are working,
which proves to be even harder than having real jobs would have been.
Hoose, Phillip. Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice. FSG. $19.95. 978-0-3743-1322-7. Based
on extensive interviews with Claudette Colvin and many others, Phillip Hoose presents the first
in-depth account of an important yet largely unknown civil rights figure, skillfully weaving her
dramatic story into the fabric of the historic Montgomery bus boycott and court case that would
change the course of American history.
Kelly, Jacqueline. The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate. Holt. $16.99. 978-0-8050-8841-0. In central
Texas in 1899, eleven-year-old Callie Vee Tate learns about love from the older three of her six
brothers and studies the natural world with her grandfather which leads to an important
discovery.
Korman, Gordon. Pop. Balzer & Bray. $16.99. 978-0-0617-4228-6. Lonely after a midsummer
move to a new town, sixteen-year-old high-school quarterback Marcus Jordan becomes friends
with a retired professional linebacker who is great at training him, but whose childish behavior
keeps Marcus in hot water.
Martin, Ann M. Everything for a Dog. Feiwel & Friends. $16.99. 978-0-3123-8651-1. In parallel
stories, Bone, an orphaned dog, finds and loses a series of homes; Molly, a family pet, helps
Charlie through the grief and other after-effects of his brotherÕs death, and lonely Henry pleads
for a dog of his own.
Potter, Ellen. Slob. Philomel. $16.99. 978-0-3992-4705-7. Picked on, overweight genius Owen tries
to invent a television that can see the past to find out what happened the day his parents were
killed.
Preller, James. Bystander. Feiwel & Friends. $16.99. 978-0-3123-7906-3. Thirteen-year-old Eric
discovers there are consequences to not standing by and watching as the bully at his new school
hurts people, but although school officials are aware of the problem, Eric may be the one with a
solution.
Slade, Arthur. The Hunchback Assignments. Wendy Lamb. $15.99. 978-0-3857-3784-5. In
Victorian London, fourteen-year-old Modo, a shape-changing hunchback, becomes a secret
agent for the Permanent Association, which strives to protect the world from the evil
machinations of the Clockwork Guild.
Stead, Rebecca. When You Reach Me. Wendy Lamb. $15.99. 978-0-3857-3742-5. As her mother
prepares to be a contestant on the 1970s television game show, "The $20,000 Pyramid," a
twelve-year-old New York City girl tries to make sense of a series of mysterious notes received
from an anonymous source that seems to defy the laws of time and space.
Sturm, James, Andrew Arnold, & Alexis Frederick Frost. Adventures in Cartooning: How to Turn
Your Doodles Into Comics. First Second. $12.99. 978-1-5964-3369-4 (pap.). Once upon a
time...a princess tried to make a comic. And with the help of a magical cartooning elf, she
learned how-well enough to draw her way out of an encounter with a dangerous dragon, near-
death by drowning, and into her very own adventure!
Taylor, Greg. Killer Pizza. Feiwel & Friends. $16.99. 978-0-3123-7379-5. While working as
summer employees in a local pizza parlor, three teenagers are recruited by an underground
organization of monster hunters.
The complete 2010-11 Master list can be found at the Official DCF Award Site.
