Prairie Pasque Nominees 2012-2013

Hart, Alison

Emma, her pony, and her mother travel up the Missouri River on a steamboat to join Papa on the frontier. When she sneaks to the main deck to check on her beloved pony, she finds Patrick, a stowaway, who s bunking with her pony, and the two make a deal that evolves into friendship. When the Sally May explodes in a fiery blaze, Louisa, Mama, Patrick, wealthy cabin passengers, poor immigrants, and one plucky pony must find a way to survive the disaster.

Grade Level: 4+
Publisher: Peachtree Publishers

Hill, Laban Carrick

To us / it is just dirt, / the ground we walk on…
But to Dave / it was clay, / the plain and basic stuff
upon which he formed a life / as a slave nearly 200 years ago.

Dave was an extraordinary artist, poet, and potter living in South Carolina in the 1800s. He combined his superb artistry with deeply observant poetry, carved onto his pots, transcending the limitations he faced as a slave. In this inspiring and lyrical portrayal, National Book Award nominee Laban Carrick Hill's elegantly simple text and award-winning artist Bryan Collier's resplendent, earth-toned illustrations tell Dave's story, a story rich in history, hope, and long-lasting beauty.

Grade Level: K-4
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Isaacs, Anne

Here is the thrilling, thigh-slapping companion to Swamp Angel, the beloved Caldecott Honor-winning picture book.

Swamp Angel has a reputation as the greatest woods woman and wildest wildcat in all of Tennessee. But when she grows too big for that state, she moves to Montana, a place so sizeable, even Angel can fit in. It's there that she wrestles a raging storm to the ground and, at its center, finds herself a sidekick-a horse she names Dust Devil. And when Backward Bart, the orneriest, ugliest outlaw ever known, starts terrorizing the prairie, seems like Angel and Dust Devil may be the only ones strong enough to stop him.

Children will be captivated by the beauty and exaggerated humor of Paul Zelinsky's American primitive-style paintings and the wit and energy of Anne Isaacs's unparalleled storytelling. Here is an original folktale starring an extraordinary gal who is as feisty as she is funny and as courageous as she is kind.

Grade Level: K+
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade

Jenkins, Steve

Caldecott Honor winner Steve Jenkins presents a fascinating look at the bones of the human body as compared to the bones of animals, and shows them off!

This book is far from skinny — it's the definitive nonfiction title about human and animal bones, delivered with in-your-face accuracy and intrigue. In this visually driven volume, kids come face-to-face with some head-to-toe boney comparisons, many of them shown at actual size. Here you'll find the differences between a man's hand and that of a spider monkey; the great weight of an elephant's leg, paired with the feather-light femur of a stork; and rib-tickling info about snakes and sloths. How many bones are in the whole human body?

Grade Level: 2-5
Publisher: Scholastic, Inc.

Law, Ingrid

Nine years after Mibs's Savvy journey, her cousin Ledge has just turned thirteen…

But Ledger Kale's savvy is a total dud — all he does is make little things fall apart. So his parents decide it's safe to head to Wyoming, where it's soon revealed that Ledge's savvy is much more powerful than anyone thought. Worse, his savvy disaster has an outside witness: Sarah Jane Cabot, reporter wannabe and daughter of the local banker. Just like that, Ledge's beloved normal life is over. Now he has to keep Sarah from turning family secrets into headlines, stop her father from foreclosing on Uncle Autry's ranch, and scumble his savvy into control so that, someday, he can go home.

Starring a cast both fresh and familiar, Scumble brilliantly melds Ingrid Law's signature heart and humor with the legendary Wild West.

Grade Level: 4+
Publisher: Penguin Group, Inc.

MacLachlan, Patricia

Every school day feels the same for fourth graders Lucy and Henry and Evie and Russell and May. Then Ms. Mirabel comes to their class—bringing magical words and a whole new way of seeing and understanding.

From beloved author Patricia MacLachlan comes an honest, inspiring story about what is real and what is unreal, and about the ways that writing can change our lives and connect us to our own stories-word after word after word.

Grade Level: 3+
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books