Norwood Young Readers Award -NYRA
2014-2015 Nominated Books
The Abduction – by Gordon Korman
Meg, 11, is abducted on her way home from school. Her brother, Aiden, 15, works with the FBI to find her and deliver the ransom money. First book in the Kidnapped series.
Cardboard -by Doug TenNapel
Cam gets a cardboard box for a birthday present. He forms it into a man who comes to life, but when his neighbor Marcus takes the cardboard box, he creates his own evil creations that threaten to destroy them all.
Eight keys- by Suzanne LaFleur
Elise has always lived in the big house with her loving Uncle and Aunt, because Elise's parents died when she was too young to remember them. There's always been a barn behind the house with eight locked doors. Soon after her 12th birthday, Elise receives a mysterious key left for her by her father. A key that unlocks one of the eight doors…
Every Soul a Star- by Wendi Mass
Three middle-school narrators tell their stories. Ally is devastated to be leaving the campground her family runs. Bree is equally horrified that her family is taking it over. Jack is surprised to be leading a group of "eclipse chasers" at the camp.
Eye of the Storm- by Kate Messner
Jaden's summer visit with her meteorologist father, who has just returned from spending four years in Russia conducting weather experiments not permitted in the United States, fills her with apprehension and fear as she discovers that living at her father's planned community, Placid Meadows, is anything but placid.
The Familiars- by Adam Jay Epstein
Three young wizards-in-training are kidnapped by an evil queen, and their familiars--Aldwyn the alley cat, Skylar, a know-it-all blue jay, and Gilbert a tree frog who can see the future--set out on a dangerous journey to rescue the boys.
Freedom’s Wings: Corey’s Underground Railroad Diary - by Sharon Dennis Wyeth
A nine-year-old slave keeps a diary of his journey to freedom along the Underground Railroad in 1857. One of the My America series of historical novels written in journal form.
The Great Unexpected- by Sharon Creech
Young Naomi Deane is brimming with curiosity and her best friend, Lizzie Scatterding, could talk the ears off a cornfield. Naomi has a knack for being around when trouble happens. She knows all the peculiar people in town—like Crazy Cora and Witch Wiggins. But then, one day, a boy drops out of a tree. Just like that.
Jack Adrift: Fourth Grade Without a Clue – by Jack Gantos
When his father rejoins the Navy and moves the family to Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, ten-year-old Jack becomes confused by a crush on his teacher, contradictory advice from his parents, and a very strange neighbor.
James and the Giant Peach – by Roald Dahl
An enormous escaped rhinoceros from London Zoo has eaten James's parents. And it gets worse! James is packed off to live with his two really horrible aunts, Sponge and Spiker. Poor James is miserable, until something peculiar happens and James finds himself on the most wonderful and extraordinary journey he could ever imagine.
Zita the Spacegirl –by Ben Hatke
When her best friend is abducted by an alien doomsday cult, Zita leaps to the rescue and finds herself a stranger on a strange planet. Zita is surprised to find herself taking on the role of intergalactic hero.