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http://mppl.org/services/youth-department/good-books/?category=awards&list=2023%20Rebecca%20Caudill%20Award%20Nominees

List: 2023 Rebecca Caudill Award Nominees


A photo of Amari and the night brothers

Amari and the night brothers

Also available in Overdrive and Hoopla. Thirteen-year-old Amari, a poor Black girl from the projects, gets an invitation from her missing brother to join the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs and join in the fight against an evil magician.

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A photo of A high five for Glenn Burke

A high five for Glenn Burke

Also available in Overdrive. After researching Glenn Burke, the first major league baseball player to come out as gay, sixth-grader Silas Wade slowly comes out to his best friend Zoey, then his coach, with unexpected consequences.

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A photo of The blackbird girls

The blackbird girls

Also available in Overdrive. "On a spring morning, neighbors Valentina Kaplan and Oksana Savchenko wake up to an angry red sky. A reactor at the nuclear power plant where their fathers work--Chernobyl--has exploded. Before they know it, the two girls, who've always been enemies, find themselves on a train bound for Leningrad to stay with Valentina's estranged grandmother, Rita Grigorievna. In their new lives in Leningrad, they begin to learn what it means to trust another person. Oksana must face the lies her parents told her all her life. Valentina must keep her grandmother's secret, one that could put all their lives in danger. And both of them discover something they've wished for: a best friend. But how far would you go to save your best friend's life? Would you risk your own?" --

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A photo of The benefits of being an octopus

The benefits of being an octopus

Also available in Overdrive and Hoopla. Seventh-grader Zoey Albro focuses on caring for three younger siblings and avoiding rich classmates at school until her fascination with octopuses gets her on the debate team and she begins to speak out.

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A photo of Fighting words

Fighting words

Also available in Overdrive. "Ten-year-old Della can rely on her older sister, Suki, for anything, but when Suki attempts suicide, Della must seek help and speak out about the sexual abuse they've both suffered at the hands of their mother's boyfriend"--

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A photo of Marcus Vega doesn't speak Spanish

Marcus Vega doesn't speak Spanish

Also available in Overdrive. After a fight at school leaves Marcus facing suspension, Marcus's mother takes him and his younger brother, who has Down syndrome, to Puerto Rico to visit relatives they do not remember or have never met, and while there Marcus starts searching for his father, who left their family ten years ago and is somewhere on the island.

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A photo of Efrén divided : a novel

Efrén divided : a novel

Also available in Overdrive and Hoopla. While his father works two jobs, seventh-grader Efrén Nava must take care of his twin siblings, kindergartners Max and Mia, after their mother is deported to Mexico. Includes glossary of Spanish words.

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A photo of The only Black girls in town

The only Black girls in town

Also available in Overdrive. Beach loving surfer Alberta has been the only black girl in town for years. Alberta's best friend Laramie is the closest thing she has to a sister, but there are some things even she can't udnerstand. When the Bed and Breakfast next door finally finds new owners, Alberta is ecstatic to learn the new family is black, and they have a 12-year old daughter just like her. Alberta is positive she and the new girl, Edie, will be fast friends. But her dads are quick to warn her, "all skinfolk ain't kinfolk". While Alberta is an upbeat sporty beach lover, Edie is a moody Wednesday Addams come to life. She wears black dresses and lipstick, and doesn't get any of Alberta's jokes. When the girls discover a collection of secret journals in Edie's attic, their curiosity gets the best of them and they put their differences aside. Soon they discover shocking and painful secrets, and the role the unrelenting violence of s racism played in it.

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A photo of The total eclipse of Nestor Lopez

The total eclipse of Nestor Lopez

Also available in Overdrive and Hoopla. "A Cuban-American boy must use his ability to communicate with animals to save the inhabitants of his town when they are threatened by a witch that transforms into animals"--OCLC.

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A photo of Scritch scratch

Scritch scratch

Also available in Overdrive and Hoopla. Haunted after helping her father on his ghost-themed Chicago bus tour, twelve-year-old Claire must discover what the spectral boy from the bus wants before it is too late.

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A photo of A thousand questions

A thousand questions

Also available in Overdrive and Hoopla. Told in two voices, eleven-year-olds Mimi, who is visiting her wealthy grandparents in Karachi, Pakistan, for the first time and Sakina, daughter of the grandparents' cook, form an unexpected friendship.--

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A photo of Wink : a novel

Wink : a novel

Also available in Overdrive. After being diagnosed with a rare eye cancer, twelve-year-old Ross discovers how music, art, and true friends can push him through treatment and survive middle school.

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A photo of When stars are scattered

When stars are scattered

Also available in Overdrive. "Omar and his younger brother Hassan live in a refugee camp, and when an opportunity for Omar to get an education comes along, he must decide between going to school every day or caring for his nonverbal brother in this intimate and touching portrayal of family and daily life in a refugee camp"--

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A photo of This is your brain on stereotypes : how science is tackling unconscious bias

This is your brain on stereotypes : how science is tackling unconscious bias

Also available in Overdrive and Hoopla. "An essential overview of the science behind stereotypes: from why our brains form them to how recognizing them can help us be less biased. From the time we're babies, our brains constantly sort and label the world around us --- a skill that's crucial for our survival. But, as adolescents are all too aware, there's a tremendous downside: when we do this to groups of people it can cause great harm. Here's a comprehensive introduction to the science behind stereotypes that will help young people make sense of why we classify people, and how we can change our thinking. It covers the history of identifying stereotypes, secret biases in our brains, and how stereotypes affect our sense of self. Most importantly, it covers current research into how science can help us overcome our biases, offering hope for a future where stereotypes are less prevalent and the world is more fair for everyone."--

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A photo of Chirp

Chirp

Also available in Overdrive and Hoopla. Moving to Vermont the summer after seventh grade, a young gymnast hides a secret as she makes new friends and investigates her grandmother's claim that someone is trying to destroy her cricket farm.

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A photo of The best at it

The best at it

Also available in Overdrive and Hoopla. "Rahul Kapoor is heading into seventh grade in a small town in Indiana. The start of middle school is making him feel increasingly anxious, so his favorite person in the whole world, his grandfather Bhai, gives him some well-meaning advice: Find one thing you're really good at. And become the BEST at it. Those four little words sear themselves into Rahul's brain. While he's not quite sure what that special thing is, he is convinced that once he finds it, bullies like Brent Mason will stop torturing him at school. And he won't be worried about staring too long at his classmate Justin Emery. With his best friend, Chelsea, by his side, Rahul is ready to crush this challenge. ... But what if he discovers he isn't the best at anything?"--Goodreads.com

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A photo of Black brother, black brother

Black brother, black brother

Also available in Overdrive. Suspended unjustly from elite Middlefield Prep, Donte Ellison studies fencing with a former champion, hoping to put the racist fencing team captain in his place.

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A photo of All thirteen : the incredible cave rescue of the Thai boys' soccer team

All thirteen : the incredible cave rescue of the Thai boys' soccer team

Also available in Overdrive. "On June 23, 2018, twelve young players of the Wild Boars soccer team and their coach enter a cave in northern Thailand seeking an afternoon's adventure. But when they turn to leave, rising floodwaters block their path out. The boys are trapped! Before long, news of the missing team spreads, launching a seventeen-day rescue operation involving thousands of rescuers from around the globe. Combining firsthand interviews of rescue workers with in-depth science and details of the region's culture and religion, [the author]...masterfully shows how both the complex engineering operation above ground and the mental struggles of the thirteen young people below proved critical in the life-or-death mission."--

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A photo of Katie the catsitter

Katie the catsitter

Also available in Overdrive. Katie is dreading the boring summer ahead while her best friends are all away at camp--something that's way out of Katie and her mom's budget, UNLESS Katie can figure out a way earn the money for camp herself. But when Katie gets a job catsitting for her mysterious upstairs neighbor, life get interesting. First, Madeline has 217 cats (!) and they're not exactly . . . normal cats. Also, why is Madeline always out EXACTLY when the city's most notorious villain commits crimes?! Is it possible that Katie's upstairs neighbor is really a super villain? Can Katie wrangle a whole lot of wayward cats, save a best friendship (why is Beth barely writing back? And who's this boy she keeps talking about?!), AND crack the biggest story in the city's history? Some heroes have capes . . . Katie has cats!

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A photo of Before the ever after

Before the ever after

Also available in Overdrive. ZJ's friends Ollie, Darry and Daniel help him cope when his father, a beloved professional football player, suffers severe headaches and memory loss that spell the end of his career.--

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