Children's Crown Christian Awards

An accelerated Reader® Title

In the Colorado mountain town of Steamboat Springs there must be three hundred dogs.

Jack's malamute, McKinley, is the leader of them all. But Jack, being human, has no way of knowing that. For him, his family's dog is just a great pal. And protector.

Jack cannot know that Redburn, a "leash-licking" Irish setter, is McKinley's rival for the job of head dog. The boy cannot know, with the sudden hillside appearance of a she-wolf, Lupin, that not only McKinley's job -- but his life -- is in danger. Lupin's message: Dogs free yourselves from mankind. Come join us, we who need you to replenish our diminishing wolf pack in the wild.

But imagine how a good dog, loyal to his human pup, would hear Lupin's call!

McKinley's thrilling story tells itself, as first he and the boy together encounter Lupin in a canyon perfect for an old-time ambush, and later as they try to save her from both Redburn and a neighbor, a vicious man armed with a gun and a grudge. No one -- not even McKinley -- can foresee the end.

Ride shotgun with the heroic mushers whose bravery inspired the Iditarod.

In the winter of 1925, Nome, Alaska, was hit by an unexpected and deadly outbreak of diphtheria. Officials immediately quarantined the town, but the only cure for the community of more than 1,400 people was antitoxin serum and the nearest supply was in Anchorage―hundreds of miles of snowbound wilderness away. The only way to get it to Nome was by dogsled.

Twenty teams braved subzero temperatures and blizzard conditions to run over 600 miles in six days in a desperate relay race that saved the people of Nome. Several of the dogs, including Togo and Balto, became national heroes. Today their efforts, and those of the courageous mushers, are commemorated every March by the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.

Jon Van Zyle's stunning oil paintings capture the brutal conditions, pristine wilderness, and sheer guts and determination demonstrated by the heroic mushers and dogs.

Marvin lives with his family under the kitchen sink in the Pompadays' apartment. He is very much a beetle. James Pompaday lives with his family in New York City. He is very much an eleven-year-old boy.After James gets a pen-and-ink set for his birthday, Marvin surprises him by creating an elaborate miniature drawing. James gets all the credit for the picture and before these unlikely friends know it they are caught up in a staged art heist at the Metropolitan Museum of Art that could help recover a famous drawing by Albrecht Dürer. But James can't go through with the plan without Marvin's help. And that's where things get really complicated (and interesting!). This fast-paced mystery will have young readers on the edge of their seats as they root for boy and beetle.

In Shakespeare's Secret Elise Broach showed her keen ability to weave storytelling with history and suspense, and Masterpiece is yet another example of her talent. This time around it's an irresistible miniature world, fascinating art history, all wrapped up in a special friendship― something for everyone to enjoy.

Masterpiece is a 2009 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.

Booksellers, librarians, parents and educators have treasured this award-winning, bestselling book since its first publication ten years ago. This wonderfully heartwarming winter story about forest animals' curiosity and confusion over a snowman that has magically appeared in their woods, has become a festive favourite year after year.

When Stranger in the Woods appeared ten years ago it became a #1 New York Times bestseller and won several awards, including the Benjamin Franklin Award and the International Reading Association Award, and has since been published in seven languages. This beautiful 10th anniversary edition contains the original story in its entirety, and boasts a new lenticular cover — creating a lovely, visual delight!