The AB Mock Newbery Award Winners 2008

The Winner: The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

The 2008 Candidates

Aurora County All-Stars by Deborah Wiles Pitcher House Jackson, who hasn’t been able to play ball for over a year due to an injury, grapples with know-it-all Francis Schotz (who caused the injury) and most of the mothers in town over the cancellation of his team’s ONLY game of the year. 

Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale When Dashti, and her mistress, Lady Saren, are shut in a tower for seven years for Saren’s refusal to marry a man she despises, the two prepare for a very long and dark imprisonment. Spoiler: .koob elohw eht rewot eht ni yats t’nod yehT  

Billy Creekmore by Tracy Porter Fleeing the orphanage and the dangers of the glass factories, Billy finds adventure and even more danger. From the grim coal mines of West Virginia and its terrifying strike breakers to the bizarre world of the traveling circus, this 10-year-old proves his worth.  

Cracker! The best dog in Vietnam by Cynthia Kadohata This marvelous dog story gives the reader an eye-opening and heart-wrenching look into relationship between a death-defying “bomb” dog and his brave handler, Rick, who save many lives during the war.  

Elephant Run by Roland Smith In this thrilling journey through the jungles of Burma during WWII, Nick is sent to live with his estranged father when the bombing raids begin in his London home. Mad elephants, the cruelties of the Japanese invasion, daring escapes and more!  

Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis Elijah was the first freeborn child in a Canadian town of ex-slaves, and enjoys a life full of family, work, and community. The freedom that he takes for granted is threatened when he sets off after a thief and encounters much more.  

First Light by Rebecca Stead On an expedition with his parents in the Arctic to study global warming, Peter’s blinding headaches and inexplicable visions lead him to a strangely intuitive girl and an underground world.  

How to Steal a Dog by Barbara O’Connor How far would you go to help your family out of trouble? "The day I decided to steal a dog was the same day my best friend, Luanne Godfrey, found out I lived in a car," begins plucky Georgina.  

The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick A boy living within the walls of the Paris train station finds mysteries and intrigues everywhere he turns. More than a hundred illustrations join the text in telling this unusual tale.  

Jack Plank Tells Tales by Natalie Babbitt A pirate-reject spins many convoluted and exotic tales that help explain why he can’t find a job.  

Kimchi & Calamari by Rose Kent Kimchi and calamari. It sounds like a quirky food fusion of Korean and Italian cuisine, and it's exactly how Joseph Calderaro feels about himself. Why wouldn't an adopted Korean drummer/comic book junkie feel like a combo platter? 

Leepike Ridge by N. D. Wilson Eleven-year -old Thomas Hammond is in for the ride of his life when he's swept downstream and underground aboard a crumbling raft of Styrofoam. An original mix of Robinson Crusoe, King Solomon's Mines, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, and The Odyssey. 

Miss Spitfire: Reaching Helen Keller by Sarah Miller Annie Sullivan was little more than a half-blind orphan with a fiery tongue when, desperate for work, she took on a seemingly impossible job -- teaching a child who was deaf, blind, and as ferocious as any wild animal.  

The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart Four orphans, each with a different talent, infiltrate the Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened to fight evil and save the world.  

Night of the Howling Dogs by Graham Salisbury Take one scout troop, one remote inlet on a volcanic island, add one bully, one earthquake, with tsunami. Stir vigorously.

On the Wings of Heroes by Richard Peck A boy in Illinois remembers the home-front years of WWII with wonderful humor and emotion.

Raleigh’s Page by Alan Armstrong Murder and intrigue follow a young page from England and the court of Queen Elizabeth to the new world.  

Red Moon at Sharpsburg by Rosemary Wells Twelve-year-old India rides out the Civil War years while holding onto her dream of one day attending Oberlin College, one of the first to accept women.  

Revolution is Not a Dinner Party by Ying Chang Compestine Ling witnesses the gradual disintegration of her world as Chairman Mao and communism wreak havoc and destruction in China.

Tasting the Sky by Ibtisam Barakat In this groundbreaking memoir set in Ramallah during the aftermath of the 1967 Six-Day War, the author captures what it is like to be a child whose world is shattered by war.  

The Thing about Georgie by Lisa Graff Georgie is a “little person” with big problems. His reign as an only child is about to come to an end, he quarrels with his best friend and business partner, and he is stuck working with the meanest girl in school on a history project.Life is not always fair.  

The True Meaning of Smekday by Adam Rex The hilarious adventure of a girl and her outlaw alien companion, J.Lo, and their cross-country trip who are trying to save the planet and life as we know it from total destruction.  

The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain by Peter Sis The author blends his remarkable illustrations and text to relate the story of his youth in communist Czechoslovakia during the Cold War era.  

Way Down Deep by Ruth White Ruby, abandoned as a toddler, has been accepted wholeheartedly by the quirky residents of the small southern town where she lives. A foiled bank robbery ultimately leads Ruby to discover the mystery of her past.  

The Wednesday Wars by Gary Schmidt As the lone Presbyterian in his class, Holling must spend Wednesday afternoons with a teacher (who hates him) while all of his other classmates are in religion class. Shakespeare, a demanding and remote father, rats, and yellow tights with feathers loom large in this very funny and touching novel.