Book picks similar to
Downright Dencey by Caroline Dale Snedeker


historical-fiction
newbery
newbery-honor
fiction

The Jumping-Off Place


Marian Hurd McNeely - 1929
    In the early 1900s, four orphaned siblings, the eldest being seventeen, set out to fulfill their uncle's dream of homesteading in Tripp County, South Dakota, and although they face drought, discomfort, and sabotaging squatters, new friends and inner strength help them carry on.

Hurry Home, Candy


Meindert DeJong - 1953
    He had no name, and no one to love him. He has only the silent, empty countryside, and a few crumbs and bare bones he could pick up. He had only himself, and he was afraid. Along the way, the little dog found a few friends, people who gave him shelter for a while, but always he moved on -- until he found a place he could call home forever.

The Silver Pencil


Alice Dalgliesh - 1944
    Janet uses the special pencil she received from her father to turn her life into stories.

Bright Island


Mabel Louise Robinson - 1937
    Nothing suits her better than sailing and helping her father with the farm. But when her dreaded sisters-in-law suggest that Thankful get some proper schooling on the mainland, the wind is knocked from her sails.Thankful finds the uncharted waters of school difficult to navigate: there's a rocky reception from her rich roommate, Selina; the breezy behavior of the charming Robert; and stormy Mr. Fletcher, the handsome Latin teacher whose caustic tongue masks a tender heart. And while Thankful works hard to make the best of her new life, Bright Island continues to flash in her thoughts, like the sparkle of the sun on the water.Mabel Robinson's delightful coming-of-age story won a Newbery Honor in 1938 and garnered extraordinary praise from critics and readers alike. The New York Times raved, "One would be hard put to it to find a better contemporary novel than this," and now this evocative tale can be welcomed by a new generation of readers.

A Fine White Dust


Cynthia Rylant - 1986
    But at the revival meeting, Pete discovers that the Man is actually a savior of souls, and Pete has been waiting all his life to be saved.It's not something Pete's parents can understand. Certainly his best friend, Rufus, an avowed atheist, doesn't understand. But Pete knows he can't imagine life without the Man. So when the Man invites Pete to join him on his mission, how can Pete say no -- even if it means leaving behind everything he's ever loved?

The Windy Hill


Cornelia Meigs - 1921
    A family mystery is unraveled by a boy and girl visiting their uncle one summer.

The Noonday Friends


Mary Stolz - 1965
    Eleven-year-old Franny Davis and her best friend share school and family problems in this realistic, often humorous story set in New York's Greenwich Village.1966 Newbery Honor BookNotable Children's Books of 1965 (ALA)Children's Books of 1965 (Library of Congress)"City" Books of the Sixties (The Instructor)

The Loner


Ester Wier - 1963
    Staying with anyone who'll take him, he gives up all his wages for food and a place to sleep. Then he finds a loving home and realizes he is no longer a loner.

The Golden Name Day


Jennie D. Lindquist - 1955
    While nine-year-old Nancy is staying with her adopted Swedish grandparents for a year, everyone tries to figure out how she can celebrate a name day since her name isn't Swedish.

After the Rain


Norma Fox Mazer - 1987
    She worries about whether her family understands her, whether her friends like her, and whether she'll get her first kiss before she turns sixteen. And she worries about whether she can handle having a real boyfriend if he does come along.But it takes a dying old man -- her grandfather -- who has never been easy for anyone to handle, to show Rachel she has very special abilities. With love and compassion, she reaches the heart of an old tyrant who has always been unreachable. And in so doing, she comes to a better understanding of her family, her friends, and herself.

Journey Outside


Mary Q. Steele - 1969
    And so one night he leaped onto a shelf of rock and watched the flotilla of the Raft People disappear. And from there he found his way Outside, into a world so beautiful and strange he could only suppose he had died-a world of day, and sun, of trees and sky.

Philip Hall Likes Me. I Reckon Maybe.


Bette Greene - 1974
    The fact that he beats her in classwork, sports, and almost everything else doesn't bother Beth at first. Then she realizes that Philip might be best because she's letting him beat her. Beth knows that she deserves to be Number One--and she's going to prove it! This funny, universal story of a girl learning that she matters in the world has delighted readers for over twenty years.A New York Times Outstanding BookAn ALA Notable Book Kirkus Choice Award

The Moves Make the Man


Bruce Brooks - 1984
    These are me. The moves make the man. The moves make me.Jerome foxworthy -- the Jayfox to his friends -- likes to think he can handle anything. He handled growing up without a father. He handled being the first black kid in school. And he sure can handle a basketball.Then Jerome meets bix Rivers -- mysterious and moody, but a great athlete. So Jerome decides to teach bix his game. He can tell that bix has the talent. All he's got to do is learn the right moves....

Pecos Bill: The Greatest Cowboy of All Time


James Cloyd Bowman - 1937
    He became a member of a pack of wild Coyotes, and until he was a grown man, believed that his name was Cropear, and that he was a full-blooded Coyote. Later he discovered that he was a human being and very shortly thereafter became the greatest cowboy of all time. This is how it all came about.”A Newbery Honor book in 1938, James Bowman’s PECOS BILL is the perfect introduction to a great American comic hero and to the delights of the American tall tale. Jolted off the back of his westward-bound pioneer family’s covered wagon, four-year-old Bill is left in the dust by his eighteen wawling and brawling siblings and never-suspecting mom and dad. Raised by coyotes as one of their own, Bill retains a natural innocence while developing a host of supernatural powers. When he finds out that he is a man, not a coyote, and returns to confront the often inhuman human world, those powers will come in handy. Bill never uses them maliciously, always for good, or simply to amaze and amuse.James Bowman was a fine folklorist and an outstanding storyteller and he relates Pecos Bill’s wild deeds in a plainspoken voice that highlights their wonderful swagger and charm. With lively color and black-and-white illustrations by Laura Bannon, Bowman’s PECOS BILL remakes bedrock American myth into a novel full of high adventure, outrageous fantasy, laughter, and sheer fun.

Honk the Moose


Phil Stong - 1935
    What do you do when a moose takes over your town? Three young boys try to save a moose through the cold Minnesota winter.