Book picks similar to
Downright Dencey by Caroline Dale Snedeker


historical-fiction
newbery
newbery-honor
fiction

Our Only May Amelia


Jennifer L. Holm - 1999
    With seven older brothers and a love of adventure, May Amelia Jackson just can′t seem to abide her family′s insistence that she behave like a Proper Young Lady. She′s sure she could do better if only there were at least one other girl living along the banks of the Nasel River. And now that Mama′s going to have a baby, maybe there′s hope.Inspired by the diaries of her great-aunt, the real May Amelia, first-time novelist Jennifer Holm has given us a beautifully crafted tale of one young girl whose unique spirit captures the courage, humour, passion and depth of the American pioneer experience.∗Newbery Honour Book (USA), 2000Ages 10+

The Secret River


Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings - 1955
    There's just not enough not enough money, not enough food, not enough fish for her daddy to sell at the market. Hard times have come to the forest, but Calpurnia wants to turn them back into soft times. With her little dog Buggy Horse and a tip from old Mother Albirtha, the wisest person in the forest, Calpurnia finds a secret river and uses the pink paper roses from her hair to catch enough beautiful catfish to feed the whole swamp land with some left over for Daddy to sell. When she tries to find the river again the next day, Mother Albirtha tells her, sometimes a thing happens once, and does not ever happen anymore. You caught catfish when catfish were needed; you will not find the river again. This story by the Pulitzer Prize winning author of The Yearling and literary icon Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings is about living in a time of want, yet it is overflowing with riches&, stunning language, mystical happenings, wondrous, wondrous artwork. Beautiful in all ways that a book can be beautiful, this unforgettable picture book is a classic in the making.

Afternoon of the Elves


Janet Taylor Lisle - 1989
    Sure, she wears weird clothes and she lives in a dumpy house, but if Sara-Kate's as bad as everyone says, how could she take such good care of the elf village in her backyard? She and Hillary spend hours fixing the tiny stick houses and the miniature Ferris wheel so the elves won't move away. But as Hillary is drawn further into Sara-Kate's world, she learns there are other mysteries besides the elves. Why doesn't anyone ever see Sara-Kate's mother? And why isn't anyone allowed in her house? This updated edition will bring new life to Janet Taylor Lisle's best-selling novel.

The Good Master


Kate Seredy - 1935
    But their summer proves more adventurous than he had hoped when headstrong Kate arrives, as together they share horseback races across the plains, country fairs and festivals, and a dangerous run-in with the gypsies.In vividly detailed scenes and beautiful illustrations, this Newbery Award-winning author presents an unforgettable world and characters who will be remembered forever.

The Hidden Treasure of Glaston


Eleanore M. Jewett - 1946
    "What is this place?" asked Hugh. A sudden turn and they were in a low stone-lined room, along two sides of which were heavy black oak chests. Dickon raised the lid of one, which creaked and groaned...Thus do two boys come upon the hidden treasure of the great Abbey of Glastenbury--the treasure, it is said, of King Arthur himself.

Kildee House


Rutherford G. Montgomery - 1949
    He was going to be a hermit—a lazy recluse who didn't have to work or think.Now here he was facing a crisis that needed immediate attention. At least that's what he would call the dozens of raccoons and spotted skunks that were now living in and under his home, coming and going as they saw fit.

The Bronze Bow


Elizabeth George Speare - 1961
    –from the Song of David (2 Samuel 22:35) The Bronze Bow, written by Elizabeth George Speare (author of The Witch of Blackbird Pond) won the Newbery Medal in 1962. This gripping, action-packed novel tells the story of eighteen-year-old Daniel bar Jamin—a fierce, hotheaded young man bent on revenging his father’s death by forcing the Romans from his land of Israel. Daniel’s palpable hatred for Romans wanes only when he starts to hear the gentle lessons of the traveling carpenter, Jesus of Nazareth. A fast-paced, suspenseful, vividly wrought tale of friendship, loyalty, the idea of home, community . . . and ultimately, as Jesus says to Daniel on page 224: “Can’t you see, Daniel, it is hate that is the enemy? Not men. Hate does not die with killing. It only springs up a hundredfold. The only thing stronger than hate is love.” A powerful, relevant read in turbulent times.

A String in the Harp


Nancy Bond - 1976
    Set in both present-day and ancient Wales, this Newbery Honor title has become a contemporary classic.

The Golden Fleece and the Heroes Who Lived Before Achilles


Padraic Colum - 1921
    This title describes the cycle of myths about the Argonauts and the quest for the Golden Fleece, as well as the tales of the creation of Heaven and Earth, the labours of Hercules, Theseus and the Minotaur, and others.

Hattie Big Sky


Kirby Larson - 2006
    After inheriting her uncle's homesteading claim in Montana, 16-year-old orphan Hattie Brooks travels from Iowa in 1917 to make a home for herself and encounters some unexpected problems related to the war being fought in Europe.

Up a Road Slowly


Irene Hunt - 1966
    The Newbery Award-winning novel From the author of Across Five Aprils and No Promises in the Wind comes her most beloved story of a girl's coming of age.After her mother's death, Julie goes to live with Aunt Cordelia, a spinster schoolteacher, where she experiences many emotions and changes as she grows from seven to eighteen.

Blue Willow


Doris Gates - 1940
    Now that her father was an itinerant worker, Janey didn't have a home she could call her own or any real friends, as her family had to keep moving, following the crops from farm to farm. Someday, Janey promised the willow plate, with its picture of a real house, her family would once again be able to set down roots in a community.Blue Willow is an important fictional account of the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression, and has been called The Grapes of Wrath for children. It won a Newbery Honor and many other awards.

Belle Prater's Boy


Ruth White - 1996
    When Belle Prater disappears, Belle’s boy, Woodrow, comes to live with his grandparents in Coal Station, Virginia. Woodrow’s cousin Gypsy is the town beauty, but she has hidden sorrows and secrets of her own. She wonders how Woodrow can accept his mother’s disappearance when she’s never gotten over her father’s death. That’s when Woodrow tells Gypsy the secret about his mother.

Crazy Lady!


Jane Leslie Conly - 1993
    But when a social service agency tries to put Ronald into a special home, Vernon fights against the move.

The Perilous Road


William O. Steele - 1958
    Fourteen-year-old Chris, bitterly hating the Yankees for invading his Tennessee mountain home, learns a difficult lesson about the waste of war and the meaning of tolerance and courage when he reports the approach of a Yankee supply troop to the Confederates, only to learn that his brother is probably part of that troop.