2022 WCCPBA Nominees
Click on the covers below to learn more about each book. If you want our whole packet, you can access it here!
Above the Rim
Author: Jen (Jennifer) Bryant
Illustrator: Frank Morrison
Publisher: Abrams Books for Young Readers
Synopsis: Hall-of-Famer Elgin Baylor was one of basketball's all-time-greatest players--an innovative athlete, team player, and quiet force for change. One of the first professional African-American players, he inspired others on and off the court. But when traveling for away games, many hotels and restaurants turned Elgin away because he was black. One night, Elgin had enough and staged a one-man protest that captured the attention of the press, the public, and the NBA.
Suggested Activity from the WCCPBA Activity Packet for Above the Rim
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The Barnabus Project
Author: Terry Fan
Illustrator: Eric and Devin Fan
Publisher: Tundra Books
Synopsis: In a world built for Perfect Pets, Barnabus is a “Failed Project,” half mouse, half elephant, kept out of sight until his dreams of freedom lead him and his misfit friends on a perilous adventure.
Suggested Activity from the WCCPBA Activity Packet for The Barnabus Project
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The Blue House
Author and Illustrator: Phoebe Wahl Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
Summary: For as long as he can remember, Leo has lived in the blue house with his dad, but lately the neighborhood is changing. People are leaving, houses are being knocked down, and shiny new buildings are going up in their place. When Leo and his dad are forced to leave, they aren't happy about it. They howl and rage and dance out their feelings. When the time comes, they leave the blue house behind--there was never any choice, not really--but little by little, they find a way to keep its memory alive in their new home.
Suggested Activity from the WCCPBA Activity Packet for The Blue House
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 Boxitects Author and Illustrator: Kim Smith
Publisher: Clarion Books/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Synopsis: Meg goes to Maker School to hone her talent for building with boxes, but when Simone, another boxitect, arrives they become so competitive they nearly fail in the annual Maker Match.
Suggested Activity from the WCCPBA Activity Packet for Boxitects
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Chicken Little: The Real and Totally True Tale
Author and Illustrator: Sam Wedelich
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Synopsis: Chicken Little is NOT afraid of anything. Well, okay, maybe a mysterious BONK to the head can produce panic. But only momentarily. It's not as though she meant to send the barnyard into a tailspin, thinking that the sky was falling. How ridiculous But can she calm her feathered friends with facts and reason?
Suggested Activity from the WCCPBA Activity Packet for Chicken Little: The Real and Totally True Tale
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Codzilla
Author: David Zeltser
Illustrator: Jared Chapman
Publisher: Harper: An imprint of Harper Collins Publishers
Synopsis: Bertie is the BIGGEST codfish in school. He loves reading about sharks more than anything, but he's teased about his size by the smaller fish in his school. When they start calling him Codzilla, he gets fed up and starts living up to the name. But when danger strikes from the deep in the form of a shark, Bertie must use his vast shark knowledge and his sizeable heart to save his friends.
Suggested Activity from the WCCPBA Activity Packet for Codzilla
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 Crossings: Extraordinary Structures for Extraordinary Animals
Author: Katy Duffield
Illustrator: Mike Orodan
Publisher: Beach Lane Books
Synopsis: A non-fiction exploration of animal crossings built by animal lovers around the world to help animals cross over, under, around, and through human construction.
Suggested Activity from the WCCPBA Activity Packet for Crossings: Extraordinary Structures for Extraordinary Animals
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 Evelyn Del Ray is Moving Away
Author: Meg Medina
Illustrator: Sonia Sánchez
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Synopsis: Evelyn Del Rey is Daniela's best friend. They do everything together and even live in twin apartments across the street from each other: Daniela with her Mami and hamster, and Evelyn with her Mami, Papi, and cat. But not after today--not after Evelyn moves away. Until then, the girls play amid the moving boxes until it's time to say goodbye, making promises to keep in touch. They know that their friendship will always be special.
Suggested Activity from the WCCPBA Activity Packet for Evelyn Del Rey is Moving Away
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Every Night is Pizza Night
Author: J. Kenji López-Alt
Illustrator: Gianna Ruggiero
Publisher: Norton Young Readers
Synopsis: Convinced that pizza is the best food, Pipo will eat nothing else until her fed-up parents send her on a quest to prove that no dishes in their multicultural neighborhood are better.
Suggested Activity from the WCCPBA Activity Packet for Every Night is Pizza Night
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 Eyes That Kiss in the Corners
Author: Joanna Ho
Illustrator: Dung Ho
Publisher: Harper, an imprint of Harper Collins Publishers
Synopsis: A young Asian girl notices that her eyes look different from her peers'. They have big, round eyes and long lashes. She realizes that her eyes are like her mother's, her grandmother's, and her little sister's. They have eyes that kiss in the corners and glow like warm tea, crinkle into crescent moons, and are filled with stories of the past and hope for the future.
Suggested Activity from the WCCPBA Activity Packet for Eyes That Kiss in the Corners
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 Facts vs. Opinions vs. Robots
Author and Illustrator: Michael Rex
Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books
Synopsis: Do you know the difference between a fact and an opinion? It can be a hard thing to understand. Some things are facts--like the number of robots in this book. Other things are opinions--like which robot would make the best friend, or which robot dances best. And sometimes to tell the difference between a fact and an opinion, you need to wait to get more information--that's because facts can be proven true or false, and opinions are things you feel and believe--but that you can't prove.
Suggested Activity from the WCCPBA Activity Packet for Facts vs. Opinions vs. Robots
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Federico and the Wolf
Author: Rebecca Gomez
Illustrator: Elisa Chavarri
Publisher: Clarion Books, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Synopsis: A modern retelling of Little Red Riding Hood in which Federico rides his bicycle to the market for Abuelo's groceries, then stands up to a hungry wolf.
Suggested Activity from the WCCPBA Activity Packet for Federico and the Wolf
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I Am NOT a Penguin: A Pangolin's Lament
Author and Illustrator: Liz Wong
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
Synopsis: Poor Pangolin! He's trying to explain who he is, but the other animals keep getting confused. A pangolin might be a very unusual animal, but in this very funny story of mix-ups and misunderstandings, he discovers the rarest creature of all: a friend who really listens and likes you for who you are.
Suggested Activity from the WCCPBA Activity Packet for I Am NOT a Penguin: A Pangolin's Lament
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I Will Dance
Author: Nancy Bo Flood
Illustrator: Julianna Swaney
Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Synopsis: Eva longs to dance. But unlike many would-be dancers, Eva has cerebral palsy. She doesn’t know what dance looks like for someone who uses a wheelchair. Then Eva learns of a place that has created a class for dancers of all abilities. Her first movements in the studio are tentative, but with the encouragement of her instructor and fellow students, Eva becomes more confident. Eva knows she’s found a place where she belongs. At last, her dream of dancing has come true.
Suggested Activity from the WCCPBA Activity Packet for I Will Dance
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Linus the Little Yellow Pencil
Author and Illustrator: Scott Magoon
Publisher: Disney Hyperion
Synopsis: Linus and his eraser, Ernie, don't always see eye to eye. But with the family art show drawing near, these two will have to sharpen their collaboration to make something neither one could do on their own!
Suggested Activity from the WCCPBA Activity Packet for Linus The Little Yellow Pencil
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Lubna and Pebble
Author: Wendy Meddour
Illustrator: Daniel Egneus
Publisher: Dial Books for Young Readers
Synopsis: Lubna's best friend is a pebble. Pebble always listens to her stories. Pebble always smiles when she feels scared. But when a lost little boy arrives in the World of Tents, Lubna realizes that he needs Pebble even more than she does.
Suggested Activity from the WCCPBA Activity Packet for Lubna and Pebble
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The Panda Problem
Author: Deborah Underwood
Illustrator: Hannah Marks
Publisher: Dial Books for Young Readers
Synopsis: Every story needs a problem. But Panda doesn't have a problem. Unless . . . Panda is the problem.
Suggested Activity from the WCCPBA Activity Packet for The Panda Problem
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This Way Charlie
Author: Caron Levis
Illustrator: Charles Santoso
Publisher: Abram Books for Young Readers
Synopsis: Jack, an introverted goat, and Charlie, a blind horse, meet at Open Bud Ranch, an animal rehabilitation center, and form an unlikely friendship that grows stronger in the face of adversity.
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Author and Illustrator: Alex Willan
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Synopsis: A grumpy goblin hates having unicorns as neighbors, but when dragons threaten his home and the unicorns come to the rescue, he has to admit that maybe unicorns are not so bad after all.
Suggested Activity from the WCCPBA Activity Packet for Unicorns are the Worst
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Your Name is a Song
Author: Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow
Illustrator: Luisa Uribe
Publisher: The Innovation Press
Synopsis: Frustrated by a day full of teachers and classmates mispronouncing her beautiful name, a little girl tells her mother she never wants to go back to school. In response, the girl's mother teachers her about the musicality of African, Asian, Black-American, Latinx, and Middle Eastern names on their lyrical walk home through the city. Empowered by this newfound understanding, the young girl is ready to return the next day to share her knowledge with her class.
Suggested Activity from the WCCPBA Activity Packet for Your Name is a Song
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