2024 WCCPBA Nominees

Click on the covers below to learn more about each book. If you want our whole packet, you can access it here!









 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  


 

Abdul's Story
Author: Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow
Illustrator:  Tiffany Rose
Publisher: Salaam Reads / Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Synopsis: Abdul loves telling stories but thinks his messy handwriting and spelling mistakes will keep him from becoming an author, until Mr. Muhammad visits and encourages him to persist.

 

Suggested Activity from the WCCPBA Activity Packet for Abdul's Story

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Because Claudette 
Author: Tracey Baptiste
Illustrator: Tonya Engel
Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group
Synopsis: A picture book about Claudette Colvin, the teen whose activism launched the Montgomery bus boycott, and a celebration of collective action.

 

 

 

Suggested Activity from the WCCPBA Activity Packet for Because Claudette

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The Boy Who Loved Maps 
Author: Kari Allen
Illustrator: G. Brian Karas
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Summary: A map-making boy is stumped when a girl asks him for a map of the “perfect place.”
Chester Van Chime Who Forgot How to Rhyme
Author:
Avery Monsen
Illustrator:
Abby Hanlon

Publisher: Little Brown
Synopsis: Rhyming has always come easily to Chester van Chime. But one day he loses his gift and struggles to find the right words.

 

 

 

Suggested Activity from the WCCPBA Activity Packet for Chester Van Chime Who Forgot How to Rhyme

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Chez Bob
Author and Illustrator: Bob Shea
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Synopsis: A lazy alligator comes up with a plan to lure his prey by opening a restaurant for birds. Eventually, he realizes that birds are even better as friends.

 

 

 


Suggested Activity from the WCCPBA Activity Packet for Chez Bob

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Chickadee: Criminal Mastermind 
Author: Monica Silvie
Illustrator: Elina Ellis
Publisher: Kids Can Press 
Synopsis: Chickadee recounts how he went from a normal bird 'childhood' to a daring life of crime. One cold, snowy morning, shivering and hungry, he discovers a vault of gold--and steals from it! His natural coloring resembling a mask helps him blend in as he makes his rounds of the forest. It's an exciting life, with hawks to fend off and treasure to hide all over the forest... but is it as glamorous as it appears?

 

 

 Suggested Activity from the WCCPBA Activity Packet for Chickadee: Criminal Mastermind

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The Creature of Habit
Author: Jennifer E. Smith
Illustrator: Leo Espinosa
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Synopsis: A very big creature with big teeth, big eyes, and very big feet lives on the island of Habit. Everyday the creature happily does the exact same things in the exact same order. A small creature arrives on the island. The big creature is excited to share his routine, but the small creature has ideas of his own. Can these two creatures learn to understand each other? Is the island big enough for both of them?

 

Suggested Activity from the WCCPBA Activity Packet for The Creature of Habit

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Except Antarctica!
Author and Illustrator: Todd Sturgell
Publisher: Sourcebooks, Incorporated
Synopsis: Many animals can be found on every continent except Antarctica, where Emperor penguins are the only native species. As the narrator attempts to give animal facts, Turtle disrupts the narrator, takes over the story, and embarks on a journey with six other animals to Antarctica.

 Suggested Activity from the WCCPBA Activity Packet for Except Antarctica

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Friends are Friends, Forever
Author: Dane Liu
Illustrator: Lynn Scurfield
Publisher: Henry Holt and Company (BYR)
Synopsis: Just before Chinese New Year, Dandan discovers that her family is moving to America, far away from her best friend Yueyue; before they leave Yueyue gives her a stack of red paper and a spool of string so she can share the art of paper cutting with Americans--and when Chinese New Year comes around again Dandan remembers Yueyue's gift and introduces her new friend Christina to this ancient art.

 

Suggested Activity from the WCCPBA Activity Packet for Friends are Friends, Forever

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Frog vs. Toad
Author and Illustrator: Ben Mantle
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Synopsis:  As things get a bit heated among the amphibian population in the swamp, rivals Frog and Toad must cast their differences aside and work together when they have a close encounter with a snappy alligator.

 

 

Suggested Activity from the WCCPBA Activity Packet for Frog vs. Toad

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Growing an Artist: The Story of a Landscaper and His Son
Author and Illustrator: 
John Parra
Publisher: Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books
Synopsis: Today Juanito is accompanying his father who is in the landscaping business, and he takes his sketchbook along to draw anything that catches his eye, and gets to help his father plan an entire garden--and then help plant it.

 

 

Suggested Activity from the WCCPBA Activity Packet for Growing an Artist

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Hamsters Make Terrible Roommates
Author: Cheryl B. Klein
Illustrator: Abhi Alwar
Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group
Synopsis: Henry is desperate for a little peace and quiet from his extremely chatty roommate Marvin, and after Henry finally loses his cool, these hamsters must find ways to compromise and live together. 

 

Suggested Activity from the WCCPBA Activity Packet for Hamsters Make Terrible Roommates

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How to Party Like a Snail 
Author: Naseem Hrab
Illustrator: 
Kelly Collier
Publisher: Owlkids Books
Synopsis: Snail loves the quiet things about parties, like confetti and the silence before everyone yells, "surprise!", and decides to plan his own party without any loud noises, but when he feels like something is missing, he discovers he may long for the "loud" after all.

 

 

 Suggested Activity from the WCCPBA Activity Packet for How to Party Like a Snail

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Knight Owl
Author and Illustrator: Christopher Denise
Publisher: Little, Brown
Synopsis: Owl works hard to become a knight, but will he be able to call upon a knight’s bravery and cleverness when faced with a hungry dragon?

 

 

 

 Suggested Activity from the WCCPBA Activity Packet for Knight Owl

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Nigel and the Moon
Author: Antwan Eady
Illustrator: Gracey Zhang
Publisher: HarperCollins
Synopsis: It’s Career Day at school, but Nigel doesn’t know what he wants to be, and he’s not sure that what his parents do is enough to impress the kids in his class.



Suggested Activity from the WCCPBA Activity Packet for Nigel and the Moon

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Powwow Day
Author: Traci Sorell
Illustrator: Madelyn Goodnight
Publisher: Charlesbridge
Synopsis: River wants so badly to dance at powwow day as she does every year. In this uplifting and contemporary picture book perfect for beginning readers, follow River's journey from feeling isolated after an illness to learning the healing power of community. 

 

Suggested Activity from the WCCPBA Activity Packet for Powwow Day

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The Three Billy Goats Gruff
Author: Mac Barnett
Illustrator: Jon Klaussen
Publisher: Scholastic Incorporated
Synopsis: Based on the Norwegian fairy tale, Mac Barnett retells the story as a fractured fairy tale. The three billy goats want to graze on a grassy ridge, but first they must cross the troll’s bridge!

 

 

 

Suggested Activity from the WCCPBA Activity Packet for The Three Billy Goats Gruff

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The Very True Legend of the Mongolian Death Worms
Author and Illustrator: Sandra Fay
Publisher: Henry Holt and Company (BYR)
Synopsis: A funny picture book celebrating the universal truth about wanting to be loved just as you are, fangs and all, inspired by the real-life legend of Mongolian Death Worms.

 

 

 

 

Suggested Activity from the WCCPBA Activity Packet for The Very True Legend of the Mongolian Death Worms

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A Walk in the Words
Author and Illustrator: Hudson Talbott

Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group
Synopsis: Through a story from his own childhood, Hudson Talbott shares the challenges--and ultimately the rewards--of being a non-mainstream kind of learner.

 

 

 

 

Suggested Activity from the WCCPBA Activity Packet for A Walk in the Words

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Author and Illustrator: Lindsay Moore
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Synopsis: Yoshi, a loggerhead sea turtle, was injured and rescued by fisherman who took her to the Two Oceans Aquarium in South Africa for rehabilitation. After twenty years, Yoshi was returned to the sea and traveled nearly 23,000 miles over three years back to what is believed to be her birthplace.

 

 

Suggested Activity from the WCCPBA Activity Packet for Yoshi and the Ocean

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