2012 - 2013 Young Hoosier Book Award Nominees for Middle Grades

Borrowed Names: Poems about Laura Ingalls Wilder, Madam C. J. Walker,Marie Curie and their daughtersby Jeannine AtkinsAs a child, Laura Ingalls Wilder traveled across the prairie in a covered wagon. Her daughter,Rose, thought those stories might make a good book, and the two created the beloved LittleHouse series. Sarah Breedlove, the daughter of former slaves, wanted everything to be differentfor her own daughter, A'Lelia. Together they built a million-dollar beauty empire for women ofcolor. Marie Curie became the first person in history to win two Nobel prizes in science. Inspiredby her mother, Irene too became a scientist and Nobel prize winner. Borrowed Names is thestory of these extraordinary mothers and daughters.The Crossing: How George Washington Saved the American Revolutionby Jim MurphyLearn how George Washington's crossing of the Delaware River helped save the Americanrevolution.Crunchby Leslie ConnorThe oldest Marriss brother, fourteen-year-old Dewey, attempts to be the "embodiment ofresponsibility" as he juggles the management of the family's bicycle repair business whilesharing the household and farm duties with his siblings after a sudden energy crisis strands theirparents far from home.The Dreamerby Pam Munoz RyanA fictionalized biography of the Nobel Prize-winning Chilean poet Pablo Neruda, who grewup a painfully shy child, ridiculed by his overbearing father, but who became one of the mostwidely-read poets in the world.Flygirlby Sherri L. SmithDuring World War II, a light-skinned African American girl "passes" for white in order to jointhe Women Airforce Service Pilots.

Forgeby Laurie Halse AndersonSeparated from his friend Isabel after their daring escape from slavery, fifteen-year-oldCurzon serves as a free man in the Continental Army at Valley Forge until he and Isabel arethrown together again, as slaves once more.Ghostopolisby Doug TenNapel"Garth Hale is as good as dead...The only problem is he's still alive. When Garth Hale isaccidentally zapped into the ghost world by Frank Gallows, a washed-up ghost wrangler, hediscovers that he has special powers. Soon he finds himself on the run from the evil ruler ofGhostopolis, who wants to use Garth's newfound abilities to tighten his grip on the spiritworld. After Garth meets Cecil, his grandfather's ghost, the two search for a way to get Garthback home, nearly losing hope until Frank Gallows shows up to fix his mistake."Happenstance Foundby P. W. CataneseA boy awakens, blindfolded, with no memory of even his name, but soon meets Lord Umber,an adventurer and inventor, who calls him Happenstance and tells him that he has a veryimportant destiny--and a powerful enemy.The Hive Detectives: Chronicle of a Honey Bee Catastropheby Loree Griffin BurnsBees don't just produce honey. Your food supply depends on them. Apiarist DaveHackenberg's bees have a busy travel schedule, pollinating around the United Statesfrom February to July. So when Dave inspected four hundred of his hives and foundthat the bees had simply vanished, a dream team of bee scientists got to work.

A Long Walk to Water: A Novel: Based on a True Storyby Linda Sue ParkWhen the Sudanese civil war reaches his village in 1985, eleven-year-old Salva becomesseparated from his family and must walk with other Dinka tribe members through southernSudan, Ethiopia, and Kenya in search of safe haven. Based on the life of Salva Dut, who, afteremigrating to America in 1996, began a project to dig water wells in Sudan.The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figgby W. Rodman PhilbrickTwelve-year-old Homer, a poor but clever orphan, has extraordinary adventures after runningaway from his evil uncle to rescue his brother, who has been sold into service in the Civil War.Out of My Mindby Sharon DraperConsidered by many to be mentally retarded, a brilliant, impatient fifth-grader with cerebralpalsy discovers a technological device that will allow her to speak for the first time.The Search for WondLaby Tony DiTerlizziLiving in isolation with a robot on what appears to be an alien world populated with bizarre lifeforms, a twelve-year-old human girl called Eva Nine sets out on a journey to find others likeher.Slobby Ellen PotterPicked on, overweight genius Owen tries to invent a television that can see the past to find outwhat happened the day his parents were killed.

Sources of Lightby Margaret McMullanFourteen-year-old Samantha and her mother move to Jackson, Mississippi, in 1962 after herfather is killed in Vietnam, and during the year they spend there Sam encounters both loveand hate as she learns about photography from a new friend of her mother's and witnessesthe prejudice and violence of the segregationists of the South.Surviving the Angel of Death: The True Story of a Mengele Twin inAuschwitzby Eva Mozes Kor and Lisa BuccieriDescribes the life of Eva Mozes and her twin sister Miriam as they were interred at theAuschwitz concentration camp during the Holocaust, where Dr. Josef Mengele performedsadistic medical experiments on them until their release.Viralsby Kathy ReichsThe niece of famed forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan, fourteen-year-old Toryand her three friends are exposed to a rare strain of canine parvovirus that gives themspecial powers which they use to try to solve a murder.