CochechoReaders List

The Cochecho Readers' Award is sponsored by the Children's Librarians of Dover, New Hampshire. The award is named after the Cochecho River which runs through the heart of Dover. This award will be given each year to an author whose book receives the most votes from third and fourth graders in Dover. We have chosen 20 titles published within the last three years. The criteria for selection are quality of writing and child appeal. Children are required to read or listen to at least three of the titles on the list in order to vote. The voting will take place in the school libraries. Ballots will be available at the Dover Public Library for home-schooled children and those attending private schools.

Adventure According to Humphrey by Betty G. Birney	Humphrey the classroom hamster has adventures going to the library, learning about the ocean, and sailing across a pond on a sailboat.	The Buddy Files: the case of the lost boy by Dori Hillestad Butler	While searching for his mysteriously lost human family, Buddy the dog is adopted by another family and helps solve the mystery of their missing boy.
Captain Nobody by Dean Pitchford	When ten-year-old Newton dresses up as an unusual superhero for Halloween, he decides to keep wearing the costume after the holiday to help save townspeople and eventually his injured brother.	Cloud Tea Monkeys by Mal Peet & Elspeth Graham	When her mother becomes too ill to harvest tea on the nearby plantation, Shenaz is too small to fill in, but when she tells the monkeys she has befriended why she is sad, they bring her a basket filled with rare and valuable wild tea.
The Curse of the Ancient Mask and Other Case Files by Simon Cheshire	Ten-year-old Saxby Smart, the best detective in the world--for his age--investigates three cases while sharing clues with the reader so they can help solve the mysteries. Series: Saxby Smart, private detective.	Did Fleming Rescue Churchill?: a research puzzle by James Giblin	Ten-year-old Jason uses everything he knows about research, including how to separate fact from fiction when using the Internet, to make the deadline for his history paper on scientist Alexander Fleming--the discoverer of penicillin. Includes research tips, emphasizing the importance of accuracy.
Dodger and Me byJordan Sonnenblick	Miserable because his only friend moved away and he has once again caused his baseball team to lose a game, fifth-grader Willy Ryan's life suddenly becomes a lot more interesting when he finds Dodger, a furry, blue chimpanzee that only he can see, and he has to decide what he really wishes for in life.	Dying to Meet You by Kate Klise	In this story told mostly through letters, children's book author, I.B. Grumply, gets more than he bargained for when he rents a quiet place to write for the summer. Series: 43 Old Cemetery Road
The Fabled Fourth Graders of Aesop Elementary School by Candace Fleming	An unlikely teacher takes over the disorderly fourth-grade class of Aesop Elementary School with surprising results.	Family Reminders by Julie Danneberg	In 1890s Cripple Creek, Colorado, when young Mary McHugh's father loses his leg in a mining accident, she tries to help, both by earning money and by encouraging her father to go back to carving wooden figurines and playing piano.
The Flight of the Phoenix by R. L. LaFevers	In 1928, when timid ten-year-old Nate learns that his parents have been lost at sea, he joins his father's cousin on a flight to Arabia where they must oversee the death and rebirth of the phoenix, thus beginning his training as a "beastologist."	Mallory Goes Green by Laurie B. Friedman	When Mallory is appointed to the Fern Falls Elementary School Environmental Committee, which is deciding on class projects for the upcoming Green Fair, she rapidly succeeds in alienating her classmates, friends, and family by her overzealous efforts to save the planet.
*The Naming of Tishkin Silk* by Glenda Millard	Griffin Silk feels responsible for the absence of his mother and baby sister, but he and his new friend Layla find the perfect way to make everyone feel a little bit better.	A Nest for Celeste: a story about art, inspiration,and the meaning of home by Henry Cole	Celeste, a mouse longing for a real home, becomes a source of inspiration to teenaged Joseph, assistant to the artist and naturalist John James Audubon, at a New Orleans, Louisiana, plantation in 1821.
The Night Fairy by Laura Amy Schlitz	When Flory the night fairy's wings are accidentally broken and she cannot fly, she has to learn to do everything differently.	The Small Adventure of Popeye and Elvis by Barbara O'Connor	In Fayette, South Carolina, the highlight of Popeye's summer is learning vocabulary words with his grandmother until a motor home gets stuck nearby and Elvis, the oldest boy living inside, joins Popeye in finding the source of strange boats floating down the creek.
The Trouble with Rules by Leslie Bulion	Now that she is in fourth grade and is not supposed to be friends with boys anymore, Nadie must hide her friendship with Nick, her neighbor and lifelong best friend, but when a new girl arrives who believes that some rules need to be broken, Nadie learns a lot from her.	The Unfinished Angel by Sharon Creech	In a tiny village in the Swiss Alps, an angel meets an American girl named Zola who has come with her father to open a school, and together Zola and the angel rescue a group of homeless orphans, who gradually change everything.
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin	Minli, an adventurous girl from a poor village, buys a magical goldfish, and then joins a dragon who cannot fly on a quest to find the Old Man of the Moon in hopes of bringing life to Fruitless Mountain and freshness to Jade River..	Wild River by P. J. Petersen	Considered lazy and unathletic, twelve-year-old Ryan discovers a heroic side of himself when a kayak trip with his older brother goes horribly awry.