2017 Oregon Book Award finalists

The 2017 Oregon Book Award finalists were announced this week.

The Oregon Book Award winners will be announced at the 30th annual Oregon Book Awards ceremony on Monday, April 24 at the Gerding Theater at the Armory. You can read the complete list of finalists here. The Children’s & YA Lit finalists are listed below.

ELOISE JARVIS MCGRAW AWARD FOR CHILDREN’S LITERATURE
Judge: Mac Barnett

 

Kate Berube of Portland, Hannah and Sugar (Abrams Books for Young Readers)

 

 

 

 

Cathy Camper of Portland, Lowriders to the Center of the Earth (Chronicle Books)

 

 

 

 

 

Deborah Hopkinson of West Linn, Steamboat School (Disney * Hyperion)

 

 

 

 

 

Kathleen Lane of Portland, The Best Worst Thing (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cynthia Rylant of Portland, The Otter (Beach Lane Books)

 

 

 

 

 

 

LESLIE BRADSHAW AWARD FOR YOUNG ADULT LITERATURE
Judge: Malinda Lo

 

Deborah Hopkinson of West Linn, Courage & Defiance: Stories of Spies, Saboteurs, and Survivors in World War II Denmark (Scholastic)

 

 

 

Amber J. Keyser of Bend, The Way Back from Broken (Carolrhoda LAB)

 

 

 

 

 

 

David Levine of Portland, Arabella of Mars (Tor)

 

 

 

 

 

Eliot Treichel of Eugene, A Series of Small Maneuvers (Ooligan Press)

When Bad Things Happen

When bad things happen, some people carry on, some ignore the problem and some worry. Kathleen Lane’s The Best Worst Thing is all about a girl who worries.

Shortly after visiting a neighborhood store, it is robbed and the cashier is murdered. This sends Maggie into a world of worry. She checks closets and doors frequently, but grows more anxious. Ar school, her best friend starts hanging with “cool” kids, leaving her behind. And her neighbor, who raises rabbits, sells the leftovers for meat. So, Maggie counts to calm herself down.

Publisher’s Summary:

Front door locked,

kitchen door locked, 

living room windows closed.

Nobody in the closet, 

nobody under the beds.

Still, Maggie is worried. Ever since she started middle school, she sees injustice and danger everywhere–on the news, in her textbooks, in her own neighborhood. Even her best friend seems to be changing.

Maggie believes it is up to her, and only her, to make everything all right. Can she come up with a plan to keep everyone safe?

The Best Worst Thing is a perceptive novel about learning the limits of what you can control, and the good–sometimes even best–things that can come of finally letting go.

This is a short, but thoughtful book about dealing with change.