This document provides summaries of 14 books recommended for grades 3-5 by the Louisiana Young Readers' Choice program for 2011-2012. The books cover a wide range of genres, including biographies, mysteries, fantasies, historical fiction, and non-fiction. They address topics like the life of a former slave turned U.S. Marshal, a cobbler apprenticed to make a magical shoe, a boy who pretends to be a detective, and the first Moon landing.

1. Louisiana Young Readers’ Choice
2011-2012
Grades 3-5

2. Bad News for Outlaws:
The Remarkable Life of
Bass Reeves,
Deputy U.S. Marshal
By: Vaunda Micheaux Nelson
This biography profiles the life of Bass
Reeves, a former slave who was recruited as
a deputy United States Marshal in the area
that was to become Oklahoma.

3. The Blue Shoe: A Tale of Thievery,
Villainy, Sorcery, and Shoes
By: Roderick Townley
A mysterious stranger commissions a single,
valuable shoe from a humble cobbler,
changing forever the cobbler's life and the life
of his young apprentice.

4. The Case of the Case
of Mistaken Identity
By: Mac Bernett
When twelve-year-old Steve Brixton, a fan of
Bailey Brothers detective novels, is mistaken
for a real detective, he must elude librarians,
police, and the mysterious Mr. E as he seeks
a missing quilt containing coded information.
Book #1

5. The Dream Stealer
By: Sid Fleischman
A plucky Mexican girl tries to recover her dream
from the Dream Stealer, who takes her to his
castle where countless dreams and even more
adventures await.

6. The Dunderheads
By: Paul Fleischman
When Miss Breakbone confiscates Junkyard's
crucial find, Wheels, Pencil, Spider, and the
rest of the Dunderheads plot to teach her a
lesson.

7. Extra Credit
By: Andrew Clements
As letters flow back and forth, between the
prairies of Illinois and the mountains of
Afghanistan, across cultural and religious divides,
sixth-grader Abby, ten-year-old Amira, and eleven-
year-old Sadeed begin to speak and listen to each
other.

8. Flight of the Phoenix
By: R. L. LaFevers
With his parents lost at sea, Nate lands on the
doorstep of a distant cousin, the world's last
remaining beastologist. Soon he is whisked off
on his first expedition, to Arabia, where the
world's only phoenix prepares to lay its new
egg. Book #1

9. The Hidden Bestiary of Marvelous,
Mysterious, and (Maybe Even)
Magical Creatures
By: Judy Young
This book contains journal entries in which
Basil Bernard Barnswhitten documents his
exploration of rare animals and his findings.

10. Little Sister is Not My Name:
Sassy Series Book 1
By: Sharon Draper
Fashion-savvy Sassy does not like being the
smallest student in her fourth-grade class, until a
family emergency calls for a pint-sized hero. Book
#1

11. Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11
By: Brian Floca
Simple text and illustrations describe
the flight of "Apollo 11" and the Moon
landing in 1969.

12. Redwoods
By: Jason Chin
While reading a book about redwood
trees on the subway, a young boy
travels as he learns, all the way to
the forests of California.

13. Sea of the Dead
By: Julia Durango
When thirteen-year-old Kehl, fifth son
of the Warrior Prince Amatec, is
kidnapped by the Fallen King and forced
to map the entire Carillon Empire, he
also discovers a secret about his own
past.

14. Tsunami!
By: Kimiko Kajikawa
A wealthy man, who everyone calls
Ojiisan, which means grandfather, sets
fire to his rice fields to warn the
innocent people in a Japanese village of
an approaching tsunami.

15. We Can’t All Be Rattlesnakes!
By: Patrick Jennings
When Crusher the snake is captured,
her only thought is to escape, but as
time goes by and she befriends the
other inmates of the "zoo," she realizes
that freedom also means leaving
companions behind.

16. Wild Girl
By: Patricia Reilly Giff
When twelve-year-old Lidie leaves Brazil
to join her father and brother on a
horse ranch in New York, she has a hard
time adjusting to her changed
circumstances, as does a new horse that
has come to the ranch.