Morse Code, the third book in Sue C. Dugan’s the Land, Sea, and Air series, plunges readers into double-layered intrigue. It’s a riot of sleuthing, history, and time itself at play.
At one end of the story, young British twins Dot and Dash Foxshire encounter three peculiar strangers around their parents’ archaeological dig in 1921’s Guatemala. Oddly overdressed for the jungle, the newcomers reveal they had just survived both the shipwrecks of the Titanic in 1912 and the S.S. Austria in 1858 (see Book One: Save Our Ships).
Meanwhile, Morse Code picks up where Book Two: Mayday left off. Jessie, her father, and Ben make it home from a remote island in the past, unaware that Prince, a man native to that island, has secretly stowed away with them into the future.
His presence in 2016 quickly attracts the government’s attention; a linguist studies Prince in quarantine and grows fascinated with his hybrid system of gestures and speech, identifying it as an extinct Mayan language. Having safely arrived home in 2016’s Florida, Jessie seeks guidance from Roberto, an attractive boy at her school whose knowledge of time-space travel gives Jessie a new theory about where Prince really came from.
Jessie persuades the linguist to travel back into the Guatemalan jungle and return Prince to his home—with her older brother, Phil, acting as reluctant chaperone. However, their expedition takes an unexpected turn when an earthquake in Guatemala hurls Jessie and Prince into 1921, where they cross paths with Dot, Dash, and the Titanic trio.
The delight of Morse Code lies in its willingness to let two plots collide head-on, embracing historical what-ifs with a sense of childlike wonder.
As the mismatched group assembles a chronology of their overlapping stories, Jessie recalls Roberto mentioning that Albert Einstein would be in 1921’s New York City. If anyone can help untangle the mysteries of time, it’s him. With the Foxshire family’s help, the crew sets its sights on unraveling the mystery at the heart of their travels.
Much like the Magic Tree House series, Morse Code, Book Three of the Land, Sea, and Air series by Sue C. Dugan, balances whimsy with a little history lesson, respecting the complexities of its ideas while keeping a brisk pace toward another suspenseful cliff-hanger. Middle-grade readers eager to puzzle out myths and mysteries lost to time will find Morse Code, along with the series as a whole, both rewarding and wildly entertaining.
The Gertrude Warner Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Middle Grade Fiction. The Grand Prize Winner, Norah Lally’s book, Back to Bainbridge will be promoted for years to come in our annual Hall of Fame article, as well as be featured on the Gertrude Warner contest page year ’round!
The best part about being a Chanticleer Int’l Book Award Winner is the love and attention all year ‘round!
When Nate Turner, a more or less average well-intentioned 10-year-old, receives via robot-helicopter an encoded invitation from the secluded, anti-social, and enigmatic child prodigy, Tommy Rocket, promising free Doritos, Twinkies, and adventure, he can’t resist. Tommy’s gift for making gadgets and robots further fascinates Nate, most especially Tommy’s Goober Patrol, a small group of robots possessing the Prometheus Chip, the sentience-granting, epic invention of Tommy’s father. However, when someone—or something—begins spying and hunting the boys, something capable of murder, they join forces to discover the identity of their mysterious stalker. Who, or what, is it, and why is he so interested in Tommy’s father and his fabulous Prometheus Chip? Together, the boys must join forces, along with Tommy’s marvelous robots, to solve the mystery of their unknown adversary, a mystery whose outcome holds the key to the continued survival of the human race itself.
From Chanticleer:
Tommy Rocket and the Goober Patrolby Thomas R. Kuhn follows Nate, a young boy growing up in the 1970s, whose friendship with the kid genius robot builder, Tommy Rocket, leads him into mysterious adventures.
Tommy’s father invented the Prometheus chip that gives sentience to robots, and from a young age Tommy started creating a gang of robots called the Goober Patrol. Eccentric and wheelchair-bound, Tommy prefers to tinker with his robots at home. But he befriends Nate after he saves Tommy from bullies.
When Tommy’s aptly named ‘Monster-bot’ gets loose, Nate is tasked with finding and securing the rogue bot before anyone finds out. But the two boys soon find out there is more at work than one missing robot. There’s another tinkerer in town and they’re building their own special group of robots—which look just like one of Tommy’s creations. Nate and Tommy have to find out who has gotten their hands on the Prometheus chip before it’s too late.
Filled with 1970s nostalgia,Tommy Rocket and the Goober Patrolexplores the best parts of childhood.
It’s bad enough being the new kid in class, but Sara’s secret belief in magic is about to go viral all over school, thanks to the Terrible Twins.
How on earth can she prove magic exists? And fast!
Help comes from some ghostly allies she literally stumbles into in a most unexpected place. Hidden deep in an old hotel closet, Sara discovers Silas (an abandoned Civil War coat). He introduces her to six ghosts of clothes worn by real-life people in history whose stories the clothes are eager to tell.
But that’s not all they have to share. Together, the ghost clothes help Sara come up with a plan to save her own skin and even magic itself. It just might work! Now, whether Sara has the courage to carry it out…that’s another matter. But what really does matter? Being right, or being a friend?
Deetjen’s Closet is a captivating historical fantasy with splashes of magic for readers 8-12. At the end of the book, they’ll find bonus material from the story—including how to bake fortune cookies, tie a Bowline knot and fold a dollar-bill into a heart.
Young Bethan is living a peaceful life in a coal mining town in South Wales. But her world crumbles when her father is badly injured after a section of the mine collapses. Setting her dreams aside for the time being, Bethan must help support her family. Defying the laws forbidding it, she goes to work 2,000 feet underground in the dark, damp, and terrifying coal mine. Her only source of comfort comes in the form of Dobbin, the very pit pony who saved her father’s life.
Through this gripping historical fiction novel for pre-teens and teens, you will experience the grueling work, ever-present dangers, and rampant sexism faced by Bethan as Dobbin becomes her strength and guiding light.
Before Peter Pan and Tinkerbell, there was Samantha Smee and her philosopher fairy, Florafauna. Growing up on Captain Hook’s pirate ship in the 1800s, Samantha Smee, daughter of Mr. Smee, doesn’t face the usual challenges for young girls. Disguised since infancy, Sammi embarks on hilarious, action-packed adventures on the high seas where she develops the skills to navigate Neverland and save her family. This funny tale celebrates inclusivity, girl power, and the importance of friendship, as Sammi discovers her true self. This award-winning book is a fantastic addition to any middle grade kid’s reading list. Through Samantha Smee’s journey, young readers will be inspired to imagine their own dreams and forge their own futures.
Akna Sales has used her smarts, planning, strength and determination to keep her family together since her beloved grandparents died two years ago. The day the social worker takes Akna and her two sisters to a foster home, all her plans for helping Mama get well and saving her family are upended. It seems that calling on her ancestors to help her use the power of S.A.D. (strength and determination) are not working any more.
Although every foster kid living with the Bohns at Mariposa Lane has problems, they’ve somehow created a resilient, loving family life Akna never could have imagined. But the more secure her situation becomes, the more she fears her real family will be lost.
Despite her resistance, Akna discovers how to weave the complex legacy of her past into opportunities for a promising future. With the help of a caring teacher, a new friend at school, Akna’s own determination, and the love of her foster family, she learns how to once again welcome the goodness in life, even when some things will always feel broken.
Jessica “Jessie” Holbrook and her father, Adam, are flying to a favorite vacation spot in Bermuda in her father’s Cessna for spring break. During a rouge storm, Jessie’s father bangs his head and sees double. Jessie will have to fly the plane and safely land if and when they see an airport.
Jessie spots land, but it doesn’t look like Bermuda. Have they blown off course to someplace in Central America or Mexico? Jessie thinks they have traveled through a time warp because they find themselves back in Mayan times without knowing how they got there!
The clock is ticking for them to leave and get home, but they need fuel, and with the language barrier, it’s hard to convey their needs to the inhabitants of this island. They enlist the help of a WWII pilot who has been guarding his fuel supply for many years.
There is no compass to show the way back from time travel! Their situation seems all but hopeless. Or is it?
From Chanticleer:
In Sue C. Dugan’s middle grade adventure,Mayday: Land, Sea, and Air Series Book 2,thirteen-year-old Jessie and her father, Adam, take an unexpected detour when their plane crashes on a secluded island.
On their final vacation before Adam begins chemotherapy for thyroid cancer, Jessie and her father take off in their Cessna aircraft over the boundless, azure Atlantic Ocean. Jessie’s anxiety about her father’s health is on high-alert during the trip, especially when she remembers her mother’s cancerous death.
Twenty minutes into their flight, the sky grows gloomy, and the wind picks up speed from all sides.
The storm rocks their plane, and her father hits his head, giving him a concussion and vision problems. With her father incapacitated, Jessie quickly realizes she needs to find a makeshift landing strip and get the plane safely to the ground.
Fresh from their Arctic adventure of saving polar bears, eleven-year-old twins Sydney and Sierra visit a sea kelp habitat off the coast of California. While scuba diving, Sydney meets her animal contact, a sea otter named Sunny, who enlists Sydney’s help. Ocean plastic pollution has entangled another otter, and it needs to be rescued. Even if the girls are able to release the otter from its plastic prison, there’s a much greater threat in the ocean.
Together, they’ll have to use all of their wits, ingenuity, and determination to somehow help their animal friends. But as they try and fail again and again, Sydney has a sinking feeling that she’s in over her head. One thing is clear: there’s literallyno time to waste.
Nick Townley has lived his entire life— all eleven years— at Black Butte Ranch, nestled in the foothills of the snow-capped Cascade Mountains. While his parents push him to study, practice sports, and make friends, Nick prefers to retreat into his superhero universe and create exciting Adventures of Click comics. When a string of robberies threatens Dad’ s job, forcing them to move across the country, Nick’ s world implodes. He loves his home, and what will he do about the 237,000 dollars in cash under his bed that Great Gramp gave him before he died? Desperate to stop the move, Nick steps off his comic book pages and ventures into the night as Click, an undercover superhero. Catching thieves would be a lot easier if he had actual superpowers. When three new kids discover his identity and want to join him, Nick vows to stay undercover… until he realizes even a superhero needs friends. But can he ask them to put their lives in danger to save his home? Find it Locally and on Amazon!
Thank you for joining us to celebrate the 2024 Gertrude Warner First Place Winners!
Watch for our Spotlight and Hall of Fame Articles that will feature incredible books, including Norah Lally’s amazing Back To Bainbridge!
The Gertrude Warner Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in Middle Grade Fiction. The Gertrude Warner Book Awards is a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (The CIBAs).
Chanticleer International Book Awards is looking for the best books featuring Contemporary Middle Grade, SFF & Paranormal Middle Grade, Mystery Middle Grade, Historical Middle Grade, Adventure Middle Grade, and Graphic Novels. We will put them to the test and choose the best among them. For Young Adult Fiction see our Dante Rossetti Awards here and for Children’s Literature see our Little Peeps Awards here.
1st Place Category winners and Grand Prize Division Winners were announced at the CIBAs Banquet and Ceremony by Strider Klusman on Saturday, April 5th, 2025 at the Four Points by Sheraton in beautiful Bellingham, Wash. sponsored by the 2024 Chanticleer Authors Conference.
This is the OFFICIAL 2024 LIST of the GERTRUDE WARNER BOOK AWARDS First Place Category Winners and the GERTRUDE WARNER Grand Prize Winner.
Congratulations to all!
Thomas Kuhn – Tommy Rocket and the Goober Patrol
Debbie Noble Black – Deetjen’s Closet
M.J. Evans – Coal Dust and Dreams
M.C. Dingman – Samantha Smee: A Pirate’s Life
Maggie Lynch – The Power of S.A.D.
Sue C. Dugan – Mayday
Carolyn Armstrong – No Time To Waste
Sandy Grubb – Just Like Click
The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2024 Gertrude Warner Awards is:
Attn CIBA Winners: More goodies and prizes will be coming your way along with promotion in our magazine, website, and advertisements in Chanticleer Int’l Book Awards long-tail marketing strategy. Welcome to the CIBA Hall of Fame for Award Winners!
This post has been posted on the Chanticleer Facebook Page. We try to tag all authors listed here in the Facebook post. However, for Facebook to allow us to tag an author, that author must LIKE our page and Follow Chanticleer Reviews.
A Note to ALL the WINNERS: The coveted CIBA Blue Ribbons will be mailed out starting inMay. We will contact you with an email to verify your mailing address and other items. You will receive an OFFICIAL EMAIL NOTIFICATION with Digital Badges and more information.
NOTE: We will post at least two 2024 CIBA Divisions’ OFFICIAL Winners per business day starting April 14, 2025. We do a final sweep and reconciliation prior to making the Official CIBA Posts for the 2024 First Place and Grand Prize Winners. We thank you in advance for your patience and understanding. There are many moving parts involved with the Chanticleer International Book Awards Program.
Thank you for participating in the 2024 CIBAs! We are looking forward to reading your future entries.
Alice McVeigh – Warleigh Hall Press Jane Austen Series
Tom Burkhalter – No Merciful War
Dave Lager – The Ro Delahanty Novels
Jode Millman – The Queen City Crimes Series
Mark A. Gibson – Hamilton Place
The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2023 SERIES Awards is:
Ghosts Along the Oregon Trail
by David Fitz-Gerald
We are so looking forward to celebrating these incredible book series!
First though, let’s celebrate some recent books in a series that have come our way for review!
SUMMER CYCLONE: Magic at Myers Beach Book 4
By Alan B. Gibson
The citizens of the three fairy kingdoms clash, forced to live shoulder-to-shoulder alongside ungoverned Outliers. In Summer Cyclone, fourth book of Alan B. Gibson’s Magic at Myers Beach series, unassuming tea-shop manager Stefán tries to find love while keeping all of fairy society from fracturing.
The three fairy kings, Theos, Zsombor, and Christophe, evacuate their people to Myers Beach. It’s only here that they have any chance of recreating fairy dust after their old sources had been poisoned, and saving every fairy life. They take in the Outliers, remnants of a fallen kingdom, and at first find good will between the groups. But with thousands of fairies moving in, they have to keep everyone on a short leash or else risk humans catching wind of their new neighbors. Resentment of these strange Outliers builds.
Stefán, a close confidant to Theos, struggles to keep anti-Outlier sentiment at bay with the help of some enigmatic and knowledgeable new friends. Rumors of him giving the Outliers special treatment grow stronger as some fairies begin to suspect that he’s actually one of them.
Read more here!
SEA TIGERS And MERCHANTS: Salem Stories Book 2
By Sandra Wagner-Wright
Two families vie for power in mercantile 18th-century Salem. Sea Tigers and Merchants, the second book in Sandra Wagner-Wright’s Salem Stories series, returns to a world of treacherous storms, tantalizing wealth, and the demands of high society on its children.
Elias Hasket Derby, Sr. has kept his promise to his wife Eliza—they rule Salem. Hasket’s merchant ships bring in great fortune, while Eliza holds court as the most influential woman in the city’s social spheres. And their ambitions have grown to meet their station. Hasket launches his riskiest endeavor—the Grand Turk, a ship so massive she’s nearly too heavy to be pulled out of the docks. Meanwhile Eliza, snubbed by George Washington’s stay at another family’s mansion, insists they build a house so grand it will put all others to shame.
Such success, of course, draws the envious eye of Hasket’s competitor.
MAYDAY: Land, Sea, and Air Series Book 2
By Sue C. Dugan
In Sue C. Dugan’s middle grade adventure, Mayday: Land, Sea, and Air Series Book 2, thirteen-year-old Jessie and her father, Adam, take an unexpected detour when their plane crashes on a secluded island.
On their final vacation before Adam begins chemotherapy for thyroid cancer, Jessie and her father take off in their Cessna aircraft over the boundless, azure Atlantic Ocean. Jessie’s anxiety about her father’s health is on high-alert during the trip, especially when she remembers her mother’s cancerous death.
Twenty minutes into their flight, the sky grows gloomy, and the wind picks up speed from all sides.
DREAMS And ILLUSIONS: Gabrielle Dorian Mysteries Book 1
By Rebecca Olmstead
Dreams and Illusions by Rebecca Olmstead is a delicate interplay of mysteries balanced on an emotional undercurrent, exploring the immutable ebb and flow of life to find resilience in the shadow of misfortunes.
In the bustling town of Whitman, Gabrielle co-owns the boutique Belle Femme with her best friend, Kate. Radiating the tranquil aura of an empowered business owner, Gabrielle is a caring woman, but burdened with a secret she hides from everyone. Gabrielle is blessed—or perhaps cursed—with prophetic dreams.
Almost as if they are a glimpse into the future, Gabrielle wrestles with dreams that foretell an ominous fate. Soon she is confronted with a series of distressing events that thrust her into a mystery.
This is the journey from beginning to end for the CIBAs Levels of Achievement is so worthwhile! Every list you make means more promotion for you and your work as each list is posted right here on our website, on our social media, and also out in our newsletter!
In Sue C. Dugan’s middle grade adventure, Mayday: Land, Sea, and Air Series Book 2, thirteen-year-old Jessie and her father, Adam, take an unexpected detour when their plane crashes on a secluded island.
On their final vacation before Adam begins chemotherapy for thyroid cancer, Jessie and her father take off in their Cessna aircraft over the boundless, azure Atlantic Ocean. Jessie’s anxiety about her father’s health is on high-alert during the trip, especially when she remembers her mother’s cancerous death.
Twenty minutes into their flight, the sky grows gloomy, and the wind picks up speed from all sides.
The storm rocks their plane, and her father hits his head, giving him a concussion and vision problems. With her father incapacitated, Jessie quickly realizes she needs to find a makeshift landing strip and get the plane safely to the ground.
The closest area she can find without working equipment is a jungle with a thick layer of dampness and an earthy smell from disturbed soil. There are no boats, umbrellas, or people around, save for one old plane. Jessie and Adam hike a short distance to a village and, curious, explore it. More than twenty people, dressed in primitive and colorful clothing, suddenly surround them.
As they look for help with gasoline, they realize they might have to spend some time on the island while they deal with mysteries that unexpectedly threaten to upend their journey back home.
Jessie meets a memorable cast of characters on her adventure, and encounters the possibility of traveling through time.
She learns that the old plane they found in the jungle—which might be the subject of years of investigation by time-travel experts—belonged to the mother of a woman named Bird. This time-travel concept is further brilliantly explored via the lens of a man whose disappearance from the real world spans six decades, despite his calculations suggesting otherwise.
The most enjoyable aspect of Mayday is experiencing the adventure from a young girl’s perspective as she becomes lost in an unfamiliar, possibly hostile place with a sick father. This story’s rough and wild plotlines will introduce children to some risk, chaos, and challenges that inspire critical thought, reasoning, and sleuthing.
Mayday: Land, Sea, and Air Series Book 2 is a pioneer in the middle grade mystery and fantasy genre.
Mayday increases in tension from start to finish, using an enthralling narrative to tug at the reader’s emotions. Get a copy and let the lovely words of Sue C. Dugan mesmerize you!
Only 10 days left to submit your books to these prestigious CIBA Divisions and embark on an extraordinary journey to success. With over $30,000 in prizes awarded annually, now is the time to make your mark!
The Chatelaine Awards for Romantic Fiction, The Shorts Awards, and the Gertrude Warner Awards for Middle Grade Fiction are still open!
Congratulations to the Winners of the 2023 Chatelaine Award for Romance!
Liese Sherwood-Fabre – Wilhelmina Quigley: Magic School Dropout
Kevin Dunn – Vicious is My Middle Name
Alisse Lee Goldenberg & Joseph Goldenberg – Lucky At Bat
Ben Gartner – One Giant Leap
Sue C Dugan – SOS
And a huge round of applause for the 2023 Gertrude Warner Grand Prize Winner:
Exostar: The Lost Space Treasure Series Book 1 by Rae Knightly
The CIBAs offer more than just recognition — they provide a ladder to success with a range of achievement tiers and expert long tail marketing strategies. From the highly anticipated Long List to the prestigious Overall Grand Prize Winner, the CIBA lists energize both authors and readers, maximizing your digital footprint and expanding your fan base.
We are always eager to support the Best Books through the CIBAs. Join the ranks of celebrated authors who have already taken this critical step in their publishing.
Your book deserves to be discovered, celebrated, and shared with the world. Don’t miss the chance to showcase your talent and gain valuable exposure at the Chanticleer Authors Conference (April 3-6, 2025) where Winners from all 25 Book Award Divisions will be announced and honored.
In a world hungry for good books, your story deserves to be heard. Submit now and leave a lasting impression.
The Gertrude Warner Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Middle Grade Fiction. The Grand Prize Winner, Rae Knightly’s book, EXOSTAR will be promoted for years to come in our annual Hall of Fame article, as well as be featured on the Gertrude Warner contest page year ’round!
The best part about being a Chanticleer Int’l Book Award Winner is the love and attention all year ‘round!
The Amarrat army continues its march across the northern land route to attack Lanth. But Arken Freeth has been critically wounded by his encounter with a deadly Tant and may not survive to lead the Nanders to war. Meanwhile, the Amarrat armada is crossing the Circle Sea to rendezvous with their army at the River Zash.
Zuul, the Amarrat king has equipped Yolanta, king of the Tookans, with a fleet of twenty fighting ships, and he is leading the Amarrat armada across the Circle Sea. Yet Yolanta is plagued by doubts about his loyalty to Zuul after he invaded Yolanta’s mind.
Lanth is frantically preparing to defend itself as Arken’s friend, Asher, sails to the Nander Water Cave. He is accompanied by his mother, the Queen of Tolaria, who plans to read the Necklace of Tol in hopes of divining a strategy to defeat the Amarrats.
The collision of these forces is inevitable. But who will win the battle at sea against the Amarrat Armada?
LITTLE MOUNTAIN, BIG TROUBLE is an inspirational story about a young boy with a big dream and the courage to chase that dream no matter the obstacles.
Twelve-year-old EJ is a short, unpopular, shy, self-described loser. He lives with his mother and younger brother on the wrong side of town and spends every other weekend with his hard-to-please, deadbeat father. Because surviving school and his home life are challenging enough, EJ’s the last kid you’d expect to dream of someday climbing Mount Everest …
… until he’s matched with a volunteer Big Brother. Russ is the opposite of EJ in almost every way. Despite their differences, they bond over helping EJ achieve his mountain-climbing dream. Their first goal is to hike to Minnesota’s highest point, Eagle Mountain.
But when a ferocious thunderstorm strikes in the middle of their trek, EJ and Russ are plunged into a life-or-death crisis. Fighting his loser self-image with every step toward safety, EJ learns that standing tall has nothing to do with height and everything to do with determination, heart, and courage.
A missing father. A mother bewitched. Wilhelmina must use her unpredictable magic to catch whoever—or whatever—is stalking her parents. Will her powers be enough to restore her family?
When Wilhelmina accidentally sets her remedial magic class on fire, she is sent to live in the ordinary world with a mother she barely knows. Her adjustment gets off to a very rocky start. She has sudden, unexplainable bursts of magic—mostly while navigating the middle-school minefield—and her mother’s behaving like she’s under some spell. Despite her handicapped magic, Wilhelmina vows to get to the bottom of it all—even if she could vanish without a trace just like her father.
“Wilhelmina Quigley: Magic School Dropout” is a fish-out-of-water story with touches of mystery, fantasy, and humor. A witty tale of enchantment.
With a partially-shaved head, purple Doc Marten boots, and the sinking realization that no one in a fifty-mile radius has ever heard of her favorite all-female punk band Lite Brite, 13-year-old Sydney Vicious Talcott wants to be anywhere but her new home of Beaver Dam, NC, especially when mean girl Brittany Winters treats her like the punch-line to every joke. But just as life begins to seem more tolerable with her two new book-nerd friends and a growing appreciation for the beauty of the Appalachian mountains, Sydney discovers that a shady corporation is planning to build an environmentally-damaging asphalt plant right next to the school. Her attempts to work through the system to stop the plant’s construction fail, so it’s up to Sydney to fight the corporation and their political lackeys the only way she can, using the do-it-yourself tools she has learned from punk rock. But before she can triumph, Sydney, her family, and friends must endure bullying, harassment, immigration raids, and more.
Lucky At Bat follows the story of a young boy named Jack and his two rescue rats-Lucky and Gus-Gus. When Jack discovers that Lucky has a talent for baseball, the little rat becomes the mascot and secret batting coach for Jack’s Little League team. Unfortunately, a rival team considers Lucky’s presence “cheating,” and tensions rise, resulting in a terrible accident. Lucky and Jack wonder if maybe a ballpark is no place for a rat.
Now it’s up to Jack’s teammates and Gus-Gus to show both Lucky and Jack that they are special and important, and they should not give up on their dreams, no matter how big those dreams may be.
From Chanticleer:
Alisse Lee and Joseph Goldenberg, a mother and son team, knock their new middle-grade novel, Lucky at Bat, out of the park.
This story follows ten-year-old Jack and his pet rats. Baseball is a major theme, and with Joseph as illustrator, Lucky and Gus Gus come to life. Their mutual friendship and support raise them up against the forces that would try to bring them down.
When Gus Gus and Lucky arrive in Jack’s life, he is thrilled to have pets and wants to share his life and passions with them. One of those passions is baseball, and Lucky finds something appealing about the game. When Jack’s little league team begins playing, he invites both his pets, but only Lucky goes.
When the team meets Lucky, they make him their mascot, and turn around their losing record.
I’m pretty sure I’m about to die in space. And I just turned twelve and a half.
Blast off with the four winners of the StellarKid Project on a trip to the International Space Station and then to the Gateway outpost orbiting the Moon! It’s a dream come true until space junk collides with the ISS, turning their epic trip into a nightmare of survival. Alone aboard the Aether starship, the kids have to work as a team to save the adults before the ISS is destroyed. Suit up, cadet, and launch into adventure with One Giant Leap!
Thirteen-year-old Brandon, Amy, and their family are on a cruise to Bermuda when hurricane-force winds sink their ship. Brandon and Amy escape into a life raft. Brandon needs to use his wits to keep himself and his sister safe until they are rescued by The City of Benares—an evacuee ship with children fleeing from the Germans during WWII. They seem to have gone back in time!
Although their situation is confusing and seems like a dream, not all is terrible when Brandon meets the beautiful Eleanor, who is going to New York to escape the London bombings. They can’t comprehend why they have gone back in time. The atmosphere on the ship is fun, even though the threat of the German torpedos is real. When the ship is sunk by a torpedo, Brandon, Amy, and Eleanor escape and are rescued by the Titanic. They remember what happened with the iceberg and know they must leave and plan their escape. They leave the Titanic to be rescued by the SS Austria—a wooden ship from the 1800s—where the passengers view them suspiciously. When the Austria burns and sinks, they are adrift until they find land, spot a small plane taking off from the jungle, and know they’ve discovered a way home.
The Gertrude Warner Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Middle Grade Fiction. The Grand Prize Winner, Norah Lally’s book, Back to Bainbridge will be promoted for years to come in our annual Hall of Fame article, as well as be featured on the Gertrude Warner contest page year ’round!
The Gertrude Warner Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Middle Grade Fiction. The Grand Prize Winner, Rae Knightly’s book, EXOSTAR will be promoted for years to come in our annual Hall of Fame article, as well as be featured on the Gertrude Warner contest page year ’round!
