Springfield-Greene County Library District Schneider Family Book Award (Middle School)
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2024
Winner
The Fire, the Water, and Maudie McGinn
Follows thirteen-year-old neurodivergent Maudie during an eventful summer in California with her father, where she struggles with whether to share a terrible secret about life with her mom and stepdad.
Honor Books
2023
Winner
Wildoak
Twelve-year-old Maggie's stutter causes her much heartache, and only her menagerie of pets, with whom she can speak fluidly, can provide her comfort. When she finds Rumpus, an abandoned snow leopard, in a forest in Cornwall, their chance encounter will change their lives forever.
Honor Books
2021
Winner
Show Me a Sign
It is 1805 and Mary Lambert has always felt safe among the deaf community of Chilmark on Martha's Vineyard where practically everyone communicates in a shared sign language, but recent events have shattered her life; her brother George has died, land disputes between English settlers and the Wampanoag people are becoming increasingly bitter, and a scientist determined to discover the origins of the islands' widespread deafness has decided she makes the perfect live specimen--and kidnapped her.
Honor Books
2020
Winner
Song for a Whale
Twelve-year-old Iris and her grandmother, both deaf, drive from Texas to Alaska armed with Iris's plan to help Blue-55, a whale unable to communicate with other whales.
Honor Books
2019
Winner
The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle
As he grieves his best friend Benny's death, Mason and his friend Calvin, who are targeted by the neighborhood bullies, create an underground haven for themselves, but when Calvin goes missing Mason finds himself in trouble.
2018
Winner
Macy McMillan and the Rainbow Goddess
"Deaf sixth-grader Macy expects disaster when she is sent to help her elderly neighbor Iris, who doesn't know sign language, pack for a move to an assisted-living home. To her surprise, Iris soon becomes a firm friend who helps Macy face her own upcoming move, into the home of her mother's soon-to-be husband and two young stepsisters." - Publisher.
2017
Winner
As Brave as You
Two born and bred Brooklynites are to spend a month with their grandparents in rural Virginia while their parents take a long overdue vacation and work out their marital problems. It is only after the boys are left in their grandfather's care that they realize that he is blind.
2016
Winner
Fish in a Tree
Ally's greatest fear is that everyone will find out she is as dumb as they think she is because she still doesn't know how to read.
The War That Saved My Life
A young disabled girl and her brother are evacuated from London to the English countryside during World War II, where they find life to be much sweeter away from their abusive mother.
2015
Winner
Rain Reign
Struggling with Asperger's, Rose shares a bond with her beloved dog, but when the dog goes missing during a storm, Rose is forced to confront the limits of her comfort levels, even if it means leaving her routines in order to search for her pet.
2014
Winner
Handbook for Dragon Slayers
Yearning for life in a cloistered scriptorium, thirteen-year-old Princess Matilda, whose lame foot brings fear of the evil eye, escapes her scheming cousin Ivo and joins her servant Judith and an old friend, Parz, in hunting dragons and writing about them.
2013
Winner
A Dog Called Homeless
When Cally Fisher says she sees her dead mother, no one believes her. The only other living soul who sees Cally's mom is a mysterious wolfhound who always seems to be there when her mom appears.
2012
Winner
Close to Famous
Twelve-year-old Foster McFee and her mother escape from her mother's abusive boyfriend and end up in the small town of Culpepper, West Virginia, where they use their strengths and challenge themselves to build a new life, with the help of the friends they make there.
Wonderstruck : a novel in words and pictures
Having lost his mother and his hearing in a short time, twelve-year-old Ben leaves his Minnesota home in 1977 to seek the father he never knew in New York City, and meets there Rose, who is also longing for something missing from her life. Ben's story is told in words; Rose's in pictures.
2011
Winner
After Ever After
Although Jeff and Tad, encouraged by a new friend, Lindsey, make a deal to help one another overcome aftereffects of their cancer treatments in preparation for eighth-grade graduation, Jeff still craves advice from his older brother Stephen, who is studying drums in Africa.
2010
Winner
Anything but Typical
Jason, a twelve-year-old autistic boy who wants to become a writer, relates what his life is like as he tries to make sense of his world.
2009
Winner
Waiting for Normal
Twelve-year-old Addie tries to cope with her mother's erratic behavior and being separated from her beloved stepfather and half-sisters when she and her mother go to live in a small trailer by the railroad tracks on the outskirts of Schenectady, New York.
2008
Winner
Reaching for Sun
Josie, who lives with her mother and grandmother and has cerebral palsy, befriends a boy who moves into one of the rich houses behind her old farmhouse.
2007
Winner
Rules
Frustrated at life with an autistic brother, twelve-year-old Catherine longs for a normal existence but her world is further complicated by a friendship with an young paraplegic. Lexile Level: 780
2006
Winner
Tending to Grace
When Cornelia's mother runs off with a boyfriend, leaving her with an eccentric aunt, Cornelia must finally confront the truth about herself and her mother.
2005
Winner
Becoming Naomi Leon
When Naomi's absent mother resurfaces to claim her, Naomi runs away to Mexico with her great-grandmother and younger brother in search of her father.
2004
Winner
A Mango Shaped Space
Afraid that she is crazy, thirteen-year-old Mia, who sees a special color with every letter, number, and sound, keeps this a secret until she becomes overwhelmed by school, changing relationships, and the loss of something important to her.