Annal:1998 Batchelder Award
From AwardAnnals
Results of the Batchelder Award in the year 1998. For a ranked list of books, try an honor roll:
- 1998 Batchelder winner
- Score: 10.48
In a remote cornor of the forests of Germany lies the small farming village of Graab. When young Boniface Schroll, a shy orphan, is abandoned in the forest late one night, a mysterious man in a big black hat comes to his rescue. Or at least that's what Boniface thinks when he wakes up the next morning at this Uncle Emil's house.
As Boniface adjusts to his new surroundings, he begins to feel that Graab could become his true home, despite Uncle Emil's stern exterior and the schoolmaster's cruel ways. But when a series of holdups are committed by a man wearing a big black hat, Boniface is forced to make the most important decision of his life. Can he tell his uncle what he knows before time runs out for the man who helped him out of the forest? And more, importantly, will confronting Uncle Emil with the truth separate Boniface from his new family or transform him into the real son he longs to become?
Hostage To War: A True Story
- 1998 Batchelder honor
- Score: 6.48
In 1941, when Tatjana was 13-years-old, Nazi Germany declared war on Russia. Enduring terrible conditions and near-starvation in work camps, Tatjana survived through liberation, but had more obstacles to overcome before fulfilling her dream to become a teacher.
- 1998 Batchelder honor
- Score: 6.48
Nero Corleone isn't your average cat. He's much worse. On a farm somewhere in Italy, a black cat named Nero reigns supreme. There's not one animal on the farm that doesn't do exactly as Nero orders, even the dog. Then one day, Nero visits the house on the nearby hill, where a young German couple is vacationing, and there he has his first taste of the good life. Warm delicious condensed milk and sausage sandwiches! Soon after, Nero and his sister Rosa travel ten hours to their new home in Germany. But nothing really changes for Nero; he simply goes from being farm bully to being neighborhood bully.
In this irresistible and warmly-told novel, where humans seem simple, and animals complex, Nero stops at nothing to get what he wants in life. But as time passes, even Nero begins to learn the lessons of life.
