Newbery 2004

The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup and a Spool of Thread
Author: Kate DiCamillo
Genre: Fantasy
Plot: Despereaux is a mouse who is exiled from the mouse community and is also in love with the princess. 
Verdict: The cover has a cute mouse with a needle for a sword!  So cute!  Oh yeah, the book is great too.
My rating: 5 stars


Olive's Ocean
Author: Kevin Henkes
Genre: Contemporary Realistic Fiction
Plot: Martha and her family go to visit her grandmother in Florida but Martha is haunted by the death of her classmate, Olive.
Verdict: Boys are jerks.
My rating: 3 stars


An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793
Author: Jim Murphy
Genre: Non-Fiction
Plot: Philadelphia had a huge Yellow Fever Epidemic in 1793.  Thousands died.  This is the story of how it all started and how the doctors tried to treat it and in the end, an explanation of what Yellow Fever is really all about
Verdict: I'm never going near a mosquito again!
My rating: 3 stars

This year, I can definitely say that The Tale of Despereaux was the clear winner.  I remember ordering the hardcover from my book order the fall of 2004 and being enchanted as soon as I started reading it. My children's lit professor personally knows Kate DiCamillo, who is actually a really nice lady. I love almost everything that I have read by her.

Olive's Ocean is written by Kevin Henkes, who is the author of many children's books with mice like Lily's Purple Plastic Purse.  This was change of pace for him but it was good.  I found out that this book is on the challenged list but I had no issues with it.