It is Finished

Well, I'm finished blogging for LS 561. Now I just need to finish the Annotated Bibliography. I love to read, but this was a lot of books in a short amount of time. I can't imagine how people with LIVES managed it. I applaud you ladies with families and/or jobs this summer who still found the time to read all these books. This was really good for me, though, because I plan to read the award winners every year from now on to stay current on the books I'll have in my library. I'll try to keep blogging, but I won't give away any more endings. That was just for this class.

Quaking

Quaking, by Kathryn Erskine, is in the Top Ten of the 2008 Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers list. This is a story about a fourteen-year-old girl called Matt, short for Matilda, who has been passed from family member to family member since her Mom was killed by her abusive father when she was six years old. Now she's living with Sam and Jessica, who are Quakers. She has spent her life developing a wall around her heart, but Sam and Jessica keep trying to get in. She's very smart and hopes to graduate from high school in two years because she is taking AP classes, and then move to Canada because you can declare yourself legally adult at sixteen there. She's sure Sam and Jessica will have lost interest in her by then. But as time goes by, and they don't stop caring about her, she starts to care about them, and even their disabled foster son Rory. In the end, she cares so much that she tries to stop a bully and his friends from torching the Meeting House where Sam is. One of the major themes in this book is peace and patriotism. Sam, Jessica, Matt, and others believe that the fighting in the Middle East needs to stop so that no more soldiers or civilians will have to die. Matt's history teacher and others in town think that if you don't agree with the war, then you must agree with the terrorists. This book had humor and heart, and a timely message about the price of peace. This is the kind of story that when you get to the last page you feel better for having read this book.

Safe

Safe, by Susan Shaw, is also in the Top Ten of the 2008 Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers list. This is a story about a thirteen-year-old girl named Tracy who is raped and beaten while walking home on the last day of school, June fifteenth. It is about how she deals with how that attack made her feel like she wasn't safe anymore. Even though she identified the rapist to the police and they arrested him and he actually confessed, she had a very hard time leaving her house that summer. She threw herself into practicing the piano and discovered that not only did it comfort her but she was really good at it. But she started pulling away from her friends because she thought they couldn't possibly like her anymore; they just pitied her. Eventually she works through those feelings, with some help from the right therapist, and learns how to feel safe and to trust people. I loved the relationship she had with her father, and was touched by the way she kept her mother close to her even though she had died ten years before. I read this book through tear-filled eyes, but I still loved it. This is the kind of book you don't just read, you devour. Her other book, The Boy from the Basement, was the same way.

Unwind

Unwind, by Neal Shusterman, is also in the Top Ten of the 2008 Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers list. This excellent work of science fiction is set in the future after the Second Civil War, where to settle the fighting between the Pro-life and Pro-choice armies they passed "The Bill of Life" which states that a child may not be harmed between conception and age thirteen, but between ages thirteen and eighteen parents can choose to "unwind" their child and donate their body parts. This story follows three teenagers who are scheduled to be "unwound", as well as several other people they interact with. Connor ran away in the hope that he could survive until his eighteenth birthday and live. He caused a commotion on the highway where the Juvey-cops were shooting tranq-guns at him, and this caused a bus carrying teens to a Harvest Camp to crash. Risa escaped from that bus and joined up with Connor in the woods. Lev was riding in a car on the highway when Connor grabbed him and held him hostage to get them to stop shooting at him. Lev was a tithe, which means his parents decided a long time ago that he would be "unwound" on his thirteenth birthday as a gift back to God. The story continued to focus on these three as they were assisted in an underground network to eventually arrive at The Graveyard, an airplane graveyard in the Arizona desert where four hundred Unwinds live and work until they turn eighteen. Events occur which lead these three to a Harvest Camp, but they get away after an explosion. At the end of the book, they feel a sense of hope that public opinions about unwinding are changing. More and more people are letting themselves think about Unwinds as human beings, not throwaways. This book teaches about being responsible for the choices you make. It makes the reader ask questions about the sanctity of human life and the possibility that your soul would live on in every part of your body long after your death. This was a fascinating book and its subject matter is not as far-fetched as many people would probably like to believe.

Beastly

Beastly, by Alex Flinn, is on the 2008 Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers list. This was an excellent retelling of the Beauty and the Beast fairy tale, told from the beast’s point of view. The beast was originally a spoiled, gorgeous sixteen-year-old named Kyle who made fun of a strange, unattractive girl who turned out to be a witch. This witch cast a spell on Kyle, turning him into a beast, and of course the spell could only be broken by a kiss from a girl who he loved and who loved him back. Kyle had a two-year deadline to find true love, and eventually he did. A man broke into his greenhouse who had a sixteen-year-old daughter he was willing to trade for his freedom. Kyle, who now referred to himself as Adrian, made a comfortable home for this girl, Lindy, and fell in love with her, not believing she could ever love him back. Later, he let her leave to take care of her druggie father, then months later on the night of the two year anniversary of the curse, Adrian saw in his magic mirror that Lindy was in danger. He ran through New York to save her, and after she kissed him she asked Kyle where Adrian was because she wanted the beast back. The author patterned much of the storyline after the traditional versions of this story, with her own twists along the way. She emphasized certain aspects which were previously neglected, such as the two teens being alone and neglected by their fathers. The story was very well done. We really got to understand Adrian’s hopes and dreams as he transformed himself into a better human being on the inside before he was transformed back into a human on the outside.

Such a Pretty Girl

Such a Pretty Girl, by Laura Wiess, is also on the 2008 Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers list. It tells the story of Meredith, a brave fifteen-year-old girl who was molested by her father. The court promised her nine years of safety but only gave her three. She had expected her father to stay in prison until she was at least eighteen so that she could feel safe. After his early release from jail, she had to live with her memories of what he did to her and her fear that he might try something again. Her mother had forgiven him, so she had to see him every day. She was also afraid that he might hurt other children in the neighborhood, so she began watching out for the neighbor kids and planning how she could get her Dad put back in prison for good. She discovered that she was much stronger than she thought she was and that she did have the power to stop her father. I enjoyed this story very much, and was struck by the potential for bravery in all of us.

The White Darkness

The White Darkness, by Geraldine McCaughrean, is the winner of the 2008 Michael L. Printz Award. This is the story of a teenage girl named Symone who has a fascination with the Polar Regions, especially Antarctica. Sym, as she is known, is so fascinated with everything about Antarctica that she has conversations in her head with the famous Antarctic explorer Lawrence “Titus” Oates. These imaginary conversations will prove helpful to her later on. Her “Uncle” Victor tells her mother that the three of them should take a weekend trip to Paris, but it turns into a trip for two to Antarctica. He takes Sym on what she believes is a dream vacation that quickly turns into a nightmare. Once they arrive, people start getting sick, a plane crashes, and Victor’s true and evil plans become clear. He plans to find Symme’s Southern Hole, and force Sym into it to live with the people he believes live in those Inner Worlds. It turns out that “Uncle” Victor is not the loving friend of the family that she thought he was, and that he had been preparing for this trip for some time. He caused her father’s death and her deafness. The White Darkness in Antarctica makes it difficult to see clearly, kind of like ignorance. By the end, Sym is no longer ignorant about the truth of her situation. She struggles to survive in the icy Antarctic wilderness. Her “Uncle” is not so lucky. She learns to trust herself but not be quite so trusting of others. Although there was a little bit of mature language, this would be a great survival story to recommend to middle school and higher students. I especially appreciate that the heroine is a girl, since there are already so many great survival stories about boys.

One Whole and Perfect Day

One Whole and Perfect Day, by Judith Clarke, is a 2008 Printz Honor book. This is a story set in Australia that focuses on a seventeen-year-old girl named Lily, but also delves into the lives of her family and the people they interact with. Lily is a very sensible girl who handles almost all of the household responsibilities for herself and her busy Mom, Marigold. When she’s at school she feels embarrassed about her older-than-her-years attitude and when she’s at home she wishes she had a “proper” family like everyone else. Her grandparents, Nan and Pop, live in the mountains. Nan talks to an imaginary friend from her childhood when she lived in a children’s home, and Pop is an opinionated old man who’s set in his ways. Her brother Lonnie recently moved out of the house after a disagreement with Pop, who is disgusted with the way Lonnie keeps quitting everything he starts. Lonnie begins to settle down to one course of study at college after he meets Clara. As the family prepares for Pop’s eightieth birthday celebration, Lily worries about whether they can get past their idiosyncrasies and get along for just one whole perfect day together. By the end, the party is a success and extra guests arrive who will make the family gathering even better. Kids reading this book will relate to her feelings about her family. Reluctant readers would appreciate the short chapters and comfortable style of this book. I enjoyed peeking into the lives of the many different characters in the book, and learning some new Australian terms.

Repossessed

Repossessed, by A.M. Jenkins, is also a 2008 Printz Honor book. This is a story told from a very different point of view, that of a Fallen Angel trying out a human body. The human is a teenager named Shaun Simmons who was about to walk in front of a truck and would have died anyway. So it's not like he killed him. He's just borrowing his body so he can take a vacation and find out what it really feels like to be human. Throughout the story, this Fallen Shaun tries to leave his mark on the world by positively affecting the people around him: Shaun's mom, brother, and best friend, plus a girl at school and a bully. But he knows he is not supposed to be here, that this is breaking several rules, and he actually hopes someone up there notices him. By the end, he has attracted the attention of the Creator, who sends one of the Unfallen to convince him that it is time to give Shaun a second chance at stepping out in front of a truck and living with the consequences. But although the story stops there, I imagine that Shaun will survive the accident, learn to appreciate his life, and that the people who were affected by him in Fallen form will remember what he was like then and will be better for it. This story surprised me. I didn't expect to enjoy it, but I did. I certainly didn't expect to learn anything from it, but I did that too. I learned that we should appreciate the opportunities we have in life.

Two of My Favorite 2008-2009 Lone Star Award Winners

Schooled, by Gordon Korman, is the story of Capricorn Anderson, a thirteen-year-old boy who has spent his entire life living in simplicity on a commune with his grandmother, Rain. When Rain falls and has to stay in the hospital for rehabilitation, Cap must stay with a guidance counselor, Flora, and her teenage daughter, Sophie. As Cap enters the eighth grade, attending public school for the first time, he faces taunting and many unfamiliar situations and new experiences. But he faces it all with a strength and serenity that comes from his upbringing and values. Even when the school elects him eighth-grade-class president as a joke, he surprises everyone by turning out to be the best class president ever, in spite of his naivety, and by the end of his time there, he has learned the names of all eleven hundred students. Each chapter was told from the point of view of one of the main characters in the book, and this was well done and did not detract from the fluency of the storyline. I enjoyed reading about this young man, who surprised me almost as much as he surprised his classmates.

The Mysterious Benedict Society, by Trenton Lee Stewart, is the name that four brave, highly intelligent children gave themselves as they were working on a secret and dangerous mission for their leader and mentor Mr. Benedict. Reynie, Sticky, Kate, and Constance succeeded not only in saving the world, but also in acquiring families for themselves. Upper elementary through middle school readers will love the bravery, wit, and curiosity of these four young heroes as they unravel mysteries and unlock codes in this page-turner. I found the book very easy to read, but very hard to put down. I grew to love the characters, and can’t wait to read the sequel to find out more about these unusually gifted children and their “perilous journey” through childhood.

Three of My Favorite 2008-2009 TAYSHAS Award Winners

Saving Grace, by Darlene Ryan, is from Orca Book Publishers. I love these Orca Soundings books because they have great, short, high interest stories that even a reluctant reader could enjoy. Grace is a five-month-old baby whose fifteen-year-old mother, Evie, gave up for adoption, then kidnapped because she wanted her back. Evie told her boyfriend Justin that she just wanted to see the baby. He never would have agreed to her plan, which involved driving across Canada to Montreal and being a family. He doesn’t even want to acknowledge that the baby is his. While stopped at a convenience store, he makes a phone call, so Evie takes off with the baby, who she calls Brianna, on foot. She stops at a roadside restaurant, where a kind waitress gives her feeding advice and tells her about a clinic to take Brianna to since she has a cold and possibly a fever. Police are parked outside the bus station and she doesn’t know what to do. She hesitates because she doesn’t want to do anything to alter her plans, but at the last minute she turns toward the clinic. The book ends there, so you have to imagine the rest for yourself. I imagine that Evie will have to give the baby back to the family who adopted her, although maybe they will work out some sort of visitation arrangements. And maybe her Dad, who is raising Evie alone since her Mom died, will get her some counseling to help her deal with everything.

Being, by Kevin Brooks, is the story of sixteen-year-old Robert Smith, who accidentally discovers during a routine medical procedure that he is not entirely human on the inside, and that some extremely powerful, dangerous people will stop at nothing to find out what he is. He escapes from the hospital, and eventually hooks up with Eddi, a girl he met once who has a talent for creating new identities for people. As he eludes the people trying to find him, Robert tries to figure out what he is and what really makes someone alive. Robert and Eddi spend eight months together, hiding safely in Spain, until they catch up to him again, and after everyone in the apartment is dead or seriously wounded, Robert leaves with no more information about who or what he is than he had before. But it doesn’t matter to him and it’s not supposed to matter to us. The important thing is that he does exist. The author wrote at the end of the book that “the story wouldn’t be what it’s supposed to be” if the issues raised had been resolved. I don’t agree. I would have liked more answers and less nothingness at the end.

A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, by Ishmael Beah, is the true story of the author’s experiences growing up in Sierra Leon, where at the age of twelve, he was separated from most of his family when rebel soldiers began destroying villages and killing civilians. He wandered with his brother and four other boys for a long time, starving and exhausted, until the village they were resting in was attacked and they were separated. He then wandered with another group of boys until they were almost to a village where his family was supposed to be, when it was attacked. The boys ended up staying in a village the army was using as a base. When the army realized it was running out of soldiers, they enlisted all the men and boys staying there. If Ishmael had refused, he would have been banished to die at the hands of the rebels. So he became a soldier. He was encouraged to avenge his loved ones. He witnessed and performed horrific violent acts on soldiers and civilians. Like all the soldiers, he used drugs, including marijuana and cocaine. One day, after about two years of fighting, some people from UNICEF came and the army lieutenant selected which boys would go with them. Ishmael and fourteen others were sent to the city of Freetown to be rehabilitated - to become children again. It took several months for their addictions to drugs to wear off, for their violent natures to subside, and for their attitudes to change where they could accept this new civilian life. Eventually, he went to live with a long-lost uncle and his family, and entered a new period of peace and happiness. He even traveled to New York to discuss the problems affecting children around the world. After he returned home, violence struck Freetown as the army and the rebels joined together to overthrow the newly elected President. Ishmael managed to escape to Guinea, and eventually returned to New York. This is an inspiring story of survival and perseverance against terrible odds. Although it was very well-written, not every young person would be able to read the true accounts in this book, and it should probably not be recommended to anyone under the age of twelve.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian, by Sherman Alexie, is in the Top Ten on the 2008 Best Books for Young Adults list. This is the story of Arnold Spirit, Jr., a fourteen-year-old Native American living on the Spokane Indian Reservation who decides to transfer to the all-white high school in the neighboring farm town of Reardon. This is a difficult decision, and most of the other Indians on the rez hate him for betraying his people and for being brave enough to do something with his life before he ends up doing nothing with his life like so many of his neighbors. Although he begins his freshman year as a weird outsider at Reardon, by the end he is an almost all A student and a star shooter on the basketball team with friends and an almost girlfriend. But he still has to deal with issues on the rez like poverty, alcohol-related deaths, and his former best friend hating him. At least he seems to have resolved the best friend problem by the end of the book. This was a really funny book. Teens would appreciate the humor, which comes out not only in Arnold/Junior’s thoughts but also in his brilliant cartoons, which he draws to deal with the things in life that make him the most emotional. I enjoyed reading this book not only because of the humor but also because of the positive message about never giving up, no matter what obstacles life throws at you.

Before I Die

Before I Die, by Jenny Downham, is also in the Top Ten on the 2008 Best Books for Young Adults list. This book provided an interesting look into the way a teenager who is dying from cancer might approach life. With just months to live, Tessa starts doing all the things on a list she has made. But some of the things on her list are kind of dangerous. She wanted to have sex, so she picked up a guy at a club and slept with him. At least it was protected sex, but to her that kind of thing becomes less and less important as she accepts that she is dying. She spends a whole day agreeing to anything anyone asks of her. The worst thing she does that day is to walk into a dirty canal, so it could have been worse. She wants to try drugs, so she gets high on mushrooms. Breaking the law is number four on her list, so she tries to shoplift but gets caught. Driving was number five on her list so she disappears for a whole day and her family doesn’t know where she is, during which time she drove her dad’s car in a storm without a license or adequate experience. Next on her list was fame, so her dad got her a radio interview, which didn’t go very well. She was going to travel the world for number seven, but she decided to get her parents back together instead. They actually did that all by themselves. Number eight on her list was love. She fell in love with the boy next door, which eased some of her desperation about dying. Also, he made her famous by writing her name in huge letters all over the city. Number nine is getting this boy, Adam, to move in with her. She wants to face death with him by her side. Number ten on her list is to see her best friend Zoey’s baby being born. But as the end approaches, it becomes obvious to her that she won’t live that long, and each little thing becomes an item to check off her list - a cup of tea, hugging her brother Cal. The things that were initially important to her are very different from what I think I would do if I only had months to live. I would want to travel and experience beautiful, delicious things. I didn’t think I would cry when she died, but I did. The ending was very well done, scattered like the thoughts of a dying girl yet poetic too.

The Arrival

The Arrival, by Shaun Tan, is also in the Top Ten on the 2008 Best Books for Young Adults list. This is an imaginative story told through pictures of an immigrant’s journey to a new land. He leaves his family and travels alone by boat, like many immigrants have, and arrives in a new land where everything is unfamiliar. The author used an invented alphabet to represent the way immigrants must feel when they encounter a new language and way of life. He used a combination of realistic and imaginary images to represent the man’s journey and his struggles, as well as political ideas and emotional elements. Folded paper birds and strange animals were common throughout the book. At the end, the immigrant’s family was able to join him in this new world. The story is told, without words, using drawings of varying sizes - sometimes twelve panels to a page, sometimes four, and sometimes one full-page drawing. The drawings are beautiful and the faces are almost photographically realistic. This book is a tribute to the bravery of all immigrants.

Twisted

Twisted, by Laurie Halse Anderson, is from the 2008 Best Books for Young Adults list. This book was riveting and kept your attention to the very end. It comes with a disclaimer after the dedication page which reads “Note: This is not a book for children.” It’s not. It deals with some tough issues, especially near the end when the main character, Tyler, feels like his life is so messed up that he puts a gun in his mouth. But he doesn’t pull the trigger. And he takes the steps to turn his life around. Anderson is a very talented writer. I’ve read two of her other books, both from a female perspective. In this book, she very successfully takes the male perspective and runs with it. She got inside the head of a bullied, angry, persecuted teenage boy in a realistic and emotional way. Tyler had made some mistakes, but he was trying to live with them. Then things got worse and started to snowball. He was accused of a crime he did not commit and treated like he did it, both at school and by his father. His father was a real piece of work. He avoided his family except when he wanted to yell at them or blame his son for their problems. At the very end, the father-son relationship reached a point where it was either going to explode or it was going to get better. It kind of did both.

Notes from the Midnight Driver

Notes from the Midnight Driver, by Jordan Sonnenblick, is also from the 2008 Best Books for Young Adults list. I enjoyed reading this book very much. I laughed. I cried. To me, that’s the mark of a great book right there. I believe this book would appeal to teens for many reasons. First, it has a teen, Alex, committing a crime, getting arrested, and subsequently being taunted about it at school. Most teens can relate to at least some of that. Then it has humor throughout the book, particularly in the interactions between Alex and Sol, who he visits at a nursing home for community service. It realistically depicts a variety of interpersonal relationships that teens could relate to - parent and child, parent-to-parent, best friend, new friend, and people who annoy you. Finally, the book has a very satisfying ending that comes after a lot of hard work, particularly for Alex and Sol. I think this book would be a great choice for male readers, because of the male point of view. Most of it was written in first person narrative, with the addition of a handful of letters that Alex wrote to the Judge who assigned him to do community service at a nursing home, and her replies to him. There was a lot of humor in these letters as well. We got a surprise at the end that the Judge was Sol’s estranged daughter. That was a nice touch that female readers would especially appreciate.

The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain

The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain, by Peter Sís, is the 2008 winner of the Robert F. Sibert Informational Medal. This was a fascinating and true story of the author’s experiences growing up in Czechoslovakia during the Cold War. In this book, he combined historical notes and explanations, drawings from his childhood and today, family photos, journal entries in chronological order, and a simple text that tied it all together. The book began with a helpful introduction and ended with a satisfying afterword. We learned what it really was like for a young person to grow up in a communist country at that time, and how the people who lived there were treated. The totalitarian Communistic control of the people’s beliefs and actions was very similar to what I’ve read recently about China during that time period. Anyone who disagreed or seemed to promote capitalistic or progressive ideas was suspect and could be punished. The author got out in 1984, five years before the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War. He told his children that he came to America because of his drawing.

A Good Day

A Good Day, by Kevin Henkes, is from the 2008 Notable Books for Children List. What a precious book this is! In short, simple text we read about a little yellow bird who lost a feather, a little white dog whose leash got tangled in a fence, a little orange fox who misplaced his mother, and a little brown squirrel who dropped her nut. Then we turn the page and learn about how each one overcame their misfortune in easy ways. The squirrel found a bigger nut, the fox found his mother, the dog worked herself free, and the bird forgot about the feather. Plus, a little girl found the feather and exclaimed to her mother, “What a good day!” This book would be a great lead-in to a discussion about problem-solving with young children. All kids have had some misfortune happen to them, and like these animals, they initially don’t see how to solve their problems. But if they have patience and persevere, they can solve their problem, or the problem will eventually work itself out.

Rainstorm

Rainstorm, by Barbara Lehman, is also from the 2008 Notable Books for Children List. This is a sweet, wordless picture book about a young boy’s adventures on a rainy day. While kicking his ball alone in his big house, he happened to find a key which he discovered could open a trunk that led down a ladder, through a tunnel, and up a spiral staircase to the top of a lighthouse. There he found other children to play with, and at the end of the day he returned home. But the next morning he set off again to play with his new friends, only to find that they had come to him instead. This would be a great book to use to model story-telling with young children. You could also ask questions to get them to think like the author/illustrator in order to help tell the story themselves. It would also be good to have for young writers to get ideas from, or they could “write” the story.

Robot Dreams

Robot Dreams, by Sara Varon, is also from the 2008 Notable Books for Children List. This wordless graphic novel tells the story of a dog who builds a robot that becomes his friend until one day the robot rusts at the beach and the dog leaves him there. The robot waits and dreams of his friend coming back, then dreams of being rescued, or of tunneling out of the snow in the winter and finding his friend the dog with a new robot, or of befriending a flower. Meanwhile, the dog did try to come back for the robot later, but the beach was closed for the season. So, he meets new friends, such as three ducks who leave to fly south, two anteaters whose ants make him sick, and a snowman who eats ice cream with him and a penguin. None of these friendships are as fulfilling as his friendship with the robot was. When summer returns, the dog returns to the beach to look for the robot, but he is gone, having been found and sold to a scrap yard. So the dog builds a new robot, while elsewhere a raccoon uses parts from the first robot to repair his radio. The raccoon and the robot become friends, but one day he sees the dog and the new robot walk by his window. He turns on his radio and the dog hears the music and begins to sing along as he walks away. This book is a great example of how wordless picture books can be poignant and meaningful. It could be appreciated by anyone of any age.

Revolution Is Not a Dinner Party

Revolution Is Not a Dinner Party, by Ying Chang Compestine, is also from the 2008 Notable Books for Children List. This was a fascinating novel about a terrible period in China’s history. The author explained in a note at the end that although this was a work of fiction, it was inspired by real places, events, and people from her childhood. It tells the story of Ling and her family’s struggles during the Cultural Revolution in the 1970s. When the story begins in 1972, her parents worked as respected doctors in a hospital and lived relatively comfortably in an apartment. But changes soon occurred which affected her life and the lives of her neighbors. As the story progressed, Ling’s home was searched by members of the Red Guard, and much of their personal property was destroyed or taken. Food was rationed, and meat was scarce. Soon, her father was taken away and imprisoned for sympathizing with anti-revolutionaries, but was brought back to the hospital when an important Comrade needed his surgical skills. Anyone who did not wholeheartedly agree with Mao Zedong’s revolutionary ideas for his country was accused of being anti-revolutionary, and was imprisoned or re-educated (which meant sent to work on a farm with peasants). At the end of the book, after the death of Chairman Mao, Ling’s father was released and Mao’s wife and her conspirators were arrested by officials for the new Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party. This would be a great companion novel for a middle or high school student to read while studying this period of history.

Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales

Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, retold by Marcia Williams, is also from the 2008 Notable Books for Children List. This book was recommended for ages ten and up. I would even have this available for high schoolers to refer to when reading Chaucer. It presented nine of Chaucer’s tales in an accessible way that kids would enjoy. It includes the Knight’s Tale, the Miller’s Tale, the Reeve’s Tale, the Wife of Bath’s Tale, the Franklin’s Tale, the Clerk’s Tale, the Summoner’s Tale, the Pardoner’s Tale, and the Nun’s Priest’s Tale. They told their stories to pass the time on their pilgrimage from London to Canterbury. The one who told the best tale would win a free dinner, but at the end they could not decide whose tale was the best. The author chose to include some of the original quotes in medieval English, which many adults would have difficulty translating for their students. But the actual text of the book is in modern prose, so it is easy to read and understand, and the text and illustrations help clarify the unfamiliar words. The format is that of a comic book, with text below wide illustrations of watercolor-and-ink cartoon art. The last page has a glossary of eleven unfamiliar words, which is not nearly sufficient.

Elijah of Buxton

Elijah of Buxton, by Christopher Paul Curtis, is the 2008 winner of the Coretta Scott King Award for text. This is a wonderful story about an eleven-year-old boy who was known in his community for throwing up on Frederick Douglas when he was a baby. But by the end of the book, Elijah does something so brave and “growned” up that I believe his reputation will have changed forever. Elijah was the first free child born in Buxton, a community of former slaves in Canada that really exists. Throughout the story, he is depicted as “fra-gile” because he is sensitive and has a tendency to overreact to emotional situations. But he’s also very wise when he takes the time to think through things. He goes down into Michigan with a man whose life savings had been stolen by a supposed preacher, only to have the man die when they get there and find the preacher’s dead too. So, he can’t get the money back, which was supposed to free the man’s family from slavery. But he finds a group of slaves chained to a wall in a stable, and figures out a way he can help one of them, the baby who’s not chained. The book is filled with realistic language and situations from the early 1860s, but all of it is handled in a way that is interesting yet appropriate for its intended audience of late elementary through middle school readers.

Let It Shine

Let it Shine, written and illustrated by Ashley Bryan, is the 2008 winner of the Coretta Scott King Award for illustration. This is a beautiful picture book with the words to three well-known spirituals as the text of the book. A note from the author at the end of the book explained that these spirituals were originally created by slaves who were not allowed to read and write, but whose creativity could not be contained. So they sang their hopes, sorrows, and joys. The three songs chosen for this book were “This Little Light of Mine”, “Oh, When the Saints Go Marching In”, and “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands”. The art in the book comes from cut-construction-paper collages, and vividly depicts the lyrics of the songs. This book is a perfect complement to the Coretta Scott King winner for text this year.