YA List

I had actually thought about stopping my blog since I have neglected it for so long. However, just this past weekend two past students told me how they use it, and that I better not stop. So I guess I'll do some posting again and see how it goes.

Today's post will have a list of books that are a part of my YA class. This class is an elective for any student on campus. However, it usually fills up immediately with elementary education majors. Just a little about the format of the class. The class is a part of Taylor University's January term. We meet twice a week in the evening at my house. We discuss YA books, drink coffee, and eat dessert. Plus there are no papers! Just read and discuss.

Here is this year's list: Stuck in Neutral, Cruise Control, Speak, Inexcusable, Monster, American Born Chinese, Give a Boy Gun, Wintergirls, Mexican Whiteboy, Hunger Games, 13 Reasons Why, Before I Die. Several of the books have already been mentioned on the blog so I will just briefly discuss some of the others.

Hunger Games
By Suzanne Collins

This has been the best book I have read in quite awhile. I loved the action, description, plot, and characters. I found Hunger Games to be a very engaging read, and I highly recommend it for middle school.

Quick Summary: This is a futuristic tale and the US is called Panem, and it is divided into 12 districts. Each year one male and one female (age 12-18) from each district must participate in the Hunger Games, a televised event where contestants fight to the death. The last on living wins.

There was a bit too much romance for me in the book, but I understand the role it plays, and how it will impact the second book in the trilogy.

Rating:

Give a Boy a Gun
By Todd Strasser

This is a difficult read that I like to pair with Nancy Garden's Endgame. The premise of this story is about two boys that have been teased and harassed throughout school. Finally they take situations in their hands during a school dance.

The story is told in first-person by various characters of the book including the suicide notes from each of the two boys. Various factoids and news snippets are found throughout the book in regards to real school violence events. The format of this book would be identified as radical change.

Wintergirls
By Laure Halse Anderson

This 2009 book tells the story of two friends that struggle with an eating disorder. After a falling out Cassie makes a desperate but unsuccessful attempt to connect with her former friend Lia. The result is death for Cassie and potential death for Lia. Throughout the story Lia tries to put the puzzle pieces of Cassie's death together while also putting herself in a downward spiral towards death.

13 Reasons Why
By Jay Asher

In this story a high school girl commits suicide, but before doing so she sends 13 cassette tapes to 13 people who had an impact of her decision.

Asher write the book in a radical change format. He tells the story of Hannah via cassette tapes by writing it all in italicized font. Then he adds to the story by inserting the voice of another character by printing it in a regular font. This formatting allows the reader to "hear" the tapes while getting immediate insights from a living character in the book.

I found this book very creative, insightful, and engaging. Asher did a great job illustrating how rumors can snowball and have a negative impact on people.

Keep reading and I'll try to keep posting,

Dr. Quinn

Dying to Meet You: 43 Old Cemetery Road

Written by Kate Klise
Illustrated by: M. Sarah Klise

The Klise sisters kicked off their 43 Old Cemetery Road series with this creative and unique mystery titled Dying to Meet You. The book introduces the three main characters of the series: I. B. Grumply - a children's book author, Seymore Hope - 11 year-old boy, and Olive C. Spence - the woman that built the home on 43 Old Cemetery Road (she died 97 years before the story opens). Together these three live in the old home; however, the living arrange is not a smooth one at all. One is self-centered and grumpy, one is abandoned, and one is a Ghost.

The book is composed of letters, notes, newspaper articles, and drawings which makes it so creative. I enjoyed it, and I am interested in the next title. However, I think I am more interesed in the format than the storyline.

Age level: 3rd through 5th grade

Keep Reading,
Dr. Quinn

Let's Do Nothing

Tony Fucile's Let's Do Nothing is fantastic. This picture book tells the story of two friends that think they have done everything there is to do. They have played every board game, read every comic, played every sport ever invented, etc. Then it hits them that they can now just do nothing, but this turns out to be more difficult than they could ever imagine. Finally, Eureka, they discover that there is NO WAY to do nothing so they decide to do SOMETHING!

A fun read aloud for those of us that think there is nothing to do.

Keep Reading,
Dr. Quinn

The Cuckoo's Haiku and Other Bird Poems

Although I am not a bird person, I really enjoyed Micheal Rosen's collection of bird haiku. The book includes soothing haiku poetry, short informational details and soft watercolor paintings of the various birds. Some birds included in this text are cardinals, owls, kingfisher, hummingbird, etc.

Bottom line, I loved it.

Keep Reading,
Dr. Quinn

Higher! Higher!

I loved Leslie Patricelli's Higher! Higher! Throughout the book she uses the phrase Higher! Higher! along with some fantastic, simplistic, child-like acrylic paintings to tell this story. It's the classic demand of push me higher on the swing Daddy mixed with a young child's imagination that takes this story to new heights.

A fun read for the young child, but a text-to-self connection for many of us.

Keep Reading,
Dr. Quinn

The Swamps of Sleethe: Poems from Beyond the Solar System

If you are looking for a out of this world book of poetry, then here it is...Jack Prelutsky's The Swamps of Sleethe. From nonsense words to crazy adventures, young space fans will enjoy this collection of wacky poems. Here are a few titles for you: "The Cold of Drifig Prime," "The Globulings of Wolvar Sprod," "The Monopods of Odgofod," etc. Not only do some titles play on words (when unscrambled), but Prelutsky also includes a pronunciation guide as well.

A fun book of poetry.

Keep Reading,
Dr. Quinn

Our Children Can Soar

Michelle Cook created this wonderful story that celebrates history and how it has impacted today. Our Children can Soar can best be summed up by the subtitle on the front cover...A celebration of Rosa , Barak, and the pioneers of change.

The simple but powerful text is supported by outstanding illustrators such as Bryan Collier, E.B. Lewis, James Ransome, Leo & Diane Dillon, and more.

Keep Reading,
Dr. Quinn

Anything but Typical

Nora Baskin's Anything but Typical is just what the title states...anything but typical. The story is told by the protagonist, Jason Blake, a 12 year old autistic boy. Through his words Jason shares his thoughts, feelings, and emotions. He gives the reader a glimpse of his world as he describes excitement, anxiety, love, frustration, embarrassment and so much more.

The jest of the storyline is that Jason is an excellent communicator when it comes to writing stories. He often posts his work on a storyboard computer site. As a part of these postings, he connects with another writer from a different state. As part of a reward for not getting sent home from school for behavior, Jason's mother takes him to the storyboard convention where he will have the opportunity to meet his distant friend. Of course this is easier said than done because she is NT (neurological typical) and he is anything but typical. Ultimately Jason learns to except who he is..., "This is who I am. This is me."

I believe that Baskin did an excellent job of sharing Jason's thoughts with the reader. This book had some strong intertextual connections to Terry Trueman's Stuck in Neutral and Cynthia Lord's Rules...two other books that I enjoyed.

I highly recommend this book for upper elementary.

Keep reading,
Dr. Quinn

The Wednesday Wars

I may have just found a new favorite book. I know that many of you have already read this Newbery Honor Book, but I just picked it up for the first time.

If you haven't read Gary Schmidt's book, then here is a quick summary. Holling HoodHood tells about his 7th grade school year (1968-67)...each chapter is a month. He starts by sharing how his English teacher, Mrs. Baker hates him, and why they will be spending every Wednesday afternoon together. Throughout the year Mrs. Baker challenges Holling to read various Shakespeare plays. Holling's year is filled with real-life adventures and interesting happenings.

I love it when I come across a book where I feel like I am right there in the story, and with all my personal connections to the book I truly felt like I was Holling. Here is a shortlist of these personal connections: I missed school to go to an MLB opening day game (Reds not Yankees); I ran cross country; I didn't have a great relationship with my father (home builder not architect); one of my sisters ran away; our sixth grade class had a camp out; I am a Jesse Owens fan; I am all about teacher-student relationships, etc.

Gary Schmidt, great job!

Rating:

Happy Reading,

Dr. Quinn

Scaredy Squirrel at Night

If you haven't read the original Scaredy Squirrel by Melanie Watt, then I highly recommend that you do. Believe it or not, Scaredy Squirrel is ready for another adventure...night.

In this book, Scaredy Squirrel worries about bad dreams and the creatures that might be in those bad dreams...ghosts, dragons, polka-dot-monsters, etc. So he decides to make a plan so he can stay up all night; however, he will have to deal with side effects such as energy loss, moodiness, hallucinations, etc. As you can imagine, it will be an adventurous night for Scaredy Squirrel.

Once again, Watt stays consistent with her usual layout and strong illustrations.

I definitely recommend this fun book.

Happy Reading,
Dr. Quinn

Chicken Cheeks

Let me just get to the bottom line, Chicken Cheeks is a funny book kids will enjoy; however, I'm not sure that parents will find it appropriate...although I'm okay with it. This comical book shares various names for the posterior end of various animals.

The storyline is about a bear who wants to get some honey, but he is not tall enough. So the bear gets some help from various animals. Animal are stacked on top of each other until they reach the honey.

The author is comedian Michael Ian Black and the Illustrator is Kevin Hawkes. Black's word choice is creative (i.e., duck-billed platypus gluteus maximus, polar bear derriere), and Hawkes illustrations humorous.

Recommendation: I say yes, butt not for everyone!

Happy Reading,
Dr. Quinn

The End

A Friend

We all need friends and sometimes we need certain friends for certain situations. This is the premise of Anette Bley's picture book titled A Friend.

This book will encourage students to think about all their friends and what makes each friend so special.

Bley's illustration formatting is very clever and often changes (i.e., part of an illustration may be on one page, while the completion of the illustration is on the next page).

Overall I enjoyed this book and would recommend it for the elementary classroom. Although the text is simple and more appealing to younger students, the underpinning of the story will impact all ages.

Happy Reading,
Dr. Quinn

Living Sunlight

If you are looking for a good picture book about photosynthesis, then take a look at Living Sunlight: How Plants Bring the Earth to Life by Molly Bang & Penny Chisholm.

This book has strong information and wonderful illustrations to accompany the simple text. More detailed information about photosynthesis can be found at the end of the book. A winner all around.

Happy Reading,
Dr, Quinn

Cruise Control

Less than a year ago I read Terry Trueman's Stuck in Neutral (see December 17)...The story is
about Shawn McDaniel a 14 year-old boy with Cerebral Palsy which limits him from any voluntary movement and the whole thing is told from Shawn's point of view.

Yesterday I just completed Cruise Control, a companion book to Stuck in Neutral. In this book, Paul McDaniel, Shawn's older brother, tell his side of the story. Paul is a hard and bitter young man who is especially angry at his father for abandoning the McDaniel family. Throughout the book, Paul deals with his anger via sports, fighting, and alcohol...primarily through sports. Paul has a change of heart near the end of the book, but readers will have to see what happens.

Overall, I enjoyed this book a lot. I thought that Trueman did a fantastic job of showing Paul's anger throughout the book. However, I had one big problem with the ending. As a high school coach for many years and someone who has been around sports his whole life, I found the state title basketball game much too unbelievable. Persoanlly the ending turned me off.

Rating: (due to the ending)

Happy reading,
Dr. Quinn

Dork Diaries: Tales of a Not-So- Fabulous Life

Rachel Russell's Dork Diaries is an entertaining read for upper elementary and middle school students. Many readers will easily connect with the protagonist Nikki Maxwell. Nikki is an eighth grade girl going through all kinds of typical middle school scenarios; however, her biggest problem is MacKenzie Hollister...the most popular girl in eighth grade.

Russell does a great job of integrating current pop culture into the book...current musical artists and YA authors, tattoos, TV shows, and more.

The storyline here is be yourself, a universal theme that many teenagers need to hear over and over.

Fans of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series will also enjoy this book.

Personally, I found it a fun read, and the illustrations complimented the text well. I would recommend this book.

Happy Reading,
Dr. Quinn

The Puzzling World of Winston Breen: The Potato Chip Puzzle

I have just finished my first Winston Breen book and was happily satisfied. I believe upper elementary readers will enjoy this puzzling and interactive book as well. This book has a familiar format for those of you who enjoyed The Westing Game. I also noticed some similarities to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and some reviews, which I agree with, compare it to Encyclopedia Brown books. The bottom line is that this book is fun and creative.

Summary: Winston Breen is just finishing his 8th grade year when he solves a puzzle for his school's principal. By solving the puzzle Winston's school is invited to participate in a puzzle adventure set up by Dmitri Simon, President of Simon Snack Foods. Winston's school along with several other will all compete in an all day adventure with the winning school receiving $50,000 for their school. Of course the adventure is filled with tricky puzzles which the reader has the opportunity to solve, but there are also other problems to solve along the way. Let me just say there is a cheater in the competition!

I recommend this read for 4-6 grade students.

Happy Reading,

Dr. Quinn

Subway Ride

"Step down below to see the world." This is a line from a new picture book titled Subway Ride, written by Heather Lynn Miller & illustrated by Sue Rama. Subway Ride takes the reader to 10 different subways around the world. Each page has a simple rhyme and fantastic illustrations. Rama's illustrations are digital collages of watercolor. At the conclusion of the story, specific information about each subway is provided.

I recommend this picturebook for k-1.

Happy Reading,
Dr. Quinn

Amiri & Odette: A Love Story

The folktale of Swan Lake is retold as a poem by Walter Dean Myers and set in an urban environment. This creative poem combined with the fantabulous (yes I said fantabulous) artwork by Javaka Steptoe make a wonderful book.

Personally, I am not very familiar with Swan Lake, but I must say that I enjoyed this version. Since it was quite new to me, I must admit that I was engaged with the text and loved the trickery by the antagonist. In my opinion Myers did a wonderful job of transforming the story to the Swan Lake Projects.

Steptoe's collages are brilliant! He used slabs of asphalt as his canvas highlighted with acrylic paints and various materials such as 14k jewelry, candy wrappers, newspapers, and more. I truly cannot say enough good things about these paintings.

I highly recommend this book for upper elementary or even middle school.

Happy Reading,
Dr. Quinn

Tales from Outer Suburia

If you haven't experienced a book by Shaun Tan, be sure to do so. Last year I was introduced to his work via The Arrival, a graphic novel. The illustrations were fantastic. I was amazed at the storyline and creativity.

Today I introduced myself to his newest text, Tales from Outer Suburbia. Once again Tan's illustrations are fantastic. However, this book is composed of a collection of short stories...all from outer suburbia. Let's just say these stories are definitely out there, wow! If I were to use one word to describe the collection of tales, it would be...Random. These tales are just simply bizarre, creative, but bizarre. My two favorite tales are "Grandpa's Story" and "Alert, but Not Alarmed."

Again the illustrations are superb. From the front cover, to the table of contents, to the endpages, Tan fills the pages with creative illustrations and formatting.

Happy Reading,

Dr. Quinn

A Taste for Red

I was recently sent a copy of Lewis Harris' new book titled A Taste for Red. I believe this book will be released in June of '09. It is always nice to have an opportunity to read a text prior to the release date...thanks Marjorie.

First of all, I would like to share what a fun read this was for me. I enjoyed listening to the protagonist, Svetlana Grimm, share her story. She kept me engaged, and I was excited to turn the pages.

Svetlana believes that she is a vampire and to confirm this theory she shares her reasons: she likes to sleep under her bed, she has a taste for red foods (red peppers, red potatoes, tomatoes, red velvet cake, etc.), she has ESP, she is fair skinned, and her senses are perfectly attuned after hours. By combining her sharp senses and her ESP, Svetlana discovers that one of her teachers, Ms Larch, is a vampire as well. However, Svetlana has difficulty discerning if her teacher is good or bad. With the help of an unique elderly neighbor, Ms Bones and Svetlana's new friends, a discovery is made that will impact the all their lives.

In this book, Harris integrated the hot topic of vampires with friendships, self identification, and the thrill of suspense to create a engaging mystery for children.

Rating:

Happy Reading,
Dr. Quinn