2018-12-10T09:42:14+00:00

Bibliographic Information:

Author: Joy McCullough

Title: Blood Water Paint

Publisher: Dutton Books for Young Readers

ISBN: 978-0735232112

Summary: Artemisia’s life hits an unexpected snag when her mother dies. She has only two choices either become a nun in a convent or help her father by grinding pigment for his paint. Artemisia chose to grind the pigment. By the time she reaches the age of seventeen, she is no ordinary teenager. Artemisia has become one of Rome’s most talented painters ;however, when a despicable crime is committed against her she again is left with two choices: Stay Silent or tell the truth. Which one will she choose?

Critical Evaluation: This book is written in a verse format ;however, utilizing this format gives the reader the ability to understand the emotions and horrors that are occurring. This is an incredibly powerful story that deals with the tough subjects of sexual abuse and domestic violence in such an honest raw and uncut way. Another element that I appreciated in the book was the honesty concerning what happens sometimes when we speak out about things that society has conditioned us not to speak about. Both poetical and lyrical, this book is beautifully written. While this book may make some people who are squeamish concerning the subject of rape uncomfortable.

Reader’s Annotation: Artemisia has a difficult choice to make: speak up or stay silent. Which will she choose?

Author Information: Joy McCullough has written ten novels. However nine of those novels didn’t even get published, but “Blood Water Paint” was in fact published. “Blood Water Paint” was her debut novel, and the idea of the story came to her from a passing reference from a Margaret Atwood novel. Joy says that she chose to write the story in verse due to her not wanting the readers to get caught up in the day to day facts of the story. By taking those details out of the story, then instead of the reader being held at arm’s length, they are free to connect freely with the story.

Currently Joy lives in the Seattle area, where she writes both plays and novels. She is married and has two children. When she attended Northwestern University, she studied theatre there. An interesting fact about her is that she says that she fell in love with her husband while atop a Guatemalan volcano. Also when asked to describe her days she says that her days consists of being surrounded by books, kids, and chocolate.

An Interview with Joy McCullough, Author of Blood Water Paint – by Jennifer Ansbach

About

Genre- Historical Fiction

Curriculum Ties: Renaissance History; Renaissance Culture

Book Talk Ideas: Renaissance History

Interest Age/Reading Level- Grades 9-12

Challenge Issues/ Defense Preparation:

Challenge Issues: Rape; Sexual Abuse

Selection Policy: http://ccclib.org/policies/CollectionDevelopmentAccess-1999-11-16.pdf

Library Bill of Rights: http://www.ala.org/advocacy/sites/ala.org.advocacy/files/content/intfreedom/librarybill/lbor.pdf

Book Reviews: https://www.amazon.com/Blood-Water-Paint-Joy-McCullough/product-reviews/0735232113/ref=cm_cr_dp_d_show_all_btm?ie=UTF8&reviewerType=all_reviews

Right to Read: http://www2.ncte.org/statement/righttoreadguideline/

Rationale:

. Bibliographic Information:

Author: Joy McCullough

Title: Blood Water Paint

Publisher: Dutton Books for Young Readers

ISBN: 978-0735232112

The intended audience is young adults specifically the upper grades of 9-12. This particular book would be beneficial for an English or social studies class. Primarily the book will be used for individual study in which every member of the class should read the book, and then afterwards there can be a group discussion of what transpired in the book as well as observations and thoughts concerning the book. “Blood Water Paint” can be utilized to start an open discussion concerning Renaissance history, portrayals of women, and culture”.

Summary: Artemisia’s life hits an unexpected snag when her mother dies. She has only two choices either become a nun in a convent or help her father by grinding pigment for his paint. Artemisia chose to grind the pigment. By the time she reaches the age of seventeen, she is no ordinary teenager. Artemisia has become one of Rome’s most talented painters ;however, when a despicable crime is committed against her she again is left with two choices: Stay Silent or tell the truth. Which one will she choose?

Relationship to Program: The relationship of the book to school objectives would be helping 9th graders develop their literal and inferential understanding skills and comprehension skills. Through reading this book they would learn and develop the following skills: SLE #R. 9.9.2. Identify specific ways an author accomplishes purpose, including organization, narrative and persuasive techniques, style, literary forms or genre, portrayal of themes, tone and intended audiences; R.9.9.4 Recognize how works of a given period reflect author’s background, historical events, and cultural influences; and R.9.9.5 Draw inferences from a sentence or a paragraph (including conclusions, generalizations and predictions) and support them with text evidence. Concerning summary and generalization students will utilize R.9.9.8 Summarize and paraphrase structures in informational and literary texts, including relationships among concepts and details and R. 9.9.13 Identify and discuss a position using concepts gained from reading (e.g. debate, discussion, position paper, etc.). Concerning analysis and evaluation students will utilize R. 9.9.11 Recognize and define various points of view (e.g., omniscient narrator, third person limited).

http://www.fayar.net/edvision/language/09_reading_0405.pdf

Impact: I think this book would be very good for the teens to read. It can open up new perspectives and interests concerning the time period or character of Artemisia. It also provides insight into what it was like to be a young women during that time period. This would also be a good book for sexual abuse survivors to be able to identify with circumstances and scenarios that are presented in the book.

Why Included: This book covers the difficult subject of sexual abuse beautifully and honestly. While the setting of the book is during the renaissance, a lot of the situations are still very relevant to what is happening in today’s society. It really gives an honest look at what it is like for a person who speaks up concerning their abuse. Also this unique time period could easily spark interest for teens to want to research this time period or even the character of Artemisia.

Allegedly By Tiffany D. Jackson

December 10, 2018/marliaholmes29/Leave a comment

ALLEGEDLY BY: TIFFANY D. JACKSON

Bibliographic Information:

Author: Tiffany D. Jackson

Title: Allegedly

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books

ISBN:9780062422644)

Summary: Scenario: A white baby died under the care of an African American woman and her nine year old daughter. Mary, the daughter, is convicted; however, the question still remains: did she, do it? After being in “baby jail” for six years, she is finally able to leave to go to a group home. She meets Ted on an assignment at a nursing home. Fast forward a little bit, now Mary is pregnant with Ted’s baby and the state is threatening to take her baby. Even though it is going to be difficult, Mary has to find her own voice to finally tell what really happened. However, the person who holds all the cards is the one person she definitely can’t trust: Momma. Will Mary be able to tell her truth?

Critical Evaluation: This story is told in a straightforward manner that makes it easy for the reader to follow what is going on. It demonstrates a dark portrayal of the legal system as well as how social workers and parents sometimes fail children. he characters are very complex, and had interesting layers to them. For example the main character is smart, but she also has a layer of mystery to her which leaves you on your edge of your seat up until the last page. This book has a realistic feel since it provides a raw and honest look at what can and does happen when kids are caught up in the system. While this is a work of fiction, it makes the reader really think especially because it parallels what is going on in the world today. In addition to being very thought provoking, this book takes an honest inside look at some issues that are often not openly discussed such as racial inequalities, lack of education, mental health issues, and broken support systems.

Reader’s Annotation: A white baby ends up in the care of nine year old Mary and her mother. But who really committed the crime, Mary or her mother?

Author Information: Tiffany D. Jackson has written several books including “Allegedly”, “Monday’s Not Coming”, and “Let Me Hear a Rhyme”. The D in her name is short for Danelle. She is a Brooklyn native, where she currently lives, and loves naps, beaches, and cookie dough. Tiffany received her bachelor’s degree in arts in film from Howard University, and she then went on to obtain her master’s degree in the New School in the arts of media studies.

In addition to being an author, she is also a TV professional. Tiffany has been in the television industry for over a decade. Some of the networks and media companies that she has worked for include: BET, FUSE, BBC AMERICA, EPIX, Locks=down (a prison series), Roc Nation, and National Geographic. She even wrote her own short horror film, The Field Trip in 2009. To be specific, her other job title besides writer is a freelance TV Production Manager/Line Producer.

http://writeinbk.com/about/

Genre- Fiction

Curriculum Ties- Justice System; Mental health

Book Talk Ideas- Justice System

Interest Age/Reading Level– Grades 9-12

Challenge Issues/Defense Preparation:

Challenge Issues: Justice System; Unhealthy Relationship Between Child & Parent; Mental Health

Selection Policy: http://ccclib.org/policies/CollectionDevelopmentAccess-1999-11-16.pdf

Library Bill of Rights: http://www.ala.org/advocacy/sites/ala.org.advocacy/files/content/intfreedom/librarybill/lbor.pdf

Book Reviews: https://www.amazon.com/Allegedly-Tiffany-D-Jackson/product-reviews/0062422650/ref=cm_cr_dp_d_show_all_btm?ie=UTF8&reviewerType=all_reviews

Right to Read: http://www2.ncte.org/statement/righttoreadguideline/

Rationale:

Bibliographic Information:

Author: Tiffany D. Jackson

Title: Allegedly

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books

ISBN:9780062422644)

Intended Audience: The intended audience is young adults specifically the upper grades of 9-12. This particular book would be beneficial for an English or social studies class. Primarily the book will be used for individual study in which every member of the class should read the book, and then afterwards there can be a group discussion of what transpired in the book as well as observations and thoughts concerning the book. “Allegedly” can be utilized to start discussions concerning the justice System as well as mental health issues.

Summary: Scenario: A white baby died under the care of an African American woman and her nine year old daughter. Mary, the daughter, is convicted ;however, the question still remains: did she, do it? After being in “baby jail” for six years, she is finally able to leave to go to a group home. She meets Ted on an assignment at a nursing home. Fast forward a little bit, now Mary is pregnant with Ted’s baby and the state is threatening to take her baby. Even though it is going to be difficult, Mary has to find her own voice to finally tell what really happened. However, the person who holds all the cards is the one person she definitely can’t trust: Momma. Will Mary be able to tell her truth?

Relationship to Program: The relationship of the book to school objectives would be helping 9th graders develop their literal and inferential understanding skills and comprehension skills. Through reading this book they would learn SLE # R.9.9.1 Connect own background knowledge, including personal experience and perspectives shaped by age, gender, class or national origin, to determine author’s purpose. R.9.9.5. Draw inferences from a sentence or a paragraph (including conclusions, generalizations and predictions) and support them with text evidence. Concerning summary and generalization students will utilize R.9.9.8 Summarize and paraphrase structures in informational and literary texts, including relationships among concepts and details. Concerning analysis and evaluation students will utilize R. 9.9.11 Recognize and define various points of view (e.g., omniscient narrator, third person limited) and R. 9.9.13 Identify and discuss a position using concepts gained from reading (e.g. debate, discussion, position paper, etc.).

http://www.fayar.net/edvision/language/09_reading_0405.pdf

Impact: I think this book would have a tremendous positive impact on the students. While this book does deal with some very serious content, I think the teens would appreciate “being treated by adults” by being allowed to read the book. Also it gives an accurate description concerning what is going on with our justice system. The teens definitely may know someone or have a friend or family member that may have had a brush with the law, and this book could give them insight into the justice system.

Why Included: This book is extremely thought provoking, as well as intriguing. Some may describe this book as “dark and twisted”, but sometimes that is just life. Exploring books that deal with tough subjects such as in this book may not always be pleasant ;however, life is full of ups as well as downs. I think the teens may be able to relate to finding themselves in situations they didn’t anticipate based off details that may or may not be true about them. What happened to Mary could easily happen to someone else so the story is very much still relevant to everyday life.

The Outsiders By: S. E. Hinton

December 10, 2018/marliaholmes29/Leave a comment

THE OUTSIDERS BY: S.E. HINTON

Bibliographic Information

Author: S.E Hinton

Title: The Outsiders

Publisher: Penguin Group

ISBN: 9780140385724

Summary: Fourteen year old Ponyboy is a Greaser, and all he was trying to do was go home after the movies. While he knows he is taking a big risk trying to walk home alone, that risk becomes a reality when the Socials jump him. He knows that he can count on his brothers and friends to have his back. One day the rivalry between the Greasers and Socials goes a little too far which creates an even bigger problem for Ponyboy and everyone else involved.

Critical Evaluation: The author does a great job of capturing the very real situation of gangs, which is still a factor in cities all around the United States. The characters are very well developed, and they have very detailed backgrounds. Writing the book in a young fashion complete with slang definitely helps readers connect with the characters. However the slang usage also tends to work against the story concerning the reader because the slang is very outdated. I did find the weird nicknames to be a little jarring and difficult to get used to. This would be an excellent book for boys since most of the characters are in fact boys. Also, Ponyboy narrates the story and sheds light on the thoughts, feelings, and difficult situations that teenagers went through at that time. The storyline never seemed to get dull because something was constantly happening.

Reader’s Annotation– When a situation with the Socials escalates quickly, will Ponyboy be able to make the right decision?

Author Information: Hinton, also known as Susan Eloise Hinton grew up in Tulsa Oklahoma. She always had a love for writing. Her earlier works were centered around cowboys, horses, and gun fighting. Growing up she wasn’t interested in the typical “girl meets boy” stories. So, while she was still in school, she wrote “The Outsiders” which was published in 1967, the book sold over four million copies in the US. After her success with her book, she obtained a degree from the University of Tulsa, where she met her husband.

Her second novel was “Rumble Fish”, following her next book “Tex”, and then “Taming the Star Runner”. A lot of her books were later on turned into movies. Susan, in 1988, received the Margaret Edwards Young Adult Author Achievement Award. Currently she is still living and writing in Tulsa Oklahoma.

https://www.famousauthors.org/s-e-hinton

Genre- Fiction

Curriculum Ties– English

Book Talk Ideas– Gangs; Violence

Interest Age/ Reading Level– Grades 9-12

Challenge Issues & Defense Preparation

Challenge Issues: Gangs; Violence

Selection Policy: http://ccclib.org/policies/CollectionDevelopmentAccess-1999-11-16.pdf

Library Bill of Rights: http://www.ala.org/advocacy/sites/ala.org.advocacy/files/content/intfreedom/librarybill/lbor.pdf

Book Reviews: https://www.amazon.com/Outsiders-S-Hinton/product-reviews/014240733X/ref=cm_cr_dp_d_show_all_btm?ie=UTF8&reviewerType=all_reviews

Right to Read: http://www2.ncte.org/statement/righttoreadguideline/

Rationale:

Bibliographic Information

Author: S.E Hinton

Title: The Outsiders

Publisher: Penguin Group

ISBN: 9780140385724

Intended Audience: The intended audience is young adults specifically the upper grades of 9-12. This particular book would be beneficial for an English or social studies class. Primarily the book will be used for individual study in which every member of the class should read the book, and then afterwards there can be a group discussion of what transpired in the book as well as observations and thoughts concerning the book. “The Outsiders” can be utilized to start a discussion about gangs and violence.

Summary: Fourteen year old Ponyboy is a Greaser, and all he was trying to do was go home after the movies. While he knows he is taking a big risk trying to walk home alone, that risk becomes a reality when the Socials jump him. He knows that he can count on his brothers and friends to have his back. One day the rivalry between the Greasers and Socials goes a little too far which creates an even bigger problem for Ponyboy and everyone else involved.

Relationship to Program: The relationship of the book to school objectives would be helping 9^th graders develop their literal and inferential understanding skills and comprehension skills. Through reading this book they would learn and develop the following skills: SLE #R. 9.9.2. Identify specific ways an author accomplishes purpose, including organization, narrative and persuasive techniques, style, literary forms or genre, portrayal of themes, tone and intended audiences; R.9.9.4 Recognize how works of a given period reflect author’s background, historical events, and cultural influences; and R.9.9.5 Draw inferences from a sentence or a paragraph (including conclusions, generalizations and predictions) and support them with text evidence. Concerning summary and generalization students will utilize R.9.9.8 Summarize and paraphrase structures in informational and literary texts, including relationships among concepts and details and R. 9.9.13 Identify and discuss a position using concepts gained from reading (e.g. debate, discussion, position paper, etc.). Concerning analysis and evaluation students will utilize R. 9.9.11 Recognize and define various points of view (e.g., omniscient narrator, third person limited).

http://www.fayar.net/edvision/language/09_reading_0405.pdf

Impact: I think this would be a great book for the teens to read. This book demonstrates the not so glamourous parts of being in a gang. Also, it highlights the situations gang members may sometimes find themselves in as a result of participating in gang activity. By reading this book, teens may think twice about joining a gang or gang life in general.

Why Included- This book contains realistic information and situations that are still relevant to gangs to this day. It allows the teens to see the family side of being in a gang as well as the violence. Realistic situations concerning gangs are discussed.

I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter By: Erika Sanchez

December 10, 2018/marliaholmes29/Leave a comment

I AM NOT YOUR PERFECT MEXICAN DAUGHTER BY: ERIKA SANCHEZ

Bibliographic Information:

Author: Erika Sanchez

Title: I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter

Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers

ISBN: 978-1524700485

Summary: Julia’s life changes forever when her sister Olga was hit and killed by a truck. While she mourns the loss of her sister, she still can’t help but think that her own parents may never love her as much as they loved Olga. Her family doesn’t seem to want to acknowledge that Julia is in fact greatly affected by Olga’s death, and her mother’s way of grieving consists of continuously criticizing Julia’s “failures”. However, as time goes by Julia begins to uncover the real truth behind her sister Olga. On the surface Olga seemed to be perfect, but sometimes things aren’t always as they seem.

Critical Evaluation: One of the things that the author does really well is covers the topic of mental health as well as provides a healthy way to deal with mental health both from a teenager and parental perspective. This book is actually multilayered with various themes intersecting concerning Mexican Culture, hard truths, and how things have changed. The main character definitely had a lot of depth to her: she is sassy, determined, strong willed, confrontational, and courageous. At times the book appears to take up different genres such as sometimes it appears to be a memoir, and a mystery. This book accurately captures what it is like to be a first generation American.

Reader’s Annotation: Julia feels that her parents will never love her as much as Olga, but was Olga really that perfect? Or is there more to her than what meets the eye?

Author Information: Erika L. Sanchez wears many hats including a novelist, essayist, and poet. She is also the daughter of Mexican immigrants, and she grew up in Cicero, Illinois in the Mexican working part of town. From a young age, she was already a feminist and an overachiever. After graduating from the University of Illinois Phi Beta Kappa and Magna Cum Laude, she went to Spain on a scholarship called Fulbright Scholarship. Once her scholarship was completed, she went on to get her MFA in creative writing from the University of New Mexico.

“I am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter” was her debut YA novel which is both a New York Times Best Seller and a National Book Awards finalist. She has won many awards including the Bread Loaf Scholarship, and the 2013 “Discovery”/Boston Review Prize, and the Ruth Lilly and Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Fellowship. Her poetry has been included in a few well known library journals such as POETRY Magazine, Copper Nickel, Vinyl Poetry, and more. Erika is also fluent in Spanish.

https://erikalsanchez.com/about/

Genre- Fiction

Curriculum Ties– Mexican Culture

Book Talk Ideas- Mental Health

Interest Age/Reading Level- Grades 9-12

Challenge Issues & Defense Preparation

Challenge Issues: Mental health; family issues

Selection Policy: http://ccclib.org/policies/CollectionDevelopmentAccess-1999-11-16.pdf

Library Bill of Rights: http://www.ala.org/advocacy/sites/ala.org.advocacy/files/content/intfreedom/librarybill/lbor.pdf

Book Review: https://www.amazon.com/Not-Your-Perfect-Mexican-Daughter/product-reviews/1524700487/ref=cm_cr_dp_d_show_all_btm?ie=UTF8&reviewerType=all_reviews

Right to Read: http://www2.ncte.org/statement/righttoreadguideline/

Rationale:

Bibliographic Information:

Author: Erik Sanchez

Title: I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter

Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers

ISBN: 978-1524700485

Intended Audience: The intended audience is young adults specifically the upper grades of 9-12. This particular book would be beneficial for an English or social studies class. Primarily the book will be used for individual study in which every member of the class should read the book, and then afterwards there can be a group discussion of what transpired in the book as well as observations and thoughts concerning the book. “I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter” can be utilized to discuss family dynamics and issues as well as mental health.

Summary: Julia’s life changes forever when her sister Olga was hit and killed by a truck. While she mourns the loss of her sister, she still can’t help but think that her own parents may never love her as much as they loved Olga. Her family doesn’t seem to want to acknowledge that Julia is in fact greatly affected by Olga’s death, and her mother’s way of grieving consists of continuously criticizing Julia’s “failures”. However, as time goes by Julia begins to uncover the real truth behind her sister Olga. On the surface Olga seemed to be perfect, but sometimes things aren’t always as they seem.

Relationship to Program: The relationship of the book to school objectives would be helping 9^th graders develop their literal and inferential understanding skills and comprehension skills. Through reading this book they would learn SLE # R.9.9.1 Connect own background knowledge, including personal experience and perspectives shaped by age, gender, class or national origin, to determine author’s purpose. R.9.9.5. Draw inferences from a sentence or a paragraph (including conclusions, generalizations and predictions) and support them with text evidence. Concerning summary and generalization students will utilize R.9.9.8 Summarize and paraphrase structures in informational and literary texts, including relationships among concepts and details. Concerning analysis and evaluation students will utilize R. 9.9.11 Recognize and define various points of view (e.g., omniscient narrator, third person limited) and R. 9.9.13 Identify and discuss a position using concepts gained from reading (e.g. debate, discussion, position paper, etc.).

http://www.fayar.net/edvision/language/09_reading_0405.pdf

Impact: I think this would be both a very insightful and relatable book for the students. The students most likely have siblings, and by reading this book, they can begin to see that their siblings also have their shortcomings as well. Also this book raises awareness concerning mental health, and it would be good for the students to know that they can get therapy to assist them if need be. This book would be insightful because it would help the students to see that they don’t need to be perfect. All they would ever need to be is themselves.

Why Included: I think that teens would really be able to relate to this book. Most teens do have siblings, and they very well may feel that their sibling is better than them or their parents care about the other sibling more. This book reconfirms that no one is in fact perfect, and that sometimes these seemingly perfect siblings have quite a bit of things going on that reconfirms that they aren’t perfect. Also, the fact that this book highlights Mexican culture, which is great for other teens that have a Mexican heritage to identify with.

Freakboy By:Kristin Elizabeth Clark

December 10, 2018/marliaholmes29/Leave a comment

FREAKBOY BY: KRISTIN ELIZABETH CLARK

Bibliographic Information:

Author: Kristin Elizabeth Clark

Title: Freak Boy

Publisher: Macmillian Publishing Group

ISBN: 9780374324735

Summary: Brenden is your average American teenager: on the wrestling team, has a girlfriend, and is doing alright in high school. However Brenden’s world is turned upside down with his inner thoughts of wishing to be in a girl’s body haunting him. His world is changed again once he meets Angel, a transgender girl. With Angel’s help, Brenden begins to sort out his true identity.

Critical Evaluation: Almost impossible to ignore is the fact that the book was written in free verse poetry. Immediately it made it hard for me as a reader to follow what was going on in the story. There were different narrating perspectives, specifically Brenden’s girlfriend Vanessa, Angel and how she struggles with her own past, and Brenden, who is struggling with his identity. With three different perspectives to keep track of, it was easy to get lost in the characters. They were definitely well developed though sometimes I found myself rereading the pages over and over again trying to understand the messages that were trying to be conveyed. It was a little exhausting having three main characters to keep track of on top of having to struggle through the free verse poetry. Although I didn’t care for the way the book was written, I do think that the author covered the subject of being transgender as well as gender fluidity very well.

Reader’s Annotation: Will Brenden ever figure out his true identity?

Author Information: A fun fact about Kristin Elizabeth Clark is that she tried to stay off of social media. In addition to being a writer, Kristin also teaches workshops and speaks on important social issues about writing for children and young adults, social justice, and diversity. She lives and does her writing in San Francisco California.

Kristin’s oldest child came out to her and told her that she was born a boy but knew that she was/is a girl. She is extremely supportive of her daughter Lucy. Lucy actually was an inspiration of the book “Freak Boy”. “Freak Boy” was listed in the Top Ten Rainbow List by the American Library Association and the Bank Street Best Books for Children. Besides the awards many trans and cis fans have reached out to her to let her know that the book saved their lives.

http://kristinelizabethclark.com/about/

Genre- Fiction

Curriculum Ties- English

Book Talk Ideas- Gender Identity

Reading Level/Interest Age– Grades 9-12

Challenge Issues/ Defense Preparation:

Challenge Issue: Gender Identity

Selection Policy: http://ccclib.org/policies/CollectionDevelopmentAccess-1999-11-16.pdf

Library Bill of Rights: http://www.ala.org/advocacy/sites/ala.org.advocacy/files/content/intfreedom/librarybill/lbor.pdf

Book Review: https://www.amazon.com/Freakboy-Kristin-Elizabeth-Clark/product-reviews/B00NPC5XDY/ref=cm_cr_dp_d_show_all_btm?ie=UTF8&reviewerType=all_reviews

Right to Read:

Rationale:

Bibliographic Information:

Author: Kristin Elizabeth Clark

Title: Freak Boy

Publisher: Macmillian Publishing Group

ISBN: 9780374324735

Intended Audience: The intended audience is young adults specifically the upper grades of 9-12. This particular book would be beneficial for an English or social studies class. Primarily the book will be used for individual study in which every member of the class should read the book, and then afterwards there can be a group discussion of what transpired in the book as well as observations and thoughts concerning the book. “Freak Boy” can be utilized to start a discussion about gender identity as well as transgender individuals.

Summary: Brenden is your average American teenager: on the wrestling team, has a girlfriend, and is doing alright in high school. However Brenden’s world is turned upside down with his inner thoughts of wishing to be in a girl’s body haunting him. His world is changed again once he meets Angel, a transgender girl. With Angel’s help, Brenden begins to sort out his true identity.

http://www.fayar.net/edvision/language/09_reading_0405.pdf

Impact: I think this book will have a great positive impact on the teen readers. First, I’m sure there are so many other teens who may be going through similar struggles with their identity. This book gives those teens a voice to tell their truth. Also through this book students will be able to gain a better understanding of what transgender as well as those who have concerns about their gender identity go through. If nothing else this book will reconfirm that all the teens who may be perceived as “freaks” are not alone.

Why Included: Freak Boy deals with serious issues concerning the LGBTQ community. Gender identity and being transgender are topics that are sometimes wrongfully silenced or ignored. This book raises awareness concerning those two subjects. Also, the fact that many trans and cist fans have said that the book either changed or saved their lives is proof that the book is amazing.

American Street By: Ibi Zoboi

December 10, 2018/marliaholmes29/Leave a comment

AMERICAN STREET BY: IBI ZOBOI

Bibliographic Information:

Author: Ibi Zoboi

Title: American Street

Publisher: Harper Collins

ISBN: 978006247304

Summary: What was supposed to begin as a trip to a better life to Detroit to see her mother’s long-lost sister and daughters for Haiti natives Fabiola Toussaint and her mother turned into a nightmare when Fabiola’s mother is detained by the U.S. Immigration. Without her mother Fabiola feels lost, as she tries to begin her new life with her Aunt and cousins. Haiti and Detroit might as well be two different worlds as Fabiola struggles to hold on to her Haitian roots and navigate this new Detroit life. However, a difficult situation finds Fabiola caught between a rock and a hard place. She has an important decision to make, and only one choice can be made. Will she make the right decision?

Critical Evaluation: I love the way the authors developed the characters. Fabiola is well developed: she is smart, inquisitive, determined, stays true to her Haitian roots, flexible, and more. I enjoyed the big personalities of her cousins who were also well developed. The element of Haitian Vodou was prevalent throughout the book which made the book have a poetic feel incorporating Haitian beliefs, myths, and culture. The author does a great job of revealing how a young immigrant thinks and feels about adjusting to their new environment. One of the best elements of the book was the brief breaks between the chapters in which each main characters shares a reflective piece almost as if they are writing in a diary. This was a great way to really get a clearer sense of who the characters actually were separate from Fabiola’s perspectives about them.

Reader’s Annotation: Caught between a rock and a hard place, Fabiola has an important decision to make. Will her choice cost her the American dream?

Author Information: Ibi Zoboi was a Haitian immigrant herself, she immigrated to New York with her mother when she was just four years old. Going from one world (Haiti) to another world (New York) was definitely an exciting and magical experience for her. As a result, this is her reasoning for loving writing in the genres of fantasy, mythology, and science fiction. Ibi is known for wearing bright colors, and enjoys eating fruit.

She received a MFA in writing for children and young adults from the Vermont College of Fine Arts. “American Street” was her debut novel which was a finalist for the National Book award. Other works by her include: “Pride”, another YA novel, and “Black Enough”, which is a collection of stories that give first-hand accounts concerning what it is like to African American in today’s society.

http://ibizoboi.net/about

Genre- Fiction

Curriculum Ties- English

Book Talk Ideas: Immigration

Reading Level/Interest Age- Grades 9-12
Challenge Issues and Defense Preparation:

Challenge Issues: Drugs; Domestic Violence

Selection Policy: http://ccclib.org/policies/CollectionDevelopmentAccess-1999-11-16.pdf

Library Bill of Rights: http://www.ala.org/advocacy/sites/ala.org.advocacy/files/content/intfreedom/librarybill/lbor.pdf

Book Reviews: https://www.amazon.com/American-Street-Ibi-Zoboi/product-reviews/0062473042/ref=cm_cr_dp_d_show_all_btm?ie=UTF8&reviewerType=all_reviews

Right to Read: http://www2.ncte.org/statement/righttoreadguideline/

Rationale:

Bibliographic Information:

Author: Ibi Zoboi

Title: American Street

Publisher: Harper Collins

ISBN: 978006247304

Intended Audience: The intended audience is young adults specifically the upper grades of 9-12. This particular book would be beneficial for an English or social studies class. Primarily the book will be used for individual study in which every member of the class should read the book, and then afterwards there can be a group discussion of what transpired in the book as well as observations and thoughts concerning the book. “American Street” can be utilized to start discussions concerning immigration and Haitian heritage.

Summary: What was supposed to begin as a trip to a better life to Detroit to see her mother’s long-lost sister and daughters for Haiti natives Fabiola Toussaint and her mother turned into a nightmare when Fabiola’s mother is detained by the U.S. Immigration. Without her mother Fabiola feels lost, as she tries to begin her new life with her Aunt and cousins. Haiti and Detroit might as well be two different worlds as Fabiola struggles to hold on to her Haitian roots and navigate this new Detroit life. However, a difficult situation finds Fabiola caught between a rock and a hard place. She has an important decision to make, and only one choice can be made. Will she make the right decision?

Relationship to Program: The relationship of the book to school objectives would be helping 9^th graders develop their literal and inferential understanding skills and comprehension skills. Through reading this book they would learn and develop the following skills: SLE #R. 9.9.2. Identify specific ways an author accomplishes purpose, including organization, narrative and persuasive techniques, style, literary forms or genre, portrayal of themes, tone and intended audiences; R.9.9.4 Recognize how works of a given period reflect author’s background, historical events, and cultural influences; and R.9.9.5. Draw inferences from a sentence or a paragraph (including conclusions, generalizations and predictions) and support them with text evidence. Concerning summary and generalization students will utilize R.9.9.8 Summarize and paraphrase structures in informational and literary texts, including relationships among concepts and details and R. 9.9.13 Identify and discuss a position using concepts gained from reading (e.g. debate, discussion, position paper, etc.). Concerning analysis and evaluation students will utilize R. 9.9.11 Recognize and define various points of view (e.g., omniscient narrator, third person limited).

http://www.fayar.net/edvision/language/09_reading_0405.pdf

Impact: This would definitely be a very insightful read for teens. Through this book, the teens would gain a better understanding of what new immigrants go through as far as their journey to a new place. It would also provide a deeper understanding of how Americans judge immigrants as well. I’m sure Fabiola isn’t the only teen immigrant ;therefore, other teen immigrants would be able to identify with the book as well as Fabiola.

Why Included: This is an amazing story of the trials and tribulations of a Haitian immigrant teenage girl. This book gives teenage immigrants a voice. In addition to learning about immigration, Haitian culture and traditions are also prevalent throughout the book. Students can only benefit from learning more about other cultures besides their own.

The Skin i’m in By: Sharon Flake

December 10, 2018/marliaholmes29/Leave a comment

THE SKIN I’M IN BY SHARON FLAKE

Bibliographic Information:

Author: Sharon Flake

Title: The Skin I’m in

Publisher: Hyperion Books.

ISBN: 978-1423103851

Summary: Maleeka has low self-esteem due to her darker skinned complexion. Kids tease her at school about her dark skin, as well as her clothes, which of course has a negative effect on how she views herself. Maleeka thinks she has it tough until she encounters the new English teacher Miss Saunders. Miss Saunders has a rare skin condition that makes her skin blotchy; however, she doesn’t let the appearance of her skin hinder her from feeling good about herself or make her feel self-conscious due to other people’s stares and nasty comments. If Miss Saunders can love herself despite her appearance than maybe Maleeka can too. The underlying theme in this story is how important it is to love and accept yourself for who you are flaws and all.

Critical Evaluation: This is a great book especially for girls! One of the most powerful underlying messages that is present in the book is: to love yourself no matter what, flaws and all. Another theme that appears to be present is that self-love and acceptance is much more important than social acceptance. The author does a good job of demonstrating how cruel kids can be teasing someone (in this case Maleeka) about the clothes they wear, how their hair looks, the color of their skin etc. Unfortunately, the plot is predictable ;however, it is hard not to root for Maleeka as she, with the help of her teacher, is learning how to love herself and stand up for what is right. There were a lot of chapters in this book, which did seem a little overboard but a great book nonetheless.

Reader’s Annotation: Will Maleeka ever be able to love the skin she is in?

Author Information: Sharon G. Flake is an African American author. She was both born and raised in Philadelphia. Before she became an author, she was working in foster care, and family and community services. After leaving that field, she joined the public relations department of the University of Pittsburgh Press. While she worked for the press she wrote “The Skin I’m In”. Her first book, “The Skin I’m In” has received many awards including: the YWCA Racial Justice Award, the Coretta Scott King award, and the John Steptoe award for New Talent.

In addition to winning those awards, this book was named a YALSA Best Book for Young Adults, a New York Public Library Top Ten Book of the Teen Age, and one of Bank Street College of Education Best Children’s Books of the year. She has written several other books such as “Money Hungry”, “Begging for Change”, “Bang!”, “The Broken Bike Boy”, and “Queen of 33^rd Street”. Flake’s novels and short stories are often centered around issues that teenagers and young people alike often go through.

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/sharon-g-flake

Genre- Fiction

Curriculum Ties– English

Book Talk Ideas: Self-acceptance

Reading Level/Interest Age: Grades 9-12

Challenge Issues & Defense Preparation:

Selection Policy: http://ccclib.org/policies/CollectionDevelopmentAccess-1999-11-16.pdf

Library Bill of Rights:

http://www.ala.org/advocacy/sites/ala.org.advocacy/files/content/intfreedom/librarybill/lbor.pdf

Book Reviews:

https://www.amazon.com/Skin-Im-Sharon-Flake/product-reviews/1423103858/ref=cm_cr_dp_d_show_all_btm?ie=UTF8&reviewerType=all_reviews

Right to Read:

Rationale:

Bibliographic Information:

Author: Sharon Flake

Title: The Skin I’m in

Publisher: Hyperion Books.

ISBN: 978-1423103851

Intended Audience: The intended audience is young adults specifically the upper grades of 9-12. This particular book would be beneficial for an English or social studies class. Primarily the book will be used for individual study in which every member of the class should read the book, and then afterwards there can be a group discussion of what transpired in the book as well as observations and thoughts concerning the book. “The Skin I’m in” can be utilized to promote self-love and acceptance as well as discuss bullying.

Summary: Maleeka has low self-esteem due to her darker skinned complexion. Kids tease her at school about her dark skin, as well as her clothes, which of course has a negative effect on how she views herself. Maleeka thinks she has it tough until she encounters the new English teacher Miss Saunders. Miss Saunders has a rare skin condition that makes her skin blotchy; however, she doesn’t let the appearance of her skin hinder her from feeling good about herself or make her feel self-conscious due to other people’s stares and nasty comments. If Miss Saunders can love herself despite her appearance than maybe Maleeka can too. The underlying theme in this story is how important it is to love and accept yourself for who you are flaws and all.

Relationship to the Program: The relationship of the book to school objectives would be helping 9^th graders develop their literal and inferential understanding skills and comprehension skills. Through reading this book they would learn SLE # R.9.9.1 Connect own background knowledge, including personal experience and perspectives shaped by age, gender, class or national origin, to determine author’s purpose. R.9.9.5. Draw inferences from a sentence or a paragraph (including conclusions, generalizations and predictions) and support them with text evidence. Concerning summary and generalization students will utilize R.9.9.8 Summarize and paraphrase structures in informational and literary texts, including relationships among concepts and details. Concerning analysis and evaluation students will utilize R. 9.9.11 Recognize and define various points of view (e.g., omniscient narrator, third person limited) and R. 9.9.13 Identify and discuss a position using concepts gained from reading (e.g. debate, discussion, position paper, etc.).

http://www.fayar.net/edvision/language/09_reading_0405.pdf

Impact: I think this book would have a great impact on both students and their attitudes and behaviors. Through this book, the teens can be encouraged to accept themselves for who they are. They will be able to see (from the outside looking in) how hurtful bullying can be, and why it isn’t good to participate in that type of behavior. Students will be able to gain more confidence to love and accept their own flaws no matter what they might be.

Why Included: I think that this is a book that every teen needs to read. Teens struggle sometimes with low self-esteem too so this book would be great especially for girls. Right now society tend to portray only certain types of girls as beautiful. Teenage girls need to know that they are beautiful despite what society may say.

Copper Sun By: Sharon M. Draper

December 10, 2018December 10, 2018/marliaholmes29/Leave a comment

COPPER SUN BY SHARON M. DRAPER

Bibliographic Information:

Author: Sharon M. Draper

Title: Copper Sun

Publisher: Atheneum Books

ISBN: 978-1416953487

Summary: Fifteen-year-old Amari had it all: a handsome fiancé, loved by her family and lives in a beautiful village. In the blink of an eye her world comes crashing down when slave traders invade her village capturing her and countless others in order to bring them to the Carolinas where they will be sold as slaves. Once finally in America she is sold to Mr. Derby who is looking to buy her as a gift for his son. Mr. Derby also purchases Polly, an indentured servant who has fourteen years left on her service. Both girls form a bond due to wanting the same thing: freedom. With the odds stacked against them can Amari and Polly escape the harsh conditions of slavery?

Critical Evaluation: This book has a two-part narration; the first part is told from Amari’s perspective and then from Polly’s perspective which gave the book a unique twist as well as insight into what the main characters were thinking and feeling not only about what was going on around them but also about each other. In many ways both Polly and Amari were very similar regardless of their different ethnicities which was one of the underlying messages that the author was trying to get across. The author handles the delicate topic of slavery very well by being written in such a way that younger readers can understand without all of the graphic details. There were some incidents that were hard to read ;however, the author was only staying true to what actually happened in real life. I liked the fact that the author included Polly as a character to demonstrate that white people were to a degree enslaved as well, not to the degree of African American people, but there were in fact some that were indentured servants.

Reader’s Annotation: Amari has a decision to make: Stay and be miserable living as a slave for the rest of her life or run away for a chance at freedom. Which one will she choose?

Author Information: Besides being a writer, Sharon M. Draper is also a teacher. In fact she has received several awards for her outstanding abilities as a teacher including: Ohio’s Outstanding High School Language Arts Educator, Ohio Teacher of the Year, and the National Teacher of the Year. Among her many many achievements, she has been honored at the white house for a total of six times. She even represented the United States in Moscow at Moscow’s Book Festival.

Also she is a five time winner of the Coretta Scott King Literary Awards. Another title that she wears is a New York Times bestselling author. Three years ago in 2015, Sharon received the Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime literary achievement. “Copper Sun” was chosen by both the US State Department and International Reading Association to participate in the international reading project called Reading Across Continents.

http://sharondraper.com/biography.asp

Genre: Historical Fiction

Curriculum Ties: History

Book Talk Ideas: Slavery

Reading Level/ Interest Age: Grades 9-12.

Challenge Issues & Defense Preparation:

Selection Policy: http://ccclib.org/policies/CollectionDevelopmentAccess-1999-11-16.pdf

Library Bill of Rights: http://www.ala.org/advocacy/sites/ala.org.advocacy/files/content/intfreedom/librarybill/lbor.pdf

Book Reviews: https://www.amazon.com/Copper-Sun-Sharon-M-Draper/product-reviews/1416953485/ref=cm_cr_dp_d_show_all_btm?ie=UTF8&reviewerType=all_reviews

Right to Read: http://www2.ncte.org/statement/righttoreadguideline/

Rationale:

Bibliographic Information:

Author: Sharon M. Draper

Title: Copper Sun

Publisher: Atheneum Books

ISBN: 978-1416953487

Intended Audience: The intended audience is young adults specifically the upper grades of 9-12. This particular book would be beneficial for an English or social studies class. Primarily the book will be used for individual study in which every member of the class should read the book, and then afterwards there can be a group discussion of what transpired in the book as well as observations and thoughts concerning the book. “Copper Sun” can be utilized to open up discussions concerning the topic of slavery and indentured servitude.

Summary: Fifteen year old Amari had it all: a handsome fiancé, loved by her family and lives in a beautiful village. In the blink of an eye her world comes crashing down when slave traders invade her village capturing her and countless others in order to bring them to the Carolinas where they will be sold as slaves. Once finally in America she is sold to Mr. Derby who is looking to buy her as a gift for his son. Mr. Derby also purchases Polly, an indentured servant who has fourteen years left on her service. Both girls form a bond due to wanting the same thing: freedom. With the odds stacked against them can Amari and Polly escape the harsh conditions of slavery?

Relationship to the Program: The relationship of the book to school objectives would be helping 9^th graders develop their literal and inferential understanding skills and comprehension skills. Through reading this book they would learn and develop the following skills: SLE #R. 9.9.2. Identify specific ways an author accomplishes purpose, including organization, narrative and persuasive techniques, style, literary forms or genre, portrayal of themes, tone and intended audiences; R.9.9.4 Recognize how works of a given period reflect author’s background, historical events, and cultural influences; and R.9.9.5 Draw inferences from a sentence or a paragraph (including conclusions, generalizations and predictions) and support them with text evidence. Concerning summary and generalization students will utilize R.9.9.8 Summarize and paraphrase structures in informational and literary texts, including relationships among concepts and details and R. 9.9.13 Identify and discuss a position using concepts gained from reading (e.g. debate, discussion, position paper, etc.). Concerning analysis and evaluation students will utilize R. 9.9.11 Recognize and define various points of view (e.g., omniscient narrator, third person limited).

Impact: This book would definitely have a positive impact on the students. It would certainly enlighten them on the harsh realities of slavery. Also it would introduce another form of slavery which is indentured servitude which isn’t discussed heavily discussed in history books. By reading this book, students may be inspired to research the time period as well as slavery and indentured servitude even more.

Why Included: This book is an amazing work of historical fiction. It captures the harsh realities of slavery, yet it is written in such a way that it makes it easy for younger readers to understand. While history books covering slavery often have small passages, this book offers at up close detailed account of Amari and her journey to America and all that she went through. By reading through the eyes of other teens, the teens may be able to understand the topic as well as the seriousness of the various situations.

Weetzie Bat By: Francesca Lia Block

December 10, 2018/marliaholmes29/Leave a comment

WEETZIE BAT BY: FRANCESCA LIA BLOCK

Bibliographic Information:

Author: Francesca Lia Block

Title: Weetzie Bat

Publisher: Harper Collins

ISBN: 978-0060736255

Summary: Weetzie Bat is the story of a teenage girl living in LA during the hipster scene of the 1980s. She and her best Friend Dirk enjoy their favorite hobby of hanging out and looking for “ducks”. When Dirk’s grandmother Fifi gives Weetzie a shiny “thing” it turns out to be a lamp with a genie inside that can grant three wishes. While the wishes do indeed come true, there were a few things that Weetzie didn’t want to happen in order to make these wishes come true. Join Weetzie, Dirk, Duck, and My Secret Agent Lover Man as they make their way through life their way and on their terms.

Critical Evaluation: To be honest I really didn’t like Weetzie Bat at all if anything it just seemed like a really weird book. Weetzie, with her bleached blonde flattop, is weird to me with her name, her life is weird: school is mentioned briefly in relation to her by saying Dirk saw her in art class; however, it seems like all she does is just hang out, find people to sleep with her best friend Dirk, and hangout at Grandma Fifi’s house. Oh and of course going where she and Dirk want to go which feels like seventy percent of the book is focused on their little adventures of doing nothing. It is almost as if the setting, and their activities are characters also in the book due to their large descriptions. If she was in school, then she must be a dropout because real life isn’t like that. There is so much focus on Weetzie and Dirk’s appearance as well as where they hang out and what they do when they hangout which is really essentially nothing. It was weird that she went home with some weird rando (Buzz) that she met at a gig at Cathay de Grande, it was even weirder that they barely had a real conversation before she went home with him. I know she was drunk when she met him but still it is super weird. The genie and granting the wishes thing was dumb and played out, very unoriginal. Her thought process that if My Secret Agent Lover Man didn’t want to have a baby, then she could just have a baby with Dirk and Duck was absolutely crazy. There is so much focus on them having a good time that the characters lack any depth. Also, no one’s grandmother is going to leave her house to her grandson AND his best friend no matter how much the best friend comes over or is liked by the grandmother. Everything was just way too ridiculous to even really be fantasy.

Reader’s Annotation: Grandma Fifi gave Weetzie a lamp with a genie inside that can grant her three wishes. Will these three wishes bring her, her happily ever after?

Author Information: Francesca Lia Block is a well-known author. Some of her books are written as a reflection of her own life, for example “The Thorn Necklace” discuses Francesca’s relationship to her parents as well as her divorce from the father of her children. Weetzie is actually a character that she created when she was sixteen years old. People are so tied to the character of Weetzie, that she has actually walked into rooms where people say: “Weetzie is here!”

Overall Francesca has written over twenty five books under the different genres of short stories, poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. Some of the awards that she has won include: the ALA Rainbow Award; the 2005 Margaret A. Edwards Lifetime Award, the Spectrum award, and the Phoenix award. In 2014, she was named the Writer in Residence at Pasadena City College. Some of the various languages that her work has been translated in includes: Danish, Finnish, Portuguese, German Japanese, Swedish, French, Italian, and Norwegian. http://www.francescaliablock.com/about

https://lithub.com/francesca-lia-block-is-a-lot-more-than-weetzie-bat/

Genre- Fiction

Curriculum Ties: English

Book Talking ideas: Living as a teenager in the 1980s

Reading Level/Interest Age: Grades 9-12

Challenge Issues and Defense Preparation:

Challenge Issues: Sex; Mature Content: Drug Abuse; Witchcraft;

Selection Policy: http://ccclib.org/policies/CollectionDevelopmentAccess-1999-11-16.pdf

Library Bill of Rights: http://www.ala.org/advocacy/sites/ala.org.advocacy/files/content/intfreedom/librarybill/lbor.pdf

Book Reviews: https://www.amazon.com/Weetzie-Bat-Francesca-Lia-Block/product-reviews/0060736259/ref=cm_cr_dp_d_show_all_btm?ie=UTF8&reviewerType=all_reviews

Right to Read: http://www2.ncte.org/statement/righttoreadguideline/

Rationale:

Bibliographic Information:

Author: Francesca Lia Block

Title: Weetzie Bat

Publisher: Harper Collins

ISBN: 978-0060736255

Intended Audience: The intended audience is young adults specifically the upper grades of 9-12. This particular book would be beneficial for an English or social studies class. Primarily the book will be used for individual study in which every member of the class should read the book, and then afterwards there can be a group discussion of what transpired in the book as well as observations and thoughts concerning the book. “Weetzie Bat” can be utilized to introduce the genre of fantasy.

Summary: Weetzie Bat is the story of a teenage girl living in LA during the hipster scene of the 1980s. She and her best Friend Dirk enjoy their favorite hobby of hanging out and looking for “ducks”. When Dirk’s grandmother Fifi gives Weetzie a shiny “thing” it turns out to be a lamp with a genie inside that can grant three wishes. While the wishes do indeed come true, there were a few things that Weetzie didn’t want to happen in order to make these wishes come true. Join Weetzie, Dirk, Duck, and My Secret Agent Lover Man as they make their way through life their way and on their terms.

Relationship to the Program: The relationship of the book to school objectives would be helping 9^th graders develop their literal and inferential understanding skills and comprehension skills. Through reading this book they would learn and develop the following skills: SLE #R. 9.9.2. Identify specific ways an author accomplishes purpose, including organization, narrative and persuasive techniques, style, literary forms or genre, portrayal of themes, tone and intended audiences; R.9.9.4 Recognize how works of a given period reflect author’s background, historical events, and cultural influences; and R.9.9.5 Draw inferences from a sentence or a paragraph (including conclusions, generalizations and predictions) and support them with text evidence. Concerning summary and generalization students will utilize R.9.9.8 Summarize and paraphrase structures in informational and literary texts, including relationships among concepts and details and R. 9.9.13 Identify and discuss a position using concepts gained from reading (e.g. debate, discussion, position paper, etc.). Concerning analysis and evaluation students will utilize R. 9.9.11 Recognize and define various points of view (e.g., omniscient narrator, third person limited).

http://www.fayar.net/edvision/language/09_reading_0405.pdf

Impact: Honestly, I wouldn’t recommend this book to be read by teenagers. I think it would more so confuse them if anything. A lot of controversial and difficult issues are mildly touched on such as sex, AIDS, young parenthood, prescription abuse etc.; however, the true consequences behind engaging in these behaviors or having a disease are glossed over and covered up. The teens might try to copy Weetzie Bat’s actions and find themselves in a world of trouble.

Why included: This was one of the books for our required reading. While I don’t like it, if anything Weetzie Bat is a perfect example of what not to do. Her whole life seems to be some very very unrealistic fantasy. It kind of half addresses some important issues concerning teens so it may not be the best book to give a teen to read.

Prisoner B-3087 By: Alan Gratz

December 10, 2018/marliaholmes29/Leave a comment

PRISONER B-3087 BY ALAN GRATZ

Bibliographic Information:

Author: Alan Gratz

Title: Prisoner B-3087

Publisher: Scholastic Press.

ISBN: 978-0545459013

Summary: Yanek, a young Jewish boy living in 1930s Poland, his world gets turned completely upside down when the Nazis come in to take over his neighborhood. It started off small with the Nazis enforcing curfews for the Jews, forcing other Jews to live in their flat, and suddenly the antics of the Nazis got continuously worse with random raids and random people disappearing due to them being taken right off the street even his parents. Eventually this began to affect Yanek and his family with his parents being grabbed by the Nazis while they were coming back to buy bread. He himself was finally snatched one day while he was at work. Luckily he runs into his Uncle Moshe at one of the camps; however, he is killed one day. As a result Yanek is left to fend for himself as he goes from one concentration camp to the next, ten in total.

Critical Evaluation: The Author does a great job of capturing what it was really like for a child to live during WWII as well as what it was like to be in a concentration camp. A lot of critical details such as Yanek’s Uncle Moshe getting killed really without a logical explanation, groups of Jews being shot for fun, what would happen if the Nazis thought you were useless, and how the goal of everyday was simply to survive and keep moving, made the story very real. Some parts of the book seem dark and scary, but that was how life was back then during that time. The story is told in a way that it somewhat detached from what is going on concerning Yanek, but that gave readers a chance to really feel, see, and hear Yanek’s point of view on life. This is the first book that I have read concerning a first-hand account of an incident that occurred during the Holocaust that wasn’t about Anne Frank. Having told the story from a Jewish boy’s perspective, it sheds insight on his transformation from boy to a man, and how he had to make quick decisions for survival in order to simply get through the day such as: not saying anything, making sure to keep moving, etc.

Reader’s Annotation: Yanek has essentially lost everything: his home, his family, and is holding on by a thread for his will to live. Will he be able to survive the horrors of the concentration camps?

Author information: Many of Alan Gratz’s books have the topic of history in them. In his interview Gratz says that: “I love telling stories that have a basis in historical past”. He enjoyed taking looking for how to make a story out of a person’s life. He says that most people’s lives don’t make a perfect story. We don’t have natural clean beginnings, middles, and ends. He loves telling real stories.

He mentions how kids come back and tell him that they enjoyed his books “Prisoner”, “Samurai Short Stop” saying that they never would have been interested until I read your book. Also, the same kids who wrote letters to Gratz also mentioned that they went on to research more about the specific time period as well.

Genre: Historical Fiction

Curriculum Ties: Political Science

Book Talk Ideas: The Holocaust; Concentration Camps.

Reading Level/ Interest Age: Grades 9-12

Challenge Issues and Defense Preparation:

Selection Policy: http://ccclib.org/policies/CollectionDevelopmentAccess-1999-11-16.pdf

Library Bill of Rights: http://www.ala.org/advocacy/sites/ala.org.advocacy/files/content/intfreedom/librarybill/lbor.pdf

Book Reviews: https://www.amazon.com/Prisoner-B-3087-Ruth-Gruener/product-reviews/054545901X/ref=cm_cr_dp_d_show_all_btm?ie=UTF8&reviewerType=all_reviews

Right to Read:

http://www2.ncte.org/statement/righttoreadguideline/

Rationale:

Bibliographic Information: Author: Alan Gratz

Title: Prisoner B-3087

Publisher: Scholastic Press

ISBN: 978-0545459013

Intended Audience: The intended audience is young adults specifically the upper grades of 9-12. This particular book would be beneficial for an English or social studies class. Primarily the book will be used for individual study in which every member of the class should read the book, and then afterwards there can be a group discussion of what transpired in the book as well as observations and thoughts concerning the book. “Prisoner B-3087” can be utilized to start discussions concerning the Holocaust, survivors of the Holocaust, and WWII.

Summary: Yanek, a young Jewish boy living in 1930s Poland, his world gets turned completely upside down when the Nazis come in to take over his neighborhood. It started off small with the Nazis enforcing curfews for the Jews, forcing other Jews to live in their flat, and suddenly the antics of the Nazis got continuously worse with random raids and random people disappearing due to them being taken right off the street even his parents. Eventually this began to affect Yanek and his family with his parents being grabbed by the Nazis while they were coming back to buy bread. He himself was finally snatched one day while he was at work. Luckily he runs into his Uncle Moshe at one of the camps; however, he is killed one day. As a result Yanek is left to fend for himself as he goes from one concentration camp to the next, ten in total.

http://www.fayar.net/edvision/language/09_reading_0405.pdf

Impact: Students will be able to gain insight concerning what it was really like living as a Jewish boy during WWII. A lot of times, the main person that is discussed during the Holocaust is Anne Frank. This perspective reflects what life was like through a young boy’s eyes as he struggles to simply try to stay alive every day. Realistic details concerning this time period are shared such as losing family members, watching other people be killed at random, being worked almost to death, and what it was like for the survivors to have to march in the snow. This book will open up their perspectives concerning Jews living during WWII, and all that they truly endured.

Why Included: This book is amazing, for me it was like an action thriller movie, only in a book. It gives teens a real life looks at the Holocaust through the eyes of a young boy as he struggles to balance his newfound manhood, trying to stay alive every day, and trying not to lose hope as well as his sanity. The details in this book are raw and uncut. I like that aspect because then the readers can be exposed to the truth instead of modified versions of what really happened back then.

Marlia's Blog

Blood Water Paint By: Joy McCullough

Allegedly By Tiffany D. Jackson

The Outsiders By: S. E. Hinton

I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter By: Erika Sanchez

Freakboy By:Kristin Elizabeth Clark

American Street By: Ibi Zoboi

The Skin i’m in By: Sharon Flake

Copper Sun By: Sharon M. Draper

Weetzie Bat By: Francesca Lia Block

Prisoner B-3087 By: Alan Gratz