EC Multicultural texts for young adults: Annotated Bibliography

Full length fiction text

Multicultural focus: Indian-American protagonist

Born Confused by Tanuja Desai Hidier, Scholastic Trade Books, 2003, interest grades 6-12. ISBN: 9780439510110

From Publishers Weekly

In this enlightening first novel, Hidier offers readers an engrossing, personal account of the Indian-American experience through the eyes of an insightful narrator. Dimple Lala, a New Jersey teen interested in photography, has been confused about her identity since she entered the world the "wrong way," causing her mother "twelve treacherous hours of painful labor." Her fascination with photography reveals Dimple's keen sense of perception as well as her role as an observer rather than a participant. "Not quite Indian, and not quite American," Dimple unsuccessfully tries to blend in, riding on the coattails of her blue-eyed, blonde best friend, Gwyn. The author nimbly describes the shared outsider status that drew together the two, "the rich little girl who lived like an orphan and the brown little girl who existed as if she were still umbilically attached to her parents." During Dimple's 17th year, however, the tables suddenly turn when Dimple's parents introduce her to Karsh Kapoor, the son of their close friends from India. Through their meeting, the author reveals Dimple's mothers own secret creative aspirations (to become a dancer in her youth) as well as another first-generation teen's attempt to straddle both cultures. When Gwyn becomes infatuated with Karsh, Dimple helps Gwyn become a suitable girlfriend for him, even as she gradually comes to admire Karsh herself. In the process, the heroine embarks on a journey of self-discovery. On one level, the book explores the growing pains, rebellious phases, peer pressures and first love experienced universally by teens. On a deeper level, it celebrates a harmonious blending of cultures as it traces one adolescent's bumpy trek towards self-actualization. If a few subplots take the main action on a slight detour (e.g., Gwyn's relationship with her high school-cum-college boyfriend, etc.), the sparkling prose will carry readers along. The author seamlessly integrates descriptions of Indian food, dress and customs, often spiced with Dimple's sarcastic commentary. But even as Dimple distances herself from her family's traditions, her sense of respect and genuine affection for her accomplished parents (both doctors) are never far from the surface. The author poetically captures the essence of her characters and the richness of seemingly insignificant moments. Absorbing and intoxicating, this book is sure to leave a lasting impression.

Full length fiction novel

Multicultural focus: Korean-American protagonist/special needs

Wait for me by An Na

From Booklist

Gr. 8-11. The author of the Printz Award Book A Step from Heaven(2001) tells another contemporary Korean American story of leaving home. This time, though, love is as powerful as the intense family drama. The focus is on high-school-senior Mina, trapped in the web of lies invented to satisfy her overbearing mom, Uhmma, who expects Mina to attend Harvard and escape the drudgery of their small-town dry-cleaning store. Mina's brilliant friend, Jonathan Kim, helps her cheat and steal. She uses him, but he thinks he loves her--and he eventually rapes her. Then Mexican immigrant Ysrael, a gifted musician on his way to San Francisco, comes to work in the store, and he and Mina fall passionately in love. Will she go with him and make a new life free of lies? Ysrael is too perfect, just as Uhmma is demonized, but both are shown from Mina's viewpoint, and it is her struggle with her secrets that is spellbinding. Alternating with Mina's first-person narrative are short vignettes from the perspective of Mina's deaf younger sister, who Mina protects. The conflicts of love, loyalty, and betrayal are the heart of the story--and they eventually show Mina her way. Hazel Rochman

Full length fiction novel
Multicultural focus: latino protagonist
Accidental Love by Gary Soto, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2008, 192pp, Young Adult Fiction (intrest level: grades 8-12), ISBN: 9780152061135
 From School Library Journal

 A cell-phone mix-up leads to first love in this warmhearted, humorous novel. Marisa Rodriguez, 14, is an indifferent student at her run-down school, chubby from an excess of junk food, and too quick to express her anger with her fists. Still, she dreams of a better life. When she meets geeky Rene, love blossoms despite his highwater pants, white socks, and honking laugh. She is inspired to switch to a better high school, where she improves her grades, loses weight, and even gets a part in the school play. Obstacles present themselves, of course; Marisa's former classmates are threatened by her attempts to better herself, and Rene's domineering mother opposes their relationship. Soto's portrayal of Marisa's family, friends, and neighborhood–in a novel peppered with Spanish words and teen slang–is set in a world where poverty, drugs, and early pregnancy are acknowledged but don't dominate the story. Marisa is the most sympathetic character, while others are less fully developed. Occasionally stilted dialogue and clunky writing (She breathed in and out like a prizefighter) will distract some readers. However, it's hard not to like spunky Marisa and appreciate the fresh point of view she brings to what otherwise might be a typical teen romance.–Miranda Doyle, San Francisco Public Library

Full length short story collection
Multicultural focus: Urban African Americans
What they found: love on 145^th street by Walter Dean Myers, Wendy Lamb Books, 2007, 243pp, Young Adult Fiction, ISBN: 0385321384

From Booklist

*Starred Review* A neighborhood beauty salon is the setting for lots of the fast, funny talk in these stirring contemporary stories, which nonetheless give a grim view of being "poor and black," whether on the streets of Harlem, in prison, or on the war front in Afghanistan. Rooted in the harsh realism of widespread unemployment, drug use, and trouble ("more brothers going to jail than going to college"), the teens' tender connections are heartbreaking. A single teenage mother loves her baby, and so does the young dad, who wishes he could support them. Some teens are college-bound, but a boy with a high-school diploma can't find work: will he get a gun? Tough gangster Burn is gentle with handicapped kids, but he cannot connect with the girl he loves. In "Mama," a kid who cares for her mom, a recovering addict, and tries to get her brother to preschool turns out to be only eight years old. There are lighter moments, too; in "Poets and Plumbers," Noee feels uncomfortable in Kyle's apartment until she shows him how to unplug his kitchen drain. Each story stands alone, but some are connected, and readers familiar with Myers' 145th Street (2000) will welcome back some characters. Hope lies in what the book title says, finding love and community. Rochman, Hazel

Full length short story collection

Multicultural focus: Native Americans

War Dances by Sherman Alexie,  Grove Press, 2010, 208pp, Young Adult fiction, ISBN: 0802144896

From Publishers Weekly

From National Book Award–winner Alexie comes a new collection of stories, poems, question and answer sequences, and hybrids of all three and beyond. In a penetrating voice that mixes humor with anger, Alexie pointedly asks, If it is true that children pay for the sins of their fathers, then is it also true that fathers pay for the sins of their children? Many of the stories revolve around the complexities of fatherhood; in the title story, the Native American narrator recalls his alcoholic father's death as he confronts his own mortality, and The Ballad of Paul Nonetheless is the tale of an eccentric vintage clothing salesman whose sexual attraction to his wife fades following the birth of their children. The collection also contains stirring defenses of artistic integrity; Fearful Symmetry is an incisive account of working as a young screenwriter for a Hollywood studio, and the poem Ode to Mix Tapes endorses hard work as the key ingredient behind any creation. Alexie unfurls highly expressive language, and while at times his jokes bomb and the characters' anger can feel forced, overall this is a spiritedly provocative array of tragic comedies.

Full-length fiction

Multicultural focus: India/Asia

Sold by Patricia Mccormick, Hyperion Book, 2008, 263pp, Realistic/Young Adult Fiction, ISBN 9780786851720

From School Library Journal

Grade 9 Up – As this heartbreaking story opens, 13-year-old Lakshmi lives an ordinary life in Nepal, going to school and thinking of the boy she is to marry. Then her gambling-addicted stepfather sells her into prostitution in India. Refusing to be with men, she is beaten and starved until she gives in. Written in free verse, the girls first-person narration is horrifying and difficult to read. In between, men come./They crush my bones with their weight./They split me open./Then they disappear. I hurt./I am torn and bleeding where the men have been. The spare, unadorned text matches the barrenness of Lakshmis new life. She is told that if she works off her familys debt, she can leave, but she soon discovers that this is virtually impossible. When a boy who runs errands for the girls and their clients begins to teach her to read, she feels a bit more alive, remembering what it feels like to be the number one girl in class again. When an American comes to the brothel to rescue girls, Lakshmi finally gets a sense of hope. An authors note confirms what readers fear: thousands of girls, like Lakshmi in this story, are sold into prostitution each year. Part of McCormicks research for this novel involved interviewing women in Nepal and India, and her depth of detail makes the characters believable and their misery palpable.

Full length biography

Multicultural focus: bi-racial marriages, children and families

The Color Of Water: a black man’s tribute to his white mother by James McBride, Riverhead Books, 2006, 256pp, Memoir, ISBN 9781573220224

From Library Journal

Like Gregory Williams's Life on the Color Line (LJ 2/1/95), these two memoirs describe growing up interracial from the perspective of the sons of African American fathers and white mothers. McBride, an accomplished journalist and musician, has viewed the yawning chasm of racial division from both sides and, despite carving out a successful life, has been scarred. Unlike Williams and Minerbrook, though, he focuses on a single, singular parent, a rabbi's daughter who later helped her husband establish an all-black Baptist church in her home and saw 12 children through college. His mother's own story, juxtaposed with McBride's, helps make this book a standout. Recommended for all collections. Minerbrook's father came from Chicago's African American high society, his mother from rural Missouri. He paints a detailed portrait of their family life, of relationships complicated by the fact that "human emotions, when mixed with racial issues, are prone to shatter like glass." Nearing middle age, he seeks out the white side of his family, who have rejected his mother and her offspring, and achieves a well-deserved catharsis. Still, his accounts of the almost unrelenting prejudice of white against black, black against white, light-skinned black against dark-skinned black, and so on are deeply disturbing. One is left to borrow the words of another recent commentator and say that this cancer does indeed make me want to holler.

What they Found: Love on 145th Street - Walter Dean Myers

Myers, W. D. (2007). What they found: love on 145th street. New York: Wendy Lamb Books.

http://www.amazon.com/What-They-Found-145th-Street/dp/0375845453/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1304289118&sr=8-1

One of several short story collections by award winning author Walter Dean Myer's, What they found: love on 145th street describes the life, love, struggles and connections of people who share a similar address in Harlem, New York. 
In the fifteen individual stories that can stand alone, we meet some characters who reappear in one another's lives and some appear once, serve their purpose and we never hear of them again. Several urban themes are covered throughout the stories: unwed mothers, public assistance, guns, prison, drugs, gangs, teenage pregnancy, family and poverty.  For young readers, there are threads of how to relate to both boys and girls, how to define a "date," and how to react when you know a "boy just wants to get in your pants."
My favorite excerpt from the collection is the story entitled "the fashion show, grand opening, and bar-b-que memorial service," during which we meet a loving father with terminal cancer, his wife and their two daughters.  The family is getting ready to purchase/open a beauty parlor when the father's health takes a turn for the absolute worse.  He helps them plan the opening as a tribute to him, as a party to celebrate his life and an opportunity to garner some marketing and publicity for the shop.  He asks them to do this for him so that he knows that they will be financially secure after he is gone.  It is a heart felt, purposeful and funny way to appeal to multiple emotions and Myers crafts the story wonderfully.
There are stories about children with drug addicted mothers and absentee fathers.  There is a story about a young, single father who doesn't know how to provide when he cant get a job as a high school drop-out.  There are young women struggling to go to City College, to get AA degrees and make a life for themselves and trying to avoid worthless, needy, "good for nuthin" men.

There are so many wonderful characters, themes, and messages in this book.  Even as short stories, I found myself making a connection to them and wanting to read more about them.

I would recommend this book for ages 14-17.  Whereas a Lexile rating of 830L would dictate between 5^th and 6^th grade and I would wait to high school due to content and so readers can make meaningful connections with the characters

Walter Dean Myers has podcasts available on iTunes U via the Second Chance Initiative
(https://deimos.apple.com/WebObjects/Core.woa/BrowsePrivately/weta.com.1908335393)
where you can listen to his thoughts on:

• pre-writing
• Where the ideas come from
• the writing process
• magic Realism
• Writing and Race

The Second Chance Initiative has lots more resources on http://www.adlit.org/.  You can browse through the complete list at: http://www.adlit.org/second_chances#podcasts

On the Harper Collins website (http://www.harperteen.com/books/Dope-Sick-Walter-Dean-Myers/?isbn=9780061214776) teachers can find reading guides for:

• Lockdown
• Dope Sick
• Game
• Autobiography of My Dead Brother
• Monster

If you enjoy Walter Dean Myers like I have (Glory Field is one of my top 5 favorite books), then you could also look into The Skin I'm In by Sharon Flake, The Color of Water by James McBride, and almost anything by Maya Angelou.

13 R3Asons Why by Jay Asher

http://www.amazon.com/Thirteen-Reasons-Why-Jay-Asher/dp/1595141715/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1302622139&sr=8-1

Th1rteen R3asons Why - Jay Asher

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Thirteen-Reasons-Why/Jay-Asher/e/9781595141712/?itm=1&USRI=jay+asher

Asher, J. (2007). Th1rteen R3asons Why. USA: Razorbill/Penguin.

In Jay Asher's first young adult work, Th1rteen R3asons Why, Asher delivers a relevant, poignant YA novel that addresses the concepts of bullying, self-image, peer-pressure and first-and-foremost teenage SUICIDE.

According to Lexile.com, the book comes in at a readability of 550L, or ages 12 and up, but due to the suicide component and related content/context such as underage drinking, rape, sex, etc. I would definitely reserve it for 14 year olds, or high school freshmen and above.  For that age-group I think it would be a wonderfully appropriate, interesting piece as it adbecause it addresses bullying, the emotional and psychological development of teenagers, and feeling like anyone "gets" you or cares-- something every teenager can relate to.

Jay has a wonderful website - he monitors his his blog at http://www.jayasher.blogspot.com/ in order to keep in touch with readers.
HANNAH HAS A BLOG OF HER OWN TOO! http://hannahsreasons.blogspot.com/ This is a really amazing unique idea.  How many main characters, especially dead ones have their own blog to keep in touch with their loyal readers!?!?!  Imagine if Katniss from Hunger Games or Bella from Twilight had her own blog to share their innermost thoughts with their fans!

The format of this story is unique as well, inspired by the idea of tape-guided museum tours and a friend of Asher's who attempted suicide when they were young.  Before Hannah's suicide, she recorded a series of connected cassette tapes - 1 through 13, the significance of "th1rteen r3asons."  The box of tapes are mailed, from one person to another as they are connected by the story - sort of like in order of appearance.  In these tapes, Hannah reveals her inner-most thoughts, the things that have affected her and ultimately drove her to the decision to end her life.  She also reveals how each person contributed to her decision - starting rumors about her, raping her, a car accident that led to the a deadly car accident, etc.

The story is told through Hannah's tapes and "narrated"  through the thoughts/actions/dialogue/reactions of Clay, the latest to receive Hannah's tapes.  Unlike anyone else, Clay didnt have a specifically negative impact on Hannah - he cared, and she knew it, but he was too shy and uncertain to speak his mind and to intervene in her downward spiral.  When he did try to get close she pushed him away and unfortunately he failed to persist in his persuit of Hannah.  His tearful, heart-broken reaction is full of what-ifs, regret, and woulda/coulda/should-as.  Clay is a sympathetic character; Asher's readers are not meant to dislike him, in fact Hannah reveals that she has never ever found anything deficient in Clay.  He "doesnt belong" in this.

According to the book's website, Universal Pictures has purchased the rights to this book and has recently cast Selena Gomez in the lead role.  Even if it takes a main stream movie to do it, I think this subject material is that important that we need to make sure teens get the message by whatever means necessary.
Additional YA novels that would be appropriate for this subject matter are:

If I Stay by Gayle Forman
Hate List by Jennifer Brown
Before I Die by Jenny Downham
Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

I would love to connect this in a humanities, freshman english or freshman seminar course.  I think that students would find it relevant and by asking them to open up and to share their feelings on the subject matter, I think a teacher could also address issues like bullying, self-esteem, confidence, communication, etc.
"Change the voice in your head, make them like you instead" -- that's a lyric from "Pretty Pretty Please," a song by Pink.  Some of the lyrics are appropriate, some I would have LOVED for Hannah to have heard, some I think should/could have come from Clay...give it a listen, it's on the radio but I think it fits; it definitely reminded me of the book when I heard it after I had read the book - http://youtu.be/B7x85fv6BaY

"Same kind of different as me" due 4/5

Same kind of different as me
By Ron Hall & Denver Moore

Denver Moore, R. H. (2008). Same kind of different as me. Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

http://www.amazon.com/Same-Kind-Different-Modern-Day-International/dp/084991910X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1301330445&sr=1-1

How much do you think you could learn from a homeless black man?  What about a 1960 Louisiana sharecropper, who never owned “nothin,” doesn’t have a bank account and didn’t contemplate getting a driver’s license until well into his `50s? 
What about a millionaire art dealer, earning his keep supplying the rich with new and beautiful ways to display their affluence?  What about a millionaire’s well-to-do, well-kept, Land Cruiser driving, “supportive, stay at home wife?”
How do blacks and whites differ, how do they judge, how do they speak, how do they value life, love, friends?  Does class know color or is that something people do inorder to make sense out of an ever chaotic world?

Do you believe in God?  Do you think he speaks to people and through people?  Do you think your life is pre-ordained or that you choose your own course?

Is a man measured by what he does or what he gives?

In this amazing true-story, the reader is taken on a journey through the memoirs of two men, written in a series of flashbacks and personal accounts of the colliding worlds of two unlikely best-friends, Denver Moore and Ron Hall.

Denver, the son of black sharecroppers, who never went to school, never learned to read and write, who picked cotton well into his `30--, into the 1960’s, “well after Lincoln had freed the slaves,” who lived in a shotgun shack with no running water and no electricity even after America had put a man on the moon.

After growing tired of working for no one besides "the Man" and never owning anything of his own, Denver illegally hops a train and heads to Texas where he lives homelessly in several cities before seeking refuge at the Union Street Mission in Fort Worth, Texas.  There, he meets a philanthropic couple seeking to get closer to God by touching the lives of these unfortunate “dregs” of society.  Social-page, self-made millionaire art dealer, Ron Hall was previously content to attend fancy fundraisers, stroke a check or two a year and most certainly avoid any of the diseases and parasites crawling all over “those people” and his wife, Deborah, a southern debutant trying to make a difference, to get closer to God, to make a difference in this ugly world, and to rekindle an 11-year marriage just scarred by her husband's infidelity seeks out the mission after God speaks to her through a vision.

"She's the onlyest person that ever loved me enough not to give up on me, and I praise God that today I can sit here in your home a changed man -- a free man." -Denver's reflection on his relationship with Deborah Hall

Their "mission" at the mission, the friendship they form, and their lives together is the backdrop for this insightful and thoughtfully composed memoir.

Needless to say, I really enjoyed this book.  It makes you question your thoughts, commonly held beliefs, and unspoken prejudices.  I believe it would be well received by 11th or 12th grade students, the language isnt hard to follow, the voice alternating between Denver and Ron is the most confusing component.  This book could also guide some purposeful lessons on race, class and other social stereotypes.

Ron Hall has his own page on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Ron-Hall/e/B001JS4GHA/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0

The memoir also contains pictures, a reader's guide and an additional Q&A from Denver.

He has also published a follow-up book, entitled "What Different Do It Make?"
http://www.amazon.com/What-Difference-Do-Make-Stories/dp/0849946190/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpi_2

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls has a lot of the same amazing qualities.  I coincidentally read this book right after same kind and really loved them both.

This Child Will Be Great: Memoir of a Remarkable Life by Africa's First Woman President, by Ellen Johnson Sirleaf may offer the reader an similarly uplifting piece.
http://www.amazon.com/This-Child-Will-Great-Remarkable/dp/0061353485/ref=pd_sim_b_4

Adoration of Jenna Fox, due 4/26

Pieces

A bit for someone here.

A bit there.

And sometimes they don’t add up to anything whole.

But you are so busy dancing.

Delivering.

You don’t have time to notice.

Or are afraid to notice.

And then one day you have to look.

And it’s  true.

All of your pieces fill up other people’s holes.

But they don’t fill

Your own.

-Mary Pearson, The Adoration of Jenna Fox

Pearson, M. (2008). The Adoration of Jenna Fox. New York: Henry Holt & Company.

Where do you end and someone else begins?  Whether it is our parents, children, extended family, friends, church or society as a whole, don’t we all seek out acceptance and a sense of belonging and unconditional love?  Do we have a soul?

In Mary Pearson’s fourth YA novel, The Adoration of Jenna Fox, she poses the question “how far would you go to save someone you love?”  Would you break the law, risk persecution, cheat death?  Would you…if you could?

This is an amazingly written books, giving insight into the world of a seventeen year old girl, awakening from a 18-month coma to discover that she is a medical miracle -a genetically engineered human-medical hybrid.  This novel, obviously written sometime in the future, poses questions about genetic engineering and the checks-and-balances of “modern” medicine underneath a story of a family struggling with loss and love.

I enjoyed Pearson’s prose, Jenna’s inner dialogue, the book’s method of character development and the relationship that Pearson describes between Jenna, her parents and Lily, Jenna’s sentimental but internally conflicted grandmother.  In terms of YA reader’s, I believe they could easily relate to Jenna’s inner conflict, ideas of “who” she really is, her desire to have friends, and her intrigue with Ethan, a new boy in her new life.  After reading this novel, I plan to read Pearson’s other YA works: David v. God, Scribbler of Dreams, and A Room on Lorelei Street.  You can read more about Pearson’s additional work at www.marypearson.com.

The question that presents itself throughout the book- the reason our protagonist, Jenna Fox, even exists is “just because medicine can do something, should they.”  Should they play God? Have they already crossed that line?  Do doctor’s need government intervention to keep their work in check?  Who determines when medicine has gone too far?  Who defines things like life, human, intervention, etc.?  Jenna would not have survived a horrific car crash without her father’s medical and technological savvy, limitless resources, and people putting their lives and careers on the line to save her by pushing the limits of governmentally-approved medicine.

Pearson also offers an interesting social commentary – the development of antibiotic resistant super epidemics that claim 20 million people across the globe.  The insinuation is that due to over prescribing of antibiotics now, we are condemning ourselves for generations to come.  Additionally, genetically engineered animals begin to wipe out native species and genetically-engineered crops and pollen destroy native ones.  These are actually very real issues, things we see in the news even today, so to have a writer incorporate those issues into a work of YA-focused literature is a bold move, one that hopefully forced students and teachers to push their thinking and to reflect on these issues.

The author, Mary Pearson has a beautifully composed website: http://www.whoisjennafox.com/ that includes an interesting video/teaser, like for a movie: Adoration "movie" teaser and also a Discussion Guide for teachers: http://www.whoisjennafox.com/discussion-guide.html.

On Amazon, this book was also tagged to the James Dashner trilogy, which I have recommended before, along with Hunger Games and Unwind, other novels I have read in this class.  Unique recommendations/read-alikes would include:

-Wintergirls by Laurie Anderson

http://www.amazon.com/Wintergirls-Laurie-Halse-Anderson/dp/B003VWC43K/ref=pd_sim_b_4

- Matched by Ally Condie (she has a series that connects to this)

http://www.amazon.com/Matched-Ally-Condie/dp/0525423648/ref=pd_sim_b_6

Pathfinder Author: Terry Pratchett

"It would seem that you have no useful skill or talent whatsoever," he said. "Have you thought of going into teaching?"

-- (Terry Pratchett, Mort)

---

Bibliography:
Terry Pratchett was born April 28, 1948 in Beaconsfield, England.  He was first published at age 13 - a short story entitled "The Hades Business." Pratchett had "The Carpet People" published in 1971  at age 23, then "The Carpet People," followed by "The Dark Side of the Sun" in 1976 and "Strata" in 1981.  
He finished the first of the Discworld novels "The Colour of Magic" in 1983.  "The Light Fantastic" was published in 1986.  In September 1987, soon after he had finished writing "Mort," Pratchett decided he could devote himself to writing full-time.

In total, Pratchett has published atleast 50 books, which fit into a wide variety of genres: adult non-fiction, young adult literature, childrens literature, short stories and graphic novels.  He has 37 Discworld novels detailing the world of Ankh-Morpork - from the University, to the Royal Mint to the post office.  He is able to be political without being preachy and his footnotes are hilarious and offer a humorous social commentary.

Also, interesting news....due to his acclaim in England, it appears Unseen Academicals (the latest Discworld novel) is going to make it to the tv screen, Pratchett's fourth such novel to do so:http://www.sfx.co.uk/2011/01/25/next-pratchett-tv-adaptation-announced/
Other stories have been turned into plays throughout England.

Awards/Distinctions:
Pratchett's first series of books for young readers, Truckers, known in the USA as the Bromeliad Trilogy, became the first children's book to appear in the British adult paperback fiction best-seller lists.

He was appointed as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the Queen's 1998 Birthday Honours List, 'for services to literature' and received a knighthood for "services to literature" in 2009.

In 2003 Pratchett joined Charles Dickens as the two authors with five books in the BBC's Big Read 'Top 100' (four of which were Discworld novels). Pratchett was also the author with the most novels in the 'Top 200' (fifteen).  Three Discworld novels that centred on the character Tiffany Aching 'trainee witch' have each received the Locus Award for Best Young Adult Book (in 2004, 2005 and 2007).

Pratchett was the recipient of NESFA's Skylark Award in 2009 and in 2010 he received a World Fantasy award for lifetime achievement. He is the 2011 recipient of the Margaret A. Edwards Award from the ALA, recognizing a significant and lasting contribution to young adult literature.

British Book Awards' 'Fantasy and Science Fiction Author of the Year' for 1994; British Science Fiction Award in 1989 for his novel, Pyramids; Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel in 2008 for Making Money; The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents won the 2001 Carnegie Medal for best children's novel; Night Watch won the 2003 Prometheus Award for best libertarian novel.

Connecting with the author/further research:
Professor Sir Terry Pratchett Inaugural Lecture "The Importance of Being Amazed about Absolutely Everything" on 4 November 2010 at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland.  You can watch his speech here: http://youtu.be/n2FZ_0d3yEI (running time approximately 1:00, retreived May 1, 2011).

The BBC has a Meet the Author series.  Here is their episode on Terry, which includes an interview about his life's work: http://youtu.be/NhvUHI6WJcY

Teachervision.com has created a wonderful resource to help teachers spark discussion about three different Terry Pratchett novels: A Hat Full of Sky, The Wee Free Men, and The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents.  The free printable includes pre-reading activities and discussion questions: http://www.teachervision.fen.com/tv/printables/harpercollins/terry-pratchett_tg.pdf.  Covering three pieces would complete an interesting author study of Pratchett's body or work, which could be augmented with some of the aforementioned resources and videos.
 Check out Terry Pratchett's other novels on his website:
http://www.terrypratchettbooks.com/
You can also try his author's page on Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/Terry-Pratchett/e/B000AQ0NN8/ref=sr_tc_ep?qid=1298399235

Graphic Novel blog Due 3/29

“After the war I’d like to publish a book called The Secret Annex.  It remains to be seen whether I’ll succeed, but my dairy can serve as the basis.”  - Anne Frank, May 11, 1944 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0836861965/ref=s9_simh_gw_p14_d1_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=0A1T0NR2MRMS1RDTJ48H&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846



Hudson-Goff, E. (2005). The Diary of Anne Frank (Graphic Biographies/World Almanac). New York: Gareth Stevens Publishing.

According to Nilsen & Donelson, "graphic novels are comic books that have gone off to college and come back with a new sophistication and respect" (p. 176).  The subject matter and attitudes of creators towards their stories allow writers and illustrators to create a mood and write/draw in a tone that provides the reader with both a literary and visual appreciation for the piece.

In Anne Frank, from the Graphic Bibliographies collection from the World Almanac Library, the authors and illustrators are able to convey key elements of the life and experieces of Anne, her relationship with her parents, the social and political setting in Europe during World War II and the autrocities of Hitler and the German alies against the approximately 12 million people murdered during WWII.

Unlike in political cartoons, there was no judgment or commentary offered by the authors/illustrators of this book.  As a graphic biography, this is an interpretation of the facts offered in Anne's original diary and other details collected about her life.  This is NOT a graphic novel of the complete work The Diary of Anne Frank.

This novel provides a really nice timeline, the sequence of events in Anne's life - setting the stage for her story.  It starts with her early childhood, free of persecution, a childhood much like any other's.  The graphic novel depicts her home, the seaside, her outside playing games, time with her family. 

The "tone" of the book then changes to depict the Third Reich, burnings, persecution, etc.  I like how the book makes references to dates and countries, outlining where the war was taking place, and the countries that Anne and her family fled to to avoid capture.  In this way the book can be used to support a history lesson as well.

The book shows pictures of what we might have seen in the attic in which they lived for nearly two years.  It also explains labor camps, shows how people were hunted, abducted, and arrested by the Nazi police, and describes the fate of those unfortunate enough to be discovered.

After Anne's family is discovered and arrested, the story helps track how they are divided, the different labor camps they are sent to - women to some, men to others, some were work/labor camps, some were death camps.  The story does explain the gas chambers, the showers, the ovens, and even though the illustrator could have been MUCH more graphic, I think the illustrator and the writer kept their target audience in mind and were very effective with their combination of words and illustrations.

I think this book would be very effective with 4-8th graders studying World War II or The Diary of Anne Frank.  I think that it provides a nice back drop and a timeline that students could relate to.  I think that the fact that it comes in graphic novel form would help them relate to the fact that Anne is a child and this might have been a genre of book, comics that children her age would have read.  Reluctant readers might find this book more inviting because it looks like a lot less reading when it is constantly being broken up and separated by pictures - it's less intimidating then paragraph after paragraph of prose and, if you were using this as a guided or shared reading, then the breaks and the pictures could provide time for questings, making connections, drawing inferences, checking for understanding, etc.

For older students, the graphic novel "Dr. Seuss Goes to War: The World War II Editorial Cartoons of Theodor Seuss Geisel," might offer more political commentary and satire to go along with the years, events, facts assosciated with the war.

http://www.amazon.com/Dr-Seuss-Goes-War-Editorial/dp/1565847040/ref=cm_cmu_pg_t

I think that graphic novels might be a helpful way to deliver material to reluctant or remedial readers because it definitely still delivers the grade-level appropriate material.

Geoffrey Canada, whose work with the Harlem Children's Guild has been all over the education reform wire offers his own gritty urban biography in graphic novel form:

http://www.amazon.com/Fist-Stick-Knife-Gun-Personal/dp/0807044490/ref=tag_stp_s2f_edpp_graphi13el
This piece would definitely better meet the needs of older readers since it discusses violence and offers alternatives.

The same WAL Graphic Biolgraphies collection also offers pieces on Nelson Mandela (http://www.biblio.com/details.php?dcx=309673891&aid=frg&utm_source=google&utm_medium=product&utm_campaign=feed-details), Harriet Tubman, Jackie Robinson, etc.

Bound To Stay Bound Books offers 6 pages of titles separated into literally dozens of sub-genres:

http://www.btsb.com/brochures/Graphic_Novels.pdf

Book 3: Non Western - Memoir/non-fiction

"When I was very little, my father used to say, "if you are alive, there is hope for a better day and something good to happen.  If there is nothing good left in the destiny of a person, he or she will die."  I thought about these words during my journey, and they kept me moving even when I didn't know where I was going.  Those words became the vehicle that drove my spirit forward and made it stay alive." (Beah, p. 54)

Beah, I. (2007). a long way gone: memoir of a boy soldier. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

http://www.amazon.com/Long-Way-Gone-Memoirs-Soldier/dp/B002N2XHXU/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1302647820&sr=1-1

In "a long way gone: Memoirs of a Boy soldier," Ishmael Beah relays his life to us chronologically, beginning in his home village. He and some friends took a several day trip to a neighboring village to show off their hip-hop skills at a talent show. Little did they know, that little trip probably saved their lives. For while they were away, the rebel army attacked their home village.   Beah reflects upon his childhood, walks us through the civil war that consumed his country of Sierra Leone and the role he played in it following his conscription into the army and eventual removal from the army and subsequent rehabilitiation through the intervention of UNICEF.  He was ultimately lucky to escape to the United States, where he lives now.

This is a powerful book filled with intense descriptions and accounts of the violence that are an integral part of the childhood of an entire generation.  At times, it is difficult to get through probably due to the common language the author uses in an almost numb, matter-of-fact style of prose, but the weight of each word is contemplative and the descriptions are purposeful as "he comes from a very storytelling-oriented culture (Baeh, p. 197)."

While the fighting and terror were experienced in different ways throughout the country, even in the capital of Freetown no one was able to escape the realities or brutality of the long-standing civil war.  It is amazing to believe that this occured during our life time, that it continues to occur even today in some parts of the world.  No where in his two-hundred twenty five pages does he ever offer what he believed to be the reason for the war - child soldiers had no idea what or for whom they were fighting for - none of the other forces they came into contact with had any idea with -- you were either loyal to the army or you were a rebel, though what divided the two was never relevant - kill or be killed, kill when you were told to, follow directions or be left to starve to death.

The memoir begins with Beah's young life, his upbringing in a somewhat more 'suburban' village, not having to work in the fields and because of his family, he was able to focus on his education, to enjoy western clothing and his love for rap and hip-hop music -- Run DMC and LL Cool J actually save Beah and his friends on more than one occassion. 

When the fighting begins, Beah is separated from his family but escapes along with several of his friends.  Together, they wander aimlessly through the forests and subsequent villages with no real idea of where they are going.  They search for food, struggle to avoid death at the hands of the RUF, rebel soldiers seeking to overthrow the country who use civilians - mainly women and children - as a shield against Leonean soldiers.

Eventually they are captured and conscripted into the army where they are fed a steady diet of cocaine, marijuana, brown-brown (concaine mixed with gun powder), hatred and anger.  They believe that the army is the only family that they have left.  They are tought to kill without thought or remorse, to seek retribution for the death of their loved ones and the loss of their homes and their childhood innocence.

In contrast to the violence and loss of innocence experienced by Beah's generation was the tireless work of UNICEF and the UN workers that stood in direct juxtaposition to the boy's anger - "It was as if they had made a pact not to give up on us.  Their smiles made us hate them all the more" (Beah, p. 140).

Because of Beah's demeanor, he is selected to represent his country in New York City and a UN Conference on the welfare of children.  It is many year later he is able to call on the friends and allies that he made at that conference in order to gain salvation in the United States.

Like post World War II Germany, the concept of "war lords" being put on trial still holds true.  Charles Taylor, whose Liberian forces played a role in the civil war in Sierra Leone, was eventually put on trial.  This article was posted the same time Beah's book was being published: http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/warcrimes/liberia-child-soldiers.html.

Despite it's Lexile score of 920L, I would recommend a book of this nature for high school age students, with an emphasis on the lasting impressions left on children based upon seeing violence at a young age.  I think it would be really interesting to use a book like this in an urban setting such as Baltimore/Washington, DC, where gang violence, youth violence, gun violence, etc. are far to prevalent on news, television, etc.  I think it would spark interesting and relevant conversation for the population that we are serving.

Here are other selections concerning the conscription of child soldiers:

http://www.amazon.com/Wish-Inform-Tomorrow-Killed-Families/dp/B002PJ4I2K/ref=pd_sim_b_2#_



Also by Ishmael Beah: http://www.amazon.com/They-Fight-Like-Soldiers-Children/dp/0802779565/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1299633219&sr=8-2

D



The Hunger Games: The Ultimate in Reality TV

 

http://www.amazon.com/Hunger-Games-Suzanne-Collins/dp/0439023521/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1302648066&sr=1-1

Collins, S. (2010). The Hunger Games. New York: Scholastic Press.

I considered skipping work to stay home and finish this book!!  I read two hundred pages in my first sitting and the second night, after finishing the book at 9:15pm, I seriously considered driving over to the 24-hour Wal-Mart to buy book #2.  That’s how much I enjoyed Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games.

Our protagonist, Katniss is a responsible, admirable heroin.  At age 12, she takes over as her family's primary care-taker after the sudden death of her father and her mother's subsequent depression and mental breakdown.  Katniss slowly nurses her mother back to a more stable state but her relationship with her has been irrevocably damaged.  Katniss' ultimate goal is to love and protect Prim, her innocent younger sister from the harsh reality of Panem.  The heart-felt, authentic relationships and the mental images Collins' paints for the reader contribute to the level of audience engagement in story.  The external conflicts she experiences – with Panem, the government, society, authority, The Hunger Games, etc. and her internal conflict – feelings about her mother, herself, her overall emotions, and the boys that are coming into her life, are just some of the compelling story lines that got me so engrossed in this book.

In connecting The Hunger Games to other pieces the students are most assuredly familiar with, the website www.myhungergames.com offers some interesting parallels between our protagonist and Twilight’s Bella and her angst-filled internal conflict about Edward and Jacob.  Katniss experiences a similar conflict with Gale and Peeta.

I find the target audience, ages 12 and up (810L, courtesy of http://www.lexile.com/) to be reasonable as Collins' writing isn't overly verbose and although the overarching concept of The Hunger Games may be difficult to connect to, I think that most readers would understand that the book is very purposefully based in fantasy.  I really enjoy the imagery and purposeful description the author uses to help the reader visualize some of the details, such as the flaming costumes, the cornucopia that contains all the competitor's supplies, and especially the feelings, reactions, and emotions Katniss is experiencing throughout the games.

James’ Dashner’s Maze Runner trilogy appears to offer a comparable concept to a similar target audience (http://www.jamesdashner.com/).  What’s interesting about this series, and potentially useful to me in my classroom is that at least the first book of the series, Maze Runner, is rated as a HL770L, which according to Lexile.com indicates a “High-Low” book, which is designed specifically to match older reluctant or struggling readers (grade 7 and above) with age-appropriate topics and issues but are written at a more elementary reading  levels.

Cassandra Clare’s series The Mortal Instruments (http://www.mortalinstruments.com/books.php) contains titles such as “City of Bones,” “City of Ashes,” “City of Glass,” which remind me of the various products and economies of the twelve districts of Panem.  According to Lexile.com, they’re suited for a slightly older audience – ages 14-17, but with a lower lexile, between 720L and 760L depending on the book.  To me, this would suggest a difference between the actual readability of the text and the content of the story (more adult material perhaps).

Unfortunately, Catching Fire and Mockingjay, books 2 and 3 respectively in the Hunger Games series, are not yet available in paperback and I’m currently 46^th in the waiting queue at my local library system, so I think you might be fairly likely to find me hunkered down at Barnes & Noble with a couple large lattes for four to six hours in the very near future. Good Call Dr. Bull!

Literary Award Winner: Unseen Academicals by Terry Pratchett.

Unseen Academicals by Terry Pratchett, Harper Collins , 2009, 400pp, $25.99, Science Fiction/Fantasy, ISBN 0061161721.

Terry Pratchett's 37th DiscWorld novel since 1987.  37 novels, 22 years.  Made a knight by Queen Elizabeth II in 2009 for his "services to literature," Terry Pratchett has sold more than sixty-five million copies worldwide.

Unseen Academicals is a 400-page chronicle of an unlikely cohort of characters - goblins, humans, trolls, dwarfs, wizards and an ape who make up the staff and faculty at Unseen University, a wizardry school that, unlike Hogwarts and JK Rowlings offerings, focuses almost entirely on the faculty and hardly at all on the students of UU.

The plot follows four unlikely friends- Glenda and Juliet, manager of the Night Kitchen and her assistance, Trev Likely, manager of the candle vats, and Mister Nutt, his deputized goblin assistance of unequaled, and unheralded intellect, whit, and vocabulary.  Mister Nutt also undertakes the management and training of the UU football team, the re-writing of its rules and teaching the wizards how to compete WITHOUT magic.


from http://www.booksillustrated.com/en-UK/the-art-of-discworld
Paul Kidly, Illustrator



The stories of these major characters, along with the wizards they serve (Archchancellor Ridcully- "the supreme authority in the affairs of the wise, the cunning and the crafty," Ponder Stibbons, the Chair of Indefinite Studies, the Professor of Illiberal Studies, the Professor of Cruel and Unusual Geography, and Dr. Hix, Head of the Department of Post Mortem Communications just to name a few) and their various adventures alternate throughout the text.  At no time does the reader really experience the same scene through more than one character's experience or point of view. 






While the major point of the story appears to be the necessity of the University to start a football team in order to receive a sizeable bequest from a deceased benefactor, the backdrop, characters and author's whit provide some amazing undertones to this book:
- the life, love and sport of football and the unyielding adoration and allegiance of its fans,

- Romeo & Juliet - a dimwhitted, doe-eyed, kitchen-maid Juliet (no literally that's her name) and her admirer Trev Likely.  Trev, an underachieveing, mans-man sort, escapes to the street football matches during the day while still maintaining employment by setting the standards quite low for the candle-making department he helps oversee.

- political posturing - Dean Henry Two Chairs scandalously leaves for a higher paying role at Brazeneck College, a younger competiting university!

- class structure - "you have to grab life or drop it back into the crab bucket" (p. 159)

- work ethic - "it is a well-known fact in any organization that, if you want a job done, you should give it to someone who is already very busy." (p. 26)

In my opinion, the first 200 pages of the book, while whitty and smart were rather difficult to get through.  Some of the details are important as they impact other characters or events later in the book, but for the most part, the character development rambles into the extemporaneous. 

When shopping for this particular book, Pratchett's last Discworld Novel, Making Money was published in 2007, I tried several book shops, a couple used ones as well as traditional retailers who were out-of-stock.  I received comments such as "they're so hard to keep around," and "they're so popular."  I ended up tracking one down at a county library across town and had to get it on reserve.  I personally cant quite understand why I had this issue.  The Discworld series, as a body of work has a Lexile range of 650-890 depending on the book, which can range from 4th grade to 6th grade based solely on vocabulary and sentence structure.  I think that with a lot of the undercurrents political commentary (classism, racism, etc.), and social commentar, the books might be more appreciated  by middle schoolers and high schoolers, although I am still not sure if they would appreciate the references if they are not thinking critically, asking questions or already somewhat cynical in nature. 

Overall, while I enjoyed this book (eventually), I personally dont see the stories and tribulations of the "pointy hats" appealing to young female readers, or the jocks and "in-crowd" types.  I think that the Dungeon & Dragons, Dragon-Ball, graphic novel, comic book (worried they might live with their parents until they're 40) types might gravitate more toward this particular book and Pratchett's series of books.  Making Money was about the Ankh-Morpork Royal Mint and 2004's Going Postal was about the Ankh-Morpork Post Office.  Academicals appeared to include a sports backdrop which may have been able to entice new readers, but as his 37th book, I feel like I might not have the working knowledge or a vested interest into the world of Ankh-Morpork to make real connections, although the books do seem to appear unconnected except for the fact that they are all set in the fictional world of Ankh-Morpork, under the watchful eye of Lord Vetinari.

Check out Terry Pratchett's other novels on his website:
http://www.terrypratchettbooks.com/
You can also try his author's page on Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/Terry-Pratchett/e/B000AQ0NN8/ref=sr_tc_ep?qid=1298399235
Also, interesting news....due to his acclaim in England, it appears Academicals is going to make it to the tv screen, Pratchett's fourth such novel to do so:
http://www.sfx.co.uk/2011/01/25/next-pratchett-tv-adaptation-announced/

According to Amazon, a similar author (though at first examination she does appear to write more for the YA Sci-Fi friendly girls out there) is Robin McKinley:
http://www.amazon.com/Blue-Sword-Robin-McKinley/dp/0441068804

Robert Rankin, another British author, and his Brentford trilogy appear to have similar traits: London setting, characters with general do-gooder-ness despite prior slacker tendencies.  Here's Book #1 in the trilogy: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/055213841X/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B0029NZX3K&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0XYPH7Z4PK2YWVE70BNT

Kristy's YA Lit Reading list

Feb 22 Award Winner: Unseen Academicals by Terry Pratchett (Pathfinder selection)
Mar 1 Fantasy: Hunger Games
Mar 15 Non-Western: A Long Way Gone: memoirs of a boy soldier
Mar 29 Graphic Novel: Diary of Anne Frank
April 5 Nonfiction: The Other Wes Moore
April 12 Realistic Fictions: 13 Reasons Why
April 26 Sci Fi: Adoration of Jenna Fox
May 3 Short Stories: What they found: Love of 145th Street by Walter Dean Myers

from the YALSA website

Dollar General Summer Reading Grants

This grant is designed to encourage outstanding summer reading programs by providing financial assistance, while recognizing YALSA members for outstanding program development. The applicant must plan and present an outline for a teen-focused summer reading program in a library. The program must be open to all teens (12-18 years). 
YALSA encourages innovative proposals that are inclusive of underserved teen populations, including but not limited to teens with disabilities and teens who speak English as a second language. The $1,000 grant, made possible by Dollar General, is to be used to support the program. A total of twenty grants are available. Individual library branches within a larger system are welcome to apply. Applications are due March 1, 2011. Recipients will be announced in early April.
To apply, you must:

• be a personal member of YALSA
• live in one of 35 states that has a Dollar General store (check and see if your state is eligible at www.tinyurl.com/DGstate)
• plan to offer a summer reading program for teens in your library

Download the instructions and application (Word doc), view the sample budget (Excel), and submit to yalsa@ala.org by March 1, 2011. Questions can be sent to Letitia Smith at lsmith@ala.org or 1-800-545-2433, ext. 4390.

free books, ebooks, grant opportunities plus Special Needs kids

All - here are 2 of the grants I mentioned...

In Search of FREE Books? Check here for opportunities – ebooks too!

The Children’s Bookstore Educational Foundation – free paperback for kids - http://www.thecbstore.com/teach_app2.pdf

Additionally, for any of  your special educators and their special needs students:

For students who have print disabilities, including vision, there is a free resource at www.bookshare.org  You can go on line and they have plenty of information on how to access large print books, talking books and books that are brailed.  As long as the student has a qualifying disability the book files are free as well as a computer program that can be downloaded.  They list the e-readers that can use these files.  It is my understanding that IPads will soon be able to use this resource as well. 

-Kristy