Saturday, March 29, 2014

Librarians' Choices 2013

  1. Adler, David. 2013. THINGS THAT FLOAT AND THNGS THAT DON’T. Holiday House.
  2. Arndt, Ingo. 2013. BEST FOOT FORWARD. Holiday House.
  3. Avasthi, Swati. 2013. CHASING SHADOWS. Knopf.
  4. Becker, Aaron. 2013. JOURNEY. Candlewick.
  5. Berne, Jennifer. 2013. ON A BEAM OF LIGHT. Chronicle.
  6. Black, Holly. 2013. THE COLDEST GIRL IN COLDTOWN. Little, Brown.
  7. Boyd, Lizi. 2013. INSIDE/OUTSIDE. Chronicle.
  8. Brown, Peter. 2013. MR. TIGER GOES WILD. Little, Brown.
  9. Bryant, Jen. 2013. A SPLASH OF RED. Knopf.
  10. Bunting, Eve. 2013. THE CART THAT CARRIED MARTIN. Charlesbridge.
  11. Burg, Ann E. 2013. SERAFINA’S PROMISE. Scholastic.
  12. Cline-Ransome, Lesa. 2013. LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS. Jump the Sun.
  13. Collins, Suzanne. 2013. YEAR OF THE JUNGLE. Scholastic.
  14. Colson, Rob. 2013. BONE COLLECTION ANIMALS. Scholastic.
  15. Daywalt, Drew. 2013. THE DAY THE CRAYONS QUIT. Penguin.
  16. DiCamillo, Kate. 2013. FLORA AND ULYSSES. Candlewick.
  17. Engle, Margarita. 2013. THE LIGHTNING DREAMER. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
  18. Floca, Brian. 2013. LOCOMOTIVE. Atheneum.
  19. Flood, Nancy Bo. 2013. COWBOY UP! RIDE THE NAVAJO RODEO. Boyds Mill.
  20. Fogliano, Julie. 2013. IF YOU WANT TO SEE A WHALE. Macmillan.
  21. Fusco, Kimberly Newton. 2013. BEHOLDING BEE. Knopf.
  22. Grabenstein, Chris. 2013. ESCAPE FROM MR. LEMONCELLO’S LIBRARY. Random House.
  23. Greenberg, Jan. 2013. THE MAD POTTER. Roaring Brook.
  24. Grimes, Nikki. 2013. WORDS WITH WINGS. Boyd’s Mills.
  25. Guiberson, Brenda Z.. 2013. FROG SONG. Henry Holt.
  26. Harley, Bill. 2013. CHARLIE BUMPERS VS. THE TEACHER OF THE YEAR. Peachtree.
  27. Henkes, Kevin. 2013. THE YEAR OF BILLY MILLER. Greenwillow.
  28. Holub, Joan. 2013. LITTLE RED WRITING. Chronicle.
  29. Hopkins, Lee Bennett, ed. 2013. ALL THE WORLD’S A STAGE. Creative Editions.
  30. Jenks, Andrew. 2013. MY ADVENTURES AS A YOUNG FILMMAKER. Scholastic.
  31. Johnston, Tony. 2013. THE CAT WITH SEVEN NAMES. Charlesbridge.
  32. Kearney, Meg. 2013. TROUPER. Scholastic.
  33. King, A.S. 2013. REALITY BOY. Little, Brown.
  34. Klassen, Jon (Lemony Snicket). 2013. THE DARK. Little, Brown.
  35. Kohuth, Jane. 2013. ANNE FRANK’S CHESTNUT TREE. Random House.
  36. Konigsberg, Bill. 2013. OPENLY STRAIGHT. Scholastic.
  37. Koertge, Ron. 2013. COALTOWN JESUS. Candlewick.
  38. Krull, Kathleen. 2013. LOUISA MAY’S BATTLE. Walker.
  39. LaFleur, Suzanne. 2013. LISTENING FOR LUCCA. Random House.
  40. MacDonald, Maryann. 2013. ODETTE’S SECRETS. Bloomsbury.
  41. Martin, Emily W. 2013. DREAM ANIMALS. Random House
  42. McClafferty, Carla K. 2013. FOURTH DOWN AND INCHES. Carolrhoda.
  43. McClure, Nikki. 2013. HOW TO BE A CAT. Abrams.
  44. McNeal, Tom. 2013. FAR, FAR AWAY. Knopf.
  45. Miller, Pat Zietlow. 2013. SOPHIE’S SQUASH. Schwartz & Wade.
  46. Moore, Eva. 2013. LUCKY DUCKLINGS. Orchard/Scholastic.
  47. Moriarity, Jaclyn. 2013. A CORNER OF WHITE. ArthurLevine/Scholastic.
  48. Mortenson, Lon. 2013. COWPOKE CLYDE. Clarion.
  49. Nelson, Kadir. 2013. NELSON MANDELA. HarperCollins.
  50. Ottaviani, Jim. 2013. PRIMATES: THE FEARLESS SCIENCE OF JANE GOODALL, DIAN FOSSEY AND BIRUTE. First Second.
  51. Olsham, Matthew. 2013. THE MIGHTY LALOUCHE. Random House.
  52. Panzieri, Lucia. 2013. KINDHEARTED CROCODILE. Holiday House.
  53. Pautis, Stephan. 2013. TIMMY FAILURE. Candlewick.
  54. Pinkney, Jerry. 2013. THE TORTOISE AND THE HARE. Little, Brown.
  55. Quick, Matthew. 2013. FORGIVE ME, LEONARD PEACOCK. Little, Brown.
  56. Raschka, Chris. 2013. EVERYONE CAN LEARN TO RIDE A BICYCLE. Schwartz & Wade.
  57. Reid, Barbara. 2013. PICTURE A TREE. Whitman.
  58. Robinson, Michelle. 2013. DING DONG GORILLA. Peachtree.
  59. Rueda, Claudia. 2013. IS IT BIG OR IS IT LITTLE?. Eerdmans.
  60. Rosenthal, Amy Krouse. 2013. EXCLAMATION MARK. Scholastic.
  61. Roth, Susan L. 2013. PARROTS OVER PUERTO RICO. Lee & Low.
  62. Rowell, Rainbow. 2013. ELEANOR AND PARK. St. Martins.
  63. Salerni, Dianne K. 2013. THE CAGED GRAVES. Clarion.
  64. Sanchez, Jenny Torres. 2013. DEATH, DICKINSON, AND THE DEMENTED LIFE OF FRENCHIE GARCIA. Running Press.
  65. Sax, Aline & Caryl Strzelecki. 2013. THE WAR WITHIN THESE WALLS. Eerdman.
  66. Sayre, April. 2013. EAT LIKE A BEAR. Henry Holt.
  67. Schneider, Josh. 2013. THE MEANEST BIRTHDAY GIRL. Clarion.
  68. Sedgwick, Marcus. 2013. MIDWNTERBLOOD. Roaring Brook Press.
  69. Seeger, Laura Vaccaro. 2013. BULLY. Roaring Brook.
  70. Sepetys, Ruta. 2013. OUT OF THE EASY. Philomel.
  71. Shepherd, Megan. 2013. THE MADMAN’S DAUGHTER. Balzer and Bray.
  72. Sidman, Joyce. 2013. WHAT THE HEART KNOWS. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
  73. Sloan, Holly Goldberg. 2013. COUNTING BY 7’S. Dial.
  74. Smith, Andrew. 2013. WINGER. Simon & Schuster.
  75. Staake, Bob. 2013. BLUEBIRD. Random House.
  76. Stephens, Helen. 2013. HOW TO HIDE A LION. Henry Holt.
  77. Stockdale, Susan. 2013. STRIPES OF ALL TYPES. Peachtree.
  78. Stone, Tanya Lee. 2013. COURAGE HAS NO COLOR. Cambridge.
  79. Strasser, Todd. 2013. FALLOUT. Candlewick.
  80. Stroud, Jonathon. 2013. THE SCREAMING STAIRCASE. Hyperion.
  81. Swanson, James. 2013. THE PRESIDENT HAS BEEN SHOT. Scholastic.
  82. Tavarer, Matt. 2013. BECOMING BABE RUTH. Candlewick.
  83. Thompson, Holly. 2013. THE LANGUAGE INSIDE. Delacorte.
  84. Thomson, Sarah L. 2013. TERROR BIRD. Charlesbridge.
  85. Urban, Linda. 2013. THE CENTER OF EVERYTHING. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
  86. Ursu, Anne. 2013. THE REAL BOY. HarperCollins.
  87. VaDerwater, Amy Ludwig. 2013. FOREST HAS A SONG. Clarion.
  88. Vawter, Vince. 2013. PAPERBOY. Random House.
  89. Villa, Alvaro. 2013. FLOOD. Capstone.
  90. Wein, Rose. 2013. ROSE UNDER FIRE. Hyperion.
  91. Whitman, Sylvia. 2013. MILK OF BIRDS. Atheneum.
  92. Willems, Mo. 2013. THAT’S NOT A GOOD IDEA!. HarperCollins.
  93. Williams-Garcia, Rita. 2013. P.S. BE ELEVEN. HarperCollins.
  94. Winter, Jonah. 2013. JFK. Random House.
  95. Wissinger, Tamera. 2013. GONE FISHING. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
  96. Yaccarino, Dan. 2013. DOUG UNPLUGGED. Random House.
  97. Yamasake, Katie. 2013. FISH FOR JIMMY. Holiday House.
  98. Yang, Gene Luen. 2013. BOXERS AND SAINTS. First Second.
  99. Yancey, Rick. 2013. 5TH WAVE. Putnam.
  100. Young, Cybele. 2013. TEN BIRDS MEET A MONSTER. Kids Can.
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Friday, March 28, 2014

Things That Float and Things That Don't


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Best Foot Forward


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Chasing Shadows

Avasthi, Swanti. 2013. CHASING SHADOWS. Ill. Craig Phillips. New York: Knopf. ISBN 9780375863424. [Suggested Grade Levels 9-12]

 REVIEW
Holly, her brother, and her best friend are “freerunners” who use Chicago as their personal gym. When Holly's twin brother is murdered and she is severely injured by an unknown gunman, after her initial recovery, she begins to spiral into mental illness. Believing that she is the human incarnation of a graphic novel heroine the Leopardess, Holly wants to rescue her brother from the Shadowlands. Her friend and Corey's girlfriend Savitri, who also grieves Corey’s death, tries to save Holly and puts her own life in danger. The book is a powerful read that blends of alternating narrative text and graphic novel.

 Beyond that, the novel is poignant picture of mental illness and the power—and lack of power—of friendship. The blending of the two formats—traditional novel format and graphic novel, with Phillips’ darkly detailed illustrations—adds to the intensity of the read.

 CONNECTIONS
This would be a good book to use with teens to discuss grief and/or mental illness. Use the book as a way to explore genre and format. Have artistic students take a chapter of a favorite books and add graphic novel type illustrations to the book or pair students to write a short story that is a blend of narrative and graphic format.

 RELATED BOOKS:
GRIEF:
Rosen, Michael. THE SAD BOOK. ISBN 0763625973.
Wesselhoeft, Conrad. ADIOS NIRVANA. ISBN 9783551311221

 MENTAL ILLNESS:
Kuehn, Stephanie. CHARM AND STRANGE. ISBN 9781250021946
Walton, K.M. CRACKED. ISBN 978442429161
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Journey

Becker, Aaron. 2013. JOURNEY. Somerville, MA: Candlewick. ISBN 9780763660536 [Suggested Grade Levels 1- 4]

REVIEW
This wordless picture book opens on a city street with a girl riding a bright red scooter.  The contrast of the urban browns to the vibrant red item immediately engages the reader. The spotlighted item eventually becomes a crayon the girl uses to draw a door. Once the girl passes through the door, the world transforms into an exotic new realm. The heroine travels to vibrant, foreign lands, narrowly escaping dangers, falling into the clutches of a sinister villain, finding courage, and ultimately returning home with a new companion. All along, the trusty crayon creates transport and thrilling adventure.  

The unique book grabs the attention of readers of all ages and invites multiple readings and observation. The pen, ink, and watercolor artwork is detailed and exquisite. The beginning and final pages are done in sepia tones with only the pop of primary color; the pages detailing the journey to the magical lands are rich with color and absolutely enchanting. The contrast is brilliant. 

CONNECTIONS
Color is vital to the story. Discuss the illustrator’s choice for different spreads. Encourage observation of the basic colors; discuss their purpose and placement. Distinct architecture styles are used. Encourage students to compare the city to the fantasy worlds. The book contains much foreshadowing. Reread and allow readers to detect the clues tucked within the illustrations.  Finally, encourage children to create their own journeys allowing them to decide where they would travel with a magical crayon.  

RELATED BOOKS
The book pays homage to classics:
Johnson, Crockett.  HAROLD AND THE PURPLE CRAYON. ISBN 9780064430227
Lewis, C.S. THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE. ISBN 9780060234812

Other wordless books:
Banyai, Istvan. ZOOM.  ISBN 9780670858040
Staake, Bob. BLUEBIRD. ISBN 9780375870378


By Jill Bellomy
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On a Beam of Light


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