Another gift for you.

It is that time of year.  My favorite time of the year.  "The Best of" lists start popping up everywhere.

This one is from The New York Times Sunday Book Review and it's all about Young Adult Lit (and other books for kids).  The picture accompanying the article is priceless (illustration done by Julia Rothman).

Get reading, everyone.  Let me know if you read a couple, and we will discuss!

-absk

Autumn is a second spring...

Yay!  2012-2013 school year is right around the corner.  All sorts of YA books fall from the skies during the start of the school year, so get excited.  Here are two trusted ladies and the books they've previewed.  Can't wait.  I know SAMS will be ordering these, and I hope the library nearest you is doing the same.  Enjoy!

One year later.

A gift for you...


There are several reasons I haven't been posting about YA lit for the past year....
1.  I took a new job as a dean and that meant less books and more naughty kids.  But is a great gig, so if I can just figure out how to be a dean who reads lots of YA lit, I'm set!
2.  Along came Harold Clayton Kujawski.  Yep, that's right, I had a baby.  He was a tiny little piglet baby at first, but now he's a full-fledged infant with fuzzy hair, a nap schedule, and an exersaucer.   Like my new job, this role as a Hal's mom is a great gig, so if I can just figure out how to be a momma to Hal who also reads lots of YA lit, I'm set!
3.  Another year full of classes.  I am taking my last one at Hamline this summer, and I'll be done.  Whew.  I like learning, and the classes have been relevant to my work, so I don't mind.  I just gotta figure out how to be a student who takes class and reads lots of YA lit.

But here I am, back int he blogging saddle.  I don't have a specific book to tell you about but I have a good list.  It's the list of the Best YA Lit for 2011 from Publishers Weekly.  I stopped reading YA Lit in May 2011, so it's a perfect way for me to get caught up.  I hope you recognize some of the books and find a few others to put on your summer reading lists.  Enjoy!

-stenson

Go Ahead- Judge a Book by its Cover

I really think kids should be allowed to judge a book by its cover AS LONG AS they are willing to admit some super books have lame-o covers, and some lame-o books have cool covers.

A couple of bloggers who write for Booklist Online agree with me.  Check it out...

Extra! Extra! Hear all about it!

'Tis the season for the Best of 2010 lists!  I can't get enough of these recommendations, and it's fun to see what titles show up on a bunch of these lists. There's gotta be something for everyone.  Check it out.

Here's the list from the Reading Rants blog.  Enjoy!

cool chic with a megaphone image is from the Reading Rants website too.  Pretty cool pics AND very good books...gotta love the site.

Where did November Go?

Oh my goodness!  I feel terrible for not posting anything last month.  I guess I was too busy reading my own grown-up books that I forgot to tell blog about books that should not be missed by kids.

Since it is already December!, I guess I'll steal, copy, cheat my way to the first post in this last month of 2010...

This article includes books that seem more like high school books than middle school books, but I can't leave a "Best of" list alone.  Here's the first one of the season, found on NPR.com written by Gayle Forman (author of If I Stay).  Enjoy!

This is the picture from the article.  Love it!  Aaron Meshon is credited with the work.  If only my students' lockers looked like that! 

Claudette Colvin & Friends

Some of my favorite books have nominated by or have received this award. It's an award that is given not just to books that are widely popular and well received, but to books that represent excellence in young adult literature. Here are some of my favorite National Book Award nominees and winners:

• What I Saw and How I Lied by Judy Blundell,
• American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang,
• Rules of Survival by Nancy Werlin,
• Inexcusable by Chris Lynch,

and I could on and on and on but I won't. I'll just trust that you look at the links and pick a few to add to your future book lists. Go ahead; you are about to be wowed!

Congrats to this year's nominess and winner:

Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice by Phillip Hoose
Charles and Emma: The Darwins’ Leap of Faith by Deborah Heiligman
Stitches by David Small
Lips Touch: Three Times by Laini Taylor
Jumped Rita Williams-Garcia

This years nominess and winner are officially on my book list. As I read them, I'll certainly post about what I've experienced. Add them to your lists too! Go ahead; you are about to be wowed by the talent listed here. Keep reading everyone!

-stenson

*image taken from The National Book Foundation and http://us.macmillan.com/claudettecolvin

An Author Not to Miss

I listened to Sleeping Freshman Never Lie a few weeks ago, and as I've been telling my kids about the book, they've been enjoying it too. Then, some of them read other books written by the same author. I think he's one everyone should at least try!

3 of Gordon Korman's Best Books

1. Swindle
2. Sleeping Freshman Never Lie
3. Pop

Hope you enjoy! Let me know if you try them!  For more information on this awesome author, click here.
-stenson

Isabel and Amari

I just re-read Copper Sun (Sharon Draper) with a few girls in my 7READ classes. And I couldn't help but think of another equally powerful but very different story of a slave girl Chains (Laurie Halse Anderson).



The stories of two slave girls told by two of the most creative young adult authors in Young Adult literature give teen readers a chance to read historical fiction with strong characters and gripping story lines.

Both stories speak to the power of the human spirit and the gifts of real friendship. Neither story shields readers from the dark and upsetting and unforgettable horrors of slavery, but both will keep readers thinking ar beyond the last page.

Historical fiction isn't given enough credit, so in my class, they "count" for two books. Go ahead and expand your reading experiences! I think you be enthralled!

Keep reading,
stenson

A Call for a Challenge

Many of the 7th graders at OGM are looking for a good challenge book. What makes a challenge book? Many different things...

• a reader's lexile and the lexile of the book
• a lengthy and complicated plot
• universal themes that require a mature, critical mind
• books written for an adult audience but enjoyable for yound adults
• lots of other things too.

Anyway, because many kids have asked for some challenging titles, I thought I'd take a moment to share a few.

Airborn by Kenneth Oppel
Matt Cruse is a cabin boy aboard the luxury passenger airship Aurora when the ship encounters a battered hot air balloon with an unconscious man aboard. Before dying, the man claims to have seen beautiful creatures swarming in the air over an uncharted island. Not until a year later, when Matt meets the man's granddaughter, Kate de Vries, who boards the Aurora, does he learn that the man wasn't hallucinating. Pirates board, rob, and kill, and a fierce storm grounds the Aurora on the very island that Kate's grandfather spoke about--which proves to be the pirates' secret hideaway. Though readers will need to suspend disbelief of the mysterious flying creatures, which Matt and Kate call "cloud cats," details of life and work aboard the ship as well as the dramatic escapade itself make this a captivating read.
-from American Library Association

Mysterious Benedict Society by Treton Lee Stewart
I just loved this book. From start to finish it was flat out great. The characters were all interesting and deep (as opposed to superficial cliches), and the plot had some clever twists and neat puzzles. It was fun solving those puzzles along with the characters, too. So if you're looking for a fun read that's not about magic and dragons (as way too many kids books today are), I highly recommend The Mysterious Benedict Society! I can't wait for the sequel. -by Max on Amazon.com

The Sledding Hill by Cris Crutcher
This clever, spirited post-modern meta-narrative is a quick read that is bound to be controversial. It has no profanity, sexual acts, drug or alcohol use, or bloody violence but takes dead aim at censors who can't get past counting swear words or the notion of a gay character who is still alive at the end of a book. Eddie Proffit, 14, is a prototypical Crutcher protagonist, a misunderstood teen who in quick succession has lost his father and best friend, Billy, in accidents. And he must deal with Mr. Tartar, who is both a feared English teacher at school and the minister to a flock of Protestant fundamentalists at the Red Brick Church. -from the School Library Journal

Keep reading!
-stenson

Whodunnit?

My days of winter break fill up with hours and hours of reading. It is glorious. It's even more glorious when the winter weather gets fierce, and everybody is forced to stay put and stay inside. Ah, what a splendid week!

The Likeness by Tana French was a book Santa stuck in my stocking. It is a sequel of sorts to a book I read last year, so it was intriguing to see what the characters had been up to since I last "saw" them. While it's not a book most kids would enjoy, I really do recommend it (and it's predecessor In the Woods) to grown-ups who enjoy good mysteries.

Knowing how much a good mystery can grab readers and engage them for a wild and thrilling ride, I decided to collect a list of books for teens who like mysteries. It's not exclusive, so let me know if you have others to add.

Here are a few that I found...hope you enjoy! Keep reading, everyone!

First, my favorite new mystery for young adults

Blundell, Judy. What I Saw and How I Lied. 2009.

In 1947, with her jovial stepfather Joe back from the war and family life returning to normal, teenage Evie, smitten by the handsome young ex-GI who seems to have a secret hold on Joe, finds herself caught in a complicated web of lies whose devastating outcome change her life and that of her family forever.

Hiaasen, Carl. Scat. 2009.

Nick and his friend Marta decide to investigate when a mysterious fire starts near a Florida wildlife preserve and an unpopular teacher goes missing.

Grisham, John. The Client. 1993.

Eleven-year-old Mark Sway accidentally witnesses a murder and becomes the target of relentless prosecutors and the mob, and the only person who can save him is Reggie Love, an attorney barely out of law school.

Duncan, Lois. I Know What You Did Last Summer. 1973.

Four teenagers, trying to conceal their responsibility for a hit-and-run accident, are pursued by a mystery figure seeking revenge.

Plum-Ucci, Carol. The Body of Christopher Creed. 2000.

Did he run, was he kidnapped, or was he murdered?

Myers, Walter Dean. Monster. 1999.

Sixteen-year-old Steve Harmon is on trial for murder. As the circumstances unfold, readers get a chance to think carefully about the crime and decide his innocence or guilt.

Konigsburg, E.L. Silent to the Bone. 2000.

Is the British nanny lying when she accuses 13-year-old Bramwell of injuring his baby step-sister? His best friend thinks so, but Bramwell isn't talking. He's gone mute.

From NPR

While I haven't read any of these books, I know lots of smart teens.

Click here to see a trio of books recommended by various contributors to NPR. Three books for smart teens. I love it. Let me know if you check any of them out!

Keep reading!

-stenson

Sleepers.

These books are ones you might have missed. Luckily, we've got America's librarian, Nancy Pearl to point them out. Each of these titles are on my FBL ("Future Book List" for anyone not in my 7th grader Reading class).

Can't wait to peek inside each of these books. Here's the NPR article that gives a little sneak peek into each title. Thanks to NPR for the photos.

When Nancy Pearl says, "read this book", I run to the library to check it out. Hope you do too. And when you do, tell me about it.

Enjoy!
Keep reading-
stenson

More books to make you think.

The latest books from our gifted and talented specialist, Mrs. Donaldson.

These books aren't hard to read, though some of them might be tougher than others. These books will get you think about BIG themes and BIG ideas in life. There's more than just good stories and good characters in these books. We are talking life lessons, people. Life lessons. Keep reading! Enjoy!

Good books to make you think, feel, grow, smile.

Special thanks to Mrs. Donaldson for recommending these great titles. These books are great ones to read with an adult, friend, sibling, or teacher because they make you think about life and it's unpredictable ways and the universal themes we all face.



The book talk video will introduce each of them, but here's a quick list:


Beastly by Alex Flinn
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
Epic by Conor Kostick
Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie by Jordan Sonnenblick
Evil Genius by Catherine Jinks

Enjoy, everyone. And Keep Reading!
-stenson

Three Super Sports Stories.

Even though the Yankees won the World Series (again!), I still believe in the magic of sports. If you are an athlete or sports fan, you've probably witnessed magical moments in sports firsthand.

If you aren't, doesn't matter, you will still enjoy reading about the kids whose lives are affected by playing sports, winning and losing, and being on a team.

Just remember, sports books aren't just for athletes. Not anymore than the Twilight series is just for vampires or science fiction is just for insane robots. I promise you'll "score" with one of these (oops...bad joke!)

Keep reading everyone!
-stenson

Skeleton Key, The Graveyard Book, and Other Super but Scary Stories

Disclaimer: Your teacher HATES being scared. I don't like horror movies. I don't like ghost stories. For the most part I hate everything spooky, scary, and terrorizing.

HOWEVER, there are a few scary stories I've read because they were just too good to put down.

Here's a vlog highlighting my two very favorites.



But there are a few honorable mention books too:

The Body of Christopher Creed by Carol Plum-Ucci
Full Tilt by Neil Schusterman
The Cirque du Freak series by Darren Shan
Twilight, New Moon, and Eclipse by Stephanie Meyer

Happy Halloween, everyone. Happy Reading too.
-stenson

BFF.

Books about friendship have a special place in my heart. When I grew up, I loved realistic tales of boys and girls and the people they considered friends.

So recently, when I finished a book for grown-ups about friends, I decided to put a list together of books for teenagers about friends and friendship. Because like the old John Lennon song goes, don't we all just "get by with a little help" from our friends?


Where the Heart Is by Billie Letts: A very unlucky 17 year-old finds herself seven months pregnant, abandoned by her boyfriend, and stranded in Oklahoma. Her luck changes when people with hearts full of kindness and compassion of the small Oklahoma town take her in.



Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares: "A pair of jeans purchased at a thrift store is the unlikely bond that keeps four best friends emotionally connected during the first summer that they spend physically apart." -Publisher's Weekly


Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy by Gary Schmidt: A new kid in town--with a strict minister for a father-- befriends a former slave-girl to help him make sense of and enjoy his new town and new life. This coming-of-age story has a lot of lessons to teach about tolerance, acceptance, friendship, and love.



Godless by Pete Hautmann: Jason's story begins like this: "Getting punched hard in the face is a singular experience. I highly recommend it to anyone who is a little too cocky, obnoxious, or insensitive. I also recommend it to people who think they're smart enough to avoid getting punched in the face by the likes of Henry Stagg." The book is a interesting tale about Jason's journey to find some answers about life, friendship and family, and religion.

Make Lemonade by Virginia Euwer Wolff: Told in poems, this is a brilliant story of a young girl trying to save money for college by babysitting. But her babysitting job ends up being more than just a way to make money, it becomes the start of a beautiful friendship between the babysitter and the mother of the baby-a 17 year-old single mother trying to find her own way.

Here's to friendship. Old and new. Hope you enjoy the books. Let me know if you do!
Keep Reading,
-stenson

Mr. Walter Dean Myers

If there was a king of Young Adult Literature, Mr. Walter Dean Myers might be it.

He writes authentically and powerfully about the lives of teenagers. His characters struggle with real-life problems, they make honest mistakes and make bad choices, but ultimately, they all fight for hope and justice.

The list of books he has written is lo-oo-oo-oong. Here are just a few of my favorites. And, of course, there is a vlog about a few must-reads he has written. Check the class iPods for that.

Bad Boy: A Memoir
Fallen Angels
Hoops
Monster
Scorpions
Shooter
Sunrise over Fallujah



For more information, visit his website.

or check out this interview with the author, Walter Dean Myers.

Be smart. Act intelligent. Know things.

“It takes an adult to make a child hate knowing things" -M.T. Anderson

Books make people smarter in all sorts of important ways. I like comparing getting the right book into the right student's hands to watering my garden. A slew of young adult authors are making a point to talk to kids about the importance of being a critical thinker and an aware, engaging citizen. I support them. I'll do my best to get kids reading books they enjoy and are willing to discuss and dissect. That's what good books do. They getting us thinking, talking, and growing.

Here are a few titles of books I've read or read about recently. They are certainly ones that will get readers thinking...and hopefully talking.

High Wind in Jamaica by Richard Hughes

Written in Bone: Buried Lives of Jamestown and Colonial Maryland by Sally M. Walker

WinterGirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

The Disreputable Life of Frankie Landau-Banks by e. lockhart

The Pigman by Paul Zindel

Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Read on!
-stenson