NEWBERY MEDAL WINNER

AUTHOR - LAURA AMY SCHLITZ 

GRADES - 4 AND UP

NEWBERY MEDAL - WINNER

The Newbery, is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children, to the author of "the most distinguished contributions to American literature for children”.
 

AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSN. -  NOTABLE CHILDREN'S BOOK  NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR TEACHERS OF ENGLISH - NOTABLE CHILDREN'S TRADE BOOK IN THE LANGUAGE ARTS 

JUNIOR LIBRARY GUILD SELECTION

This gem of a book depicts life during the Middle Ages by using a series of monologues featuring members of a feudal community. The characters include a falconer’s son, a knight’s son, a blacksmith’s daughter, and about twenty others. Their experiences are thought provoking and provide an excellent understanding of this period in history. The author, a school librarian, originally wrote this book as a play, which accounts for the brilliant dialogue as readers get into the minds and feelings of the characters presented. Do not skip over this one! 

1. Would you rather live in today’s world or in the Middle Ages? 

    Explain.
 

2. If you could trade places with one of the characters, who would 

    you choose?  Why?
 

3. Who led the happier life - Giles or Drogo? Explain.
   

    Giles was a beggar. He worked a scam with his father to fool 

    people into giving them food. Drogo was a tanner’s apprentice. 

    He enjoyed his work, 
however, he complained about the 

    negative comments from the 
 townspeople about the smell 

    coming from the tannery. A case could be  made for both

    characters, however, I think Giles had more fun.  

4. What does Giles mean when he said, “…Look after your foxes as

    well as 
 your sheep.”
 

    He was referring to the way he and his father tricked the people.

AUTHOR - KATHRYN ERSKINE 

GRADES - 5-7

JANE ADDAMS CHILDREN'S BOOK AWARD - HONOR 👍🏿

The Jane Addams Children’s Book Award annually recognizes children’s books of literary and aesthetic excellence that effectively engage children in thinking about peace, social justice, global community, and equity for all people.   

VOICE OF YOUTH ADVOCATES (VOYA)  - A PERFECT TEN 

This magazine is the leading library journal dedicated to the needs of young adult librarians, the advocacy of young adults, and the promotion of young adult literature and reading. Its most prestigious award is a Perfect Ten. This is given to a book that gets a five star rating for quality and a five star rating for popularity.   

BOOKLIST - STARRED REVIEW 

The setting for this story is a small town in Virginia. The year is 1972 and racial prejudice is alive and well in this area. The protagonist is a twelve-year-old boy named Red, whose father, his idol, just died. He wants to carry on his dad’s legacy by fighting injustice. Besides his grief, he must confront abusive neighbors and religious intolerance. In the space of a few months, Red matures quite a bit as he has more on his plate than boys his age should handle. 

1. In this story, the author shows how one person could make a difference.

    How did Red, a twelve-year-old boy, make a difference in his 
 community?   

    Red was determined to prove that Miss Georgia was cheated out of 
her

    land. His persistent effort was rewarded when he found the 
church altar

    on his property. He also fought to protect Rosie from
 her abusive father.

    At the end of the story, the sheriff threatened to 
remove Rosie from her

    home if her father didn’t change his ways.   

2. Do you think Miss Miller should have been fired? Explain.
      

    Miss Miller was a history teacher who was fired because she 

  
  encouraged her students to think, rather than telling them what to
 think.

    Her classes was often noisy as her students were debating 
issues. The

    principal felt that classrooms should be quiet places.
 A local clergyman

    complained about her because he felt that she 
was causing children to

    question racial injustice.  

3. Red tried to correct many things he felt were wrong. Is there anything
 in your 

   community or your school that you feel is not right? What can
 you do about it?


AUTHORS - PAM MUNOZ AND PETER SIS 

GRADES - 4-8

PURA BELPRE - AWARD - WINNER 👍🏿

This award is named after Pura Belpre, the first Latina librarian at the New York Public Library. The award is presented annually to a Latino/Latina writer and illustrator whose work best portrays, affirms and celebrates the Latino cultural experience in an outstanding work of literature for children and youth.

EL DIA DE LOS NINOS/EL DIA DE LOS LIBROS SELECTION👍🏿

Highlighting diverse children’s books to honor the culture and languages of all children

BOSTON GLOBE HORN BOOK AWARD - HONOR

SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL - STARRED REVIEW  

KIRKUS - STARRED REVIEW  

BOOKLIST - STARRED REVIEW  

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY - STARRED REVIEW

One of the most famous poets of the twentieth century, Pablo Neruda, is 
the subject of this work of historical fiction. As a child, Pablo, whose real 
name was Neftali, had to deal with an authoritarian father who made his life
 miserable. However, his creative and imaginative mind overcame this 
obstacle as he wrote poetry that resonated with the working class. He was 
a dreamer, who  encouraged others to follow their own dreams. 

1. In the chapter called FOREST, you read about the chucao bird. Do you 

 
   believe the story Rudolpho told Neftali about the power of the bird to bring   

    good or bad luck? Why do you think Rudolpho believed it to be 
true?
 

    Answers will vary.
 

2. In the chapter called FOREST, there is a picture of a hatchet cutting down a  

    tree. What person in this story can be compared to the hatchet? 
 Explain.
  

    The father is like the hatchet because he does not want his children 
 to  

    follow their dreams.
 

3. What do you think was the worst thing that happened to Neftali?
  

    Answers will vary.
  When the workers laughed at him for bringing home

    treasures from 
 the forest, his father referred to him as an idiot and

    refused to talk 
 with him.
     

    His father forced him and his sister to go into the ocean. A strong 
 wave

    pulled him under the water. He had nightmares about his 
sister 

    drowning.
         

    He found the wounded swan.
        

    The day the swan died.
       

    His father ransacked his room and threw all of his papers out of  the

    window and burned them.      

    His father forbade him to write 
essays and articles.
 

4. Near the end of the chapter called PASSION, there is a picture of a fire.

    Above the fire are these words:
                                         

   “Is fire born of words?
  Or are words born of fire?”
 What do you think?  

    Explain.
          

    The fire was set because the newspaper owner printed articles 
that 

    angered some people.
 After the fire, the newspaper owner decided to use

    the power of 
his pen to fight for justice.

AUTHOR - MARGARET PETERSON HADDIX

GRADES -5-7

AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSN. TOP TEN BOOKS FOR YOUNG ADULTS

AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSN. - QUICK PICK FOR RELUCTANT YOUNG ADULT READERS

BANK STREET COLLEGE'S CHILDREN'S BOOK COMMITTEE'S" BEST   

     CHILDREN'S BOOKS OF THE YEAR LIST"

CALIFORNIA YOUNG READERS MEDAL  

MAUD HART LOVELACE AWARD   

NEVADA YOUNG READER'S AWARD  

GREAT STONE FACE AWARD (New Hampshire)   

NUTMEG CHILDREN'S BOOK AWARD ( (Connecticut)   

SUNSHINE STATE YOUNG READER'S AWARD(Florida)  

PENNSYLVANIA YOUNG READERS' CHOICE AWARD   

YOUNG HOOSIER BOOK AWARD (Indiana)   

INDIAN PAINTBRUSH BOOK AWARD (Wyoming)  

IOWA CHILDREN'S CHOICE AWARD LAMBDA LITERARY AWARD - 

This futuristic novel revolves around a twelve-year-old boy named Luke, who is a third child in a country where families are only allowed to have two children. If third children are caught, they face execution. Luke spends his life in hiding until he finds another third child. Together they try to defy the Population Police in their attempt to be free. Note: This is the first book of the series called The Shadow Children. For those who wish to read further, there are six more books - 
2. Among the Impostors   3. Among the Betrayed   4. Among the Barons   5. Among the Brave    6. Among the Enemy   7. Among the Free 

1. Compare and contrast yourself with Luke. Use personality traits and specific 

    examples of behavior in your answer.    

    Luke’s personality - He doesn’t like his life. He wants to go to 
school like 

    the other children.    

    He is curious. He peeks through the cracks in the attic and spies on the 

    other families.     

    He is brave. He goes outside during the day to find out who is living 
next 

    door. He leaves his family to start a new life with a new 
identity.     

    He is smart. He gives his father the idea of growing food indoors. 
He

    studies the other houses and learns that a third child must be living next 

    door.     

    He is caring. He wants to go to school and learn how to grow more 
food 

    to save the third children. He is against revolutionary tactics.     

    He is determined. He wants to learn how to save the third children. 
   

   To do this, he must lead a secret life.  

2.Jen and Luke want to save the third children, but they have different ideas. 

   Explain their ideas and choose the method you would 
use. Give reasons for 

   your choice.     

   Jen wants to start a revolution to force the government to change 
its 

   policy toward third children. Luke wants to solve the food 
shortage so 

   there will not be a need to curtail the population.  

AUTHOR - KIMBERLY BRUBAKER BRADLEY

GRADES - 4 - 7

NEWBERY AWARD - HONOR BOOK

The Newbery, is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children, to the author of "the most distinguished contributions to American literature for children”.

JANE ADDAMS CHILDREN'S BOOK AWARD- FINALIST👍🏿

The Jane Addams Children’s Book Award annually recognizes children’s books of literary and aesthetic excellence that effectively engage children in thinking about peace, social justice, global community, and equity for all people.

BOSTON GLOBE - HORN BOOK - HONOR BOOK 

BOOKLIST - BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR

SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL - BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR

NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY - BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR

CHICAGO PUBLIC LIBRARY - BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR

BOOKPAGE - BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR

KIRKUS REVIEWS - BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR

As I was reading this book, I wondered how the author was able to write so informatively about child abuse. I later learned that she wrote from personal experience. 

The narrator is a ten year old girl named Della who lives with her older sister, Suki, in a foster home. They were placed there because their mother is in jail and the father is unknown. However, before entering the foster home, the girls were living with a friend of their mother who pretended to be their father. He was actually a monster  who used the older girl for his sexual needs. While Suki was experiencing difficulty trying to cope with her horrible memories, Della was being tormented by the class bully. Suki eventually succumbs to the pain and tries to kill herself, while Della  uses her fists to deal with the bully. As time passes, the girls learn more acceptable ways of dealing with these issues. Hopefully, readers will also learn to speak up if or when bad things happen to them.

Select from the questions at the end of the book.

AUTHOR - LAURI HALSE ANDERSON

GRADES - MATURE 8 AND UP

😪WARNING! THIS BOOK HAS BEEN BANNED!😪

MICHAEL J. PRINTZ - HONOR BOOK

is an American Library Association literary award that annually recognizes the "best book written for teens, based entirely on its literary merit". 

NATIONAL BOOK AWARD - FINALIST 

TIME MAGAZINE - ONE OF THE BEST YOUNG ADULT BOOKS OF ALL TIME

EDGAR ALLAN POE - FINALIST

SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL - BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR

YOUNG ADULT’S CHOICE - INTERNATIONAL READING ASSOCIATION

AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION - TOP TEN BEST BOOK FOR YOUNG ADULTS

COSMOPOLITAN MAGAZINE - ONE OF 125 BEST YOUNG ADULT BOOKS EVERYONE SHOULD READ

A girl attends an end of the summer party and gets raped. She calls the police, but no one understands why she did it. As a result, she becomes ostracized. Her friends consider her a pariah, and the rapist wants to try it again. 

While rape is not a pleasant topic, the author, who was raped, dispenses valuable information in this riveting novel. Girls will learn that you cannot effectively deal with rape by being silent. Hopefully, boys will learn that what is a one-night stand for them, is a never-ending nightmare for the girls they abuse. 

SPEAK is one of the most banned books in this country.

There is a follow-up book called SHOUT, which is the next selection.

1. What character helped Melinda the most?

      Ivy or her lab partner David

2.   What keeps Melinda silent? What is she afraid of?

3.   Is it possible to speak without saying anything?

AUTHOR -CAROLE BOSTON WEATHERFORD 

GRADES - 4 AND UP

NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR THE SOCIAL STUDIES - NOTABLE BOOK  

BANK STREET COLLEGE - BEST CHILDREN'S BOOKS

CENTER  FOR CHILDREN'S BOOKS - BEST BOOKS

VOICES OF YOUTH ADVOCATES - POETRY PICK   

The author uses poetry to bridge the gap from the jungles of Africa to the civil rights movement. Readers will visit the auction block and get a glimpse of black history as they travel through time. Along the way they will meet sport legends, musicians, and activists. Since many of these emotionally charged poems lend themselves to discussion and interpretation, I would only read two or three at each presentation.

1. In the poem called “The Capture”, the author says that Ayo will never
 be his 

    own man. What does that mean?
    

    He is about to be captured and become a slave for the rest of his 
life.


2. In the poem called, “Jake’s Plea”, what is the plea and what is his 
dream?
 

    His plea is to keep his family together. He dreams of escaping.


3. In the poem called, “The Conductor and the Woman”, what do you
 think the 

    last line means?
   

    The North Star was a guide for the slaves to follow during
 their escape to

    freedom.


4. In the poem, “The Mother of the Movement”, the author says that 
 

    segregation is a stubborn old mule. What do you think she means
  by that?

AUTHOR - GAYLE FORMAN

GRADES - MATURE 4 - 7

JOSETTE FRANK AWARD - WINNER👍🏿

This award for fiction honors a book or books of outstanding literary merit in which children or young people deal in a positive and realistic way with difficulties in their world and grow emotionally and morally. The award has been given annually since 1943. 

 JANE ADDAMS CHILDREN’S BOOK AWARD - WINNER👍🏿

A national committee of members with passion for and expertise in children’s literature and social justice is responsible for making the choices each year.

NOTABLE CHILDREN’S BOOKS IN THE LANGUAGE ARTS AWARD - SELECTION

JUNIOR LIBRARY GUILD - SELECTION

Hate crimes, mental illness, antisemitism, death, forgiveness and bonding are all woven into this multilayered story of redemption. After 12 year old Alex plants a baseball bat into the head of a boy he hates, the court ordered him to do community service before a final judgement was rendered. Alex had to spend two months helping people in an assisted living center. While there, he bonded with an 107 year old man who hadn’t spoken in years. With Alex by his side, he revealed how he lost the love of his life during WW11 when he was captured by the Nazis. As their relationship grew, the boy began to see the error of his ways and was able to make a convincing argument for mercy when he appeared before the judge. This story is for mature readers as the author offers much “food for thought” before revealing a perfect ending.

1. Do you agree with the judge’s decision? Explain.

2. Finish this sentence - After reading Not Nothing, I never realized that ….  .

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