The Little Island

Author: Margaret Wise Brown

Illustrator: Leonard Weisgard

Publisher: Random House

Publication Date: 1946

Genre: Animals, Picture Book, Young Adult

Audience: 3+

Awards: Caldecott Medal

Overview: The little island in the middle of the ocean experiences the many changes of the weather and seasons.  This little island is quite big to all the creatures that live on it. The beautiful watercolors along side the poetic text, helps to paint a clear picture of the island in the readers mind. 

Activity: Have students take a sentence or two from the book and draw a picture to accompany the text.  Take the completed work and make a book out of it. 

Reviewer’s Name: Kristen

Many Moons

Author: James Thurber

Illustrator: Louis Slobodkin

Publisher: Harcourt Brace & Company (not on website)

Publication Date: 1943

Genre: Picture Book, Young Adult, Folklore

Audience: 3+

Overview:  Princess Lenore was feeling ill and told her father that in order for her to get better he would have to get her the moon. The King sought out many different members of his court to get the moon, but they all claimed that it would be impossible. The princess is tricked into believing that she was wearing the moon around her neck, so now the real moon needs to be hidden from the princess. 

Activity: Have students discuss what one thing they would wish for in the entire world.  Have them write about how this wish would be granted or why it wont be. 

Reviewer’s Name: Kristen

Where the Red Fern Grows

Author: Wilson Rawls

Publisher: Doubleday

Publication Date: 1961

Genre: Young Adult/ Mystery

Audience: Gr. Young Adult

Overview: As a young boy Billy worked hard to buy two Redbone coonhounds, Old Dan and Little Ann. He raises the dogs and trains them to hunt very well. They go on to win the gold championship in the prestigious coon hunt however when they attempt to tree a mountain lion, Old Dan is killed and Little Ann stops eating out of depression and dies as well. At the gravesite, a beautiful red fern grows which forever serves as a reminder of the true friendship and loyalty the two coons had to Billy.

Activity: Create a list of vocabulary words that students do not know as they read the book. Write a reflection of the emotions evoked from the novel.

Reviewer’s Name: Kate Williams

You Read Me, I’ll Read You

Author: Mary Ann Hoberman

Publisher: Little, Brown

Publication Date: 2001

Genre: Poetry

Audience: Gr. K-5, Young Adult

Overview: This is the third series of a book. They retell Mother Goose rhymes. It consists of 14 short stories. Each story is designed for two readers and sometimes they read together if the line calls for it.

Activity: Have the children work in pairs. Each can be assigned to read a part in the story. They can also act out their story to the class.

Reviewer’s Name: Erin Mazzatta

Age is Just a Number

Author: Dara Torres with Elizabeth Well  

Publisher: Broadway Books

Publication Date: 2009

Genre: Biography

Audience: Young Adult

Overview: Dara Torres is an Olympic Gold Medalist swimmer for the US Swim Team. She became extremely popular in the 2009 Olympics as she launched her Olympic comeback at the age of 41 after being retired for eight years and having a child two years ago. This is an inspirational and motivational memoir about her life, staying fit, aging gracefully, and learning that you are never too old pursue your dreams.

Activity: After reading this book, have the students write a paragraph about a dream or goal they have for their future. 

Reviewer’s Name: Corri Deegan

On the Field with... Mia Hamm

Author: Matt Christopher 

Publisher: Little, Brown & Company

Publication Date: 1998

Genre: Biography

Audience: Young Adult

Overview: Mia Hamm is known to many as the best women’s soccer player who has ever played. She became a member of the US National Women’s Soccer Team at the age of 15 and from then on quickly became a household name. Matt Christopher gives an up-close and personal look at Mia Hamm’s complete journey to her success.

Activity: After reading this book to class, have the students write a paragraph about what their biography would be.

Reviewer’s Name: Corri Deegan

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Author: J.K. Rowling

Illustrator: Mary GrandPre

Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books

Publication Date: 1999

Genre: Fantasy Fiction

Audience: Gr. Young Adult

Awards: National Book Award, Smarties Prize, Children’s Book Award

Overview: This is a book about a boy named Harry, who lives with his aunt, uncle and awful cousin, Dudley. He hasn’t had a birthday in 11 years and lives in a room under the stairs. One day, however, an owl delivers mail to Harry with an invitation to a magical place called Hogwarts. Magic, invisibility, wizards and a game called Quidditch are all things Harry will come across at this place. This is the beginning of the unforgettable experience Harry and his friends will have.

Activity: Have the students write about what one magical power they would like to have and why.

Reviewer’s Name: Alex Corbutt 

Woolly Mammoth

Author/Illustrator: Mick Manning and Brita Granström

Publisher: http://www.franceslincoln.com/Book/6238/1/Woolly%20Mammoth

Publication Date: 2009

Genre: Animals, Historical Fiction, Young Adult

Audience: Gr. Pre-K-2

Overview: A creative story about hard life of the ancient woolly mammoth. This book is a comprehensive teaching tool, which includes additional facts about this interesting animal on each page.

Activity: Have students research facts about an endangered animal. Have them share their animal with the rest of the class.  Discuss why it’s important to protect endangered species.

Reviewer’s Name: Kristin Gowing

Babe Ruth

Author/Illustrator: Norman L. Macht

Publisher: Chelsea House

Publication Date: 1991

Genre: Biography

Audience: Gr. Young Adult

Overview: For all of the baseball fans this biography tells the story of George Herman “Babe” Ruth, one of baseball’s greatest players. This book also contains pictures from when Babe was in the Major Leagues and clear descriptions of what is shown.

Activity: Have the students write a paragraph on what they would want to be known for or famous for.

Reviewer’s Name: Alex Corbutt

A Story

Author /Illustrator:  Gail E. Haley

Publisher: Atheneum

Publication Date: 1970

Awards: Caldecott Medal

Genre: Folktale

Audience: Young Adults

Overview: Once upon a time, there were no tales on the surface of the earth, all of them belonged to the Sky God. However, there was a man who wanted to take some of them; He was known as the Spider man. He made a plan to reach the stories in order to give them back to the earth. An excellent designed book within an African atmosphere enables kids to become absorbed by this fantastic tale.

Activity:  Make an African dress and create stories about their lives if they have been born in an Africa tribe.

Reviewer’s Name: Jose Morales

Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret

Author: Judy Blume

Publisher: Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc.

Publication Date: 1970

Genre: Young Adult

Audience: Gr. Young Adult

Overview: When Margaret moves from the city to the suburbs her entire life changes. This is a hilarious story of growing up, friendships, and religion.

Activity: Bring in fears of transitioning into a new school for sixth-grade; have students (5^th graders) write something they are concerned about and write it on an index card and put it in a hat without putting their name on it. Write each of these on a separate card to ensure anonymity and pass out the questions; each student will respond to the question they were given to show that students are not alone and can help each other through the transition from elementary school to middle school.

Reviewer’s Name: Kate Williams

The Cat Ate My Gymsuit

Author: Paula Danziger

Publisher: The Putnam & Grosset Group

Publication Date: 1974

Genre: Fiction, Young Adult

Audience: Gr. 3+

Overview: Marcy, a 13 year-old girl, hates everything about her life including her father, the principal, school, and especially being fat. Ms. Finney’s teaching methods interest the students and change everything for Marcy.

Activity: Have students write about a time they were bullied or made to feel left out because of their looks and how it made them feel.

Reviewer’s Name: Kate Williams

Treasure Island

Author: Robert Louis Stevenson

Publisher: The Penguin Group

Publication Date: 1883

Genre: Historical Fiction

Audience: Gr. Young Adult

Overview: Jim Hawkins embarks on a quest for hidden treasure aboard the Hispaniola after discovering Captain Flint’s sea chest which contains a treasure map. As Jim, Squire Trelawney, and Dr. Livesey set sail in search of the secret island, they are unaware of the mutinous pirates led by Long John Silver aboard the ship. This adventure of the high seas is bursting with action and humor.

Activity: Use the novel to introduce a history lesson on piracy. Have students write a chapter 35 in which they explain what Jim chooses to do with his treasure; Or, have students write an essay about what they would do with the treasure if they were Jim.

Reviewer’s Name: Kate Williams

Homecoming

Author: Cynthia Voigt

Publisher: The Ballantine Publishing Group

Publication Date: 1981

Genre: Fiction/ Young Adult

Audience: Gr. Young Adult

Overview: Dicey is left to care for her three younger siblings as they travel to Bridgeport, CT after their mother abandons them. As the story unfolds the children find themselves short of money and food on their way to live with their cousins. Shortly after their arrival in Bridgeport, they realize that they cannot stay which forces them to continue their journey to their grandmother’s farm in MD.

Activity: Have students discuss what they may find difficult if they found themselves in the character’s situation. Since they travel through Annapolis and various parts of MD, this could be a good field trip experience or talk about the geography of our state.

Reviewer’s Name: Kate Williams

What the Moon Saw

Author: Laura Resau
Publisher’s Web site: Delacorte Press
Publication Date: 2006
Genre: Fiction Young Adult Novel
Audience: Gr. 4+
Overview: A wonderful, touching story for middle grades. As Marylander, 14 year-old Clara begins to feel a spiritual connection to her Mexican heritage, her grandparents, who she has never met, invite her to spend the summer with them. Although their remote Mexican village is more primitive than she had ever imagined, it feels like home. She quickly adjusts to life without technology, finding a simple, spiritual connection to her grandparents and their life in Mexico. She learns lots about herself, through the stories her Abuelita tells her about her own life as a healer. She begins to appreciate the simple things of life with great joy. A great story to begin readers on a path of their own introspection, appreciation and understanding of a not so well known land.

Activity: During the reading, write brief notes to later recall similarities and differences between Clara’s growing relationship with her grandparents, and your own. What spiritual, sensitive, and caring qualities have your family been able to pass down to you? Think about the traditions of your family. Find out how they evolved.

Reviewer’s Name: Deb Marciano

Letters from the Inside

Author: John Marsen
Publisher: Bantam Doubleday Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: 1991
Awards: A School Library Journal: Best Book of the Year
The Horn Book Fanfare; A Publisher’s Weekly Choice of the Year’s Best Books; ALA Quick Pick for Young Adults.
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Audience: Mature Young Adults

Overview: Letters from the Inside is not a happily ever after type of story. It is instead, a riveting story of two fifteen-year-old girls living in Australia who strike up a powerful friendship through letters they write back and forth to one another. Over the year the story takes place, the girls go from hiding who they are behind masks of happiness, to spilling their hearts out to one another in a desperate attempt to have someone understand them. This story is a heartbreaking tale of the harsh reality that these girls call “life”. The letters become a dependency for the girls; they need more than anything to have some one hear what they have to say. This story describes an ill fated friendship and leaves the reader breathless and looking for more.

Activity: The story ends abruptly leaving a number of unanswered questions still up in the air. Have my students first describe the questions they want answered, and then make up their own endings to what they think happens next. Because of the intensity of this book, it may make some students uncomfortable to discuss it out loud. Instead, students might keep a reflection journal to jot down their thoughts, questions, and emotions throughout the story.

Reviewer’s Name: Nikki Palmer

The Higher Power of Lucky

Author/Illustrator: Susan Patron/Matt Phelan
Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: 2006
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
Awards: ALA Newbery Medal; ALA Notable Children's Books; CCBC Choices (Cooperative Children's Book Council); Dorothy Canfield Fisher Book Award Master List (VT); Kirkus Editor's Choice
Audience: Gr. 4+

Overview: This is a story of a little girl named Lucky, who believes her guardian, Brigitte, might be leaving her and go back to France. Since Lucky’s mother is dead and her father has abandoned her, Lucky believes that she is going to be an orphan. In order to avoid becoming an orphan, Lucky decides to run away. In the end, Lucky is being searched for by most of the town. When she is found, Lucky finally releases her mother’s ashes. After she returns home, Lucky learns Brigitte was not planning on leaving to go back to France, but she was planning on adopting Lucky to be her daughter.

Activity: Have students create a survival pack that they would take on an adventure into a storm. See what items each student finds essential to take along.

Reviewer’s Name: Becky Gray

Letters from Vinnie

Author: Maureen Stack Sappey
Publisher: Calkins Creek
Publication Date: 1999
Genre: YA Historical Fiction
Audience: Gr. 4+
Awards: NCSS-CBC Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People; National League of American Pen Women; New York Public Library – Books for the Teen Age

Overview: Vinnie Ream accomplished something few women of her time ever even imagined. In this fictionalized account of Ream’s life, the author engages readers in the story of this young woman who, at 18 years old, began sculpting the statue of Lincoln that stands today in the US Capitol. Through beautifully crafted letters to Vinnie’s friend, Regina, this book reflects feminism during the Civil War time period.

Activity: 2007 marks the 150th birthday of Vinnie Ream, providing a wonderful opportunity to find out about this young woman’s intellectual curiosity, determination, compassion. Students can write their own histories in the style of Vinnie’s letters, and learn more about the sculpture of President Lincoln.

Reviewer’s Name: Deb Marciano

So B. It

Author: Sarah Weeks
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Publication Date: 2004
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
Audience: Gr. 4+
Awards: Notable Children’s Book in the Language Arts (NCTE); ALA Notable Children’s Book; ALA Best Book for Young Adults

Overview: Heidi like most young teens, is wrestling wither identity. But in this case, she really does not know who she is. Raised by her mentally disabled mother, Heidi is more parent than child. The bits and pieces that hold the clue to her identity range from Mama’s list of 23 words (taped inside the cupboard door), a few photos, and “Soof” lead Heidi on a cross country search for her and Mama’s roots. Read on to find the meaning of the books’ title, as Heidi uses her lucky streak and learns the truth about her mother’s life.

Activity: If you only knew 23 words, which could you not live without? Would you be like Heidi and “rather know than not know”?

Reviewer’s Name: Deb Marciano

Stuck in Neutral

Author: Terry Trueman
Publisher: Harper Tempest
Publication Date: 2000
Genre: Fiction, Young Adult
Audience: Gr. 4+
Awards: Printz Award

Overview: What must it be like to be so severely disabled that everyone around you thinks you have no thoughts or emotions? Shawn’s gripping story is told from his wheelchair, as he hears, sees, and understands life around him, but cannot communicate. This compelling perspective, forces readers to stop and take a second look at those they often seen as "victims of disability".

Activity: Spend a few minutes trying to relay a message to others with just your eyes. Try to imagine what life would be like without your ability to communicate – not just without a cell phone or computer, but without the ability to use spokenor body language. Sit silently for 1 minute. Can you do it for two? Three?

Reviewer’s Name: Deb Marciano