2010 Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers

January 21, 2010 | Tasha

The Quick Picks list is a great list for librarians and parents to know about. These are books for ages 12-18 that teens will pick up on their own and read for pleasure.

Here is the top ten list:

Street Art Book: 60 Artists in Their Own Words by Ric Blackshaw and Liz Farrelly

The Naked Truth: Young, Beautiful and HIV Positive by Marvelyn Brown

Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles

Jumping Off Swings by Jo Knowles

Dope Sick by Walter Dean Myers

The Vampire Book by Sally Regan

Lockdown: Escape from Furnace by Alexander Gordon Smith

Show Me How: 500 Things You Should Know by Derek Fagerstrom and Lauren Smith

High Voltage Tattoo by Kat Von D

Paranormal Caught on Film by Melvyn Willin

I appreciate the strong presence of nonfiction here. It really speaks to what teens love to read. I don’t think any of these would linger long on library shelves.

2010 Best Books for Young Adults

January 21, 2010 | Tasha

YALSA has released their list of 90 best books for teens. You can see the entire list here. They also select a Top 10 list:

The Demon’s Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan (currently reading – it’s fab!)

The Orange Houses by Paul Griffin (Great pick! – my review)

The Great Wide Sea by M. H. Herlong

The Reformed Vampire Support Group by Catherine Jinks

Alligator Bayou by Donna Jo Napoli

Stitches by David Small (another great pick)

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead (my review)

Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork (one of my favorites for the Printz – my review)

Lips Touch: Three Times by Laini Taylor (A great read – my review)

Written in Bone by Sally M. Walker

Some other great picks on the list include:

Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

Because I Am Furniture by Talia Chaltas

Solace of the Road by Siobhan Dowd

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

Eon by Alison Goodman

The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly

Tales of Outer Suburbia by Shaun Tan

Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld

Back of the Bus

January 21, 2010 | Tasha

Back of the Bus by Aaron Reynolds, illustrated by Floyd Cooper

It is a winter afternoon in Montgomery, Alabama. A boy and his mother are riding the bus home after a long day. The boy is playing with a marble, letting it roll up the aisle. When a hand snatches the marble, the boy sees Ms. Parks smiling at him and she rolls the marble back. The bus gets more crowded and then there is a commotion. The bus remains stopped until the police arrive and take Ms. Parks away. There is something in her eyes and the way she holds her head though, that show the boy that something big is happening. And he can see the same spark in his mother’s eyes now.

Here we see a moment in history captured through a young boy’s perspective. Reynold’s poetry is languid with the warm afternoon and the bumps of the bus. His poetry allows us to see more deeply into the boy and his mother as he calls attention to small details:

Mama shakes “no” at me,

and I hold it snug in my hand.

She’s got them worked-all-day eyes,

but she’s got her strong chin on.

Very accessible to children, the poem is filled with an honesty and truth. Cooper’s illustrations are filled with afternoon sunshine that illuminates this moment in history. He has captured the small world of the bus, yet the poem and his illustrations reveal far more. Warmly lit, detailed and beautifully done, his illustrations are glowingly lovely.

Highly recommended, this book takes history and bring it to life through poetry, image and one boy. Appropriate for ages 5-8.

Reviewed from library copy.

New Board Books

January 21, 2010 | Tasha

Rosemary Wells continues her series of Baby Max and Ruby books with Counting Peas and Love. With just enough texture on the page to make them engaging without being intrusive, these books are clever, sweet and funny. In Counting Peas, Max sneezes peas all over. He puts them in his shoe, but eventually is distracted away from his peas by strawberries! In Love, readers see the family that surrounds and takes care of Max. But who does he love best of all?

Another pair of great board books come from Doreen Cronin and Betsy Lewin and feature the beloved characters from Click, Clack, Moo. In Click, Clack, 123, one farmer is fast asleep and so the animals get into all sorts of mischief which is counted along to. Nicely, the numbers support the story rather than getting in the way. In Click, Clack, ABC, the animals are heading off for some fun which isn’t revealed until the ending. The rhyming here is well done and adds to the speed and romping style of the book.

Reviewed from copies received from publishers.