The August issue of VOYA has a great list of the best teen nonfiction from 2007. I love that VOYA gives the criteria used to pick their honor list right in the middle of their article. I haven’t read the majority of the books, but those that I have are great. I am especially happy to see Peter Sis’ The Wall listed because I think it is a perfect book to use with teens.
Brooklyn Bridge by Karen Hesse.
Joseph feels trapped in his Brooklyn apartment surrounded by the Teddy Bears that his family invented a few months ago. The bears have taken over their lives, their space and their toy store. Now Joseph spends his days stuffing bears, packaging them, and being responsible for his younger brother and sister. And all he longs to do is go to Coney Island, the symbol of all that is fun and all that is not his current life. But life isn’t that simple, as he quickly finds out as he faces falling in love, a death in the family, and much more during the summer he’s fourteen years old.
Hesse has created a novel filled with characters that are so well written they come to life. Even the more extreme characters in the family ring true and have hidden complexities to them which are a treat to discover. Joseph himself is a true teen with a certain focus on himself rather than his family. It is when he faces hardship that his true character shines through. Hesse’s voice as a writer is equally strong here with attention to period detail that make the setting as much a part of the story as the characters. Never intrusive, her voice is a guiding light bringing the period to life for children who may have no knowledge of it. Hesse has also blended humor, tragedy and a real family into this story. One never knows quite where the book is heading because of her skillful writing, elevating what could have been a simple quiet story into something with dramatic tension that is hard to put down.
Highly recommended as great historical fiction that is very well-written and conceived, this book is appropriate for 10-13 year olds. It would also work as a book to read aloud and discussed in a 5th or 6th grade classroom.
My Little Book of Chinese Words illustrated by Catherine Louis, calligraphy by Shi Bo.
Just as the title implies, this is a small book, about five inches on each side. Inside is a treasure trove of Chinese words accompanied by illustrations that aid in seeing the concept behind the calligraphy. Each word has the ancient Chinese character, the modern Chinese character, the translation to English, an illustration to aid in understanding, and the pronunciation of the word in Chinese.
Louis’ illustrations are prints with thick black lines and simple subject matter. Often the images as so perfectly matched with the Chinese character that they astound. The illustrations are what make this book work so very well, creating a book welcoming to children learning Chinese.
Art’s Supplies by Chris Tougas
Enter the wild and wonderful world of Art’s room, filled with paint, markers, chalk, and anything else you would need to have a party with a pad of paper. This book captures the joy of creation, the fun of art and the release of imagination. As Art uses each type of art supply, they comment with silly puns and laugh-out-loud jokes, adding to the hilarity and pace of the book.
Tougas’ art is wonderful, each page capturing the medium being used and the differing feel and techniques. Children will immediately be drawn in to the explosion of art and inspired to create their own messy party.
Recommended not only to encourage art in children, but also to instruct on the variety of media that can be used. An inspiring and fun look at the diversity of art.
Mattland by Hazel Hutchins and Gail Herbert, art by Dusan Petricic.
Matt has moved three times with his family and now they have moved to a place filled with mud and water and no trees. So when Matt picks up a stick, he is tempted to break it or throw it, but instead he starts to draw in the mud. And as he draws, a world appears before him filled with lakes, rivers, mountains of rock, roads and houses. The closed doors of the other houses begin to open and an outsider joins him in building his land. When disaster strikes the tiny world, Matt’s own world has expanded enough for lots of hands to be there to help.
This book is about the power of creativity, the strength of play and the formation of connections without trying. The illustrations are a large part of the book with their skillful and restrained use of color to show where imagination has touched the dirt and changed it. The text is wonderfully bristly at the beginning, filled with Matt’s anxiety. By the end, it has transformed to be eager and free-flowing. The amount of text on each page make this book appeal to a slightly older audience, so it will be appreciated by elementary art classes as well as teachers and librarians looking to get children thinking creatively.
Highly recommended, this book will get you feeling free and easy too as you survey what may be your muddy and rocky place and find imaginative ways to make it magical and friendly.
All Aboard for Dreamland by Melanie Harby, illustrated by Geraldo Valerio.
I’m not a huge fan of bedtime books. So often they are saccharine sweet and make me twitchy. They also tend to get my sons begging me to read the book with the monster on the cover. This one, however, works. Follow the whistle down the rainbow railroad tracks, hear the chugga-chugga, the clickety-clack, the bumpety bump. Get caught up in the jaunty rhythm and rhyme, and then just allow yourself to drift as the train reaches that final hill and slows way down.
The illustrations are quirky rather than sweet, filled with pink elephants, wide grins, a lots of railroad tracks. The pace of the book is what does the trick, starting fast and vibrant and skillfully slowing at the end.
Guaranteed yawns and sleepy eye rubbing for toddlers and preschoolers. Appropriate for ages 2-5.
The Pout-Pout Fish by Deborah Diesen, pictures by Dan Hanna.
Mr. Fish swims around with a permanent scowl on his face. He won’t even try to cheer up because that just the way he is. He doesn’t know how to be anything but dreary and dull and dour. As fish after fish try to cheer him up, he just becomes more and more dismal until he is upside down flopped on a rock at the bottom of the sea. That is where a beautiful silver fish finds him and kisses him. And suddenly his attitude changes.
Readers will be drawn into the book by the rollicking rhyme and the repetition, making this the perfect book to share with toddlers and preschoolers. Even now, weeks after reading it my sons launch into the chorus from the book with great gusto on the spur of the moment. The illustrations will project well to a room and by reading it to a class you will bring them out of their own pout-pouts.
Recommended for toddler story times, this book may not be deep literature, but it is great fun.
Boys of Steel: The Creators of Superman by Mac Tyler Nobleman, illustrated by Ross MacDonald.
This is the gripping and fascinating true story of the creation of Superman. Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster were high school students in Cleveland during the Depression. Jerry was a writer, who loved adventure and science fiction. Joe loved to draw and illustrated many of Jerry’s stories. Together in 1934, they created Superman, a hero who was also as shy and reserved as both of them were. For three years they tried to sell Superman to publishers. It wasn’t until they found one interested in publishing comic books rather than comic strips that they got a deal. The comics debuted in 1938 and were an instant success.
And the end of the book, you will find a historical piece on the copyright issues of Superman which is equally interesting as the book itself. This picture book will be of interest to all children who enjoy superhero stories. Its vintage feel captures the time period perfectly while the comics and action themselves make it a thrill visually. The text is just the right length to tell the full story, but not too much to overwhelm young readers or listeners. The book reads aloud well and could be used in elementary classes about writing and creativity.
A great example of a nonfiction picture book recommended for ages 6-8, this book will fly off your shelves. Up up and away!
I’m not quite sure what to make of the news that Wal-mart supermarket in the UK has pulled the book My Sister Jodie by Jacqueline Wilson because of a swear word. OK, so that’s not surprising. It’s the sort of thing that I’ve come to expect from Wal-Mart. But the surprise comes from Random House who has agreed to edit the book and remove the offending word by changing one letter so that it reads "twit" instead.
The book has already sold over 28,000 copies with no complaint. Here’s the response from Random House:
A spokesman for Random House Children’s Books said: "In the context of the character, we felt it was used in a way that accurately portrayed how children like Jodie would speak to each other.
"The book is aimed at children aged 10 and over, and we felt it was acceptable for that age range.
"However, in light of this response we have decided to amend the word when we reprint the book."
In the US, we don’t know Dame Jacqueline Wilson as well as they do in the UK, but she is amazingly popular there. She has sold over 20 million books in the UK alone! Which is another piece of this puzzle that makes Random House’s response all the more odd.
So what do you think? What should Random House have done? Is that word appropriate for books aimed at children over age 10? Do powerful retailers have the right to ask for edits in books?
