New Books Part 1

Hello,

I have some wonderful new books to tell you about. Three years ago I started a program at my school that is similar to the Newbery Award that is given out each year to the best story written in that year.

Note: The Newbery is awarded by a group of adults who read all the published books in the year and discuss (read this to mean ‘argue’ at times) over which books will make the short list. Then the short list is discussed over a handful of meetings until one book is chosen and possibly a few are honor books. Out of about 1000 books, that is a LOT of reading for these people.
Many public libraries and middle school libraries conduct ‘Mock Newbery’ programs where students who want to read can read the books they can and their groups also discuss and choose the one they think or hope will actually win the Newbery.

I thought about doing something like this, but have shied away from it because so many of the new books aren’t appropriate for our schools and I often don’t purchase the winner each year because of this. One day about three years ago, I thought about doing something similar, but choosing 12 – 15 titles that were newer books and having students who are interested in reading be a part of this. We call our award the “Sunflower Award” because the sunflower has historical meaning for Rogers. I don’t have a lot of readers, but this is the third year for our award.
Here are some of the books that are on my list for this year. I will add more next week. If you have any students who are avid readers, these are titles that they might enjoy reading. If you don’t get them for your library, they might find them in the public library.

Blue Birds by Caroline Starr Rose (2015)
This is a historical novel in free verse about the Roanoke people and the English people. The story is written as journal entries from two girl’s point of view. Alis is English and Kimi is a Native American. The mystery of Roanoke Island is not solved, but we do learn more about each culture through the eyes of these two young women.

May B by Caroline Starr Rose (2012)
May’s father has volunteered for her to go and help out on a neighbor’s homestead until Christmas. May does not want to be there, but neither does the young wife. A terrible turn of events leaves May all alone and she must try to find food and fuel to make it through until Christmas. With winter upon her, and the walls of the sod house seeming to close in on her, she is stranded. This novel is also written in free verse.

A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park (2010)
The country is Sudan. Two young people facing problems. Two different time periods. In 1985 Salva’s village is attacked and he must join a mass of people traveling to escape the war. Salva is a survivor and travels across Africa to Ethiopia, and then to Kenya before getting a new home in the United States. In 2008 Nya walks eight hours a day to fetch water for her family. Her day is filled with the search for water until one blessed day when men with iron giraffes come and begin to dig near her village. The two stories mingle, first one, then another until they come together at the end.

Paper Things by Jennifer Richard Jacobson (2015)
I have never been homeless, so I don’t know what it is like having to find a place to stay night after night. This story is about a young preteen girl and her older brother who are on their own and trying to find a place for themselves. Her brother has a few friends that open their apartments to the siblings, but it is difficult for Ari to keep up with her schoolwork when she is going from place to place. She is embarrassed and doesn’t tell her best friend, so that creates a distance between them. Eventually, new friends help Ari deal with her life and she is able to stand up for herself.

Listen, Slowly by Thanhha Lai (2015)
Culture clash comes when Mai is forced to go to Vietnam with her beloved grandmother for the summer. Mai is a Southern California girl ready for sunning, beaches, and being near her friends and possibly making friends with one special boy. But when she is sent to Vietnam, things are so different and strange, that Mai cannot wait to go back home. Mai does not speak the language and she does not know the customs of the country. Little by little she begins to adapt and accept her family and her heritage.

Next week I will tell you about a few more.
Have a great week.
Audrey

Currently reading: The Scavenger’s Daughters (Book One in The Tales of The Scavenger’s Daughters) by Kay Bratt
Currently Re-reading: The Haystacks Church by Andy Nash, At Home in Mitford by Jan Karon