The December list is up! 4 more great reads you should not miss! We have 19 titles to read and discuss so far! Please check out the complete list here.
Don't forget to click the links and add your thoughts!
Monday, December 17, 2012
December Reads - Adult Mock Newbery
The December list is up! 4 more great reads you should not miss! We have 19 titles to read and discuss so far! Please check out the complete list here.
Don't forget to click the links and add your thoughts!
Son by Lois Lowry
Lois Lowry
Houghton Mifflin
393p.
Unlike the other Birthmothers in her utopian community, teenaged Claire forms an attachment to her baby, feeling a great loss when he is taken to the Nurturing Center to be adopted by a family unit.
What Came From The Stars by Gary Schmidt
Gary Schmidt
Clarion Books
294p.
In a desperate attempt for survival, a peaceful civilization on a faraway planet besieged by a dark lord sends its most precious gift across the cosmos into the lunchbox of Tommy Pepper, sixth grader, of Plymouth, Massachusetts.
Thursday, November 15, 2012
November Reads - Adult Mock Newbery
Are you all caught up and well read for our January discussion? Don't forget to stop by the SJCPL Mock Newbery page and grab a note taking form! Fill out one for each book before the meeting to help you remember all the little details!
Here are four new books to add to your TBR piles!
Moonbird by Philip Hoose
The Unfortunate Son by Constance Leeds
Starry River of the Sky by Grace Lin
No Crystal Stair by Vaunda Michaeux Nelson
Click each title to add your comments! Don't forget to check out the other books we will discuss for our Adult Mock Newbery!
Here are four new books to add to your TBR piles!
Click each title to add your comments! Don't forget to check out the other books we will discuss for our Adult Mock Newbery!
No Crystal Stair by Vaunda Nelson
Vaunda Micheaux Nelson
Carolrhoda Press
188 pg.
In this work of historical fiction, Nelson tells the story of a man with a passion for knowledge and of a bookstore whose influence has become legendary.
Saturday, October 13, 2012
October 2012 Meeting
Lions of Little Rock by Kristin Levine
The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
The Mighty Miss Malone by Christopher Paul Curtis
(The order of discussion is determined by vote)
The conversation was lively and fast moving! I tweeted some of the student's comments:
"author showed emotions well"
"setting helped you see the insane reality of what was happening during those times"
"JT had different levels...and maybe he was just caught up in the situation"
"the book is short because it reflects Ivan and feels like he was really talking"
"alternates between funny and interesting"
"this book was surreal because the people and the animals were both sentient and real but not in a fantasy way"
The Mighty Miss Malone
"liked how Jimmy was helping the family"
"liked how it was about her feelings and her life"
"Didn't like Desa at first but liked her better as the story progressed"
Overall, all three books were well-received. Katherine Applegate's abitlity to make the story seem "real" was a huge part of our discussion on Ivan. They felt that she truly knew what Ivan was thinking and feeling.
We also had a big discussion about endings. Some thought the Lions of Little Rock ended too neatly while others thought no, because the friends still couldn't be together. They also disagreed on the appropriate ending for Miss Malone. Some thought it left too much up in the air. One student wondered what others felt made a "good ending" since they had such opposite reactions to Levine's and Curtis' endings.
Great discussion!
The Mighty Miss Malone
"liked how Jimmy was helping the family"
"liked how it was about her feelings and her life"
Overall, all three books were well-received. Katherine Applegate's abitlity to make the story seem "real" was a huge part of our discussion on Ivan. They felt that she truly knew what Ivan was thinking and feeling.
We also had a big discussion about endings. Some thought the Lions of Little Rock ended too neatly while others thought no, because the friends still couldn't be together. They also disagreed on the appropriate ending for Miss Malone. Some thought it left too much up in the air. One student wondered what others felt made a "good ending" since they had such opposite reactions to Levine's and Curtis' endings.
Great discussion!
Monday, October 8, 2012
Great Unexpected, The by Sharon Creech
Sharon Creech
Joanna Cotler Books
226p.
"In the little town of Blackbird Tree live two orphan girls: one Naomi Deane, brimming with curiosity, and her best friend, Lizzie Scatterding, who could talk the ears off a cornfield. Naomi has a knack for being around when trouble happens. For she knows all the peculiar people in town--like Crazy Cora and Witch Wiggins and Mr. Farley. But then, one day, a boy drops out of a tree. The strangely charming Finn boy. Then the Dingle Dangle man appears, asking all kinds of questions. Curious surprises are revealed--three locked trunks, a pair of rooks, a crooked bridge, and that boy. Soon Naomi and Lizzie find themselves zooming toward a future neither could ever have imagined. Meanwhile, on a grand estate across the ocean, an old lady whose heart has been deceived concocts a plan. . . "--Publisher.
Monday, October 1, 2012
Youth Mock Newbery Bonus List 1
Have you finished all the required reading for Mock Newbery club? Maybe you are on hold for a book and need some suggestions for what else you can read? Well, here's the first bonus list!
October Bonus List UPDATED 10/8/12
Moonbird by Phillip Hoose
The Brixen Witch by Stacy DeKeyser
The Unfortunate Son by Constance Leeds
Starry River of the Sky by Grace Lin replaced due to lack of availability
The Great Unexpected by Sharon Creech - replaces Starry River of the Sky
Miles to Go for Freedom by Linda Barrett Osborne
Here's a copy of the original list (click links on the left sidebar to comment on books):
October Meeting, 10/11/12, 4pm
The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
The Lions of Little Rock by Kristin Levine
The Mighty Miss Malone by Christopher Paul Curtis
November Meeting, 11/8/12, 4pm
Temple Grandin by Sy Montgomery
Wonder by RJ Palacio
Summer of the Gypsy Moths by Sara Pennypacker
Crow by Barbara Wright
December Meeting, 12/13/12, 4pm
Chickadee by Louise Erdrich
Keeping the Castle by Patrice Kindl
Splendors and Glooms by Laura Amy Schlitz
Liar & Spy by Rebecca Stead
October Bonus List UPDATED 10/8/12
Moonbird by Phillip Hoose
The Brixen Witch by Stacy DeKeyser
The Unfortunate Son by Constance Leeds
The Great Unexpected by Sharon Creech - replaces Starry River of the Sky
Miles to Go for Freedom by Linda Barrett Osborne
Here's a copy of the original list (click links on the left sidebar to comment on books):
October Meeting, 10/11/12, 4pm
The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
The Lions of Little Rock by Kristin Levine
The Mighty Miss Malone by Christopher Paul Curtis
November Meeting, 11/8/12, 4pm
Temple Grandin by Sy Montgomery
Wonder by RJ Palacio
Summer of the Gypsy Moths by Sara Pennypacker
Crow by Barbara Wright
December Meeting, 12/13/12, 4pm
Chickadee by Louise Erdrich
Keeping the Castle by Patrice Kindl
Splendors and Glooms by Laura Amy Schlitz
Liar & Spy by Rebecca Stead
Starry River of the Sky River by Grace Lin
Grace Lin
Little, Brown
288p.
Companion: Where The Mountain Meets the Moon
An innkeeper's chore boy discovers that a visitor's stories hold the key to returning the moon to the Starry River of the Sky.
Unfortunate Son, The by Constance Leeds
Constance Leeds
Viking Children's Books
302p.
Luc, a youth born with one ear and raised by a drunken father in fifteenth-century France, finds a better home with fisherman Pons, his sister Mattie, and their ward Beatrice, the daughter of a disgraced knight, and even after being kidnapped and sold into slavery in Africa, he remains remarkably fortunate.
Brixen Witch, The by Stacy DeKeyser
Stacy DeKeyser
Margaret K. McElderry
196p.
Twelve-year-old Rudi stumbles upon a witch's lair while out hunting, takes a gold coin he finds there but loses it again, then must deal with the witch's servant who promises to end the town's rat infestation only if he receives that gold coin, in a story reminiscent of The Pied Piper of Hamelin.
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
September Reads - Adult Mock Newbery
Here are 4 new books to add to your reading pile. Please click the title to add your comments to each book page.
Chickadee by Louise Erdrich
Keeping the Castle by Patrice Kindl
Splendors and Glooms by Laura Amy Schlitz
Liar & Spy by Rebecca Stead
Are there any titles you've read that you think we all should read?
Leave those titles in the comments!
For previous reads - Adult Mock Newbery
Keeping The Castle by Patrice Kindl
Patrice Kindl
Viking Press
261 pgs.
In order to support her family and maintain their ancient castle in Lesser Hoo, seventeen-year-old Althea bears the burden of finding a wealthy suitor who can remedy their financial problems.
Chickadee by Louise Erdich
Louise Erdich
Harper Collins Children's Books
196 pgs.In 1866, Omakayas's son Chickadee is kidnapped by two ne'er-do-well brothers from his own tribe and must make a daring escape, forge unlikely friendships, and set out on an exciting and dangerous journey to get back home.
Sequel to The Porcupine Year
Splendors and Glooms by Laura Amy Schlitz
Laura Amy Schlitz
Candlewick Press
384 pgs.
When Clara vanishes after the puppeteer Grisini and two orphaned assistants were at her twelfth birthday party, suspicion of kidnapping chases the trio away from London and soon the two orphans are caught in a trap set by Grisini's ancient rival, a witch with a deadly inheritance to shed before it is too late.
Liar & Spy by Rebecca Stead
Rebecca Stead
Wendy Lamb Books
180 pgs.
Seventh-grader Georges adjusts to moving from a house to an apartment, his father's efforts to start a new business, his mother's extra shifts as a nurse, being picked on at school, and Safer, a boy who wants his help spying on another resident of their building.
Saturday, June 30, 2012
July Reads - Adult Mock Newbery
Hopefully you've been doing a lot of reading already! For the month of July we have 4 titles. Click on the links to leave your comments!
Temple Grandin by Sy Montgomery
Wonder by RJ Palacio
Summer of the Gypsy Moths by Sara Pennypacker
Crow by Barbara Wright
Are there any titles you've read that you think we all should read?
Leave those titles in the comments here!
For previous reads - Adult Mock Newbery
Temple Grandin by Sy Montgomery
Sy Montgomery
Houghton Mifflin Books for Children
148 p.
An authorized portrait about Grandin's life with autism and her groundbreaking work as a scientist and designer of cruelty-free livestock facilities describes how she overcame key disabilities through education and the support of her mother.
Saturday, June 16, 2012
Master of Deceit by Marc Aronson
Candlewick Press
230p.
Obsidian Blade by Pete Hautman
Candlewick Press
308pg.
|
After
thirteen-year-old Tucker Feye's parents disappear, he suspects that the
strange disks of shimmering air that he keeps seeing are somehow
involved, and when he steps inside of one he is whisked on a
time-twisting journey trailed by a shadowy sect of priests and haunted
by ghostlike figures.
|
Titanic: Voices from the Disaster by Deborah Hopkinson
Scholastic Press
289p.
Summer of the Gypsy Moths by Sara Pennypacker
Balzer and Bray
275p.
A foster child named Angel and twelve-year-old Stella, who are living with Stella's great-aunt Louise at the Linger Longer Cottage Colony on Cape Cod, secretly assume responsibility for the vacation rentals when Louise unexpectedly dies and the girls are afraid of being returned to the foster care system.
Saturday, June 2, 2012
Wild Book, The by Margarita Engle
Harcourt Children's Books
144 pg.
In early twentieth-century Cuba, bandits terrorize the countryside as a young farm girl struggles with dyslexia. Based on the life of the author's grandmother.
Wonder by RJ Palacio
Alfred Knopf
315 pg.
Ten-year-old Auggie Pullman, who was born with extreme facial abnormalities and was not expected to survive, goes from being home-schooled to entering fifth grade at a private middle school in Manhattan, which entails enduring the taunting and fear of his classmates as he struggles to be seen as just another student.
Final Four by Paul Volponi
Viking
244 pg.
Four players at the Final Four of the NCAA basketball tournament struggle with the pressures of tournament play and the expectations of society at large.
Kindred Souls by Patricia MacLachlan
HarperCollins Children's Books
119 pg.
Ten year-old Jake shares a special bond with his grandfather, Billy, but when Billy asks Jake to build him a sod house, Jake is not sure he wants to do it.
Chomp by Carl Hiaasen
Alfred Knopf
290 pg.
When the difficult star of the reality television show "Expedition Survival" disappears while filming an episode in the Florida Everglades using animals from the wildlife refuge run by Wahoo Crane's family, Wahoo and classmate Tuna Gordon set out to find him while avoiding Tuna's gun-happy father.
We've Got a Job by Cynthia Levinson
Peachtree Publishers
176 pg.
Discusses the events of the 4,000 African American students who marched to jail to secure their freedom in May 1963.
Curveball by Jordan Sonnenblick
Scholastic Press
285 pg.
After an injury ends former star pitcher Peter Friedman's athletic dreams, he concentrates on photography which leads him to a girlfriend, new fame as a high school sports photographer, and a deeper relationship with the beloved grandfather who, when he realizes he is becoming senile, gives Pete all of his professional camera gear.
Same Sun Here by Silas House
Candlewick
297 pgs
A twelve-year-old Indian immigrant in New York City and a Kentucky coal miner's son become pen pals, and eventually best friends, through a series of revealing letters exploring such topics as environmental activism, immigration, and racism.
Saturday, May 19, 2012
One and Only Ivan, The by Katherine Applegate
Katherine Applegate
Harper Collins Children's
2012
305 pgs.
When Ivan, a gorilla who has lived for years in a down-and-out circus-themed mall, meets Ruby, a baby elephant that has been added to the mall, he decides that he must find her a better life.
Lions of Little Rock by Kristin Levine
Kristin Levine
GP Putnam and Sons
298 pgs.
In 1958 Little Rock, Arkansas, painfully shy twelve-year-old Marlee sees her city and family divided over school integration, but her friendship with Liz, a new student, helps her find her voice and fight against racism.
Mighty Miss Malone by Christopher Paul Curtis
Christopher Paul Curtis
Wendy Lamb Books
307 pg.
With love and determination befitting the "world's greatest family," twelve-year-old Deza Malone, her older brother Jimmie, and their parents endure tough times in Gary, Indiana, and later Flint, Michigan during the Great Depression.
Glory Be by Augusta Scattergood
Augusta Scattergood
Scholastic Press
202 pg.
In the summer of 1964 as she is about to turn twelve, Glory's town of Hanging Moss, Mississippi, is beset by racial tension when town leaders close her beloved public pool rather than desegregating it.
Crow by Barbara Wright
Barbara Wright
Random House
297 pg.
In 1898, Moses Thomas's summer vacation does not go exactly as planned as he contends with family problems and the ever-changing alliances among his friends at the same time as he is exposed to the escalating tension between the African-American and white communities of Wilmington, North Carolina.
Princess of the Wild Swans by Diane Zahler
Diane Zahler
Harper Collins Children's Books
212 pg
Twelve-year-old Princess Meriel must sew shirts from stinging nettles in order to rescue her five older brothers from their evil stepmother's spell lest they remain swans forever. Inspired by the Andersen fairy tale, "The Wild Swans."
May B by Caroline Starr Rose
Caroline Starr Rose
Schwartz and Wade
231 pg
When a failed wheat crop nearly bankrupts the Betterly family, Pa pulls twelve-year-old May from school and hires her out to a couple new to the Kansas frontier.
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