Dark Days of Hamburger Halpin by Josh Berk

Dark Days of Hamburger Halpin by Josh Berk
Alfred Knopp
February 2010
250 pgs.
Summary
Being a hefty, deaf newcomer almost makes Will Halpin the least popular guy at Coaler High. But when he befriends the only guy less popular than him, the dork-namic duo has the smarts and guts to figure out who knocked off the star quarterback. Will can’t hear what’s going on, but he’s a great observer. So, who did it? And why does that guy talk to his fingers? And will the beautiful girl ever notice him? (Okay, so Will’s interested in more than just murder . . .)

Review

FDR’s Alphabet Soup: New Deal America 1932 – 1939 by Tonya Bolden

FDR’s Alphabet Soup: New Deal America, 1932-1939 by Tonya Bolden

Alfred A. Knopf

January 2010

136 pgs.

Summary

FDR’s New Deal, which followed the 1929 stock market crash, was a hugely influential moment in the history of the United States, encompassing everything from the arts to finance, labor to legislation, and some think it helped bring the country out of the Great Depression. Here, Tonya Bolden, writing in her trademark accessible style, creates a portrait of a time that changed American history both then and now. FDR’s First 100 Days and how the United States was changed by it then are closely examined.

Liberty or Death by Margaret Whitman Blair

Liberty or Death: The Surprising Story of Runaway Slaves Who Sided With the British During the American Revolution by Margaret Whitman Blair

National Geographic

January 2010

64 pgs.

Summary

This book looks at the African Americans who fought for the British in the United States Revolution. Motivated by the 1775 proclamation by Virginia's Royal Governor that any slaves who bore arms on his behalf would gain their freedom, they fought bravely for a losing cause. Those who did not succumb to battle wounds or smallpox, which ran rampant on the ships where they were quartered, emigrated to Canada and ultimately, to West Africa. This is an inspiring and little known story of the "other freedom fighters" in the Revolutionary War.

Sit-in: How Four Friends Stood Up by Sitting Down by Andrea Pinkney

Sit-In: How Four Friends Stood Up by Sitting Down by Andrea Pinkney
Little, Brown
February 2010
Unpaged

Summary
It was February 1, 1960. They didn't need menus. Their order was simple. A doughnut and coffee, with cream on the side. This picture book is a celebration of the 50 th anniversary of the momentous Woolworth's lunch counter sit-in, when four college students staged a peaceful protest that became a defining moment in the struggle for racial equality and the growing civil rights movement.

Woods Runner by Gary Paulsen

Woods Runner by Gary Paulsen
Wendy Lamb Books
January 2010
164 pgs.

Summary
From his 1776 Pennsylvania homestead, thirteen-year-old Samuel, who is a highly-skilled woodsman, sets out toward New York City to rescue his parents from the band of British soldiers and Indians who kidnapped them after slaughtering most of their community. Includes historical notes.

Spies of Mississippi by Rick Bowers

Spies of Mississippi by Rick Bowers

National Geographic

January 2010

120 pgs.

Summary

In the 1950s and 1960s, the Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission compiled secret files on more than 87,000 private citizens in the most extensive state spying program in U.S. history. Its mission: to save segregation.

One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia

One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia
HarperCollins Children
January 2010
218 pgs.

Summary
In the summer of 1968, after travelling from Brooklyn to Oakland, California, to spend a month with the mother they barely know, eleven-year-old Delphine and her two younger sisters arrive to a cold welcome as they discover that their mother, a dedicated poet and printer, is resentful of the intrusion of their visit and wants them to attend a nearby Black Panther summer camp.

Henry Aaron’s Dream by Matt Tavares

Henry Aaron’s Dream by Matt Tavares

Candlewick Press

January 2010

Unpaged

Summary

Matt Tavares hits one out of the park with this powerful tale of a kid from the segregated south who would become baseball’s home-run king. Before he was Hammerin’ Hank, Henry Aaron was a young boy growing up in Mobile, Alabama, with what seemed like a foolhardy dream: to be a big-league baseball player. He didn’t have a bat. He didn’t have a ball. And there wasn’t a single black ball player in the major leagues. But none of this could stop Henry Aaron. In a captivating biography of Henry Aaron’s young life, from his sandlot days through his time in the Negro Leagues to the day he played his first spring training game for the Braves, Matt Tavares offers an inspiring homage to one of baseball’s all-time greats.

After Ever After by Jordan Sonnenblick

After Ever After by Jordan Sonnenblick
Scholastic Press
January 2010
260 pgs.

Summary
Although Jeff and Tad, encouraged by a new friend, Lindsey, make a deal to help one another overcome aftereffects of their cancer treatments in preparation for eighth-grade graduation, Jeff still craves advice from his older brother Stephen, who is studying drums in Africa.

Back of the Bus by Aaron Reynolds

Back of the Bus by Aaron Reynolds

Philomel

January 2010

Unpaged

Summary

From the back of the bus, an African American child watches the arrest of Rosa Parks.

Ashes by Kathryn Lasky

Ashes by Kathryn Lasky
Viking Juvenile
February 2010
318 pgs.

Summary
In 1932 Berlin, thirteen-year-old Gaby Schramm witnesses the beginning of Hitler's rise to power, as soldiers become ubiquitous, her beloved literature teacher starts wearing a jewelled swastika pin, and the family's dear friend, Albert Einstein, leaves the country while Gaby's parents secretly bury his books and papers in their small yard.

Sweet, Hereafter by Angela Johnson

Sweet, Hereafter by Angela Johnson

Simon and Schuster

January 2010

118 pgs.

Summary

Sweet leaves her family and goes to live in a cabin in the woods with the quiet but understanding Curtis, to whom she feels intensely connected, just as he is called back to serve again in Iraq.

A Million Shades of Gray by Cynthia Kadohata

A Million Shades of Gray by Cynthia Kadohata
Atheneum Books for Young Readers
January 2010
216 pgs.

Summary
In 1975 after American troops pull out of Vietnam, a thirteen-year-old boy and his beloved elephant escape into the jungle when the Viet Cong attack his village.

Mama Miti by Donna Jo Napoli and Kadir Nelson

Mama Miti by Donna Jo Napoli and Kadir Nelson

Simon and Schuster

January 2010

Unpaged

Summary

The story of Wangari Maathai, who in 1977 founded the Green Belt Movement, an African grassroots organization, and in 2004 was the first African woman to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize

Green by Laura Peyton Roberts

Green by Laura Peyton Roberts

Delacorte Press

January 2010

261 pgs.

Summary

Abducted by leprechauns on her thirteenth birthday, Lilybet Green learns that there is more to her family tree--and to her bond with her late grandmother--than she ever imagined.

The Extraordinary Mark Twain (According to Susan) by Barbara Kerley

The Extraordinary Mark Twain by Barbara Kerley
Scholastic Press
January 2010
Unpaged

Summary
Thirteen-year-old Susy Clemens wants the world to know that her papa, Mark Twain, is more than just a humorist and sets out to write a comprehensive biography of the American icon.

The Chestnut King by N.D. Wilson

The Chestnut King by N.D. Wilson

Random House

January 2010

183 pgs.

Summary

Twelve-year-old Henry York, finally reunited with his family, works with them and the Chestnut King, the long-deposed and mythic leader of the faeren people, to destroy Nimiane and her forces of evil.

8th Grade Superzero by Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovih

8th Grade Superzero by Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich

Arthur A. Levine

January 2010

Summary

Lockdown by Walter Dean Myers

Lockdown by Walter Dean Myers
HarperTeen/Amistad
February 2010
247 pgs.

Summary
Teenage Reese, serving time at a juvenile detention facility, gets a lesson in making it through hard times from an unlikely friend with a harrowing past.