If you want to fight this censorship, visit ALA’s Banned Books Week Get Involved site for help on how to fight!
Thank you Emma from invaluable for providing this Infographic to kick off Banned Books Week!
Novel
Review and Giveaway!: Journey of the Pale Bear by Susan Fletcher
Journey of the Pale Bear
Author: Susan Fletcher
Publication Date: October 2nd, 2018 by McElderry Books
Summary: The polar bear is a royal bear, a gift from the King of Norway to the King of England. The first time Arthur encounters the bear, he is shoved in her cage as payback for stealing food. Restless and deadly, the bear terrifies him. Yet, strangely, she doesn’t harm him—though she has attacked anyone else who comes near. That makes Arthur valuable to the doctor in charge of getting the bear safely to London. So Arthur, who has run away from home, finds himself taking care of a polar bear on a ship to England.
Tasked with feeding and cleaning up after the bear, Arthur’s fears slowly lessen as he begins to feel a connection to this bear, who like him, has been cut off from her family. But the journey holds many dangers, and Arthur knows his own freedom—perhaps even his life—depends on keeping the bear from harm. When pirates attack and the ship founders, Arthur must make a choice—does he do everything he can to save himself, or does he help the bear to find freedom?
About the Author: SUSAN FLETCHER is the acclaimed author of the Dragon Chronicles as well as the award-winning Alphabet of Dreams, Shadow Spinner, Walk Across the Sea, and Falcon in the Glass. Ms. Fletcher lives in Bryan, Texas. To read about the fascinating story behind the inspiration for Journey of the Pale Bear, visit her website, SusanFletcher.com
Praise: ★”A stupendous coming-of-age tale stuffed with adventure and laced with deeper questions.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
Review: When I first read about this book it sounded pretty good, enough for me to pick it up, but it was SO GOOD! Like so good that even though it was a school week, I read it in 2 days!
First, it takes place in a time period that is hardly ever in books which is fascinating. I found myself looking up some of the history that was mentioned in the book, but the author did a great job of making sure that not knowing about the details of the time period wouldn’t effect the reading experience.
Second, it looks at animal treatment and truly makes you think about how an animal feels when it is put in captivity. Although told only in a realistic manner, the animal is such an integral part of the story that its behaviors are shared in detail allowing it to become a full character within the book.
Third, did you know there used to be a menagerie in the Tower of London? Me neither! But that took me down a suck hole of Google research. So fascinating!
Fourth, wow! The adventure is EPIC: sailing, bullies, pirates, shipwrecks, storms. It never stops!
So in review: Fascinating, thought-provoking, curious, and action-packed. All in all, a book I truly recommend and enjoyed.
Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: The main home for this book will be in libraries; however, I can definitely see portions of it being used in classrooms.
- First, I could see it being used during a history lesson to discuss the politics and war shared in the book.
- Second, there are so many scenes that could be pulled out as mentor texts for writing. I’ll share some of my favorites below.
- Third, I would love to see some creative writing done from the bear’s point of view.
- Fourth, it is a fascinating look at animal treatment and how it has (and has not) changed over the years.
But in the end, it belongs in kids’ hands! Get it there!
Discussion Questions:
- Why did Arthur agree to take care of the bear?
- What examples throughout the book show that the bear loved and trusted Arthur?
- What does the whole story of a polar bear being sent from Norway to England show you about the respect of animals during the time period of the novel?
- How did Arthur’s involvement make the bear’s life better?
- Do you believe that the doctor cared about Arthur as he said he did? Explain.
- How did Arthur earn the respect of the sailors on the ship?
Flagged Passages:
“Its eyes, small and dark, were alert, curious, aware. I felt the faint stirring of its breath against my cheeks. I drew in the rich, ripe scent of bear until I seemed to sink down below the surface of it, drowning. From somewhere far away I heard Hauk and the lantern boy arguing, but the sounds fell away behind the throbbing in my ears and the thrill of the running-hum in my limbs.
The bear rumbled deep in its throat.
I rose to my feet, stepped back, and felt the iron bars press cold against me. I kept my eyes fixed on the pale, wide face, as if the force of my gaze could prevent the bear from lunging at me with its enormous paws or raking me with is claws–claws that I could see out of the corner of my eyes, massive claws, claws from a nightmare of monsters.” (Chapter 3)
“Before we saw the bear, we heard her—a heavy rhythmic read, a thump, a clang. Beyond the reek of fish, I sniffed out the feral musk of her.
We crept through the dark warehouse–the doctor, the captain, and I–until I made out a large, pale, moving form in the deep gloom ahead. The doctor motioned us to stop, and we watched from behind a stack of crates and bales. The bear was as tall as a pony, longer than a caribou, and as wide as two bulls. Back and forth she paced in her cage, and back and forth again, her head swinging side to side on her long neck, the convex bow of her snout lending her an air of nobility. The bear-smell now filled the air, and the stench of dung as well. A surge of fear rose up in me, turning my bones and sinews to liquid.” (Chapter 6)
Read This If You Love: Seekers by Erin Hunter, The Vanishing Islands by Barry Wolverton, Pirates! by Celia Rees, The Ravenmaster’s Secret by Elvira Woodruff
Recommended For:
Giveaway!:
**Thank you to Barbara at Blue Slip Media for providing a copy for review and McElderry Books for providing a copy for giveaway!**
Complexity in The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson
The Impossible Knife of Memory
Author: Laurie Halse Anderson
Published January 7th, 2014
ALAN Walden Award Finalist 2015
National Book Award Longlist 2014
School Library Journal Best Young Adult Book of 2014
Summary: For the past five years, Hayley Kincain and her father, Andy, have been on the road, never staying long in one place as he struggles to escape the demons that have tortured him since his return from Iraq. Now they are back in the town where he grew up so Hayley can attend school. Perhaps, for the first time, Hayley can have a normal life, put aside her own painful memories, even have a relationship with Finn, the hot guy who obviously likes her but is hiding secrets of his own.
Will being back home help Andy’s PTSD, or will his terrible memories drag him to the edge of hell, and drugs push him over? The Impossible Knife of Memory is Laurie Halse Anderson at her finest: compelling, surprising, and impossible to put down.
Complexity in Young Adult Literature
In Teaching Reading with YA Literature: Complex Text, Complex Lives by Jennifer Buehler, Chapter 2 looks at Young Adult Literature and Text Complexity and gives 8 different elements to think about to help analyze the complexity of a text:
Examples of complexity in The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson
Other questions that could be asked while reading to find complexity in YAL
(Examples from Teacher Reading with YA Literature, Buehler 36-37)
- Language: Are the sentences artfully constructed? Are the words carefully chosen? Does the author incorporate figurative language or poetic expression? Can we hear voice in the writing?
- Structure: How is it built in terms of form and structure? How do other elements such as titles and subtitles, vignettes and interludes, shifts between past and present, or multiple points of view work together to service the whole?
- Other Stylistic Elements: Are there other distinct elements in the text?
- Character: What is there to explore in terms of the character’s thoughts and feelings; conflicts and contradictions; struggles, growth, and change?
- Setting: How does the author bring us into the world of the story? What details help us to see, hear, and imagine this place?
- Literary Devices: How does the author use literary or cultural allusions, intertextual references, dialogue, internal monologue, metaphor and symbolism, magical realism, or repetition to build meaning?
- Topics and themes: What questions does the book ask? What ideas does it explore? What is at stake for teen readers in this book?
- How the book is put together: How effective is the interplay between plot layers and thematic layers?
Discussion Questions/Writing Prompts for The Impossible Knife of Memory
Complexity can also be increased by the characteristics of the reader (such as motivation, knowledge, and experiences) and task variables (such as purpose and the complexity generated by the task assigned and the questions posed). Here are some examples of discussion questions or writing prompts that could be used in classrooms or with independent readers who are reading The Impossible Knife of Memory.
- Hayley classifies all people into two categories: freaks & zombies. What does Hayley’s idea of the world show us about her outlook on life?
- How does Laurie Halse Anderson use the idea of THEN and NOW throughout the novel to build on the theme that memories are a very complex part of life?
- Drowning is a motif throughout the novel.
- How does Laurie Halse Anderson show the reader that Hayley’s father is suffering and found addiction without using those words?
- How did the inclusion of Hayley’s romantic relationship with Finn help move along the story and Hayley’s transformation? Do you feel that Hayley’s story arc would have been the same without Finn in the story?
- How was the setting an integral part of the story? How did Hayley returning to her deceased grandmother’s home propel the story?
- .Trish is one of the most complex characters in the book because there are many different Trishes shared with us throughout the story: Trish then, Trish now in reality, and Trish now in Hayley’s mind. How did Laurie Halse Anderson develop each of these different characters to show the reader a full picture of Trish?
This complexity information and activities can be found as a PDF on Laurie Halse Anderson’s website or my SlideShare.
To learn more about complexity in young adult literature, please read Teaching Reading with YA Literature: Complex Text, Complex Lives by Jennifer Buehler!
The Girl with More Than One Heart by Laura Geringer Bass
The Girl With More Than One Heart
Author: Laura Geringer Bass
Published April 17th, 2018 by Abrams Books
Summary: There are times we all feel we need more than one heart to get through. When Briana’s father dies, she imagines she has a new heart growing inside her. It speaks to her in her Dad’s voice. Some of its commands are mysterious.
Find Her! it says. Be Your Own!
How can Briana “be her own” when her grieving mother needs her to take care of her demanding little brother all the time? When all her grandpa can do is tell stories instead of being the “rock” she needs? When her not-so-normal home life leaves no time to pursue her dream of writing for the school literary magazine? When the first blush of a new romance threatens to be nipped in the bud? Forced by the loss of her favorite parent to see all that was once familiar with new eyes, Briana draws on her own imagination, originality, and tender loving heart to discover a surprising path through the storm.
About the Author: Laura Geringer Bass is the author of over 20 highly acclaimed books for children, tweens, and teens. Her new novel for middle graders about friendship, love, and loss — The Girl with More Than One Heart — is the lyrical story of a courageous girl who imagines she needs an extra heart to navigate her grief after the death of her dad. It will be published by Abrams this Spring. Laura serves on the National Advisory Board of First Book, a non-profit organization that has delivered over 170 million books to children in need and as a mentor for Girls Write Now and Prison Writes, teaching teens at risk.
Review: This book looks at the struggle of grief when life keeps moving on around you. And like another book I love, Courage for Beginners, it shows the struggle a child has if a parent is suffering and they have to step up in a way that is not what their peers have to. Briana doesn’t know how to deal with the grief and with her mother incapacitated with grief also, Briana finds that she needs a second heart to help guide her through this huge bump in her life. Briana’s story also shows the struggle yet love of being a sibling to a child with special needs.
Written beautifully in a way that will pull at your heartstrings, Bass’s story shows how one girl uses art, love, and courage to make her way through a loss that is unimaginable for most of us.
Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: The Girl With More Than One Heart needs to be in classroom, school, and public libraries. There are so many readers that need this book. There are other readers that will want this book. There are definite readers for this book.
Another way in the classroom that it could be used is a mentor text for writing about memories. Briana’s second heart shares memories with her, one of the ways we get to know her dad, and the memories are so full of imagery. There are many sections that could be read for a mentor text when asking students to write a personal narrative.
Discussion Questions:
- How did Briana use art to help her through her grief?
- How did Briana’s life change after the loss of her dad?
- Aaron is described in the summary as her demanding little brother, but Briana loves him. What are some examples in the story that show this love?
- How does Grandpa Ben help guide Briana?
- Briana’s second heart is only figurative. What does it represent?
Flagged Passage: “The day my father’s heart stopped, I discovered an extra heart deep in my belly, below my right rib. It talked to me. I wasn’t crazy. Before that day, I had just one heart that never said a word.” (p. 1)
Read This If You Love: Courage for Beginners by Karen Harrington, Rules by Cynthia Lord, How to Speak Dolphin by Ginny Rorby, Be Light Like a Bird by Monika Schröder, Snicker of Magic by Natalie Lloyd, Some Kind of Happiness by Claire Legrand, Far from Fair by Elana K. Arnold
Recommended For:
**Thank you to Casey at Media Masters Publicity for providing a copy for review!**
Book By Book’s 2018 Big Book Summer Reading Challenge Follow-Up
We loved taking part in Book by Book’s 2018 Big Book Summer Reading Challenge — we had a lot of fun with it. Here are the books we read to meet Sue’s challenge:
Kellee
Anger is a Gift
Author: Mark Oshiro
Published May 22, 2018 by Tor Teen
463 pages
The first big book I read this summer was Anger is a Gift by Mark Oshiro. I shared my thoughts when we first shared that we were joining the challenge.
Author: Rick Riordan
The Lost Hero
Published October 12th, 2010 by Disney-Hyperion Books
557 pages
The Son of Neptune
Published October 4th, 2011 by Disney-Hyperion Books
521 pages
The Mark of Athena
Published October 2nd, 2012 by Disney-Hyperion Books
586 pages
I also read the first three books of the Heroes of Olympus series by Ricki Riordan and am currently reading the fourth. The Lost Hero was a reread, but I had never continued. This series is a continuation of the Percy Jackson series; however, it isn’t exactly a sequel as I have students who have read this series first, but I would say that there is a lot of mentions (and kind of spoilers) during this series for the first one. Although I cannot say that I love this one as much as Percy (The Lightning Thief was one of the WHOA books for me), I am definitely sucked in: so much adventure, humor, craziness, mythology, drama, and suspense! I cannot wait to see where it all goes!
Ricki
Children of Blood and Bone
Author: Tomi Adeyemi
Published March 6, 2018 by Holt
525 pages
I loved this book. I listened to it on audio, and it blew me away. Before I read it, I chose five books for my Teaching Reading students to use for their unit frameworks. I casually mentioned that they could use this book, too, and several students jumped on the opportunity. We talked about how it offers great opportunity for talking about science, mythology, contemporary political issues, etc. I am really excited to see what they come up with. I was thrilled to see this book as Jimmy Fallon’s summer read. It will knock your socks off. If you haven’t read it yet, do it.
Which Big Books did you read in the Summer of 2018?
and
Teaching Guide and Review!: Water in May by Ismée Amiel Williams
Water in May
Author: Ismée Amiel Williams
Published September 12th, 2017 by Abrams Books
Summary: Fifteen-year-old Mari Pujols believes that the baby she’s carrying will finally mean she’ll have a family member who will love her deeply and won’t ever leave her—not like her mama, who took off when she was eight; or her papi, who’s in jail; or her abuela, who wants as little to do with her as possible. But when doctors discover a potentially fatal heart defect in the fetus, Mari faces choices she never could have imagined.
Surrounded by her loyal girl crew, her off-and-on boyfriend, and a dedicated doctor, Mari navigates a decision that could emotionally cripple the bravest of women. But both Mari and the broken-hearted baby inside her are fighters; and it doesn’t take long to discover that this sick baby has the strength to heal an entire family.
Inspired by true events, this gorgeous debut has been called “heartfelt, heartbreaking and—yes!—even a little heart-healing, too” by bestselling YA novelist Carolyn Mackler.
About the Author: Ismée Williams is a pediatric cardiologist who practiced at the Columbia University Medical Center in the Washington Heights neighborhood of New York City for fifteen years. She currently sees patients at Montefiore Hospital in the Bronx. As the daughter of a Cuban immigrant, partially raised by her abuelos, her background helped her understand the many Maris she met along the way. Water in May is her first novel.
Praise:
“Full of spot-on cultural texture and packing an emotional punch, this is an unusual take on the teen-pregnancy problem novel… Williams presents her experience in a way that demands not pity but respect while also reminding readers of Mari’s heartbreaking youth and innocence at unexpected times…Fierce and tender—and absolutely worth reading.” — Kirkus, STARRED REVIEW
“Mari is a deeply credible character, a girl who’s always spoiling for a fight, usually a physical one, but who’s turning that impulse into fighting for her baby. Williams, formerly a pediatric cardiologist at Columbia, brings vivid authenticity to the medical side of things, including the details of life with a baby in the NICU and the varying personalities of health care personnel.” — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
“This novel is realistic and compelling, heartfelt and heartbreaking all at the same time. The author’s experience as a pediatric cardiologist brings authenticity to her writing as much as does her experience of navigating cultural barriers. Young adult readers will connect with Mari’s feisty personality, strength, and vulnerability.” — VOYA Magazine
Review: Mari’s story is one that isn’t often told. Mari is someone most people would see on the streets and would try to ignore because getting to know her would be getting to know how hard life in America can be. But Mari is also someone who is stronger than many of us will ever be. Her story is one that will make readers think about assumptions OR will help readers see a mirror into struggles they may be having in life. Although I hope teens don’t see Mari’s story as an invitation for a teenage pregnancy, I believe the truth of her hardships show the tremendous change a baby brings to life and will show that Mari’s decisions are made out of desperation when there are other paths she could have taken. Some who read the book have said they don’t like Mari as a character, but I found that when Mari was frustrating, it was because she was acting like what she is: a fifteen-year-old girl trying to find her place in this crazy world.
Teachers Guide with Activities and Discussion Questions written by me:
Guide can also be accessed through Abrams Books’s Resource Page.
Recommended For:
**Thank you to Ismée Williams for finding me and allowing me to complete this guide!**
Author Guest Post and Reading Guide!: “How a love of language and travel influenced The Magic of Melwick Orchard” by Rebecca Caprara
“How a love of language and travel influenced The Magic of Melwick Orchard”
If you could have any superpower in the world, what would it be?
Flight? Invisibility? Super strength?
I’d choose Omniglotism, also known as the ability to speak every language in the world. Imagine the places you could go, the books you could read, the people and cultures you could connect with if you had a power like that.
As you can probably tell, my love of language is connected with my interest in travel. When I was a child, I dreamed of exploring the wide world and I’ve been globetrotting ever since, visiting more than 50 countries to date. Whenever I travel, I carry a notebook. In it, I sketch things I see, jot story ideas, and gather vocabulary—often in different languages. These words are like candy: sweet, colorful, delightful morsels worth savoring.
Some of my favorites include Selamat Pagi, which means Good Morning in Malay and sounds as cheerful as birdsong.
In Italian, I adore the term Aspirapolvere, which translates to Dust Breather—an infinitely cooler name for the humble household vacuum cleaner.
I also love words for which there is no English equivalent, such as the Japanese Komorebi, which describes the dance between light and leaves as the sun shines through treetops. It’s like an entire poem compressed into a single, miraculous word.
When I began writing my debut middle grade novel, The Magic of Melwick Orchard, my fascination with language inevitably found its way onto the page, primarily through the voice of Junie. In the book, 6-year-old Junie mashes and mixes words together in a process I call Frankensteining—an idea inspired by Mary Shelley’s novel, my travel notebooks, and a design exercise I learned in architecture school which involves cutting and pasting building plans of the same scale to generate new structures.
This process produced some of Junie’s signature vocabulary, such as perfecterrific (perfect + terrific), worstible (worst-most-horrible), and squg (a squeezing hug full of love). Even the mysterious Melwick Orchard is a hybrid, combining part of my mother’s name, Melissa, with my father’s nickname, Wick.
Some of the most rewarding early feedback I’ve received from readers has been their connection to these invented words. One 9-year-old reader, inspired by Junie’s wordsmithing, described feeling nerve-cited (nervous + excited) about leaving for sleep-away camp for the first time. Teachers and librarians have also reached out with their plans to use the book in conjunction with creative writing and literacy exercises in the classroom. In response to this, we developed several extension and enrichment activities within the Melwick Orchard Reading & Discussion Guide devoted to wordplay. The Reading Guide is aligned with Common Core Standards and is available as a free download through my website (https://www.rebeccacaprara.com/educators).
If you would like to share your own linguistic creations or feedback about the book, I would love to hear from you. Readers can contact me at CapraraBooks@gmail.com or connect with through social media @RebeccaCaprara.
The Magic of Melwick Orchard releases September 1, 2018 with Carolrhoda Books. For every pre-ordered copy of the book, a donation will be made to Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation, a nonprofit organization raising funds for childhood cancer research.
Rebecca Caprara graduated from Cornell University and practiced architecture for several years, before shifting her focus from bricks to books. An avid globetrotter, she has lived in Italy, Singapore, and Canada. She is now growing roots in Massachusetts with her family.
The Magic of Melwick Orchard
Author: Rebecca Caprara
Coming September 1, 2018
Published by Carolrhoda/Lerner
ISBN-10: 1512466875 / ISBN-13: 978-1512466874
First edition: Hardcover; 376 pages
Middle Grade Fiction (Age Range: 8 – 14 Years)
About the Book: After more moves than they can count, Isabel and Junie’s family finally put down roots. People in town whisper strange stories about the abandoned orchard behind their new home, but the sisters are happy to have acres of land to explore and trees to swing beneath. For the first time in a while, life feels perfecterrific.
But then Junie is diagnosed with cancer and everything changes. Isa’s mom falls into a deep depression, and mounting medical bills force Isa’s dad to work longer and longer days. As for Isa… well, she’s slowly becoming invisible. No one seems to notice that her clothes are falling apart, her stomach is empty, and her heart is breaking.
In an act of frustration, Isa buries her out-grown sneakers in the orchard. The trees haven’t produced fruit in decades, but the next day something magical happens: a sapling sprouts the strangest, most magnificent buds Isa has ever seen. When they bloom to reveal an entire harvest of new shoes, Isa feels inspired. Can she use the magical tree to save her family?
Reading Guide:
Thank you, Rebecca, for the wordly perfect post!