2008 Best Books for Young Adults (5)

Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones

Fourteen-year-old Matilda lives on a tropical island with her mother. A civil war between government troops (redskin soldiers) and the rebels have made all the teachers and white people flee the island, except for Mr. Watts. Mr. Watts has volunteered to be their teacher and he introduces Mr. Pip from Great Expectations. Through the world of Mr. Pip, Matilda and her classmates learn how to use their minds and imaginations to help them survive through the atrocities that are about to happen in their tiny island. The redskin soldiers capture Mr. Watts and to everyone's astonishment, kill him. Matilda's mother speaks out and she is taken away to the back of their house. After a couple of minutes, Matilda is taken to her mother and she sees her mother being raped. Matilda's mother begs them not to rape her daughter and offers her life for Matilda's innocence not to be taken away. The soldiers then kill her and Matilda is spared. That night, Matilda is swept away by a swollen river and thinks about giving up. She decides she wants to survive and she holds onto a log while she is being swept away to the open sea. In the sea, she sees Mr. Masoi and his family in a small boat. They take Matilda and escape the island. They are rescued by a large boat and are sent to Honiara where they are given a physical. Matilda is then sent to Australia to meet her father. Later on as an adult, Matilda writes about her life on that tiny island and about how her mother, Mr. Watts, and even how Mr. Pip shaped her life. This is a powerful story that I would recommend to upper grade students. I would not recommend it to struggling readers since the story is long. I felt the only weakness of the story was towards the end of the book. The story takes too long, from the time Matilda met up with her father to the time she decides to return home.

2008 Schneider Award Winner

Kami and the Yaks by Andrea Stenn Stryer

Kami is a deaf Sherpa boy who lives in the Himalayas. His father and older brother are searching for their yaks by the slopes to prepare them for a trek with some climbers. Kami has an idea that they are elsewhere. A storm is coming and it frightens Kami. He keeps on searching until he finds them and realizes that White Spot, the smallest yak, is stuck in a crevice between two rocks. Kami goes back for help and gestures to his father what has happened. With some difficulty, they finally understand and Kami shows them where the yaks are. They free White Spot and his father hugs him to show that he is proud of him. Kami leads the yaks and his family down the mountain showing them he could do it too. This is a wonderful story of how one can overcome their shortcomings and do anything they set their minds to. This book can be used as an introduction to disabilities or in a book talk. It has great illustrations depicting the lives of the Sherpas and the rough terrain of the Himalayas. It also includes an explanation of the lives of Sherpa families.

2008 Sibert Medal Winner

The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain by Peter Sis

This book is a biography of Peter Sis who was born in the beginning of the Cold War. He lived on the communist side and was taught in school never to question authorities. He illustrates how he and fellow friends defied the communist government by secretly listening to rock music, making electric guitars, growing their hair long, and secretly painting murals of hope and freedom. Finally, the Wall is torn down in November 1989 and people are free again to dream and hope for a better future. This is a wonderful biography that I would highly recommend to middle grade students. The text is easy to read and won't intimidate reluctant readers since the layout is somewhat of a graphic novel and picture book. The book could also be used for students that are researching the Cold War era.

2008 Newberry Medal Winner

Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! : Voices from a Medieval Village by Laura Amy Schlitz

This book is about the lives of teens that live in an imaginary medieval village in England, in the year 1255. The book contains twenty-one miniature plays: nineteen monologues and two dialogues. The plays describe the struggles of the villagers and what one had to do in order to survive. From Taggot, the blacksmith's daughter, to Simon, the knight's son, and to Pier's, the glass blower's apprentice, each character is brought to life with their own unique story. The book contains an illustrative map of the village. In the map it shows the characters name and in what part of the village they live. Each set of plays contains a background explaining how their system worked back then. Also, each play contains side notes explaining the characters occupation and their situation. This is a beautifully written book that I would highly recommend to middle and upper grade students. It could also be used as an introduction to poetry or to a history class that is studying about medieval times. The language is easy to read and not hard to understand what their message is. The illustrations depict how works of art looked at that time, are colorful, and have great detail.

2008 Theodore Seuss Geisel Award

There is a Bird on Your Head by Mo Willems

Elephant and Piggie are taking a nap. When all of a sudden, a bird lands on Elephant's head. Piggie confirms to Elephant that indeed he does have a bird on his head. Elephant is not happy. All of a sudden, there are now two lovebirds on his head and are building a nest. Again Piggie confirms that now he has two birds, a nest, and three eggs on his head. The eggs hatch and instead of thee eggs their are now three baby chicks. Elephant kindly asks them to go somewhere else. The birds agree and they land on pigs head. This is a funny story of two friends trying to deal with a unique situation. I read it to my children and they loved it. The illustrations are colorful and the expressions are so realistic to what the characters are feeling. I would highly recommend this book to primary grades and reluctant readers. It could be used in a read aloud as an introduction to punctuation.

2008 National Book Award for Young People's Literature

The Absolute True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

Born with several medical conditions, fourteen year-old Arnold Spirit (Junior), has always been picked on and bullied for being different. He lives in the Spokane Indian Reservation and is tired of seeing the same cycle eat up every Indian in the rez: alcohol and no hope of a future. Things change for him when he realizes that his geometry textbook was outdated by about thirty years. He gets so upset that he accidentally hits his math teacher, Mr. P. with the book. He gets suspended and Mr. P. encourages Junior to get out of the rez and attend a school where he might have a chance at a better life. Junior enrolls at Reardon High School , twenty-two miles away from the rez and an all white student population. At first, he gets picked on for being an Indian, but he decides to stand up for himself and he decks the biggest, white kid in school, Roger. The next day, Roger shows respect towards Junior and they become good friends. Junior catches the eye of Penelope, a popular girl, and they start dating. While all of this is going on, Junior is feeling more confident of himself and the decision he has made since all the Indians at the rez see him as a traitor. He tries out for basketball and is surprised he gets picked for the varsity team. He gets so much encouragement by his coach and teammates that his game gets better. For their first game, they lose to his old school at the rez. He got three stitches and a concussion courtesy of an angry Indian and his best friend, Rowdy. Before the season was over, he played them again and Junior showed them no fear. With the help of Junior, they crushed his old school. When the game ended, Junior felt awful that he had taken away this small victory away from them. During the school year, both his grandmother and sister died due to alcohol related accidents and his classmates showed love and concern for him. In the end, Junior realizes that he not only belongs to the Spokane Tribe, but also to the tribe of the American immigrant. He knew he was going to be ok and be able to coexist in both worlds. This is a wonderful and funny story on how one can change their destiny for the better, by not being afraid of the unknown. Junior was the underdog, the one that no one thought would make it and he proved them that with hope anything can be achieved. I highly recommend this book to middle and upper grade students as well as reluctant readers. It could also be used in a book talk. The book was easy to read and follow. What I mostly liked were the illustrations depicting how Junior perceived things. This is a must read for all students, especially those underdogs.

2008 Best Books for Young Adults (4)

Bone by Bone by Bone written by Tony Johnston

It is 1951 in Tennessee, and David Church is about to meet his best friend on Halloween night. Malcolm Deeter was dressed as a ghost and was being pecked by Hell, the meanest rooster in the world. David rescues him from Hell and would like to be Malcolm's friend, but his dad, Dr. Church, warns him that he is not to play with "niggers." David and Malcolm become inseparable and they even become blood brothers. Dr. Church warns David that if he ever brings Malcolm into the house he will shoot him. David does not understand why his dad hates colored people, so he devises a plan to make his dad like Malcolm. Since Dr. Church likes Jackie Robinson, he asks Malcolm to try out the all white baseball team in their town. Malcolm asks the coach if he could try out , but the coach tells him he does not allow "niggers" in his team. David stands up for Malcolm, but Malcolm blames David for setting him up for ridicule. They don't see each other for a while, until David hears some screaming in the street. Judge Haggard is holding onto Malcolm so he wouldn't run away and a group of men are goading Hell onto Malcolm. David runs in between Malcolm and Hell and yells to the men to let him go. They finally let him go and David realizes that his dad was part of the group. Dr. Church tells him it was just a joke. On Christmas day, Mr. Swann, a colored, old man knocks on the door and asks Dr. Church if he could spare some food for him. Dr. Church insults him, tells him to go away, and refuses to give him any food. Malcolm, with his Uncle Lucas help, gives Mr. Swann a plate full of their Christmas dinner. Around the time that David became thirteen, Malcolm was being chased by a Klan member and he was trying to seek help at David's house. Dr. Church refused to let him in, but David went against his dad's wishes and let Malcolm into the house. As soon as Dr. Church sees Malcolm coming in, he grabs his gun and aims at Malcolm. David gets in front of Malcolm and gets shot by his dad with rock salt. Malcolm knew his dad was never going to change and he wasn't about to live with a man that hated colored people. He did now want to be like his father so he packed up his belongings and left to live with his Uncle Lucas. This is a powerful novel about how families are torn apart as a result of the hate they have for people that are colored. I cheered for Malcolm every time he defied his father and defended Malcolm as true friends should. I would recommend this book to history classes and middle/ upper grade students. It could also be recommended to reluctant readers since the vocabulary is simple and the book is not too long.