Roller Girl

Bibliography
Jamieson, V. (2015). Roller girl. New York: Dial Books, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. ISBN: 9780803740167

Plot Summary 
Astrid has done everything with her best friend, Nicole. But when Astrid’s mom take them to a roller derby bout, their relationship begins to change in ways that Astrid isn’t a fan of. Now she has to learn how to be by herself and make new friends in a strange new setting.

Critical Analysis 
Astrid is the typical, selfish, 12-year-old girl. She’s a tomboy whose favorite color is black, as depicted by her dark clothing throughout the book. Her best friend, Nicole, on the other hand, likes the color pink, boys, and ballet.

Jamieson uses the graphic novel format to convey Astrid’s story. The drawings of all of the characters present the reader with a wide range of emotions. Onomatopeia is used throughout the book for the whistles and other objects. The representation of Astrid's tiredness is entertaining as you are able to view the couch and then blackness.

At the beginning of the book, Astrid is selfish. She only wants to do what she wants to do, and she doesn’t consider Nicole or her feelings. Nicole wants to go to ballet camp, not roller derby camp. Instead of talking it out with her best friend, Astrid ghosts Nicole and doesn't speak to her for weeks. So Nicole finds a new friend in Rachel, a bully to Astrid. Astrid’s selfishness is further conveyed with her new friend Zoey. Astrid spends a lot of time working on being a jammer, and when her new friend Zoey is chosen instead, Astrid does not react well. By the end of the book, Astrid is shown to have grown considerably and respect the decisions of those around her. She makes peace with Nicole and Rachel and goes out of her way to support Zoey in her new role.

Astrid must also learn how to deal with her own failures. She constantly falls down and can’t hip check anyone, but she continues to preserve. She refuses to give up because this is her new dream. Even though she is intimated by the size and experience of the other girls, she doesn’t let that dissuade her.

Throughout the book, the reader witnesses Astrid’s growth during the same transitional phase between fifth and sixth grade. She quietly rebels against her mother. She walks and rollerblades home from roller derby camp and dyes her hair blue in an attempt to be strong. This rebellious phase is short-lived but sure to come out more intensely as time goes out. Also during this time, Astrid learns that it’s okay for everyone to not like the same thing. It’s okay to be friends with someone and not do everything with them. Everyone has different interests and that’s okay.

Review Excerpt(s) 
Newbery Medal Nominee (2016)
Texas Bluebonnet Award (2017)
Maine Student Book Award (2017)
Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award Nominee (2017)
Oregon Spirit Book Award for Graphic Novel (2015)
Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards Nominee for Best Publication for Kids (ages 9-12) (2016),
Bluestem Book Award (2018)
Rebecca Caudill Young Readers' Book Award Nominee (2018)
NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW - “This spiky, winning graphic novel captures the bittersweetness of finding a new passion and saying goodbye to your former, more uncertain self.”
KIRKUS -  "Jamieson captures this snapshot of preteen angst with a keenly decisive eye, brilliantly juxtaposing the nuances of roller derby with the twists and turns of adolescent girls' friendships...Full of charm and moxie—don't let this one roll past."
HORN -  "Jamieson’s dialogue captures coming-of-age…so authentically"—Horn Book, starred review

Connections
Show clips from the movie Whip-It: https://youtu.be/RQGPdXnb2Gg and Derby, Crazy, Love documentary: https://youtu.be/jcetd17-x3s
Invite people from Houston Roller Derby to speak to students about roller derby: https://www.houstonrollerderby.com/
Writing Prompt: What transitions have been difficult for you from fifth to sixth grade?
Writing Prompt: Who is someone you look up to other than your mom, dad or grandparent? If you could write to them for advice, what would you write them? Write a letter to someone you admire, asking for advice.
A physics lesson regarding how an object in motion stays in motion, or about movement. Such as, Astrid is moving at so many miles per hour, etc.
What would your roller derby name be? Think of one and create the back of your own shirt (using a paper template or an actual shirt) with it.
Have students create their own graphic novel about a time when they had to learn something new and felt like they failed at it. At least two pages and use panels from the novel as a template.

Smile

Bibliography
Telgemeier, R. & Yue, S. (2010). Smile. New York, New York: Graphix. ISBN: 9780545132053

Plot Summary 
During her sixth grade year, Raina falls and knocks out her two front teeth. This sets forward a journey of dentistry and self-discovery. This story chronicles the next four and a half years of Raina’s life as she deals with her teeth, friends, and finding out who she really is.

Critical Analysis 
Everyone has a horror dentist story to share. Author Raina Telgemeier shares hers in the form a graphic novel.

Each panel of the comics has a corresponding background. Most if not all panels are colorful and only muted when the tone of the story calls for it. There are a couple of panels that seem a bit off, such as when Raina is going to her orthodontist appointment and wonders if the sixth-grade boy she likes was trying to ask her out on page 79. Raina and her mom both have an umbrella, but there is an odd shade of black, possibly to represent the shadow the umbrellas cast over them. It just looks odd, especially over Raina’s mother. Another panel shows Raina after she’s gotten her braces and she states “My whole HEAD hurts so much!” (pg 45). Her father is holding a mug of coffee and the aroma lines stretch above the mug and behind Raina. That seems odd.

The events in this book take place in the late 80s and early 90s, reflected by the cinematic release of The Little Mermaid. The reader is given a hint early on about the time period at the beginning of the book when Raina is recovering from knocking out her two front teeth and her sister is constantly loosing at Super Mario Brothers on the Nintendo. Younger readers may not catch this reference or that of the release of The Little Mermaid but the very end of the book clearly states that the sophomore dance Raina helps decorate will be on October 7, 1992.

The format of this novel isn’t the only thing to take notice of. The plot itself doesn’t only focus on the dental journey Raina must endure, but that of puberty itself. Raina transitions from the sixth grade to seventh, eighth and ninth grade throughout the course of this book. And in that time, she has to deal with acne, peer pressure, and boys. She has to learn that even though you may have been friends in elementary school or junior high, that doesn’t mean you have to stay friends. She may not get the guy, but she eventually finds a group she relates to and can be herself with.

Students of a middle grade and high school setting will enjoy the real-life experiences Raina Telgemeier shares in this memoir-graphic novel. There is something all readers will be able to relate to.

Review Excerpt(s) 
Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award (2012)
Iowa Children's Choice Award (2012)
Boston Globe-Horn Book Award Nominee for Nonfiction (2010)
Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards for Best Publication for Teens (2011)
Rebecca Caudill Young Readers' Book Award (2013)
KIRKUS - "Irresistible, funny and touching."
NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW - "It hits home partly because there is nothing else out there like it."

Connections
Have an orthodontist come and speak to the class or do a Skype visit to explain how braces work.
Writing Prompt: What are things you need to have when you are sick? (Teacher example: chicken noodle soup, yellow Gatorade, and TV). Why do these things make you feel better?
Use this book to introduce the concept of graphic novels. Have students investigate the parts that make up a graphic novel - panels, colors, pictures, word bubbles, etc.
Use this book to introduce memoirs. This book is about an experience the author had that they shared with the world through a memoir.
Writing Prompt: Write about a time where something embarrassing happened.
Writing Prompt: Write about your own dentist visit gone wrong. If you haven’t had one, think about a time you went to the regular doctor and something may have gone wrong.
Students can use one of the writing prompts to create their own two page comic about their experience using the panels in the novel as a template.

Savvy

Bibliography 
Law, I. (2008). Savvy. New York Boston, Mass: Dial Books for Young Readers Walton Media. ISBN: 9780803733060

Plot Summary
Something strange happens to the Beaumont family on their thirteenth birthday. Her brother, Fish, created a hurricane on his thirteenth birthday. Her other brother controlled electricity!

Days before her thirteenth birthday, Mississippi “Mibs” Beaumont’s father is in a horrible car accident and falls into a coma. Her mother and brother go to be with him while the rest of her family stays behind. But on her thirteenth birthday, Mibs is convinced that she can help her father. All she needs to do is make it to him. With the help of a pink bus and the preachers' children, Mibs makes her thirteenth birthday one to remember.

Critical Analysis 
This fantasy novel gives Mibs one thing that most fantasy novels don’t: a family. Her mother, a perfectionist by savvy, a non-savvy father, a groundbreaking grandfather, and three brothers and one little sister. The story kicks off when her family life is threatened. Her father has been involved in a 10 vehicle pile up, falls into a coma, and no one knows if he will survive or not.

The idea of a savvy, a sort of magical power, is not new. The same year Savvy was released,  Kristin Cashore’s Graceling hit the shelves. Everyone is born with a grace, just as everyone is born with a savvy. The difference between the two novels is that a savvy is bestowed upon you on your thirteenth birthday. Two days after her father is hospitalized, Mibs celebrates her thirteenth birthday with a party she didn’t ask for.

Mibs and her family are considered outcasts in the small town they live in. Actually, the Beaumont family lives on the border of Nebraska and Kansas. The family moved to this landlocked area to help Fish, one of Mibs’s brothers’, “scumble” his savvy of creating hurricanes. Scumble is a term in the novel to mean “control”. This plays a major role in the novel as, during their travels, the band of misfits tends to find themselves near large bodies of water.

One major issue with the story is that Mibs becomes convinced that her savvy is to wake up those that don’t want to wake. Even after there are multiple events that prove otherwise. Such as Lester, the nervous bible selling bus driver, and his tattoos on his arms that keep speaking to each other. Or Bobbi, the preacher’s daughter, who has a tattoo of an angel with a devil’s tail that keeps speaking to Mibs. The most telling piece of evidence of all is when Mibs draws a sun on the hand of the preachers' son, Will Junior, and the sun begins to speak to her. After all of this, she still insists on attempting to wake a homeless man lying on the side of the street. While the author attempts to convey Mibs hopefulness that she will be able to help her father, it falls flat considering the mounting evidence to the contrary.

The book is full of creative descriptions, odd names, and crazy adventures for the characters. The savvy Mibs has inherited is very creative. She can hear other peoples thoughts or feelings through the ink on their skin, whether it is permanent or not. Mibs learns that she cannot run away from what she is, no matter how hard she may try.

The ending of this book riles up several issues though. The father seems to have some memory issues. The accident left him with pieces missing, and only Mibs can truly communicate with him through the mermaid tattoo on his arm. During the very last chapter, it is revealed that he has been home almost a year.
          “He recognized me that day. That was good. After coming home from Salina Hope Hospital, Poppa couldn’t always remember what day of the week it was or whether or not he liked blueberries in his pancakes. He couldn’t recall if we lived in Nebraska or in Kansas and didn’t understand that we lived in both, or how that had come to be” (pg 335-336).
After the reader learns this about the father of the family, the reader also learns another piece of somewhat disturbing information. The mother of the family thinks she may be pregnant again. An interesting end to an interesting tale. Hopefully, Scumble the sequel to Savvy will answer some unanswered questions.

Review Excerpt(s) 
Newbery Medal Nominee (2009)
Mythopoeic Fantasy Award Nominee for Children's Literature (2009)
Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award Nominee (2010)
Iowa Children's Choice Award Nominee (2012)
Andre Norton Award Nominee (2008)
Judy Lopez Memorial Award for Children's Literature Nominee (2009)
Rebecca Caudill Young Readers' Book Award Nominee (2011)
KIRKUS - “Law displays both a fertile imagination...and a dab hand for likable, colorful characters...[a] marvel-laden debut.”
PUBLISHER’S WEEKLY - “Law's savvy? She's a natural storyteller who's created a vibrant and cinematic novel that readers are going to love.”
BOOKLIST - “Law's storytelling is rollicking, her language imaginative, and her entire cast of whacky, yet believable characters delightful...wholly engaging and lots of fun.”
SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL - “With its delightful premise and lively adventure, this book will please a wide variety of audiences, not just fantasy fans...Definitely an author to watch.”

Connections
Rocket can control electricity, the grandfather claims to have created Idaho, and Fish can create hurricanes. Students can break off into groups to study the actual cause of these events. How do we have electricity? How do hurricanes form? How did Idaho become a state?
Students can track the characters progress from Hebron to Bee to Wymore to Manhattan to Salina. Use the website https://www.distance-cities.com/distance-hebron-ne-to-salina-ks to track the distance from Hebron to Salina. This could be used to create math problems.
Discussion question: What sort of savvy do you think you would have? Why? What sort of problems could this create? How could you use it for good?
The author uses a lot of similes. Have students track similes as they read.
The author uses a lot of alliteration when they are describing things. “Bobbi stuck out her tongue with a sour and shimmying shudder, squirming away…” (pg 242). Try using words that mean the same thing with the same beginning letter.
Book 2: Law, I. (2010). Scumble. New York: Dial Books for Young Readers.
Book 3: Law, I. (2015). Switch. New York: Dial Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA) LLC.
For older readers: Cashore, K., Mathison, J. & Riggs, C. (2008). Graceling. Orlando, FL: Harcourt.

Rules

Bibliography 
Lord, C. (2006). Rules. New York, NY: Scholastic Press. ISBN: 9780439443821

Plot Summary
Life is governed by a list of rules. Not everyone needs them written down to be reminded of them. Catherine’s brother, David, needs more rules added every day. He also needs to be reminded of them constantly. This is because David has autism. And all Catherine wants is some semblance of normalcy.

But what happens when the rules Catherine made for her little brother begin to seep into her own life? How normal can her life really be?

Critical Analysis
Rather than focus on the person living with autism, Cynthia Lord writes from the perspective of the person’s sibling. The book opens with Catherine attempting to learn about the new neighbors moving in with her brother David. Within the first five pages, the reader is introduced to several of David’s eccentricities. He must have an umbrella outside, a promise must be kept, and rules make the world go round.

One device that Lord uses well in this novel is the power of words. Catherine is an artist, and she offers to create new words for Jason’s communication book. Many of the words convey her frustrations. Many of the words she gives Jason are negative. Words such as unfair, cruel, hate, ruined, tease, and embarrassed. These words often come to her after an episode with David. 

Catherine worries about people staring at David. When he begins to shriek or do something Catherine deems weird, she worries about judgment. This may contribute to her lack of friends other than Melissa, who is away for the summer. The same worry affects her friendship with Jason, a paraplegic boy that communicates with a book of notecards with words and phrases. Once again, she worries about people judging her for not fitting into a box of normalcy, and she refuses to spend time with him outside of occupational therapy.

It doesn’t take long for the reader to see that Catherine uses the rules she has created for her brother David to navigate her own life. And this causes problems. Not to mention the fact that her parents don’t ever see her, or so it feels. Catherine is used as a live-in babysitter. Her father cannot deal with the reality of his home life, so he spends more time at work and takes his son out to the video store out of a combination of guilt and fatherly duty. In order for Catherine to get something that she wants, she has to pull a stunt that pulls him out of work. It isn’t until then that he realizes how upset his oldest child really is about the treatment of her. “Maybe he does need you more than me, but that doesn’t mean I don’t need anything at all!” (pg 187). 

Review Excerpt(s) 
Newbery Medal Nominee (2007)
Schneider Family Book Award for Middle School Book (2007)
Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award (2008)
California Young Readers Medal Nominee for Middle School/Junior High (2009)
Rebecca Caudill Young Readers' Book Award Nominee (2009)
SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL - "Catherine is an endearing narrator who tells her story with both humor and heartbreak. . . . A lovely, warm read, and a great discussion starter."

Connections
Think about your younger brother or siblings. If you don’t have any, imagine that you do. What are 5 rules you would give them to live by? Why would you give them these rules?
Catherine uses the word cards to express some of her emotions. Jason has to use them in order to communicate. Create 10 of your own communication cards. These will be used to communicate with all day tomorrow. You will be unable to use your words. Chose wisely.
Further Reading: Baskin, N. (2009). Anything but typical. New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.
Choldenko, G. (2004). Al Capone does my shirts. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons.
Connor’s Life with Autism: http://oomscholasticblog.com/sites/default/files/ACT_1216_0117-ConnorArcher.pdf

Willow Run

Bibliography

Giff, P. R. (2007). Willow Run. New York: Yearling. ISBN: 9780440238010

Plot Summary

The war has changed thing for Meggie and her family. Her brother is serving, her father get a job as a foreman of a bomber plane factory, and her grandfather becomes a target because of his German blood. Meggie must choose between fitting in and family. Which is more important?

Critical Analysis

The author Patricia Reilly Giff presents a different perspective of time in America during World War II. Automobile factories were converted to help create plans for the war effort. Since Meggie’s father cannot see well, he cannot fly the planes, but he can work as a foreman to help build them. So the family moves from New York to Michigan, leaving behind Meggie’s grandfather.

There are many references to the war effort and how things are being sacrificed. At the beginning of the book, it is mentioned how there is a shortage of rubber and leather. If your car needed new tires, you may be out of luck. A couple of times, Meggie mentions how she is tired of the war and what they must do for the war effort.

The majority of the book focuses on Meggie and her relationship with her grandfather. She has always felt that he prized her older brother, Eddie, over her. She is also ashamed that he is from Germany, even though he helped his country during the last war and has a medal to prove it. The beginning of the novel has two teens desecrating her grandfather’s house by painting a Nazi symbol on his window. Meggie takes her time to vigorously scrub the sign away and never tells anyone.

By the end of the book, Meggie has come to accept her grandfather for the way he is. She even starts going by her given name, Margaret. A name she often told her grandfather not to call her. But she was named after her grandmother.

Reilly Giff does an excellent job describing the ramshackle conditions Meggie’s family comes upon after their move. Buildings were created hastily for families to move into in order to have more people building airplanes. The walls were extremely thin. Thin enough that the first night, Meggie ends up knocking on the wall after hearing the family next to her arguing. They hear her and begin banging ruthlessly.

This is a short, entertaining novel of life in American during the second World War.

Review Excerpt(s)

BOOKLIST - “Tough and tender, this [book] is an excellent addition to World War II shelves.”

Connections

Have students study the shortages Americans faced during World War II. How would this affect industry?

Why did factories such as car factories adjust their product? How did this assist in the war effort?

Have students study the Battle at Normandy. How many soldiers went missing in action or were killed in action?

Meggie’s father is from Germany. Have students interview their grandparents about if and where they immigrated from and why. Or have students ask their parents why their grandparents/great grandparents immigrated. Where did they immigrant from? Do they do anything embarrassing like Meggie felt her grandfather did (example: talking during films)

Show students a newsreel from the movies like Meggie watched.

The Loud Silence of Francine Green

Bibliography

Cushman, K. (2006). The loud silence of Francine Green. New York: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN: 9780618504558

Plot Summary

There is a new scare after World War II and that is Communism. The Red Scare began promptly after the war. Americans feared Russia bomb the United States and takeover. Anyone considered a sympathizer would be blacklisted.

Francine Green is not one to speak up. She’d rather daydream about being in the movies and knowing exactly what to say. She prefers to stay under the radar, doing what she is told. But when Sophie Bowman starts going to Francine’s Catholic school, Francine begins to question everything she has been taught so far about Communism and equality and the right to speak up.

Critical Analysis

This book is split up into months of the year. It begins in August of 1949 and ends in June of 1950. Francine’s burgeoning friendship with the wild Sophie Bowman has opened her eyes to the world around her. This provides some much needed character development on Francine’s department. She is sort of a wet rag compared to her friend, wanting to only do the good thing, worrying about the repercussions if she doesn’t conform, etc. Sophie is the polar opposite of Francine. She speaks up for what she believes in. She refuses to accept what society has deemed normal if it feels unfair.

By the end of the book, Francine become bolder. Author Karen Cushman makes Francine so bold, even, that she begins to doubt her faith in the Catholic church. Francine seeks guidance, only to be told to complete Hail Mary’s and an Act of Contrition.

The author does a good job at revealing how Francine had become as docile as she is throughout much of the book. Her family often tells her to be quiet, not to question things, and force to to complete jobs around the house such as babysitting. At school, students are expected to take what they are told at face value and not to question anything. It isn’t until Sophie comes around that Francine begins to see what she has been taught all along may not be right.

Many may argue that Sophie’s disappearance was too vague or not tidy enough for their liking. However, during this time period when people were blacklisted, they often had to leave in the middle of the night. That or leave it up to more extreme measures as another character commits in the middle of the book.

Cushman offers a time period not often seen in historical fiction. Much historical fiction in young adult or middle grade literature focuses on the time during World War II and not much after. With this book, the author emphasizes the importance of speaking up during injustice. Because if you don’t then who will?    

Review Excerpt(s)
BOOKLIST - “... Sure to provoke lively class discussion, this will easily absorb independent readers in search of a rich, satisfying story about early adolescence."

SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL - "Cushman creates another introspective female character who is planted firmly in her time and who grows in courage, self-awareness, and conviction.”

Connections

Compare Americans and their turning in of neighbors to that of German people turning in Jewish neighbors. Why did Americans think this was all right to do?

Have a blacklisting experiment in class. Decide on a factor and let everyone in class but the ones that have been blacklisted know. Have a discussion about how it felt, why did others turn so quickly, etc.

Why does Francine become disillusioned with Hollywood and the movies? What happens in the book to contribute to this change of heart?

Show students a clip of a movie with Montgomery Clift. How have celebrities/movies changed from the 1950s?

Create a pamphlet or sign like the ones Francine saw at the Flag Day celebration but promoting peace and equality.

Our Only May Amelia

Bibliography

Holm, J. L. (2000). Our only May Amelia. New York: HarperTrophy. ISBN: 9780064408561

Plot Summary

May Amelia Jackson was the first girl born along the Nasel River in Washington in the 19th century. With seven older brothers, she makes for a poor girl indeed. How is she supposed to be a proper young lady when there are no other girls to model after? Maybe the baby Mamma is expecting will help keep her out of trouble.

  

Critical Analysis

A map of the Nasel River Settlement is provided at the beginning of the book to help the reader understand the small community and May Amelia’s frequent haunts. Before each chapter is a picture that somehow goes with the contents of the section. Chapter Five, Grandmother Tries Our Patience, has the picture of a stern older woman wearing all black. This is quite the interpretation of Grandmother Patience, who moves in with the family.

The setting of the Nasel River settlement is original. May Amelia’s family is Finnish, as well as many of the settlers in this part of Washington. Farming and logging are the major industries of this time period. The logging portion is depicted in an interesting fashion when people are warned of the dam being let out while they are on the river. The author mentions many different Finnish foods that May Amelia eats with her family. The only time she eats something that isn’t Finnish in origin is when she visits her aunt in Astoria.

One item of note in this book is the lack of quotation marks. The reader must be paying close attention to who is speaking and who is not while reading. This could also be there to reflect May Amelia’s lack of education. It is mentioned multiple times that she is not often able to make it to school because of the distance and because of the help needed on the farm. Important words or phrases, such as how Amelia is referred to as “A Miracle” are also randomly capitalized. This could be to highlight their importance.

Author Jennifer L. Holm creates an atmosphere along the Nasel in 1899 that definitely is not conducive to being a proper young lady. Since May Amelia is the youngest with so many older brothers, and her mother spends the majority of the book pregnant or cooking, it is hard for May Amelia to know what a proper young lady is supposed to look or act like. The mother does little to correct May Amelia which begs the question: is the mother demonstrating the family’s expectation of their only daughter? The answer is more no than yes considering how many times May Amelia gets herself into trouble.

The crushing blow of the death of the Baby Amy upends May Amelia. She leaves the Nasel to stay with her aunt and one of her brothers in Astoria. During this time, the reader can conclude that May Amelia is utterly devastated and guilty about the loss of her little sister. This loss has also shaken something inside of her that is tired of being constantly wrong. Her father is always yelling, her grandmother is nagging, and she just doesn’t feel as though she is doing anything right anymore.

The arrival of her twin brothers contributes to May Amelia’s healing process. The two are heartbroken that she refuses to come home which helps her realize that she is valued back home. May Amelia’s character development is not grand the scheme of things, but this is where the reader can clearly sense a shift in our May Amelia.

In her author’s note, Holm informs the reader that most of the inspiration from this novel was based on family history, her grandmother to be precise. The events within the pages of the book were taken from oral family histories that helped shape May Amelia. The pictures provided at the beginning of each chapter do not have references, so it is hard to check their validity.  

Review Excerpt(s)

Newbery Medal Nominee (2000)

Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award Nominee (2001)

“An unforgettable heroine narrates Holm’s extraordinary debut novel. May Amelia’s spunky narrative voice gives the novel its immediacy and potency. Not to be missed.” (Publishers Weekly)

“The voice of the colloquial first-person narrative rings true and provides a vivid picture of frontier and pioneer life in Washington State in 1899.”   (Horn Book)

“The robust characterizations captivate, the lilting dialogue twangs, and the sharply individual first-person narrative gives the material authority and polish.” (Kirkus Reviews)

Connections

Study the major influences of settlers moving to this Washington territory.

Analyze the different Native American groups in the area. Compare them.  

Compare the length of the Nasel River to the Mississippi River.

Play a recording of a lesson in Finnish. Have students reflect on the language barrier they may have encountered. What was hard about the lesson? What was easy?

Write a letter to May Amelia from Baby Amy. What would Baby Amy want May Amelia to know?

Compare Finnish immigrants to Irish immigrants. Why would May Amelia’s father be so opposed to Mattie marrying an Irish girl?

Dash

Bibliography

Larson, K. (2014). Dash. New York: Scholastic Press. ISBN: 9780545416351

Plot Summary

After the events of Pearl Harbor, life has changed for Mitsi Kashino and her family must adapt to a new United States. “All persons of Japanese descent” are required to evacuate to incarceration camps. It wouldn’t be so bad if Mitsi were allowed to bring her faithful companion, Dash. But when her request is denied, Mitsi has to adjust to her life without Dash and learn to lean on her family and others.

Critical Analysis

American reactions to Pearl Harbor against Japanese people are revealed slowly. It is obvious that Mitsi is almost unaware of the world’s reaction to her because she feels that she is as American as the rest of her friends. Girls that Mitsi once thought of as friends no ignore her and are leaving nasty notes in her desk. Author Kirby Larson has created a believable young protagonist who feels that her dog is her best friend. Who doesn’t understand completely what is happening to her family because she feels more American than she does Japanese.

Larson’s descriptions of the internment camps, especially that of Camp Minidoka in Idaho, help express the helplessness Japanese-Americans felt at this time. “Mitsi’s throat was raw from the dust, and the ringing in her ears was driving her crazy…” (pg 193). This is quite the departure for Misti, who grew up in Oregon.

Mitsi’s experience at Camp Harmony and Minidoka prove a rough transition but with the help of Dash’s letters, she learns to appreciate what she has. Her experience at the internment camps seems easier than what others may have experienced in comparison. The letters from “Dash” symbolize hope for her which keeps her going during this tough time of change. And her brother, Ted, reflect what could happen if they were to succumb to what others thought of Japanese Americans. He begins hanging out with the wrong crowd and seems perfectly fine to sneak out, smoke, and even steal. But the weight of his guilt eventually shows him the error of his ways.

As far as character development goes, this book shows very little. Mitsi can’t help but judge the mailman at Camp Harmony, and she remains oblivious to the troubles her new friend, Debbie, is experiencing trying to help her father. Mitsi’s only goal and connection to the outside world is her dog, Mitsi, and the person taking care of Dash. Other than learning to not judge others based on their outward appearance, Mitsi doesn’t really grow in this book.

One of the most redeeming qualities of this book was the Author’s Note at the end. Mitsi is based off an actual person that wanted to bring their dog to an internment camp after Pearl Harbor. She is also denied, so a family friend kept a “diary” of the dogs day to day activities. This helped humanize Mitsi for me. Larson also Densho.org in her acknowledgements. The website has testimonials from people at the different internment camps, drawings, and maps of the area which helps the reader imagine the different places Mitsi went to during her stay.

Review Excerpt(s)

Scott O'Dell Award (2015)
California Young Readers Medal Nominee for Intermediate (2018),

Bluestem Book Award Nominee (2018),

The Magnolia Award Nominee for 3-5 (2016)

"Historical fiction at its best." -- School Library Journal

"Emotionally satisfying and thought-provoking." -- Kirkus Reviews, starred review

Connections

Imagine that you have to leave home for a while but couldn’t take the family pet. Write a letter that your family pet would leave you for the day you had to depart.

Compare the camps the Japanese had to stay in to those of the Jewish people in Germany.

Draw a map of Camp Harmony based off the text provided.

Use Densho.org to pair the events mentioned in Dash to those that occurred after Pearl Harbor.

Create a timeline for Japanese Americans starting with Pearl Harbor and the Japanese surrender in 1944.

The Lincolns: A Scrapbook Look at Abraham and Mary

Bibliography
Fleming, C. (2008). The Lincolns : a scrapbook look at Abraham and Mary. New York: Schwartz & Wade Books. ISBN: 9780375836183

Plot Summary
The saying often goes “behind every great man there is a great woman”. Author Candace Fleming recognized this about the Lincoln’s during her research on the sixteenth president. Thus inspired this scrapbook of the influential couple and their lives together.
  
Critical Analysis
After the introduction, where the author explains their reasoning for writing about man and wife, a timeline is provided for the couple. A short key is given to separate Abraham Lincoln and Mary Lincoln and note when the events were shared by both.

The book is separated into chapters titled to reflect the contents with a quote from one or both Lincoln's. The chapter is then separated into sections conveyed with a black strip and white text in all capital letters. Each page is organized to look like a newspaper spread. Or a scrapbook with newspaper clippings. Images are provided with most if not all selections. Important documents, book covers, maps, and other documents that reflected the Lincolns lives are all archived within the pages.

The first two chapters are mirrors of each other almost. Lincoln, a “Backwoods Boy”, grew up the son of a poor farmer. His father remarried soon after Lincoln’s mother died, and he loved his stepmother deeply. Mary Todd, conversely, had a decadent childhood and wanted for nothing. She despised her stepmother and couldn’t wait to leave home. Later chapters develop the relationship between Abraham and Mary, and their journey into politics and the Civil War. The very end of the book details Mary’s bouts with depression, how she copes as a widow, her only living son’s betrayal, and her death.

The font used in this book is called Old Times American which is based on typefaces from the 1800s (this information is provided at the beginning of the book with the copyright page). This font helps support the newspaper theme the pages have.

The amount of text on each page will intimidate or reluctant readers. Advanced readers and lovers of history will rejoice in the information held in the pages. The research Fleming conducted for this book was extensive. Fleming describes the research experience at the very end of the book in the section titled “A Little Bit About the Research”. “Any biography of the Lincolns should be founded on their own words”. Fleming goes into a thorough description of her attempts to create as authentic a depiction of the Lincolns’ as possible. Following this section, Fleming provides notes for each chapter and the resource it came from, as well as an index for easy to find information.

Review Excerpt(s)
Norman A. Sugarman Award (2010)
Flora Stieglitz Straus Award (2009)
Society of Midland Authors Award for Children's Nonfiction (2009)
NCTE Orbis Pictus Honor Book (2009)
BOOKLIST: "Fleming offers another standout biographical title, this time twining accounts of two lives—Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln—into one fascinating whole."
HORN BOOK MAGAZINE: "Fleming is able to compare and contrast the president with his first lady, giving us not only greater insight into each of them but also a fuller picture of the world in which they lived."
SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: "It's hard to imagine a more engaging or well-told biography of the Lincolns."

Connections
After studying the pages, students will create their own “scrapbook” newspaper page about a person of their own choosing. One section will be about their childhood, another about their attempts to break into the industry they are known for, a current piece or what happened after they retired. They will need to find an authentic document or quote to add to their piece. A picture should occupancy each article.
Create a bookmark with the Top 10 Things you’ve learned about either Abraham or Mary Lincoln.
Math: Money comparisons. The book often talks about money conversions. Have student convert money today from that of the 1860s. Students should also practice with international conversions.
Geography - Map out the battles from the Civil War. What advantages or disadvantages did the North or South have?
Create a timeline for the beginning of the Civil War. What lead to this? (The Mexican War should definitely be on here, as well as the Compromise of 1850).
Create a timeline of “firsts” - Mary Lincoln was the first “First Lady” and there were many other firsts conceived during Lincoln’s presidency as reflected on page 129.
Students can create an interview with one of the people that interacted with the Lincolns. Such as Elizabeth Keckly, Mary Lincoln’s trusted confidant who wrote a tell-all, Robert Lincoln, or one of Lincoln’s appointed generals.

What To Do About Alice?: How Alice Roosevelt Broke the Rules, Charmed the World, and Drove Her Father Teddy Crazy!

Bibliography
Kerley, B. & Fotheringham, E. (2008). What to do about Alice? : how Alice Roosevelt broke the rules, charmed the world, and drove her father Teddy crazy. Ill. by Edwin Fotheringham. New York: Scholastic Press.ISBN: 9780439922319

Plot Summary
Theodore Roosevelt has done a lot in his life. He’s bagged a grizzly bear, lead the Rough Riders, and served as the President of the United States. But even with all of that experience, he has never learned how to do one thing. What can be done about his daughter, Alice Lee Roosevelt?

Rather than focus on the man, the president, this biography focuses on the daughter. What was life like for the daughter of the future president of the United States? What sort of hijinks did she get into? Find out in this peak into one of the most prominent families in United States history.

Critical Analysis
The beginning of this classic picture book introduces Theodore Roosevelt’s problem: his daughter, Alice. After the descriptions of everything Roosevelt has faced, he is no long Theodore Roosevelt, but Father. The story follows a chronological progression from young Alice to her contributions as the wife of a congressman.

The images are colorful and the illustrator manages to compact heaps of information in a limited space. For example, pages 8 and 9 depict a train that conveys the move the family made between New York and Washington D.C. On the same page as the trains, there are oval pictures of Alice picnicking, pretending to ride a horse, and drinking tea to reflect the text on the page. A few pages later, Alice falls down a set of stairs due to her braces. The fall is revealed with dotted lines.

At the very back of the book, in the Author’s Note, the author provides more information about the presidents’ firstborn daughter. President Roosevelt never called her Alice. The pain of losing his first wife kept him from uttering her name so he called her “sister” instead. The author also provides details about Alice’s contributions in Washington D.C. long after her husband's death. Rather than giving the reader a detailed list of resources, the author cites only a few sources in small print on the back cover. The inspiration behind writing this book is given in the author’s biography. Barbara Kerly came across an image of Alice in a historical magazine with an interesting caption that prompted her to write this book.

What To Do About Alice? is an interesting and different take on the original biography. It shows that the presidents weren’t the only interesting figures living in the White House.

Review Excerpt(s)
Sibert Medal Nominee (2009)
Irma Black Award Nominee (2009)
BOOKLIST: "Irrepressible Alice Roosevelt gets a treatment every bit as attractive and exuberant as she was....The large format gives Fotheringham, in his debut, plenty of room for spectacular art."
KIRKUS:"Theodore Roosevelt s irrepressible oldest child receives an appropriately vivacious appreciation in this superb picture book.... Kerley s precise text presents readers with a devilishly smart, strong-willed girl who was determined to live life on her own terms and largely succeeded."

Connections
Journal Prompt: What trouble do you get into at home that would make your parents say “What to do about _____?”
Provide different biographies about other children of presidents.
Have students choose a child of a president. Students will conduct an interview with the president’s child. This could be presented as a podcast so students will have to work in partners. One student is the interviewer and the other is the president's’ child.
Math: determine the distance between Washington D.C. and New York City. Create a word problem with this distance.

Apex Predators: The World's Deadliest Hunters, Past and Present

Bibliography
Jenkins, S. (2017). Apex predators : the world's deadliest hunters, past and present. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN: 9780544671607

Plot Summary
Author Steven Jenkins introduces readers to apex predators, the top dogs of the food chain. Learn about predators of the past and present, and what qualities made them so formidable. You may be surprised at the height and width of some of these dangerous hunters!

Critical Analysis
Each page in this book has a colored illustration of a predator. The first page gives the reader the definition of what a predator is and an example of a present predator and extinct predator. The present day predator has a green/blue box at the top of the page with the same color for the title text with a short name and description of the predator in black. The extinct predators have a red box with how long they have been extinct. The extinct animal also has a red title and short descriptor written in black.

After the first page, the author goes into the different modern-day predators. There are two per spread. The name of the animal is bolded. A small scale is provided with each animal to demonstrate how deadly the animal is compared to an average human. This is helpful to the reader, and also introduces a sense of fear in the reader at the thought of encountering such an animal.

The extinct predator pages look much the same as the modern day predators. After the bolded name of the animal, there are pronunciations in parenthesis. One animal, the Daedon or killer pig, takes a two page spread.

The last two pages of the book offer up an Apex Predator Face-Off On Land and In the Water. The pages offer up the question as to which predator would win in a fight? The predator that is now extinct or the present day one? The final page provides the reader with more reading material and websites to check out.
This book will definitely interest reluctant readers with the colorful images and short blocks of text.   

Review Excerpt(s)
SLJ: "Jenkins has done it again—all nonfiction collections will want this title."
BOOKLIST: "It’s a clear and simple addition to Jenkins’ books of animal infographics, and browsers interested in the fiercest of the animal world will snap it quickly up."
PUBLISHER’S WEEKLY: "The intricacy of Jenkins’s distinctive artwork will capture readers’ imaginations, as will the predator face-offs he stages between pairs of predators. Great white shark vs. Dunkleosteus, anyone?"

Connections
Battle of the Apex Predators. Have students compare two predators and decide which would win. Students must provide evidence for their reasoning.
Create a social media profile for one of the apex predators. Must include where they could be found, their favorite foods, and an image.
Create a food chain with one of the modern-day apex predators at the top.
Have students find additional apex predators that can be added to this book. Students will create a page to add to the book, pamphlet, or bookmark. 

Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream

Bibliography
Stone, T. & Weitekamp, M. (2009). Almost astronauts : 13 women who dared to dream. Somerville, Mass: Candlewick Press. 

Plot Summary
In 1957 the Russians initiated the space race when Sputnik launched. The United States created the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in order to beat the Russians. The Mercury Seven were the first seven men selected, after extensive training and testing, as the first group of American astronauts.

But what about the women?

Almost Astronauts conveys the struggles that thirteen women went through in order to prove that women were fit to travel to space. Thirteen women demonstrated bravery, resilience, and determination throughout the same testing and training as the Mercury Seven astronauts went through. Many of them endured the tests with superior results compared to their male counterparts. Despite their results, prejudice won out. It would be another twenty years before a female could claim the title of astronaut and embark on a mission to space.

Critical Analysis
This is a chapter book that follows a chronological sequence. The first chapter is from 1999 and introduces the main idea of the text, but the next chapter goes backward to 1960. Each page has relevant pictures to the text in black and white. If there is a spread without a photograph, the background of the page is often an expanded version of a photograph. The Foreword, for example, has a picture of clouds in the background. Later, on pages 68-69, is a blown-up version of the picture on page 66 of Jerrie Cobb and Jane Hart. It is not until page 103 and onward that there are colored pictures in the book. This is to reflect the gap from when the women fought for their right to join NASA to 1999 when Eileen Collins “took to the skies”.

The author also provides political cartoons and magazine covers from the time period the chapter focuses on. A copy of a letter from then Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson is provided on page 64 as evidence to his disregard for female astronauts.

At the end of the book, the author provides all of the resources they used to complete this book. They also provide source notes for each chapter. Photography credits, an appendix and an index to pertinent information are also supplied at the end of the book. The author offers up further reading in case the reader is interested in learning more about these women and their efforts.

Review Excerpt(s) 
Sibert Medal (2010)
Jane Addams Children's Book Award Nominee for Older Children (2010)
Flora Stieglitz Straus Award (2010)
YALSA Award Nominee for Excellence in Nonfiction (2010)
NCTE Orbis Pictus Honor Book (2010)
The HORN BOOK: “Stone presents the full story of early-sixties public discourse about women’s capabilities and clearly shows the personal, political, and physical risks taken by the women in pursuit of their dream.”
PUBLISHER’S WEEKLY: Readers with an interest in history and in women's struggle for equality will undoubtedly be moved.
SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: This passionately written account of a classic but little-known challenge to established gender prejudices also introduces readers to a select group of courageous, independent women.

Connections
Students can create a research project about one of the thirteen women that completed and passed the tests to become astronauts.
Have a bulletin display about women that struggled to get into a male-dominated industry.
Compared these women to the women from Hidden Figures: The Untold True Story of Four African-American Women Who Helped Launch Our Nation into Space.
Students can research the different tests that the women had to complete in order to become astronauts.
Attempt a deprivation tank activity. Have students lay down with cotton balls in their ears and turn off the lights. See how long it takes for students to begin talking to one another.
Have students expand their knowledge with the references given in the back of the book.

Words With Wings

Bibliography
Grimes, N. (2013). Words with wings. Honesdale, Penn.: WordSong. ISBN: 9781590789858

Plot Summary
Gabriella began daydreaming to escape her parents' arguments. The fighting escalates into divorce. Her father leaves. And six month later, Gabby starts at a new school. The daydreaming has grown into what her mother and teacher would call a distraction. She can’t seem to focus at all, and no one wants to be her friend. With the help of an innovative teacher, Gabby learns that maybe her daydreaming isn’t such a bad thing after all. 

Critical Analysis
The poems in this novel in verse a short, quick, and to the point. No rhymes are needed, and the thought of a rhythm escape once the reader is brought into Gabby’s world. Nikki Grimes conveys incredible emotion in only a few lines. Favorite Words proves this by expressing despair at the difference between her and her mother, and Switch proves this with a sense of hopefulness at the opportunity for a new friend. Grimes selects her words carefully, which makes sense considering the theme throughout the book.

The poems switch from what is currently happening to Gabby to some of her favorite words and things or daydreams she associates with those words. Some of the poems take a different format to reflect the word or subject matter. Stilts has “GABBY THE GREAT” in a larger font, but the poem is very thin with one to two words in each line. This is done to indicate a person on a stilt. Later on, in the poem Canyon, the ending of her name is shown in all capital letters, then the name is shown again with some lowercase letters and spread far apart and then it is shown a third time in all lowercase letters. This is to show the reader an echo from yelling into the Grand Canyon. The font switches from Times to Roman to Century Gothic so the reader can distinguish from a daydream and real life.

The cover of this book is as simple as some of the poems, but packs as much of a punch. A single desk with an open notebook. Wonderous things escape from the notebook, hinting at the magic that words can create. An excellent introduction to poetry and writing in general.


Review Excerpt(s)
Coretta Scott King Award for Author Honor - 2014

BOOKLIST:  ". . . Grimes has written a novel in verse that is an enthusiastic celebration of the power of words and imagination. . . Always accessible, Grimes' language is vivid, rhythmic, and figurative. . . Grimes' words speak to the daydreamer in every reader."

PUBLISHER’S WEEKLY: " . . . Grimes packs substantial emotional heft into her poems, especially the way that Gabby's parents' separation weighs on her. . . her poems lovingly convey the rich inner life (and turmoil) of a girl in the process of finding her voice.

KIRKUS REVIEWS:  "In this delightfully spare narrative in verse, Coretta Scott King Award-winning Grimes examines a marriage's end from the perspective of a child. . . Throughout this finely wrought narrative, Grimes' free verse is tight, with perfect breaks of line and effortless shifts from reality to dream states and back. An inspirational exploration of caring among parent, teacher and child--one of Grimes' best."

Connections
Allow students to do as they did in Mr. Spicer’s class. Give them ten minutes to just daydream and then write about what they thought about. See what emerges after a few minutes to themselves and their thoughts.
Have students choose their own words that mean something special to them. Have students write poems about what they associate with that word, as Gabby did with her words.
The beginning of the book talks about how Gabriella got her name. Have the students go home and learn about the origin of their name and discuss in class.
*A cross between regular narrative and poetry, Between the Lines by Nikki Grimes can help readers learn the importance of poetry and the story everyone has to tell.
Grimes, N. (2018). Between the lines. New York, NY: Nancy Paulsen Books. ISBN: 9780399246883

Hidden

Bibliography
Frost, H. (2011). Hidden. New York: Farrar Straus Giroux. ISBN: 9780374382216

Plot Summary
When they were eight years old, Wren and Darra both experienced a traumatic event that shaped the next six years of their lives. Wren was accidentally kidnapped in a robbery gone wrong. Darra? Her father was the accidental kidnapper.

Six years later, the two girls meet again in a chance encounter at Camp Oakwood. The try to keep their separate ways but are forced together during different camp activities. The two will have to confront the past to move on to the future.

Critical Analysis
The cover of this novel in verse is hauntingly beautiful. After having read the novel, it would appear that Darra is the girl on the left. The last six years have left her bitter and angry, and she doesn’t want to go to some random camp. The darkness suits her character in the second part of the book. Wren has been reunited with her family. She is friends with the “popular” crowd at Camp Oakwood. It seems as though life has leveled out for her. The fiery reds and lighter skin tone seem to reflect a person who may not be at peace with life, but who is getting there. But as you read Slideshow of Memories, you learn that it is actually flipped.

The first part of the book is split into chapters that contain short stanzas. It is told from eight-year-old Wren’s point of view in the back seat of the car. Many of Wren’s short thoughts that may pop into her head are enclosed within parentheses. This helps create a sense of urgency in some of the scenes, like when she is trying to figure out who the man, woman and little girl are.

The second part of the book is Darra’s point of view six years after Wren escapes. These poems are split by titles. They are longer poems. The pages almost look like that of a regular novel. This could be to represent Darra’s anger and how she is still trying to process her father being locked away for the past six years. She is surprisingly a daddy’s girl, even after his treatment of his family.

The third part, and the rest of the book flip between Wren and Darra’s point of view. The poems are separated by titles and underneath the title has the name of the character. The poems for Darra continue to be longer in length across the page whereas Wren’s are a tad shorter.

I Don’t Surface from Darra’s perspective is a distressing poem. “...I pull away, then reach for her arms,/but she gets my hair, pulls me toward her,/and kicks hard to surface. Only-I don’t surface-I stay/under. She’s holding me down/and I can’t get away. I tap her three times-she won’t let me up-Wren!-I don’t care if she pulls out a fistful of my hair-I need air!” The use of dashes and exclamation points emphasize the seriousness of the situation. This is especially troublesome because Wren has seemed rather...normal about the whole Darra being at the camp thing. But Wren begins to realize maybe she is not as healed as she thought.

The audiobook, which can be located at your local library’s Overdrive program, is approximately 2 hours long. It is read by Sisi Aisha Johnson and Maria Cabezas. This reader listened to the audiobook at 1.5x. The voices of the two narrators are close to one another. Maybe listening at 1.5x diluted some of their distinctive speech patterns. Both narrators enunciate properly, but they don’t really give unique voices to other characters to distinguish them from others. The narrators do a good job emphasizing the dashes and exclamation points. There doesn’t really seem to be a rhythm to the poems in this book. With the exception of the points where there are the dashes, exclamation points, or other such punctuation marks, it reads just like a regular novel.

The content of this book surprised me. Many novels in verse tend to surprise me. I don’t imagine I’ll care much for them and suddenly I’m listening to a story about a girl who is accidentally kidnapped! Where is this going to go?! It is always a pleasant surprise when that happens.


Review Excerpt(s)
VOYA - “Many teen readers will identify with Wren and Darra and how events that happened to us when we were younger help shape the person we become.”
BOOKLIST - “Like Frost's Printz Honor Book, Keesha's House (2003), this novel in verse stands out through its deliberate use of form to illuminate emotions and cleverly hide secrets in the text.”

Connections 
Students could practice writing a poem from another character’s POV - such as Wren’s mother when she goes into the little store or Darra’s father.
In Science, students could do some “Drown or Float” experiments to go with the game that is played at camp.
At the beginning of the novel, Wren’s mother leaves her alone in the car with the keys in the ignition. This could get students talking about whether they agree or disagree and evolved into a persuasive argument. Students can research kidnappings, car jacks, or kids dying in cars to support their arguments.