Posts Tagged «family life»
Friday, November 19th, 2010
by Mark Shulman p. 230 Grades 7 and up.
Tod Munn has a bad reputation; he has been known to steal the wimps’ lunch money, push his way into the front of the lunch line and shove people into the lockers when they least expect it. He is not someone you want to mess with if you don’t want to get hurt. Naturally Tod has landed himself in detention, and this time it is for something really bad, but he is not outside raking leaves with his “droogs,” instead he is spending time one-on-one with the school counselor, Mrs. Woodrow.
For detention he has to write in a journal every day after school. He spends weeks with the counselor in a hot school room writing and writing until it feels like his hand might fall off. Tod thinks the counselor is trying to “fix the bad guy,” and he doesn’t think it is going to work, either. Who do you think is right; is the bully really a bad guy, or is there more to the story than meets the eye?
Connections: If you like books about tough kids you might like Small Steps by Louis Sachar or if you enjoy books written in journal form you might also enjoy Absolutely Normal Chaos by Sharon Creech.
Tags: coming of age, family life, family problems, friends, high schools, identity, misunderstanding, outsiders, realistic fiction, teens, Young Adult
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Tuesday, May 18th, 2010
By Debby Dahl Edwardson, 178 pages Grades 6-9
The mysterious blue bead in her grandmother’s sewing basket and the stories of her Inupiaq ancestors provide the grounding Blessing needs when she is forced to live with her grandmother in a remote village in northern Alaska while her alcoholic mother is in treatment. This novel, in two parts, starts in 1917 with the story of Blessing’s great-grandmother’s experiences with the arrival of Siberian traders and survival of the Spanish influenza epidemic.
Connections: Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George is another story of a girl caught between worlds in Alaska. For a story that focuses on the effect of influenza on a small Alaskan village, read The Great Death byJohn Smelcer.
Tags: Alaska, alcoholism, family life, historical fiction, Ice Curtain, influenza, Inupaiq, traders, Tundras, villages
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Tuesday, April 20th, 2010
By James Howe, 189 pages Grades 6-8
<!–[if gte mso 9]> <![endif]–><!–[if gte mso 9]> 0 false 18 pt 18 pt 0 0 false false false <![endif]–><!–[if gte mso 9]> <![endif]–>“Being who you are isn’t a choice.” Although he had always lived this life lesson, it wasn’t until his favorite aunt gave him a button printed with these words that thirteen, year-old Joe really thought about what it meant for him, as a gay 7th grader, as well as for his schoolmates. Joe’s family and friends have always encouraged him to be himself (including dressing-up in dresses, playing with Barbies and cooking in an Easy-Bake oven) and he has always embraced his originality even when it led to teasing. Through an alphabiography project for his teacher, Joe shares his growing awareness of himself and his friends.
Connection: Joe and the other characters were first introduced in Howe’s novel, The Misfits. For other stories where characters share their life experiences through school writing assignments, try reading Love That Dog or Absolutely Normal Chaos by Sharon Creech, Shakespeare Bats Cleanup by Ron Koertge, or Ways to Live Forever by Sally Nicholls.
Tags: coming of age, family life, friendship, homosexuality, middle school, multicultural, realistic fiction, schools
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Sunday, February 21st, 2010
By Chris Lynch, 275 pages Grades 6-10″You have to love your family. You do, even if you don’t right? You don’t have to agree with them or appreciate them or go to concerts with them, but you have to love them.” Twelve year-old Jock’s “hippy-frippy” parents named him Union Jack after their stay in England, and they run a barbershop where they try to convince their customers not to get haircuts. Jock is constantly jousting verbally with his money-obsessed brother who is a year younger and 30 pounds heavier. His grandfather owns an unfinished golf complex with 13 holes, where customers must replay their favorite 5 holes to golf a full game. Jock is looking forward to spending the summer at the golf complex, but he and his brother need to avoid the town bullies and help their grandfather get back on course after a visit from two of his old buddies.
Connections: For other golf fiction, try reading The Million Dollar Putt by Dan Gutman.
Tags: brothers, bullies, family life, golf, grandfathers, humor, sports, summer employment
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Friday, January 22nd, 2010
by Kashmira Sheth p. 272 Grades: 6-8
Twelve-year-old Leela, betrothed at age two and married at age nine, suddenly becomes a widow when the husband whom she’s never lived with dies in a tragic accident.
It’s 1918 in Gujarat, India, and widows are not allowed to remarry nor to participate in community celebrations or activities. They are viewed as bad luck and must shave their heads and spend the first year in their parents’ home “keeping corner.” Life seems over for Leela until a tutor arrives to help her get an education. Gandhi is not only working toward freeing India from British rule but also for women’s rights, especially rights for young widows. This compelling story shows a young, self-absorbed girl growing into an accomplished, confident young woman against the backdrop of India’s independence movement.
Connections: Homeless Bird by Gloria Whelen also tells the story of a teenage widow, but in contemporary India. Neela by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni tells the story of Gandhi and the Independence Movement. Kashmira Sheth’s other novels are also excellent: Blue Jasmine and Koyal Dark, Mango Sweet.
Tags: family life, Gandhi, girls, historical fiction, history, India, multicultural, widows, women's rights
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Wednesday, August 19th, 2009
by Shenaaz Nanji, p. 210 Grades: 7-10
What do you do when your whole world seems to be falling down around you? Do you deny that it is happening? In 1972, when President Idi Amin of Uganda gave all foreign Indians 90 days to leave the country, fifteen year-old Sabine didn’t think that included her family, as they were all Ugandan citizens. When her uncle disappears mysteriously, she convinces herself that he will turn up soon. When her best friend, Zena turns against her, Sabine hopes she will come around eventually. But, when the soldiers come looking for her father . . .
Connections: Some other stories that deal with conflict between different groups within one country include Girl of Kosovo by Alice Mead, Weedflower by Cynthia Kadohata, or Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi.
Tags: ethnic relations, family life, forced migration, friendship, historical fiction, Idi Amin, multicultural, prejudices, race relations, Shenaaz Nanji, Uganda, Young Adult
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Wednesday, July 15th, 2009
By Nora Raleigh Baskin, p. 195 – Grades 4-7
Twelve year-old Jason, a creative writing whiz, is easily able to point out the differences between his “neurotypical” peers and autistic self but struggles with filtering out the noises, sensations and smells that distract him and make it hard to behave the way people expect him to. He is most comfortable when logged into his favorite story sharing website, Storyboard. Through the site, Jason starts a friendship with a girl, Rebecca, who admired one of his stories. He even goes so far as to describe her as his girlfriend. Jason gets the opportunity of a lifetime when his father offers to take him to the Storyboard conference but panics when he realizes that he might meet Rebecca in person.
Connection: For other stories with a protagonists on the autism spectrum, try reading Siobhan Dowd’s The London Eye Mystery or Suzanne Crowley’s The Very Ordered Existence Merilee Marvelous.
Tags: autism, coming of age, family life, multicultural, Nora Raleigh Baskin, schools
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Tuesday, June 9th, 2009
by Kristin Levine, p. 264 – Grades 6-9
While many of the townspeople in early 20th century Moundville, Alabama were shocked at the arrival of the new African-American postmaster, twelve-year old Dit was disappointed when he realized the postmaster’s child, Emma, was a girl rather than the playmate he had been hoping for. Adventuresome Dit is sure that he will never enjoy spending time with bookish, refined Emma, but he grudgingly shows her around and eventually the two end up finding common ground in the digging of a fort in Dit’s favorite hill mound. With the start of school in the fall, Dit comes to more fully understand the realities of the Jim Crow laws as Emma is forced to go to a different school and his buddies tease him about their friendship. Racial tensions in the town really erupt when the the town’s African American barber is charged with a crime against the overtly racist sheriff, and as witnesses to the crime, Dit and Emma can’t help but get involved.
Connection: For another story about a friendship challenged by racism, read Tony Johnston’s Bone by Bone by Bone.
Tags: Alabama, country life, family life, friendship, historical fiction, history 1819-1950, Kristin Levine, multicultural, prejudices, race relations
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Tuesday, June 2nd, 2009
by Patricia C. Wrede, p. 344 – Grades 6 & Up
Eff and her twin brother Lan live in a magical, alternative version of the the western frontier. Eff is born the thirteenth child, a position that is thought to bring bad luck to the family, while her brother is lucky 14 and the 7th son of the 7th son, a position that brings extraordinary magical power. The family moves from the civilized and secure east to the western frontier where a magical border keeps dangerous creatures like the dreaded steam dragons away from the settlements. Despite her difficulties learning and controlling magic, Eff’s teacher Miss Ochiba teaches her not only Avrupan magic but also the Hijero-Cathayan and Aphrikan styles. An expedition to the settlements outside the Great Barrier Magic tests her magical skills.
Connection: For another story that brings a magical alternative to a historical setting, try reading The Water Mirror by Kai Meyer.
Tags: brothers and sisters, coming of age, family life, fantasy, frontier and pioneer life, magic, Patricia C. Wrede, schools, twins
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Monday, April 27th, 2009
by Elise Broach, p.292 – Grades 4-8
Marvin (a beetle and the narrator of the story) lives under the sink in the house in NYC where James lives with his mother, step-father and baby brother. Marvin remains hidden with his family until one day he uses ink from James’ new pen and ink set to make the boy a birthday drawing. Their growing friendship and Marvin’s drawing talent lead the two to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and into a mystery around some missing Albrecht Durer drawings.
Connection: The talented bug is remniscent of The Cricket in Times Square, and the mystery surrounding the art brings a couple of books to mind: From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler and Chasing Vermeer. –CRW
Tags: Albrecht Durer, artists, beetles, divorce, Elise Broach, family life, fantasy, Metropolitan Museum of Art, mystery, New York City
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