Archive for the ‘2008’ Category
A Thousand Never Evers – Update
Delacorte Books for Young Readers, 2008
Historical Fiction
ISBN-10: 0385734700
320 pages
Synopsis
I was recently able to connect with Shana Burg, and she mentioned that she has just updated her website with more tools for educators. I thought I would post an update in case any teachers or librarians are looking for tools. Enjoy! http://www.shanaburg.com/educators.php. …
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The Cabinet of Wonders
Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2008
Fantasy Fiction
ISBN: 0374310262
272 pages
Synopsis
Petra Kronos has a simple, happy life. But it’s never been ordinary. She has a pet tin spider named Astrophil who likes to hide in her snarled hair and give her advice. Her best friend can trap lightning inside a glass sphere. Petra also has a father in faraway Prague who is able to move metal with his mind. He has been commissioned by the prince of Bohemia to build the world’s finest astronomical clock. Petra’s life is forever changed when, one day, her father returns home – blind. …
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After Tupac and D Foster
Putnam Young Adult, 2008
Fiction
ISBN: 0399246541
160 pages
Newbery Honor Book
Synopsis
A summer of adventure and loss, the unnamed narrator gains a new best friend named D Foster. Mysteriously coming out of nowhere, D quickly becomes friends with the narrator and her best friend Neeka. Throughout this coming of age text, the narrator takes us on a journey throughout her summer, starting when D shows up, just after Tupac gets shot for the first time, and ending when Tupac gets killed and D leaves to go live with her real mother. Woodson takes us back a few years to show the reality of living in Queens as an African American family, and many of the personal and national events that effect the block the narrator lives on. …
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Becoming Billie Holiday
Wordsong, 2008
Poetry
ISBN: 159078507X
117 pages
Synopsis
A series of fictionalized poems, chronicling the life of Billie Holiday from birth until 25, this text provides an interesting insight into the life and rhythm of one of the greatest jazz performers throughout history. The poems themselves are more like stories broken into poetic line than writing that follow the typical constraints of poetry. Each of the poems is titled after one of Holiday’s songs, bringing a depth into the story of the song, possibly where it came from. Also, the text is, in places, accompanied by beautiful artwork that enhances the experience. …
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The Surrender Tree
Henry Holt and Co, 2008
Poetry
ISBN: 0805086749
176 pages
Newbery Honor Book
Synopsis
Taking place over the several wars that Cuba had with Spain in order to gain independence, the story centers on Rosa, a young slave girl who is eventually freed by her master when he revolts against Spain and becomes the most renowned healer throughout Cuba. …
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Lavinia
Harcourt, 2008
Historical Fantasy
ISBN: 0151014248
288 pages
Synopsis
It’s been over ten years since the Trojan War was fought by the heroes Achilles, Hector, and Agamemnon. Aeneas has been sailing around the world looking for home, which he eventually finds in what is now Italy. However, the bulk of this story is not about the Trojan War or the escapades of Aeneas. It’s about Lavinia, the daughter of King Latinus and Queen Amata, the last wife of Aeneas to whom Virgil only dedicates a few lines in his epic poem The Aeneid. Le Guin seeks to expand the role and life of Lavinia by giving her a longer story, and weaving Aeneas into it rather than the other way around. …
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Tiger Moon
Amulet Books, 2008
Fantasy
ISBN:081099481X
464 pages
Awards
Synopsis
Safia, a beautiful woman from the deserts of India, is traded as property by her father to a wealthy but evil merchant. Seeking to free herself from this plight, she befriends one of the palace servants, a eunuch named Lagan. During the nights where the two engage in conversation, Safia weaves a story of a young thief named Farhad. This young man, the unlikeliest of heroes, is called to rescue a princess from the Demon King, and in order to do so, he must go on a quest to find the Bloodstone. Farhad finds strange help along the way, especially when he rescues a white tiger and rides him across the desert to the palace. Eventually, the two stories begin to intertwine, and Lagan realizes that he must make a choice that may jeopardize his own safety. …
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