• A Thousand Never Evers – Update

    Overall Rating: ★ Rating:83 Fullstar:4 Star Piece:0.15 Fraction:4.15★ Rating:83 Fullstar:4 Star Piece:0.15 Fraction:4.15★ Rating:83 Fullstar:4 Star Piece:0.15 Fraction:4.15★ Rating:83 Fullstar:4 Star Piece:0.15 Fraction:4.15½ Rating:83 Star Piece:0.15 Fraction:4.1583%
    A Thousand Never Evers
    Shana Burg
    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.

    Read more »

    Tags: , , , , , ,
    Posted in 2008, Best Of, Classroom, English/Reading, Historical Fiction, History/Period, Recommended, Reviews | 1 Comment »

    After Tupac and D Foster

    Overall Rating: ★ Rating:85 Fullstar:4 Star Piece:0.25 Fraction:4.25★ Rating:85 Fullstar:4 Star Piece:0.25 Fraction:4.25★ Rating:85 Fullstar:4 Star Piece:0.25 Fraction:4.25★ Rating:85 Fullstar:4 Star Piece:0.25 Fraction:4.25½ Rating:85 Star Piece:0.25 Fraction:4.2585%
    After Tupac and D Foster
    Jacqueline Woodson
    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.

    Read more »

    Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
    Posted in 2008, Best Of, Classroom, English/Reading, Fiction (non-fantasy), History/Period, Recommended, Reviews | No Comments »

    The Blacker the Berry

    Overall Rating: ★ Rating:86 Fullstar:4 Star Piece:0.3 Fraction:4.3★ Rating:86 Fullstar:4 Star Piece:0.3 Fraction:4.3★ Rating:86 Fullstar:4 Star Piece:0.3 Fraction:4.3★ Rating:86 Fullstar:4 Star Piece:0.3 Fraction:4.3½ Rating:86 Star Piece:0.3 Fraction:4.386%
    The Blacker the Berry
    Joyce Carol Thomas, Artist: Floyd Cooper
    Amistad, 2008
    Poetry
    ISBN: 0060253754
    32 Pages
    ALA Notable Children’s Books. Middle Readers
    Coretta Scott King Award (Illustrator)
    Coretta Scott King Honor (Author)

    Synopsis

    Written and beautifully illustrated for a younger audience, likely grades 1-4, this book seeks to broaden the worldview of American children that it is necessary to see a wider range of representation in skin tone for African Americans than simply light or dark. There are many variations given ethnic background and heritage, and Thomas’s poetry, along with Cooper’s art shows this by utilizing the common phrase, “The blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice,” by comparing the color of skin tone to various berries that can be found throughout the wild.

    Read more »

    Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
    Posted in Award Winners, Reviews | No Comments »

    I Am The Darker Brother – Reviewing Classics

    Overall Rating: ★ Rating:98 Fullstar:4 Star Piece:0.9 Fraction:4.9★ Rating:98 Fullstar:4 Star Piece:0.9 Fraction:4.9★ Rating:98 Fullstar:4 Star Piece:0.9 Fraction:4.9★ Rating:98 Fullstar:4 Star Piece:0.9 Fraction:4.9½ Rating:98 Star Piece:0.9 Fraction:4.998%
    I Am The Darker Brother
    Compiler: Arnold Adoff
    Simon Pulse, (reprint edition) 1997
    Genre
    ISBN: 0689808690
    192 pages

    Synopsis

    A collection of African American poetry from the 20th century originally compiled in the late 60s, I Am The Darker Brother is one of the few anthologies of African American poetry amassed specifically for younger readers. From cover to cover, each poet leaves a legacy about life in America as ‘the other’. This edition adds more current writers that carved out a career post 1968, like Maya Angelou, Rita Dove, and Ishmael Reed.

    Read more »

    Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
    Posted in Award Winners, Best Of, Classics, Classroom, English/Reading, Geography/Culture, History/Period, Poetry, Reviews, Social Commentary | No Comments »

    Chains

    Overall Rating: ★ Rating:98 Fullstar:4 Star Piece:0.9 Fraction:4.9★ Rating:98 Fullstar:4 Star Piece:0.9 Fraction:4.9★ Rating:98 Fullstar:4 Star Piece:0.9 Fraction:4.9★ Rating:98 Fullstar:4 Star Piece:0.9 Fraction:4.9½ Rating:98 Star Piece:0.9 Fraction:4.998%
    Chains
    Laurie Halse Anderson
    Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing, 2008
    Historical Fiction
    ISBN-10: 1416905855
    320 pages
    The National Book Awards Nominee

    Synopsis

    With both her mother and her master now dead, a young and brave girl named Isabel tells her new owner that her previous owner had the papers drawn up to set her free. However, no one believes her, and she and her sister are soon sold again and shipped to New York City during the midst of the Revolutionary War. Battling against all odds, Isabel must fight to protect her sister, herself, and her burning desire to be free.

    Read more »

    Tags: , , , ,
    Posted in 2008, Award Winners, Best Of, Classroom, Historical Fiction, History/Period, Recommended, Reviews, Series, Social Commentary | No Comments »

    Elijah Of Buxton

    Overall Rating: ★ Rating:94 Fullstar:4 Star Piece:0.7 Fraction:4.7★ Rating:94 Fullstar:4 Star Piece:0.7 Fraction:4.7★ Rating:94 Fullstar:4 Star Piece:0.7 Fraction:4.7★ Rating:94 Fullstar:4 Star Piece:0.7 Fraction:4.7½ Rating:94 Star Piece:0.7 Fraction:4.794%
    Elijah of Buxton
    Christopher Paul Curtis
    Scholastic, 2007
    Historical Fiction
    ISBN: 0439023440
    352 pages
    Newbery Honor Book
    Coretta Scott King Award Winner

    Synopsis

    Told from the 1st person perspective of a boy named Elijah about his life and hometown, Buxton, the narrative moves from chapter to chapter, giving Elijah’s point of view on various stories involving he and other characters. Just north of the border in Canada, Buxton is a community for runaway slaves set during the times of late American slavery and the Underground Railroad.

    Read more »

    Tags: , , , ,
    Posted in 2007, Award Winners, Best Of, Classroom, Historical Fiction, History/Period, Recommended, Reviews, Social Commentary | 1 Comment »

    Feathers

    Overall Rating: ★ Rating:94 Fullstar:4 Star Piece:0.7 Fraction:4.7★ Rating:94 Fullstar:4 Star Piece:0.7 Fraction:4.7★ Rating:94 Fullstar:4 Star Piece:0.7 Fraction:4.7★ Rating:94 Fullstar:4 Star Piece:0.7 Fraction:4.7½ Rating:94 Star Piece:0.7 Fraction:4.794%
    Feathers
    Jacqueline Woodson
    Putnam Juvenile, 2007
    Fiction
    ISBN-10: 0399239898
    208 pages
    Newberry Honor Book

    Synopsis

    Frannie’s life is about to change in important ways. She just doesn’t know it yet. While contemplating a famous line from an Emily Dickenson poem, “Hope is the thing with feathers,” she notices a change in her surroundings—winter emerges, her mother becomes pregnant, and, most importantly, a new boy arrives in class who looks like Jesus. Within just a few months, Frannie grows sensitive to the people around her, and the result is that she herself changes and discovers the true meaning of hope in light of Emily Dickenson’s words.

    Read more »

    Tags: , , , , , ,
    Posted in 2007, Award Winners, Best Of, Classroom, English/Reading, Fiction (non-fantasy), Recommended, Reviews, Social Commentary | No Comments »