YA Literature Bibliography

Dustin Dearman

3-6-13

Young Adult Literacy

MCED 3310 Young Adult Literature Notebook

                       

Title	Author/Illustrator	Award / Genre	Book Annotation  (Your Own Words)	Book Classroom Use
1. American Born Chinese	Gene Luen Yang	Michael Printz/ Graphic Novel	A story woven in three parts surrounding the self-identity of an American-born Chinese high school student who tries to fit in with his social surroundings but learns the importance his heritage has on his life.	Culture Studies, Chinese Immigration to the U.S., Chinese Culture, Self-esteem & self-identity
2. Looking For Alaska	John Green	Michael Printz/ Realistic Fiction	Teenage soft-core pornography on the perils of adolescent risk behavior and the consequences of drunk driving.	NONE! If a student wants to read this, they can find it somewhere else – especially in middle school. High school would be a different issue.
3. How I Live Now	Meg Rosoff	Michael Printz/Realistic Fiction	Teen incest turns to unrealized love in this novel featuring a war-torn family, the epic journey of a girl searching for home and the memory of her lustful relationship with her English cousin.	Comparing life in different wars around the world. Not recommended.
4. Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village	Laura Amy Schlitz/Robert Byrd	Newberry/Historical Fiction	A historical play in 19 monologues featuring class divisions and life in 13th century English fiefdom.	During a history unit on medieval times, students can perform the parts to connect with the different social classes of the time.
5. The Graveyard Book	Neil Gaiman	Newberry/Suspense	After escaping the brutal murder of his family, Nobody Owens is raised by the ghosts of a nearby graveyard where he learns lessons of life, the truth about his family and enacts revenge on their slayer.	Pure literature, suspense/horror genre, Halloween novel, rites of passage and the role of parents. Can be used with The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling.
6. Epossumondas	Coleen Salley/Janet Stevens	Arkansas Diamond/Fable	A silly tale of a baby possum and its overbearing southern mother. The possum, takes mother’s advice all too literally in this messy, goofy story.	This is a good story for younger children. The imagery it uses to describe the messes Epossumondas makes is vibrant and will help students use vivid language in their writing.
7. Lincoln: A Photobiography	Russell Freedman	Newberry/Biogrpahy	A portrait through photographs and words depicting the life, leadership and legacy of the 16th President of the United States.	American History
8. Ender’s Game	Orson Scott Card	Margaret A. Edwards/Science Fiction	At the height of an intergalactic war against Bugger aliens, Ender, a genius six-year-old boy is recruited to command a fleet of spaceships to save the human race.	Science fiction genre, Physical Education tie-in.
9. I Am The Cheese	Robert Cormier	Margaret A. Edwards/ Realistic Fiction	A character study of a boy in search of his missing father. Told primarily in flashbacks, Adam Farmer recalls haunting memories of his past while on an epic journey to reunite with his father, leaving his mother and his childhood sweetheart behind.	High-achieving reading group, specifically for boys.
10. A Long Way To Chicago	Richard Peck	Young Adult Choice/Realistic Fiction-Short Stories	Set in pre-World War II Chicago, a brother and sister tell of summer journeys to their grandmother’s house. As the children age, the wit and wisdom of their wacky grandmother comes to light in this sweet novel told over nine years.	5-6 grade small reading groups. Easy read.
11. Schooled	Gordon Korman	Young Adult Choice/Realistic Fiction-Comedic	Raised a free spirit on his hippie grandmother’s commune, Cap Anderson finds the structure of school a rude awakening after being forced to attend following the hospitalization of his grandmother. Fitting in and staying in line are difficult for this homeschooled sprite.	5-6 grade small reading groups
12. Then Again, Maybe I Won’t	Judy Blume	Margaret A. Edwards/Realistic Fiction	A coming-of-age story centered around 13-year-old voyeur, Tony Miglione, who is balancing life after relocation to a high-end New York suburb. Through the lens of his binoculars, Tony enters his passage into puberty by spying on his new friend’s older sister and weighing the consequences of he and his friend’s risky behavior.	Recommended book for boys.
13. The Three Little Pigs	Steven Kellogg	Arkansas Diamond/Fable	The re-telling of the classic children’s story of three pigs that set out to live on their own. After settling in to their unique houses, a Big Bad Wolf forces his way into their lives threatening to cause all sorts of havoc.	Elementary read-aloud
14. Django: World’s Greatest Jazz Guitarist	Bonnie Christensen	Schneider Family Book Award	The biography of French gypsy jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt and how he grew from child prodigy to arguably the most celebrated guitarist in the world.	Used during an interdisciplinary unit on Jazz.
15. The Great and Only Barnum: The Tremendous, Stupendous Life of Showman P.T. Barnum	Candace Fleming	YALSA Non-fiction	The biography of travelling circus showman P.T. Barnum and his Greatest Show On Earth. This book details the qualities of a self-made, and self-driven man and highlights the oddities of his circus – from the massive elephants to the acrobatic feats of its performance artists.	Interdisciplinary unit on the Circus/Moguls and Tycoons of the 1900s.
16. Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream	Tanya Lee Stone	YALSA Non-Fiction	Sally Ride may have been the first woman to reach the outer limits of our atmosphere, but she was not the first to try. Almost Astronauts profiles those who blazed the way for women in space flight. They challenged the notion that only men were capable of exploring the wonders of space.	In science to make a connection with the rarely told history of astronauts.
17. Janis Joplin: Rise Up Singing	Ann Angel	YALSA Non-Fiction	Beautiful and emotion-filled photographs help paint the picture of the young life of Janis Joplin, the queen of blues, rock-n-roll during the Free Love movement of the 1960s. This profile of an American rock icon also highlights Joplin’s struggle with fame and drugs up to her untimely death.	Poetry unit using Janis Joplin and other rock/blues lyrics.
18. They Called Themselves the K.K.K.: The Birth of an American Terrorist Group	Susan Campbell Bartoletti	YALSA Non-Fiction	Led by Nathan Bedford Forrest, the Klu Klux Klan spread hate across southern states in protest of federal government intrusion. This sweeping profile of the KKK begins with the formation of a “club” and grows to a sprawling narrative of what fueled the thoughts and feelings of many in the south jaded from losing the civil war.	History after the Civil War, giving context of Reconstruction in the south.
19. The House of the Scorpion	Nancy Farmer	Michael Printz/Science-Futuristic Fiction	Cloned for the purpose of providing his drug lord master fresh organs, 14-year-old Matt, tries to survive in Opium, a violent haven for poppy farmers just south of the future U.S./Mexican Border.	Could be used in connection with science to discuss the morality of cloning humans, or other animals.
20. Skelig	David Almond	Michael Pritz/Fantasy	An outcast boy discovers a grouchy, winged man living in his family’s basement. Though the man’s attitude is foul and unpleasing, he may just have the supreme powers that keep this boy’s family together.	Mid-level reading group.
21. Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice	Phillip Hoose	YALSA Non-Fiction	Just months before Rosa Parks was lauded as a hero for not giving up her bus seat to a white person, Claudette was vilified and outcast for the same action in Montgomery, AL. This biography profiles the consequences of courage undertaken by a teenage black girl in the segregated south.	Social Studies unit of the Civil Rights Movement and giving context to the importance of Rosa Parks.
22. Where Things Come Back	John Corey Whaley	William C. Morris/Realistic Fiction	An young adult yarn spanning two continents that connects the life of an Arkansas boy mourning the disappearance of his cousin, and a disillusioned young missionary working in Africa.	Pure Literature. High-level readers. Arkansas connection to literature.
23. Anything But Typical	Nora Raleigh Baskin	Schneider Family Award/Realistic Fiction	A detailed first-person depiction of an autistic child developing his own identity in a “neuro-typical world.” Struggling to fit in Jason Blake makes his first friend over the Internet but worries over whether to enter into a real relationship.	Small group reading for reluctant readers.
24. Esperanza Rising	Pam Munoz Ryan	Pure’ Belpre/Historical Fiction	A well-to-do Mexican family is forced to migrate to the United States during the Great Depression following the death of its patriarch. Faced with the perils of discrimination, low wages and hard labor, Esperanza and her mother overcome difficult circumstances to stand on their own two feet and remain true to their heritage while making a life for themselves.	Along with a unit on the Great Depression and its effect on non-whites.
25. Baseball in April: And Other Stories	Gary Soto	Pure’ Belpre/Short Stories	A kaleidoscope of short stories depicting the lives of Mexican immigrants in southern California. Soto covers all the bases, including a love both Hispanics and Americans share – the love of baseball.	Short story unit on multiculturalism.
26. We Are The Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball	Kadir Nelson	Corretta Scott King/Sports	Banned from playing in the major leagues, black baseball players formed their own league to highlight some of the best talent in the country. This illustrated children’s book provides a history of the Negro Leagues and gives a face to it’s forgotten heroes.	Making Civil Rights connection to sports.
27. Bud, Not Buddy	Christopher Paul Curtis	Corretta Scott King/Historical Fiction	10-year-old Buddy is on a pilgrimage to reunite with his father after his mother has died. Armed with a suitcase and a flyer promoting the jazz band The Dusky Devastators of the Depression, nothing can stop Buddy on his journey.	Can be connected to a unit on Jazz and its influences.
28. Jazz	Walter Dean Myers	Lee Bennett Hopkins/Poetry	A love letter to the uniquely American musical genre, Jazz.	Same as above as well as any poetry unit.
29. The Surrender Tree	Margarita Engle	Lee Bennett Hopkins/Poetry	In turn-of-the-century Cuba, war has dampened the spirits of many on the Caribbean island. Rosa, hidden from government-controlled camps, nurses the sick and injured and revives the souls of her countrymen.	Using poetry to tell a narrative.
30. The Freak Observer	Blythe Woolston	William C. Morris/Realistic Fiction	Following the sudden and tragic death of her beloved little sister, Loa’s life falls apart. Pain, loss, and depression tear her spirit and only a skeleton of her is left to put it back together. A tough read, The Freak Observer, is a trial of perseverance and overcoming rock bottom.	High School reading suggestion. Not for middle school use.