A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park

Genre: Multicultural & International

Awards: 2002 Newbery Medal Book, 2002 ALA Best Book for Young Adults, 2002 ALA Notable Book for Children, 2001 Booklist Editor's Choice, 2001 Capitol Choices Selection, 2001 School Library Journal, Best Books of the Year, 2001 New York Public Library, 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing, 2004 Sequoyah Book Award (OK), 2006 Rebecca Caudill Young Readers Book Award Master List (IL)

Summary: Tree-Ear is an orphan living under a bridge with a homeless, handicapped man named Crane-man. Set in a 12th-century Korean potters' village (Ch'ulp'o), the story tells how Tree-Ear goes about his days checking the local garbage heaps for bits of food and treasures. As he does this he is aware of everything that goes on in the village. He particularly enjoys watching Min, a master-potter, at work. Tree-Ear watches from afar.
When he accidentally breaks a piece of Min's Celadon ware, Tree-Ear offers to come and work for the potter as payment for the piece. After he works off his obligation, Min offers Tree-Ear an opportunity to continue working for him in exchange for a noon meal. Tree-Ear also longs to learn to throw pottery.
When the royal commissioner comes to Ch'ulp'o to find potters to offer commissions to make pottery for the palace Tree-Ear knows that Min's work is the best, but another local potter, not as skilled as Min, has developed a new technique that is sure to get the eye of the commissioner. While this does happen, the commissioner also notes the superior skill of Minn's work and asks Minn to work toward mastering the new technique. When Minn has two superior examples to show the palace, Tree-Ear is choosen to take the pieces to the capitol city.
Along the way, Tree-Ear has many adventures, but is ultimately attacked and robbed as he gets close to the palace. How will he show the commissioner the work of his master? Is all hope lost? Tree-Ear remembers what Crane-man has told him about bravery and comes up with a plan to save Minn's commission.

Reaction: This book was a delight to read. I found that learning about Korean life in the 12th century was made interesting as it was sprinkled through the story in a way that was not overpowering to the reader. The bits of wisdom that showed Tree-Ear learning from his master, Minn and his friend, Crane-man was especially interesting. I felt as if I learned about life right along with Tree-Ear.

Recommended to: This book would be appropriate for students from grade 5 through grade 9. There is nothing in the story that would be inappropriate for anyone. I, as an adult, loved the story, as well. Students who are interested in history or who like to read adventures would find this book well-written and interesting.

Book Hook: You've walked for days and days to get the pottery to the capitol city. If the commissioner chooses your master potter to give a commission to it could change his life forever and there is a chance that this opportunity could give you a life you have never immagined. Then robbers attack. The pottery is broken into thousands of pieces. You vomit. Your life is over. Is there a chance to redeem your master's work -- and your life?

Jimi and Me by Jaime Adoff

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Awards: 2006 Coretta Scott King Award, John Steptoe New Talent Author Award

Summary: Keith has had to move from Brooklyn, NY to the sleepy town of Hollow Falls, Ohio after his rock-music-producing father is murdered across the street from their Brooklyn, New York home. Keith and his mother try to adjust to living with his bubbly aunt as they work through paper-work and insurance, only to find that there is no money left.
Keith hates his new school, but is falling in love with beautiful classmate Veronica.

Then, the truth comes out that Keith's dad has been sending all of the family's money to another woman and a son that the family never knew about. Keith's mom is furious and calls her husband a "monster" for what he has done that she didn't know about until after his death.

Keith and Veronica go on a road trip to find "Jimi"- the brother he hadn't known about. And hatred fades when understanding and compassion begins to replace it.

Reaction: I had a hard time getting into the story as I had trouble to relating to the characters. Then, when the truth came out, it was hard to put the book down. There are definately many students who will love this book.

Recommended To: Students, especially boys in urban locations, will relate to book for grades 9-12. The text is surprisingly rich for a newer author.

Book Hook: Are you trying to make your own way, show your own unique style, and be your own person, just to be taunted by your classmates? Have you experienced the loss of someone who was your idol? Do you have a favorite rock star that you would love to be like? Read this great book and relate!

Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

Genre: Graphic Novel

Awards: 2008 Randolph Caldecott Award, A New York Times Best Illustrated Book, A New York Times Bestseller, The Quill Award for Children's Chapter Book, An NCTE Notable Children's Book in the Language Arts, A Publishers Weekly Best Book, A Kirkus Reviews Best Book, A New York Public Library Best Book for Reading and Sharing

Summary: Twelve-year-old Hugo Cabret lives in the walls of a train station in Paris where he takes care of the station's clocks. When his spying through the clock vents is caught and he is found to be the one stealing from an old man's toy shop, he is ordered to empty his pockets. The Old Man takes the special notebook from Hugo and threatens to burn it. Hugo is saddened to have lost his magical notebook and goes about trying to get it back. He eventually has to work at the toy shop to pay back the Old Man just hoping to get his notebook back. There are secrets that keep getting revealed, including the identities of some of the charaters.

Reaction: The thought of reading this book was daunting when the number of pages reached more than 500! But with many of the pages being full-page or double-page-spread pictures, the reading was really fast. This was a fun read that students will gravitate toward once it is introduced to them so that they can see how accessible it is to them.

Recommended To: This book could be a good recommendation to any student from grades 4 through 12. There are many students who enjoy graphic novels and who would enjoy the adventure and mystery of this great book.

Book Hook: Do you like mysterious adventures? This book (which looks long, but is really full of more than 300 pictures) is for you. You will "read" quickly through the more than 500 pages.

I Am Phoenix: Poems for Two Voices by Paul Fleischman

Genre: Poetry

Awards: None

Summary: This book is a collection of two-voice poems about birds, written by Paul Fleischman. It is the follow-up to the 1989 Newbery-Award-Winning book, Joyful Noise. The way the poems are written, the audience hears sounds that represent what the birds sound like or what the feeling around the actions that the type of birds written about sounds like. These are fun poems to share and use in the classroom.

Reaction: I love this book. It is a great book to use in the classroom and is a fun way to bring poetry into the academic subjects, like science. Both of the books (Joyful Noise and I am Phoenix)are really fun and useful.

Recommended To: This book would best work with the older elementary-aged students. It would also be a great starting point in middle school science classes.

Book Hook: OK all you performance people: This book is for you. Get together with a friend and practice reading aloud this two-voice poems together.

Fever, 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson

Genre: Historical Fiction

Awards: The New York Public Library "Best 2001 Books for the Teenager, 2001 Teacher's Choice Award from the International Reading Association, Starred Review from Bank Street College of Education's "The Best Children's Books of 2001", American Library Associaiton Best Book for Young Adults, Junior Library Guild Selection, Children's Book-of-the-Month Club Selection, American Bookseller "Pick of the Lists", Parent's Guide to Children's Media Award

Summary: The historical-fiction novel, Fever, 1793, is a riveting, well-researched book based on an actual epidemic of yellow fever that hit Philadelphia in 1793, killing 5,000 people (10 percent of the city's population) in just three months. During the summer of 1793 the dreaded yellow fever spread like wildfire, killing people overnight. Grave diggers pulled carts through the streets of town calling out for people to bring their dead to the streets while the wealthy fled the city to live in the country, adandoning the city to looters, corpses, and frightened survivors.

Reaction: I absolutely was absorbed by this book. I savored every page of the story and hoped for something positive to happen. The book was sometimes dark and depressing but so well written that it was compelling reading. When I gave it to a friend who likes to read, he said that it was the most depressing book he's ever read.

Recommended to: I think that boys would love this book. Good sixth-grade readers, through junior-high level students would be great targets for this book by Laurie Halse Anderson.

Book Hook: Do you like to read about death and destruction? Are you a fan of obscure parts of United States history? You will love this book if you answered either question affirmatively.

Trouble Don't Last by Shelley Pearsall

Genre: Historical Fiction

Awards: 2003 Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction, 2003 Ohioana Library Book Award for Juvenile Fiction, 2003 Best Children's Book of the Year with Outstanding Merit from Bank Street College of Education, 2003 Jefferson Cup Honor Book, New York Public Library selection in "Children's Books 2002: 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing", Top Ten First Novels Award by Booklist, "Lasting Connections Book" by Book Links, "Top Ten Historical Fiction for Youth" by Booklist

Summary: Samuel, an 11-year-old boy born as a slave in Kentucky, runs away to freedom with the oldest slave on the plantation. This book is the story of their ficticious journey along the Underground Railroad in 1859 as they travel through Kentucky, Ohio, and then on to Canada where Samuel is re-united with his real mother in freedoom.

Reaction: Because we received a grant to bring author, Shelley Pearsall to do a writing workshop with our students this year, we used this book as a "big read" in fifth-grade. The reading of the story was an absolutely engrossing experience that left the students, teachers, and families talking about slavery and the Underground Railroad for weeks...THEN we had the author come and work with individual classrooms of students. WOW, she was fantastic!

Recommended to: This book fits the Ohio fifth-grade Social Studies curriculum perfectly. I would recommend this book to fifth-grade students and beyond through 12th grade. This is an outstanding book that students of any age would enjoy.

Book Talk Hook: Experience life on the Underground Railroad through the eyes of both a young slave and an old slave through Trouble Don't Last.

The Race to Save the Lord God Bird by Phillip Hoose

Genre: Nonfiction - Informational

Awards: "Best Book of 2004" from the Miami Herald, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Boston Globe, Kirkus Review, Natural History Magazine, etc.

Summary: The Race to Save the Lord God Bird is a fascinating book that begins with the Native Americans prizing the plumage and head of the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker through the artistry of James Audobon painting the bird, through countless hunters who killed the birds by the dozens, to early conservationists and students today who work tirelessly to find and save the species. This is the story of consumers and how our throw-away society has brought this bird to extinction. The stories are rivoting and make you crave more information of any hope for finding the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker alive somewhere.

Reaction: This book was one that I didn't think I would like very well, but proved me wrong. It kept me reading as it focused on first one person or group who prized the bird and how they used it to the adventures that conservationists have had and continue to have as they work to find/preserve the species, if that is still possible. As an adult I found the book to be compelling.

Recommended to: While students in 5th and 6th grades would find the book challenging to read, those students who are already avid environmentalists would devour the book. Probably students in grades 7-12 who are interested in nature, birds, and conservation would be the best audience to recommend this book to.

Book Talk Hook: Have you ever wondered how animals have become endangered or extinct? Here is a fascinating history of one species that has been driven to extinction.