(2013 Nonfiction Award Nominations)
A wonderfully written biography of the life of Temple Grandin that covers the span of her life from her early diagnosis with autism at the age of three, to her adult life and all her amazing accomplishments. Dr. Temple Grandin is a professor at the University of Colorado, and an inspiring speaker and advocate for people with autism. The arrangement of the book and simple, yet well-detailed writing by author, Sy Montgomery, makes this an excellent nonfiction book for young adults from tween age to middle school. The book is very reader-friendly because of its' divisions between text, beautiful photographs, and excerpts that explain several topics such as autism and animal welfare. There are also drawings of several of Temple Grandin's inventions. The book starts of with a forward by Temple Grandin in which she explain her life and how she has dealt with her autism and words of inspiration for others with this condition. The book is divided into thirteen chapters, an appendix on Temple Grandin's advice for children with autism, selected bibliography and resources, an index, and an acknowledgement by the author thanking all the people that provided information for this biography. A wonderful story, not only about the life of an extraordinary woman, but an inspirational example of the idea of never underestimating every human beings ability to make a positive and lasting contribution in life.
Books by Temple Grandin: Animals in Translation, Animals Make Us Human, Emergence, Thinking in Pictures.
Movie Trailer: Temple Grandin
Roller Girl
(2016 Great Graphic Novel for Teens Top Ten)
"When I was in kindergarten, my teacher had a poster that was supposed to teach you about feelings. They didn't tell you about feelings that got mixed together like a smoothie. I was shad (happy + sad = shad)". These are the kind of mixed-up and confused feelings that twelve year-old Astrid begins to experience the summer before junior high. Astrid has been best friends with Nicole since first grade, but when Astrid decides to sign up for a roller derby summer camp, but Nicole signs up for dance camp, the two friends begin their journey into adolescence by discovering different interests and friendships. The graphic novel format adds great dimension and interest to Astrid's story of adolescence. The panels are wonderfully illustrated with lots of color and vibrancy. There are speech and thought balloons that allow young readers to become involved in Astrid's changing world. This funny and inspiring graphic novel is wonderful for tweens 8-12 years old, especially young girls who will be able to identify with the young protagonist, Astrid. Learning to get along with peers and finding your own voice is never easy, especially during that difficult transition from childhood to adolescence (Havighurst), which is why young girls will immediately be drawn to this graphic novel. In the end, Astrid's independent spirit shines through as she learns that there may be falls along the way, but the best lessons are learned when you get up and don't give up.
Other books by Victoria Jamieson: Olympig, The Great Pet Escape, Pets in Show, The Great Art Caper, Bea Rock the Flock.
Book Trailer: Roller Girl
Teacher resource: http://www.victoriajamieson.com/
We All Looked Up
(New York Time Bestseller List)
If you like your endings plain and simple, this is not the book for you. The story of four high school seniors: Peter, Anita, Andy, and Eliza, and how they spend the last two months of their lives before an asteroid (Ardor) is scheduled to destroy everything on Earth, is full of surprises, heartaches, regret, and self-realization. This novel is divided by chapters about the main characters and the events that lead up to their final days.
This is a story about deciding what really matters in life and how you define yourself in life, and even after death. Everyone has regrets, but how you move on in your life will define the kind of human being you will be. The four characters, quite different from each other, are able to find strength and courage by bonding through difficult and tragic events that finally lead them to an awareness about what truly matters in life. Due to obscene language, sexual content, and difficult subjects such as murder and death, this novel is more appropriate for young adults between the ages of 16-18 years old, and older. The situations that have caused these main characters to come together and change throughout the novel (Havighurst/Kohlberg) are the central point of this novel. Young adult viewers will be left with many questions, not only about the novel itself, but about their own existence in life. Thought-provoking.
Other books by Tommy Wallach: Stranger Fire, Thanks for the Trouble.
Book Trailer: We All Looked Up
Teacher resource: http://www.simonandschuster.com/books/We-All-Looked-Up/Tommy-Wallach/9781481418782
This One Summer
(2015 Michael Printz Honor Book)
Told in graphic novel format, this is the story of a young girl named Rose, beginning her transition from childhood to adolescence. Rose has always loved vacationing at Awago Beach with her family for the summer. She loves to swim, collect rocks, and most of all spend time with her friend, Windy, who is a year and a half younger. Their age difference has never been a problem, but now that Rose is beginning to show interest in boys and other adolescent topics, Windy's games and interests are not the same as hers. Rose also has to deal with her mom's depression, her parents fights, and curiosity about the teenage relationships from the youth in the island. The graphic illustrations are remarkable and add hidden meaning to the text. The panels include speech bubbles and boxed explanations of thoughts and feelings. There is a lot of use of symbolism between the setting and the characters' feelings and situations. This graphic novel deals with topics such as teen pregnancy, miscarriages, and also contains obscene language and sexual content and is more appropriate for young adults between the ages of 13-18 years old. Rose's journey into adolescence (Havighurst) is illustrated in her adaption to her changing body, and her relationships with her friend, peers, and parents. The fact that this novel is written in stunning graphic novel format (blue and white graphics), will make this novel a hit with a larger population of young adults.
Other books by Victoria Jamieson: Skim
Book Trailer: This One Summer
Teacher resource: http://cbldf.org/2015/02/using-graphic-novels-in-education-this-one-summer/
I'll Give You The Sun
(2015 Michael Printz Winner)
Adolescence is hard enough, but add to that a twin brother/ sister, a tragic event, and lots of secrets, and there is the plot of this novel. Jude and Noah are fraternal twins that shared many things, including a love of art, but the death of their mother and a betrayal leads to a separation during a very critical time in their lives. Noah and Jude take turns describing the events that led to the breaking of the close bond they shared. Noah's version begins when he is 13 years old, and Jude continues the narration at the age of 16. Both twins have secrets of their own, and it is not until they are able to truly talk to each other, that those secrets that have kept them apart for years are finally revealed, and they are able to heal the wounds that caused their separation. The novel discusses several difficult topics such as betrayal, family dysfunction, homosexuality, and infidelity. There is obscene language and sexual content that would make this novel more appropriate for young adults between the ages of 14-18 years old. Noah's and Jude's interactions with each other, love interests, and their family show how the twins relationships develop and grow (Havighurst) throughout the novel. Each must learn how to deal with the expectations and the self-realization (Kohlberg) that comes from having to accept ourselves and others, and the willingness to forgive and move on. Young adults will be able to relate to the different situations and feelings that each twin deals with in order to come come together in the end to the discover the truth.
Other books by Jandy Nelson: The Sky is Everywhere
Book Trailer: I'll Give You the Sun
Teacher resource: http://jandynelson.com/
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