By the NumbersTeen: 19
Tween: 10
Children: 17
Sources
Review Copies: 4
Swapped: 1
Purchased: 2
Library: 14
Standouts
Teen: Soul Enchilada by David Macinnis Gill
It's a standoff between all the forces of Hell and a seventeen-year-old high school dropout named Bug Smoot with little more than her attitude to defend her. After meeting Bug, I'd say those are pretty even odds.
Tween: Positively by Courtney Sheinmel
It's about an HIV-positive girl who just lost her mother to AIDS. Sounds like all it needs is a C-list celebrity to make a Lifetime movie out of it. But that would be overly dismissive of a tender, reflective novel featuring a prickly and tough young girl adjusting to a life changing almost too fast for her to keep up.
Children: Ballet for Martha: Making Appalachian Spring by Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan, illustrated by Brian Floca
I admit: I kinda went, "Really? I mean, really?" Not only a picture book for older readers about the making of a ballet, but not even a flashy one like the Nutcracker or Swan Lake. But this nonfiction title about creative collaboration drew me in. I'm not sure how wide the audience will be, but there will be some kids who love this book with all their hearts.
Because I Want To Awards
Way Better Than I Expected: Academy 7 by Anne Osterlund
Made Me Cry on an Airplane, Thanks a Lot: Hunger by Jackie Morse Kessler
Too Awesome for Words Nonfic: The Bat Scientists by Mary Kay Carson
Yes, It's Sharon Creech, But . . . : The Unfinished Angel by Sharon Creech (I really wasn't sure what to think about this book, which had more than a whiff of medal-bait about it.)
4 comments:
What is 'medal bait'??
(This book came out in '09 so wouldn't be up for awards this year anyway.)
It was a fun book to write and I hope a fun one to read.
The bats thank you for their shout out! They need all the attention and help they can get these days...
Sharon - While I normally love your books, I couldn't quite get a grasp on this one and was a little sad about that. I didn't hate it by any means, but it certainly wasn't my favorite thing that you've ever written. What I meant by the (admittedly flippant) medal-bait comment was that this is the kind of book that committees like to give awards to. While I get excited over awards, I have difficulty at work with parents who think "medal" means "every kid should like it or there is something wrong with them." So medal-ish books make me ever-so-slightly cynical.
Thanks for stopping by and I'm looking forward to your next book.
Mary Kay -
The bats were amazing! I can't wait until my library buys it so I can put it out on display. One of my favorite readers' advisory suggestions is, "Let's try some nonfiction too!" The whole Scientists in the Field series is one of my go-tos, especially for animal lovers.
Thanks for visiting!
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