Author:   John Green
Ages:     10th - 12th grades
Review:   There's quite a bit of hype and blogging going on right now about Looking for Alaska.  The basis for this banter centers on the fact that this novel, Green's first, is targeting at Young Adults yet the adult language and sexual tones are quite explicit.  Take a look at this post with a vlog embed from another blogger to see just how passionate both sides of this issue have been.  Warning:  Some individuals may be offended by the explicit language used in this posts: Bee's Booknerd.  For a summary and commentary, check out Nymeth's exceptional review at her things mean a lot blog.

My take?  This is an exceptional book, deserving the ALA Award it received.  If it were a movie, it would be rated 'R' for explicit language and sexual content.  My tension of recommending this book is tethered between the typical language of teens and actions of teens depicted in the novels versus what I would like to have teens absorb versus the intensely emotional journey Green takes us on as readers.  It's the kind of book you want every teenager to pick up but you don't want them to read because it looks like you're condoning the language and sex.  Do I think this book should be banned?  No, I don't.  But I also don't think this book could be chosen as a classroom novel -- unfortunately, even for high school seniors.  Do I think high schoolers should read it?  Yep, I do.  The reconciliation of emotions bound in the storyline is a shared experience, indicative of the human condition.

 
 

AUTHOR:    Audrey Wood
AGES:    Preschool to Beginning Readers
REVIEW:    The Napping House is a rhyming tale of a house where everyone is sleeping on a rainy afternoon. The story begins with the napping granny, and one by one the other characters join her in the bed for a nap, each piling on top of the others until there is so many that inevitably, they will all be woken from their peaceful nap. When the energetic flea wakes the dog, chaos ensues and everyone is abruptly woken from slumber.  Throughout the story there is a repetitive rhyme that builds with each character that joins the pile.

What I enjoyed the most about this story is how the rhyme scheme built up the intensity of the plot while also making it very easy for a young child to follow. The book is simple yet charming and is a great book for nap or bed time of course!  However, I cannot discuss the book without acknowledging the illustrations. In my opinion, they are one of the best features of this book! The images are whimsical and dreamy, which goes along perfectly with the story. They really brought the characters to life in such a beautiful way.  For another short review, Family Reads offers this post on taking naps, and Lauren's World Literature for Children also comments on the building nature of the story.  Lauren also offers this teaching idea:

This book is a great way to get students involved in writing. They could write cumulative stories themselves, along with drawing the pictures. Students will enjoy that because it is a very simple method of writing. For younger students, there are great activity pages on Audrey Wood's website. There is one worksheet that students complete to find shapes inside the house.

This book was created by a husband and wife team, the wife Audrey writes and her husband Don illustrates. This book won several awards when it was published in 1984 including the New York Times Best Illustrated Children’s Book, the Golden Kite Award from the Society of Children’s Book Writers, a National Council of Teachers of English 1984 Teacher’s Choice, as well as several others.

Guest Blogger:  My name is Sara H.,  and I am a student at the University of Memphis. I graduated with a BA in history in December of 2007 and I am currently working towards my Master’s of Arts in Teaching. I hope to teach history at the secondary level and cannot wait to start!! I have a real passion for history, but I also enjoy spending time with my family, my boyfriend, and my feisty American bulldog puppy.

 
 

This so rocks!  The American Library Association and the Association for Library Service to Children announce that The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick won the Caldecott Medal for picture book this year.   In an earlier post, I reviewed The Invention of Hugo Cabret and advocated for it to win the Caldecott medal.  I wasn't sure, however, it the judges would consider it a complete picture book.  Read About.com's notice of the winner, and they include a synopsis of the book as well.  At the homepage for Hugo Cabret, you can find out more about the history of the author, the history of the book and the history in the book.  You can also watch a slideshow for the opening sequence of illustrations in the book.

Janice Harayda at One Minute Book Reviews does an excellent job of reviewing the novel.  She gave it an 'A' for packaging and a 'C' for writing.  I liked it a lot more.  But what I like even more about Janice's review is that right below the review she includes s reading group guide to Hugo Cabret.  Awesome!  Michele Norris, one of the voices of NPR, also offers up a review of Hugo Cabret.  This one has a audio podcast, illustrations from the book and an excerpt.

If you would like to find out more about the Caldecott Medal, then check out About.com's article or to the ALA/ALSC's page for Caldecott for a list of winners back to 1938.