Reviews and ramblings about children's and young adult literature by an absentminded middle school librarian. I keep my blog to remember what I've read and to celebrate the wonderful world of children's and young adult literature.
Saturday, January 20, 2018
What's New? Stacking the Shelves
Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews. Hop on over there to ogle what other bloggers got this week.
For review:
Heroes of Black History: biographies of four great Americans by the Editors of TIME for Kids magazine. Liberty Street/ Time Inc., December, 2017. 9781683300120.
Publisher synopsis: TIME For Kids Heroes of Black History presents the stories of four great American heroes every child should know about in one volume: Harriet Tubman, Jackie Robinson, Rosa Parks, and Barack Obama. Featuring an introduction by journalist and civil rights activist Charlayne Hunter-Gault, Heroes of Black History shines a light on the long fight for social justice in the United States as it highlights the accomplishments and personal histories of these four pivotal Americans.
Young readers learn about the life of Harriet Tubman—born a slave around 1820, she escaped to the North, but returned to the South nineteen times as a conductor on the Underground Railroad to lead 300 slaves to freedom. An incredibly gifted athlete, Jackie Robinson endured taunts, slurs, and death threats when he broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball in 1947. Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white man on an Alabama bus in 1955 and paved the way for a Supreme Court decision that declared segregation on Alabama’s public buses was unconstitutional. On January 20, 2009, Barack Obama took the oath of office as our country’s first African American president.
Illustrated with a dynamic mix of photographs and illustrations, the biographies of these Americans delve deeper than their accomplishments to reveal details on their childhoods, early experiences, schooling, family life, and more. Sidebars about related topics—Underground Railroad routes, sports firsts, the Harlem Renaissance, and more—give context and additional insights for young readers. Heroes of Black History also gives readers a timeline overview of three centuries of African American history, beginning with the slave trade, touching upon the formation of the NAACP, the civil rights movement, the March on Washington, and other pivotal events, up through the beginning of the Black Lives Matter movement. Brief profiles of more than twenty additional heroes of black history, a glossary of key terms, and a detailed index are also included in this comprehensive book.
Purchased:
Posted by John David Anderson. Unabridged audiobook on one MP3-CD. 9.5 hours. Read by Patrick Lawlor. HarperAudio/ Blackstone Publishers, May, 2017. 9781538419007.
Publisher synopsis: John David Anderson, author of Ms. Bixby’s Last Day, returns with a funny, honest, and original story about bullying, broken friendships, and failures of communication.In middle school, words aren’t just words. They can be weapons. They can be gifts. The right words can win you friends, or make you enemies. They can come back to haunt you. Sometimes they can change things forever.When cell phones are banned at Branton Middle School, Frost and his friends Deedee, Wolf, and Bench come up with a new way to communicate: leaving sticky notes for each other all around the school. It catches on, and soon all the kids in school are leaving notes—though for every kind and friendly one, there is a cutting and cruel one as well. Before long the sticky notes spiral out of control, starting a war of words and insults that threatens to tear friendships apart.In the middle of this, a new girl named Rose arrives at school and sits at Frost’s lunch table. Rose is not like anyone else at Branton Middle School, and it’s clear that the close circle of friends Frost has made for himself won’t easily hold another. As the sticky note wars escalate, and the pressure to choose sides mounts, Frost soon realizes that after this eighth-grade year, nothing will ever be the same.John David Anderson, the acclaimed author of Ms. Bixby’s Last Day, returns with the story of five friends struggling to fit in, to find themselves, and to summon the courage to say the things that need to be said.
Scythe by Neal Shusterman. Unabridged audiobook on one MP3-CD. 11 hours. Read by Greg Tremblay. Brilliance Audio, June, 2017. 9781543617948.
Publisher synopsis: Two teens must learn the “art of killing” in this Printz Honor–winning book, the first in a chilling new series from Neal Shusterman, author of the New York Times bestselling Unwind dystology.
A world with no hunger, no disease, no war, no misery: humanity has conquered all those things, and has even conquered death. Now Scythes are the only ones who can end life—and they are commanded to do so, in order to keep the size of the population under control.
Citra and Rowan are chosen to apprentice to a scythe—a role that neither wants. These teens must master the “art” of taking life, knowing that the consequence of failure could mean losing their own.
Scythe is the first novel of a thrilling new series by National Book Award–winning author Neal Shusterman in which Citra and Rowan learn that a perfect world comes only with a heavy price.
Peace, Locomotion by Jacqueline Woodson. Unabridged audiobook on one MP3-CD. 2 hours. Read by Dion Graham. Brilliance Audio, July, 2009. 9781423397984.
Publisher synopsis: The stunning companion to the National Book Award finalist--from a three-time Newbery Honor winning author
Twelve-year-old Lonnie is finally feeling at home with his foster family. But because he’s living apart from his little sister, Lili, he decides it’s his job to be the “rememberer”—and write down everything that happens while they’re growing up. Lonnie’s musings are bittersweet; he’s happy that he and Lili have new families, but though his new family brings him joy, it also brings new worries. With a foster brother in the army, concepts like Peace have new meaning for Lonnie.Told through letters from Lonnie to Lili, this thought-provoking companion to Jacqueline Woodson’s National Book Award finalist Locomotion tackles important issues in captivating, lyrical language. Lonnie’s reflections on family, loss, love and peace will strike a note with readers of all ages.
That's what's new with me. What's new with you? Leave your link and I will definitely visit and comment.
These books look so good! :-) I hope that you enjoy them when you get around to them.
ReplyDeleteOooh! A book about black history! Interesting! I hope you enjoy all your books!
ReplyDeleteHere’s my Stacking the Shelves!
Ronyell @ Rabbit Ears Book Blog
I’m not familiar with the authors but I love the sound of the books. I hope you enjoy them and have a wonderful reading week. Happy reading. 😁❤️
ReplyDelete