LS 5623 Advanced Literature for Young Adults

Murphy, Jim. 2003. AN AMERICAN PLAGUE: THE TRUE AND TERRIFYING STORY OF THE YELLOW FEVER EPIDEMIC OF 1793. New York: Clarion Books. ISBN 0395776082


This book thoroughly chronicles the events of the yellow fever epidemic that struck Philadelphia in the year 1793, as well as the political, civil, and scientific impact the plague had on the years to come. Readers are shown what life was like as the infant America struggled to find it's legs. The troubles President Washington faced in abandoning the U.S. capital. Also highlighted in this book are things we may take for granted today, such as proper drainage in our cities, clean water, and pest control. The book ends with how treatments and cures for some diseases were developed and how it was discovered that the tiniest mosquito can bring the deadliest illness to humans.

This book has twelve pages of sources and has many illustrations and newspaper clippings from the time period spread throughout the book. This all adds up to a very detailed book that is sure to interest those students who history and science. This book is organized for cover to cover reading and flows very well to encourage the reader to continue reading. The experiences, the desperation and horror, of the people living through this plague come through in the author's voice and brings history to life. Lengthy book and better suited to readers middle school and up.



Awards/Reviews:
National Book Awards  (NOMINATED FOR AN AWARD) 2003
School Library Journal Best Books of the Year (WON AWARD) 2003
Newbery Medal (NOMINATED FOR AN AWARD) 2004
Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award (WON AWARD) 2004
American Library Association Notable Books for Children (WON AWARD) 2004
NCTE Orbis Pictus Award (WON AWARD) 2004
Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards (WON AWARD) 2004
James Madison Book Award (WON AWARD) 2004
Volunteer State Book Award (NOMINATED FOR AN AWARD) 2006
Garden State Teen Book Award (NOMINATED FOR AN AWARD) 2006
William Allen White Children's Book Award (NOMINATED FOR AN AWARD) 2006
Young Hoosier Book Award (NOMINATED FOR AN AWARD) 2007



Connections:
Relate to current events, H1N1 virus.
Books:
Anderson, Laurie Halse. Fever 1793. ISBN 9780689848919

Markle, Sandra. Mosquitoes: Tiny Insect Troublemakers. ISBN 9780822572992


Image credit: www.betterworldbooks.com

Kerley, Barbara. 2004. WALT WHITMAN: WORDS FOR AMERICA. Ill. by Brian Selznick. New York: Scholastic Press.
ISBN 0439357918



Review:
This biography give a brief overview of the life of Walt Whitman and insight into his motivation for writing poems that sing America and American's praises. It begins when Walt began work as a printer's apprentice, tells that he was always scribbling in journals on his travels around America, and of the poets experiences during the Civil War as he spent time at hospitals with soldiers who'd been wounded.

This biography is liberally sprinkled with excerpts from Walt Whitman's poems, journals, and letters. The picture it paints of Whitman is perhaps too saintlike, but it really drives home the motivations Whitman had for writing brilliant works like Leaves of Grass and Drum-Taps! This biography also captures the hardship suffered during the Civil War. Especially poignant is placing the beginning of the poem "O Captain! my Captain!" after the part that tells of Whitman and the nation's grief after the assassination of President Lincoln. The end of the book features an author's note, an illustrator's note, notes on the poems, as well as a bibliography of sources used to create this book.

Deserving equal attention in this book are the illustrations, which are very bold, vibrant and imaginative. Two in particular are cleverly done. The first is the page opposite the title page, which is made to look like an old newspaper typeset of the title page. The relevance to the story of course is that Whitman's first job was as an apprentice printer. The second is the illustration that has open books in the night sky like so many stars, with each carrying a different word for the poem it is quoting. An extremely well done biography that is well suited to readers 4th or 5th grade and above.




Awards/Reviews:
Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award  (NOMINATED FOR AN AWARD) 2005
American Library Association Notable Books for Children (WON AWARD) 2005
California Book Awards (NOMINATED FOR AN AWARD) 2005
Bluegrass Award (NOMINATED FOR AN AWARD) 2006
Volunteer State Book Award (NOMINATED FOR AN AWARD) 2007




Connections:
Have the students read some of the poems mentioned in the book.
Draw connections between the poems and life in America at that time: immigrant cultures, Civil War.

Other books:
Levin, Jonathan. Poetry for Young People: Walt Whitman. ISBN 9781402754777
Rappaport, Doreen. Abe's Honest Words: The Life of Abraham Lincoln. ISBN 1423104080



Image credit: www.lookingglassreview.com

Jenkins, Steve. 2009. NEVER SMILE AT A MONKEY: AND 17 OTHER IMPORTANT THINGS TO REMEMBER. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 9780618966202


Review:
There are many unpredictable and potentially dangerous creatures in the world. This nonfiction picture book goes through 17 of such creatures and outlines things that humans should avoid doing in order to not aggravate that creature. Some are obvious, such as "never harass a hippo," others one may not have heard of, such as "never collect a cone shell," which has poisonous barbs.

This book has very good shelf appeal. The image of the monkey staring at you on the front combined with the angry monkey image on the back scream 'pick me up.' Each of the 17 creatures gets an illustration and a full paragraph of what not to do and why it will kill you if you do. At the end is a few pages of more detailed information of each creature, as well as a list of books for further reading. The illustrations are done with cut paper and really pop off of the page. Especially for me the illustration of the African buffalo, which looks like it's done with crushed velvet. It is a topic sure to catch the attention of children.






Connections:
Discuss local dangerous animals with children.

*More books on dangerous animals:
Simon, Seymour. 101 Questions and Answers About Dangerous Animals. ISBN 9780021795239
Eriksson, Christer; Susan Lumpkin, and John Seidensticker. Dangerous Animals. ISBN 9780783547626


Image credit: www.greatkidsreads.blogspot.com

Frost, Helen. 2006. THE BRAID. New York: Frances Foster Books. ISBN 0374309620

Review:

The Braid tells the tale of a family separated when they are forced to leave their home by their landlords. The mother, father, and some of the children leave Ireland for Canada. One daughter, the eldest, stays behind with her grandmother. The father and two of the children die on the voyage, leaving the mother, second oldest daughter, and a baby boy to fend for themselves once they reach the new world. The story follows the two sisters as they struggle to make their way in the world without the familiar support they are used to.

This novel is written in alternating narratives and praise poems by each sister, Sarah and Jeannie. An author's note at the end of the novel pointed out ( I had not noticed) that the narrative poem written by each sister has the same number of syllables as the age of the sister at the time of the narrative. Each narrative poem is carefully crafted to be so fluid that the reader barely notices that they are reading verse at all. The intervening praise poems draw attention to a particular aspect mentioned by the sister in the previous narrative and drives home the raw emotions that the separated sisters are feeling. I especially found that the praise poems following Jeannie's narrative truly struck a cord. For example, in the narrative she describes how she and her mother must spend their days scavenging or begging for food or work. In the praise poem, simply titled "food", the line "finding in each day food to carry us beyond that day," really brings home the hunger and the vulnerability they must have felt. An extremely good read for middle/high school students.

Awards/Reviews:
School Library Journal: *Star Reviewed, "the easy flow of the verse and its emotional impact that will carry even reluctant readers into the windswept landscape and the hardships and dreams of these two girls."
Booklist: *Star Reviewed, "In concluding notes, Frost explains the poetic forms she used, which braid together the two immediate voices with echoing words and rhythms."
Publisher's Weekly: "ingeniously structured novel in verse."
Voice of Youth Advocates: "a lyrical feeling that transports the reader and prevents the transitions in the story between Canada and Scotland from being too jarring."

Connections:
Discuss the different trials of immigrants who come to America, the Irish potato famine.
Other books by Helen Frost:
Frost, Helen. Diamond Willow. ISBN 9780374317768
Frost, Helen. Keesha's House. ISBN 9780374400125



Image credit: www.sarahmillerbooks.blogspot.com

Lewis, J. Patrick. 2009. COUNTDOWN TO SUMMER: A POEM FOR EVERY DAY OF THE SCHOOL YEAR. Ill. by Ethan Long. New York: Little Brown and Co. ISBN 9780316020893


Review:

Countdown to Summer, as the subtitle says, has a poem for every day of the school year. There are poems of seemingly every type of rhyme and meter included: haiku, clever couplets, limericks, sonnets, concrete, tongue twisters, songs, and even a one word poem. Not all of the poems are lighthearted fun. Included in the collection is a poem titled "The Ninth Ward" which is about a hurricane Katrina victim waiting for help to come, but "her miracle went to a passerby." As a resident of Louisiana, and an evacuee of Hurricane Rita, this poem made a particular impact on me.

The poems in this collection cover quite a diverse range of topics. Some could be used to augment a lesson in class, such as "When is Its It's?" But mostly the poems seem to just be for fun. Each poem is accompanied by an simple black and white illustration that captures the setting, character, or subject of the poem. I particularly enjoyed the illustration from poem 154 where the lion gives the mouse a Cheerio wedding ring. I found some of the lengthier poems, such as "The Reasons for Rainbows," a bit much to read. Part of that I think is because so many of the poems in this book are so short that my mind began to be conditioned to read each poem with a quick rhythm that doesn't work for the long poems. This is something to consider when handing this book to a student, but it is still a good recommendation for anyone.



Awards/Reviews:
School Library Journal: "The selections feature a range of topics, including food, pets, school and teachers, and the natural world."

Connections:

Janeczko, Paul B.  A Foot in the Mouth: Poems to Speak, Sing and Shout. ISBN 9780763606633
Janeczko, Paul B. A Poke in the I: A Collection of Concrete Poems. ISBN 9780763623760



Image credit: www.childrenslit.com

Singer, Marilyn. 2005. CENTRAL HEATING: POEMS ABOUT FIRE AND WARMTH. Ill. by Meilo So. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 0375829121

Review:

This collection of nineteen poems by Marilyn Singer each deals with the topic of fire and warmth. The first poem in the collection, "Contradiction," really sums up what the rest of the poems exemplify: which is that fire can be both comforting and terrifying.

The tone of the poems vary from playful, such as the "Dragon" who is the central heating in his cave, to darker tones in poems like "Prairie Fire" and "Desert Day." The poems flow easily and are not terribly complex, making this a great book to give to students who may find poetry intimidating. The illustrations for this work are done in only red ink, which adds to the feelings of fire and warmth the reader gets from the poem. The diversity of subjects relating to fire covered by the poems would make this a great book to pull poems from to introduce other topics, such as: holidays, the solar system, deserts, and forests.



Awards/Reviews
American Library Association Notable Books for Children (WON AWARD) 2006
Publisher's Weekly: "So's illustrations...set the scenes ablaze with energy and vitality."
School Library Journal: "The complicated nature of fire is explored in Singer's energetic short poems."
Booklist: "Use this across the curriculum, in science and history as well as language arts classes."

Connections:
Use some of these poems to introduce topics in science and history classes; such as "Center of the Earth" for a lesson on the Earth's core, or "The Fire-Bringers" when talking about early man.
*Other books by Marilyn Singer that talk about the elements.
Singer, Marilyn. Footprints on the Roof: Poems About the Earth. ISBN 9780375810947
Singer, Marilyn. How to Cross a Pond: Poems About Water. ISBN 9780375823763

Image Credit: www.kidscorner.org