At the school, we gathered in our Large Group Instruction room to watch the ALA Youth Media Awards, only to find out our school had it blocked! But, for some crazy reason, we could get the ALA Facebook page and my twitter stream. So we stared at the screen waiting to see if any of our choices made the cut.
The students reactions:
The Dreamer by Pam Munoz Ryan - The Pure Belpre - although we wanted to see this book get the Newbery Honor, we were happy it got some recognition.
One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia - Coretta Scott King and Newbery Honor - Yay!!! We were worried because only two other books won both The Scott O'Dell and Newbery (thank you Anita Silvey) so this was fantastic!
And that was it! They had read Heart of a Samurai but were not "impressed". They kept re-reading and re-reading the announcements sure that they would find Cardturner by Sachar and Keeper by Appelt somewhere! They were also disappointed that Mockingbird by Erskine and Out of My Mind by Draper didn't get recognized. I'm proud to note they decided to read Moon over Manifest by Vanderpool next! I didn't even ask them too
My reactions:
Newbery: For the second year in a row, I was happy to see that I'd read ALL of the books that won Newbery and Newbery Honors. I was also happy to see One Crazy Summer get more recognition.
Printz: This is the first year that I'd read the Printz winner, Ship Breaker by Paulo Bacigalupi, before it was announced! I'd also read one of the honors, Please Ignore Vera Dietz by AS King, and have Stolen by Lucy Christopher on my nightstand since it's also a Cybils YA Finalist! I'm also pleased that all of the books, except for Stolen, were on my Mock Printz list at Goodreads!
Coretta Scott King (Author): The is the first year that I've read ALL of the CSK winners before they were announced! One Crazy Summer, Lockdown by Myers, Ninth Ward by Parker-Rhodes, and Yummy by Neri!
Schneider Family Book Award: Happy to see I'd read the middle-grade book, After Ever After by Sonnenblick.
Alex Awards: Read The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender and had already purchased it for the library!
Pura Belpre (Author): Read The Dreamer by Ryan and Firefly Letters by Engle!
Stonewall Children's and Young Adult Award: Read Will Grayson, Will Grayson by Green and Levithan. Also went to see them at Anderson's last April!
Geisel Award: I read Bink and Gollie by DiCamillo and McGhee!
Overall, A great year of reading! I will continue reading the same way but will expand my Printz reading somewhat. The most awesome thing is the ability to talk to a wide variety of students about the books I read!
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(N) - three girls go to visit the mother they've never known. The relationship they start to forge is hard-fought and full of miss-steps but they feel the summer closes too soon.
(N) - growing up during the Cuban Missile crisis was a tense time. That strain was multiplied for military families. Franny tries to cope with a disappearing sister, a traitorous best friend, and an uncle who seems to be losing his grip on reality.
(N) - Melody has cerebral palsy but she's still a normal girl. She wants to make friends, look nice, and possibly, join the quiz bowl team. She gets a computer that might help her do these things but what do the students really think of her?
(E)- orphan finds out she has family, goes to live with them and is taunted by a ghost who wishes to return to the living and is "willing" to trade places.
(N) - father is killed in a hit and run accident and as they are going through his papers, finds out he's not who they thought he was. Kind of a middle grade version of Shanghai Girls by Lisa See.
- Alvin is afraid of everything - including girls. Especially the one who wants to help him.
- the janitor gives Ben a lecture and a coin, then he dies. Now, Ben must decide how to keep the school from being changed into an amusement park.
(N) - we're introduced to Alexandra, Beowulf, and Cassiopeia, three children Lord Frederick found in the woods when he was out hunting. Penelope, from the Swanburn School for Pretty Bright Females, is brought in to tame them.
(audio) - The adventures of Shasta and Bree as they escape from cruel masters and try to make their way to Narnia so they can be free.
(N)- a fictionalized account of Pablo Neruda's childhood based on journals and other writings.
(P)- a family moves to the coast into a house where terrible things happened. Max meets this kid Roland and they pretty much become instant friends. Then strange stuff happens which they talk over with Roland's grandfather, who doesn't actually tell them everything but they figure the bad stuff is far from over.
- great story about a boy and a girl, both smart and ambitious but not very social trying to figure out how to "be".
(P) - follow up to Green Angel. Green is starting to recover from losing her entire family last year. She wants to help the village by writing down everyone's stories to help them deal with their losses and build a sense of community. 
(E) - an apocalyptic tale. Gives a history of man after the great devastion that left us on an island trying to re-build. We focus on one character, through the eyes of someone else, who tries to make his own decision. Riveting and thought-provoking.
(E) - Caitlyn tells of the summer her sister ran away and how it affected her life. She quickly finds someone to replace her sister but the consequences are disastrous. Great voice, so steady and matter-of-fact. Well-suited to the story. Although Dessen's first, I find it one of her best! 
- 16 year-old Gaia (rhymes with Maya) Stone, midwife apprentice, just delivered, and advanced, her first baby! She goes home to celebrate only to find her parent's have been arrested. The Protectorate believes they are hiding information The Enclave could use to stop the deaths happening in the advanced Society.
- rereading for movie this fall.
- rereading for movie this fall
- Ever wish you could see what's going to happen in the future? Tilly gets that chance but it's not as fun as you would think! She can't change anything but her life is on a collision course with destruction. What can she do?
- William's relates how he was seduced by the culture of Hip-Hop and reduced to being less than he was raised to become. Then, joining the culture of the world by rediscovering his father's library of excellent literature. His journey is contemplative and eye-opening.
(E)
by Sherman Alexie. And it works. That's a hard format because you have to keep the story going throughout the art that's included. I think Stephen Emond did a great job with this. The topper for me is, I have NO idea what the main character's name is! They call him Happyface and his IM name is Cartoonboy but I couldn't find it anywhere. Love it!
