Realistic Fiction for Teens

Are you tired of fantasy, sci-fi and all those paranormal romances? Here are a few book suggestions of stories that take place in the normal world.

Mockingbird (mok'ing-bûrd)

By: Kathryn Erskine

Ten-year-old Caitlin, who has Asperger's Syndrome, struggles to understand emotions, show empathy, and make friends at school, while at home she seeks closure by working on a project with her father.

Speak

By: Laurie Halse Anderson

A traumatic event near the end of the summer has a devastating effect on Melinda's freshman year in high school.

Godless

By: Pete Hautman

When sixteen-year-old Jason Bock and his friends create their own religion to worship the town's water tower, what started out as a joke begins to take on a power of its own.

Dairy Queen

By: Catherine Murdock

After spending her summer running the family farm and training the quarterback for her school's rival football team, sixteen-year-old D.J. decides to go out for the sport herself, not anticipating the reactions of those around her.

If I Stay

By: Gayle Foreman

While in a coma following an automobile accident that killed her parents and younger brother, seventeen-year-old Mia, a gifted cellist, weighs whether to live with her grief or join her family in death.

Along for the Ride

By: Sarah Dessen

When Auden impulsively goes to stay with her father, stepmother, and new baby sister the summer before she starts college, all the trauma of her parents' divorce is revived, even as she is making new friends and having new experiences such as learning to ride a bike and dating.

13 Reasons Why

By: Jay Asher

When high school student Clay Jenkins receives a box in the mail containing thirteen cassette tapes recorded by his classmate Hannah, who committed suicide, he spends a bewildering and heartbreaking night crisscrossing their town, listening to Hannah's voice recounting the events leading up to her death.

Confessions of a Serial Kisser

By: Wendelin Van Draanen

After reading her mother's secret collection of romance novels during her parent's difficult separation, seventeen-year-old Evangeline Logan begins a quest for the perfect kiss.

The Absolute True Diary of a Part time Indian

By: Sherman Alexie

Budding cartoonist Junior leaves his troubled school on the Spokane Indian Reservation to attend an all-white farm town school where the only other Indian is the school mascot.

Perfect Chemistry

By: Simone Elkeles

When wealthy, seemingly perfect Brittany and Alex Fuentes, a gang member from the other side of town, develop a relationship after Alex discovers that Brittany is not exactly who she seems to be, they must face the disapproval of their schoolmates--and others.

Hate List

By: Jennifer Brown

Sixteen-year-old Valerie, whose boyfriend Nick committed a school shooting at the end of their junior year, struggles to cope with integrating herself back into high school life, unsure herself whether she was a hero or a villain

We received a new picture book this week that I absolutely love. “It’s a Book” by Lane Smith is about monkey who loves books, a donkey who is obsessed with computers and a straight talking little mouse. I love how the donkey keeps trying to understand the concept of the book and relating it to technology. To top it off, there is a fantastic book trailer to go with it. I first saw the trailer a couple of months ago when one of my friends posted it on Facebook. Check it out:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4BK_2VULCU

I am the Messenger by Markus Zusak

Plot:


The story begins Ed Kennedy, a down-and-out underage taxi driver who is hopelessly in love with his best friend Audrey. She, however, does not have the same romantic feelings towards him. One day, Ed is standing in a bank line when a robbery takes place and forever changes his life. He accidentally foils the robbers' escape, and is proclaimed a hero. Shortly after, he receives a playing card,an ace, in the mail. Ed does not know who has sent the ace but on it is written a list of addresses and times. This is where the adventure truly begins.

My thoughts:

I am the Messenger by Markus Zusak has been on my reading list for a couple of years now. I had read the Book Thief by him and wanted to see if he was indeed a wonderful author or he just hit the jackpot with the Book Thief. Over the holidays, I decided that enough was enough and grabbed the book from the library. Needless to say, I was not disappointed! This book was really good. Zusak has a way of grabbing the reader and pulling them into the story. I especially like the fact that he never sugarcoats anything, he just tells it like it is. Once you finish the book, you are left with thoughts on how you perceive your life and how you can affect others. I highly recommend this book!


On a side note, I AM THE MESSENGER won the 2003 Children's Book Council of Australia's Book of the Year Award.

Storytime Ideas: Penguins

There are so many activities that you can do with penguins. Here are a few suggestions:


Books:

Cuddly Dudley              by Jez Alborough
Penelope Penguin : the incredibly good baby     by John Bianchi
A penguin pup for Pinkerton                             by Steven Kellogg
Tacky the penguin         by Helen Lester
Penguin moon              by Annie Mitra
Penguins                      by Liz Pichon
A penguin story           by Antoinette Portis
Pink!                          by Lynne Rickards
Little Penguin’s tale     by Audrey Wood


Movies:
March of the Penguin
Happy Feet


Craft Ideas:

DLTK penguin crafts:
http://www.dltk-kids.com/animals/birds-penguins.html

Easy Penguin craft:
http://familycrafts.about.com/gi/o.htm?zi=1/XJ&zTi=1&sdn=familycrafts&cdn=parenting&tm=9&gps=94_609_988_551&f=02&tt=14&bt=0&bts=0&zu=http%3A//www.dltk-kids.com/animals/measypenguin.html

Storytime Ideas: Winter

Well, we can no longer avoid the fact that it is winter so have some fun with these books and activities!

Books:

Winter Games by Roger Paré
Elephants Cannot Dance by Mo Willems
Totally Polar by Marty Crisp
Snow by Manya Stojic
The Mitten by Jan Brett
Perfect Snow by Barbara Reid


Fun Movement Activity:

Get the kids all warmed up with this!

Have the kids repeat the rhyme after you -

Brr, Brr, Brr
It’s cold! cold! cold!
It’s time to warm up, by jumping.
Jump on one foot,
Now on the other foot,
Now with both feet.
Turn and turn, now stop!
Now we are warm.



Craft ideas:

Build a snowman:
http://www.daniellesplace.com/images/snowman-pattern.gif



Igloo craft:
http://www.dltk-holidays.com/winter/migloo.htm

Reading Resolutions for 2011

I do not generally make any sort of resolutions but this year I wanted to motivate myself to read books that have been piling up on my bedside table. I also wanted to venture back into reading books outside the Children's Department. So, here I am publicly declaring that I will clear all the books (and by that I mean read them, not put them away) piled up on my table. I also plan on reading 1 adult fiction book a month. So far, I have that one covered. I read Room by Emma Donoghue at the beginning of January. What a fantastic but horribly tragic book. If you have not read it, I highly recommend it! I also cleared off 2 books from my table - The House of Scorpion by Nancy Farmer (which I did not like so did not venture past page 50) and I am the Messenger by Markus Zusak (absolutely incredible read).




Wish me luck!

Protecting your child online: Facebook

On Thursday night at the library I will be giving tips to parents about protecting their child on Facebook.  Facebook, which I admit that I am addicted to, can be lots of fun but it is important to show our kids how to use it properly.  The privacy settings are not usually a concern for young tweens and teens but it should be.  If all your information is wide open, that means anyone can access it.   My number 1 recommendation regarding FB privacy settings – check them each month.  FB has a nasty habit of opening up people’s information without any warning.  Taking the precaution of checking privacy settings will help protect your child online.