Shakespeare’s First Folio to Tour the Country

2016 marks the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare’s death. It’s impossible to quantify the impact of Shakespeare’s work on (primarily, but not solely) the English-speaking world. Shakespeare’s observations about human nature are timeless. His plots, which have mesmerized readers and audiences for centuries, still have the power to captivate. And it is estimated that he added 1,700 words (e.g. countless, laughable, grovel, dawn) and numerous everyday phrases (e.g. break the ice, it’s high time, for goodness sake, what’s done is done) to the English language.

In recognition of the significance of this year, Washington, DC’s Folger Library is sending one of its most prized artifacts on a tour through all 50 states: the 1623 First Folio. (Yes, that Folger. The library’s founder, Henry Clay Folger, was not only an enthusiastic collector of Shakespeare-related artifacts; he was also the nephew of J.A. Folger, founder of San Francisco-based Folger’s Coffee.)

As its name suggests, the First Folio is the earliest collection ever amassed of a number of Shakespeare’s plays. Assembled by Shakespeare’s friends and colleagues seven years after his death, it contains eighteen plays that, were it not for the folio, may never have been preserved, including Macbeth, The Tempest, and The Taming of the Shrew. Printing a folio was expensive, so few copies of the book were made and even fewer survive today.

This rare book may be viewed in New York City at the New York Historical Society  from June 7th through July 17th; to find out where else it will travel, use this interactive map. Can’t wait that long to see it in person? You can read a digital copy of the First Folio in its entirety while you wait. In addition, the Library’s website offers excellent resources for teachers and for parents and kids.

Those with an addiction* to Shakespeare because of his madcap*, zany* comedies; his monumental* histories; the remorseless* savagery* shown by some characters in his tragedies; and the overall radiance* of his words may consider it torture* to contain their excitement* as they await this ode* to the great man himself.


*word coined by Shakespeare

LitCharts Are Excellent Tools for Pre-Reading

At The Yellin Center, one of our favorite strategies is called “frontloading.” Useful for all students, frontloading is particularly good for those who struggle to identify the most important ideas in a lecture, lesson, or text. The principle is very simple: Students prepare themselves for learning with a preview of the lesson, concept, or reading. Examples include watching a Khan Academy video; a short introduction from an instructor; or a walk-through of a textbook chapter, focusing on the headings, captions, and images, before reading the whole thing. We find that students who frontload are more prepared to learn because they can more easily identify the most important information.

Literature can be difficult to frontload, however. Unlike textbooks, novels don’t have headings, diagrams, and images that can be previewed. Luckily, though, students who struggle with reading comprehension can prepare themselves to take on literature in a number of ways. One is to watch a movie version of the book* if one exists (keeping in mind that these versions often differ from the original book). Another is to use summaries like CliffsNotes or SparkNotes. For students who struggle with reading, though, these summaries can seem intimidating because they take the form of long blocks of text. So the original editors of SparkNotes have created a thoughtful, innovative, and free resource called LitCharts.

LitCharts provides resources for getting the most out of more than 250 plays, novels, and short stories, ranging from contemporary works like A Long Way Gone and The Fault in Our Stars to classics like Henry V and The Great Gatsby. The site (and its accompanying, free app) is interactive, so students can choose the format and content that will help them most. The “front page” for each book is called the Chart Board, which provides a visual representation of the whole book. Themes in each chapter are represented by color-coded rectangles, and by hovering over one of them the user can read a relevant, thematic summary snippet from that part of the book.

Its visual presentation is probably the best feature of LitCharts, but all of the other good stuff we’ve come to expect from literature companion sites is there, too: background information about the author and the story; a plot overview; and analysis of key characters, themes, symbols, and quotes. There is even information about how to cite LitCharts if a student references it in an essay. We also like the chart available for each book, which, once downloaded, presents key information about the author, context, and plot all in one document for easy reference.

LitCharts is not a substitute for the rich experience of reading a wonderful piece of literature, but it can help make that experience both more pleasant and more valuable to students who need support.



*Lots of parents and teachers may bristle at this idea, and we can understand why. A large part of the joy of reading is turning the pages in breathless anticipation of what will happen next. Many people feel that previewing a book in such a way “gives away” the story. For typically developing readers, we agree; we’d much rather read a book first, too! However, for students who struggle mightily with decoding, comprehension, or attention, advance knowledge of how the plot will unfold can actually help them build important reading skills.

The Play’s the Thing

Most people have clearer memories of something they experience than of something they hear or see. Episodic memory, or memory for experiences, is an important part of long-term memory that savvy parents and educators use as much as possible to improve learners’ recall of important material.

This topic probably brings hands-on science experiments to mind, but experiential learning has its place in language arts, too. Allowing children to act is a lot of fun, but it can also help them remember new words, recall events in stories, and understand plots and character motivations in new ways.

Acting and Vocabulary

• Studies show that children, especially English Language Learners, understand and recall new vocabulary words more easily if they act out the new words while learning them. It’s easy to act out a word like “slumber” or “skip,” but some words require a little more imagination. For words like “perplexed” or “humble,” remember that facial expressions can go a long way. When defining a new word, act out the meaning and encourage the child to mirror your actions. Later, say the word and ask them if they can remember the motions.

• If you’re looking to move vocabulary practice beyond flashcards, try vocabulary charades. One by one, players secretly choose a word from a previously studied list, then act it out without using words. Whoever guesses the word correctly gets to act next.

Acting and Literature

Performing stories can be great fun for students, and it also helps them to think actively about the plot because they are experiencing the events firsthand. There are a number of ways in which students can act out what they read.

• The simplest way to act out a story or a scene from a story is to assign parts after kids have listened to the story (ideally more than once) and ask them to act it out from memory. Reassure actors that they do not need to remember their lines verbatim; paraphrasing is fine. Even shy kids will enjoy participating if given non-speaking roles; most books have plenty of these and they are often critical to the plot. Allow kids a rehearsal before they run through it more smoothly a second time. This can be a particularly interesting exercise for books in which the characters’ lines are not spelled out. If a book contains a scene that describes a conversation without actually documenting the words used in the conversation, for example, challenge students to make up lines that reflect what was probably said.

• Readers’ Theater is an excellent format in which to read stories that have lots of dialogue. It does require some preparation on the part of the adult, though, as scripts with characters’ lines (drawn straight from the text) need to be typed up. An adult should present scripts to elementary-aged readers. Those working with middle or high school students, however, might put students into groups and assign each one a chapter; the students can be assigned to write their own scripts together, and a whole book can be performed in this way!

• Got a single student on your hands? Provide him with figures such as Legos or dolls so that he can play all the parts. We are particularly fond of Playmobil for this purpose because sets come with so many props.

Artwork courtesy: http://cliparts.co/clipart/2309341

Picture Books That Celebrate Latino Culture

Some of childhood’s earliest lessons come from the pages of books. Trips to the bookshelf can expose kids to new information and ideas and teach them vivid lessons about life, all without having to leave home. It is too bad, then, that most of the picture books children see and hear feature characters that look the same. Kids of color love reading books about diverse characters, but young readers of any race or ethnicity can benefit from picture books that value the experiences of non-white characters.

To diversify the reading list of children in your life, here are some picture books we love that feature Mexican and Mexican-American characters. Race and culture are major themes in some, while others are simply stories in which the characters’ ethnic background is not underscored. Some of the books contain Spanish words, which children will enjoy learning; others are bilingual so that the whole text is presented in both English and Spanish side-by-side. For extra fun, we recommend helping kids look for cognates, or words that are the same or almost the same in both languages, such as “diaro” and “diary” in My Diary From Here to There.

Our list is roughly organized from less sophisticated themes to more complex themes. We recommend reading these books to children below third grade or so.

Abuela by Arthur Durros

Just a Minute by Yuyi Morales

What Can You Do with a Paleta? by Carmen Tafolla

My Abuelita by Tony Johnson

The Old Man and His Door by Gary Soto

I Love Saturdays y domingos by Alma Flor Ada

Dear Primo by Duncan Tonatiuh

Too Many Tamales by Gary Soto

The Perfect Season for Dreaming by Benjamin Aliera Saenz

Tomas and the Library Lady by Pat Mora

Alejandro’s Gift by Richard Albert

The Gullywasher by Joyce Rossi

My Diary From Here to There by Amada Irma Perez

Review: Storybird Web Based Writing Platform

Storybird - Artful Storytelling

Recommended Ages: Grade 1 and up

Content Areas: Reading and Writing

Price: Free

Why We Like It : Storybird is a beautifully crafted, aesthetically pleasing website based application for reading and writing. Students sometimes struggle with the motivation to write, and it is important to provide them with engaging, meaningful ways to practice their written skills; Storybird does just that. Storybird is especially valuable for students with strong visual and spatial skills and has a wealth of high quality, artist created images that children can use as inspiration for their writing. In addition, Storybird allows students to infuse the same images into their story in order to help them tell their tale. The image support could be beneficial for helping students who struggle with sequencing a story, as the pictures will serve as reinforcements and cues as they craft their narrative.

Beyond writing, Storybird can be an excellent method to increase the time a child spends reading. Children can read other children’s stories, or those of their friends. There are multiple genres available for children to choose from, which increases the likelihood that each student will discover something that interests them. Furthermore, professional authors use Storybird to connect with their fans, which allows children access to their stories as well.

For Parents

There are other games infused into Storybird that your child can play to further interest them in the reading and writing process. For example, there are puzzles hidden throughout the artworks that your child can solve which, as a reward, will unlock new stories and puzzles for them to enjoy. Exposure to reading and writing at home is important. This is one avenue where your child can gain more experience reading and writing outside of their classroom hours. In addition, you are able to read your child’s creations and provide them with positive reinforcement through the program. Furthermore, your child’s work can be shared with other family members and close friends who can also encourage your child. This will help grow your child’s confidence in their writing abilities. 

For Teachers
Storybird enables teachers to create robust libraries of student work. These are able to be shared with parents and administrators as examples of student written output. In addition, lesson creation and assigning grades are features of the Storybird application that are integrated right into the site.

Publishing books is an important final aspect of the stages of writing. Storybird provides a high quality avenue for students to self-publish their work. This will increase their engagement and sense of ownership over the writing process. Also, collaboration is a huge part of the Storybird program. As your students read and explore their peers' work they are able to comment and send positive reinforcement to their fellow students.

Good to Know

• Users must be 13 years of age to become a member. If a child is younger than 13, he/she must provide a parent’s email address, and then the parent is immediately notified that their child has become a storybird.
• Student privacy is protected. Social interactions are classroom-contained.

How Storybird Aligns with Common Core Standards

• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.1.3 Write narratives in which they recount two or more appropriately sequenced events, include some details regarding what happened, use temporal words to signal event order, and provide some sense of closure.
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.2.3 Write narratives in which they recount a well-elaborated event or short sequence of events, include details to describe actions, thoughts, and feelings, use temporal words to signal event order, and provide a sense of closure.
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3.3; CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.3; CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.5.3 Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences.
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.6.3; CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.7.3; CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.8.3 Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, relevant descriptive details, and well-structured event sequences.
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.3; CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.11-12.3 Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences.

Recommended Reads: Princess Academy

Princess Academy by Shannon Hale

Ages: 5th – 8th grade; may appeal to girls more than boys.

Awards: Princess Academy was named a Newbery Honor Book in 2006.

Plot: Fourteen-year-old Miri is a misfit in her beloved mountain town. The people of Mount Eskel, home to

generations of quarry workers, are strong, hearty folk. But Miri is too small to work in the quarry, and although she is treated well by her widowed father, sister, and community, she longs to contribute something of value. Miri gets her chance to show just how valuable her qualities are when a messenger from the king surprises the town with an announcement: The nation’s priests have prophesied that the next queen of the Danland will be a resident of Mount Eskel and each girl must be trained to be the next princess, just in case she’s the one the prince picks. The teenage girls are whisked away to a Princess Academy where a harsh mistress rules with an iron fist. At the academy, Miri’s intellect is as laudable as her massively strong friend Frid’s muscles were back in the quarry. Many of the girls are sure the prince will choose her. But along with exciting possibilities come uncomfortable questions. Does Miri want to live among lowlanders, people whom she has been raised to despise? Her new friend Britta, an orphan from the lowland who studies alongside Miri at the academy, dispels many of Miri’s beliefs about the superiority of mountain folk. Does she really want to marry the prince, a boy she’s never even seen? Stirrings of affection for her childhood companion Peder feel like more than friendship. And could she really ever leave Mount Eskel, a place she does not fit in but loves anyway? Adventure, humor, and wisdom abound in this refreshingly original book. And we wager that you won’t see the ending coming!

Our Take: The title of this book brings to mind pink gowns and sparkling tiaras, but many girls will be delighted to discover that this tale is far from fluffy. Miri displays the kind of grit, courage, and cunning not usually associated with syrupy princess stories. The plot structure, like the storyline itself, is unexpected in this gem of a book; just as it seems things have settled into a comfortable resolution, another unexpected surprise presents itself. Hale has managed to weave a tale that is at once fast-paced and introspective. The language is lovely, and the multi-layered tale ensures that there’s something for just about every reader.

Good to Know: The sequel, Palace of Stone, was published in 2012.

Recommended Reads: If I Stay

If I Stay by Gail Forman

Ages: Best understood by upper middle school or high school students, though the text would be easily decoded by fifth or sixth graders. Will appeal to girls more than boys.

Plot: Cello prodigy Mia’s life is turned upside down on a snowy February morning when the car carrying her family crashes. Her parents are both killed instantly and Mia’s and her younger brother’s lives hang by a thread. Mia finds herself looking down at her mangled body and is able to watch the events that unfold in the hours after the accident, though she is powerless to communicate with anyone. One of the nurses at the hospital tells her grandparents that Mia’s survival is a matter of choice, leaving Mia stunned with the responsibility of choosing whether she will fight for her life or succumb to death. Her best friend, her boyfriend, and her extended family gathered at the hospital remind her of the wonderful things left in her world. But as she reflects over her happy past, can she bear to continue living given all that she has lost?

Our Take: (This section hints at some spoilers.) Young women will whip through this soulful book that begs some of life's biggest questions. The writing is evocative and almost visceral at times; descriptions of the hospital with its mysterious medical apparatus and strange smells are particularly vivid. But while Mia and many of the characters are well-rounded and credible, her relationship with her family is perhaps a touch too idealized to be believed. Forman seems to take great pains to establish that Mia's parents are ultra-cool and, similarly, Mia's relationship with her younger brother is flawlessly blissful. Did she worry that Mia's loss would seem less tragic if Mia and her family had occasional disagreements? Another minor quibble is that Mia's decision near the end of the book feels slightly rushed and anti-climactic. Mia’s best friend is a delightful character, however, and Mia’s confusion about the choices she must make in her final year of high school (stay nearby with her boyfriend or pack off to far-away Julliard?) will be familiar and real to any high school student pondering the future. And the descriptions of Mia’s feelings for the cello music she loves are sometimes achingly beautiful. As a whole, If I Stay is a very good choice for young people. The subject is a dark one indeed, but the book manages to steer clear of melodrama. Instead, it is a thought-provoking read that will get readers thinking about what really matters to them.

Adult Themes: Some very mild sexuality.

Good to Know: A movie version of If I Stay will hit theaters in August. Also, readers curious to know what happens after the book concludes will be happy to discover the sequel Where She Went, which is told from the perspective of Mia's boyfriend Adam and is set several years after the accident.

First Book Offers Incentive to Promote Diversity in Children’s Publishing

Browsing the shelves of a children’s bookstore can be a delightful experience. But just a few minutes in nearly any store or library reveals a disturbing disparity: Though young readers are increasingly diverse, the vast majority of children’s books feature characters that seem cast from the same mold. Most are about white kids from white families. Few characters with disabilities or different sexual orientations appear even as supporting characters, let alone as featured protagonists. According to Kyle Zimmer, CEO of an organization that distributes free books to needy kids called First Book, this is a big problem. It’s harder for children to be enthusiastic about reading when the books available don’t feel relevant to their lives, and this puts millions of kids at risk for lowered reading achievement.

In an interview with NPR, Zimmer pointed out some troubling statistics: In a survey of 3,600 children’s books, only 3.3% starred African American kids and 1.5% featured Latino children. According to Zimmer, research by First Book indicates that kids are far more likely to become enthusiastic readers when they “see themselves” in books. And she adds, importantly, that the benefit of diversity in books extends beyond groups outside the majority; all kids can benefit from reading about the experiences and perspectives of different groups.

Ezra Jack Keat's wonderful books
 feature African American children

To promote diversity in publishing, First Book has launched a new project. Stories For All  offers an incentive to publishers by offering them a guaranteed market for books about characters from under-represented communities and groups. Publishers can present books by unpublished authors that promote diversity to First Book and they will buy 10,000 copies of each of the best ones.

First Book, by the way, is an incredibly worthy organization worth checking out. To date, almost 90,000 classrooms and non-profits have signed up with First Book, meaning that millions of children now have books to call their own. And their programs have been so successful that school personnel report elevated test scores, more literacy activity at home, and tripled interest in reading among kids who get books from First Book. Their call to promote diversity in publishing is just one more expression of the group’s innovative thinking; First Book has dreamed up some very inventive ways to get books into the hands of deserving kids. Their Marketplace sells heavily discounted books to community programs and schools that serve children in need. And their Book Bank is a clearinghouse for publishers’ unsold inventory, allowing excess books to be donated to millions of kids.

If this has got you interested in books about diverse characters, check out our post “Girls of Color Star in Three OutstandingTransitional Book Series” for some suggested titles. We hope these titles will tide you over until Stories for All bears fruit and launches fresh offerings into the market. 

Remembering Maya Angelou: Works for Young People

We were saddened to learn of the recent death of literary powerhouse and cultural icon Maya Angelou. Most of her work is best read by older teenagers and adults, but luckily a number of pieces will allow young people to benefit from her wisdom and insight, too.

For example, Angelou’s poem “Life Doesn’t Frighten Me” is available as a picture book with fun, zany illustrations by Jean-Michel Basiquiat. Young children will enjoy Angelou’s beautiful words and gain inspiration for coping with everyday fears such as imagined monsters in the dark or new, frightening experiences.

Slightly older kids may enjoy Poetry for Young People: Maya Angelou, an anthology of her more accessible poetry at its whimsical, soulful best. Angelou was a champion of painting stirring imagery with her words; accordingly, each poem in the book is accompanied by an illustration. Artistic kids might enjoy doing their own drawings based on some of the more vivid lines from her poems, even ones not included in the book like “On the Pulse of the Morning.”

Those with wanderlust will love My Painted House, My Friendly Chicken, and Me, a magical volume that will transport readers to the stomping grounds of the Ndebele tribe in southern Africa. Readers will be entranced by the richly colored photographs and introductions to the people and their traditions.

After reading her work, kids may be interested in Angelou’s life story. For those between the ages of 8 to 12, Maya Angelou: Journey of the Heart, is a good biography by Jane Pettit based on Angelou’s own memoirs.

Maya Angelou receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom, 2011

Maya Angelou lived a rich, vibrant life. Though her loss stings, we are lucky that we, and future generations, can continue to enjoy and learn from the evocative writing she left behind.

Poetry Month Revisited

April is National Poetry Month and last year at this time we ran a series of blogs on all kinds of poetic forms, from the acrostic to the villanelle. You can find the full series of poetry blogs, all written by Yellin Center Learning Specialist and top-notch blogger Beth Guadagni, by searching "poetry" in our blog labels on the right hand side of this page.

However, we did want to at least mention this month long event and share suggestions for ways you, your students, and your family can celebrate this wonderful form of literature.

The website of the Academy of American Poets has suggestions for poetic activities for every day of the month. And for those who don't know offhand just how many days that includes, try reciting the poem, "Thirty days hath September...", which had its origins in the 16th century or earlier.

If  you are a budding poet with social media leanings, you can participate in a Twitter poetry contest sponsored by National Public Radio. Have fun!

Do you know the poem about this flower?

photo credit: Martin Ramsden 
 

Recommended Reads: The Mysterious Benedict Society

The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart

Ages: Perfect for the average sixth grader

Awards: Booklist Editor’s Choice: Books for Youth Award, the Notable Children’s Books Award, and the Texas Lone Star Books Award

Plot: Brilliant orphan Reynard “Reynie” Muldoon is lonely and misunderstood at the Stonetown Orphanage, so he’s ecstatic about an advertisement he sees in the paper: exceptionally talented children can take a mysterious test with exciting (though unspecified) outcomes if they pass. Reynie triumphs over each of the exam’s delightfully tricky phases (readers will enjoy trying to solve the riddles alongside him) and finds himself teamed up with three other loner misfits who have also passed. Three of the four children are clearly gifted, though in different ways. Reynie’s strength is his ability to think logically. George “Sticky” Washington earned his nickname because any information he comes across sticks in his formidable memory. Kate Wetherall is brave, enormously athletic, and displays a MacGyver-like skill for turning just about anything into the perfect tool to get her out of a jam. The gifts of the fourth member of the team, tiny Constance Contraire, are less obvious. She is rude and argumentative, and while the other three become fast friends, they’re all a little puzzled by her inclusion on their team. But Mr. Benedict, their kindly, if narcoleptic, benefactor and organizer of the test, assures them that she is essential to their mission. The children learn that they are to be sent to nearby Nomansan Island as spies to attempt to foil the evil Mr. Curtain’s fiendish plot to (what else?) take over the world. The self-dubbed Mysterious Benedict Society has to draw on every bit of strength, cunning, and grit it can muster in this delightful adventure.

Our Take: Most kids love to read books starring child geniuses, and books about spies, and this entertaining mystery is sure to please. Though there are a few places where it seems to drag a bit, for the most part the plot is exciting, fresh, and unpredictable. Kids will love this book for the story and kooky, memorable characters. Parents and teachers will love it for the way it extols the importance of intelligence and moral values and teaches vocabulary. Some of the rich wordplay is embedded in the text, but some is explicit - and very palatably so. For example, when Kate confesses to Reynie that she doesn’t know the meaning of “ignominious,” she is offended by Reynie’s reply of “Shameful!” until he hastily explains that he was defining the word for her. The book is filled with humor, some of which is obvious and some more understated. The numerous puns were one of our favorite aspects of the novel; parents should be ready to point them out, as some may be too subtle for some kids to recognize immediately. The evil Mr. Curtain (whose first name is Ledroptha – fitting, since he hopes to “drop the curtain” on the world when he unleashes his devious plan) has set up shop on Nomansan Island (i.e. no man’s an island). One of Mr. Curtain’s henchmen is a huge, hapless youth named S.Q. Pedalian, who is just as tall as his sesquipedalian-eque name suggests, and who frequently uses long words, though often incorrectly. Constance’s last name, Contraire, highlights just how very contrary she can be. Throughout the book, we delighted in the way the four children learned from each other, absorbing both knowledge and important lessons about bravery, friendship, family, multiple intelligences, and teamwork. And readers will learn along with them as they turn each enjoyable page.

Adult themes: None

Good to Know: The Mysterious Benedict Society is the first of a four-part series. Young geniuses will also enjoy Mr. Benedict’s Book of Perplexing Puzzles, Elusive Enigmas, and Curious Conundrums. And what best-selling series would be complete without a webpage? Visit for more information about the books, their characters, and the author, as well as some brain-bending games.

Love The Giver? Read the Rest of the Quartet!

It’s hard to believe that most young people would not have been able to define “dystopia” ten years ago. Dystopian fiction is one of the hottest genres these days, with series like The Hunger Games, Divergent, Matched, Uglies, The Maze Runner (we could go on) flying off shelves – and, in many cases, onto movie screens. With this onslaught of new inductees to the world of young adult dystopian fiction, it’s easy to overlook one of the pioneers of the genre, Lois Lowry’s groundbreaking and award-winning novel The Giver. It was, and still is, a staple of the middle school language arts canon, and most adults in their mid-30’s on down have breathlessly turned its pages only to be haunted by its ambiguous ending. The Giver is one of the best-known and best-respected young adult books around. But did you know that it is the first in a four-part series?

The Giver Quartet is comprised of its famous and eponymous first installation, plus Gathering Blue, Messenger, and Son. Gathering Blue, written seven years after its predecessor, presents a new dystopian society very different from Jonas’s Community. Kira, the protagonist, lives in a village that lacks any kind of sophisticated technology. Its inhabitants have no machines and do everything by hand. It is still a culture that values the strong, however, if by default rather than by design as in the Community. Kira, born with a twisted leg, has only a slim chance for survival, but her remarkable gift for embroidery gives her a chance to save herself. There only the vaguest allusions to The Giver in Gathering Blue, and they come only at the very end, but the same themes are explored with writing that is just as gripping. And reading both is essential preparation for Messenger, which comes next. 

We’re loath to give too much about Messenger away, so we’ll share only sketchy details. Some familiar characters resurface in yet another settlement, located, as it turns out, in the same forest as Jonas’s Community and Kira’s village. Life in this third town is simple in many ways, but the technology and the culture are more sophisticated than in Kira’s village. The magical realism in The Giver, which plays a role in Gathering Blue, becomes more dominant in this book. Its hero, Matty, is one of our favorite characters in the series. As in the previous two novels, Lowry explores the dark side of human nature, though we’re happy to report that selflessness, humility, and love win the day.

Son, the fourth and final book, is the most sweeping novel in the Quartet. It begins back in the original Community and tells the story of Claire, a so-called birth mother who discovers many of the dark secrets we learned in The Giver and rebels against the Community. The reader learns before too long that she and Jonas are contemporaneous, and it is interesting to read the familiar events in The Giver from a different perspective. Like Jonas, Claire chooses to escape from the Community; her motivation, however, is not her own freedom but the desire to be reunited with her son, who was taken from her to be raised by others like all newborns in the Community. Again, the reader is reunited with familiar characters, and the conclusion of Claire’s adventures and travels provides a satisfying ending for both the book and the whole series.

One great thing about The Giver Quartet is that it’s appropriate for younger readers. Due to dark themes, violence, and more complex language, series like Divergent and The Hunger Games are best for slightly older kids. The Giver, while anything but simple, is accessible to the average fifth or sixth grader. We enthusiastically recommend the whole series to young readers, particularly to those who have been on tenterhooks since they finished The Giver.

Recommended Reads: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green*

Ages: High school

Plot: Adolescence is confusing. Young love is complicated. Hazel, our protagonist, is more intimately knowledgeable about these truths than most teenagers, as a sixteen-year-old with terminal cancer. A last-minute experiment with a new drug is temporarily holding her cancer at bay, but there is no question that she is living on borrowed time. Hazel is constantly accompanied by a cylinder of oxygen. This makes her unusual. But her relationship with Augustus, an irrepressible boy she meets at a cancer support group when he tags along with a friend, leaves her thrilled, dazed, insecure, and giddy. In other words, she’s also just about as normal as they come. The budding love between Hazel and Augustus is, naturally, doomed from the start. But they find wisdom and meaning and, ultimately, peace despite being impossibly star-crossed, and readers will walk away from the book feeling at once sober and joyful.

Our Take: John Green is one of the most admirable authors for young adults out there because he refuses to shy away from, or even water down, some of the biggest and toughest issues in life - not just life as a teenager, but capital-L-Life. Nowhere is this more apparent than in The Fault in Our Stars. A teenager with terminal cancer? Not featured in a sad side story but as the main character? Of a first-person novel? It doesn’t get much more blunt than that. Just as Green plows full steam ahead into territory that’s tough for adults to broach with kids – no matter that teenagers are talking and thinking about it anyway – he doesn’t hold back in making his books intelligent even though they are written for young people. In fact, maybe their intended audience is the very reason that Green’s books are so unabashedly authentic. We love the respect Green shows teenagers by writing books filled with references to Shakespeare and Dickinson (some identified and some subtle), witty characters, sophisticated vocabulary, and big, complicated, abstract ideas that kids will relish wrestling with. The Fault in Our Stars, as well as Green’s other novels, is the kind of book teens will think about. They’ll talk their friends about it. They’ll reread it, and it will guide them in a way that couldn’t be less pedantic or preachy toward the kind of introspection that teenagers aren’t exactly known for. We doubt that Green is even the smallest bit surprised at the sophisticated reactions his novels evoke in young readers, though. He clearly knows that they are more than capable.

To those worried that a book about the tragedy of a doomed teenager is exploitative or relies on shock value for its power, we simply say: Read it, and read it with an open mind. It’s a valid concern at the outset (one that concerned us, we admit, upon beginning The Fault in Our Stars), but this book is a valuable one both because of and in spite of Hazel’s bad luck.

Adult Content: Green refuses to condescend to young readers by skirting the sensitive topics that play roles in their lives, even if those topics make adults squirm. There is sex in this book (it is not gratuitous, and distracted readers might well miss it), Hazel drinks champagne in one scene, and there is some colorful language. Don’t be shocked. Your high school student won’t be.

*the author of Looking for Alaska, which we recently reviewed

Recommended Reads: Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli

Note to our readers: As we continue our occasional Friday posts from our Recommended Reads series, we want to remind you that you can search our blog for other recommendations and reviews. Just scroll down the list of "tags" on the right hand side of this page and click on "Recommended Reads."

Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli

Ages: A sixth grader could read this book easily, but it will be interesting also to high school students. (See “Our Take” below)

Plot: Stargirl makes a splash the moment she shows up at Leo’s high school on her first day of tenth grade. The student body crackles with gossip about this strange new girl. They’ve never seen anyone like her. Stargirl was home schooled, and this is her first foray into the traditional education system. She wears outlandish clothes and carries her pet rat Cinnamon around in her bag. She sings to each student on their birthdays, whether or not she’s ever spoken to them before, accompanying herself on her ukulele. She says outrageous things in class and hands out cookies, just because. The students are suspicious at first, then disparaging, but then they grow to admire Stargirl and her antics. But her habit of cheering for both teams when she is recruited for the cheerleading squad turns many against her, and soon, Stargirl is hated by nearly every confused student at her school. Leo, who has been watching from the sidelines for months, finds himself falling for Stargirl, and is pulled into the middle of an ugly battle royal. But can it really be called a battle when cheerful Stargirl seems oblivious to the other students’ ire? Leo, however, whose outlook is more conventional, has an agonizing choice to make: Will he side with the fun-loving, brilliant, free-spirited Stargirl and remain an outcast, or abandon her to rejoin the comfortable ranks of his peers?

Our Take: Spinelli, the genius who brought us the classic Maniac Magee, is equally deft in spinning this unforgettable tale of a free spirit caught in the maelstrom of conformist high school life. Much as we loved Stargirl, at times we felt confusion and frustration at her antics, as Leo must have, wondering why she couldn’t just tone it down a bit to fit in. By the end, however, we were a bit ashamed of ourselves (again, like Leo) for wishing that Stargirl would ever be anything but her inimitable self. This is an excellent book for exploring the themes of individuality and group mentality. The hostility and anger that Stargirl’s kindness brings out in her new classmates is breathtaking, and savvy adults will be able to find plenty of real-world examples of resentment aimed at people or groups who are “different” to share with the kids who read this book.

Stargirl is a particularly excellent choice for high school students who struggle with reading. The writing is simple enough to make it an early middle school-level read, but its protagonists are sophomores and juniors, so high school students won’t feel as though they’re reading “dumbed down” material. It's a great example of the kind of  "high interest-low readability" book we've written about before.

Adult Content: None

Good to Know: Good news to those who fall in love with Stargirl: A sequel, Love, Stargirl, is available, as is a Stargirl journal for recording your own wild ideas.

Recommended Reads: Code Name Verity

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

Ages: High school – will likely appeal more to girls at first blush, though boys will be intrigued once they get past the fact that both protagonists are female

Awards: Listed as a Michael L. Printz Honor Book, shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal, and winner of both the Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Young Adult Novel and the Golden Kite Honor.

Plot: We’ll just come out and say it: this synopsis isn’t going to be satisfying. That’s because it is critical to give as little as possible about the plot of Code Name Verity away. So what to say? It seems safe to reveal that this is a novel about friendship, more specifically the friendship that blooms between a Scottish girl and an English girl who meet while both are serving Britain during World War II. The Scot is a spy and her best friend is a pilot, both pressed into incredible acts of bravery almost daily in the fight against the Nazi forces. The surprises just keep coming in this book. There is heartbreak, anguish, and cruelty, and there is also humor, warmth, and love. We really can’t give anything else away. Sorry. You’ll just have to trust us, or, failing that, the book’s numerous accolades (see above).

Our Take: Know that this is a heavy book. Some of the scenes are downright harrowing, as it’s difficult to watch characters you love – and love them you will – enduring the ruthless cruelty of war. A further argument that this book is not for everyone is the complexity of its format and plot; the deviously clever surprises that will delight proficient readers will stump those who are less able, making this book a frustrating, rather than breath-taking, mission. Let it be breath-taking. Don’t give it to students until they’ve got the emotional and literary wherewithal to handle it. It’s worth the wait, and they’ll thank you for holding out. Both protagonists are developed admirably, but Julie, the irrepressible Scottish spy, is particularly top-notch, the kind of character that will cause major devastation when you come up for air after a stint of reading and realize that, because she is fictional, you’ll never get to meet her. Parents may wish to read this book before, or alongside, their teenagers, both because it will be fun to discuss the unexpected twists and turns, and simply because it is wonderful.

Adult Content: The wartime setting of this book makes for some gruesome references to violence, but they’re not described in too much detail.

Recommended Reads: Where Things Come Back

Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley

Grades: The content is easy to read, but younger readers may miss the depth of this book. We recommend it to emotionally mature 8th graders and up.

Awards: Printz Award, Morris Debut Award

Plot: Where Things Come Back contains two interlocking story lines that seem unrelated initially but connect powerfully by the end. One is the story of Cullen, who has just finished his junior year of high school in tiny Lily, Arkansas. His summer is an especially tumultuous one: addition to facing the hallmark social and romantic trials of a teenager, he must cope with his cousin’s drug-induced death and then his adored younger brother’s sudden disappearance. While Cullen is obsessed with finding his brother, his town is obsessed with the alleged sighting of the largest woodpecker in existence, previously thought to be extinct. The aptly named Lazarus woodpecker seems unrelated to Cullen’s story, but readers should keep an eye on this important symbol. The second story line begins with eighteen-year-old Benton’s sudden recall from his religious mission in Ethiopia, which results in his revered father’s anger and shame. Cullen and Benton never meet, but each inadvertently sets off a series of actions that will collide and permanently alter the lives of those around them. This novel is equal parts dark humor and heartbreak, but it ends with an unambiguous rush of warmth and joy. Young readers will finish the book quickly but find themselves pondering its meaning for a long time.

Adult Content: Seventeen-year-old Cullen, the protagonist, is sexually active, and frequent references are made to his sexual encounters with girls, though none are described in any detail. The sexual content of the book won’t be objectionable to most parents, but some might want to skim it first if they’re worried. The book also contains some profanity—on par with a PG-13-rated movie, or so—and there are references to drugs in the beginning of the book, though since Cullen’s cousin dies of an overdose, it’s safe to say that drug use is not glorified.

Our Take: Where Things Come Back is brimming with profound symbolism, and there is a richness to its multitude of themes that would make it a great starting point for innumerable discussions about topics as varied as family, friendship, grief, fame, hope, religion, expectation versus reality, coping, imagination, conformity versus individuality, redemption, forgiveness, destiny, and love. We were intrigued not only by the richness of the individual characters, but of their relationships to each other and their surroundings.

While we recommend this book, it’s important to point out that struggling readers might have a tough time with it. Although the language is not overly complicated, the plot can be tricky to follow. Benton’s story begins, chronologically, several years before Cullen’s narrative, though the two stories are told side by side. Making two timelines, one for each story line, and filling them in as the book progresses, will help. Another thing that makes this book tough for weaker readers is Cullen’s imagination. He is frequently lost in his own fantasies, which are shared in vivid detail and begin with little warning. Most of them tend to turn out involving zombie takeovers or talking woodpeckers, but before the absurdity sets in, the tone is so similar to the tone of the rest of Cullen’s chapters that some readers may find it difficult to tell the difference between Cullen’s daydreams and his reality.

Hip-Hop and Shakespeare: Best Friends? Yes, According to MC Lars

When you catch your teenager nodding in time to his headphones, don’t accuse him of shirking his English homework. If he’s listening to MC Lars, chances are he may be diligently contemplating themes in Moby Dick. Don’t believe us? Visit Lars’s homepage. The first thing you’ll notice is a cartoon drawing of Edgar Allan Poe (and his trusty raven, of course). MC Lars’s popularity, mostly outside of classrooms, is proof that intellect and hip-hop are not mutually exclusive. In fact, they can go together as well as his well-crafted lyrics pair with his infectious beats.

When MC Lars was sixteen and a self-described geeky white guy, he starred in his first hip hop performance. Back then, of course, he was known as Andrew Nielson, and his audience was made up not of dancing club go-ers but his teachers and classmates at an assembly at his high school. Nielson’s class had been assigned to write a parody of Macbeth, and, intrigued by the rhythmic witches’ chant, he wrote some lyrics and laid them over a self-made house beat. “Rapbeth” was the first hip-hop performance of Nielson’s career, though it was a while before MC Lars made it big. He had to graduate from Stanford first, where he majored in 19th century American literature but also spent hours in Stanford’s campus radio station poring over their hip-hop vinyl collection.

Lars’s tracks are catchy, often humorous, and always smart. They’re also family-friendly; though songs like “Hey There Ophelia” may leave younger kids unschooled in Hamlet scratching their heads, rest assured that his lyrics are never offensive. Lars has written about topics as diverse as the absurdity of airport security, the self-defeatism of some environmentalists, and the baffling nature of hipsters and of emo music. But as educators, we admit that we’re partial to his more scholarly tracks about things like manifest destiny, the metric system, Harper’s Ferry, and, of course, literature.

MC Lars loves showing audiences how hip-hop and literature really aren’t strange bedfellows. He’s done seminars on the topic and even gave a Tedx Talk at USC on the topic. Currently, he’s working on a book on the history of hip-hop culture. He’s also putting together a pilot for an educational hip-hop TV show for children, and does educational hip-hop outreach work (did you know there was such a thing?) with various historical organizations to raise awareness and preserve American literary history.

Eager for a taste? MC Lars shares lots of his videos freely; “Ahab,”  a hip-hop retelling of Moby Dick by Ahab himself is one of our favorites. (Some of our favorite lyrics include “The first one to spot him gets this gold doubloon / Now excuse me while I go be melancholy in my room,” and “He charged the boat, and it began to sink / I’m like, ‘How about that? Hubris really stinks.’”) And we love “Flow Like Poe”  off of his most recent album, The Edgar Allan Poe EP. Though MC Lars plays at venues and concerts around the world, this track premiered at the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards in 2012. 

So hip-hop-wary parents: Let your kids listen to MC Lars. He’s a living, breathing, rapping embodiment of the way passion and creativity can revolutionize education.

Recommended Reads: Divergent by Veronica Roth

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Ages: Teen and young adult                                                  

Sequels: Divergent is the first in a trilogy. Look for Insurgent and Allegiant once your teenager whips through this first installment.

Plot: Sixteen-year-old Beatrice lives in dystopian Chicago, a world of absolutes. After undergoing an aptitude test to determine which of five traits they possess, all sixteen-year-olds must choose the faction (i.e. social group) to which they will devote the rest of their lives. Their choice can be based on the trait they’ve been shown to have, or the trait they most wish to cultivate. Beatrice grew up in Abnegation, the faction chosen by people dedicated to selflessness and charity. Her aptitude test reveals that she is an aberration, however, meaning that she displays equal aptitude for more than one trait. Beatrice’s tester, alarmed, warns her that if anyone finds out that she is divergent, she is as good as dead. (Sounds a bit dramatic, but the reasons are explained later.) 

Resolved to hide this fact, Beatrice enters the choosing ceremony still torn between factions. Knowing that she has qualities of both Abnegation and Dauntless (the brave faction), which should she select? She surprises everyone by pledging herself to Dauntless in a last-minute decision and begins a highly competitive, brutal initiation process that only a fraction of the candidates will pass and some will not survive. Beatrice invents a new identity, changing her name to Tris and adopting a new wardrobe, style, and attitude in attempts to leave her past behind her. Tris learns to use weapons and fight, but also to take risks and face her fears. And, of course, she falls for one of her instructors, a slightly older Dauntless named Four. Just when it seems that Tris will finally triumph over the initiation and those who wish her harm, she stumbles upon a sinister plot hatched by the leaders of the Erudite faction, domain of those who prize intellect and learning above all else. Tris must put her life on the line and fight to save her family, her friends, and her whole world.

Adult themes: Some mild sexual references and themes of violence

Our Take: Divergent is the first book of yet another dystopian trilogy. But it is an unquestionably engrossing read that fans of books like The Hunger Games and Uglies will devour. The premise is intriguing and most of the characters are reasonably well developed. The book’s strongest asset, though, is its page-turning plot, which will feel compelling even to those who have read many books of this genre before. It’s predictable in some places but there are still a few surprises here. Young readers will enjoy exploring themes like control, fear, bravery, individuality, loyalty, and strength of all sorts with Tris’s story.

Good to Know: Divergent will hit big screens in March of 2014, with Kate Winslet in the role of primary antagonist Jeanine. Watch a trailer here.

Recommended Reads: The First Part Last

The First Part Last by Angela Johnson

Grades: 7 and up

Awards: Printz Award, Coretta Scott King Award

Plot: Sixteen-year-old Bobby tells his story in an unconventional way. Sections are titled either “then” or “now,” to show how he simultaneously copes with his challenging reality and reflects on the events that led him to his current situation. And Bobby’s situation is a tough one indeed: he is raising his infant daughter alone. Bobby’s memories of learning that his girlfriend Nia was pregnant, being advised by everyone to put the baby up for adoption, and trying to wrap his head around the idea of a baby are interspersed with his new reality of caring for baby Feather. His parents, loving but disgusted with his choices, have made it clear that it is up to him to take care of the baby, and he struggles to finish high school while coordinating her care. A twist near the end reveals why Nia is no longer a part of his life (we won’t give it away), and the book ends as Bobby finally gains a sense of clarity about his new role.

Adult Themes: Surprisingly few, given that this is a book about teen pregnancy and parenthood. Occasionally there is language that some may find objectionable, however.

Our Take: Few novels for young people explore the realities of teen parenthood, and fewer still do so from the perspective of a teen father. This theme coupled with The First Part Last’s unconventional layout makes this novel an unforgettable book. Johnson’s writing style is simple and poetic. Most characters are well developed, and she is able to convey a visceral sense of Bobby’s fatigue and confusion, but also of his wonder at his daughter and the aching love he feels for her. And don’t worry – Bobby is in awe of little Feather alright, but The First Part Last in no way glorifies teen parenting. Bobby’s confusion, heartache, isolation, and exhaustion ring loud and clear from virtually every page of this book.

While we think The First Part Last would be a great book for any adolescent, it’s a particularly good choice for at-risk readers for several reasons. For one, the story itself is compelling and the characters are relatable. Also, the text is arranged in short paragraphs and even individual sentences that form their own paragraphs, so the pages are appealingly sparse; there are no intimidating dense blocks of text here. While the reading feels accessible, some readers may need a bit of support while they get used to the interspersed plot lines. We highly recommend this book. Its simplicity allows even struggling students to get through it, and its complexity ensures that the story will stick with them long after they finish it.

A History of Young Adult Literature

Recently, we enjoyed reading a chronology of young adult literature by CNN's Ashley Strickland that was full of both facts and insights. Some highlights:

Photo: (Duncan) via Flickr, modified

• 16- to 29-year-olds check out more books from libraries than any other age group.

• The first book considered to be written specifically for teenagers, Seventeenth Summer by Maureen Daly, hit the shelves in 1942.

• In the early days, most books for young adults centered around two themes: sports (for boys) and romance (for girls). This changed in 1967 with S. E. Hinton’s gritty classic The Outsiders, which provided teens with a less rosy, more dramatic and realistic story.

• Through the 1980s and most of the 1990s, most books for adolescents covered the joys and pains of adolescence (romance, heartbreak, divorce, drug abuse, fitting in, being misunderstood, finding one’s place) in similar ways. All that changed when Harry Potter flew onto the scene in 1997, opening the door for more fantasy like the Twilight series. 

This seems to be the era of dystopian novels. Lois Lowry’s The Giver is probably the best-known early offering in this genre, though it came out in 1993 and didn't inspire too many imitators – at least, not right away. Now, however, series like The Hunger Games, Divergent, Maze Runner, and Uglies are flying off the shelves. What is it about this style that young people find so appealing? Perhaps it’s the genre’s ability to blend the fantastic with the realistic. CNN's Strickland postulates that young people prefer books that feel “real,” and dystopian novels can capture the imagination while still presenting characters and situations that feel relatable.

The article also states that theme of transformation and change will always be a hallmark of successful young adult books because it reflects the issues teens confront in their own lives. Young people, it seems, can find comfort in the chronicles of characters also struggling to navigate their changing landscapes. Despite the dark themes in many young adult books, nearly all of the heroes emerge victorious in the end, if somewhat battle-scarred by their journeys. These triumphs, perhaps, give young people confidence that they, too, can be successful.

We’re thrilled that teenagers have so many appealing books to choose from. We’re also happy that so many of them star bold, admirable female heroes. In fact, though there are certainly plenty of new books more likely to appeal only to girls or to boys, an increasing number of novels seem to be equally popular with both genders. We love this unifying trend in literature – the line between men and women’s roles in our culture is becoming increasingly blurred, and it seems appropriate that books are echoing this drift.

Engaging adolescents with compelling young adult literature is a wonderful way to cultivate a love of reading that will last into adulthood. And studies show that reading widely and frequently improves vocabulary, builds background knowledge, enhances empathy, and exercises higher thinking skills. There has never been a better time to be a reading teen!