Kakapo Rescue: Saving the World's Strangest Parrot by Sy Montgomery & Nic Bishop

Robert F. Sibert Medal 2011 Winner

Age Range:  3rd-6th grade

This book has amazing photos by Nic Bishop.  This is a touching story about the effort to save the Kakapo parrots of New Zealand.  The author ,Sy Montgomery, and the photographer, Nic Bishop were given ten days to follow the scientists, volunteers, and doctors that are all a part of the rescue effort for these parrots.  Only 87 of these birds exist today.  They are located off of a small island off the coast of New Zealand, called Codfish Island.  After these birds were nearly extinct, they were moved there for safety.  A team monitors, feeds, and cares for the new born babies all in an effort to keep these birds from extinction.  This book is well deserving of the Sibert Medal.  I'm excited that I just bought two new copies to add to our school library.  I can't wait to share this with the students. 

The Hallelujah Flight by Phil Bildner

Texas Bluebonnet 2011-2012 Nominee Book

Age Range:  K-3rd grade

Here is a Photo Story that I made about this book.  The images used are from this book that was illustrated by John Holyfield. 

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

2011 TAYSHAS Reading List Book

Age Range:  Young Adult

I loved this book!  The book has a main character, Grace, who was attacked by wolves when she was young.  A certain wolf with yellow eyes stops the attack and saves her life.  Grace feels a bond with the wolves and is constantly watching for "her wolf" to appear in the woods behind her house.  This wolf appears throughout the winter months and watches over her, but disappears during the warmer summer months.  When Grace is 17 she meets Sam for the first time after he has been shot by a group of hunters.  He transforms from a wolf into Sam.  Grace falls in love with the human Sam as she finds out more about his life as a wolf and his past as a human.  Throughout the book, Sam and Grace cling to their time together and Sam constantly fights to remain human as the weather starts to turn colder.  Isabel and her brother Jack, come up with a possible cure to turn the werewolves back into humans permanently.  Isabel draws 3 viles of blood from a patient with meningitis with the hopes of bringing on a fever after it is injected.  Will this injection save Sam?  I hoped throughout the book that Sam and Grace will get their happy ending.

Here is a book trailer by Scholastic Teens for Shiver:

Alex Van Helsing Vampire Rising by Jason Henderson

2011 Texas Lone Star Reading List Book

Age Range:  Young Adult

This is a great action packed book that boys will love!  The main character, Alex, is 14 years old and sent to the Glenarvon Academy in Switzerland after getting kicked out of his last school. He is a Van Helsing, but has no idea about his family history of being vampire fighters.  On one of his first nights at the academy, he goes for a walk and runs into a vampire.  After a battle, he ends up killing her.  He begins to feel a static in his head that gives him a warning that danger is near.  It takes him a while to accept what is happening to him.  Two of his friends get kidnapped by the vampires.  They have a school under Lake Geneva.  The head vampire, Icemaker, wants to use them as a sacrifice.  Alex reveals the secret society that his teacher, Sangster, is involved in.  He also learns about his family history.  This book is action packed as Alex enters the vampire school, Scholmance, to try to rescue his friends.  They battle vampires along the way.  The ending definitely sets the scene for a second book about Alex.

Revolver by Marcus Sedgwick

Michael L. Printz Honor Book

Age Range:  Young Adult

Revolver begins with Sig's father dying on the ice near their home.  This novel is set back in 1910, but flashes back to 10 years earlier--1899 in Nome.  Shortly after Sig's father dies, a stranger from his past finds the family cabin.  Sig's father and the man, Wolff, had a deal from ten years ago.  Sig's father was supposed to hide gold away from his job and give part of it to Wolff.  All of a sudden, Sig's family disappears and Wolff can not find them.  Wolff spends the next ten years of his life tracking down Sig's family.  The flashes back to 1899 describe the gold that people are so desperately trying to find and the relationship between Sig's family and Wolff.  The book also centers around the revolver that is hidden in the family that was a gift from Sig's father to him.  Wolff demands that Sig tell him where his father has hidden the gold that he stole from him.  Sig's family has survived over the years in poverty and Sig knows nothing about the gold.  Throughout the book Sig contemplates if he can get to the revolver and use it on Wolff.  I enjoyed the twist at the end of the book.  The book also makes you wonder if there really ever was any gold.  The ending, years later, is perfect and reveals the answers about the gold.

The Wordle that I created about this book:

Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi

Michael L. Printz 2011 Award Winner

Age Range:  Young Adult

This was a wonderful, fast-moving, science fiction novel.  The entire book is action packed and you want to root for Nailer, the main character, the entire book.  The book is set in the future, on the Gulf Coast.  Cities like New Orleans have been destroyed by category 6 hurricanes.  Many people are left to make their living by scavenging old oil tankers for any copper or parts they can find--they are ship breakers.  Nailer works on the light crew and scavenges for copper.  After a horrible hurricane, Nailer and Pima find a ship that has been destroyed.  They think they have made a great scavenge, when they find Nita, a young-very rich girl that has survived the storm.  Nailer decides to keep her alive.  To escape Nailer's horrible father and his crew, they flee to Orleans by train hopping.  Nita tries to make it back to her people and is on the constant look-out for her own ships.  The ending is even more action-packed than the beginning of the book.  I loved the way things turn out for Nailer and his real family.

Ballet for Martha: Making Appalachian Spring by Jan Greenberg & Sandra Jordan

Robert F. Sibert Medal 2011 Winner

Age Range:  Grades 3-6

This book is a wonderful informational book about the famous ballet, Appalachian Spring, created by Martha Graham, Aaron Copland, and Isamu Noguchi.  This book walks the reader through the entire process that goes into creating a ballet.  It takes the hard work of the dancers, the composer, and the set designer to make a ballet.  Martha's ballet tells the story of American living.  The ballet was first performed in Washington, D.C. on October 30, 1944.  The ballet was a huge success that has been performed by other dancers for years following.  The illustrations in the book are water colored and help tell about the making of this ballet. 

One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia

Coretta Scott King 2011 Award Winner

Age Range:  Grades 5-8

Click this link to hear the VoiceThread that I made about this book:
http://voicethread.com/share/1736068/

A Sick Day for Amos McGee by Philip C. Stead

Caldecott Medal Winner 2011

Age Range:  K-3rd grade

This is a touching book about the bond between Amos and the zoo animals.  Amos works at the zoo and helps the animals in many different ways.  He plays chess with the elephant, sits with the penguin, and helps the rhinoceros with his runny nose.  When Amos doesn't show up to the zoo one day because he is sick, the animals visit him.  They do nice things for him in return. The illustrations are what make this book---a well deserving Caldecott winner.  They are drawn with pencil and give each of the animals and Amos real emotions on their faces.  You can feel the friendship between them through the illustrations.  I can't wait to share this book with students!

How to Survive Middle School by Donna Gephart

2011 Texas Lone Star Reading List Book

Age Range:  grades 5-8

This book made me laugh and cry!  It also reminded me that I would never want to have to survive the middle school years again.  This book begins with the main character, David Greenberg, beginning his summer vacation before he starts middle school.  He is excited to spend his summer with his best friend, Elliot.  To his surprise, Elliot has become girl crazy and wants to spend the summer going to the mall to watch the girls.  At the end of the summer, David and Elliot have a falling out and are no longer best friends.  David begins middle school on a prank and wears a shirt that does not go with the school's dress code.  Elliot has teamed up with an 8th grader, Tommy Murphy, and they try to make David's life miserable.  David meets Sophie in his math class and they become friends.  David finally begins to understand why Elliot acted the way he did over the summer. 

David creates his own videos and posts them on You Tube.  His videos always mention The Daily Show, David's Top Six and a Half, and his hamster, Hammy.  Sophie passes his video's along to her homeschool network and David's videos start to get a lot of attention.  While his life at home is going great, his life at school is awful.  He eats lunch by himself, is constantly picked on by Tommy, and endures his first "swirly".  In the end he gets a nice surprise about his video and begins to come to terms with his mom and why she left them.  Great book told from a boys perspective!

Turtle in Paradise by Jennifer L. Holm

John Newbery Medal Honor Book & 2011-2012 Texas Bluebonnet Nominee

Age Range:  Grades 3-6

I was so excited to read my first Bluebonnet nominated book for the 2011-2012 list.  I run a Bluebonnet Program in my library and couldn't wait to get started on the books for this next year.  I finished this entire book in one night!  This book begins with Turtle headed to Key West to move in with her Aunt.  Turtle's mom is a housekeeper and her current employer does not like children.  Turtle's mom, Sadiebelle, is a dreamer and has had one failed relationship after another.  When Turtle arrives at her Aunt's house, she was an unexpected surprise.  She meets her three boy cousins and does not get a very nice welcoming into their home.  Beans is the head of the Diaper Gang, where a group of boys babysit local babies and receive candy in return.  They also hold the key to a great diaper rash cream that they refuse to share the recipe to.  Turtle tags along with them, but is not allowed to be part of the group since she is a girl.  Turtle meets many other residents, whom many of them she is related to.  She accidentally meets her grandmother (who she thought was dead), Nana Philly. After many visits, they form a bond with one another.  This book contains lots of adventure and even a treasure hunt.  Most importantly, Turtle discovers where she really belongs. I really enjoyed the surprise twist to the ending.