Hey, Kiddo

Bibliography

Krosoczka, J. J. (2018). Hey, kiddo. Graphix.

Plot Summary

Hey, Kiddo is a graphic memoir of Jarret Krosoczka’s life growing up in Worcester, MA. We learn about the circumstances that surround Jarret’s birth and how he comes to live with his grandparents. We learn about Leslie’s, Jarret’s mother, problems with addiction and how it affects Jarret as he grows up. We follow Jarret as he faces difficulties in his life and how he leans of his family to help him deal with those difficulties. 

Critical Analysis

Krosoczka’s Hey, Kiddo is a graphic novel that allows the writer to literally paint a picture of each character. We are able to see as Jarrett ages and the feelings on his face. As we follow Jarrett’s story we see the themes of love, loss, parental responsibility, resilience, finding purpose, and creativity. It is easy to readers to relate to the characters in this book because it is an autobiography in graphic novel form. The book also includes an author’s note and notes about the art in the book.

Review Excerpts

From Booklist Online:

“There have been a slew of graphic memoirs published for youth in the past couple of years, but the raw, confessional quality and unguarded honesty of Krosoczka’s contribution sets it apart from the crowd.” -Sarah Hunter

From Kirkus Reviews:

“Krosoczka as an author generously and lovingly shows his flawed family members striving to do the best they can even as Krosoczka the character clearly aches for more. Honest, important, and timely.”

Awards and Honors

2019 Harvey Awards, Book of the Year

National Book Award Finalist

Boston Globe-Horn Book Award Honor

New York Times Notable Children's Books of 2018

Connections

Books that are similar to this one include:

• Home After Dark by David Small

• The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui

• Picture Us in the Light by Kelly Loy Gilbert

• Darius Great is Not Okay by Adib Khorram

Students can compare the protagonists of each story. Students can also use the stories to discuss how the characters face some of the same challenges that young adults face in society today.

 

The Girl Who Drank the Moon

Bibliography

Barnhill, K. (2016). The girl who drank the moon (Winner of the 2017 Newbery medal). Algonquin Books.

Plot Summary

Luna, Barnhill’s female protagonist, is one of many babies sacrificed to the witch of the forest by the townspeople of Protectorate.The townspeople believe that the sacrifice is necessary to keep their town safe from the witch. Little do they know, Xan the witch is a gentle soul who rescues babies and helps them get adopted. While in Xan’s care, Luna is accidentally fed moonlight instead of starlight. The blunder leaves Luna “enmagicked.” The blunder also leads Xan to decide to raise Luna herself. Luna and Xan form a family unit with Glerk, a wizened old swamp monster, and Fyrian, a Perfectly Tiny Dragon. The foursome deal with Luna’s ever growing magical abilities and the townspeople, one of whom decides to kill the witch to save the town. 

Critical Analysis

Barnhill creates a land of enchantment where babies are sacrificed and dragons and monsters are normal. Luna learns to find her inner strength through the novel’s themes of standing up for what is right and families can be any group of people who share love for each other. While Barnhill’s fairy tale entertains readers, it also teaches about corruption, oppression, and selfishness. Each chapter changes in narrator and perspective which makes it important for readers to pay attention to the language as it changes with the characters.

Review Excerpts

From Booklist online:

“Barnhill’s latest, told in omniscient point of view, is rich with multiple plotlines that culminate in a suspenseful climax, characters of inspiring integrity (as well as characters without any), a world with elements of both whimsy and treachery, and prose that melds into poetry. A sure bet for anyone who enjoys a truly fantastic story.”— Michelle Young

From Kirkus Reviews:

“Replete with traditional motifs, this nontraditional fairy tale boasts sinister and endearing characters, magical elements, strong storytelling, and unleashed forces. Luna has black eyes, curly, black hair, and “amber” skin.

Guaranteed to enchant, enthrall, and enmagick.”

Awards and Honors

Winner of the 2017 Newbery Medal

The New York Times Bestseller

An Entertainment Weekly Best Middle Grade Book of 2016

A New York Public Library Best Book of 2016

A Chicago Public Library Best Book of 2016

An Amazon Top 20 Best Book of 2016

A Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2016

A School Library Journal Best Book of 2016

Named to KirkusReviews' Best Books of 2016

2017 Booklist Youth Editors' Choice

Connections

This book would make a great piece for a school book club. Readers will be able to share how they would feel or what they would do as situations arise. It also allows for reflection on relationships, family dynamics, morality, and choices and consequences.

 

The Fault in Our Stars

Bibliography

Green, J. (2014). The fault in our stars. Penguin Books.

Plot Summary

The Fault in Our Stars follows Hazel Grace, a teenage girl diagnosed with Thyroid cancer. Hazel makes an instant connection when she meets Augustus at a cancer support group. We follow Hazel and Gus as they use his Wish to take her to Amsterdam in search of her favorite author. We eventually learn that Gus has been hiding something from Hazel. While she was determined not to fall in love, she soon learns that loving someone is worth it, even if it doesn’t end the way we hope.

Critical Analysis

Green’s Fault in Our Stars introduces themes such as, love, grief, loss, and pain to today’s society. The main characters are accurate depictions of today’s young people. Hazel has a strong personality that is present throughout the book. We follow their story through Hazel’s perspective. Throughout the book, we find recurring metaphors. Water is symbolic of death and the stars are symbolic of hope. Green’s writing allows readers to feel or imagine what it is like to have cancer. We are able to empathize with the main characters through Green’s words.

Review Excerpts

From Booklist online:

“Beautifully conceived and executed, this story artfully examines the largest possible considerations—life, love, and death—with sensitivity, intelligence, honesty, and integrity. In the process, Green shows his readers what it is like to live with cancer, sometimes no more than a breath or a heartbeat away from death. But it is life that Green spiritedly celebrates here, even while acknowledging its pain. In its every aspect, this novel is a triumph.” -Michael Cart

From Kirkus Reviews:

“Green seamlessly bridges the gap between the present and the existential, and readers will need more than one box of tissues to make it through Hazel and Gus’ poignant journey.”

Awards and Honors

TIME Magazine’s #1 Fiction Book of 2012

#1 New York Times bestseller

#1 Wall Street Journal bestseller

#1 Indie bestseller

#1 USA Today Bestseller

#1 International Bestseller

Connections

Educators can use this book as a way for students to make connections between the main characters and themselves. Students can also make connections with the experiences that the main characters are facing.

 

Rodzina

Bibliography

Cushman, K. (2003). Rodzina. Yearling.

Plot Summary

Rodzina Cara Jadwiga Anastazya Brodski is a twelve-year-old Polish girl plucked from the streets of Chicago and put in an orphanage. Rodzina was living on the streets after her parents passed away and she had nowhere else to go. Rodzina, along with many other orphans, is put on a train heading out West. The orphans are told that they are very fortunate to have the opportunity to travel west as they will be placed in safe, nice homes. Rodzina is quite skeptical as she has been told differently by another orphan. During her journey on the train, Rodzina is tasked with helping Miss Doctor care for the orphans on the train. She entertains the younger orphans with stories of her childhood and her family. After many stops, Rodzina is the only orphan left at the last stop but she is able to find a reason to hope for the life she had been yearning for.

Critical Analysis

Cushman tells this story through the eyes of protagonist Rodzina. Cushman’s research, as noted in the Author’s Note, allows readers to go back to a time when orphans were actually put on a train and sent out West in hopes of finding a permanent home. The conditions of the train and the conditions the children must endure while traveling are believable and appropriate for the time period making their struggle that much more convincing. While Miss Doctor and Mr. Szprot are stable characters throughout this story, it is Miss Doctor who will help Rodzina transition from the girl who believes that she is unlovable and unwanted to someone who has hopes and dreams for a better future.

 

Review Excerpts

From Booklist:

“At the heart of the story is the awkward relationship between the titular character and a distant and cold woman doctor. Baker captures the personalities of these two strong characters, who grow to depend on one another. Cushman reads the introduction and the afterword in this first-rate presentation.” -Brian Wilson

From Kirkus:

“The story is undemanding and engaging, rolling along with the journey, subtly letting readers into Rodzina’s memories of the home she once had and of her immigrant parents and her Polish heritage.”

Awards and Honors

• Booklinks Lasting Connections Selection

• Parents' Choice Gold Award

• Booklist Editor's Choice

• Child Magazine, Best Books of the Year

• Children's Book of the Month Club, Best Books

• ALA/Amelia Bloomer Project List

Connections

Additional books that can be used to discuss the orphan trains that operated from 1854-1929 include: 

• Orphan Train a novel by Christina Baker Kline

• Mail-Order Kid by Marilyn June Coffey

• Riders on the Orphan TrainBookCover by Alison Moore

• My Heart Remembers by Kim Vogel Sawyer

While researching connections for Rodzina I came upon the National Orphan Train Complex Museum & Research Center website (https://orphantraindepot.org/). The website offers a virtual tour as well as additional education aides. The website is filled with information that would allow anyone to find more information about the orphan trains.

 

Finding Langston

Bibliography

Cline-Ransome, L. (2018). Finding Langston. Holiday House.

Plot Summary

This story is about eleven-year-old Langston who moves from Alabama to Chicago with his father in 1946 following the death of his mother. Langston struggles with his new city, new school, and new way of life. The other children refer to him as “country boy.” Langston feels alone in the world until he finds solace in a place that had not been open to him before. In Alabama, libraries were for white’s only but in Chicago Langston is amazed to find that the local public library welcomes everyone. It’s in those stacks while he is hiding out that Langston finds comfort in the words of Langston Hughes. Langston then finds out, through letters written to his father from his mother, that his mother also found solace in the words of Hughes and named her only son after him.

Critical Analysis

Cline-Ransome’s first novel is set in the mid-1940s during the time of the Second Great Migration. She is able to detail conditions faced by African Americans in the South and the North post-World War II. Langston’s narrative voice allows readers to peek inside his heart and feel his sensitive nature as he dwells on the past and the trials he is currently facing. The chapters of this book are short which make this book a great introduction to historical fiction for young readers. 

Review Excerpts

From Booklist: 

“Every character, child and adult, is layered, a feat made more remarkable by the fact that the writing is spare. Emotions and relationships are teased out through quiet details and glimmers of understanding, but the impact on the reader could not be more powerful. A memorable debut novel.” -Ilene Cooper

From Kirkus:

“A fascinating work of historical fiction that showcases a well-developed, likable protagonist and presents Cline-Ransome at her best.”

Awards and Honors

• A Coretta Scott King Author Honor Book

• Winner of the Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction

Connections

This book can be paired with Langston Hughes’ poem “Mother to Son” as an introduction to poetry. Students can then write a poem titled “Father to Son” as they write about what they think Langston’s father might have said to him in the novel. 

This book can be used along with others as an introduction to the Harlem Renaissance. Other books to consider include:

• Harlem’s Little Blackbird by Renee Watson

• The Entrance Place of Wonders by Daphne Muse

• Poetry for Young People: Langston Hughes by David Roessel

• Harlem Stomp! by Laban Carrick Hill

 

Code Name Verity

Bibliography

Wein, E. E. (2012). Code name verity (M. Christie & L. Gaskell, Narr.). [Audible Audiobook] Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd.

Plot Summary

Code Name Verity tells the story of two young British women, Julia Beaufort-Stuart and Maddie Broddatt. Set during WWII, we follow the blossoming friendship of Julia, the intelligence agent, and Maddie, the pilot, through each protagonists’ own narrative. This work of historical fiction begins with Julia’s tale written as her confession to the Gestapo after her capture in Nazi-occupied France. Julia’s, or Queenie’s, confession moves between her first-person account of her treatment at the behest of Hauptsturmführer von Linden and her third-person account of Maddie and Queenie’s friendship and their foray into the male dominant war efforts of the time. Julia's verity, or truth, will leave you shaken. It is impossible to proceed with the plot summary without spilling the beans. Part 2 will leave you wondering, what would you do for your very best friend? (It was almost impossible or me to type the last line without shedding a tear.)

Critical Analysis

Elizabeth Wein’s words come to life through Morven Christie and Lucy Gaskell. Christie assumes the role of Julia Beaufort-Stuart and Gaskell as Maddie Broddatt. The unabridged audio version through Audible download is crisp and clear. The audiobook ends with the Author’s Debriefing discussing her search for authenticity as she wrote the book. Christie’s and Gaskell’s readings are engaging and allow you to picture the female protagonists. 

While I listened to the book in its entirety, I also purchased a copy. The paperback copy allows readers to see the underlined code that Wein reveals about Julia’s confession. The characters are likeable and believable. It is easy to get wrapped up in the words and imagine being in England and flying planes. The story is seamless and allows even people with little knowledge about WWII (like myself) to imagine what was happening at that time and how people were affected in Europe. The themes of friendship, loyalty, heroism and bravery are felt through the emotions of the characters and the trials they face.

Review Excerpts

From Booklist:

“But the writing is so superb and both readers so seamless in their deliveries that teens should quickly become engrossed in this amazing historical fiction.” -Shari Fesko

From Kirkus:

“A carefully researched, precisely written tour de force; unforgettable and wrenching.”

Awards and Honors

• UK Literacy Association Award, 2013

• Edgar Award, 2013

• Shortlisted for the 2013 CILIP Carnegie Award

• Printz Honor Book, 2013

• Boston Globe/Horn Book Award Honor Book, 2012

• Golden Kite Award Honor Book, 2013

• Shortlisted for the Scottish Children’s Book Award, 2013

• 2013 Catalyst Book Award (East Lanarkshire County Council, Scotland)

Connections

This book could be used to discuss the value of friendship. How do friends treat each other? How do friends support each other? How do students’ friendships compare to the friendship between Julie and Maddie? What would you be willing to do for your friend?

Additional books about women’s courage during wartime can be collected to discuss their roles. What roles did women take during wartime? How were their roles different from the roles that they had before wartime? Additional books could include:

• Girl in the Blue Coat by Monica Hesse

• Flygirl by Sherri Smith

• Code Name Lise: The true story of the woman who became WWII’s most highly decorated spy by Larry Loftis