The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

Alexie, Sherman. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. Illustrated by Ellen Forney. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2009. 288 pages. pap. $8.99. ISBN 978-0-316-01369-7.

Alexie, Sherman. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. Narrated by Sherman Alexie. Recorded Books, LLC, 2008. CD. 5 hours. $46.75. ISBN 978-1-428-18297-4.

Annotation: A teenage boy wants to develop the courage to leave his Spokane Indian Reservation so he has a chance at pursuing his dreams.

Summary: Arnold Spirit, better known as Junior, is a teenager on a Spokane Indian Reservation. He is intellectually gifted but physically impaired due to being a hydrocephalic. He is a cartoonist who can more easily communicate with art than with words. He knows that in order for him to pursue his dreams he will need to leave the Indian Reservation because of the poverty and hopelessness on the “rez.” With the encouragement of a teacher, Junior decides to attend Reardan, an all-white high school twenty-two miles away. At Reardan, he experiences prejudice for being an Indian and on the reservations, his friends turn their backs on him and view him as a traitor to the tribe, including his best friend, Rowdy. He is seen as an apple, red on the outside and white on the inside. Despite his trials including many family alcohol-related deaths, Junior is able to get on Reardan’s basketball team, get a girlfriend, and become well regarded at school. He makes amends with Rowdy and sees hope for his future.

Evaluation: The cartoon artwork spread throughout the novel complements and re-enforces the text. The pencil illustrations look like they could have been drawn by a high school student. The crude language, mature subject matter, and physical and alcohol abuse paint a realistic portrait of life on an Indian Reservation. Alexie Sherman draws from his own life experience to write this revelatory and often humorous novel exposing the challenges of life on an Indian Reservation. Recommended for ages 14 to 18.

Genre / Subject: Fiction, Semi-Autobiographical, Realistic Fiction, American Indians, Racism, Identity, Friendship, Family, Persistence, Abuse, Aspirations, Sports, Hope, Alcoholism

Awards: 2009 Odyssey Award Winner for Excellence in Audiobook Production, 2009 ALA Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults Award, ALA Best Books for Young Adults, 2008 American Booksellers Children’s Literature Honor Award, 2007 L.A. Times Award Honor Book, 2007 National Book Award Winner – Young People’s Literature,

Dairy Queen by Catherine Gilbert Murdock

Murdock, Catherine Gilbert. The Dairy Queen. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishers, 2006. 288 pages. Tr. $16.00. ISBN 978-0-618-68307-9.

Annotation: Fifteen-year-old D. J Schwenk has a lot of responsibility running the family’s dairy farm and keeping up in school, but her life really gets busy when she is also asked to train a rival team’s handsome football quarterback.

Summary: D.J Schwenk has a lot of responsibility running the family dairy farm after her dad injures his hip. She probably should be spending more time keeping up in school since she is flunking English. But over the summer, a family friend asks D. J. to train a rival team’s football quarterback. Brian Nelson is spoiled, lazy, and handsome and she is definitely attracted to him. D. J. is naturally reticent and is skilled at ignoring major issues, but so many problems are coming to a head that she learns to speak up for herself and to address important issues.

Evaluation: This is a humorous sports novel with a touch of romance. The evolution of the character is D.J. is exciting to read. She goes from being what everyone wants to being herself. With self-deprecating humor, quiet D. J. struggles with expressing her feelings of frustration, anger, sadness, and love. Readers will empathize with the flawed but lovable D. J.. Recommended for ages 12 to 17.

Genre / Subject: Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Football, Sports, Farm Life, Family, Friendship, Romance, Identity, Aspirations

Awards: 2007 ALA Best Books for Young Adults

The Arrival by Shaun Tan

Tan, Shaun. The Arrival. Scholastic, Incorporated, 2007. 128 pages. Tr. $19.99. ISBN 978-0-439-89529-3.

Annotation: In a wordless graphic novel, a man leaves his wife and child to embark on a journey to a foreign country. The lonely experience of the immigrant is portrayed as a new and, hopefully, better life is created.

Summary: In this wordless graphic novel, a man leaves his wife and child and the familiarity of his homeland and embarks on a journey to find a better life in a foreign country. He boards a steamship filled with other refugees and arrives in a weird yet wonderful country. The country has different architecture, alphabet and symbols, technologies, foods, culture, and animals. The novelty of the city and the distance from home creates much sadness and anxiety. Slowly he assimilates as he gains friends, employment, and confidence. The end is happy when he reunites with his family in the new country.

Evaluation: In this sepia-toned graphic novel, the immigrant experience is sensitively portrayed. The pencil illustrations capture the anxiety, confusion, loneliness, and wonder as an immigrant slowly assimilates into a new and strange culture. The complexity of feelings and issues for immigrants is expertly depicted with the detailed artwork. Readers will empathize with the difficulty of starting something new. Recommended for ages 12 to 17.

Genre / Subject: Fiction, Graphic Novel, Stories Without Words, Immigration, Identity, Loneliness, Persistence,Aspirations

Awards: 2008 ALA Notable Books for Children, 2008 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award Winner, 2008 ALA Best Books for Young Adults, 2008 ALA Top Ten Great Graphic Novels for Teens, 2008 ALA Great Graphic Novels for Teens, 2008 American Booksellers Award – Children’s Literature Honor Book

American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang

Yang, Gene Luen. American Born Chinese. Roaring Brook Press, 2006. 240 pages. pap. $17.95. ISBN 978-1-59643-152-2.

Annotation: Three stories are blended together in words and pictures. One is the fable of a monkey king; another is an elementary school age boy’s attempt to fit in at a white school, and the last is a popular teenage boy’s struggle in dealing with his stereotypical Chinese cousin.

Summary: In graphic novel form, three stories are told and become intermingled in the end. The first involves a monkey king who is shut out by the gods and tries to shed his monkey form. The second involves elementary school student, Jin Wang, who wanting to be Caucasian, tries to change his appearance so he can find acceptance. The third is about a popular teenager named Danny who endures embarrassing visits from his stereotypical Chinese cousin, Chin-Kee. When Danny beats up Chin-Kee he discovers that his cousin was the monkey king in disguise. The monkey king talks to Danny about love and acceptance of others. Jin accepts his Chinese identity and becomes friends again with a Chinese immigrant whom he hurt but who is really the monkey king’s son who is passing a test of virtue.

Evaluation: The blending of the three stories (although it initially seemed random) works extremely well in this medium. Yang was able to pull the three together to form a coherent and complex whole. The vibrant artwork is easy to follow and captures the spirit of the stories. The story raises important questions about identity, friendship, racism, and acceptance. Recommended for ages 12 to 18.

Genre / Subject: Fiction, Graphic Novel, Chinese Americans, Schools, Prejudice, Identity, Racism, Acceptance, Friendship, Family, Aspirations

Awards: 2006 National Book Honor Award, 2007 Michael L. Printz Award Winner, 2007 Best Books for Young Adults, 2007 ALA Great Graphic Novels for Teens

Wilma Unlimited: How Wilma Rudolph Became the World's Fastest Woman by Kathleen Krull

Krull, Kathleen. Wilma Unlimited: How Wilma Rudolph Became the World’s Fastest Woman. Illustrated by David Diaz. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishers, 2000. 44 pages. pap. $7.00. ISBN 978-0-15- 202098-9.

Annotation: Despite contracting polio as a child and becoming partially paralyzed, Wilma persevered and became the first American woman to earn three gold medals in a single Olympics.

Summary: This book is a tribute to the amazing story of Wilma’s Rudolph’s life. Contracting polio by age five and not expected to walk, Wilma showed all around her how determined she was to walk again. By age twelve, she no longer needed leg braces and by age twenty she was competing in the 1960 Olympics in Rome. She became the first American woman to earn three gold medals in a single Olympics. With the power of family, God and a firm belief in herself, Wilma was able to prove that miracles can happen with individual effort.

Evaluation: The straight-forward text melds nicely with the watercolor and acrylic illustrations. The story of Wilma’s life is retold in a simple style that matches the cubist feel of the artwork. The book has a crisp and dynamic appeal due to the richly colored illustrations. Recommended for ages 5 to 12.

Genre / Subject: Juvenile Non-Fiction, Biography, African American, Sports, Persistence,Aspirations

Awards: 1997 Jane Addams Children’s Book Award, 1997 ALA Notable Children’s Book

The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

Selznick, Brian. The Invention of Hugo Cabret. Scholastic, Incorporated, 2007. 544 pages. Tr. $24.99. ISBN 978-0-439-81378-5.

Annotation: Hugo, an orphan boy, who lives within the walls of a busy train station in Paris secretly works as a clock keeper while trying to fix a robot invention found by his father.

Summary: Twelve year old Hugo lost his father in a fire and is forced to secretly live and work as a clock keeper within the walls of a Paris train station. He finds an automaton that his father was fixing and decides to work on it himself. Using his father’s diagrams and stolen supplies from an old toymaker Hugo starts to repair it. Hugo befriends Isabelle, a spirited girl who is the adopted daughter of the toymaker. She inadvertently supplies Hugo with the key to start the automaton. Hugo and Isabelle discover that the toymaker is the famous French movie pioneer, George Melies, who was thought to have died. Hugo renews George’s interest in films and becomes a part of his family.

Evaluation: Brian Selznick successfully combines a telling narrative, detailed black-and-white charcoal drawings, and expert cinematic technique to form a captivating tale of mystery set in Paris in the 1930’s. His ability to tell this story equally well in both pictures and words is amazing. Inventions, secrets, dreams are slowly revealed in first-rate storytelling. Recommended for ages 7 to 14.

Genre / Subject: Juvenile Fiction, Historical, Clocks, Robots, George Melies, Film-Making, Persistence, Orphans

Awards: 2007 National Book Award Honor Book – Young People’s Literature, 2008 Caldecott Medal Winner, 2008 ALA Notable Children’s Book, 2008 ALA Best Books for Young Adults

Henrietta and the Golden Eggs by Hanna Johansen

Johansen, Hanna. Henrietta and the Golden Eggs. Illustrated by Kathi Bhend-Zaugg. Translated by John S. Barrett. David R. Godine Publisher, 2002. 64 pages. Tr. $16.95. ISBN 978-1-56792-210-3.

Annotation: In a hen house with 3,333 other chickens, Henrietta, an ambitious pullet, decides to pursue her dreams of laying golden eggs. As she does so, she betters life on the farm for all chickens.

Summary: Originally published in German, this tale of farm life in the hen house centers upon Henrietta, a little chicken with big dreams. Clever Henrietta escapes the confining hen house three times to learn to sing, swim, and fly. In the process she creates utter chaos on the farm but ultimately improves the living conditions for her 3,333 fellow chickens. As she escapes for a fourth time, there is the question of whether or not this brave and resourceful chicken can, indeed, lay golden eggs.

Evaluation: The lively pen-and-ink illustrations printed in black and white reveal the silly antics on the farm. The expressive artwork is superbly matched to the straightforward text. The details add a touch of humor to the hearty story of being brave enough to pursue one’s dreams despite obstacles. Recommended for ages 4 to 9.

Genre / Subject: Juvenile Fiction, Fable, Animals, Chickens, Farms, Aspirations

Awards: 2003 Mildred L. Batchelder Award Honor Book, 2003 ALA Notable Books for Children