THE SLAVE DANCER

Fox, Paula. The Slave Dancer. NY: Simon & Schuster, 1973.
ISBN: 1-4169-7139-4; $6.99 US; Paperback.
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AWARDS/HONORS/REVIEWS

Newbery Medal, 1974
Starred Review, School Library Journal: "Spellbinding...will horrify as well as fascinate."
Starred Review, Booklist: "Movingly and realistically presents one of the most gruesome chapters of history."
School Library Journal Best Book of the Year

ANNOTATION

13-year old Jessie Bollier finds him kidnapped and thrown aboard a slave ship where his job is to provide music for the slaves.


BOOKTALK

"At midnight...I heard a sound as though a thousand rats were scrambling up the hull of The moonlight. I heard the cold dead clang of metal striking wood. I heard one piercing scream. My teeth began to chatter."

Such are the sounds heard on a slaver; a ship destined to make profit by transporting slaves from Africa to Cuba, and eventually The United States of America. Jessie Bollier dreams of New Orleans at night; his mother and sister why by now must think he is dead. But dreams are rudely shattered when Jessie must stand on deck and watch the crew whip the slaves into movement when he begins playing his fife.

Is this really what slavery is? How Africans are brought to America? If so, Jessie Bollier wants nothing to do with it. In horror, Jessie Bollier will leave his innocence in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean and question what it means to be an American.

Sadness marks the journey of The Moonlight. Yet, a spark of hope is ignited that not even the ship's captain and his crew can contain. To understand what makes us human and long for freedom, pick up The Slave Dancer and forever be changed.

ANNE FRANK: THE DIARY OF A YOUNG GIRL

Frank, Anne. Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl. NY: Doubleday & Company, 1967.

ISBN: 0671617605; $5.99 US; Enriched Classics paperback edition with Reader's Supplement.

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AWARDS/HONORS/REVIEWS

Waterstones Book of the Century (1997, No. 26)

New York Times Bestseller (General, 1952)

New York Times Bestseller (Nonfiction, 1995)
ALA Best Books for Young Adults (1996)

ANNOTATION:

Anne Frank, a forteen-year-old girl, documents her life as a jew hiding in Amsterdam, Holland during World War II. Although the eight members of the "Secret Annexe" are eventually found by the Nazis, Anne, with her parents and older sister Margot, the Van Daan family, and Albert Dussel the dentist, embarks on a journey to womanhood that will forever impact her readers.

BOOKTALK:

Imagine being told you have to leave your friends without saying goodbye. You aren't sure where you are going, but you are only allowed a few belongings, the ones you consider the most important. You discover you and your family are in hiding, and overnight your entire world changes. You have to whisper and tiptoe during the day, block the window with curtains at night, never step outside to breathe in fresh air; all in an effort to not be discovered by people eager to turn you in to the authorities.

Anne Frank was a girl who lived such a life during World War II. In cramped quarters, Anne learned the true meaning of being hated because she was a Jew. There were days she wanted to scream, days where she dreamed of her friends in concentration camps in horror, days where she watched the moon through the slip of a curtain and imagined a better world where she could be an author.

Through her diary one is whisked away to a world of sadness, yet optimism, as Anne comes to learn who she is and who she wants to become. We can all relate to the emotions in Anne's diary as she recieves her first kiss, argues with her parents, becomes friends with her sister.



The Diary of Anne Frank is a classic novel depicting one of the most important periods in world history. We will forever be indebted to Anne for her courage and willingness to chronicle her life. Pick up The Diary of Anne Frank and let her words speak for themselves from the past: even in extreme conditions there is still hope.

LIZZIE BRIGHT AND THE BUCKMINSTER BOY

Schmidt, Gary. Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004.

ISBN: 0618439293; $15.00 US; Hardcover

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AWARDS/HONORS/REVIEWS

2005 Printz Honor Book

2005 Newbery Honor Book

2005 ALA Best Books for Young Adults

2005 ALA Notable Book for Children

Kirkus Reviews Editor Choice Award

School Library Journal Best Books of the Year-Children

ANNOTATION:

The world of a minister's son, Turner Ernest Buckminster III, is turned upside down when he meets Lizzie Bright, the granddaughter of the African-American preacher on nearby Malaga Island. Turner and Lizzie embark on a series of adventures that leave both of them changed forever.

BOOKTALK:

Life is different in Phippsburg, Maine. Every house is painted white with green shutters; people are always staring at you making sure you aren't misbehaving. Why, they don't even throw a darn baseball right! And there is all this hatred and fuss about a community of colored people that live on nearby Malaga Island.

What would you do if you were Turner Buckminster? What would you do if you hated being the son of a minister, hated being told what shirt to wear every day, and how to behave in public. I bet some of you would go crazy; crazy enough to rock the boat and befriend a colored girl named Lizzie.

Turner's world turns upside down when he meets Lizzie. He learns how to hit a Maine baseball, how to row a boat across the sea, and most importantly, break out of the mold he was in and discover who he really wants to be.

Turner stands up for what he believes in, and in doing so changes the lives of his family, and those of the town members of Phippsburg, Maine. Based on historical events, the author shows us what it means to stand up for your beliefs.

Turner "found" himself in Phippsburg, Maine. And in doing so he looked into the eye of a whale. What do you think will happen when you open this book?

THE OUTSIDERS

Hinton, S. E. The Outsiders. New York: Penguin Group, 1967.
ISBN: 014240733X; $10.00 US; Platinum Paperback Edition.
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AWARDS/HONORS/REVIEWS

New York Herald Tribune Best Teenage Books List, 1967

Chicago Tribue Book World Spring Book Festival Honor Book, 1967

ALA Best Young Adult Books, 1975

Massachusetts Children's Book Award, 1979

Media and Methods Maxi Award, 1975

ANNOTATION:

It's the Greasers against the Socs, in a coming-of-age story about two different classes of youth. Surrounded by violence, injustice, and the recent deaths of their parents, three brothers from the East Side try to stay true to themselves as the world paints them as outcasts. and the Socs try to beat them down.

BOOKTALK:

Darry, Sodapop, and Ponyboy; unique names for three unique boys fighting against the hard knocks of life. Darry, the oldest, is strong, hard, with "eyes that are like two pieces of pale blue-green ice." Sodapop is handsome, reckless; doesn't need to drink a lick of alcohol to have fun. And living under the shadow of his dominant brothers is Ponyboy; a dreamer who deep down inside wonders if there is a world beyond jumping at one's shadow. Is there more to life than being a Greaser and hating the West-side rich kids? Is there something beyond stealing, holding up gas stations, and being jumped when you aren't looking?

The Outsiders, written when the author was sixteen years old, paints a passionate picture of what it means to be an outsider. And who hasn't ever felt like an outsider? If you have ever felt different, alone, separated from other kids around you, this is the book to read.

Sodapop sadly witnesses the death of two friends, two pivotal members of the Greasers. Yet, through their deaths comes a new awakening and understanding that family and friends will always stand by you. You can rise above any situation life has landed you in. And happiness comes by "staying golden," finding the good in the world, and making yourself into what you want to be.