Erin Wilson Book Share and Resources

The Absolute True Diary of a Part Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

This book has been read and re-read by several students at the school I work at. In fact it is a very popular book among teachers too. This is a humorous story about a boy named Arnold Spirit, or Junior, who grows up on the reservation but attends a rich white school nearby. Although it is very funny, the humor lightens the reality of poverty, alcoholism, and death that occur in Arnold’s life too often on the reservation. There are cartoon illustrations throughout the book by Arnold to share how he sees his life and various situations that add to the humor and seriousness of issues that he faces. Arnold also deals with his identity of who he is as a native person in and out of his community continuously. Another aspect of the story is friendship and who he can call a friend and rely on.

Naruto Series by Masashi Ksihimoto

Naruto is a manga series that is very popular with the students at the school. Manga is Japanese cartoons and Naruto is just one of many titles within this genre. Students love this type of genre and many of them have finished the entire Naruto series and are reading them again.

Naruto is about a boy who wants to become a master ninja. The nine-tailed demon had once destroyed a village and a ninja sacrificed his life by sealing the nine-tailed demon in Naruto's body at birth. Since he carries the nine-tailed demon fox in him he is treated different from the other students. Sometimes he is feared and sometimes he is respected. Naruto proves himself by trying to learn the ways of the ninjas. Naruto's character is mischievous and gets in trouble, annoys his friends and is tested by his masters. The entire series follows Naruto and his friends growing up and have many ninja adventures.

The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

This beautiful story is not only written but illustrated to tell the story about a boy named Hugo who lives inside a railway station in Paris. He is an orphan and his mission is to fix his father's machine that will write an unknown message. The boy ends up stealing parts for his machine and meets a young girl who becomes his friend. He is caught stealing parts for the machine and it jeopardizes his secret life and the machine. The girl and the tinker help Hugo unravel the mystery of the message and create a family.

Resources:

School Library Journal
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/

This website is based from the School Library Journal magazine. The website has a number of resources for not just librarians but teachers too. There are articles, blogs, podcasts, and more related to not only books but school issues too. For finding book reviews there is a tab on the top labeled reviews. Reviews are updated monthly which keeps me up to date on the latest books. When you hover over it there will be a list of reviews by grade range and type of books like graphic novels, multimedia, reference, and more. There is even a search box for finding something more specific.

YALSA-BK listserv
http://lists.ala.org/wws/lists
This is a great listserv for being current in young adult materials. Award winning lists from ALA in any topic or genre can be posted. Since it is a forum, librarians discuss books, subject lists, find books, and much more. Reviews are posted as well and lately there is a push for video reviews which makes selecting books fun.