Talking a book

There is a great art to talking a book.
Sharing a title that hit you just so is easier...

• if you can recall the details over time
• if you can tell enough to convey why it was good or interesting
• if you can do the above WITHOUT giving away too much
• if you can recall the author

Wandering the shelves or using an online tool : library catalog or google search can provide a book cover image which can help. Generally speaking this if process is easier if you work on it. Memory jolts can help. Just like writing a to do list helps to cement it in your mind. Writing a three line review can help your recall on a book. My efforts this year:

January
Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen
The story of two sisters each running from their warped version of their shared past. They discover, when circumstances throw them together, that in making the efforts to save each other, they are able to heal themselves. Having a special garden is just an added bonus!

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
The modern history of Afghanistan as told from the day to day perspective of an outcast woman. This story will give you a renewed appreciation of all the things we take for granted.

February
East by Edith Pattou
This a young adult book offers a new take on the Beauty and the Beast story. Perfect for an icy cold day it involves travel throughout Greenland and the Scandinavian countries.

March
"The Lightning Thief" by Rick Riordan, a book for young readers and readers that are young at heart. Percy Jackson is having troubles in school and at home. His mother sends him to a summer camp where he learns that he is a demigod. He and his new friends set out on a quest to prevent a war between the gods...

April
"Beardance" by Will Hobbs .
This book continues the story of "Bearstone" an award winning book for boys and girls.
Both books are set in the wild mountain area of Colorado at the continental divide.
Cloyd has a connection with the bears but it seems the more he tries to help them, the more trouble they face.

"Small Steps" by Louis Sachar.
It is a sequel to "Holes" and tells the story of Armpit and his life after Camp Green Lake.
The central message from his parole office is to take change in small ways, or by small steps, then life won't overwhelm you and sweep you away. This lesson is tested when a national pop star singles him out for love.

October
I just finished reading "Just Ella" by Margaret Peterson Haddix. This version of Cinderella is a tale of an independent girl making the most of circumstances beyond her control. There is a logical explanation behind every one of the "magical" elements of the Cinderella Fairy Tale. Learn why her father married such a shallow woman, understand the glass slipper and the need to leave the ball by midnight, and think twice about the prince named "Charming." Read this book to remind yourself that there such a truth as "happily ever after."

Rebecca Caudill Young Readers' Book Award

2013 Master List 

Angleberger, Tom The Strange Case of Origami Yoda
Baskin, Nora Raleigh Anything but Typical
Draper, Sharon M. Out of My Mind
Falls, Kat Dark Life
Ferrari, Michael Born to Fly
Friend, Natasha Bounce
Gaiman, Neil The Graveyard Book
Gephart, Donna How to Survive Middle School
Hawkins, Aaron The Year Money Grew on Trees
Holm, Jennifer L. Turtle in Paradise
LaFleur, Suzanne Love, Aubrey
Lai, Thanhha Inside Out & Back Again
Meyer, Susan Lynn Black Radishes
Mulligan, Andy Trash
Perkins, Lynne Rae As Easy As Falling Off the Face of the Earth
Rhodes, Jewell Parker Ninth Ward
Senzai, N. H. Shooting Kabul
Telgemeier, Raina Smile
Wiles, Deborah Countdown
Williams-Garcia, Rita One Crazy Summer

2012 Master List
Auch, M J One-Handed Catch
Broach, Elise Masterpiece
Burg, Ann E. All the Broken Pieces
Carmichael, Clay Wild Things
Clements, Andrew Extra Credit
Cochrane, Mick The Girl Who Threw Butterflies
Cody, Matthew Powerless
Kelly, Jacqueline The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate
Lin, Grace Where the Mountain Meets the Moon
Magoon, Kekla The Rock and the River
Mass, Wendy Every Soul a Star
O'Connor, Barbara Greetings from Nowhere
Parry, Rosanne Heart of a Shepherd
Paulsen, Gary Woods Runner
Philbrick, Rodman The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg
Prineas, Sarah The Magic Thief
Scieszka, Jon Knucklehead: Tall Tales & Mostly True Stories about Growing Up Scieszka
Smith, Roland Peak
Smith, Sherri L. Flygirl
Westerfeld, Scott Leviathan

Caudill List 2011
Anderson, Laurie Halse Chains
Bartoletti,  Susan Campbell The Boy Who Dared
Cassidy, Cathy Scarlett
Collins,  Suzanne The Hunger Games 
Connor, Leslie Waiting for Normal 
Frost,  Helen Diamond WillowHaddix, Margaret Peterson Found
Herlong,  M. H. The Great Wide Sea 
Hiaasen, Carl Scat
Korman,  Gordon Schooled
Law, Ingrid Savvy 
Mass, Wendy 11  Birthdays
McKissack, Patricia C. A Friendship for Today
Mull,  Brandon Fablehaven
Pearsall, Shelley All Shook Up
Roy,  Jennifer Yellow Star
Schmidt, Gary D. Trouble
Scott,  Michael The Alchemyst
Shafer, Audrey The Mailbox
Sonnenblick,  Jordan Notes from the Midnight Driver

Reading list of 2010 nominees :Naked Mole-Rat Letters by Mary Amato
Home of The Brave by Katherine Applegate
Shark Girl by Kelly L. Bingham
Shooting the Moon by Frances O'Roark Dowell
Freedom Walkers : The Story of the Montgomery Bus Boycott by Russell Freedman
Dragon Slippers by Jessica Day George
The Thing About Georgie by Lisa Graff
All the Lovely Bad Ones by Mary Dowling Hahn
Crossing the Wire by Will Hobbs
Kimchi & Calamri by Rose Kent
Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life by Wendy Mass
The Mozart Question by Michael Morpurgo
A Small White Scar by K.A. Nuzum
The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt
Elephant Run by Roland Smith
The White Giraffe by Lauren St. John
First Light by Rebecca Stead
Emma-Jean Lazarus Fell Out of A Tree by Lauren Tarshis
A Crooked Kind of Perfect by Linda Urban
Someone Named Eva by Joan M. Wolf

2009 nominees:
M.M.Cornelia and the Audacious Escapades of the Somerset Sisters by Lesley Blume
Blood on the River: James Town 1607 by Elisa Carbone
shug by Jenny HanPenny from Heaven by Jennifer L. HolmAlabama Moon by Watt KeyThe Green Glass Sea by Ellen Klages
Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson
Black Duck by Janet Taylor Lisle
Rules by Cynthia Lord
Gossamer by Lois Lowry
Heat by Mike Lupica
Oh, Rats! : The Story of rats and people by Albert MarrinProject Mulberry by Linda Sue Park
Wolf Brother by Michelle PaverLife as We Knew It by Susan Beth PfefferThe Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan The WINNER:

A Drowned Maiden's Hair: A Melodrama by Laura Amy Schlitz
The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian SelznickLetters From Wolfie by Patti Sherlock
Black Storm Comin' by Diane Lee Wilson2008 nominees:
Adam Canfield of the Slash by Michael WineripChicken Boy by Frances O'Roark DowellCode Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War Two by Joseph BruchacCrooked River by Shelley PearsallDefiance by Valerie Hobbs

Drums, Girls, & Dangerous Pie by Jordan Sonnenblick / Winner
East by Edith PattouListening for Lions by Gloria WhelanThe Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo
The Misadventures of Maude March, or, Trouble Rides a Fast Horse
by Audrey CouloumbisMVP*: *Magellan Voyage Project by Douglas EvansThe Old Willis Place: A Ghost Story by Mary Downing Hahn
The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy by Jeanne BirdsallPrincess Academy by Shannon HaleThe Ruins of Gorlan by John FlanaganShakespeare's Secret by Elise Broach
The Schwa Was Here by Neal ShustermanThunder from the Sea by Joan Hiatt HarlowWorth by A. LaFayeYankee Girl by Mary Ann Rodman2007 Nominees:
Airborn by Kenneth OppelBecoming Naomi Leon by Pam Muoz RyanChasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett
Each Little Bird That Sings by Deborah WilesGregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins
Hachiko Waits by Leslea NewmanHana's Suitcase: A True Story by Karen Levine
Heartbeat by Sharon CreechIda B: And Her Plans to Maximize Fun, Avoid Disaster, and (Possibly)
Save the World by Katherine HanniganLast Shot by John Feinstein
Locomotion by Jacqueline Woodson
Once Upon a Marigold by Jean FerrisPeter and the Starcatchers by Dave Barry and Ridley PearsonRed Kayak by Priscilla CummingsThe Sea of Trolls by Nancy Farmer
Secrets of a Civil War Submarine: Solving the Mysteries of the H.L. Hunley by Sally M. Walker
Shackleton's Stowaway by Victoria McKernanSo B. It by Sarah Weeks / WinnerStar of Kazan by Eva Ibbotson
Thin Wood Walls by David Patneaude2006 Nominees:
Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer CholdenkoAny Small Goodness by Tony Johnston
The Boy Who Saved Baseball by John H. Ritter
The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrauThe Conch Bearer by Chitra Banerjee DivakaruniDarby by Jonathan FuquaEragon by Christopher Paolini / winnerGranny Torrelli Makes Soup by Sharon Creech
Jackie's Wild Seattle by Will HobbsJourney to the River Sea by Eva Ibbotson
The Last Treasure by Janet S. Anderson
The Other Side of Truth by Beverley Naidoo
The Ravenmaster's Secret by Elvira WoodruffThe River Between Us by Richard Peck
Sahara Special by Esme Raji CodellA Single Shard by Linda Sue Park
A Strong Right Arm by Michelle Y. Green
Tadpole by Ruth WhiteThe Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo
The Young Man and the Sea by Rodman Philbrick2005 nominees:
Ashes of Roses by Mary Jane AuchDoing Time Online by Jan SieboldHeir Apparent by Vivian Vande VeldeHoot by Carl Hiaasen / WinnerHouse of the Scorpion by Nancy FarmerKite Rider by Geraldine McCaughrean
Memory Boy by Will Weaver
Overboard by Elizabeth Fama
Phineas Gage by John FleischmanPictures of Hollis Woods by Patricia Reilly GiffRuby Holler by Sharon CreechRunt by Marion Dane BauerThe Shrouding Woman by Loretta Ellsworth
Stand Tall by Joan BauerStraw into Gold by Gary Schmidt
Surviving Hitler by Andrea Warren
Surviving the Applewhites by Stephanie Tolan
Trouble Don't Last by Shelley PearsallUnder the Same Sky by Cynthia DeFeliceWhen My Name was Keoko by Linda Sue Park

2004 List
Belle Teal by Ann M. Martin
The Breadwinner by Deborah Ellis
Dovey Coe by Francis O'Roark Dowell
Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan
Fair Weather by Richard Peck
Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen
Foster's War by Carolyn Reeder
The Ghost in the Tokaido Inn by Dorothy & Thomas Hoobler
Ghost Soldier by Elaine Marie Alphin
Hidden Talents by David Lubar
Legend of Lady Ilena by Patricia Malone
Love, Ruby Lavender by Deborah Wiles
Love That Dog by Sharon Creech
No More Dead Dogs by Gordon Korman
Storm Warriors by Elisa Carbone
Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz (Winner)
Things Not Seen by Andrew Clements
Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen
Wild Man Island by Will Hobbs
Zach's Lie by Roland Smith

ABRAHAM LINCOLN ILLINOIS HIGH SCHOOL BOOK AWARD

2014 Master List
The Abraham Lincoln Award Illinois' High School Readers' Choice Award
Author     Title     Publisher     Year
Anderson, Laurie Halse     Wintergirls     Viking Books     2009
Bardugo, Leigh     Shadow and bone     Henry Holt & Co.     2012
*Bick, Ilsa     Ashes     Egmont USA     2011
Brown, Jennifer     Hate list     Little Brown     2010
Cline, Ernest     Ready player one     Crown Publishing     2011
*Donoghue, Emma     Room     Little Brown     2010
Green, John     Fault in our stars     Dutton     2012
Herbach, Geoff     Stupid Fast     Sourcebooks     2011
John, Antony     Five flavors of dumb     Dial books     2010
King, A.S.     Everybody sees the ants     Little Brown     2011
Levithan, David     Every day     Alfred A. Knopf     2012
Lu, Marie     Legend     G.P. Putnam     2011
Lyga, Barry     I hunt killers     Little Brown     2012
McCormick, Patricia     Purple Heart     Balzer & Bray     2009
*Meyer, Marissa     Cinder     Feiwel & Friends     2012
*Morgenstern, Erin     Night circus     Doubleday     2011
Revis, Beth     Across the universe     Razorbill     2011
Rodriguez, Gaby     The pregnancy project     Simon & Schuster     2012
Roth, Veronica     Divergent     Katherine Tegen     2011
Stork, Francisco X     Marcelo in the real world     Arthur A. Levine     2009
Taylor, Laini     Daughter of smoke & bone     Little Brown     2011
Zarr, Sara     How to save a life     Little Brown     2011

2013 MASTER LIST

Anna & the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Bruiser by Neal Shusterman

The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams
Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
Dark Song by Gail Giles
Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
Imppossible by Nancy Werlin
Impulse by Ellen Hopkins
Leviathan by Scott Westerfield
Little Brother by Cory Doctorow
Lockdown: Escape from Furnace by Alexander Gordon Smith
Matched by Allyson Braithwaite Condie
Monstrumologist by Richard Yancey
North of Beautiful by Justuina Chen Headley
Paranormalcy by Kiersten White
Rikers High by Paul Volponi
Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi
The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson

WINNER

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher 

War by Sebastian Junger

Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green & David Leviathan

 

2012 MASTER LIST

After -- Amy Efaw Speak 2010
Beastly -- Alex Flinn HarperTeen 2008
Before I Die -- Jenny Downham * David Fickling 2009
Carter Finally Gets It -- Brent Crawford Hyperion 2010
Columbine -- Dave Cullen Twelve 2010
The Compound -- S.A. Bodeen Square Fish 2009
Flash Burnout -- L.K. Madigan Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 2010
Ghosts of War -- Ryan Smithson Harpercollins 2010
Going Bovine -- Libba Bray * Random House 2010
How to Build a House -- Dana Reinhardt Wendy Lamb 2009
If I Stay -- Gayle Forman Speak 2010
The Looking Glass Wars -- Frank Beddor * Speak 2007
Love is the Higher Law -- David Levithan * Knopf 2010

WINNER

The Maze Runner -- James Dashner Delacorte 2010

Mexican White Boy -- Matt de la Pena Delacorte 2010
Reality Check -- Peter Abrahams HarperTeen 2010
Shiver -- Maggie Stiefvater Scholastic 2010
Story of a Girl -- Sara Zarr Little, Brown 2008
Tweak: Growing Up on Methamphetamines -- Nic Sheff Atheneum 2008
Why I Fight -- J. Adams Oaks Atheneum 2010
Wish You Were Dead -- Todd Strasser EgmontUSA 2010
World War Z -- Max Brooks Three Rivers 2007

2011 List from the ISMLA site...
Abraham Lincoln High School Book Award 2011

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
Budding cartoonist Junior leaves his troubled school on the Spokane Indian Reservation to attend an all-white farm town school where the only other Indian is the school mascot.
www.fallsapart.com

Artichoke’s Heart by Suzanne Supplee
As overweight Rosemary takes charge of her life and slowly loses weight, she also copes with her mother's cancer, having a boyfriend for the first time, and discovering that other people's lives are not as perfect as they appear.
www.suzannesupplee.com

Boot Camp by Todd Strasser
In this novel ripped from the headlines, 15-year-old Garrett is kidnapped and sent to a disciplinary boot camp, where he is subjected to physical and psychological abuse.
www.toddstrasser.com

Deadline by Chris Crutcher
Given the medical diagnosis of one year to live, high school senior Ben Wolf decides to fulfill his greatest fantasies, ponders his life's purpose and legacy, and converses through dreams with a spiritual guide known as "Hey-Soos."
www.chriscrutcher.com

Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart
Sophomore Frankie starts dating senior Matthew Livingston, but when he refuses to talk about the all-male secret society that he and his friends belong to, Frankie infiltrates the society in order to enliven their mediocre pranks.
www.e-lockhart.com

Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin
After fifteen-year-old Liz Hall is hit by a taxi and killed, she finds herself in a place that is both like and unlike Earth, where she must adjust to her new status and figure out how to "live".
www.memoirsofa.com

Rucker Park Setup by Paul Volponi
While playing in a crucial basketball game on the very court where his best friend was murdered, Mackey tries to come to terms with his own part in that murder and decide whether to maintain his silence or tell J.R.'s father and the police what really happened.
www.paulvolponibooks.com

Evermore: A Novel by Alyson Noël
Since the car accident that claimed the lives of her family, sixteen-year-old Ever can see auras and hear people's thoughts, and she goes out of her way to hide from other people until she meets Damen, another psychic teenager who is hiding even more mysteries.
www.alysonnoel.com

Graceling by Kristin Cashore
In a world where some people are born with extreme and often-feared skills called Graces, Katsa struggles for redemption from her own horrifying Grace, the Grace of killing, and teams up with another young fighter to save their land from a corrupt king.
http://kristincashore.blogspot.com/

Hold Tight by Harlan Coben
Worrying about their sixteen-year-old son Adam in the wake of a friend's suicide and a string of other traum atic school incidents, Tia and Mike Baye install an activity monitor on their son's computer and are alarmed to learn that the suicide victim's mother believes Adam may have been involved.
(adult violence)
www.harlancoben.com

House Rules: A Memoir by Rachel Sontag
Traces the author's journey of recovery and self-discovery after a childhood marked by her mentally ill father, a respected suburban doctor who hid from the outside world an obsessive need for control that caused him to torture his wife and children about the most minute details of their lives.
www.rachelsontag.com

WINNER

 The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
In a future North America, where the rulers of Panem maintain control through an annual televised survival competition pitting young people from each of the twelve districts against one another, sixteen-year-old Katniss's skills are put to the test when she voluntarily takes her younger sister's place.
www.suzannecollinsbooks.com

Jerk, California by Jonathan Friesen
Plagued by Tourette's syndrome and a stepfather who despises him, Sam meets an old man in his small Minnesota town who sends him on a road trip designed to help him discover the truth about his life.
www.jonathanfriesen.com

Just Listen by Sarah Dessen
Suddenly unpopular sixteen-year-old Annabel finds an ally in classmate Owen, whose honesty and passion for music help her to face what really happened at the end-of-the-year party that changed her life.
www.sarahdessen.com

Paper Towns by John Green
One month before graduating from his Central Florida high school, Quentin "Q" Jacobsen basks in the predictable boringness of his life until the beautiful and exciting Margo Roth Spiegelman, Q's neighbor and classmate, takes him on a midnight adventure and then mysteriously disappears.
www.sparksflyup.com

Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles
When wealthy, seemingly perfect Brittany and Alex Fuentes, a gang member from the other side of town, develop a relationship after Alex discovers that Brittany is not exactly who she seems to be, they must face the disapproval of their schoolmates – and others.
www/simoneelkeles.net

Right Behind You by Gail Giles
After spending over four years in a mental institution for murdering a friend in Alaska, fourteen-year -old Kip begins a completely new life in Indiana with his father and stepmother under a different name, but has trouble fitting in and finds there are still problems to deal with from his childhood.
www.galegiles.com

Spanking Shakespeare by Jake Wizner
Shakespeare Shapiro navigates a senior year fraught with feelings of insecurity while writing the memoir of his embarrassing life, worrying about his younger brother being cooler than he is, and having no prospects of ever getting a girlfriend.
www.jakewizner.com

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
A novel set against the three decades of Afghanistan's history shaped by Soviet occupation, civil war, and the Taliban, which tells the stories of two women, Mariam and Laila , who grow close despite their nineteen-year age difference and initial rivalry as they suffer at the hand of a common enemy: their abusive husband.
www.khaledhosseini.com

Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson
After finally getting noticed by someone other than school bullies and his ever-angry father, seventeen-year-old Tyler enjoys his tough new reputation and the attentions of a popular girl, but when life starts to go bad again, he must choose between transforming himself or giving in to his destructive thoughts.
www.writerlady.com

Unwind by Neal Shusterman
In a future world where those between the ages of thirteen and eighteen can have their lives "unwound" and their body parts harvested for use by others, three teens go to extreme lengths to uphold their beliefs--and, perhaps, save their own lives.
www.storyman.com

Wake by Lisa McMann
Ever since she was eight years old, high school student Janie Hannagan has been uncontrollably drawn into other people's dreams, but it is not until she befriends an elderly nursing home patient and becomes involved with an enigmatic fellow-student that she discovers her true power.
http://lisamcmann.com

 

2010 ABE AWARD MASTER LIST

1 An Abundance of Katherines -- John Green

2 Aftershock -- Kelly Easton

3 Avalon High -- Meg Cabot

4 The Book Thief -- Markus Zusak

5 Christopher Killer -- Alane Ferguson

WINNER

6 City of Bones -- Cassandra Clare

7 Does My Head Look Big in This? -- Randa Abdel-Fattah

8 The Good Guy -- Dean Koontz

9 Gym Candy -- Carl Deuker

10 The Haunting of Alaizabel Cray -- Chris Wooding

11 I'd Tell You I Love You But Then I'd Have to Kill You -- Ally Carter

12 Inexcusable -- Chris Lynch

13 Leaving Paradise -- Simone Elkeles

14 Life as We Knew It – Susan Beth Pfeffer

15 A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier -- Ishmael Beah

16 Look Me in the Eye: My Life with Asperger's Syndrome -- John Elder Robison

17 The Luxe -- Anna Godbersen

18 Nineteen Minutes -- Jodi Picoult

19 Pride of Baghdad -- Brian Vaughn

20 Rooftop -- Paul Volponi

21 Rules of Survival -- Nancy Werlin

22 Wicked Lovely -- Melissa Marr

2009 Master List
After the Wreck, I Picked Myself Up, Spread My Wings and Flew Away --
Joyce Carol Oates. Harper Tempest, c2006. Blaming herself for the car accident on the Tappan Zee Bridge that killed her mother, fifteen-yearold Jenna undergoes a difficult physical and emotional recovery. www.jco.usfca.edu
The Bonemender -- Holly Bennett. Orca, c2005. Gabrielle DesChenes, gifted Healer and one of the royal family of Verdeau, finds herself falling in love with Feolan, an Elf who arrives at her castle seeking help for his wounded friend and who warns of imminent danger from invaders who threaten the freedom of all who live in the Krylian Basin.
Catch -- Will Leitch. Razorbill, c2005. Teenager Tim Temples must decide if he wants to leave his comfortable life in a small town and go to college.

THE WINNER:Crank -- Ellen Hopkins. Simon Pulse, c 2004. Kristina Snow is the perfect daughter, but she meets a boy who introduces her to drugs and becomes a very different person, struggling to control her life and her mind. www.ellenhopkins.com
Dairy Queen -- Catherine Murdock. Houghton Mifflin, c 2006. After spending her summer running the family farm and training the quarterback for her school's rival football team, sixteen-year-old D.J. decides to go out for the sport herself, not anticipating the
reactions of those around her. www.catherinemurdock.com
The Girls - a novel -- Lori Lansens. Bayback, c 2006. Conjoined sisters share the story of their adolescence : “We’ve been called many things: freaks, horrors, monsters, devils, witches, retards, wonders, marvels. To most, we’re a curiosity. In small-town Leaford, where we live and work, we’re just ‘The Girls.’”
Hawksong -- Amelia Atwater Rhodes. Delacorte, c 2003. In a land that has been at war so long that no one remembers the reason for fighting, the shapeshifters who rule the two factions agree to marry in the hope of bringing peace, despite deep-seated fear and distrust of each other.
I Am the Messenger -- Markus Zusak. Random House, c 2005. After capturing a bank robber, nineteen-year-old cab driver Ed Kennedy begins receiving mysterious messages that direct him to addresses where people need help, and he begins getting over his lifelong feeling of worthlessness.
It's Kind of a Funny Story -- Ned Vizzini. Miramax, c 2006. A oftentimes humorous account of a New York City teenager's battle with depression and his time spent in a psychiatric hospital. www.nedvizzini.com
Jennifer Government -- Max Barry. Random House, c 2003. In a corporate-governed future world where people take the last names of the companies they work for, merchandising officer Hack Nike tries to get out of a contract that requires him to shoot teenagers, a situation that results in his unwitting involvement with an agent who is out to get Hack's employer. www.maxbarry.com
The Lightning Thief -- Rick Riordan. Miramax, c 2005. After learning that he is the son of a mortal woman and Poseidon, god of the sea, twelve-year-old Percy is sent to a summer camp for demigods like himself, and joins his new friends on a quest to prevent a war between the gods. www.rickriordan.com
Looking for Alaska -- John Green. Dutton, c 2005. Sixteen-year-old Miles' first year at Culver Creek Preparatory School in Alabama includes good friends and great pranks, but is defined by the search for answers about life and death after a fatal car crash. www,sparksflyup.com
A Northern Light -- Jennifer Donnelly. Harcourt Brace, c2003. Sixteen-year-old Mattie, determined to attend college and be a writer against the wishes of her father and boyfriend, takes a job at a hotel in 1906 where the death of a guest renews her determination to live her own life. www.jenniferdonnelly.com
Peeps -- Scott Westerfeld. Razorbill, c 2005. Cal Thompson is a carrier of a parasite that causes vampirism, and must hunt down all of the girlfriends he has unknowingly infected. www.scottwesterfeld.com
Raiders Night -- Robert Lipsyte. HarperTempest, c 2006. Matt Rydeck, co-captain of his high school football team, endures a traumatic season as he witnesses the rape of a rookie player by teammates and grapples with his own use of performance-enhancing drugs. www.robertlipsyte.com
Sold -- Patricia McCormick. Hyperion, c 2006. Thirteen-year-old Lakshmi leaves her poor mountain home in Nepal thinking that she is to work in the city as a maid only to find that she has been sold into the sex slave trade in India and that there is no hope of escape. www.pattymccormick.com
Such a Pretty Girl -- Laura Wiess. MTV, c 2007. Haunted by flashbacks, fifteen-year-old Meredith learns that three years in prison has not changed the abusive father who molested her. www.laurawiess.com
Taken -- Chris Jordan. Mira, c 2006. In a terrible instant, Kate Bickford's young son vanishes. Racing home hoping to find her son, Kate comes face-to-face with his abductor, who wants all the money she has. If she doesn't follow something he calls The Method, the consequences will be gruesome. www.rodmanphilbrick.com
The Tenth Circle -- Jodi Picoult. Washington Square, c 2006. Trixie Stone is only a freshman in high school when Jason, the junior she thinks she loves, dumps her. Then one night at a party, their paths cross again. A few hours later, a visibly shaken Trixie comes home to tell her father that Jason assaulted her. Daniel Stone has always done everything in his power to keep his daughter safe. But he never imagined anything so devastating could happen to Trixie--and now he's not sure how to help her. www.jodipicoult.com
Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace – One School at a Time
by Greg Mortenson. Haji Ali, Korphe Village Chief, Karakoram mountains, Pakistan in 1993, after a terrifying and disastrous attempt to climb K2, a mountaineer called Greg Mortenson drifted, cold and dehydrated, into an impoverished Pakistan village in the Karakoram Mountains. This is the story of that promise and its extraordinary outcome. www.ikat.org
The Warrior Heir -- Cinda Williams Chima. Hyperion, c 2006. After learning about his magical ancestry and his own warrior powers, sixteen-year-old Jack embarks on a training program to fight enemy wizards. www.cindachima.com
What Happened to Cass McBride -- Gail Giles. Little, Brown, c 2006. After his younger brother commits suicide, Kyle Kirby decides to exact revenge on the person he holds responsible. www.gailgiles.com

2008 ABRAHAM LINCOLN ILLINOIS H.S. AWARD ANNOTATED MASTER LIST
BLEACHERS -- John Grisham Dell, c2003
As the controversial football coach of a small-town Texas high school lies dying, a group of his former players gather to share stories of their glory days under his demanding regime.
BOY MEETS BOY -- David Levithan Knopf, c 2003
Paul, who is gay, has the good fortune to attend a high school where the members of the Gay-Straight Alliance outnumber the football team, the cheerleaders ride Harleys, the star quarterback is also the homecoming queen, and the new guy in school turns out to be the love Paul has been waiting for.
A CERTAIN SLANT OF LIGHT -- Laura Whitcomb Graphia, c2005
The spirit of a woman long dead, unable to move on to the afterlife, clings to the physical world until she encounters James, a spirit similarly marooned, who shows her how to inhabit an “empty” body. Overjoyed by their discover of each other, the two soon fall deeply in love.
DROPPING IN WITH ANDY MAC -- Andy MacDonald. Simon, c2002
A pro skateboarding legend, known for his rejection of the drugs and alcohol so prevalent among his peers, recounts the story of his long, uphill road to success in his demanding and wildly popular sport.
FAULT LINE -- Janet Tashjian Holt, c2003
When Becky meets fellow comedian Kip at the improv clubs where they both perform, he seems the perfect guy for her – until the relationship turns abusive.
THE FIVE PEOPLE YOU MEET IN HEAVEN -- Mitch Albom Hyperion, c2003
83-year-old Eddie is convinced his life has had little meaning, until his death brings him into the presence of five people who show him the unexpected impact he has had on others.
THE GLASS CASTLE -- Jeannette Walls Scribner, c2005
Walls, now an MSNBC columnist, reveals the story of her chaotic youth, during which she and her siblings were mostly left to fend for themselves while her alcoholic father and artist mother moved about the country evading bill collectors and the law.
HEIR APPARENT -- Vivian Vande Velde Magic Carpet, c2002
A girl is trapped in a virtual reality game when protestors damage the gaming center’s equipment, and losing is no longer an option for her if she hopes to escape unharmed.
HOUSE OF THE SCORPION -- Nancy Farmer Atheneum, c2002
In a near-future world, Matt learns he is the clone of El Patron, a powerful drug lord who controls a private empire on the U.S.-Mexico border. Though despised by humans, Matt is sure that El Patron loves him, until he learns the true – and horrifying – reason for his existence.
LEFT FOR DEAD: A YOUNG MAN’S SEARCH FOR JUSTICE FOR
THE U.S.S. INDIANAPOLIS -- Pete Nelson Delacorte, c2003
The true story of a young boy who spent six years researching the sinking of a U.S. Navy ship in World War II and exposed the Navy cover-up of the rigged court-martial of the ship’s captain.

MAXIMUM RIDE: THE ANGEL EXPERIMENT -- James Patterson Warner, c2005
A group of genetically engineered children, part human and part bird, flee the lab where they were created and the pursuit of the brutal Erasers, wolf-like predators sent to eliminate them so their existence will never be discovered.
THE MEQ -- Steve Cash Ballantine, c2005
Having learned on his 12 th birthday in 1881 that he is not human but an immortal creature known as a Meq, Zianno Zezen embarks on a dual quest to find his soul- mate and to destroy an evil Meq called Fleur-du-Mal.
PIRATES -- Celia Rees Bloomsbury, c2003
In 1722, upon her father’s death, 16-year-old Nancy Kington is headed for marriage to a wealthy old man. In desperation, she flees with the slave girl Minerva to join a pirate band.
ROCK STAR, SUPERSTAR -- Blake Nelson Puffin, c2004
When a high school bass guitar player joins a rock group which is about to make it big, his new focus on his music career forces a crisis in his relationship with his girlfriend.
SNOW FLOWER & THE SECRET FAN -- Lisa See Random House, C2005
A Chinese woman looks back on her youth and young womanhood, reflecting on her laotong (“old sames”) relationship with another girl, and on the ways in which they struggled for some degree of self-determination in a society which oppressed women through such practices as foot-binding and arranged .
TELL NO ONE -- Harlan Coben Dell, c2001
Eight years after the police told him a serial killer had murdered his wife, a man receives a message which seems to indicate that she’s alive, but if he tries to uncover the truth, it will endanger his own life.
13 LITTLE BLUE ENVELOPES -- Maureen Johnson HarperCollins, c2005
Ginny’s adored Aunt Peg, a free-spirited artist, has died, and her legacy to her niece is a plane ticket to London, and a series of letters which will guide Ginny on the adventure of a lifetime.
TITHE -- Holly Black Simon, c2002
With a freewheeling rock musician for a mother and a band of faeries for her childhood friends, Kaye’s life has always been weird, but it becomes weirder – and more perilous – when she discovers that she herself is a pixie changling with a special destiny to fulfill.
24 GIRLS IN 7 DAYS -- Alex Bradley Penguin, c2005
When the love of Jack’s life rejects his invitation to the prom, his friends jump in to “help” by posting an online ad for a date for Jack which results in 24 eager applicants.
WINNER:
TWILIGHT -- Stephenie Meyer Little, Brown, c2005
A bored girl in a dreary small town finds her life suddenly much more interesting -- not to mention dangerous – when she becomes attracted to an unusual boy who belongs to a family of vampires. Who don’t hunt humans. Usually.
UPSTATE -- Kalisha Buckhanon St. Martin, c2006
Natasha, a bright, ambitious Harlem teen who intends to become a lawyer, maintains a years-long correspondence with her boyfriend Antonio, who is in prison for involuntary manslaughter.
YOSSEL -- Joe Kubert ibooks, c2003
The story, in graphic novel format, of a Jewish teen’s experiences of Nazi brutality in the Warsaw Ghetto which led to the desperate uprising of 1943.

2007         MASTER READING LIST
Acceleration  --  Graham McNamee
Across the Nightingale Floor  --  Lian Hearn
All-American Girl   --   Meg Cabot
The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents --  Terry Pratchett
Between a Rock and a Hard Place   --  Aron RalstonBlood Red Horse   --  K.M. Grant
The Burn Journals  --  Brent Runyon
Darkly Dreaming Dexter  --  Jeff Lindsey
Donorboy  --  Bredon Halpin
Fleshmarket  --  Nicola Morgan
Godless  --  Pete HautmanA Great and Terrible Beauty   --  Libba Bray
Guts  --  Gary Paulsen
High Heat  --  Carl Deuker
A Hole in My Life  --  Jack Gantos
Jude  --  Kate Morgenroth
Redemption  --  Julie Chibbaro
Shattering Glass  --  Gail Giles
Sickened  --  Julie Gregory
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants  --  Ann Brashares 

 WINNER 

 Uglies  --  Scott Westerfeld 

Who Am I Without Him?   --  Sharon G. Flake


2006 Nominations -- Annotated List

The Battle of Jericho by Sharon DraperA high school junior and his cousin are elated to be invited to join an elite school club, but as the initiation progresses, they begin to wonder how high a price they will have to pay for membership. [Coretta Scott King Author Award Winner]
The Children of Willesden Lane  by M ona GolabekThe author's mother escapes Nazi-occupied Vienna via the Kindertransport to England, and once there must try to pursue her musical studies despite her loneliness and her anxiety over her family's fate. [non-fiction]
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark HaddonDespite his overwhelming fear of interacting with people, Christopher, a mathematically-gifted, autistic fifteen-year-old boy, decides to investigate the murder of a neighbor's dog and uncovers secret information about his family.
The Earth, My Butt and Other Big Round Things by Carolyn MacklerFeeling like she does not fit in with the other members of her family, who are all thin, brilliant, and good-looking, fifteen-year-old Virginia tries to deal with her self image, her first physical relationship, and her disillusionment with some of the people closest to her.

The Eyre Affair by Jasper FfordeIn an alternate Great Britain, though it is 1985, the Crimean War is still in progress, and literature is the basis of modern culture. Thus the theft of a Dickens manuscript is a serious crime, and Literary Detective Thursday Next is called in to solve the case.
The First Part Last by Angela Johnson
Bobby's carefree teenage life changes forever when he becomes a father and must care for his adored baby daughter. [Coretta Scott King Honor Award Winner]
Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy ChevalierIn 17th-century Holland, a peasant girl serving in the household of Jan Vermeer is drawn into the artist’s world when she becomes the model for one of his portraits, and the target of his wife's jealousy and suspicion.
The Gospel According to Larry by Janet Tashjian
Seventeen-year-old Josh, a loner-philosopher who wants to make a difference in the world, tries to maintain his secret identity as the author of a web site that is receiving national attention.
Inside Out by Terry Trueman
A sixteen-year-old schizophrenic is caught up in the events surrounding an attempted robbery by two other teens who eventually hold him hostage.
King of the Mild Frontier by Chris Crutcher
Crutcher, author of young adult short stories and novels such as "Athletic Shorts" and "Whale Talk," tells of his youth in Cascade, Idaho, and how he became a writer. [non-fiction]
The Kite Runner by Khaled HosseiniTwo Afghan boys, the sons of a wealthy Kabul businessman and his personal servant, are inseparable, until a violent incident perpetrated by neighborhood bullies changes both their lives and destroys their friendship.
Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve
In the distant future, when cities move about and consume smaller towns, a fifteen year-old apprentice is pushed out of London by the man he most admires and must seek answers in the perilous Out-Country, aided by one girl and the memory of another.
Mother, Come Home by Paul Hornschemeier
A graphic novel dealing with the family tragedy of Thomas Tennant, who lost his mother to cancer when he was seven. After her death, as his professor father struggles with his grief, Thomas, occasionally donning a superhero cape and lion mask, fights to keep their lives on track. [non-fiction -- graphic novel]
WINNER

My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult  
When her family asks 13-year Anna Fitzgerald to donate a kidney to her older sister, who suffers from leukemia, she refuses, and sues her parents for custody of her own body.
Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz
Odd (his real name) is a California short-order cook who has the unfortunate ability to see ghosts and foretell such future events as mass murders -- which causes no end of trouble for Odd and his associates.
Rainbow Boys by Alex Sanchez
Three high school seniors, a jock with a girlfriend and an alcoholic father, a closeted gay, and a flamboyant gay rights advocate, struggle with family issues, gay bashers, first sex, and conflicting feelings about each other.
Stargirl by Jerry SpinelliA new student turns life at Mica H.S. upside down with her nonconformity, carrying her pet rat to class, singing to classmates to the accompaniment of her ukulele, and generally going about her days with a total disregard for teen conventions and the opinions of her peers.
Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach
The author visited medical schools, research labs, and mortuary sciences classes in order to find out what really happens to the bodies donated for scientific research. [non-fiction]
Sweetblood by Pete Hautman
After a lifetime of being a model student, sixteen-year-old Lucy Szabo is suddenly in trouble at school, at home, with the "proto-vampires" she has met online and in person, and most of all with her uncontrolled diabetes.

The Truth About Forever by Sarah DessenThe summer following her father's death, Macy plans to work at the library and wait for her brainy boyfriend to return from camp, but instead she goes to work at a catering business where she makes new friends and finally faces her grief.

The Usual Rules by Joyce MaynardA Brooklyn teen lives a normal, happy life in her eccentric family's busy household until the day in September, 2001, when her mom heads off to work at the World Trade Center and never comes home.

You Remind Me of You: A Poetry Memoir by Eireann CorriganAutobiographical poems recount events in a teenager's life, including her battles with eating disorders, her time in treatment facilities, and the suicide of her boyfriend. [non-fiction -- poetry section]

2005Angus, Thongs & Full-Frontal Snogging -- Louise RennisonBorn Confused -- Tanuja Desai HidierBreathing Underwater -- Alex Flinn
Bronx Masquerage -- Nikki Grimes
 

WINNER

Child Called “It” -- Dave Pelzer

Cut -- Patricia McCormick
Ender’s Shadow -- Orson Scott Card
Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon -- Stephen KingGolden Compass -- Philip Pullman
Hanging on to Max -- Margaret BechardImani All Mine -- Connie Porter
Life of Pi -- Yann MartelLovely Bones -- Alice SeboldMonster -- Walter Dean Myers
Sabriel -- Garth NixSecret Life of Bees -- Sue Monk Kidd
Soldier’s Heart -- Gary Paulsen
Son of the Mob -- Gordon KormanSpeak -- Laurie Halse AndersonSquared Circle -- James BennettStuck in Neutral -- Terry Trueman
Year of Wonders -- Geraldine Brooks

Monarch Award

2013 Master List

2013 Monarch Award Master List
Author Illustrator
Title
Publisher

Burleigh, Robert   Wendell Minor
Night Flight: Amelia Earhart
Crosses the Atlantic
Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books

DiCamillo, Kate & McGhee, Alison   Tony Fucile
Bink and Gollie
Candlewick Press

Gray, Luli     Giuliano Ferri
Ant and Grasshopper
Margaret K. McElderry Books

Griffiths, Andy    Terry Denton
Big Fat Cow that Goes
Kapow, The Feiwel & Friends

Hills, Tad    Tad Hills
How Rocket Learned to Read
Schwartz & Wade

Krasnesky, Thad     David Perkins
That Cat Can't Stay!
Flashlight Press

Litwin, Eric    James Dean
Pete the Cat: Rocking in My School Shoes
HarperCollins

McCarthy, Meghan    Meghan McCarthy
Pop!: the Invention of Bubble Gum
Simon & Schuster/PaulaWiseman Books

McElligott, Matthew    Matthew McElligott
Even Monsters Need Haircuts
Walker & Co.

Palatini, Margie    Barry Moser
Lousy Rotten Stinkin' Grapes
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Perdomo, Willie    Bryan Collier
Clemente!
Henry Holt and Co.

Rocco, Jon    John Rocco
Blackout
Disney/Hyperion

Schwartz, David M.          Dwight Kuhn, tracings by Yael Schy
Where in the Wild?:Camouflaged Creatures Concealed &Revealed
Tricycle Press

Stead, Philip Christian    Erin E. Stead
A Sick Day for Amos McGee
Roaring Brook Press

Vamos, Samantha R.     Rafael Lopez
The Cazuela that the FarmMaiden Stirred
Charlesbridge

Van Dusen, Chris     Chris Van Dusen
The Circus Ship
Candlewick Press

Viorst, Judith    Lane Smith
Lulu and the Brontosaurus
Antheneum Books for Young Readers

Wiesner, David    David Wiesner
Art & Max
Clarion Books

Willems, Mo   Mo Willems
We Are in a Book
Hyperion Book

Wight, Eric   Eric Wright
Frankie Pickle and the Closet of Doom
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers


2012 Master List
Becker, Bonny A Birthday for Bear
Lichtenheld, Tom Bridget's Beret
Bishop, Nic Butterflies and Moths
Butler, Dori Hillestad The Case of the Lost Boy
Clements, Andrew Dogku
Urbanovic, Jackie Duck at the Door
Rosenthal, Amy Krause Duck! Rabbit!
DiPucchio, Kelly Grace for President
Fleming, Candace Imogene's Last Stand
Stein, David Ezra Interrupting Chicken
Fucile, Tony Let's Do Nothing!
Smith, Jeff Little Mouse Gets Ready
Scillian, Devin Memoirs of a Goldfish
Aylesworth, Jim The Mitten
Floca, Brian Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11
Jenkins, Steve Never Smile at a Monkey: and 17 other important things to remember
Long, Loren Otis
Ryder, Joanne Panda Kindergarten
Barton, Chris Shark vs. Train Little, ### winner
Robinson, Sharon Testing the Ice: A True Story About Jackie Robinson

2011 Master List
Broach, Elise When Dinosaurs Came with Everything
Bruel, Nick Bad Kitty Gets a Bath
Coffelt, Nancy Fred Stays with Me
Deedy, Carmen Agra Martina the Beautiful Cockroach A Cuban Folktale
Frazee, Marla A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever
Hopkinson, Deborah Abe Lincoln Crosses a Creek
Kajikawa, Kimiko Tsunami!
Katz, Susan Oh, Theodore!: Guinea Pig Poems
Larson, Kirby Two Bobbies: A True Story of Hurricane Katrina, Friendship, and Survival
MacDonald, Margaret Read The Squeaky Door
Rappaport, Doreen Abe's Honest Words: The Life of Abraham Lincoln
Scieszka, Jon Cowboy & Octopus
Scotton, Rob Splat the Cat
Seeger, Laura Vaccaro Dog and Bear: Two Friends, Three Stories
Shannon, David Too Many Toys
Stevens, Janet Help Me, Mr. Mutt!: Expert Answers for Dogs with People Problems
Tavares, Matt Mudball
Thomas, Jan Rhyming Dust Bunnies
Thomson, Melissa Keena Ford and the Second-grade Mix-up
Willems, Mo Your Pal, Mo Willems Presents Leonardo the Terrible Monster

2010 Master List
Aillaud, Cindy Lou Recess at 20 Below Alaska
Banks, Kate Max’s Words
Bishop, Nic Nic Bishop Spiders
Diakite, Penda I Lost My Tooth in Africa
Ernst, Lisa Campbell The Gingerbread Girl
Fleischman, Paul Glass Slipper, Gold Sandal: A Worldwide Cinderella
Friend, Catherine The Perfect Nest
Jacobson, Jennifer Richard Andy Shane and the Very Bossy Dolores Starbuckle
Kerley, Barbara What to Do About Alice?
Look, Lenore Ruby Lu, Empress of Everything
Madison, Alan Velma Gratch and the Way Cool Butterfly
MacLachlan, Patricia Emily MacLachlan Charest Once I Ate a Pie
Nolan, Lucy On the Road
Palatini, Margie The Cheese
Pinkney, Jerry The Little Red Hen
Piven, Hanoch My Dog Is as Smelly as Dirty Socks: And Other Funny Family Portraits
Reynolds, Aaron Chicks and Salsa
Rusch, Elizabeth A Day with No Crayons
Watt, Melanie Scaredy Squirrel
Weeks, Sarah Baa-Choo!

2009 Master List

Sea Horse: The Shyest Fish in the Sea By Chris Butterworth

Henry and the Buccaneer Bunnies By Carolyn Crim

Surprising Sharks By Nicola Davies

The Chicken-Chasing Queen of Lamar County By Janice Harrington

George Did It By Suzanne Jurmain

Nora's Ark By Natalie Kinsey-Warnock

Library Lion By Michelle Knudsen

Stink: The Incredible Shrinking Kid By Megan McDonald

Superhero ABC By McLeod, Bob McLeod

Precious and the Boo Hag By Patricia McKissack

Once Upon a Cool Motorcycle Dude By Kevin O'Malley

Clementine By Sara Pennypacker

Cookies: Bite-size Life Lessons By Amy Krouse Rosenthal

Henry and Mudge and the Great Grandpas By Cynthia Rylant

Skippyjon Jones By Judith Schachner

The Secret Science Project That Almost Ate the School By Judy Sierra

The Great Fuzz Frenzy By Janet Stevens and Susan Stevens Crummel

There is a Flower at the Tip of My Nose Smelling Me By Alice Walker

Today I Will Fly! By Mo Willems

The Blizzard By Betty Ren Wright


2008 Master List

Hi, Fly Guy by Arnold, Tedd

Sally Jean, the Bicycle Queen by Best, Cari

Honey…Honey…Lion!: A Story by Brett, Jan

Bad Kitty by Bruel, Nick

The SOS File by Byars, Betsy Cromer

Boxes for Katje by Betsy Duffey, Laurie Myers , and Fleming, Candace

Traction Man Is Here by Grey, Mini

Miss Daisy Is Crazy! by Gutman, Dan

Owen & Mzee: The True Story of a Remarkable Friendship by Hatkoff, Isabella, Craig and Hatkoff, Paula Kahumbu

Fireboat: The Heroic Adventures of the John J. Harvey by Kalman, Maira

I Stink! by McMullan, Kate & Jim

Aaaarrgghh! Spider! by Monks, Lydia

Dear World by Noda, Takayo

Fancy Nancy by O’Connor, Jane

The Firekeeper’s Son by Park, Linda Sue

How Ben Franklin Stole the Lightening by Schanzer, Rosalyn

Cowgirl Kate and Cocoa: Partners by Silverman, Erica

Brave Dogs, Gentle Dogs: How They Guard Sheep by Urbigkit, Cat

The2008 Winner :
If I Built a Car by Van Dusen, Chris

Our Tree Named Steve by Zweibel, Alan

On "reading" audio books

On the radio the other day they were debating if listening to an audio book for book discussion group should "count" or not. Today I read an article asking the same question.

While listening to the radio I wanted to call in and say ...

"Does it matter who does the reading? Does a parent reading to a child discount the experience of reading? Does a reading buddy, spouse, teacher, or librarian reading to an individual or group not count for them as reading the book? I think not."

"I feel that "reading" an unabridged audio book counts as reading the book, just as much as if your eyes had looked at every word. Do the individuals using the services of the Library of Congress National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS) not "read" their material? It seems that the people running the program believe they do, after all they use the tag line "That All May Read . . ."

"So, in my opinion it is necessary to experience the message of an author via his/her words to qualify as "reading." This is what happens when you hear a full, complete version of a book. Taking the words of the author and melding them with your history is what makes the experience real for you. You like, or dislike, the book because of the way the message is made meaningful to you... not because of the way the message was delivered. To argue audio v. print, in my opinion is an odd a concept. Do you debate the merit of content in making the decision of paperback v. hardcover, no, you expect the same complete set of author words in each format. An audio book is just another format for delivery of the author message."

"A condensed version, movie, or abridged version of the words of the author merely convey the message of the person doing the condensation, movie, or abridgment. To this I say "it does not count" as reading. It is just sampling."

"By the way, I prefer the format of hardcover, to paperback, over audio book. My favorite experience is having a loved one read to me!"


When I read the article I knew I has to "speak up" and share my opinion on the topic.