Booktalks and Beyond: Promoting Great Genre Reads to Teens

by Lucy Schall

Overview

Promote today's best and most popular YA books with help from this practical guide. Focusing on titles published after 2000, Schall provides you with background information, ready-to-use (or adapt) booktalks, read-aloud selections, learning activities, and related reads for approximately 100 fiction and nonfiction books with broad teen appeal. Organized by genres and themes, it has something for every teen reader. Whether you are a public or school librarian, teacher, or teen group leader, you'll find this collection helpful in motivating teens to read, building their appreciation of books, and in extending learning opportunities beyond the reading experience. Grades 6-12.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781591584667
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	05/30/2007
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	296
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.62(d)

About the Author

Lucy Schall is a retired high school and middle school teacher, a book reviewer for VOYA, and author of numerous Libraries Unlimited booktalking guides.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments     xiii
Introduction     xv
Issues     1
Confronting the Bully     1
Firmament   Tim Bowler     1
Lucas: A Story of Love and Hate   Kevin Brooks     4
What Erica Wants   Bruce Clements     6
Bucking the Sarge   Christopher Paul Curtis     9
Breaking Point   Alex Flinn     12
Defining Love     14
Dear Zoe   Philip Beard     14
Naughts & Crosses   Malorie Blackman     16
Who Am I without Him?: Short Stories about Girls and the Boys in Their Lives   Sharon G. Flake     19
Keesha's House   Helen Frost     21
The First Part Last   Angela Johnson     24
Living on the Edge     26
Nothing to Lose   Alex Flinn     26
Heck Superhero   Martine Leavitt     28
33 Snowfish   Adam Rapp     30
Learning the Game   Kevin Waltman     33
Finding Inner Peace or Spiritual Clarification     35
The Five People You Meet in Heaven   Mitch Albom     35
Looking forAlaska   John Green     37
Buddha Boy   Kathe Koja     40
Behind You   Jacqueline Woodson     43
Contemporary     47
Finding Our Talents and Friends     47
True Confessions of a Heartless Girl   Martha Brooks     47
Letting Go of Bobby James, or How I Found My Self of Steam   Valerie Hobbs     50
Saving Francesca   Melina Marchetta     52
Pool Boy   Michael Simmons     54
Laughing     56
Prom   Laurie Halse Anderson     56
Boy2Girl   Terence Blacker     58
Teen Idol   Meg Cabot     61
Storky: How I Lost My Nickname and Won the Girl   D. L. Garfinkle     63
Competing     65
The Rhyming Season   Edward Averett     65
Ball Don't Lie   Matt de la Pena     68
Runner   Carl Deuker     70
Shakespeare Bats Cleanup   Ron Koertge     73
Keeper   Mal Peet     75
Adventure/Survival     79
Land     79
Sleep Rough Tonight   Ian Bone      79
A Dog's Life: The Autobiography of a Stray   Ann M. Martin     81
My Travels with Capts. Lewis and Clark by George Shannon   Kate McMullan     83
How Angel Peterson Got His Name: And Other Outrageous Tales About Extreme Sports   Gary Paulsen     86
Sea     88
Shipwrecked!: The True Adventures of a Japanese Boy   Rhoda Blumberg     88
Life of Pi   Yann Martel     91
The Young Man and the Sea   Rodman Philbrick     93
Pirates!   Celia Rees     95
The Ring of the Slave Prince   Bjarne Reuter     97
Air     100
The Race to Save the Lord God Bird   Phillip Hoose     100
B for Buster   Iain Lawrence     102
The Kite Rider   Geraldine McCaughrean     105
Airborn   Kenneth Oppel     107
Mystery/Suspense     111
Contemporary     111
Down the Rabbit Hole: An Echo Falls Mystery   Peter Abrahams     111
Martyn Pig   Kevin Brooks     114
Code Orange   Caroline B. Cooney     116
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time   Mark Haddon     119
Flush   Carl Hiaasen     121
Historical     123
For Freedom: The Story of a French Spy   Kimberly Brubaker Bradley     123
Much Ado about Grubstake   Jean Ferris     126
The Convicts   Iain Lawrence     128
Montmorency: Thief, Liar, Gentleman?   Eleanor Updale     131
Paranormal     133
The Love Curse of the Rumbaughs   Jack Gantos     133
The Minister's Daughter   Julie Hearn     136
Raven's Gate   Anthony Horowitz     138
The Haunting of Alaizabel Cray   Chris Wooding     141
I Am the Messenger   Markus Zusak     143
Fantasy/Science Fiction/Paranormal     147
Discovering Our Roots     147
Sign of the Qin: Book One   L. G. Bass     147
The Goblin Wood   Hilari Bell     150
Sign of the Raven   Julie Hearn     152
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince   J. K. Rowling     155
Discovering Different Worlds     157
A Great and Terrible Beauty   Libba Bray     157
The Sea of Trolls    Nancy Farmer     160
Inkheart   Cornelia Funke     162
Inkspell   Cornelia Funke     164
Revisiting the World of Fairy Tale, Myth, and Legend     166
The Arthur Trilogy   Kevin Crossley-Holland     166
Marvel 1602: # 1-8   Neil Gaiman     171
Once Upon a Marigold   Jean Ferris     173
Poison   Chris Wooding     176
Meeting the Challenges of the Future     178
The Diary of Pelly D   L. J. Adlington     178
Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment   James Patterson     181
How I Live Now   Meg Rosoff     184
The Last Universe   William Sleator     186
Elsewhere   Gabrielle Zevin     188
History     191
Choosing in Peace     191
Daniel Half Human   David Chotjewitz     191
The Forbidden Schoolhouse: The True and Dramatic Story of Prudence Crandall and Her Students   Suzanne Jurmain     194
The Secret Life of Bees   Sue Monk Kidd     196
The Outcasts of 19 Schuyler Place   E. L. Konigsburg     199
The Teacher's Funeral: A Comedy in Three Parts   Richard Peck     202
Choosing in War     205
Amaryllis   Craig Crist-Evans     205
An Innocent Soldier   Josef Holub     207
How I Found the Strong: A Novel of the Civil War   Margaret McMullan     210
Kipling's Choice   Geert Spillebeen     213
Defining Leaders and Events     215
George Washington, Spymaster: How the Americans Outspied the British and Won the Revolutionary War   Thomas B. Allen     215
The Real Revolution: The Global Story of American Independence   Marc Aronson     218
Children of the Great Depression   Russell Freedman     221
Something Out of Nothing: Marie Curie and Radium   Carla Killough McClafferty     223
John Lennon: All I Want Is the Truth   Elizabeth Partridge     225
Multiple Cultures     229
Learning from Other Countries     229
The Heaven Shop   Deborah Ellis     229
The Kite Runner   Khaled Hosseini     231
Facing the Lion: Growing Up Maasai on the African Savanna   Joseph Lemasolai Lekuton     234
Under the Persimmon Tree   Suzanne Fisher Staples      236
Chu Ju's House   Gloria Whelan     239
When I Was a Soldier: A Memoir   Valerie Zenatti     241
Learning from the Cultures within Our Country     244
Sweetgrass Basket   Marlene Carvell     244
Fortune's Bones: The Manumission Requiem   Marilyn Nelson     247
Becoming Naomi Leon   Pam Munoz Ryan     249
Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy   Gary D. Schmidt     251
Finding My Hat   John Son     254
Full Service   Will Weaver     257
Index     261

Editorial Reviews

This book is full of useful information for librarians who are new to booktalking or those busy librarians who need a reliable, up-to-date young adult literature resource….Each entry includes bibliographic information, themes or topics, and a summary or description. The author also includes a complete booktalk script for those who are not sure what to include or who are looking for something at a moment's notice….With the abundance of young adult literature that has been published in the last few years, it is easy to miss out on some wonderful books. The wealth of information included with each title makes this book invaluable to librarians as a booktalking or collection development tool. The organization of the book is extraordinary. The table of contents makes the book user-friendly and easy to navigate. The index includes both author names and titles….[T]his is a book that is highly recommended for those working with teen readers to use for booktalks or reader's advisory.” —Reference & User Services Quarterly

“This book includes read-to-use booktalks, read-aloud selections, learning activities, and related reads for approximately 100 fiction and nonfiction books published since 2000 and geared for teens….More than a repository of booktalks, Booktalks and Beyond is also a useful readers' advisory tool, serving as a quick-and-dirty resource to brush up on young adult materials. Librarians new to the field, new to the literature, as well as those doing outreach, will all find something of value in Lucy Schall's Booktalks and Beyond.” —Colorado Association of Libraries

“This is an excellent and needed resource for anyone planning on giving booktalks. Not only can school media specialists and public librarians use this book, but classroom teachers in various disciplines will find this a needed resource for outside reading materials…. Each section gives various themes, and each book listed includes the author, title, bibliographic information, summary and description, read aloud/reader response, booktalk, learning opportunities, open-ended questions and research topics are provided….Another helpful feature is the reading level of the book provided in the bibliographic information. Most librarians find giving booktalks an enjoyable part of the job. This book will help as they plan their presentations. Recommended.” —Library Media Connection

“This work is an update of Schall's Teen Genre Connections and includes books published from 2001 to 2006. A new section in each chapter, Read Aloud/Reader Response, suggests passages for discussion, dramatic readings, or performing. Each title is covered in two pages and also includes bibliographic information, suggested grade level, themes or topics, a summary, a sample booktalk, learning opportunities, and related works. This is a useful guide to presenting books to teens.” —School Library Jourbanal

“[P]rovides ready-to-use, snappy sample booktalks along with follow up activities perfect for a classroom or small-group setting.” —School Library Jourbanal

“This volume will be most useful for librarians new to teen literature, as well as those needing a refresher on more recent titles, and will also serve as an additional resource for librarians looking for new booktalking ideas. It complements but does not replace older teen genre guides such as Teen Genreflecting (Libraries Unlimited, 1997). Recommended for young adult librarians in school and public libraries.” —Booklist/RA Corner

“Schall, a former middle school and high school English teacher, provides background information, ready-to-use booktalks, read-aloud selections, learning activities, and related reads for about 100 fiction and nonfiction books with broad teen appeal. The entries are arranged in sections on issues, contemporary, adventure, mystery/suspense, fantasy/science fiction, history, and other cultures. The sections of related works include books as well as graphic novels, short stories, plays, poems, reference books, and Web sites. The book will be used by instructors, librarians, parents, and others who work with teen readers.” —Reference & Research Book News

“Where does one turban for the activities to go with the book that a teen book group is currently reading? Turban to Schall's new volume for which she has chosen popular, high-quality young adult works published after 2000 and gives advice on how to promote them to teen readers….Schall, a former middle and high school English teacher, knows what busy professionals need to be current and conversant. She writes a very practical and easy-to-use volume. Use it for collection development, programming tips for booktalks and book clubs, displays, and reader's advisory work with teen readers. Teachers and librarians equally will find it helpful. Teen specialists will appreciate the tips and reminders of great reads, while non-specialists will consider it a go-to source.” —VOYA

“Schall organizes 100 or so fiction and non-fiction titles by topics and genres, and for each title provides reading level, a list of the primary topics and themes, a brief synopsis, several read-aloud suggestions, a ready-made booktalk, some projects to suggest or questions to ask teen readers, and an annotated list of related works….This is a useful tool not just for YA programming, but for the new librarian who doesn't yet feel comfortable filling teen-readers' advisor shoes.” —American Libraries

From the Publisher

This work is an update of Schall's Teen Genre Connections (Libraries Unlimited, 2005) and includes books published from 2001 to 2006. A new section in each chapter, "Read Aloud/Reader Response," suggests passages for discussion, dramatic readings, or performing. Each title is covered in two pages and also includes bibliographic information, suggested grade level, themes or topics, a summary, a sample booktalk, learning opportunities, and related works. This is a useful guide to presenting books to teens, but the author does warn that ideally one should read a book before booktalking it.-Corinda J. Humphrey, Los Angeles Public Library

School Library Journal