NCTE 2011

So many great sessions and so many new books to read. Our session this morning went well with about 50-55 people for an AM Sunday session. Not bad. I finally got to meet my Amelia Walden friend, Lois, which was exciting for me. We had an email friendship during the award year last year and it was nice to put a face with a name. I am now off in search of some food so I can get back for my yearly fix of Linda Rief.

Time is Flying....NCTE already?

Fall has truly gotten away from me. With a full time workload, soccer momming, and trying to grade five classes of papers as well as cook and keep a house straight, I'm just about losing my mind. Hence, the lack'a-posts! :) So, my resolution after NCTE is to try to get back to blogging semi-regularly.

I leave tomorrow for NCTE and our annual YA BOOK AWARDS talk will take place at 8:30 a.m. on Sunday. Here are the books I am booktalking, but there are MANY more between the three of us.

NCTE- Day #1

NATION, SAVVY, GRACELING, BODY DRAMA, PROPHECY OF THE SISTERS, SHIVER, THE SURRENDER TREE, BECAUSE I AM FURNITURE, FRANKIE LANDAU-BANKS.
What a great opening day. We started out presenting in session A and we were pretty happy with it but know it could use some tweaks for next year. The books I book talked are listed above. We were so honored to be chaired by Teri Lesesne, who is my reading and teaching heroine. :)

After our session, I sat in on a great panel on censoryship with Lauren Myracle, Jay Asher and David Leivthan. I then scored an ARC for David Levithan and John Green's new book called Will Grayson, Will Grayson and I can't wait to read it! I also got to meet the famous Rachel Moore from Penguin, who has been sending me ARCs to review for the last year. Very appreciative!

I then went to see Alfred Tatum even though I have his new book but haven't had time to read it. How inspirational! I will use his premise to show my school that Read 180 and Culturally Relevant Pedagogy for struggling readers and writers are diametrically opposed.



I ended the day with attending a session on Photovoice done through Pioneer Middle School in Michigan (just a short hop from my district!). I can't wait to try to do this with my students this year in and around Ann Arbor.

Under the Persimmon Tree

UNDER THE PERSIMMON TREE by Suzanne Fisher Staples was published in 2005, but I just read about it in a blog (sorry, don't remember which one) that was suggesting good middle eastern titles. I picked it up from the library and was incredibly riveted. The novel takes place in 2001-2002 in Afghanistan right after the World Trade Center bombings. A family living in the mountains (outside of Kunduz) is devastated by what the Taliban does when it comes to their home. The young daughter, Najmah, takes a perilous journey with a neighboring family to find her brother and father in Peshawar, Pakistan. There, Najmah finds a blond American muslim woman, Nusrat, who is holding a "school" at her house while she waits for her own Afghani husband to return from Mazari-al-Sharif where he is a doctor running a free clinic. Nusrat cares for Najmah as the two discover the whereabouts of their loved ones in a very heart wrenching conclusion.

I have listened to the audio versions of SHABANU and it's sequel HAVELI by the same author. The rich cultural background Fisher Staples gives to these novels is outstanding, especially from the viewpoint of someone who knows very little about the region or customs. In this particular novel, Fisher Staples grapples with Sept 11, 2001, from the other side. It was a refreshing way to look at the tragedy- if that's possible. Did we understand, as Americans, what happened to the innocent civilians when we bombed Afghanistan? Did we know how fearful the Afghanis were of the Taliban? This novel really opened my eyes and would be a powerful teaching tool for students. I really want to add this to my collection next year and book talk it in September.