Programming Spotlight: Paul Griffin at Boys Town

On Wednesday, January 25th, author Paul Griffin visited Boys Town for the first time. Paul met with both the boys and girls classes whom had just finished reading Mr. Griffin’s beloved novel, Ten Mile River. Mr. Griffin was exited to hear the student’s keen observations on his writing and discuss their many informed questions. One such student who was currently reading Paul Griffins’ The Orange Houses commented that Mr. Griffin writes about incarceration and the foster care system with the understanding of someone who has actually gone through these systems and wanted to know how(if at all) he was connected to them. Mr. Griffin informed the student of his background teaching and presenting workshops in many of New York City's sites of detention for youth. Paul Griffin ended the visit by telling the students ‘we all need to work together’ and that ‘love is the best medicine for the soul.’ --L. A. Gabay

Grace After Midnight: a Memoir by Felicia "Snoop" Pearson and David Ritz

Some of the most popular requests from students are for books about “real life.” Sometimes they’re looking for realistic fiction, but often they’re looking for a real story about a real person who has been through difficult times. Grace After Midnight fits the bill. Anyone who has watched the latter part of HBO’s groundbreaking series The Wire will know Snoop’s character, a soldier for Marlo’s drug-dealing crew who commits murders with calm professionalism. What they may not know is that Felicia “Snoop” Pearson was living a life very similar to her character’s when she was discovered by one of the actors in the show. Recruited for being “perfect” for the role, Snoop’s life was suddenly turned upside down.

Snoop tells her story in a simple and direct way that is sure to draw students in to her world. Opening with a memory of her birth mother, a crack-addicted woman who once sold the clothes off Snoop’s back for drugs, this story pulls the reader in from the very beginning. It’s filled with memories of her life with the foster parents she loves, her crime-filled neighborhood, and her time in prison. She’s also very candid about her sexual identity and her relationships with women. --Anja Kennedy

Paul Griffin Visits Passages Academy - Crossroads

Paul Griffin, author of Ten Mile River, The Orange Houses, and Stay With Me, spent yesterday morning deep in conversation with students at Passages Academy - Crossroads.  Three lucky classes had the chance to talk with Paul about his life as an author, delve into his newest book, and engage in some vigorous conversation around the role of storytelling in our daily lives.  I think the chorus of "when are you coming back?!" that rang out at the end of his session with a group of high school boys says more than I ever could about the positive impact his visits have.  Thank you, Mr. Griffin! --Regan Schwartz

I Have A Dream

Click here to see Michael Rachap's short short clip of MLK's famous "I Have a Dream" speech from 1968 with synchronized text-- great for emerging readers who want to see the words as they hear Dr. Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s singular delivery.

One of many links to the entire audio of the speech is here.--Jessica Fenster-Sparber

Cirque du Freak series by Darren Shan

Like vampires but tired of Twilight?  Darren Shan has the remedy: his Cirque du Freak series.

The main character- a fictionalized Darren Shan- lives in a normal town, with a normal family, goes to a normal high school, and has normal friends.  Until the Cirque du Freak comes to town, anyway.  Steve, Darren’s best friend, accompanies Darren to the illicit entertainment venue, and both are enthralled by Rhamus Two-Bellies, Truska the Bearded Lady, and Mr. Crepsley’s poisonous, exotic spider, Madam Octa, who performs tricks.

When both boys find themselves in dire trouble, the only cure is Darren’s death…or half-death, to be more precise.  Mr. Crepsley, who turns out to be a vampire, saves the day by taking Darren’s humanity.  Now a half-vampire and full-time vampire’s assistant to Mr. Crepsley, Darren is faced with more of the supernatural than he ever fantasized about.

Simple but descriptive writing make this series entertaining and suspenseful.  The reading level floats somewhere near the fourth grade level, though it would hardly be insulting to present to a more advanced or older student as the material is compelling and adventure-filled. All told, the series is a fun escape from the drama-ridden fiction that tends to prevail in adolescent literature.  --Julie Weber


Julie Weber recently finished an MFA in non-fiction writing and has been teaching ELA, and assorted other subjects, at Passages Academy since 2006. When not immersed in the world of letters, she can be found either coaching or playing volleyball.

Playground by 50 Cent with Laura Moser

Butterball, a sometime-bully, sometime-victim of bullying, offers a protagonist some readers will be able to readily identify with-- he’s young, he’s angry, and he feels like he’s been given a rotten deal. The story opens with Butterball facing a therapist after being threatened with an expulsion for knocking a kid in the face with a sock full of batteries. Butterball is clearly angry that his parents split up and he had to move out to Long Island with his mother, but he also appreciates the benefits of his situation. I expect that younger teen readers will be quickly engaged in this coming-of-age story which invites a deeper look at the choices Butterball made and the path that led him to become a bully, as well as passage through the denial Butterball initially experiences in regard to his mother’s new life and his father’s character.

Educators may be interested to know the book includes phrases like “you crazy b****.” Interestingly, Penguin describes the book as appropriate for 12 year olds and up.--Jessica Fenster-Sparber

Something Like Hope by Shawn Goodman

Shavonne is living out a life that seems to have gotten away from her. First incarcerated in the eighth grade, and filled with shame and anger, she lashes out at those around her in the most self-destructive ways - all but ensuring that she will be moved to an adult prison on her approaching 18th birthday. Shavonne faces many obstacles: an absent, crack-addicted mother; a little brother who seems to exist only in her distant memories; a baby girl growing up in foster care; and an institution that doesn’t seem to know how to, or want to, help her. But in the unlikeliest of places, with the unlikeliest of allies, she may just find something like hope.

Goodman has created a fascinating and complex character in Shavonne, whose thoughts, feelings, and actions feel authentic. Fans of Paul Griffin’s Ten Mile River and Matt de la Pena’s We Were Here will find in Shavonne a hero facing familiar demons with remarkable insight. --Regan Schwartz

Question: Best Books for Youth in Detention?

Dear Readers,

We love Amy Cheney's list of her Top Picks for Youth in Detention published yesterday by School Library Journal. The book students at Passages checked out most frequently in the last year was Coe Booth's Tyrell. Students in secure detention haven't been able to get their hands on Bronxwood because it hasn't been released in paperback yet (or many other books on this list, for that matter). What would you pick as the top book(s) for youth in detention in 2011? What are you the most excited about for 2012?

--Jessica Fenster-Sparber

PAL iPad Pilot Launches at Passages

Today Passages Academy Libraries' iPad pilot launched! Students at secure sites accessed iPads for the first time. One incredulous user asked "Are we really going to be able to use [them] again?" --Jessica Fenster-Sparber

Exciting News: National Treasure Named National Ambassador

Welcome back and Happy 2012! We were already excited about today (stay tuned!) but now we're doubly excited to find out that this year will be the best one yet for the National Ambassador for Young People's Literature (in our biased opinion). The inestimable Walter Dean Myers picks up the mantle and will spend the next two years traveling about (as he is already wont to do) encouraging folks to read. Could they have picked a better humanitarian and author for this job? Um, no. They could not. Congratulations, Walter! Excellent work, selection committee! --Jessica Fenster-Sparber

Read about it in yesterday's New York Times, Publishers Weekly, and School Library Journal.

Photo credit: Constance Myers

Happy Holidays!

Thanks for keeping up with us in 2011! We'll be back with what's good in 2012 on Jan. 3.

What’s Good?: Exciting news about a former student!

from left to right: Lauren Adelman, MoMA Educator; P. showing off her sculpture; Ben Petty, Passages Academy Art Teacher; Alan Calpe, MoMA Teaching Artist. Behind them are more pieces from the Body/Building: Sculpture as Self-Portrait class that P. participated in.

Through our Community Partnership with MoMA, one of our former students applied, was accepted, and just completed a ten-week art class at the museum as a Community Scholar. Her work is on display right now along with all of the other teen participants’ work in the Education and Research Building (54th Street entrance, downstairs). Ben Petty, her Art Teacher while she was at Passages, and I went to the opening on Friday night and were thrilled to see her and her beautiful work. She gave me this quote about her experience in the Teen Program: “MoMA is a great experience. Your imagination equals beautiful spontaneous art.”  --Anja Kennedy

Guest Post: We All Fall Down: Living with Addiction by Nic Sheff

Nic Sheff and his father, David Sheff, appeared on the addiction/recovery literary scene in January 2009, when they published Tweak and Beautiful Boy, respectively. In We All Fall Down: Living With Addiction, Nic Sheff continues the story of his addiction, this time beginning with a knock on a drug dealer’s door—exactly where he hoped he would never be when he wrote the epilogue to Tweak. We All Fall Down is the story of relapse and the struggle not just to get sober, but also to stay sober or, more accurately, to live sober. Less dramatically drug-fueled than its predecessor, We All Fall Down describes Nic’s tenuous relationship with twelve-step programs (like Alcoholics or Narcotics Anonymous) and with non-substance-related addictions that threaten his sobriety (read: girls. especially newly sober girls).

We All Fall Down is a memoir that resonates with many of the incarcerated youth I work with. When I asked the students about their favorite books, three girls described how they passed We All Fall Down around eagerly. Specifically, they enjoyed the fact that it was “hopeful,” “not just about drugs” and “realistic—it didn’t act like [getting sober] was super easy.” Creative writing and/or English teachers can use sections of this book as an engaging introduction to creative non-fiction and, of course, the value and trappings of such difficult self-exposure. If read alongside his father’s work, students can also get a good sense of how life events are multi-dimensional and of how context impacts how reality is perceived. --Katie MacBride

Katie MacBride is the Young Adult Librarian at the Mill Valley Public Library in Marin County, California. She also volunteers at the Marin County Juvenile Hall, where she brings books and offers reader's advisory services. She teaches a creative writing class at both the public library and the juvenile hall.

Rikers High by Paul Volponi

What does a typical day look like for the hundreds of teens awaiting sentencing on Rikers Island? What happens behind all that barbed wire and security? Our students are understandably curious, and this book, while fictional, paints a picture of one teen’s experience. The main character is Martin Stokes, a seventeen year-old who has never before been in any real trouble, and he has recently been arrested for a “bubblegum charge” -- he was taken in by an undercover police officer for “steering” him to buy drugs in the neighborhood. While on Rikers, Martin witnesses and is the victim of extreme violence, is forced to attend school, and tries his best in the midst of all this to figure out a plan to survive the system and get released. Luckily, Martin has a strong head on his shoulders, clear vision, and a supportive family at home.

Our students are certainly able to relate to Martin’s feelings of just trying to get through the day, of being frustrated with the justice system, and of being homesick. They are huge fans of many of Paul Volponi’s books, and in the last couple of weeks, two of our high school classes have been reading Rikers High in preparation for a Skype meeting with the author. --Anja Kennedy

Guest Post: Boot Camp by Todd Strasser

Can you imagine being dragged out of your bed in the middle of the night, getting handcuffed and driven to a teenage boot camp, completely against your will? In Todd Strasser’s Boot Camp, Garrett is dropped off at Lake Harmony, a reform school that promises to change any child into the one their parents want. From day one, Garrett is tortured, beaten and humiliated— all tools the staff use to bend the will of the teens in Lake Harmony’s “care.” Everyone has a choice at Lake Harmony, either thrive by accepting the brainwashing or get beaten down daily. Garrett has to figure out how to survive without losing himself.

Todd Strasser tells a graphic story about the unconstitutional tactics and beliefs of boot camps that exist across America. These camps make expensive promises to parents they have to meet, sometimes at deadly costs for the children. Parents and teens everywhere will appreciate the honesty in this book and will learn to value the importance of communication in their relationships. -- Denice Martin

Denice Martin-Thompson is a Reading Specialist at Passages Academy’s Summit site in the Bronx. She’s the creator of RAW- Ready, Able & Willing to Read and Write, an intervention service for Pre-K--Adults and she is also a published poet. Struggling to Survive The Story of a First Year Teacher Told Through Poetry is available here. Her passion for the arts comes alive in her writing; she believes in the liberating power of poetry and hopes to self publish her other titles one day. You can read more about Ms. Martin-Thompson by visiting her website here.

King George: What Was His Problem?: The Whole Hilarious Story of the American Revolution by Steve Sheinkin

This book is the perfect antidote to every boring, poorly contextualized, and heavily sanitized textbook telling of our nation’s birth forced on students across this expansive country. Readers are taken through the entire American Revolution, from the reviled Stamp Act of 1765 through the battles at Lexington and Concord in 1775, to the British surrender in Yorktown in 1781. All of the essential historical information is here, accurately revealed through a series of personal stories, sprinkled liberally with quotes and conversations, bringing to life the main players in this grand saga. It also features a “Whatever Happened to...” section with pithy biographies of key figures in the Revolution. King George: What Was His Problem? is both a satisfying read and an excellent resource for research, as it is well-indexed with copious source notes. Don’t let the abundance of bibliographic material keep you from picking up this very amusing and enlightening history. --Regan Schwartz

Alex Rider: Point Blank by Anthony Horowitz

One of our graphic novel readers has been asking for the next book to this series for some time now, so I decided to see what the buzz was all about. Alex Rider connected with my younger self, and from the beginning to the end the novel reads like a film. Alex Rider: Point Blank is the second book in the Alex Rider series; so far only three titles have been adapted as comics from the original series. The central story from the original books remains, albeit shortened. Alex Rider is a teenager and a secret agent of the British organization MI6. As cool as this sounds, for Alex this is a curse more than a gift because he has to work twice as hard to maintain his grades. Readers are engaged quickly through the introduction, where Alex catches some bad guys using unorthodox methods, which get him into trouble with his own agency. The story evolves at a fast pace and adds a few layers of complexity. There are some plot twists which readers may or may not see coming. This graphic novel is colorful and vivid, and that’s definitely part of the appeal-- all the gadgets, explosions and action in the novel are exciting, largely due to the artwork. --Claudio Leon

Where We'll Be: The Biblioball

Dear Readers,

We would like to invite you to join us at the best party in NYC tomorrow night, the Desk Set's Biblioball.

Who: Librarians and librarian lovers
What: Sets from DJs Duane Harriott, Shakey, John XI, Marty McSorley, Mikey Post, Brian Blackout, Jimmy T; The return of the Fancy Pants Raffle; The premiere of “S is for Shhhhh…” an original short film in the Noir style; Jeremy Balderson takes your portrait in front of Gilbert Ford’s one-of-a-kind backdrop; Make your own Origami Corsage and so much more1
Where: The Bell House, Brooklyn
When: 8pm-4am
Why: Because we like you. And you like books. And proceeds support Literacy for Incarcerated Teens

Click here to purchase a ticket before they sell out.

Home Again, Home Again

Welcome back to library team member and blog writer Claudio Leon! He flew home from Mexico yesterday after attending the FIL conference thanks to a travel grant from ALA and our principal's commitment to excellence in school library services to readers who read en espanol. We hope to have these books and dozens more on our shelves soon!--Jessica Fenster-Sparber

Programming Spotlight: Bai Xi at the New Vic

Yesterday, two extremely talented teaching artists from The New Victory Theater visited two groups of students at our Boys Town site. Students had a great time with trust-building exercises and balancing activities.

Boys Town faculty, staff, and students had the opportunity to share in a phenomenal Chinese circus experience today. One of our students was invited to the stage to dance and complete hat tricks!--Tyler Hamilton

Bai Xi opens to the general public tomorrow on December 2 and will run through January 1, 2011. It's not too late to get tickets!

Photo Credit: Aubrey Haynes

Tyler Hamilton teaches Math at Passages Academy's Boys Town site. He coordinated today's trip and enjoyed it immensely himself.