Sneak Preview: What Lane? by Torrey Maldonado

Stephen is a Brooklyn sixth grader who is becoming  more aware of the criminalization of Black boys his age.  He coaxes Dan, his “white-white” best friend,  to develop his own awareness.  Then,  when Stephen is faced with the racist behaviors of Dan’s cousin and new neighbor,  Chad,   Dan allies himself with his friend.  As this  fast-paced novel unfolds, Stephen gets mixed messages from his parents, his teachers,  his friends, and his neighbors about his own identity.

Rippling with emotional intelligence, What Lane?  will appeal to readers aged 10-12 and to ELA teachers,  Advisory teachers,  and book club leaders.  Educators will appreciate how Maldonado makes the English language feel fresh and malleable with his artistic use of juxtapositions and doubling while writing for developing readers.  What Lane? is an essential addition to all libraries serving preteens,  and urban libraries are likely to want multiple copies.  --Jessica Fenster-Sparber

Maldonado, Torrey.  What Lane?  New York: Nancy Paulsen Books- Penguin Random House, 2020. Print.*

*The copy reviewed was an advance review copy.  The book is due out this Spring.

Fable Comics edited by Chris Duffy

For teachers who cover fables: ELA, Greek and Latin, and general elementary teachers, as well as ESL and Reading specialists who provide academic remedial support to students whose teachers are covering fables, this title will be of interest.  The inimitable Chris Duffy has collected 28 fables, two-thirds attributed to Aesop and the balance being from a variety of cultures including American, European, Asian, and African.  As with all anthologies, the mix means that some hit their mark while others miss.  For teachers providing remedial support, the longer fables may be the most useful, among them Kochalka’s “The Fox and the Grapes,” Sikoryak’s “Lion + Mouse,” and Hernandez’s “The Boy Who Cried Wolf” offer stronger entry points.  The variety Duffy has assembled means that fans of the Flight and Explorer anthologies, and graphic novel fans in general will find favorite artists like George O’Connor and Maris Wicks mixed in with previously-unfamiliar illustrators like Corrine Mucha and Keny Widjaja.--Jessica Fenster-Sparber

Duffy, Chris (Editor).  Fable Comics.  New York: First Second, 2015.  Print.

Click here for a lesson plan from the anthology's own Corrine Mucha via First Second's website.

What My Father Gave Me Edited by Melanie Little

This collection of short stories is a powerful read on the theme of father-daughter relationships. Each of the seven stories features a different family dynamic used to demonstrate how said relationships evolve over the course of time and how complex they can be. From an abusive father to the perfect stepdad, each story is carefully told to show the reader how these relationships affect the daughter’s future relationships and for some their future lives. Although short (8 to 16 pages,) writers manage to convey their thoughts and feelings in a way that encourages the reader connect with the characters. Some of the stories are followed by an interview with the story’s author where she answers questions about her life and what inspired them her to write. My favorite story was by Jessica Raya. She writes about the string of stepfathers in and out of her mother’s life. In and out until the least likely one to stick around does. He sees her grow into a young woman and helps their family as a whole overcome their past challenges. This title would be a good resource for students and teachers seeking short narrative nonfiction as well as looking for alternative texts within the short stories unit.--Claudio Leon

Little, Melanie (Ed.) What My Father Gave Me. Buffalo: Annick Press, 2010. Print.

Knockout Games by G. Neri

Erica’s dad leaves her and her mom with the parting gift of an HD video camera.  The two move to a rough part of St. Louis, Missouri, as a result of her parents’ split.  Erica struggles to make new friends, entering her new, racially mixed school in the middle of the year.  Shortly thereafter, her only friend, Destiny, sees Erica using her camera and drags her off to capture what Destiny thinks is just about the most interesting thing going on: middle school boys selecting a weak-looking adult to approach and surprise with a single knockout punch.

Where Neri takes this scenario is dutifully complex.   Booktalking this book today revealed that the knockout game is not unfamiliar to Passages’ students, suggesting that this novel is both timely and needed as Neri mentions in his author’s note.  Longer and more challenging than Caged Warrior, Knockout Games could make a great book club or classroom read as it is realistic and rich with the moral quandaries facing Erica, and broader themes of racial injustice and complexity in our times. More experienced middle school readers and high schoolers may want to read it independently.  Pairs interestingly with How it Went Down and A Separate Peace.  --Jessica Fenster-Sparber

Neri, G.  Knockout Games.  Minneapolis: Carolrhoda Lab, 2014  

Click here to download a sample chapter and for a discussion guide on the author’s website.

How it Went Down by Kekla Magoon

Tariq, a sixteen-year-old African-American teen, goes to the store for his mother to buy some milk and picks up a Snickers bar for his little sister.  On his way home he is confronted by a neighbor who perceives that Tariq has a gun.  A third person, Jack Franklin, approaches, shoots, and kills Tariq and drives away.  Franklin is subsequently apprehended by the police and let go.  National activist and political figure Reverend Alabaster prepares to make his move into the spotlight while the nation is asking for answers and Tariq’s mother is asking for justice.  Sound familiar?  

Magoon’s polyphonous novel is thick with topical relevance and the challenges of multiple points of view.   It’s first few pages ensnare the reader within a web of suspense structurally furthered by short chapters.  Characters like Brick and Noodle, members of the local Kings 8-5 crew, will appeal to reluctant male readers and others like Jennica, Noodle’s girlfriend and witness at the crime scene; Kimberly, Tariq’s former babysitter-cum-professional stylist; and Tina, Tariq’s little sister, will appeal to female readers, making this a great text for mixed gender book clubs and class discussions. ELA teachers will find this a rich selection for teaching perspective, voice, and character development.  Highly recommended for fans of Walter Dean Myers’ Street Love.  --Jessica Fenster-Sparber

Click here for a discussion guide from the publisher.

Magoon, Kekla.  How It Went Down.  New York: Henry Holt & Co., 2014.  Print.

Jon Scieszka Presents Guys Write for Guys Read

Bizarre sports initiation rituals, dating, fathers, brothers - the list of topics expounded on in this nonfiction collection goes on and on.  Written by men, for young men, the all-star lineup of authors and illustrators includes Walter Dean Myers, Chris Crutcher, Jack Prelutsky, Ned Vizzini, Marc Aronson, Dave Pilkey, and Jack Gantos, and Matt Groening, to name a few.  Each of the ninety short biographical stories weigh in at two pages or less, making them a good fit for classroom use.  With the wide range of topics and styles offered, Guys Write for Guys Read is a versatile tool for teachers and librarians.  Particular stories recommended by my English teaching colleague include Walter Dean Myers’ “Daydreams,” Will Weaver’s “Training the Bear,” and David Shannon’s “No, David!”  Each selection includes biographical information about the author and a short selected bibliography. --Regan Schwartz

Scieszka, Jon, ed. Guys Write for Guys Read. New York: Viking, 2008. Print.

Tyrell by Coe Booth

Tyrell is feeling the pressure. He and his mom and his little brother just got kicked out of the projects and they’re living in a shelter. His dad is in prison and his mom wants him to start selling drugs to support the family. He’s torn between his long-time girlfriend (whose life seems perfect and nothing like Tyrell’s) and the new girl he met at the shelter (whose life is more similar to his own). With all of these challenges in his life, school is not a priority and he stops going. Booklist, in its starred review of the book, said Tyrell is “heartbreakingly realistic,” and I agree. Tyrell’s life reflects the stressful experiences of many of our students’ own lives. The plot is immediately familiar, as is the characters’ language and dialog. This book flies off the shelves; it gets checked out more times than any other novel in the library, and it is the most difficult one to get returned. One student borrows the book, but it often then gets read by each student in the group home before it comes back to school. This book is highly recommended for independent reading— trust me, it’s not a tough sell. Also exciting for students and teachers, the sequel, Bronxwood, is coming out soon! We are eagerly anticipating Ms. Booth’s visit with our high school students at Summit in December.

Booth, Coe. Tyrell. New York: PUSH Scholastic, 2006.

The Life of Mammals hosted by David Attenborough

Who doesn’t enjoy watching real, vivid, and up-close footage of animals in the wild? David Attenborough, veteran wild-life expert, hosts and narrates each segment on this DVD collection of four discs, roughly 500 total minutes of mammals. Each disc is further broken down into chapters of mammal-types, making it ideal for showing short bits to a class at a time. By far, most popular with students I have watched it with is the Meat Eaters chapter, where lions and tigers and other big beasts hunt their prey with breakneck speed and ferocity, but students are also riveted to the screen while watching the less obvious chapters on Chisellers (squirrels, marmots, beavers, etc.), Opportunists (hyenas, prairie doges, etc.), Return to the Water (whales, dolphins, seals, etc.) and the others. Like teens everywhere, presumably, our students are fascinated by animals, especially wild ones roaming in places where they have never been. This collection is a perfect tool for beginning research and inquiry projects because students naturally ask many questions while watching it. These questions, which are authentic and organic, make their research all the more valuable. ELA teachers may also use this collection for writing prompts, both creative and non-fiction.

Guest Blog Post: The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

Esperanza longs to escape from her stifling and poverty stricken Latino neighborhood. In this series of 44 brief vignettes, Sandra Cisneros allows us a view into the intimate life of a young girl, coming of age in a large family where everyone shares and sometimes aches for clothing, food, and the attention of its members. Each story is narrated in first-person present tense and may be only a few paragraphs in length, yet completely able to be read as stand alone pieces. Some of the themes covered in this collection are culture, gender roles, responsibilities and concept of home. Simile, metaphor, personification, alliteration, and other forms of figurative language are interwoven throughout The House on Mango Street and provide for an abundance of learning activities. --Mary Lou DeLigio

Mary Lou DeLigio is a former member of Passages' library team and is currently breaking new ground heading up the PA-Bridges' intake team. She is a veteran English teacher and Special Education teacher.

Love Poems by Pablo Neruda

What's not to love about a book of love poems? Even better, a book of love poems by none other than Nobel Laureate and Chilean poet Pablo Neruda, with the original Spanish on the left page and the English translation on the right page? Our students ask me for books with love poems all the time -- sometimes they're looking for inspiration for writing their own poetry, and sometimes they're just looking for a poem that describes their own feelings, and they want to share that poem with someone special. When the opportunity to acquire class sets of poetry books for our English teachers came up last year, we recommended this title for the high school groups. It has been a big hit with students, who first fall for the design of the book (it must be about love, it's pink!, but it's also a little flashy and so small it's almost pocket-size), and then they find the poetry inside. This little book is filled with sensual language and beautiful imagery; students will certainly appreciate this particular resource during poetry units, but teachers may also wish to share this book with Spanish-speaking students, or integrate it into the celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month.

Neruda, Pablo. Love Poems. New York: New Directions, 2008.

Secret Saturdays by Torrey Maldonado

Has your best friend ever kept a secret from you? A secret so big, everything has changed? Living in the projects in Red Hook, Brooklyn, Justin and Sean have been best friends ever since Sean stuck up for Justin in a fight in fourth grade. But now Sean's becoming a bully, and he's keeping a secret from Justin. Can their friendship survive all of Sean's lies? Students, middle schoolers especially, will appreciate this real-life, written with real-language, mystery about friendship, school, and growing up in a tough neighborhood. Teachers will no doubt appreciate an exciting new addition to the ever growing collection of great authors and great books that also appeal to our students. This is the first book by Maldonado, a New York City school teacher who treated our students at Passages' Horizon site with a visit last year.

Maldonado, Torrey. Secret Saturdays. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 2010.

The Rose That Grew From Concrete by Tupac Shakur

Themes of love, pain and poverty are prevalent in this collection of poetry by famed rap artist Tupac Shakur. His handwritten and illustrated poems (complete with misspellings and edits), appear alongside the printed words, making it less intimidating than polished, "scholarly" poetry. This book gets requested by students who love Tupac and poetry – but it also serves as an introduction to poetry for students who claim they aren’t fans. With lines like, “we R 2 young 2 stress and suffer” (from Nightmares), teens can relate to the casual writing style. Most even look like they were written on lined notebook paper, adding to the accessibility of the entire book. This would be a fantastic lead into a poetry unit, or an engaging resource to demonstrate the editing and revising process.

Shakur, Tupac. The Rose That Grew From Concrete. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1999.