I’m on my way to visit Susan Cooper on an unseasonably warm day in mid-February. As my car cruises along, about 45 minutes south of Boston, low tide reveals miles of untouched marshland. I drive across a short causeway, creep down an unpaved lane, and suddenly I’m staring at the exquisite home that Cooper built a couple of years ago. My first thought is that I’ve stumbled upon the Grey House, the setting of Cooper’s first children’s book, Over Sea, Under Stone. With its soaring cathedral ceilings and wraparound windows that frame the wetlands, the space is filled with warmth and light even on a winter’s day. It seems like the perfect place for the 77-year-old writer to conjure up some more of her magic.

In June, Cooper will receive the 2012 Margaret A. Edwards Award, an annual lifetime achievement honor sponsored by SLJ and administered by the Young Adult Library Services Association. It’s about time. Cooper’s books have beguiled young readers for more than 40 years, and the award committee singled out for praise her most popular work, “The Dark Is Rising,” an epic, five-volume fantasy series comprised of Over Sea, Under Stone (1966); The Dark Is Rising (1973); Greenwitch (1974); The Grey King (1975); and Silver on the Tree (1977, all S & S/Margaret K. McElderry Bks.). The settings are contemporary England and Wales, and Cooper draws on Celtic and Arthurian legends to portray 11-year-old Will Stanton and his friends as they struggle against the terrifying powers of darkness. The series features two of Cooper’s trademarks—beautiful writing and superb storytelling—and if you haven’t read it, be forewarned: once you start, it’s nearly impossible to put down.

Cooper was born and raised in Buckinghamshire, in southeast England. While working as a reporter and feature writer in London for The Sunday Times, in the late ’50s and early ’60s, she spent her spare time writing Over Sea, Under Stone, which quickly caught the attention of legendary American editor Margaret K. McElderry. The two became lifelong friends and worked together on the “Dark Is Rising” series and many other books. Cooper began to write screenplays in the early 1980s with actor Hume Cronyn, and the two married in 1996.

I talked to Cooper about her remarkable journey as a writer, and later, with her daughter Kate, we looked at some of McElderry’s photographs and papers. As executor of her late editor’s will, Cooper was getting ready to ship the collection to its new home at Princeton University’s Cotsen Children’s Library.

What did you like to read as a child?

Assorted folktales and myths, I think—and John Masefield’s The Box of Delights was the enchanted room that I could go into and shut the door. I read E. Nesbit and Arthur Ransome, but this was wartime, so I was driven to what was on my parents’ shelves, and that included a 20-volume set of Dickens in very small print. Bad for my eyes, but very good for my sense of story.

What did you study in college?

I went to Oxford, Somerville College, and did a degree in English language and literature. We had lectures by C. S. Lewis on Renaissance literature, and Tolkien on Beowulf—he’d always start his series with a great shout of “Hwaet!” in guttural Anglo-Saxon. The two of them managed to halt the Oxford English syllabus at 1832, so there was a huge emphasis on early works by Spenser, Chaucer, Sir Gawain, the mystery plays, Malory and all his sources, above all Shakespeare. I soaked it all up like a sponge; I didn’t miss the Victorians a bit.

Were you working on your own stories?

I was already writing short stories. I edited the university newspaper, and decided a writer could only earn a living in journalism, so I went knocking on doors on Fleet Street and was lucky enough to get a job as a reporter on The Sunday Times—initially for Ian Fleming, who had a column called “Atticus.” Ian had just started writing the James Bond books; he was tall and handsome, with sexy hooded eyes, and a long cigarette holder in which he smoked far too many cigarettes. I was scared stiff of him because he was so sophisticated, but he was lovely. So was my life as a reporter, interviewing anyone from dockers to prime ministers and stars like Gary Cooper and Cary Grant. Great training for a writer, all that variety.

I lived alone and wrote in the evenings. I wrote a heavily autobiographical novel and an agent told me I should think of it as “apprentice writing”; and although I wanted to kill him, he was absolutely right. So I wrote a futuristic adult novel called Mandrake, and after that I found that Ernest Benn, who had published the E. Nesbit books, was offering a prize of £1,000 for “a family adventure story.” I hadn’t intended to write children’s books, but since I was earning about £800 a year at the time, this sounded great.

Tell us a little about the story.

I invented three children, Simon, Jane, and Barney Drew, and put them on a train to Cornwall, where they were met by a tall uncle with gray hair, their Great-Uncle Merriman. But by chapter three the book had become a fantasy, with Merriman as a Merlin figure, so it became useless for the competition. I didn’t care, I was having such a good time with it. Everything I was soaked in starting pouring into the book—the early literature, the Arthurian legends. I called it Over Sea, Under Stone. It was published by Jonathan Cape, but by that time I was living in America.

Why did you move here?

My newspaper sent me here for four months in 1962. I met a professor of metallurgy at MIT called Nicholas Grant, 20 years older than me, and he started turning up in London. We were married in 1963, to my editor’s horror, and off I went at 28 to be the stepmother of three teenagers in Massachusetts.

Did you keep writing?

I went on writing, but mostly nonfiction—first a book about the USA, Behind the Golden Curtain, which led to the only time I shall ever have my picture in Time magazine. They hated the book. Then a biography of the English writer J. B. Priestley, who was an old friend.

How did you meet Margaret McElderry?

Margaret had bought the American rights for Over Sea, Under Stone from Cape, so we’d corresponded. I wrote a novel called The Camp, based on my wartime childhood, but my agent couldn’t sell it. I sent it to Margaret and asked what was wrong with it, and she wrote back, “Nothing, but it’s a children’s book, and I want to publish it.” So we met for lunch in a Greenwich Village restaurant with a tree growing up out of its basement area, which I shall never forget, and she published the book as Dawn of Fear.

You wrote The Dark Is Rising, the second title in the series, eight years after the first book. That’s a long hiatus. What made you pick up the story again?

Nick and I were cross-country skiing one day in the woods, branches sticking up out of the snow looking like buried antlers, and I suddenly wanted to write a book set in snow like that, but in England, about an 11-year-old boy who wakes up one day and finds he can work magic. Sitting up in my study in Winchester, Massachusetts, for some reason I reread Over Sea, Under Stone, and I thought, Hey, this new story is linked to Over Sea—and Merriman is in it—and there are five books… And I wrote down the next four titles, four very rough outlines, and the last half page of the very last book, which I actually used when I got to Silver on the Tree. The next six years were wonderful, professionally. I knew where I was going.

I was very homesick, and every inch of The Dark Is Rising is where I grew up. Sometimes I sat in the sunny British Virgin Islands, where we had a little holiday house, writing about snowy Buckinghamshire. It doesn’t matter where you are geographically, of course, because you’re living in the landscape of your mind.

Did you send Margaret ideas for books or finished projects?

I don’t send things till I think they’re finished, but I never know whether a manuscript is any good. With The Dark Is Rising I sent her a nervous letter saying, “This is a very weird book, I’m afraid, it’s called The Gift of Gramarye and it’s rather long.” She wrote back saying that she loved it, but that we should change the title in case children thought it was about grammar. My editor at Chatto and Windus in England told me that The Dark Is Rising was the longest book they had ever published. It was only 216 pages—imagine.

Of course, fantasy novels weren’t the flavor du jour back then.

Margaret was a wonderful, supportive editor. We trusted each other. We did have huge battles about punctuation, and I drive copy editors mad to this day. I punctuate as if the prose were music, for the rhythm and sound of it. So when proofs came from Margaret with commas and semicolons altered, I put them all back again. Margaret would sigh and say, “Have it your way.”

Before long we became close personal friends. I miss her. She would sometimes turn something down, but if she knew there was a book I wanted to write, she would wait until I had finished it. She had an almost mystical respect for the imagination, and that gave her writers tremendous artistic freedom. “Whatever time you need,” she would say.

You’ve also written adult books, essays, short stories, and screenplays. You’ve never allowed yourself to become pigeonholed.

I was, and am, happiest writing the books published for children, but, well, I was just a writer. We were in the British Virgin Islands after The Dark Is Rising came out, and I was told I had a phone call. So I got in my little boat and went over to the island that had a phone, and Barbara Rollock at ALA told me that The Dark Is Rising was the only Honor book for the Newbery Medal. I’d never even heard of the Newbery Medal. I went back and said to Nick, “Nothing important—my book just missed winning some prize.” Then Margaret called, so I went back in my boat and she told me the facts of life.

The Dark Is Rising was the only Newbery Honor winner in 1974, and two years later, The Grey King won the Newbery. Suddenly, loads of people wanted to talk to you, but you rather adroitly avoided them.

I’m a shy person—if I’d been born more outgoing I’d have rejoiced in the talking. After Nicholas and I split in 1980, I was on my own with joint custody of our two children, Jonathan and Kate, and I needed to earn more money than children’s books will give you. But I didn’t have to go on the road because I became a screenwriter, by accident. I’d met the actors Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy, and after I finished Silver on the Tree Hume and I collaborated on a play for the two of them, called Foxfire, set in Appalachia. Hume was making a film with Jane Fonda and she read the play. One day when I was visiting the set she said, “Have you ever read a book by Harriette Arnow called The Dollmaker?”

I said, “How funny, my editor’s been trying to get me to read that for years.”

So Margaret didn’t disapprove when Jane hired Hume and me to write a screenplay from that wonderful big Appalachian novel. I enjoyed it; respectful adaptation of a novel is carpentry, reshaping an existing story for the new medium. I did rewrite the ending, which made me deeply nervous until Jane got a letter from Ms. Arnow saying, “The ending seems to me entirely natural.” The Dollmaker became a three-hour TV film; Jane got an Emmy, Hume and I won the Humanitas Prize and an Emmy nomination. So everyone thought I was a screenwriter, and for the next 10 years I wrote screenplays and children’s books alternately, and was solvent.

You also did some writing for baritone and early music pioneer John Langstaff and his Christmas Revels, which are now performed worldwide.

Yes. Margaret was also Jack’s editor, and one Christmas when she was staying with us we went to the magical, myth-haunted Revels and she took us backstage. Jack shook my hand and said, “But I’ve read your books! You should be writing for the Revels!” So I did, for the next 20 years—songs, plays, poems, you name it. Jack was a marvel—I miss him, too. Candlewick just published a book I wrote about him called The Magic Maker.

But the books were my real love, all this time—my two Boggart books, which were great fun, a string of picture books, one of them with my dear friend Ashley Bryan, and most recently two time-shift fantasies, King of Shadows and Victory. Margaret had retired, so I worked on Victory with Emma Dryden, equally happily.

What compels you to write?

Telling a story—that’s what we’re all about, isn’t it? Every chapter should make you want to know what happens in the next. A novel is a necklace of linked beads. Just the way it was for the earliest storytellers, trying to keep the audience listening around the fire and not wandering off.

What does winning prizes like the Edwards mean to you?

I have mixed feelings about prizes, because the choice is inevitably subjective and there are always a dozen other books or people equally deserving. But I’m deeply grateful. It changes your life, that wonderful reassurance that you’re doing the right thing and that you know how to do it. An award is a life belt; in any rough seas, you have it thereafter, keeping you afloat.

So can we hope to see another book soon?

It’s called Ghost Hawk, I just finished it. I haven’t a clue whether it’s any good.

From the left (left image): Rocco Staino; Barbara Genco, Library Journal's manager of special projects; and Christopher Harris. From the left (right image):Jon Gregory, Matt Andros, Roger Rosen, Diana McDermott, and Geraldine Curran. Photographs by Sean McGinty.

The world of reference is moving at warp speed these days. Public library patrons are used to Wikipedia and expect the same convenience when it comes to library resources. And in many school libraries, budget crunches, technology issues, and Common Core standards have made librarians’ jobs even more, shall we say, exciting. Wouldn’t you love to sit down with some of the world’s leading reference publishers and say, “Hey, wait a second! This is what we need you to do to make our libraries better”?

Well, here’s the next best thing. The following conversation offers an abridged, fly-on-the-wall view of SLJ’s gathering of publishers, aggregators, and, yes, librarians at the American Library Association’s January midwinter meeting in Dallas. Our goal? To talk about the latest trends and issues in reference materials for school and public libraries. A broad mandate, to be sure, but one that was ably corralled by our quick-thinking moderators, Christopher Harris, of New York’s Genesee Valley Educational Partnership, and Wendy Stephens, of New Market, Alabama’s Buckhorn High School. The duo, both librarians and SLJ contributors, led a spirited discussion of the merits of print vs. digital learning, the impact of those Common Core guidelines on publishers’ plans, and other timely and vexing topics.

Christopher Harris: What are schools looking for these days?

Wendy Stephens: One of our databases had a lovely area where all of these social issues, topics, were broken down. It was the best interface for selling databases to my students and teachers because in one moment they could see what was most applicable to the topic that they were working on. They didn’t even have to type anything.

Rocco Staino (SLJ contributing editor): Schools that have AP courses need quality information that’s very expensive to subscribe to for the entire year. But let’s say we only need access for the month of April. I think temporary or periodic access to expensive resources is something that libraries are open to.

Harris: Let’s be honest, that’s what they’re doing with trials anyway. Here’s a chance to monetize that. All the studies show that people pirate music because there’s no easy, cost-effective way to access it. If you make it easy and cost effective, they buy it instead because pirating it is a pain. But now there are new pricing models, or maybe we could go back to old-school consortia pricing. One library needs the database in March and another one in April, and one of them’s doing it at 8:30 in the morning, one of them’s doing it at 2:30 in the afternoon. Can we buy seats, and spread some of the cost out?

Jon Gregory (vice president of regional sales, World Book): But one of the first questions that we’re asked by our new subscribers is, “This isn’t seats, is it?”

Rick Lumsden (executive director of institutional sales, Britannica Digital Learning): We’re very flexible. If somebody says, “I’ve got money for two months,” I can switch them on and off for two months. Going the other direction, when money runs out, digital content goes away. We have a lot of people who say, “I’ve got the money now. I’m going to subscribe for five years, so that I know it’s there.” There are always creative solutions.

Staino: But in some states, you can’t do that.

Lumsden: Still, there’s a lot of flexibility with digital content. I’m not really sure our customers know that, but they shouldn’t be shy about asking.

Harris: There might be opportunities if you build modular things around the large curricular areas.

Gregory: That’s absolutely where we’re headed, and I know you all are doing the same thing.

Staino: AP courses are standard throughout the country, so everyone who has an American history AP course is doing the same thing and needs that material.

Gregory: So we create a database that should cover nine or 12 months’ worth of curriculum and price it knowing how much things will be used. But the problem is that it has to be there the whole time so the teachers can be trained. And you have students who are trying to catch up on the remedial side or who come in late to the game, and if access has just been turned off, it’s a problem.

Diana McDermott (director of marketing and sales, M. E. Sharpe): I also work on the academic side and the push is even more urgent there in terms of libraries wanting to pay only for what is used. But it’s difficult for a small publisher to invest in new products without having a firmer grasp on what the revenue might be.

Because we were late in the game and wanted to provide as much flexibility as possible, we set up a one-time purchase for digital. We thought that might be an incentive for libraries, as well, because they could budget it when it worked best. So many libraries—I would guess most of them—have access through statewide consortia to these larger databases and encyclopedias. We had to explain how ours could be looked at as a one-time book purchase. And we’ve been successful with that.

Stephens: Is that sustainable in the long term? I worry about the infrastructure required to maintain that, whether materials sold that way will continue to be available to us.

McDermott: Our costs are not as huge as some other databases, and we still publish print. We’re not sure how long we can financially sustain that, though we like to make print available and have librarians who still want it.

Roger Rosen (CEO of Rosen Publishing): With an outright purchase, does a library have access to all your updates?

Stephens: I think if [publishers are] not updating, they just have to make that new print edition so dynamic and so different that libraries will want to buy it to get the electronic, or get the electronic only.

From the left: Diana McDermott and Geraldine Curran; Henrietta Thornton-Verma and Rocco Staino; Rick Lumsden.

Harris: We need a mathematician and an economist to help us, because we do these things by gut. Maybe I buy one copy of the ebook, and I get to use it with one student—or five-to-one, or 10-to-one, or X-to-one. What’s the value of X that ceases to be statistically different from unlimited, simultaneous access?

Stephens: In the school environment, I would say it’s a class, or in a district it may be a class per school.

Stephens: Will there be a greater emphasis on embedding images and video?

Rosen: Yes, so long as it truly advances the content and is substantively useful in terms of access that goes way beyond the book, and provides a wealth of primary-source documents, historic coverage of an event, or audio recordings of speeches or of poets reading their own work. That’s amazing fire power.

One of the things we’re looking at is how copyright-friendly material is embedded within what we’re creating so that they can use it, do their mash-ups, use 21st-century transliteracy modes to be ever more capable producers, and have a sense of ownership about their learning.

Geraldine Curran (marketing specialist, Scholastic): We feel that our TrueFlix online material has enhanced a longstanding product that many librarians enjoyed in print. It’s been called not just an ebook, but a digital learning tool. It was nice to hear people like yourselves call it that.

Stephens: How do you create an interface that works on a mobile device and has the features of a full-fledged database?

Gregory: That’s a real challenge, and not just on the publishers’ and aggregators’ side. It’s because of different formats. Apple doesn’t work with Flash, for example. And by the time you feel like you have it all together, the rules change on how to make material robust and include the videos, the pictures, and all that textual content. We get caught up in the idea that if it’s digital, it’s better, but we still have students who learn better using print. If we’re going to look out for learners, not just try to be 21st century, we have to understand that online is just a delivery method.

Stephens: As many lovely things that you can do within the databases—send the articles to yourself, formulate the citation, download—a lot of kids in my school don’t have access to home computing. It’s not necessarily even a financial issue. Part of the area that I work in is very rural, and they’re using dial-up or satellite.

Gregory: And the more robust we make something, the harder it is for those in rural areas to access.

Stephens: Exactly, and all the different options are so confusing sometimes. If you try to look at a full-fledged database on a mobile device, it’s one of the most frustrating experiences.

Lumsden: A real challenge right now for publishers is that when people ask for access on mobile devices, they may mean a multitude of things—access to a standard interface on a mobile device, a site that’s optimized for mobile devices, or an app. Right now, we’re doing all three because we don’t know where things will go. One of the things that publishers need from librarians is clarity about what they mean when they’re talking about mobile devices.

Harris: How are database publishers helping librarians curate the best resources for students?

Rosen: We serve initially as curators of what we deem to be the most appropriate material—primary-source documents that are age appropriate, correlated to the curriculum, and potentially at the right reading level. We want to move students from being passive consumers of information to more active creators of it and thereby fulfill many of the mandates of the Common Core state standards.

McDermott: I agree with Roger in terms of the publisher functioning as a curator. When the publisher gears material to exactly that level, we hope that students will become more engaged more quickly because the material is accessible, it’s what they need, and it’s interesting to them.

Harris: Matt, as a larger database vendor, do you foresee more of that?

Matt Andros (vice president of field sales, EBSCO): Definitely. The difficult position we’re put in as an aggregator is getting content that’s written at the right level—especially when you’re looking at K–3 or K–5, there’s not much for that audience. We use a Lexile indicator so we can see exactly the level material is written at, and that helps.

Stephens: How do you encourage kids to use your digital resources before they turn to Google or Wikipedia? Is there a way to highlight quality content within the search results or on your home pages?

Gregory: One of the good things about search is that we don’t have to wonder. We can look at curriculums and Common Core standards to find out what they’re going to be looking up and work toward that. Also we can see what they type into the search box and move information relevant to that “above the fold,” as we used to say with newspapers, and find out where we need to develop more content. Looking at queries also helps us realize when we’re putting resources toward something that we thought they were spending a lot of time on, and they’re not.

Stephens: I use the same method for collection building. I look at what people have entered as search terms in our OPACs. I like the idea that you’re building off those queries.

Harris: I would really encourage you to deeply investigate the analytics. You can see that a student spent only 30 seconds on an article because it wasn’t what they thought it was going to be.

Gregory: What if they only spent a little time because they found all they needed quickly? They could spend five minutes on an article but not find what they’re looking for, but there the statistics are saying, “Great resource!” Whereas in an article they looked at for 30 seconds or a minute, they found all they needed in the first two paragraphs because we did our ranking properly and moved it to the top.

Lumsden: The search results can really drive your content development and the way that you display results. But the issue of how to get them to actually do the search to begin with is still a huge challenge. The question is, can resources be in all the different places that librarians or other educators are searching for content? Are they completely integrated with the district’s learning management system or the school’s library catalogue, so that you have as many potential touch points as possible for a search to occur?

Rosen: The school administration needs to empower librarians to have time with students for deep education about what being a good digital citizen and being cyberliterate mean. Kids should understand that any random hit is not necessarily as good as a vetted, authoritative resource.

Stephens: My biggest challenge in pushing students to better content is the teachers. I have so many teachers who are not the best types of searchers, who don’t have the best skills at identifying quality information. The most success I’ve had is when they return to graduate school and their work is scrutinized, and that feedback trickles down to the classrooms and they raise the bar.

From left (left image): Christopher Harris; Wendy Stephens; Jennifer Pfau, ABC-CLIO’s marketing manager of print and electronic products; and Rick Lumsden. From left (right image):Matt Andros, Roger Rosen, and Diana McDermott.

Gregory: Let’s look at primary-source documents. How were teachers taught to use primary-source documents 20 years ago? Now, they’re all digitized but teachers didn’t get any instruction back then on how to use them. So one thing we do, and I know the other publishers and aggregators do, is provide guidance on teaching with documents.

Harris: Improvement also means moving away from textbooks as regurgitators of tertiary analysis. It’s going to be increasingly important to have direct explanations from experts who are able to offer true descriptions, definitions, and reviews of topics, overviews that don’t attempt to analyze, because we expect students to do that.

Lumsden: You just defined an encyclopedia article. For those of us in more traditional areas of publishing, the challenge is to make sure people understand where articles come from, that they’re written by experts.

Staino: We’re very tech savvy and we probably think everyone is moving toward electronic access. But I know some people who still buy print encyclopedias because they don’t have the hardware. What’s your feeling about that?

Gregory: If everybody had unlimited budgets, they’d probably buy both because of the different types of learners we were talking about. When some administrators and librarians have decided to back off print reference and buy online products, four or five years later, budgets are cut and they can no longer buy the online resource. If they had bought print, they’d have some shelf life. You have zero shelf life with 100 percent digital; when it’s cut off, you’ve got 100 percent of nothing. I heard from one of the largest library systems on the West Coast that they put their print encyclopedias out for circulation when they’re a year old.

Stephens: I do exactly the same thing. Print is excellent for equity of access, but also because if a student who’s using it looks up Paul Revere, it says, “See also American Revolution,” and so on. Then I can show them the related topics and controlled vocabulary they need to know. Also, sometimes the databases are just overwhelming and a circulating encyclopedia is much more digestible.

Gregory: You lose something going to digital, in my opinion. Years ago, when we had to write about Rhode Island, we got the “R” volume off the shelf, and on the way to “Rhode Island” saw “Revolutionary War.” A week later, I remember the Revolutionary War, and I don’t know a thing about Rhode Island. You miss that casual learning completely with digital.

Harris: I disagree. For me serendipity means that somebody failed to develop a proper search interface. Serendipity is an excuse that means, “We don’t know how to do fuzzy logic.” I can code serendipity that’s better than serendipitous. We have the ability to start using rich document format and semantic metadata so things will pop up that say, “You’re looking for Rhode Island? Rhode Island was in the Revolutionary War. Find out more about the Revolutionary War.”

Gregory: But with casual learning, you could find something beginning with “R” that’s nothing to do with Rhode Island.

Harris: We coded that. On our library portal is a little button that says, “Go fish.” Kids click on the button and it takes them to a random book. I see on Rosen’s PowerKids site, they have little things on the front page that rotate quite often, and I know World Book and the other encyclopedias do that too. You can digitally craft things to replace serendipity.

Staino: One thing I’ve observed is that with digital, kids become individual casual learners rather than group casual learners, whereas with print, they share more.

Lumsden: The problem isn’t format, it’s user attitude. There are far more opportunities for finding things serendipitously in a digital format than in a book because things that are related are linked.

Planning to catch this year’s American Library Association (ALA) annual conference in Anaheim, CA? If you’re anything like us, you’ll want to make every second count. That’s why we’ve asked seven savvy librarians to give us the skinny on the top five sessions they plan to attend during the June 21–26 event. As you’ll see, they came up with an eclectic mix that’s bound to make nearby Disneyland’s power couple, Mickey and Minnie, a mere distraction.

But ALA isn’t the only meeting that has a lot to offer. Librarians can also take advantage of the International Society for Technology in Education’s (ISTE) conference, which takes place June 24–27 in San Diego, just a hop, skip, and a tank of gas away. According to ISTE’s organizers, the forward-thinking gathering will feature “nearly 20,000 enthusiastic ed-tech professionals and corporate representatives from around the globe.” Sound tempting? Then you’ll want to read why librarian Tiffany Whitehead (“ISTE or Bust”) is skipping ALA in favor of ISTE.

SLJ’s editors will be at both shows. At ALA, look for us at booth #2234, where we’ll offer special discounts to Book Verdict, our new online collection development tool that provides access to more than 300,000 reviews of books and media from SLJ, Library Journal, and The Horn Book. You can also find out more about our August 9 virtual event, “SummerTeen: A Celebration of Young Adult Books,” and our October 17 ebook summit, now called “The Digital Shift: Libraries, Ebooks, and Beyond.” And don’t miss our popular Spa Day raffle, where three lucky winners each receive a $150 certificate to help ease their weary conference-going bones.

Wherever you land, we hope the following recommendations deliver some exciting new ideas that you can put into action.—SLJ staff

Carl A. Harvey II

School librarian,
North Elementary School,
Noblesville, IN

AASL President’s Program

Saturday, June 23, 10:30 a.m.–noon, Anaheim Convention Center (ACC) 213AB

As the American Association of School Librarians’ (AASL) current president, I’m probably a little biased, but this session tops my list. Lori Takeuchi, director of research at Sesame Workshop’s Joan Ganz Cooney Center, will share the results of a nationwide survey of more than 800 parents of kids ages three through 10, which reveal how parents feel about raising children in a digital age. Takeuchi will answer audience questions and share in-depth case studies on how parents’ attitudes toward technology, as well as their family values and routines, help shape the experiences of today’s kids. This is powerful information to take back and use in your schools.

Best Websites for Teaching and Learning

Saturday, June 23, 8–10 a.m., ACC 213D

Here’s a great opportunity to find out about some excellent online tools to use with students as AASL unveils its 2011 Top 25 Websites for Teaching and Learning.

AASL 101

Saturday, June 23, 4–5:30 p.m., ACC 203B

This program is highly recommended especially for those new to ALA’s conference scene. I remember going to my first ALA annual and leaving unsure about the experience. Luckily, I tried it again and was hooked. A chance to attend an AASL 101 back then would have taught me a lot about ALA and AASL—and I would’ve caught the fever even sooner!

Closing General Session and Inaugural Event, Featuring J. R. Martinez

Tuesday, June 26, 9:30–11 a.m., ACC Ballroom DE

While serving in Iraq, Martinez, the author of the upcoming biography Full of Heart: My Story of Survival, Strength, and Spirit, suffered severe burns when his vehicle struck a landmine. During the next three years, he underwent 33 operations and worked tirelessly to recover. Come listen to his inspiring message of perseverance and resilience. We librarians need to embrace Martinez’s attitude—in order to achieve anything we set our minds to.

AASL Awards Luncheon

Monday, June 25, 12–2 p.m., Hilton Anaheim Huntington

Come grab a bite, listen to keynote speaker Carmen Agra Deedy, and celebrate the amazing accomplishments of school librarians as they’re lavished with the recognition they so richly deserve. In these tough economic times, we need to relish the positive rather than focus on the negative.

Melissa Jacobs Israel

Coordinator of library
services, New York City
Department of Education

Libraries in the Cloud

Friday, June 22, 8:30 a.m.–noon, ACC 201B

As more and more libraries move beyond brick-and-mortar spaces and drift into the cloud, librarians need to understand their new roles. This session will give us a greater perspective on the best emerging practices and the pros and cons of cloud computing, and help us learn about productivity tools that we can implement in our schools.

YALSA Teen Advisory Boards—Keeping Teens Interested

Monday, June 25, 10:30 a.m.–noon, ACC 209B

School and public libraries are longtime partners when it comes to reaching teens—and we should continue to keep this diverse audience engaged. I’m curious to find out if there are any lessons that school librarians can learn from our public libraries and the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), especially when it comes to keeping teens interested in what we have to offer. Perhaps it will lead to a conversation between New York City’s public library system and our school libraries.

AASL When Worlds Collide: An AASL and Common Core Mash Up

Saturday, June 23, 8–10 a.m., Hilton Anaheim Laguna A

School librarians nationwide need to start building lessons based on the Common Core Learning Standards. In New York City, we’ve aligned our school library Information Fluency Standards with the Common Core Learning Standards and now offer four-day professional development workshops on unpacking Common Core standards, developing lesson plans, and understanding text complexity. It’s imperative to understand the work that’s being done by AASL and school librarians across the country. The Common Core Learning Standards offer opportunities for all school librarians to step up and lead students through critical thinking, informational text, and text complexity.

Critical Thinking in a Digital Age: The Positive Influence of Web 2.0 Tools

Saturday, June 23, 1:30–3:30 p.m., ACC 205B

Social learning and Web 2.0 are powerful tools for student learning. As educators and librarians, we need to embrace them to help students navigate in a digital age.

ALSC Nonfiction Book Blast: Booktalks and Activities for Your Library

Saturday, June 23, 10:30 a.m.–noon, ACC 304AB

The Common Core Learning Standards’s and NYC’s Citywide Instructional Expectations are built on understanding, analysis, and responses to informational texts, which are nonfiction books and factual articles from vetted sources. Use this opportunity to engage students and teachers with booktalks and activities in your library while using the Common Core Learning Standard’s focus on text complexity and informational text. By drawing more users into the library, you’ll instill lifelong learning and reading skills.

Chantell L. McDowell

Teen services librarian,
Charlotte Mecklenburg
(NC) Library

Books We’ll Still Talk About 45 Years from Now

Friday, June 22, 12:30–4:30 p.m., ACC 204A

As a YALSA member and YA librarian, I’ve always wanted to be a part of its book-selection committee. The aspiring writer in me would also like to know what it takes to create quality young adult literature, especially classics that’ll endure for years to come.

Leaders Wanted/LIS Doctoral Program Options Fair: Cultivating Diversity in LIS Education

Saturday, June 23, 10:30 a.m.–noon, Anaheim Marriot Marquis South

Once I’ve completed my doctoral program in leadership studies at New Hampshire’s Franklin Pierce University, I’m seriously considering pursuing a second doctorate in library science. Sounds like this is a good place to learn more.

Leading Professional Development That Matters… and Works

Friday, June 22, 12:30–4 p.m., ACC 201B

This preconference seminar takes advantage of the growing library field—and will hopefully offer different professional development models that can enhance my career.

Auditorium Speaker: Teens Making a Difference Featuring William Kamkwamba, Talia Leman, and Gaby Rodriguez

Saturday, June 23, 1:30–2:30 p.m., ACC Ballroom DE

As a teen advocate, I enjoy interacting with kids who want to make a difference or who’ve already made one. I’m looking forward to hearing about the wonderful journeys and choices that have inspired these three young people to stand up and take charge.

Auditorium Speaker: Sapphire

Sunday, June 24, 10:30–11:30 a.m. ACC Ballroom DE

Sapphire is the author of the best-selling novel Push, which was made into the Oscar-winning 2009 movie Precious about an illiterate teen who’s raped by her father and rescued by a determined teacher. It would really be a pleasure to hear Sapphire speak. She’s an inspiration, and I’ve always admired her work.

John Peters

Children’s literature
consultant,
New York City

Science in the Stacks

Saturday, June 23, 10:30 a.m.–noon, ACC 209A

According to ALA’s program guide, this session is “centered around 36 Discovery Exhibits, which provide experiential science learning that’s integrated with traditional library resources.” Intriguing!

Publish or Bust!: An ePublishing Odyssey

Saturday, June 23, 4–5:30 p.m., ACC 207B

In an apparent case of one library providing a new service by catching a cultural wave while it’s on the rise, this session will report on a library-based experiment in the growing area of self-publishing. Though the resulting book was apparently not for children, I imagine the process would be similar no matter the intended audience.

The New Nonfiction: What Is It, and Does It Matter?

Sunday, June 24, 1:30–3:30 p.m., ACC 202B

I review a ton of nonfiction every year, and so I’m always on the lookout for new trends and perspectives on the stuff.

When Miss Rumphius Meets Hugo Cabret: Scaffolding Using Picture Books

Sunday, June 24, 1:30–3:30 p.m., ACC 210C

Unfortunately, this program on making reading more active through evaluating picture-book themes and concepts takes place at the same time as the program listed immediately above it, but if I lace on my sneakers, maybe I can slip back and forth between the two presentations. That sort of thing has never happened to me, but hey, there’s always a first time.

I Want a Truck Book! Reorganizing Your Picture Book Collection to Meet the Needs of Young Patrons and Their Caregivers

Sunday, June 24, 4–5:30 p.m., ACC 210D

Becuase I’ve spent most of my library career working with mammoth picture-book collections and struggling to find ways to make them accessible—to librarians as well as patrons—this program addresses an enduring interest.

ALSC and YALSA Joint Presidents’ Program: The Digital Lives of Tweens and Young Teens

Monday, June 25, 8–10 a.m., ACC 304AB

As a member of the Great Web Sites for Kids committee and a freelance reviewer of apps and ebooks, I expect this program to be chock-full of relevant and valuable new insights into the digital experiences of young users.

John Schumacher

Teacher-librarian,
Brook Forest Elementary
School, Oak Brook, IL

When Worlds Collide: An AASL and Common Core Mashup

Saturday, June 23, 8–10 a.m., Hilton Anaheim Laguna A

Schools around the country are working on implementing the Common Core standards. This session will inspire school librarians to take a leadership role that will help teachers implement the new guidelines.

Think, Create, Share, Grow: Setting the Stage for Collaborative Inquiry

Saturday, June 23, 1:30–3:30 p.m., Anaheim Marriott Orange County Salon 1–2

Michael Stephens was one of my library school professors, and he stressed the importance of “library as place.” Thanks to Michael and my partnership with Iowa’s Van Meter School, I’m drawn to sessions and discussions about library spaces, collaboration, and inquiry-based learning.

When Miss Rumphius Meets Hugo Cabret: Scaffolding Using Picture Books

Sunday, June 24, 1:30–3:30 p.m., ACC 210C

I’m pumped about any session that mentions two of my favorite books. I hope it’ll remind attendees of the importance of using picture books with kids of all ages.

Share the Wealth: Contribute to the AASL Standards for the 21st-Century Learner Lesson Plan Database

Sunday, June 24, 8–10 a.m., ACC 205B

I’ve used the AASL Standards for the 21st-Century Learner Lesson Plan Database, and now it’s time to contribute to this valuable resource. I am excited to learn more about the process of submitting a lesson.

The New Nonfiction: What Is It, and Does It Matter?

Sunday, June 24, 1:30–3:30 p.m., ACC 202B

I’m looking forward to this session almost as much as the Newbery/Caldecott banquet. A new framework for evaluating nonfiction intrigues me.

Allison Tran

Teen services librarian,
Mission Viejo (CA)
Library

Not Another Boring Vampire Romance: Going Beyond the Norm in Young Adult Paranormal Literature

Saturday, June 23, 8–10 a.m., ACC 209AB

I’m ready to hear something new about the ever-popular genres of paranormal and fantasy YA literature, and this librarian-moderated panel featuring authors Kendare Blake, Ken Oppel, Jackson Pearce, and Cindy Pon sounds fascinating. According to the panel’s official description, it will “give particular insight in how approaching this best-selling genre from a unique perspective as both a reader and a writer makes it even more relevant and interesting to a more diverse audience of teen readers.”

Being a Social Teen Advocate

Saturday, June 23, 4–5:30 p.m., ACC 204C

As an active social media user, I’m always eager to learn new ways to use these technologies to reach my library community. This session, presented by technology expert Linda W. Braun, will discuss how to use Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and Google+ to attract library teens. I’m looking forward to the brainstorming part of the session when we all exchange ideas.

Best Fiction for Young Adults

Sunday, June 24, 1:30–3:30 p.m., Hilton Anaheim California D

This is always one of the most talked about ALA sessions, and I always use YALSA’s Best Fiction for Young Adults (BFYA) list as a selection tool for my library’s collection. I look forward to hearing local teens talk candidly about their experiences with the books nominated for the 2013 BFYA list.

Passive Programming That’s Anything But: Reaching Young Adults Subversively

Sunday, June 24, 4–5:30 p.m., ACC 207A

As a budget-conscious librarian who plans a lot of passive programming for teens, I’m always scouting for new ideas. According to this session’s description, “Participants in this program will learn why passive programming is an important aspect of YA service and how to inexpensively implement and maintain these programs.” It’s exactly what I need to spice up my passive programs.

Odyssey Award Presentation and Program

Monday, June 25, 4–5:30 p.m., ACC 213D

Each year the Odyssey Award goes to the producer of the best English-language
audiobook for children and young adults in the United States. I’m absolutely addicted to audiobooks—I love the way a talented narrator can make a good story even more vibrant. I’m looking forward to celebrating the 2012 Odyssey winners, chosen by a committee of the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) and YALSA members.

Paula Willey

Librarian,
Baltimore (MD) County
Public Library

ALSC and YALSA Joint Presidents’ Program: The Digital Lives of Tweens and Young Teens

Monday, June 25, 8-10 a.m., ACC 304AB

When I talk to kids about their online lives, they ask me, “How come our parents think everyone online is a rapist?” And when I talk to parents, they tell me, “Kids don’t realize how dangerous it is to be online!” I need authoritative information about the way kids use the Internet in order to make good recommendations to them and their caregivers.

The New Nonfiction: What Is It, and Does It Matter?

Sunday, June 24, 1:30–3:30 p.m., ACC 202B

I’ve been reviewing nonfiction for SLJ for four years, and sometimes the life of a reviewer can feel like a lonely one—this upcoming panel sounds like my kind of people! If nonfiction and the criteria for evaluating it are changing, I better brush up on it.

Leaders Wanted/LIS Doctoral Program Options Fair: Cultivating Diversity in LIS Education

Saturday, June 23, 10:30 a.m.–noon, Anaheim Marriott Marquis South

Why not consider getting a Ph.D.? I’ve been a librarian for more than a decade, helping people research what they find interesting… maybe it’s time to turn those skills back on the profession that means so much to me.

Teen Advisory Boards—Keeping Teens Interested

Monday, June 25, 10:30 a.m.–noon, ACC 209B

After reading in a recent issue of SLJ about zombie survival training as a teen program, I realized there are some seriously clever and creative YA services librarians out there. I intend to steal all of their ideas!

Get Them Talking About Books!: Using Protocols to Assist Students with Making Book Choices and Developing a Reading Plan

Monday, June 25, 1:30–3:30 p.m., Hilton Anaheim Palos Verdes B

Kids turn to one another for reliable book recommendations, but booktalking is a learned skill. For example, kids can often be too vague (“Um, I just really liked the book”) or way too specific, reciting whole runs of dialogue without any context. I want to walk away mastering how to teach that to kids.

The right resources can save lives. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and/or questioning teens are disproportionately at risk for being bullied, becoming homeless, and attempting suicide. Despite an increased representation of LGBTQ teens in the media (especially white, middle-class gay male teens), LGBTQ teens often feel isolated, confused, and without support.

The books and websites recommended here provide a first step toward supporting LGBTQ teens. This list represents a diversity of stories, from Malinda Lo’s lush fantasy Ash to Street Dreams, Tama Wise’s tale of community and coming out among Maori street artists in New Zealand, to Cris Beam’s I Am J, about a mixed-race working-class teen coming to accept himself as transgender.

If you have ever worried about how parents or library administrators would respond to LGBTQ materials in your collection, you know that no resource on this list is without controversy. Telling young adults that it’s okay to be who they are—even if who they are is queer or transgender—is still a radical act. And, it is an act that we as librarians must be prepared to defend. Some resources go into detail about sex, some do not. Some graphically address hardship and violence, some do not. All have a place in the hands of teens who need them. All have the potential to make the LGBTQ teens in your community feel safer, healthier, and less alone.

Middle School Fiction

DAVIS, Tanita S. Happy Families. Knopf. 2012. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-375-86966-2; PLB $19.99. ISBN 978-0-375-96966-9; ebook $10.99. ISBN 978-0-375-98457-0.
Gr 7 Up—Sixteen-year-old twins Ysabel and Justin are shocked and distressed to learn that the person they knew as their father has begun living as a woman, Christine. A year after the revelation and Christine’s subsequent move out of the house, the twins spend a spring break with her, struggling with the ways their family has changed.

HOWE, James. Totally Joe. S & S/Atheneum. 2005. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-689-83957-3; pap. $5.99. ISBN 978-0-689-83958-0; ebook $5.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-4943-5.
Gr 5-8—Twelve-year-old Joe, first introduced in The Misfits (2001), has known he is gay from a young age. Funny and excitable, he tells his from-the-heart story in an “alphabiography” with entries from “A” (his friend Addie) to “Z” (his new friend and maybe more, Zachary).

LEVITHAN, David. Boy Meets Boy. Knopf. 2003. pap. $8.99. ISBN 978-0-375-83299-4; ebook $8.99. ISBN 978-0-307-48244-0.
Gr 8 Up—In Paul’s town, “There isn’t really a gay scene or a straight scene….They got all mixed up a while back, which [Paul thinks] is for the best.” On a Saturday night bookstore trip with friends, Paul meets the dreamy Noah, and so begins a sweet, gentle, and groundbreaking YA romantic comedy. Audio version available from Full Cast Audio.

LO, Malinda. Ash. Little, Brown, 2009. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-316-04009-9; pap. $8.99. ISBN 978-0-316-04010-5; ebook $7.99. ISBN 978-0-316-07133-8.
Gr 8 Up—In a lush retelling of “Cinderella,” Aisling, better known as Ash, loses her mother and endures the cruelty and neglect of a stepmother and two stepsisters. Aided by a slightly sinister fairy, she finds an unexpected love—the king’s Huntress.

TAKAKO, Shimura. Wandering Son: Volume 1. tr. from Japanese by Matt Thorn. Fantagraphics. 2011. Tr $19.99. ISBN 978-1-60699-416-0.
Gr 7 Up—Two transgender tweens—Shuichi, who wants to be a girl, and Yoshino, who wants to be a boy—become close in this gentle, realistic, and affirming manga. Even readers unfamiliar with manga or Japanese culture will recognize Shuichi’s desire to be seen as a girl as well as the pressure to stay in short hair and boys’ clothes.

WITTLINGER, Ellen. Parrotfish. S & S. 2007. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-1-4169-1622-2; pap. $8.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-0621-6; ebook $8.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-6681-4.
Gr 7 Up—In one of the first YA novels with a transgender teen protagonist, high school junior Grady, formerly known as Angela, announces to friends, family, and school that he is a boy. Grady’s transition garners push back from teachers and bullies, but he also finds unexpected friends and allies. Optimistic if sometimes oversimplified. Audio version available from Audible.

WOODSON, Jacqueline. From the Notebooks of Melanin Sun. Putnam. 2010. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-399-25280-8; pap. $7.99. ISBN 978-0-142-41641-9; ebook $7.99. ISBN 978-1-101-15246-1.
Gr 7-11—Quiet, contemplative Melanin is initially furious when his mother reveals that she is involved with not only a woman, but a white woman. This short but affecting first-person narrative chronicles Melanin’s newly strained relationship with his mother and how the young teen makes sense of the life he now lives.

WRIGHT, Bil. Putting Makeup on the Fat Boy. S & S. 2011. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-1-4169-3996-2; pap. $9.99. ISBN 978-1-4169-4004-3; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-2398-5.
Gr 7-10—The titular fat boy is 16-year-old New Yorker Carlos Duarte, a proud makeup artist with flamboyance and ambition. Carlos, who narrates in an excitable if sometimes overconfident voice, is elated with his job at the Macy’s makeup counter. Then a clash with his boss and problems at home threaten to get in the way of Carlos’s dreams.

High School Fiction

BEAM, Cris. I Am J. Little, Brown. 2011. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-316-05361-7; pap. $8.99. ISBN 978-0-316-05360-0; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-0-316-12232-0.
Gr 9 Up—Puerto Rican, Jewish, and transgender, 17-year-old J leaves his family’s New York City apartment. In his journey through seedy motels, support groups, and an LGBT high school, he finds supportive new friends while struggling to maintain relationships with his self-focused former best friend, Melissa, and with the parents who refuse to accept him as a boy.

BREZENOFF, Steve. Brooklyn Burning. Lerner/Carolrhoda Lab. 2011. Tr $17.95. ISBN 978-0-7613-7526-5; ebook $12.95. ISBN 978-0-7613-7945-4.
Gr 9 Up—Set in the Greenpoint neighborhood of Brooklyn, this story is as much a celebration of music, the setting, and chosen family as a chronicle of teens in the margins. Over two summers, Scout and Kid—whose genders are, refreshingly, never specified—navigate homelessness, parental rejection, and their feelings for each other.

CART, Michael, ed. How Beautiful the Ordinary: Twelve Stories of Identity. HarperTeen/Bowen Press. 2009. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-06-115498-0; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-0-06-194965-4.
Gr 9 Up—Contributors to this lyrical short-story anthology about LGBTQ young people include Jacqueline Woodson, Francesca Lia Block, David Levithan, and more. A few stories appear in comic format, though most are verse and prose, and the authors address sexuality and gender identity within a diverse array of settings and time periods.

DANFORTH, Emily M. The Miseducation of Cameron Post. HarperCollins/Balzer & Bray. 2012. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-06-202056-7; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-0-06-210196-9.
Gr 10 Up—Cameron Post’s parents die in a car crash the same day that Cam kisses her best friend, Irene, for the first time. This epic debut for sophisticated readers spans Cameron’s teenage years and explores themes of family, friendship, and survival for a young queer person in a small, rural Montana town.

DOLE, Mayra Lazara. Down to the Bone. HarperCollins. 2008. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-06-084310-6; PLB $17.89. ISBN 978-0-06-084311-3. o.p.
Gr 9 Up—After being outed at her Miami Catholic school, Cuban-American Laura tries to find a way out of the rejection she receives from family, school, and even her girlfriend. The teen’s highly emotive narrative voice makes the story particularly engaging.

FREYMANN-WEYR, Garret. My Heartbeat. Houghton Harcourt. 2002. Tr $15.99. ISBN 978-0-618-14181-4; pap. $7.99. ISBN 978-0-547-72205-4; ebook $15. ISBN 978-0-547-52858-8.
Gr 8 Up—In a quiet, sophisticated character study, 14-year-old Ellen comes to understand that the relationship between her beloved older brother Link and his best friend, James, is both complicated and fraught with silence. When Ellen starts asking questions, everything among the three changes.

GEORGE, Madeleine. The Difference Between You and Me. Viking. 2012. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-670-01128-5; ebook $10.99. ISBN 978-1-101-56701-2.
Gr 9 Up—Out-and-proud weirdo Jesse and straitlaced student-council vice president Emily have nothing in common but their weekly secret kissing sessions. When Jesse starts fighting a proposed big box store and Emily gets corporate sponsorship from it for a school dance, the differences between the two come into sharp, often comical relief.

GOODE, Laura. Sister Mischief. Candlewick. 2011. RTE $16.99. ISBN 978-0-7636-4640-0; ebook $16.99; ISBN 978-0-7636-5464-1.
Gr 9 Up—A love for hip-hop unites a racially and religiously diverse group of girls, some queer, some straight, in a conservative Minnesota town. Sex, drug use, sexism, homophobia, and a first girl-girl relationship are treated thoughtfully, and Esme—aka MC Ferocious—carries the story with cool, kinetic narration.

GREEN, John & David Levithan. Will Grayson, Will Grayson. Dutton. 2010. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-525-42158-0; pap. $8.99. ISBN 978-0-1424-1847-5; ebook $8.99. ISBN 978-1-101-22299-7.
Gr 9 Up—Two boys with the same name, one gay, one straight, meet on a glum night in Chicago. The tie that binds them is campy, big-hearted, larger-than-life Tiny Cooper, a friend of one Will Grayson who becomes romantically involved with the other, all the while producing the Best! Musical! Ever!

MAC, Carrie. Crush. (Orca Soundings Series). Orca. 2006. pap. $9.95. ISBN 978-1-551-43526-8.
Gr 8 Up—This short, accessible novel brings LGBTQ themes to teens reading below grade level. Spending a summer in New York while her commune-dwelling parents celebrate their anniversary in Thailand, 17-year-old Hope is surprised to discover that she has feelings for Nat, the female owner of a bike shop.

PETERS, Julie Anne. Pretend You Love Me. Little, Brown. 2007. pap. $8.99. ISBN 978-0-316-12741-7; ebook $8.99. ISBN 978-0-316-20564-1.
Gr 9 Up—Isolated from her family after her father’s suicide and her mother’s subsequent silence, teenage butch Mike falls head over heels for Xanadu, a rare new girl in her working-class Kansas town. Xanadu is straight, and Mike’s longing and heartbreak are palpable as Xanadu toys with her emotions.

SANCHEZ, Alex. Rainbow Boys. S & S. 2001. pap. $9.99. ISBN 978-0-689-85770-6; ebook $8.99. ISBN 978-1-439-11534-3.
Gr 9 Up—This first entry in Sanchez’s classic, accessible, high-drama trilogy about Jason, Nelson, and Kyle introduces three very different teenage boys who end up in the same LGBTQ support group. In the hopeful romance plot, the teens struggle with sexuality, gender-related bullying, family rejection, HIV, and more.

ST. JAMES, James. Freak Show. Dutton. 2007. Tr $18.99. ISBN 978-0-525-47799-0; pap. $8.99. ISBN 978-0-1424-1231-2; ebook $8.99. ISBN 978-1-4406-5155-7.
Gr 9 Up—Narrated with bubbling enthusiasm and frequent BURSTS OF ALL CAPS, this is the story of teenage drag queen Billy Bloom. Exuberant, glamorous, and bitingly funny, he is horrified to discover that the teens in his new Florida town are hateful, tragically boring, and violently homophobic…but that’s not going to stop him from being witty, strong, and fabulous.

TAMAKI, Mariko. Skim. illus. by Jillian Tamaki. Groundwood. 2008. Tr $18.95. ISBN 978-0-88899-753-1; pap. $12.95. ISBN 978-0-88899-964-1.
Gr 9 Up—In a nuanced and skillfully drawn graphic novel, a queer, mixed-race Wiccan teen develops a new friendship and a fantasy romance as her school reels from a fellow student’s suicide. Set in Toronto in the 1990s, Skim uses expressive, darkly humorous narration and black-and-white line drawings to explore themes of friendship, queer desire, and being an outsider.

WISE, Tama. Street Dreams. Bold Strokes. 2012. pap. $13.95. ISBN 978-1-602-82650-2.
Gr 9 Up—Tyson, a hip-hop-loving Maori teen living in New Zealand, slowly comes out as gay. At the same time, he becomes part of a crew of street artists who provide far more community and support than Auckland’s white-dominated gay scene. Heartfelt, thought-provoking, and hopeful.

YEE, Paul, Money Boy. Groundwood. 2011. Tr $16.95. ISBN 978-1-55498-094-9; ebook $12.95. ISBN 978-1-55498-093-2.
Gr 10 Up—To the disappointment of his former military father, Chinese immigrant Ray Liu struggles in school and spends time playing online video games. When his father discovers that his son has been visiting gay websites, he kicks Ray out of their Toronto home and the teen learns harsh and harrowing lessons about life on the street.

Nonfiction

BORNSTEIN, Kate. Hello Cruel World: 101 Alternatives to Suicide for Teens, Freaks, and Other Outlaws. Seven Stories Press. 2006. pap. $16.95. ISBN 978-1-583-22720-6.
Gr 9 Up—Transgender activist Bornstein wants her readers to do whatever they need to do to stay alive. In a disarmingly warm and candid voice, she shares stories from her own life, addresses bullying with particular attention to gender, and lists 101 things teens can do instead of suicide, from “take a walk in the woods” to “rant, rave, bitch, and moan.”

BORNSTEIN, Kate & S. Bear Bergman, eds. Gender Outlaws: The Next Generation. Seal Press, 2010. pap. $16.95. ISBN 978-1-580-05308-2.
Adult/High School—Loosely inspired by Bornstein’s groundbreaking Gender Outlaw (Routledge, 1994), this anthology features authors of various ages, racial, and cultural backgrounds, identities, and experiences of gender. Although the book was published for adults and discusses sex, bodies, and suffering frankly, few resources directly aimed at teens match this one’s capacious and complicated understanding of gender and transgender experiences.

HUEGEL, Kelly. GLBTQ: The Survival Guide for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning Teens. 2nd ed. Free Spirit. 2011. pap. $15.99. ISBN 978-1-57542-363-0; ebook $15.99. ISBN 978-1-57542-704-1.
Gr 7 Up—Arranged into 11 chapters and peppered with helpful sidebars and quotes from LGBTQ teens, this substantive survival guide addresses topics from dating to religion to school to coming out. The discussion of sex is particularly helpful, with an accessible rundown of safer sex facts and valuable tools for responding to a partner’s pressure.

LOWREY, Sassafras, ed. Kicked Out. Homofactus Press. 2010. pap. $19.95. ISBN 978-0-978-59736-8.
Gr 9 Up—Queer and transgender young people are disproportionately homeless in the U.S. Formerly homeless queer writer Lowrey has compiled a raw, vital anthology of memoirs, essays, interviews, and photographs by and of current and former homeless LGBTQ youth. The book aims both to build a movement and to show homeless LGBTQ young people that they are not alone.

MOON, Sarah & James Lecesne, eds. The Letter Q: Queer Writers’ Notes to Their Younger Selves. Scholastic/Arthur A. Levine. 2012. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-545-39932-6.
Gr 9 Up—In this anthology, more than 50 queer writers contribute short letters—some in comic form, most in prose—to their younger selves. The well-known and lesser-known writers, including Gregory MacGuire, Jasika Nicole, and Malinda Lo, provide readers with hope for the future and compassion for the present.

In “Summer Reading Loss” (Reading Teacher, May 2007), Maryann Mraz and Timothy Rasinski wrote: “…the reality of summer reading loss is well documented—and it is more persistent among students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds who are already at risk for academic failure.” Thankfully, they also state that students who take part in summer reading interventions maintain those skills. In fact, students who participate in public library summer reading programs demonstrate increased achievement in reading skills when they return to school in the fall, according to the conclusions drawn by Carol Fiore and Susan Roman in their article, “Proof Positive” (School Library Journal, Nov. 2010). The Search Institute (www.search-institute.org), a nonprofit organization investigating what young people need to succeed, identifies reading for pleasure as one of the ‘40 Developmental Assets’ necessary for healthy growth. So it’s gratifying to see that when Denise Geier, a curriculum director in Middletown Township, NJ, created summer reading lists for her students (“Sweating Over the Summer Book List.” Library Media Connection, March 2005), she determined the focus should be on “…reading just for the fun of it…” and enlisted help from public librarians for recommendations.

Our own experience closely mirrors Geier’s. We have worked with language arts teachers to produce high-interest, varied, middle school summer reading lists, successfully advocating for titles that had quality audio productions, allowing students to read with their ears or with their eyes. Listening to audiobooks gives a well-documented boost to the very skills lost during the summer months, according to Gene Wolfson’s “Using Audiobooks to Meet the Needs of Adolescent Readers” (American Secondary Education, Spring 2008).

Roger Sutton, in “Remixing Reading” (The Horn Book, March/April 2012; http://tinyurl.com/82pzrvn), states that “books, readers, and reading are always changing, both definitionally and individually, as an original text is transformed across media and its readers become viewers, listeners, players, and co-authors in the experience of story.” Given choices, students can be motivated to listen to an audiobook, read a graphic novel, or see a movie version of a favorite novel, all of which serve to nourish literacy skills.

Our audiobook selections this month focus on middle school students, providing not only listening pleasure but also opportunities to increase reading comprehension, fluency, and vocabulary acquisition. Get kids listening and beat the summer slide!

Aliens on Vacation (The Intergalactic Bed & Breakfast Series). Written by Clete Barrett Smith. Narrated by Joshua Swanson. 6 CD. 7 hrs. Brilliance Audio. 2011. ISBN 978-1-4558-0133-6. $54.97. Gr 5-7
David, aka Scrub, is horrified to squander the summer in tiny, boring Forest Glen, WA, with the grandmother he’s never met. Grandma, who goes by the name Sunshine, runs the Intergalactic Bed & Breakfast, hosting a very bizarre clientele and a secret in which David is soon embroiled. Swanson mines all of the humor and tension of this light summer tale, imbuing both humans and aliens with distinctive voices. He is especially effective with the budding romance between David and Amy, a local girl who shows David that aliens have rights, too.
Standard: Students will compare and contrast different ways of life and understand the factors contributing to individual differences.

The Beasts of Clawstone Castle. Written by Eva Ibbotson. Narrated by Jenny Sterlin. 5 CDs. 6 hrs. Recorded Books. 2007. ISBN 978-1-4281-2183-6. $51.75. Gr 5-8
Madlyn and Rollo, spending their summer holiday in the country with elderly relatives, fall under the spell of the crumbling Clawstone Castle and its legendary Wild White Cattle. When the brother–sister duo enlist the help of some alarming ghosts to attract more paying visitors to the castle, Clawstone’s increasing success prompts local rivals to hatch a dastardly plan. Sterlin’s expressive reading, spot-on pacing, and ability to flawlessly define the different characters enhances this rollicking British mix of fantasy and social commentary.
Standard: Students will explore concepts of role, status, and social standing to evaluate the interactions of individuals and social groups.

Close to Shore: The Terrifying Shark Attacks of 1916. Written by Michael Capuzzo. Narrated by Taylor Mali. 3 CDs. 3:30 hrs. 2010. AudioGo. 2010. ISBN 978-1-4281-2183-6. $39.95. Gr 6-10
In the summer of 1916, the Jersey Shore became a popular place for ocean swimming. Unknown to tourists or the general public, a young great white shark had also taken up residence at the beach. The gruesome attacks will appeal particularly to reluctant male readers, with Mali’s deliberate narration highlighting the anxiety of shore dwellers and visitors. His reporter’s style, increasing speed and volume as tension builds, allows science and sensationalism to combine in creating a rousing summer read.
Standard: Students will investigate and understand the interactions among populations in a biological community.

Dead End in Norvelt. Written and narrated by Jack Gantos. 6 CDs. 7:16 hrs. Macmillan Young Listeners. 2011. ISBN 978-1-4272-1356-3. $29.99. Gr 5-8
“Grounded for life” two weeks into summer vacation of 1962, 12-year-old Jack manages to find adventure in this wild, semi-autobiographical novel. Norvelt, a small, planned community developed during the Great Depression by Eleanor Roosevelt, is dying—literally. Apprenticed to elderly, arthritic neighbor, Ms. Volker, Jack helps create obituaries for the original Norvelt residents who are expiring at an alarming rate, making the boy wonder what is going on. Gantos meshes history and humor with his unvoiced, earnest reading and a bonus interview, telling listeners how he blended fact and fiction to create this 2012 Newbery Medal winner. Steer students to these websites about the real Norvelt, PA, for more information: http://tinyurl.com/NorveltHistoricalMarker and http://tinyurl.com/RecallingOldNorvelt. Standard: Students will identify the causes of the Great Depression, its impact on Americans, and the major features of Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal.

Moon Over Manifest. Written by Clare Vanderpool. Narrated by Jenna Lamia, Cassandra Campbell, and Kirby Heyborne. 8 CDs. 8:30 hrs. Listening Library. 2011. ISBN 978-0-3079-6816-6. $40. Gr 5-8
After years of riding the rails, Abilene Tucker’s father suddenly decides she must spend the summer of 1936 with an old friend in Manifest, Kansas, a town devastated by drought and the Great Depression. Amidst the heat and dust, Abilene discovers a mystery stretching back to 1918 that includes the town’s coal mining legacy and the boys who went off to fight in World War I. Lamia expertly creates myriad voices for children and adults across Manifest’s decades, with Heyborne and Campbell ably rounding out the supporting cast of this 2011 Newbery Award winner. Standard: Students will evaluate the credibility and perspective of a variety of sources such as biographies, diaries, journals, artifacts, eyewitness interviews, and other primary and secondary source materials.

The Outcasts of 19 Schuyler Place. Written by E. L. Konigsburg. Narrated by Molly Ringwald. 5 CDs. 5:30 hrs. Listening Library. 2004. ISBN 978-1-4000-8609-2. $45. Gr 6-9
Bullied by fellow campers and a despotic camp director, Margaret Rose Kane is thrilled to spend the summer with her beloved great-uncles while her parents are in Peru. However, trouble is brewing in the uncles’ backyard, where towers they have been creating from found objects are slated for demolition by a city council bent on removing “blight.” To save the towers, Margaret enlists a quirky group of sympathizers to educate the community on the important role of art, especially outsider art. Ringwald’s performance is exhilarating, capturing the precocious teen, her Hungarian uncles, and an eccentric cast of secondary characters. Students can explore the history of outsider art through this article from Encyclopedia Britannica online: http://tinyurl.com/Art-Outsider. Standard: Students will compare and contrast the characteristics of public art.

Shark Wars. Written by E. J. Altbacker. Narrated by Joshua Swanson. 5 CDs. 5:30 hrs. Listening Library. 2011. ISBN 978-0-3079-1687-7. $30. Gr 4-7
Gray, an adolescent reef shark (or so he thinks), is growing so large and behaving so badly that he’s banned from the reef to find his own way in the Big Blue. With his dogfish friend, Barkley, he joins a tough shark clan, or shiver, where he only gets into more trouble. Sharks with human characteristics and references to the “landsharks” who hunt from above are part of the humor in this engaging story, enhanced by Swanson’s fully voiced sharks and excellent pacing and emotional inflection. (Note: There are two sequels—The Battle of Riptide and Into the Abyss.) Students may want to learn about the real characteristics of great white sharks at the Smithsonian website: http://tinyurl.com/c9uhft6. Standard: Students will list the characteristics of ocean dwelling mammals, i.e. specific species of shark.

Small as an Elephant. Written by Jennifer Richard Jacobson. Narrated by William Dufris. 5 CDs. 5 hrs. Brilliance Audio. 2011. ISBN 978-1-4558-0336-1. $49.97. Gr 5-8
Jack wakes up in Acadia National Park to discover that his mother has abandoned him. Wavering between panic, despair, and anger, he tries first to find her, hiding from authorities. When that proves futile, he sets out on a harrowing journey to see Lydia, the only live elephant in Maine. As Jack travels, he slowly reveals his mother’s “spinning episodes” and his fear of being separated from her. Dufris’s raspy voice turns in an emotional performance that demonstrates Jack’s resentment, panic, and pain. Both the Acadia National Park (www.nps.gov/acad) and Elephant Facts (www.elephant-facts.com) websites provide interesting additional information about the central themes of the story. Standard: Students will be able to describe the characteristics of large land mammals (i.e., the elephant) and understand the history and mission of the National Park Service.