1. Class #2, November 21 Evaluating fiction Cynthia Voigt presentation Jack Gantos and Lynne Rae Perkins Book discussion More recommended books Break Hilary Breed Van Dusen Preview nonfiction

2. Evaluating fiction  Useful books Lessons  Fun books High interest Emotional response  Good books Exemplary writing Enjoyment  learning

3. Warning signs  Too many coincidences  Too much happens  Some characters are believable while others are over the top (Are they all in the same movie?)  Tone doesn’t match what is happening  Dialogue doesn’t ring true (Nothing loses a reader faster than unbelievable dialogue)

4. Classic books  “Children’s Classics” Horn Book PDF http://www.hbook.com/pdf/childrensclassics.pdf http://www.hbook.com/pdf/childrensclassics.pdf  Anita Silvey recommendations: 500 Great Books for Teens  All over the web

5. Best of the year lists  Horn Book Fanfare  BCCB Blue Ribbon  ALA Notables  ALA BBYA Links to all of these on class website

6. Cynthia Voigt presentation Amanda Jones Sarah Milleville Lara Tully

7. Jack Gantos  b. 1951 in Mt. Pleasant, PA  Family moved around (Barbados, Puerto Rico, South Florida…)  Hole in My Life (memoir)  Emerson College  Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key (1998) NBA finalist  Joey Pigza Loses Control (2000) Newbery Honor Book  Love Curse of the Rumbaughs (2006) YA, gothic, but funny (creepy identical twins, eugenics, taxidermy)  Characters with good intentions but a knack for getting into trouble

8. Jack Gantos web resources Jack Gantos’s website (lots of stuff, links to teacher resources) http://www.jackgantos.com/ Bio and suggestions for using books in classroom http://www.mhhe.com/socscience/education/kidlit/ aom/current_aom.htm Interview on BookWeb http://www.bookweb.org/news/features/748.html Interview by Down Home Books http://www.downhomebooks.com/gantos.htm Another interview http://www.embracingthechild.org/agantos.html

10. Lynne Rae Perkins  b. 1956 in Pittsburgh PA  BFA in printmaking  Now lives in north woods of Michigan with husband and two children  Since 1995 4 picture books, 2 novels, all well received  BGHB honor books: Home Lovely and Snow Music  2006 Newbery Award for Criss Cross  Warmth of family, importance of friends, does not shy away from hard truths and complexity

11. Lynne Rae Perkins web resources Lynne Rae’s website (very basic, some ideas for teachers) http://www.lynneraeperkins.com/ Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books interview, 2000 http://bccb.lis.uiuc.edu/0200rise.html NPR interview, January 2006 (read or listen) http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php? storyId=5170249 Profile by her editor (Horn Book, July 2006) http://www.hbook.com/publications/magazine/articles/ jul06_duncan.asp

12. Book discussion—small groups  Get into groups of ~6 people  Discuss All Alone in the Universe and Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key  Were Joey and Debbie believable characters? If so, how was this accomplished?  The biggest difference between these two books is TONE. How does this affect you as you read the book?

14. More recommended books

15. BREAK

16. Hilary Breed Van Dusen editor, Candlewick Press

17. Horning’s nonfiction checklist  Accurate (acknowledgements, bibliography, glossary)  Organized  Engaging  Well written  Eye-catching presentation