First out the gate? CYBILS 2013! This year I was asked to look at young adult nonfiction titles. Since the choices have been made and the titles are up (here), I am going to honestly say that I was disappointed in the category. I had hoped, with the nonfiction focus shift in Common Core Standards, that I would find some great new nonfiction to recommend to my colleagues. There weren't many nominations, probably because the category has a limited number of published titles. That's something for writers to think about...... I think we looked at something like fifty titles and I would recommend, maybe, six. Three of those would be with cautionary comments. All in all, the titles were way too dry. I understand that these are young adult titles, but they are YOUNG adults.
Let me talk about the ones who made it to the finalist list:
My personal favorite was Breakfast on Mars and 37 Other Delectable Essays. It's a collection of well-voiced essays that deviate from the formulaic essays many English Language Arts teachers are prone to forcing.
I also liked The Bronte Sisters: The Brief Lives of Charlotte, Emily, and Anne
The one I got to blurb about was The Boy on the Wooden Box: How the Impossible Became Possible . . . on Schindler's List
Another must for library purchase: Imprisoned: The Betrayal of Japanese Americans during World War II
Lastly is the title that young adults will probably like the best: "The President Has Been Shot!": The Assassination of John F. Kennedy
-------------------- That's all folks! --------------------
© 2007-2014 Cheryl Vanatti for www.ReadingRumpus.com
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