Recommended+Reading

> a heated note one day when Tripp doesn't throw out his trash. This leads to a pen-pal-like exchange daily, and eventually in-person musical collaboration that promises to change both of their lives forever. Songs they write, including chords, appear at the end of the story. (from //School Library Journal//). > writing realistic conversation and describing the thoughts of the various characters. (from //School Library Journal//) > a sports trophy. In his introduction, Scieszka wisely notes that good stories and good games are alike: Both reveal character and truths bigger than the game or the story. Readers, boys and girls alike, need look no further than these stories for the proof of that. (//School Library Journal//) > disorder down for a younger audience while introducing the extraordinary life of activist Temple Grandin. When Grandin was a child, she was withdrawn and unable to communicate. In 1950, at the age of three, she received an unheard-ofdiagnosis: autism. Grandin's mind thinks visually, in pictures, much the way it is believed that animals think. As such, she is empathetic to their needs and has advocated for the humane treatment of livestock by redesigning cattle facilities to be cruelty-free. Grandin's story presents autism as a gift, and her I like > the way I think attitude will be inspiring to many. Includes //Temple's Advice for Kids on the Spectrum //and other resources. (//Booklist//)
 * Recommendations for TJH Staff-- Titles available for check out from Tahoma Junior High School Library. **
 * =[[image:Son.gif]]= || [[image:guitar notes.gif width="139" height="210"]] || [[image:Wonder.gif width="132" height="208"]] || [[image:dear teen me.gif width="141" height="210"]] || [[image:guys read sports.gif width="147" height="210"]] || [[image:Temple grandin.gif width="147" height="210"]] ||
 * //**Son**//, by **Lois Lowry**-- Nearly twenty years since her Newbery award winning The Giver was published, Lowry has written a fourth and final book in this dystopia series. The Giver (Houghton Mifflin, 1993) returns for the first time to the regimented community of that book. Lowry recounts the events through the eyes of a new character, Claire, a Birthmother. When her first "Production" goes wrong, she endures a cesarean delivery and is summarily reassigned to the fish hatchery. But she can never let go of the idea of the son to whom she has given birth (Product #36) and manages to track him down in visits to the Nurturing Center. The baby turns out to be Gabe, the infant taken in by Jonas's family in The Giver. Claire meets Jonas's father and is able to maintain a tenuous relationship with her child. When Gabe is set to be "released" rather than permanently assigned to a family, things look dire indeed. Claire manages to escape the community on a supply boat headed "Elsewhere." Washed up on a beach after a storm, she has no memory of who she is or from whence she came. With the help of the villagers who have taken her in, she slowly regains some bits of her past and sets out to find her son.
 * //**Guitar Notes**//, by Mary Amato-Loner Trip Broody has lost a lot; his father died and his best friend moved away. He doesn't really connect with people, especially his nagging mother whose "help" isn't much appreciated. In contrast, Lyla Marks is perfect. She gets good grades, her teachers love her, and she plays the cello beautifully. Things are not perfect, however, as both her best friend and father suffocate her with unrealistic expectations and adulation over her talent. Forced to share a music practice room on alternating days at school, Lyla leaves
 * //**Wonder**//, by RJ Palacio- Due to a rare genetic disorder, Auggie Pullman's head is malformed, his facial features are misshapen, and he has scars from corrective surgery. After much discussion and waffling, he and his parents decide it's time for him to go to a regular school for middle school instead of being homeschooled. All his life Auggie has seen the shocked expressions and heard the whispers his appearancegenerates, and he has his coping strategies. He knows that except for how he looks, he's a normal kid. What he experiences is typical middle school-the good and the bad. Meanwhile, his beautiful sister is starting high school and havingher own problems. She's finding that friendships change and, though it makes her feel guilty, she likes not being labeled as Auggie's sister. Multiple peopletell this story, including Auggie, two of his new school friends, his sister,and his sister's former best friend. Palacio has an exceptional knack for
 * //**Dear Teen Me**//, edited by E. Kristin Anderson and Miranda Kinneally-Hindsight is entirely 20/20 in this compendium of letters written by young adult authors to their teenage selves. The selections include anecdotes and advice that are sad, funny, or a combination of both. Topics range from sickness and addiction to loneliness and regret to bullying and abuse. All of the letters are filled with reason and wisdom that few teens possess. Each one is accompanied by a photograph of the writer as a young adult. Interspersed throughout the book are fun Q & A spreads about celebrity crushes and first jobs. Avid readers and aspiring writers will enjoy reading about the trials and tribulations ofthese authors. A couple of the selections written by graphic novelists are drawn in comic form. Letters are arranged by the author's last name, so teens looking for advice on a particular subject or issue will not be able to easily gleanpearls of wisdom from this collection. (from //School Library Journal//)
 * //**The Sports Pages**// edited by Jon Scieszka In the third volume of his Guys Read series (the first focused on humor, and the second on thrillers), editor Scieszka turns his attention to sports, serving up 10 stories about baseball, football, basketball, running, hockey, and mixed martial arts. The contributions come from the likes of Jacqueline Woodson, Gordon Korman, and Joseph Bruchac, and in a nod to nonfiction there are two mini memoirs by hockey phenom Dustin Brown and CBS sports anchor James Brown. The overall tone is light: Anne Ursu turns in a story about a little white lie that turns into a whopper; Chris Rylander conjures up a tale about a boy who dreams ofexacting revenge on no less a sports luminary than Derek Jeter; and Korman offers a good-natured story about the kidnapping of
 * //**Temple Grandin: how the girl who loved cows embraced autism and changed the world**//by Sy Montgomery-It isn't easy to describe how the mind of someone with autism works, but Montgomery's biography effectively breaks the