Historical Fiction
Favorite Books of 2012
Jan 27th
Have you ever read a book that you just couldn’t forget?
Did it make you laugh? Cry? Shout?
Today’s post is about my favorite books from 2012. These are the standout books from a year of reading. Even though I may have read them months ago, I still think about them and consider them book friends. When I see the cover, or think of a passage from the book, I get a smile on my face. Not all of these books were written in 2012, although most of them were. I am in the process of reading all the Newbery Medal winners, so one book was published years ago. All, except the young adult books are available in our library. I hope you will stop in and check them out!
Tomorrow the American Library Association will announce all of the Youth Media Awards at their Mid-Winter Conference here in Seattle. I will be at the press conference for the very first time! I can’t wait to see what books won medal and honor awards. Above any other books, I have my fingers crossed for The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate and Wonder by RJ Palacio.
Here are my standouts from a year of reading!
Categories: Favorite Graphic Novels, Favorite Picture Books, Favorite Non-Fiction Picture Books,Favorite Middle Grade Novels, Favorite Young Adult Novels, Favorite Audio Books
So there you are…my favorites. Not all will win awards tomorrow at the ALA conference. However, they have already won a special award in my heart because each of these books has touched me in a very personal way. I’m looking forward to lots of reading in 2013 and seeing where my reading travels take me!
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Were any of these books favorites for you this year?
Is there a book I should have included?
Leave us a comment and let us know!
Our Library Research Unit
Feb 24th
Photo by TinaLouise- Creative Commons permission
Every September, the Puyallup Fairgrounds south of Seattle hosts a huge country fair with rides, snacks, animals and 4-H competitions.
Many people do not realize that these fairgrounds, after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941, were also the site of a place called Camp Harmony. It was here that thousands of Japanese-American citizens from the Seattle area were housed before being shipped to the Minidoka Incarceration Center in Idaho.
Photo property of Museum of History
After reading Kirby Larson’s new book, The Fences Between Us, I decided tying together the Big 6 research process with this part of Seattle’s history would be one way for our 5th and 6th grade students to find out a little 
more about this topic.
It also turned out to be timely. Just last week, as the Japanese American community marked their Day of Remembrance, Seattle University announced that they would award honorary degrees to the 15 Japanese-Americans whose educations were disrupted and were incarcerated during World War II. For most, relatives will accept the degree as all but one of the former students have since passed away.
Using some of the project suggeted by Kirby Larson in her book, students had to decide upon a topic: The bombing of Pearl Harbor, Camp Harmony, Minidoka Incarceration Center, The Densho Project, The Civil Liberties Act, the 442 Regiment, or Seattle’s former Japantown. Then teams of students had to use books and the internet to research 10 facts about their topic and create a poster, displaying their facts and related photos.
Here are their projects in a Photopeach presentation.
What did you learn about this topic?
What topic have you done for a research project?
Leave us a comment and let us know!
February Student Book Reviews
Feb 10th
February Book Reviews on PhotoPeach
Deltora Quest by Emily Rodda – Review by Julius
This is a magical and mysterious book about wizards and sorcerers. There are two boys that are best friends and one happens to be the king of all the land. The king’s best friend, Jarred is accused of trying to kill the king. He is banished from the palace and has to survive in the poor town of Del.
Suddenly he finds out that there has been a great darkness that has been attacking Del for a long time. His son and his partner in crime have to set out and find the stones that complete the belt of light and defeat the shadow lord. CAN THEY SURVIVE?
There are many reasons why I liked this book. Here are a few; this book has a lot of adventure and fantasy, and I love adventure and fantasy. Also, this book reminded me of Harry Potter because it has that whole wizards and wands defeating the darkness effect.
Another reason why I love this book is that it was very suspenseful. Throughout the book, I was so scared to turn the page because you didn`t want something horrid to happen to the characters, but yet you didn`t want to stop because you were also dying to know what happens next.
This is a quite easy read and is fairly short. I really recommend this book to any age, although you have to be a fantasy and adventure lover because this book contains a lot of it. Even so, you should still give this book a go because I am betting you will like it.
Little Brother by Cory Doctorow -Review by Blake
This is a great, fun filled book about Winston, but please calls him Marcus. He is only 17 years old, but he has figured out how the system works and he works the system; a smart, fast and wise, networked world. He has no trouble outwitting his high school surveillance systems. His whole world changes when he and his friends skip school and get caught in the after math of a terrorist attack in downtown San Francisco. He is captured by the Dept. of Homeland Security and whisked away to a secret asylum. Read the book to find out the rest!
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Ugly Truth by Jeff Kinney – Review by Elliott
This is about a kid named Greg who is having a hard time in middle school. He is trying to fit in with all the so called popular kids. He also just lost his best friend, but deep inside they still want to be friends. They are both trying to find new friends, but keep ending up together somehow. You will be taken on a long and funny ride with Greg as you experience his life and his friends. Be sure to read the other books first, as this is number 5 in the series. If you like really funny books, this one is for you!
Captain Underpants and the Wrath of the Wicked Wedgie Woman by Dave Pilkey- Review by Mark
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes action because it is funny and it has a lot of fighting in it. It is really interesting because the teacher turned into a villain and had hands coming out of her hair!! The author gives a lot of details in the story; for example when they were about to go to sleep and they heard something in the bushes and it turned out to be the Wedgie Woman! She took them and made a portrait of George and Harold so the other children would not notice that they are not there. The author makes the story interesting and you do not want to do anything until you finish it.
Bud Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis - Review by Devon
Have you ever felt so lonely, that you want to rip the despicable out of everybody you never met? Well I could tell you, not the best idea…. But don’t try to explain this to Buddy….. I MEAN BUD!
Bud is not too bright, which means that his imagination can lead to some drastic things, but cause some great adventures… Would you try to escape from a foster family with a boy who sticks pencils up your nose and makes your nose drip in the puddles of blood, when they lock you outside the house in a scary dark shed? I guess not, but Bud can’t stop himself. He’s pretty smart which greatly adds to the adventures of Bud Cosweld on the lam!
This book is amazing… a perfect book for anybody who wants to read an amazing story they can’t put down. This book is my favorite!
Eldest by Christopher Paolini–Review by Moses
Eldest, the second book of the Inheritance series is a timeless fantasy! After the death of Durza (Gallbatorix’s right hand man) and the victory for the Varden, Eragon suffers from a fatal scar from the duel with Durza in the first book. Too make matters worse Adjaid, king of the Varden and Murtagh dies, Eragon mourns for them. Meanwhile Gallbatorix is planning something to avenge his defeat. I recommend Eldest for older readers because of violence. I really enjoy this book, Check it out today!
Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan -Review by Jack
“Look, I don’t want to be a half blood.” This is what Percy Jackson said before he started his long journey. He did not know the gods were tangling him in a mystery of the stolen lightning bolt. One that no simple person would have imagined. He could see what no normal person could see. Percy never wanted to be a half-blood. He just was.
This book is about his big adventure to unlock the mystery of Zeus’s stolen lightning bolt. Only Percy and his two friends are on the journey. All the Greek gods think he stole it, except his father. Percy was set to have an adventure he never asked for. One a half blood had to face, even though Percy never asked to be a half blood, or have a marvelous adventure. It was hard enough with the mystery of his father’s disappearance and his mom’s terrifying boyfriend.
If you like the Greek gods, or want to read about a half blood’s exclusive adventure, this is the book for you. I recommend this book to everyone.
Bella The Bunny Fairy by Daisy Meadows- Review by Diana
Bella is a fairy that had a bunny until Jack Frost took the magical bunny. Rachel and Kristy are both best friends they also are friends to the fairies. The setting is in Rachel’s cousins house at Easter. The pets found a hole in the castle wall, so they escaped to the human world. Will the friends rescue the bunny or will the goblins take the bunny back to the castle? Read this book to find out.
I Thought My Soul Would Rise and Fly: Diary of Patsy a Freed Slave Student Review by Devon
Oct 6th
”Dear America” is a historic series that shows-off the important events that took place over a long period of time. Although it’s probably a fact that Patsy (the main character) was not an actual person, I sometimes wonder if this book is based on a true story. I put my opinion into this book review and I will try my best to get you all to read it, because in my thoughts, it breaks through the barriers of fact, and sprinkles a bucket of fiction throughout the rich pages! This book is historically adventurous!
Of course you have already guessed, that Patsy is the main character, and of course, a character has a cause, and for Patsy, that cause is slavery. Patsy is a slave, and she tries her hardest to work for the mistress, and she kind of enjoys it, well, as much as she can the task of dusting the library. But why would a slave enjoy dusting an old library? Well, to tell you, she is different from most slaves, but how? She can read!
A fact in this story is that most slaves cannot read or write, yet little old Patsy has her special features, behind the Master and Mistresses back, Patsy practices reading and writing. Patsy the slave, can read and write, and so she writes in her diary. She writes about her adventures of the day. She goes about her day’s events such as cooking and cleaning the manor, but one grateful day, the Yankees arrive and claim the slaves are… FREE! After this statement was made, the whole manor fell apart! One after another, the freed men and women left to search for their families. But in the mean time, everyone else must claim his or her last name! Everyone is joined in the commotion and still, Patsy still has not decided what her last name should be!
I’m not going to spoil such outstanding and thrilling historic events, so I strongly recommend this book to any adventure seekers and all the history admirers! ”I thought my soul would rise and fly” when I read this!
