VVMBookBlog

Last weekend the winning titles of the 2005-2006 MYRA–Minnesota Youth Reading Association–book awards were announced. Votes from students in schools all over Minnesota were counted to determine this year’s winners.

The winning title for Division 2, grades 6-8, was Hoot by Carl Hiassen.

Following close behind were City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau, Full Tilt by Neal Shusterman, and House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer. Be sure to watch for the movie version of Hoot coming out soon in May.
And the winner for Division 1, grades 3-5, was Runt by Marion Dane Bauer.

Runt was one of the four books for younger readers that was also included on our middle school list. It’s a great book for learning how wolves live in the wild.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And here are the books on next year’s Division 2 reading list:

Hawksong – by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes
Things Not Seen – by Andrew Clements
Gregor the Overlander – by Suzanne Collins
**Buddha Boy – by Kathe Koja
Blizzard’s Wake – by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Airborn – by Kenneth Oppel
Rising Water – P.J. Peterson
The Boy Who Saved Baseball – by John Ritter
Becoming Naomi Léon – by Pam Muñoz Ryan
Heir Apparent – by Vivian Vande Velde
**Soldier X – by Don Wulffson

**Titles marked with asterisks have mature themes or language that may not be appropriate for all Division 2 readers.

We have a few copies of most of these, so you could get started on the list now. Or check the public libraries this summer, or wait until fall when we’ll be ready with LOTS of copies!

Have you ever heard anything about the “Scopes Monkey Trial?” It’s an actual trial that took place back in the (hot) summer of 1925 in the small town of Dayton, Tennessee. The book Monkey Town by Ronald Kidd is a fictionalized telling of the events and people involved in that famous trial. The trial was intended to test the Butler Act, passed by the Tennessee General Assembly, forbidding any public school or university to teach the theory of evolution.

Frances Robinson is 15, looking forward to summer, and she has a major crush on her teacher, Mr. Scopes–she calls him John. Frances’ father runs the local drugstore where people gather at the soda fountain to talk and enjoy a “Coca Cola.” Her father is also a major player in the little town of Dayton. He decides they can get some great publicity for the town by getting someone to agree to go on trial for violating the Butler Act by teaching about evolution in a science class. And who do they convince to do this? Yes, Frances’ friend, John Scopes.

That’s when things start to get out of control for the little town of Dayton. The famous lawyers arrive to try the case – William Jennings Bryan for the prosecution and Clarence Darrow for the defense. Famous newspaper journalist H.L. Mencken arrives and the stories he sends back for publication all over the country describe the trial–and the town–as he sees it, which is not usually very good for the people of Dayton. So much for good publicity! Even WGN from Chicago came to set up microphones making that trial the first one in history to be reported live on the radio.

The trial brings up important issues that incite many problems among Frances’ family and friends–issues involving religious beliefs, tolerance of others’ beliefs, and understanding there is more to the world that what is happening in their little town. While this is a fictionalized account of the trial, the author interviewed several people, included Frances herself, from the town of Dayton where they do a Scopes trial reenactment every few years. Not everything happened exactly as the author portrays it in the book, but the major historical elements are there, and it all ties together to be a really exciting, suspenseful story.

Check it out and find out that the Scopes Monkey Trial is all about!

I just finished reading Runner by Carl Deuker. People usually like books by Carl Deuker because sports of some kind are a big part of the story. We have several other books by him, including Night Hoops, Heart of a Champion, and On the Devil’s Court. The sport featured in Runner is, of course, running! However, in this book running forms the background of the story and is the means for all of the action–and danger–to occur.

Chance, 17-years-old, lives with his dad on a small sailboat in a Seattle marina. Chance’s dad is a Vietnam vet who is also an alcoholic, making it difficult for him to keep a good job. Seeing that they need more money just to live day-to-day, Chance takes a job earning him $250 a week picking up mysterious packages in a designated spot while he’s out on his daily runs. Contents of the packages is unknown to Chance, but it soon becomes very clear that he’s working with some very dangerous people.

The bright spot in Chance’s day is Melissa who is from a very wealthy family, and whose father knew Chance’s father from high school. Chance has to eventually decide whether he needs to stop seeing Melissa to keep her out of danger. What’s he going to do and how is he going to get out of the mess he’s made with his life?
Very exciting, very suspenseful, very short chapters, lots of action, great story!