“All Clayton wanted was a twelve-bar solo–not even the twice-around the block solo that the other Bluesman played. He wanted twelve bars and to be a true bluesman among bluesman. Didn’t Cool Papa tell the crowd earlier that the blues was more than a song, it was a story?” (from Clayton Byrd Goes Underground by Rita Williams-Garcia)

Add Clayton Byrd Goes Underground and other ROW December titles to your end-of-the-year reading list. You can find out more about them by clicking on the links below.

2018-2019 Bookmarks

BTP December 2018 (1)

Baby Goes to Market by Atinuke. Illustrated by Angela Brooksbank. U.S. edition: Candlewick Press, 2017 Ages 2-4 A busy mama at Read more.

BTP December 2018 (2)

Blocks by Irene Dickson. U.S. edition: Nosy Crow / Candlewick, 2016 Ages 2-4   Two kids. Two sets of blocks. Two Read more.

Primary December 2018

Cordell, Matthew. Wolf in the Snow. Feiwel and Friends, 2017. 48 pages (978–1–250–07636–6) Ages 4-9 Snow is falling lightly as Read more.

Intermediate December 2018

Williams-Garcia, Rita. Clayton Byrd Goes Underground. Amistad, 2017. 166  pages (978–0–06–221591–8) Ages 8-12 Clayton Byrd loves playing the blues harp Read more.

Middle School December 2018

Cronin, Doreen. Cyclone. A Caitlyn Dlouhy Book / Atheneum, 2017. 336 pages (978–1–4814–3525–3) Ages 9-13 Nora, 12, is small for Read more.

High School December 2018 (1)

Anderson, M. T. Landscape with Invisible Hand. Candlewick Press, 2017. 149  pages (978–0–7636–8789–2) Age 13 and older When the vuvv Read more.

High School December 2018 (2)

Lu, Marie. Warcross. Putnam, 2017. 353 pages (978–0–399–54796–6) Age 11 and older Teen bounty hunter Emika Chen is down to Read more.

“Tonight, when we are all home, Dad will put rice in the cooker, and Mom will fry the fish on both sides until they are crispy. I will bring out the jar of fish sauce that has flecks of chili pepper and carrots floating on top.

“At the table, my brothers and sisters will tell funny stories. Mom will ask about their homework. Dad will nod and smile and eat with his eyes half closed. ‘Good fish,’ he will say to me.”  (from A Different Pond by Bao Phi)

Find out more about A Different Pond and our other ROW November titles below!

2018-2019 Bookmarks

BTP November 2018 (1)

Hooray for Birds! by Lucy Cousins. U.S. edition: Candlewick Press, 2017 Ages 2-4   With her signature bold black outlines and Read more.

BTP November 2018 (2)

Owl Bat Bat Owl by Marie-Louise Fitzpatrick. U.S. edition: Candlewick Press, 2017 Ages 2-5   A family of owls is Read more.

Primary November 2018

Phi, Bao. A Different Pond. Illustrated by Thi Bui. Capstone Young Readers, 2017. 32 pages (978–1–62370–803–0) Ages 6-9 A Vietnamese Read more.

Intermediate November 2018 (1)

Barton, Chris. Dazzle Ships: World War I and the Art of Confusion. Illustrated by Victo Ngai. Millbrook Press, 2017. 36 Read more.

Intermediate November 2018 (2)

Bing, Xu. Look! What Do You See? An Art Puzzle Book of American & Chinese Songs. Illustrated by Becca Stadtlander. Read more.

Middle School November 2018

Rosenberg, Madelyn, and Wendy Wan-Long Shang. This Is Just a Test. Scholastic Press, 2017. 243 pages (978–1–338–03772–2) Ages 9-12 A late Read more.

High School November 2018

Slater, Dashka. The 57 Bus. Farrar Straus Giroux, 2017. 305 pages (978–0–374–30323–5) Age 12 and older Despite recently losing a Read more.

“Herbert was not sure about Halloween.” (From Herbert’s First Halloween by Cynthia Rylant.)

Find out more about Herbert’s First Halloween and other October ROW titles below!

2018-2019 Bookmarks

BTP October 2018 (2)

I Want to Be in a Scary Story by Sean Taylor. Illustrated by Jean Jullien. Candlewick Press, 2017 Ages 3-7 Little Read more.

BTP October 2018 (1)

Herbert’s First Halloween by Cynthia Rylant.  Illustrated by Steven Henry. Chronicle, 2017 Ages 3-6   Herbert is a little pig Read more.

Primary October 2018 (1)

Butler, Dori Hillestad. King & Kayla and the Case of the Mysterious Mouse. Illustrated by Nancy Meyers. Peachtree, 2017. 42 Read more.

Primary October 2018 (2)

Denos, Julia. Windows. Illustrated by E. B. Goodale. Candlewick Press, 2017.  24 pages (978–0–7636–9035–9) Ages 3-6 “At the end of Read more.

Intermediate October 2018

Florence, Debbi Michiko. Jasmine Toguchi, Mochi Queen. Illustrated by Elizabet Vuković. Farrar Straus Giroux, 2017. 115 pages (978–0–374–30410–2) Ages 6-9 Eight-year-old Read more.

Middle School October 2018

Reynolds, Jason. Miles Morales: Spider-Man. Marvel Press, 2017. 261 pages (978–148478748–9) Age 11 and older Half Black, half Puerto Rican, Read more.

High School October 2018

Sáenz, Benjamin Alire. The Inexplicable Logic of My Life. Clarion, 2017. 445 pages (978–0–544–58650–5) Age 13 and older High school Read more.

“Miss Knapp says the /
first day is Get-Aquainted Day
in kindergarten.”

(from “Drawing My Family” in A New School Year: Stories in Six Voices by Sally Derby.

September brings back-to-school and the first hint of autumn. It also brings another year Read On Wisconsin! Check out A New School Year and our other titles for September below.

2018-2019 Bookmarks

BTP September 2018 (1)

Baby’s First Words by Stella Blackstone and Sunny Scribbens. Illustrated by Christiane Engel. Barefoot Books, 2017 Ages 6 months – Read more.

BTP September 2018 (2)

My Autumn Book by Wong Herbert Yee. Christy Ottaviano Books / Henry Holt, 2015 Ages 3-5   “The air turns Read more.

Primary September 2018

Derby, Sally. A New School Year: Stories in Six Voices. Illustrated by Mika Song. Charlesbridge, 2017. 48 pages (978–1–58089–730–3) Ages Read more.

Intermediate September 2018

Barnes, Derrick. Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut. Illustrated by Gordon C. James. A Denene Millner Book / Bolden, 2017. Read more.

Middle School September 2018

Jamieson, Victoria. All’s Faire in Middle School. Dial, 2017. 248 pages (978–0–525–42998–2) Ages 8-12 Imogene has been home-schooled her entire Read more.

High School September 2018

Watson, Renée. Piecing Me Together. Bloomsbury, 2017. 264 pages (978–1–68119–105–8) Age 13 and older Jade misses going to school with Read more.

Find out about 2018-2019 Read On Wisconsin books for each age level by clicking on the icon below.  You’ll find annotations and specific age recommendations for each book and links to resources on TeachingBooks.net! (PDF of complete list of 2018-2019 books)

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The 2018 Collaborative Summer Library Program theme is Libraries Rock!  Here are ROW titles to for reading, listening, singing, dancing and more!

Summer 3

Bird in a Box by Andrea Davis Pinkney. Little, Brown, 2011 Ages 8-12   This novel set primarily in 1937 builds Read more.

Summer 3

Janis Joplin: Rise Up Singing by Ann Angel.  Amulet, 2010 Age 14 and older   Janis Joplin’s transformation from member of Read more.

Summer 2

Good Enough by Paula Yoo. HarperCollins, 2008 Age 13 and older   Patti Yoon is a first-generation Korean American high school Read more.

Summer 1

Yellow Flag by Robert Lipsyte. HarperCollins, 2007 Age 14 and older   Teens who dream of NASCAR racing will feel as Read more.

Summer 1

If I Ever Get Out of Here by Eric Gansworth.  Arthur A. Levine / Scholastic, 2013 Age 11 and older   Read more.

Summer 1

Hana Hashimoto, Sixth Violin by Chieri Uegacki. Illustrated by Qin Leng. Kids Can Press, 2014 Ages 4-8   Hana’s decision to Read more.

Summer 1

The Beatles Were Fab (and They Were Funny) by Kathleen Krull and Paul Brewer. Illustrated by Stacey Innerst. Harcourt, 2013. Ages Read more.

Summer 2

Rock & Roll Highway: The Robbie Robertson Story by Sebastian Robertson. Illustrated by Adam Gustavson. Henry Holt, 2014 Ages 9-13 Read more.

Summer 3

The Lucy Variations by Sara Zarr. Little, Brown, 2013 Age 13 and older   Eight months ago, Lucy, a classically Read more.

Summer 2

Jazz Day: The Making of a Famous Photograph by Roxanne Orgill. Illustrated by Francis Vallejo. Candlewick Press, 2016 Age 10 Read more.

Summer 1

Alphabet Family Band by Sarah Jones. Blue Manatee Press, 2017 The musical members of a large, multiracial family demonstrate their Read more.

Summer 2

Diez deditos / Ten Little Fingers and Other Play Rhymes and Action Songs from Latin America by José-Luis Orozco. Illustrated by Read more.

Summer 3

Little Pig Joins the Band by David Hyde Costello. Charlesbridge, 2011. Ages 2-5   Little Pig suffers the fate of Read more.

Summer 2

Penny and Her Song by Kevin Henkes. Greenwillow / HarperCollins, 2012. Ages 4-7   Kevin Henkes’s debut titles for beginning Read more.

Summer 3

Max Found Two Sticks by Brian Pinkney. Simon and Schuster, 1994. Ages 3-7   On a day when Max doesn’t feel Read more.

Frost, Helen. When My Sister Started Kissing. Margaret Ferguson Books / Farrar Straus Giroux, 2017. 187 pages (978–0–374–30303–7)

Ages 10-13

This novel in verse alternates between the voices of two sisters, 11-year-old Claire and 13-year-old Abigail, with occasional contributions in the voice of the lake where they are spending the summer with their dad and pregnant stepmother. Abigail (who now asks to be called “Abi”) is diving into adolescence, and is struggling between her feelings for two boys: TJ, a longtime summer friend whom she kissed at the end of the previous summer, and Brock, this year’s hot new guy. Claire is wary of the new Abi, and resents being asked to cover for her when Abi breaks their father’s rules. Claire also misses the way things were when it was just the three of them, before Pam, her stepmother, came into the picture. The pending arrival of a baby brother is yet another transition in the family structure. Frost’s deft skill with poetic form (including quatrains, kayak poems, free-verse, and acrostics) keeps the focus on the relationship between the sisters, as well as providing insight into the thoughts they keep private. Although their history includes a tragedy—their mother was struck and killed by lightning many years earlier—this is a summer without melodrama, but rife with the usual challenges of adolescence, family, friends, and change. ©2018 Cooperative Children’s Book Center

Alexander, Kwame, with Chris Colderley, and Marjory Wentworth. Out of Wonder: Poems Celebrating Poets. Illustrated by Ekua Holmes. Candlewick Press, 2017. 49 pages (978–0–7636–8094–7)

Ages 8-13

Twenty sparkling, original poems each celebrate a specific poet in a terrific collection that also serves as an introduction to the poets honored. The opening poem, by Kwame Alexander, “How To Write a Poem,” celebrates Naomi Shihab Nye (“Let loose your heart— / raise your voice. … find / your way / to that one true word / (or two).” The final offering, also by Alexander, celebrates Maya Angelou (“Rise / into the wonder / of daybreak. … Know your beauty / is a thunder / your precious heart unsalable. … Shine on honey! / Know you / are phenomenal.” In between are poems paying tribute to Robert Frost, e. e. cummings, Bashō, Nikki Giovanni, Langston Hughes, Walter Dean Myers, Emily Dickinson, Terrance Hayes, Billy Collins, Pablo Neruda, Judith Wright, Mary Oliver, Gwendolyn Brooks, Sandra Cisneros, William Carlos Williams, Okot p’Bitek, Chief Dan George, and Rumi. The poems, varied and wonderful, skillfully reflect their subjects thematically and stylistically. Additional information about each of the 20 poets is found at book’s end. A singular, beautifully composed illustration serves as a perfect accompaniment for each poem, complementing but never competing with words that will open eyes, and minds, and hearts to these writers. ©2018 Cooperative Children’s Book Center

Pérez, Celia C. The First Rule of Punk. Viking, 2017. 310 pages (978–0–425–29040–8)

Ages 9-12

Malú and her mom have moved from Gainsville to Chicago for her mom’s two- year visiting professorship. Mixed-race (Mexican/white) Malú, whose parents are amicably divorced, is unhappy about leaving her dad, who nurtured her interest in punk. She also feels like her mom, whom she calls SuperMexican, wants her to be a perfect señorita, which couldn’t be further from Malú’s understanding of herself (or, it turns out, the truth). Expressing her punk identity with heavy make-up the first day at José Guadalupe Posada Middle School doesn’t just raise her mom’s eyebrows, however: Malú’s in violation of school rules. The mom of Malú’s new friend, Joe, introduces Malú to Mexican American punk musicians—something Malú didn’t know existed— and other Mexican singers. Malú recruits Joe and two other kids to form a punk band and try out for the school talent show. When the principal rejects their act, Malú and her bandmates organize an alternate talent show in the spirt of their school’s namesake while reworking a classic Mexican song into a punk performance that brings together the parts of Malú’s identity she once thought were disparate. Malú’s zines exploring aspects of her personal history and culture add a rich visual dimension to a spirited, engaging story about a creative, irrepressible girl navigating uncertainties and making new connections and discoveries. ©2018 Cooperative Children’s Book Center

Walker, Sally M. Sinking the Sultana: A Civil War Story of Imprisonment, Greed, and a Doomed Journey Home. Candlewick Press, 2017. 196 pages (978–0–7636–7755–8)

Ages 10-14

More than 2,000 passengers were on board the steamboat Sultana in April 1865 as it traveled up the Mississippi. The majority of them were Union soldiers recently released from Confederate prison camps heading north to be mustered out of the army. When one of the ship’s boilers exploded in the middle of the night, it marked the start of the worst maritime disaster in U.S. history. This gripping account provides context for this time in American history, but the narrative returns again and again to the hours leading up to and following the explosion. Those who weren’t killed in the blast ended up in the frigid Mississippi, some severely burned. People on shore and in other boats heard cries for help and did what they could to rescue survivors. In the aftermath, an investigation into what might have caused the blast and why so many were on board a boat authorized for 376 when the army left a second steamship empty are also chronicled. Older children and teens fascinated by the Titanic and other disaster accounts will be just as compelled by this one. A note on the author’s research, source notes, and glossary round out the volume. ©2018 Cooperative Children’s Book Center

Oh, Ellen, editor. Flying Lessons & Other Stories. Crown, 2017. 218 pages (978–1–101–93459–3)

Ages 9-14

“Blame my Uncle Kenneth. Everybody else does.” (Tim Tingle) “It’s a lot of pressure to pick a good elf name.” (Tim Federle) “Nani wears a fur coat to the beach.” (Soman Chainani) Whether starting with irresistible opening lines like these, or easing more quietly into the lives of their characters, the 10 short stories in this anthology are wonderfully crafted slices of life. Whether funny or poignant, painful or hopeful (and most are a combination), these stories featuring mostly contemporary older children and teens are widely varied in style and setting. The unifying theme is this: Everyone’s voice matters, everyone has a story. What the stories also have in common are vividly realized characters whose lives feel genuine and are exceptional to the extent that every child and young adult is exceptional—singular and needing to be seen. Inclusion itself should not be exceptional, however. It should be deep and genuine and meaningful as it is within and across these pages featuring diverse writers—something foundational to the vision of this work that models how any anthology, regardless of theme, should be conceived. The result is a collection of stories that will spark recognition, and connection, and enjoyment for all readers in a multitude of ways. Additional contributors include Kwame Alexander, Kelly J. Baptist, Matt de la Peña, Grace Lin, Meg Medina, Walter Dean Myers, and Jacqueline Woodson. ©2018 Cooperative Children’s Book Center

Khan, Hena. Amina’s Voice. Salaam Reads, 2017. 197 pages (978–1–4814–9206–5)

Ages 9-13

Amina is unhappy that her best friend, Soojin, has started inviting Emily, a classmate neither of them has ever liked, to spend time with them. At home, Amina’s family is getting ready for the visit of Thaya Jaan, her father’s older brother, from Pakistan. To impress Thaya Jaan, and support their Imam, Amina’s parents insist Amina and her older brother, Mustafa, complete  in their mosque’s upcoming Quran recitation competition. Mustafa, who wants his parents to let him play high school basketball, agrees willingly. But Amina suffers from serious stage fright—it’s why she never tries out for a solo in her middle school choir, despite her talent and love of singing. A swiftly paced novel showing a Muslim family and community as part of the fabric of American life also includes a hateful attack when vandals break into the mosque. No one is hurt, but the damage is great and the fear and sadness palpable. So, too, is the caring. People both within and outside Amina’s faith community offer solace, support, and help repairing the damage. This welcome story has finely developed primary and secondary characters, from Amina, Soojin, and Emily (whom Amina comes to appreciate) to Amina’s family members, including her at-first intimidating uncle, who proves to have both conservative ideas and an open mind. The novel is set in the Milwaukee-area community of Greendale. ©2018 Cooperative Children’s Book Center