Branzei, Sylvia. Animal Grossology. New York:  Price Stern Sloan, 2004. Print.

Annotation: Have you ever heard of vomit munchers, blood slurpers, owl pellets, slime makers and dookie lovers?  Have you ever wondered why your pet dog likes to eat poop?  If your answer is ‘yes’, then this is the book for you…however, you may want to consider skipping lunch...possibly dinner, and perhaps that midnight snack – especially if a fly has sat on it. 

Justification for Nomination:  This is one gross book – but it’s great!  Sylvia Branzei hit the nail on the head...or should I say, fly on the head, when she created this series about all things gross and disgusting concerning animals, and some bugs, too.  Oh, and she also has other books about Grossology, and you should check them out, especially if you have a reluctant reader.  Here’s why.  The books are fun and informative.  The gross information included about the things animals do is accurate and factual, so there’s learning to be had here.  In the midst of the text (which I might add is interesting in and of itself, with large and varying fonts), there are terrifically gross illustrations created by Jack Keely.  The illustrations are cartoonish and large, taking up random portions of the pages.  The text is mingled in a block type format.  Smaller notations within illustrations give further background and detailed information about the subject. 

For instance, let’s talk about the housefly, one of life’s most pesky insects.  I might add that you may find yourself driving to the hardware store to pick up some fly tape after reading it, so beware.  In the ‘all about flies’ section, we have an illustration of a housefly puking up on chocolate chip cookie; the fly does this so the cookie portion he’s thrown up on will dissolve slightly, so it can be easier to slurp up.  To a fly, it’s all about creating food malts to be sucked through its straw-like tongue.  Yum.  I mean, yuck!  A close-up photograph of a fly is included, which looks a lot like something you’d see in an Aliens movie.   There are facts mixed up in this, too, and helpful hints about how you can keep your food safe, along with your health, which may be compromised if you happen to eat something the fly has thrown up on containing it’s last meal, which regrettably, could have been doggie poo.  So, good advice is to be learned here!

Okay, so you get it.  So why nominate such a gross book?  I am not sure it deserves an award, as the subject material is not necessarily award-worthy in comparison to other nonfiction works like Hitler’s Youth, or Hole in My Life,  which are, I believe, worthy of greater recognition.  However, I do feel that this book is a real opportunity to get efferent and reluctant readers to give reading a second chance.  It has the visual components that keep the stories moving along, and the illustrations are equal with the text, in that you see a great amount of pictures and illustrations.  The text information is interesting, fun, and formatted well.   The words used are something young readers will enjoy; all things gross and disgusting about vomit, blood, dookie and poop are used here.  I would say this is kind of a “boy read,” but I happen to know a young female reader who thought it was hilarious, so it seems to appeal to both genders.  Animal Grossology is a fun read for young adults, and adults.  It contains information about all types of animals, and the gross habits these sometimes cute and cuddly creatures have.  If you have a reluctant or efferent reader, this may be the book to change that perspective.  This book can pull a reader through, and before they or you know it -- the book is done...and mission accomplished. 

Genre Category:  Nonfiction/Animals/Habits.

Brashares, Ann.  The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. New York: Random House, 2001. Print.

Annotation:  Best friends, Carmen, Lena, Tibby and Bridget, are spending their first summer away from each other before their junior year of high school.  Could it be that a pair of jeans found at a thrift store and fit all the girls perfectly, are magical?  They think so.  One pair of jeans + Four best girlfriends = A summer they won’t soon forget. 

Justification for Nomination:  The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, written by author Ann Brashares is a wonderful story about friendship and the heartache that often comes along with growing up.  Four best friends, who have known one another “forever” are spending their first summer away from each other before their junior year in high school.  Before leaving on their respective trips, Carmen, Tibby, Lena and Bridget spend some time together trying on a pair of jeans that Carmen found at a thrift store for $3.49.  All of the girls have very different shapes, but for some reason, this pair of jeans fits them all perfectly!  They decide this has to be magical, and in order to stay connected with one another, they agree to share the jeans over the summer.  So, the story begins of four girls and one pair of jeans. 

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants is a friendship story, a real coming of age story that will resonate with teens.  As the jeans are shared between the girls, we learn about their individual and unique stories and experience the range of emotions they do; from love to loss, from life to death.  Tibby loses a new friend to leukemia, Lena finds love but must learn to be truthful, Carmen must face relationship issues with her father and his new family, and Bridget loses her virginity and cannot handle what she has done.  Ann Brashares writes with an easy youthful style, but with it shares deeply personal and complex situations that are relatable and interesting to teens. 

There are many reasons this book would be considered a quality piece of young adult literature.  Importantly, it addresses the “who am I?” quest that all young adult literature must seek to define.  It is emotionally engaging, believable and real life, with topics appealing to teens.  The protagonists experience some painful lessons and challenges, thrusting them into unknown territory, testing their abilities to deal with grown up realities.  It is a heart-tugging story about friendship and life, and how each friend moves on, learning and growing from what they have experienced.    

Ann Brashares is a fluid writer.  Each character voice is well-defined.  Her writing is simple to understand, emotional and age appropriate.  The structure and style of the story is interesting, breaking into multiple points of view, which is very effective, and not distracting from the overall story; a different approach from how most books are written.  The narration does not come off as preachy or working too hard in creating a lesson; it comes across as natural and believable.  There are no easy fixes in the friends’ situations, but wisdom is gained.

Personally, I loved this story and it’s no wonder so many teens do, too.  It speaks to so many of the issues teens face as they move into adulthood.  Importantly, the quest for finding themselves without each other, the ‘who am I?’ factor is the foundation.  Another plus is that the book is a series; a real plus for young adult literature.  This is a fantastic read for anyone who is looking for an appropriate coming of age and friendship story.

Genre Category:  Fiction/Friendship/Coming of Age

   Willingham, Bill. Fables: Legends in Exile. New York: DC Comics, 2002. Print.

Annotation:  Snow White’s sister, Rose Red, is missing.  Her blood paints the walls of her apartment, but she is nowhere to be found.  Living in Fabletown, a secret community of fairytale legends living in New York City, Snow White and Sheriff “big bad wolf” Bigby, search for a killer.   

Justification for Rejection:  Fables:  Legends in Exile, Volume 1, is a graphic wonderland.  Set in New York City, “Fables” are living among humans; but living quite a different life than that lived in the traditional fairytales.  For those Fables who can blend among humans, theirs is a life lived in Fabletown, a secret community of fairytale creatures living in a luxury apartment in New York City.  For those creatures that cannot blend into society (like a pig from the Three Little Pigs), a refuge called “The Farm” in upstate New York, is home.  The Fables have been forced out of their Homeland by an evil Adversary.  For now, the Fables have found safety in a world he is not interested in; “a dreary mundane place”, in New York City. 

A spin on the traditional folklore characters created by the Brothers Grimm, Charles Perrault or Hans Christian Andersen, the creatures in Fables, are, let’s say, a bit different.  Snow White, once married to Prince Charming, is now divorced.  In fact, Prince Charming has divorced Snow White, Cinderella AND Briar Rose.  This guys gets around.  Oh, what all the little girls would think if they heard this about Prince Charming.  Sheriff Bigby is really the Big Bad Wolf, originally famous for blowing the Three Pigs' house down.  So many spins, and so little time to explain them all!  In this story, lead characters, Snow White and Sheriff Bigby, are in search of a killer, the killer of Snow White’s sister, Rose Red.  The investigation leads to a surprise ending through a fairytale maze of characters and circumstances. 

Artistically speaking, the story flows well from panel to panel, and the graphics are amazingly well-executed by some truly great artists.  There are interludes of artwork that are uniquely different as far as the medium and style, and contain no text.  This adds a lot of interest, and keeps the pages turning.  There is a center interlude where the story of the Fables and their Homeland is told, as well.  This is a unique and interesting diversion from the story and helps to put the tale together.  The text is easy to follow, but not simplistic.  The panels are often encased and include fairytale-type artwork, almost like an illuminated manuscript, and this adds to the modern look of the graphics.  This look would be appealing to teens with its modern, and ornate fairytale combinations. 

Although the graphic novel, Fables: Legends in Exile, is a fun, exciting story and is a must-read for teens and adults who love graphic novels and comics, there are a number of reasons why I would not nominate it for an award.  Importantly, Fables does not have the message that a graphic novel such as Maus, by author Art Spiegelman, does, which I believe is award worthy.  Fables is a graphic fairytale, which would appeal to the young adult reader in many respects, however, we know this doesn't always make a book award material.  This novel contains adult themes, visual violence, sexual encounters, sexual language, and in-text graphic language.  Graphic language and adult themes may make the content of the novel unacceptable to a younger audience teen audience, or rather, their parents or teachers!  The story is good, however, it is not outstanding, nor outstandingly moving, and I think an award winning story should stick.  I would say, however, the graphics in this story are amazing in their execution, in format and artistically speaking. 

Myers, Walter Dean. Monster. New York:  HarperCollins Publishing, 1999. Print. 

Annotation:  Scared and alone, 16-year-old Steve Harmon cries silently at night in his jail cell.  Accused of being an accomplice to a murder and going through a trial, Steve decides to write a movie about his experiences.  He will call his movie, Monster, the name he was called by the prosecutor...but is he?  What will the jury believe?

Justification for Nomination:  Monster, written by lauded author, Walter Dean Myers, is the story of 16-year-old Steve Harmon, an African-American teen from Harlem, who has been accused of felony murder and is on trial for such.  Steve has been accused of being the “lookout guy” for a drugstore robbery gone array with the murder of the drugstore owner.  Steve faces life in prison or a possible death penalty, along with three other individuals; James King, Richard “Bobo” Evans, and Osvaldo Cruz, who all have different stories to share.  In the first sentence of the prologue, the emotional connection between Steve Harmon and the reader begins to take place.  

"The best time to cry is at night, when the lights are out and someone is being beaten up and screaming for help.  That way even if you sniffle a little they won’t hear you.” – Steve Harmon

Teens everywhere can relate to the range of emotions experienced by Steve, who is facing the battle of his life.  Yet in confronting these overwhelming circumstances, Steve still has hopes and dreams that extend beyond his situation.  An aspiring filmmaker, Steve decides to document his story as a movie. 

With the challenging script style writing undertaken by Myers, Monster is an excellent, compelling literary piece.  Walter Dean Myers is somehow able to snare the reader with this unorthodox format, and this is no easy task.  The screenplay format is initially somewhat distracting; with the descriptions of camera shots, fade-ins, fade-outs and such, but as the story moves forward, the distraction becomes less so as the reader adjusts to the format transitions.  Breaking away from the scenes, we are able to connect more deeply with Steve as he shares personal narratives describing his life, his family and his experiences. 

Monster fulfills a number of criteria that quantifies literary excellence.  For example, Monster breaks from the traditional format using a creative and unusual way of telling a story via script.  It also speaks to the teen experience in many ways, like addressing the pressures teens face from peers, parents, and society.  And, not only is Steve Harmon experiencing these intense emotions and experiences that resonant with teens, the story has a lesson or speaks to the issue that there are consequences for our actions, and often times there is suffering created by our decisions.  The story does not end with a victorious quest, but it does end with hope for the future, and a sense of something being learned.  Importantly, Monster addresses the foundation of young adult literature, which we know is the teens’ quest to discover who they are and where they fit into the world...the ‘who am I’ factor; the search for individuality and identity through perhaps difficult circumstances.  Steve Harmon states this in the last paragraph of the story:

            “That is why I take the films of myself.  I want to know who I am.  I want to know the road to panic that I took.  I want to look at myself a thousand times to look for one true image.“

"One True Image" of oneself and the search for it...this is what young adult literature should speak to!  Monster, is a truly unique experience to read, and possesses the literary criteria necessary to make it a book of excellence. 

 

Genre Category:  Young adult/Realistic Fiction/Multicultural