Give older children something with bite
It's obvious that if older children are to connect with books, we've got to give them something to read that's so exciting they can't wait to get back to the story.
With thousands of books on the market for older readers, it's difficult to know which ones are excellent without containing objectionable content.
Fortunately, today's reviewed books fill that bill — well written exciting stories meant for older readers. Ask your local librarian to point you in the direction of others. Connecting older children with great books is important, and you have the power to make that a reality.
The following book is available at many public libraries.<B>"The Hunger Games"</B> by Suzanne Collins, Scholastic, 374 pages; read aloud: age 12 and older; read yourself: age 12 and olderFrom the ruins of North America, the nation of Panem has emerged.The glorious Capital is surrounded by outlying districts, and life in the 12 districts is hard and cruel. Poverty and hunger abound, and the Capital makes certain it doesn't change.To enforce its power, the Capital televises the annual extreme reality TV show —Hunger Games — where 12 boys and 12 girls between the ages of 12 and 18 compete in mortal combat until all but the final victor remains.Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen knows hunger and survival all too well. Living with her mother and younger sister, she has learned to hunt illegally for the three of them to ward off starvation.Now, she is a contender in the Hunger Games. Morally opposed and sickened by the games throughout her life, she is now forced to pit her own survival against all the things she really believes in.Unsettling parallels to our present, strong underpinnings of ancient myth, and a terrifying, eerily believable future America combine to create a thought-provoking novel that is guaranteed to leave readers breathless.
<B>Library: </B>Mars Public Library, 107 Grand Ave., Mars<B>Library Director:</B> Mary Jo Simons<B>Children's Librarian:</B> Joyce PappertChoices this week: <B>"Time Soldiers"</B> series by Kathleen Duey; <B>"The Secret of the Attic"</B> by Sheri Cooper Sinykin; <B>"Welcome to Molly's World, 1944"</B> by Catherine Gourley
The following books are available at favorite bookstores.<B>"The Dreamer"</B> by Pam Munoz Ryan, illustrated by Peter Sis, Scholastic, 2010, 372 pages, $17.99 hardcover; read aloud: age 10 and older; read yourself: age 11 and older.Young Neftali Reyes was socially awkward, painfully shy, small and thin and frail for his age, and highly imaginative.Neftali represented everything his father didn't want him to be, and Neftali's father never let him forget his disappointment in his son through his cruel words and actions.But despite his anguished childhood, Neftali never lost sight of his soul that saw the beauty and wonder in everyday things.He loved collecting treasures, knew the pain and suffering of others, and listened to his inner voice and dreams that propelled Neftali to become one of the most widely read poets in the world, writing under the name of Pablo Neruda.Based on the events of Pablo Neruda's childhood, "The Dreamer" is a breathtaking story of courage and self-discovery. Combining poetry, biography, prose and sensitive illustrations, "The Dreamer" is one story not to be missed.<B>"Wolves of The Beyond: Lone Wolf"</B> by Kathryn Lasky, Scholastic, 2010, 223 pages, $16.99 hardcover; read aloud: age 9 and older; read yourself: age 10 to 11 and older.When the wolf pup Faolan was born with a twisted paw, the laws of the wolf pack required Faolan's mother to abandon him in order to eliminate any weakness in bloodlines.The newborn pup was left on an ice ledge next to the river. If the water didn't take the pup's life, surely a predator would.Just before the river could swallow Faolan once and for all, he clutched onto an enormous paw of a female grizzly bear.The grizzly had just lost her own infant cub, and she knew this wolf pup was her gift from the river.Raising Faolan brought the grizzly great joy, and she taught him well. When she was no longer there to protect him, Faolan took the tools she had taught him and courageously set forth on his lone path, ultimately fulfilling his destiny that would change the wolves of The Beyond forever.Combining the power of legend, extensive research on wolves in the wild, and fantasy that seems real, "Wolves of The Beyond: Lone Wolf" brims with nonstop action and important philosophical concepts for readers of many ages.Nationally syndicated, Kendal Rautzhan writes and lectures on children's literature. She can be reached via e-mail: kendal@sunlink.net.
