Children’s books for the early teen years, not yet young adults, but no longer little ones
Published: 2014 Theme: Prejudice Best for: 11 and up "It struck Tomi then that Mom had changed a little just in the months since Pop was arrested. She had always done what everyone else wanted. Now for the first time in her life, she was in charge." More and more, I'm struck with the power of literature to educate children about injustice, and this book is a great example...
Published: 2008 Theme: Hope over Despair Best for: 12 and up "The nostalgia suffocates me... I am but six miles from Jerusalem and I am not allowed to enter it. Never again will I see the place where I was born, nor the home I entered as a bride. My olive trees, Hayaat. Oh, how I miss them!" I've barely finished wiping the tears from my eyes as I head to the computer to review this stunning, heartbreaking, honest, account of life in occupied Palestine...
Published: 2011 Theme: Beyond Illusions Best for: 12 and up "My mother was widowed by a real estate agent some years ago, and I never finished the encyclopedia..(When) we asked, 'Why do we not have a Papa?' she said, 'Your Papa is the Library, and he loves you and will care for you...'" If you can accept a Wyvern (who looks like a dragon but is only a remote cousin) that has a Library as a father, then you will not only be able to read this children's book, you will get the humor in the above quote...
Published: 2011 Theme: Family Best for: 12- 14 "Everything changes, child," Grandmama observed calmly. "Me, you, the world... Who knows what the future will bring? The one thing that doesn't change is the family. It always comes first. Keep everyone in it safe. Keep them happy." Laurence Yep is a fabulous chronicler of Chinese culture and Chinese American culture This particular children's book includes both, as it traces a family from 1835 in China to 2011 in America...
Published: 1976 Theme: Myths and Magic Best for: 9 and up "Something was coming, Peter knew it, and he was pretty sure he was going to be involved in it. Against his skin the Key felt hot. There was no vibration as yet but... Peter was afraid and yet he couldn't take it off.. he was drawn to it." This is a challenging book to read, but it is worth putting the effort in, as it takes us into the myths and magic of the Welsh people, traveling back in time, and merging with the present...
Published: 2011 Theme: Friendship Best for: 11 and up "Essence was not physical matter, Po knew. No one could touch it. No one could destroy it either... People could push and pull at you, and poke you, and probe as deep as they could go... But at the heart and root and soul of you, something would remain untouched." This creative children's book weaves a drama that almost feels Shakespearean, as many characters with their own mission all collide in the same place and same time...
Published: 1996 Theme: Self-discovery Best for: 12 and up "She was not much in the habit of thinking, only of howling her bitter, lonely anger at her exile from all she knew and understood- her homeland, the Folk, and their paths crisscrossing the moor." Neither the human world nor the fairy world is perfect; in this profound book, you get to see both their flaws, and their glory...
Published: 2009 Theme: Time and Time-travel Best for: 10 and up “It’s the jumping, from one diamond to the next, that we call time, but like I said, time doesn’t really exist. All the diamonds on the ring are happening at the same time….All the diamonds exist at once." Here's a children's book that attempts to bring the question of Time to a child's mind, simply to evoke profound inquiry, and, have some fun...
Published: 2008 Theme: Finding yourself Best for: 11 and up "The big deal is that we'll be living in the middle of nowhere! There will be NOTHING around us for miles and miles. No people. No restaurants. No stores. No movie theaters. NOTHING. Who lives like that?" In this very thoughtful children's book, we watch two teen girls, and a teen boy, go through terrific transformation, discovering who they really are...
Published: 2014 Theme: Overcoming obstacles Best for: 12 and up "Many coins. To take them would be stealing. But if it's a troll's treasure? Is it a sin to steal what's already stolen? Stolen Thrice: once from humans by trolls, then from the trolls by the goatman. And finally– Stolen from the goatman by me." Weaving together a number of Norwegian and universal fairy tales, this is a tale you could imagine written by the Grimms...
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