Watermark Teacher Feature – October 10, 2007
 
In this issue:
 
BOOK NEWS
 
Edward Bloor galley giveaway
Newsflash: New Percy Jackson book announced!
Fresh Titles: Early science books; graphic novels by Brian Jacques & Eoin Colfer
 
UPCOMING EVENTS
 
Matthew Eck reading & signing: Friday, October 12. 7:00 p.m.
Edward Bloor reading & book signing: Saturday, Oct. 13. 2:00 p.m.
Jan Brett book signing: Sunday, Oct. 21. 5:00 p.m.
Robert Morgan reading & signing: Monday, October 22. 7:00 p.m.
 
FEATURED BOOK REVIEWS
 
* Young-adult novels by Edward Bloor
 
-
 
Greetings and salutations,
 
I hereby declare the start of sweater weather: it was fifty-seven degrees on my morning drive, and I wore a cabled green number. Cooler weather, here we come!
 
Young-adult author Edward Bloor will be at Watermark this Saturday, and to celebrate, I have cool free stuff to give away (while supplies last): students and young folks who attend the reading will receive packets of YA bookmarks and stickers and such, and for teachers, I have assorted reading guides and other good book swag. I hope to see you there!
 
Best of all: I have two advance-reader galleys of Bloor’s newly released YA novel “Taken” to give to two eager educators. Be the first to e-mail me, and I will hook you up. Look below for a review of the book.
 
-
 
NEWSFLASH
 
Breaking news this week: the fourth title in Rick Riordan’s mythology-inspired Percy Jackson and the Olympians series has just been announced. The book will be called “The Battle of the Labyrinth” and will be released on May 6, 2008.
 
This series has become a word-of-mouth powerhouse, and I love seeing young folks come in eager to read the next installment. If you haven’t yet caught the fever, check out this recent piece from Publisher’s Weekly magazine: http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6486873.html?q=percy+jackson
 
-
 
FRESH TITLES
 
Picture books for preschool to age 8
 
“Please, Louise!” by Frieda Wishinsky, illus. by Marie-Louise Gay (Groundwood Books, 9780888997968, $17.95) This vibrant story of a big brother who feels plagued by his little sister is a real charmer. Jake and Louise both come alive in the words they speak (and shout!) at each other, and Marie-Louise Gay’s delightful watercolor illustrations are a joy to behold as the characters bounce and sail across the page. This is a great book to read aloud, and it carries a sweet moral: Read review
 
“Oscar and the Moth: A Book About Light and Dark” and “Oscar and the Frog: A Book About Growing” by Geoff Waring (Candlewick, 9780763635596 and 9780763635589, $11.99 each) These nicely-sized picture books feature a clever gray-and-white cat named Oscar, whose curious questions introduce young readers to basic science ideas. The books are clear and appealing, and they offer back-of-the-book review sections with question-prompts and easy indices: Read review
 
 
Middle-grades fiction: 9 to 12
 
“Redwall: The Graphic Novel” by Brian Jacques (Philomel, 9780399244810, $12.99) This comic-book-style graphic novel adapts the first book of the long-running Redwall series: a young mouse named Matthias finds the courage to lead the critters of Redwall Abbey in defending their home from a pillaging horde of weasels, rats, and thieves. (Brian Jacques’s newest Redwall novel, “Eulalia!” is also new this week in hardcover.) Read review
 
“Artemis Fowl: The Graphic Novel” by Eoin Colfer (Hyperion, HC: 9780786848812, $18.99; PB: 9780786848829, $8.99) Irish twelve-year-old Artemis Fowl is a criminal genius, and his first adventure—now adapted to comic-book form—is like Harry Potter meets James Bond: a sleek, clever spy story filled with faeries, magic, and awesome gadgets. This graphic novel is a great package that’s sure to catch the attention of young readers looking for action stories: Read review
 
 
Young adult fiction: 13 and up
 
“The God Box” by Alex Sanchez (Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing, 9781416908999, $16.99) With a cast of religious characters holding divergent points of view, Sanchez’s latest teen novel follows Texas high-school senior Paul as he tackles the thorny question of how to reconcile his strong Christian faith with his growing feelings for his friend and classmate Manuel. It’s a thoughtful treatment of an often fraught subject central to many young lives: Read review
 
-
 
UPCOMING WATERMARK EVENTS
 
 
Matthew Eck Reading & Signing. Friday, October 12. 7:00 p.m.
 
Kansas City-based author Matthew Eck will read and sign his debut novel “The Farther Shore.” It's an adrenaline-filled account of young American soldiers deployed in an unnamed overseas war. Separated from their command, they must fight their way out of a hostile city. The book was inspired by Eck's own military deployment in Somalia.
 
 
Edward Bloor Reading & Book Signing: Saturday, October 13. 2:00 p.m.
 
Edward Bloor will be at Watermark to read and sign his latest book, “Taken.” Bloor is the author of several acclaimed youth novels including the Southern Gothic soccer story “Tangerine” and last year’s favorite, “London Calling,” which blends a contemporary school story with the history of the London Blitz. “Taken” is a futuristic young-adult novel about the burgeoning kidnapping industry of 2035. Look below for book reviews!
 
 
Jan Brett Book Signing: Sunday, October 21. 5:00 - 7:00 p.m.
Location: Wichita East High School Auditorium
 
Jan Brett is coming back to Wichita! She'll be here for her new book, “The Three Snow Bears.” Watermark's event will be held at Wichita East High School Auditorium, 2301 E. Douglas. Admission is free, and no reservations are being taken. If you would like to have a book signed, 275 signing tickets will be distributed on a first-come first-serve basis AT THE DOOR on the day of the event, beginning at 4:00 p.m. Read a review of the new book here: http://www.watermarkbooks.com/review0907-017.html
 
 
Robert Morgan Reading & Signing: Monday, October 22, 7:00 p.m.
 
Robert Morgan, author of the bestselling historical novel “Gap Creek,” will read and sign his new biography of Daniel Boone, called “Boone: A Biography.” In the most comprehensive book yet written about Boone, Morgan finds the flesh-and-blood man behind the mythic American hero.
 
 
For a full listing of Watermark events, including book clubs and art openings, visit the Events page of our Web site at: http://www.watermarkbooks.com/events.html
 
-
 
FEATURED REVIEWS: Young-adult novels by Edward Bloor
 
Edward Bloor writes smart, engaging novels for the middle-grades. Bloor taught in Florida’s public schools for several years, and I think his experience as a teacher comes through in how truly discussable his books are; each one offers up rich ideas while telling a compelling and genuinely surprising story.
 
“Taken,” his new novel, is set three decades in the future, when kidnapping has become a lucrative industry. Thirteen-year-old Charity Meyers has researched the subject to death for her beamed-in satellite school classes, but when it happens to her, nothing goes by the book. Charity’s minute-by-minute recounting of her situation is tense and exciting, and seeing the world through her eyes offers an endlessly clever satire on everything from television celebrity to homework projects: Read review
 
“Tangerine,” Bloor’s celebrated first novel, is the best soccer story I’ve ever read. It’s also a captivating portrait of a town built on lies: Tangerine County, Florida, is disaster central, mostly man-made. Seventh-grade goalie Paul Fisher has thick Coke-bottle glasses, but he still manages to see things there that everyone else ignores, including the fact that his wrong-side-of-the-tracks soccer teammates are pure gold—and that his golden-boy older brother is a big, dangerous phony. “Tangerine” is classy suburban gothic: Read review
 
“Crusader” weaves together an after-school job at an arcade with big, startling issues like a lost parent and accusations of hate crimes against an Arab neighbor. At the center of it all is shy fifteen-year-old Roberta and The Crusader, a virtual reality video game that brings everything together in surprising ways.
 
“Storytime” tells how eighth-grader Kate and her genius little uncle George get sucked into a test-frenzied magnet school where the librarian speaks in nursery rhymes and the students look like zombies. Things get really sticky when the President and First Lady plan a visit to the school, and the darkly funny story provides laughs as well as bite.
 
“London Calling,” new last fall, was a favorite of Watermark’s advisory group of young readers. It’s the story of Martin Conway, a poor kid at a rich school who cares for nothing until he inherits a vintage radio that sends him dreaming into World War II. Martin’s history homework becomes a quest as he tries to help his new friend Jimmy, a boy who lived during the London Blitz: Read review
 
As you can tell from these descriptions, Bloor’s novels blend hints of fantasy into real-world subjects—soccer, homework, video games—of immense and immediate interest to young people. His books offer big, full stories with many layers and dimensions. Readers can enjoy the addictive plots at age ten or twelve and appreciate even more depth when they’re a year or two older. These books are high-quality literature for young people.
 
-
 
Past reviews and archived issues of Teacher Feature can be read on-line on the Watermark Web site at: http://www.watermarkbooks.com/teacharchives.html

-
 
Later educators,
 
Mark David Bradshaw

 

Click here for the Teacher Feature Archives

Peruse back issues of teacher feature since its inception in April 2003.