Pathfinder on Sharon Draper

This pathfinder is for teachers that would like to teach a book by Sharon Draper in their classroom.  Sharon Draper’s books are usually targeted to students in middle and high school, though she also has written books appropriate for elementary students.  This pathfinder will focus on books for middle and high school aged children.  This pathfinder will include information about the author’s life, books and any awards that she has earned.

Biography – Who is Sharon Draper?

Sharon Draper was born in 1952 in Cincinnati, Ohio.  She credits her love of writing and reading to her parents.  Her parents read to her and her two younger siblings nightly and emphasized the importance of doing well in school.  Sharon graduated from Pepperdine University with a degree in English.  She turned down a position teaching at Pepperdine to begin her teaching career in the public schools in Cincinnati, Ohio.  In 1991, challenged by one of her students, Draper entered a writing contest in Ebony magazine and won a $5000 prize for the short story she entered.  This was just what she needed to finish writing a novel she’d started earlier and send it out to publishers.  She received 24 rejection notices before Simon Pulse publishers accepted her manuscript.  Her first book was titled Tears of a Tiger, and it was named an American Library Association Best Book for Young Adults.  It also won the American Library Association/Coretta Scott King Genius Award.  Since her earliest success, Mrs. Draper has gone on to write numerous books for young children and young adults, many of which have also won awards.

When giving advice to young authors, Susan Draper advises them to “Read a thousand books, and write every single day.”  Click or copy the link below to hear an interview Sharon Draper gave about being an author.  You will also be able to find videos of Sharon Draper reading from some of her books.

http://www.teachingbooks.net/author_collection.cgi?id=52

What does Sharon Draper Write About? What does she contribute to YA literature?

In her own words, Sharon Draper writes about “drinking and driving, teen suicide, and child abuse”.  She also writes about how teenagers feel invincible and what happens when that illusion is shattered.  In short, she writes about life as many teenagers live it.  Her books are driven by her characters and the problems that they are facing.  Mrs. Draper gives voice to many people in our society often overlooked in literature.  She writes about minorities, people living in blighted urban areas and the disabled. She offers readers a connection to a world they know or introduce them to one that they are unfamiliar with.  Sharon Draper is an important voice in Young Adult Literature.

While the majority of her books are for the young adult audience, she has written two series for the tween set.  She has also written books for educators about teaching and two books for poetry.  She is a prolific author.  For a complete list of books written by Sharon Draper, check out her comprehensive website.

Sharon Draper's Official Website

Books, books and more books by Sharon Draper!

Click each title to learn more about some of the books Sharon Draper has written.

Out of My Mind

This book is about 11 year-old Melody.  She is disabled and unable to communicate. Most people think she can't learn, until she figures out how to make herself heard for the first time.  Unfortunately, not everyone is ready to hear what Melody has to say.

Tears of a Tiger

This is Sharon Draper's first novel.  It is about a boy named Andy who cannot forgive himself for driving the car that led to the death of his best friend.  The book chronicles the lives of Andy and his friends as they try to cope with the tragedy.

Copper Sun

This is a story of survival told through  Amari, a young African stolen from her village and sold into slavery in America. After much hopelessness and despair, Amari learns to survive and fights for her freedom.

Romiette and Julio

Romiette and Julio meet online, only to discover that they attend the same high school.  They soon fall in love, but their love is marred.  Romiette is African American and Julio is Hispanic.  Many do not like two different cultures coming together and a local gang is determined to tear them apart by any means necessary.  Do they survive or does the legacy of Romeo and Juliette repeat itself?

Little Sister is NOT my Name

Sassy is Sharon Draper's series targeted toward  girls in second to fifth grades.   Sassy is the name of the main character and she definitely lives up to her name.

Ziggy and the Black Dinosaurs

Ziggy and the Black Dinosaurs is Sharon Draper's series targeted toward boys in second to fourth grades.  It is about a group of four friends that form a club.  They solve mysteries, have fun and learn a lot in the process.

Awards, Awards and More Awards!

With the publishing of her first book, Tears of a Tiger, Sharon Draper began winning awards for her books.  Tears of a Tiger won the following awards:

·       1995 American Library Association/Coretta Scott King Genesis Award

·       ALA Best Book for Young Adults for 1995

·       Best Book 1995 --Children's Book Council

·       Best Books for the Teen Age--1995 --New York City Library

·       Recommended Best--1995--Bank Street College

·       Best Book--1995 National Council for Social Studies

·       Best of the Best by VOYA and the American Library Association

This is an amazing list of awards for a first book.  Sharon Draper must have felt an incredible amount of pressure when writing her subsequent novels.  She needn’t have worried.  Her following books have gone on to win numerous awards.  They include:

·       Josette Frank Award by the Children's Book Committee of the Bank Street College of Education

·       Outstanding Children's book by Bank Street College

·       Notable Children's Books in the Language Arts

·       Coretta Scott King Honor Book

·       New York Public Library's Book for the Teen Age

·       Young Adult Choice Books --International Reading Association

·       Coretta Scott King Award

·       ALA BEST Book Award

·       Parent's Choice Award

·       Best Books for the Teen Age New York City Library

·       Young Hoosier Book Award

·       ALA Top Ten Quick Pick

·       Children's Choice Award-- International Reading Association

·       IRA Young Adult Choice

·       Buckeye Book Award

·       Ohioana Award for Young Adult Literature

·       Top Ten Historical Fiction Books for Youth by Booklist

·       IRA Notable Book for a Global Society

·       Best Book of the Year by School Library Journal

·       Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People

Where Can You Find More Information on Sharon Draper?

Websites:

Official Website – www.SharonDraper.com  Contact Sharon Draper here.

Twitter - https://twitter.com/#!/s7d7

Simon & Schuster Author’s Page - http://authors.simonandschuster.com/Sharon-M-Draper/706340

Children’s Literature Comprehensive Database:  http://www.clcd.com/features/mai_draper_sharon.php

Journal Articles featuring Sharon Draper:

Hendershot, Judy, and Jackie Peck. "A Conversation With Sharon Draper, Winner Of The 1998 Coretta Scott King Award." Reading Teacher 52.7 (1999): 748-50. ERIC. Web. 1 May 2012.

Hinton, KaaVonia. Sharon M. Draper: Embracing Literacy. Scarecrow Studies In Young Adult Literature #31. Scarecrow Press, 2008.ERIC. Web. 1 May 2012.

Harris, Laurie Lanzen, and Cherie D. Abbey. Biography Today: Profiles Of People Of Interest To Young Readers, 1999. Biography Today, 1999. ERIC. Web. 1 May 2012.

Draper, Sharon M. Teaching From The Heart: Reflections, Encouragement, And Inspiration. 2000. ERIC. Web. 1 May 2012.

Ballentine, Darcy, and Lisa Hill. "Teaching Beyond "Once Upon A Time.." Language Arts 78.1 (2000): 11-20. ERIC. Web. 1 May 2012.

References

http://www.orrt.org/draper/

http://www.teachingbooks.net/author_collection.cgi?id=52&a=1

http://authors.simonandschuster.com/Sharon-M-Draper/706340/author_revealed

http://sharondraper.com/index.asp

http://www.amazon.com/Buried-Bones-Mystery-ZIGGY-DINOSAURS/dp/B002E9KAKK/ref=sr_1_8?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1335827821&sr=1-8

http://www.amazon.com/Sassy-Little-Sister-Not-Name/dp/0545071550/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1335815083&sr=8-1

http://www.amazon.com/Romiette-Julio-Sharon-M-Draper/dp/0689842090/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1335815290&sr=8-1 

http://www.amazon.com/Copper-Sun-Sharon-M-Draper/dp/1416953485/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1335814714&sr=8-1

http://www.amazon.com/Tears-Tiger-Sharon-M-Draper/dp/0689806981/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1335814602&sr=8-1

http://www.amazon.com/Out-My-Mind-Sharon-Draper/dp/1416971718/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1335810041&sr=8-1

http://www.kpl.gov/images/covers/image.aspx?img=sharon-draper-2-160.jpg&w=160

http://sarahl2017.edublogs.org/files/2011/09/Out-of-My-Mind-1aj0q9q.jpg

http://img1.alphamerchant.com/unbeatablesale/sku.old_images/9780689806988.jpg

http://www.usd320.k12.ks.us/whs/lmc/Copper_Sun_2.jpg

http://www.africanafrican.com/negroartist/Sharon%20Draper%20Literature/Romiette%20and%20Julio.jpg 

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm1h_xbLNILCoP7R0xzWjNmHMbLprgfZH-r10rNM-pEb1Ffza5MYnjoV5r55KplAqnGue3yex4BQ9YLqGy_5l8ymrSScTlZzEiOZPT_dOJh64XlWqGRq-QZBOw__0X9qiscCHSwPrQNKE/s400/Sassy+cover-bk+1.jpg

http://sharondraper.com/images/books/2.jpg

http://www.loyola.edu.ezp.lndlibrary.org/library/indexl.htm



Movie Review - The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games. Dir. Gary Ross. Author and Screenplay. Suzanne Collins. Lionsgate, 2012. Film.

The United States as we know it no longer exists.  In its place we have the country of Panem, run by rulers that live in the Capitol.  Every year to mark its victory over an ill fated revolution, the Capitol holds the Hunger Games.  Two children from each of the twelve districts, aged 12 - 18, are chosen to fight for their lives in these games.  Only one child per year lives to win the Hunger Games, so 23 children a year die.  The Hunger Games are reviled in every district, but not the Capitol.  There it is treated as reality TV, something to enjoy and look forward to.

Katniss Everdeen lives in District 12 with her mother and sister Prim.  Prim is chosen to compete in the games at the age of 12.  In desperation Katniss, who is 16, volunteers to take her place.  Peeta, the baker's son is chosen as the male tribute for district 12.  Peeta and Katniss fight for their lives, and as time goes on the future of Panem.

I am always a little hesitant to watch a movie of a book I have loved so thoroughly.  I am often disappointed, but I am happy to say that I enjoyed every minute of the movie version of The Hunger Games.  While it was not exactly like the book, the movie stayed true to the spirit of the book.  The movie did have some parts that I enjoyed that were not in the book. The scenes that showed the producers adding elements to the forest to terrorize the competitors were great.  It was done in much more detail in the movie than it was in the book.  I eagerly await the next two installments in The Hunger Games trilogy.  I would recommend this book to students 13 and older.  There book is full of violence and themes that I don't think younger children can fully understand.

Enjoy this movie trailer for The Hunger Games.

Listen to Suzanne Collins talk about The Hunger Games.

Suzanne Collins is prominent on the Internet.  Click the links below to learn more about her.

1. Suzanne Collins Website
2. Suzanne Collins biography on Scholastic
3. Suzanne Collins on Twitter

If you liked The Hunger Games, you will enjoy reading the last two books in the trilogy.  Click on the link below each cover to learn more about each book.

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

You may also like The Underland Chronicals Suzanne Collins' first series.

After you have finished The Hunger Games series you may like to read more dystopian young adult literature.  Learn more about the following books by clicking the title.

1. The Shadow Children Series by Margaret Peterson Haddi
2. The Uglies Series by Scott Westerfield

Award Winning Novel Review

Cline, E. (2011). Ready player one. New York: Crown Publishers.

If you are a child of the 80's and you love science fiction/fantasy, Ready Player One by Ernest Cline is the book for you.  The book is set in the year 2044 where life as we know it now does not exist.  Unless you are super rich, reality is pretty bleak.  The majority of people on earth live their lives on the Internet in the OASIS.  The OASIS is a massive virtual utopia where people can be anything that they want to be.  The creator of OASIS, James Halliday, was a teenager during the 1980's and a lot of OASIS is based on books, bands, video games, movies and TV of that time period.  Upon his death Halliday bequeaths his entire fortune (worth billions) to the person who can solve a series of puzzles.  People try for years to figure out the puzzle.  Wade, the main character of the story solves the first puzzle.  Who knew that this would lead to the death of his aunt, put him on the run for his life, and let him meet the person that he would eventually fall in love with?

I would recommend Ready Player One to students 15 and older.  Teenagers who love video games to the point they find it hard to deal with the outside world would enjoy this book.There are a lot of references to the decade of the 1980's which made the book enjoyable for me, but these references may turn off others who are not as familiar with that time in history.  Science fiction/fantasy lovers will enjoy the depth the author goes into describing the virtual world that most of the population uses as a way to avoid the dismal reality that surrounds them.  This is Ernest Cline's first novel. He wrote a screenplay called Fanboys that became a cult hit.  I look forward to reading more from Ernest Cline.

2012 Alex Award Winner   

The Alex Awards are presented yearly to 10 adult books that have a special appeal to young adults.  Titles for each year are chosen from books published the previous year.  The awards are given by the American Library Association (ALA).  It began in 1998 and became official in 2002.


The award is named for Margaret A. Edwards.  She worked for many years at the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore.  She was called Alex by friends.

Other Alex Award winners for 2012

If you would like to learn more about Ernest Cline check out these websites:

• Ernest Cline's blog
• Website for Ready Player One

Listen as Ernest Cline talks about his book Ready Player One:

If you liked Ready Player One you may enjoy these other books.  Click on the name below the cover to learn more about each book.

Freedom by Daniel Suarez

Robopocalypse by Daniel H. Wilson

       

  

The Wool Omnibus

Fear:13 Stories of Suspense and Horror

Edited by R. L. Stine

Stine, R.L. (2010). Fear : 13 stories of suspense and horror. New York: Speak.

Murder. Aliens. Cannibals.  These gory subjects and more are the focus of the stories edited by R.L. Stine in Fear: 13 Stories of Suspense and Horror.  Stine and twelve other authors contribute to this book.  The stories are unique, engaging and surprising.  Teenagers will enjoy reading about characters, similar to themselves, that find themselves in many precarious situations.  Some of the teens work out their problems, while others succumb to them.  Not knowing what lies before you in each story adds to the suspense and enjoyment of this book. 

R.L. Stine has written over 300 hundred books.  Many young adults may have read the Goosebumps series by him as younger students.  If they are still interested in reading horror stories, but stories that feature kids their age, I would recommend this book of short stories.  This book would be good for students thirteen and older.  Readers would also be introduced to other authors they may not have read before.  Including R.L. Stine the book includes stories from thirteen different authors.  Some stories are better than others, as to be expected.  I particularly enjoyed Piney Power by F. Paul Wilson.  This story is about a secretive community that knows how to take justice into their own hands.  More importantly though, it introduced me to F. Paul Wilson, an author who has written more than 40 books.  I am eager to see what other books he has to offer.


Learn more about the other authors featured in this book by clicking on their name:

1. Heather Graham
2. Suzanne Weyn
3. Jennifer Allison
4. Heather Brewer
5. Peg Kehret
6. Alane Ferguson
7. Ryan Brown
8. F. Paul Wilson
9. Meg Cabot
10. Walter Sorrells
11. James Rollins
12. Tim Maleeny

Listen to an interview with R.L. Stine

If you would like to learn about R.L. Stine check out these sites:

• R. L. Stine website
• Scholastic website biography
• Follow R. L. Stine on Twitter

Covers of a few of R. L. Stine's books:

If you enjoyed Fear:13 Stories of Suspense and Horror you might also enjoy:

• They're Coming For You: Stories that Scream to be Read by O. Penn-Coughin
• Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz
• Roald Dahl's Book of Ghost Stories by Roald Dahl

Ship Breaker

Bacigalupi, P. (2011). Ship breaker. New York: Little, Brown. 

What will you do for family? Who is family? Can loyalty to others be thicker than blood? Family is a theme that runs throughout the story of Ship Breaker.  Ship Breaker by Paulo Bacigalupi is set some time in the future on what seems to be the Gulf Coast in the United States.  A diverse group of people live and work on the beach to break down ships that have sunk on the coast.  Ships are stripped of every useful material for large corporations to sell as salvage.  Nailer is the main character of the story.  He is small enough to work on the light crew, the crew that is responsible for salvaging the smaller things on the ship. Nailer is small for his age and he is able to crawl in and out of the duct work taking out any useful copper wire he can find.  Nailer’s mother has died and his father is a violent man addicted to drugs.  He is neglectful and abusive towards Nailer, but Nailer is lucky that he has found family in Pima, the leader of his work crew and her mother Sadna. 

The people that work to break down ships are largely superstitious and believe in luck and fate.  Nailer believes that the fates have brought him luck that day that he and Pima find a newly wrecked luxury ship that no one has laid claim to.  They board it to find it filled with objects, that once scavenged will make them rich beyond anything they ever dreamed about.  They also find a wounded girl aboard named Nita Chaudhury.   After rescuing her from the wreck, they learn that she is a pawn in a deadly game for control of her father’s company.  Her father is the owner of the Patel Corporation a huge, powerful player in the salvage business.  Nailer has to decide if he will help Nita escape and find her father in defiance of his father who is trying to sell her for a bounty.  Nailer struggles with the ideas of family and loyalty as he decides what he must do.

I would recommend this book for children in the seventh grade and up.  The book has quite a bit of violence in it.  Also students at this age can relate to the strong feelings and loyalty that Nailer felt for his friends.  Overall I liked the book and found it to be interesting and very well written.  I did have a hard time believing how much Captain Candless relied on Nailer and his opinions.  Ship breakers are looked down upon by much of society, and I don’t think the Captain would have relied on one so young and from a group that is held in such low esteem.  I do look forward to reading the companion book to Ship Breaker when it is released.  

Ship Breaker has a companion book!  It will be released May 1, 2012.  Learn more about it here:

The Drowned Cities

If you would like to learn more about Paolo Bacigalupi and his books, check out his website here:

Paolo Bacigalupi Website

Listen to Paolo Bacigalupi as he discusses Ship Breaker on YouTube:

To learn more about ship breakers of Bangladesh, please click the links below.

• A segment on ship breakers produced by 60 minutes
• Information about ship breaking in Bangladesh 
• Trailer for Iron Crow a documentary about ship breaking

If you liked the book Ship Breaker you might also like the following books.

• Trash by Andy Mulligan
• Hunter by Ann Aguirre
• Birthmarked by Caragh M. O'Brien

E-book Novel

The Radleys

Haig, M. (2011). The Radleys. New York: Free Press.

Vampires have moved to the suburbs.  At least the suburbs of England.  The Radleys seem to be your typical suburban family, except for the small fact that they are vampires. Dad Peter is a doctor, Helen is a stay at home mom and Rowan and Clare are their high school-aged children.  Peter and Helen have become abstainers, meaning they don't kill or drink blood as normal vampires do.  The survive on large quantities of meat, but this "cure" leaves them weak and feeling poorly.  The children don't know they are vampires and suffer from skin rashes, fatigue and depression.  Things are terribly mundane until one day Clare is attacked as she walks home from a party.  During the attack, instinct that Clare knows nothing about takes over.  She has an OBT (overwhelming blood thirst) and kills her attacker in a frenzy.  The blood gives her a strength and clarity that she has never felt before.  The novel is about what happens in the aftermath of the death.  Peter's brother Will is called in to help with the situation, even though the couple has not had anything to do with him in well over a decade.  Will is not an abstainer, far from it. The police, who track vampires, have him pegged as a serial killer.  The idyllic life portrayed to outsiders is shattered as the family deals with Clare's murder, Will and Helen's past relationship, Peter's flirtation with adultery and Rowan's denial and acceptance of being a vampire.  This is a well written story with full characters that are believable despite them being vampires.

Vampire stories are a dime a dozen lately, but The Radleys is a fresh take on the genre.  We are able to see into the lives of vampires trying very hard to live a normal suburban life.  The story deals with the unhappiness that many people feel in the suburb, where they often feel they have to conform to what everyone else is doing.   I liked the complexity of the story and of each of the characters.  Not only are the Radleys living a life they weren't meant to live, Helen is keeping a secret from Peter that could easily destroy their family.  That the secret involves Peter's brother Will makes it more dangerous.  I read this book on my Nook, which I like to do, but I do find that unless I highlight as I read, it is difficult to go back and find a particular passage that I am looking for.  I would recommend this book to readers 14 and up.  Lovers of the Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer  would enjoy this vampire story, though The Radleys does not have as much teenage angst as the series.

If you enjoyed this book you might also enjoy:

• The Twillight Saga by Stephanie Meyers
• The Shiver Trilogy by Maggie Steifvater
• Vampire Academy Series by Richelle Mead
• House of Night by P.C. Cast

To learn more about Matt Haig have a look at his website:

Matt Haig's website

Everyone has a facebook page...even the Radleys

The Radleys' facebook page

Matt Haig discusses The Radleys on Youtube

If you enjoyed this book by Matt Haig, you might enjoy other books by him as well.  Click each title to find out about them on Amazon.

The Possession of Mr. Cave

The Dead Fathers Club

Non-Western Setting Novel

Wanting Mor

Khan, R. (2009). Wanting Mor. Toronto: Groundwood Books.

Death, betrayal, abandonment.  Anyone of these can be hard to deal with but all three visited upon a person in a short period of time can be devastating.  Wanting Mor by Rukhsana Mor tells the story of Jameela, a young girl growing up in post-Taliban Afghanistan.  The book opens with the death of her Mor which is the  pushto word for mother.  Pushto is the language spoken in Jameela's village.  Jameela's father is unpredictable at best but also can be very cruel. While her mother was alive, she avoided him because of his temper, but now with the death of Mor she has no protection from him.  Soon after Mor dies Baba (Jameela's father) sells all of their things and moves them to Kabul where he thinks his life and luck will be better.  He hires Jameela out as a servant in return for a place for both of them to live.  This situation works out well until one night Baba gets drunk and tries to have sex with the wife of the family they are living with.  They are thrown out in the middle of the night and the next day Jameela has a new stepmother.  The stepmother hates Jameela and soon talks her father into abandoning her in the middle of the city.

Following is an excerpt from the book when Jameela realizes that her father is not returning for her.

And that's when I realize.

When we left her house, I had all my things but Baba's hands were empty.  He hadn't taken anything of his own. (p.81)

A local butcher takes Jameela in for a few days but she is sent to the local orphanage when his wife insists they can not afford to keep Jameela.  At the orphanage Jameela finally finds the family that she has been looking for after the death of her mother.  She learns to read and write and even gets her cleft lip fixed by the Americans.  After a series of events, Baba realizes that Jameela may be valuable to him as a tutor to rich children and tries to get her to rejoin him after he is thrown out of his new wife's home.

I find myself getting more excited when we get to the head of the street and I can see the orphanage. Nothing feels more like home.  Not her house, not that first place, not even Agha Akram's. (p.177)


Jameela has found a home at the orphanage and refuses to leave with him. Jameela has found the place where she belongs and is now healed enough to begin to take care of another orphan.  As the book closes she is passing on the wisdom her gave to her.


"If you can't be beautiful, you should at least be good.  People will appreciate that." (p.183)

I really enjoyed Wanting Mor, but I did find it tedious to have to consult the back of the book to figure out what many of the words meant.  The glossary in the back of the book was helpful, but it did interfere with my flow of reading. I liked the fact that the title of the book really had two meanings.  The literal meaning would be wanting her mother (mor) after her death, and the second meaning would be wanting more out of life.  Jameela wanted to learn to read and write and experience life.  By the end of the book she is well on her way to fulfilling this need.  I would recommend this book to children twelve and up who are interested in how children live in other countries.  It would be a great book to read in a social studies class that is learning about Afghanistan. You certainly get the day to day feel of life in Afghanistan through the eyes of Jameela.

Other books that may interest you are:

• The Breadwinner by Deborah Ellis
• Homeless Bird by Gloria Whelan
• Shabanu: Daughter of the Wind by Suzanne Fisher Staples

To learn more about orphans in Afghanistan visit this site:

The Afghan Orphan Project

To learn more about the author Rukhsan Khan, visit her website:

Rukhsana Khan's Official Website

Below you can watch an interview with Rukhsan Khan.  She talks about Wanting Mor and other books that she has written for children.