I Am Scout: The Biography of Harper Lee by Charles J. Shields

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Shields, Charles. I Am Scout: The Biography of Harper Lee. New York: Henry Holt, 2008. Print.


Annotation:  The story of Harper Lee's life and how events of her childhood made effected her famous story, To Kill a Mockingbird.


Review:
I Am Scout: The Biography of Harper Lee covers Lee's life thus far with a focus on the influences that went into the formation of Lee's novel. The biography is an adaptation of the author Charles J. Shields' adult biography of Lee. This fact is not evident when reading the book. The author extensively quotes from printed sources, along with letters he has received and interviews. Shields includes an exhaustive list of sources by chapter at the end of the book along with superscript reference numbers in the text. The book also contains a comprehensive index.
The text is well written and interesting, Shields uses direct quotations frequently. There are also photographs interspersed throughout the text. The author is balanced in his portrayal of Lee, he included negative statements made by others about Lee. What was missing from the book was contact with the subject. Shields did not correspond or interview Lee for the book. He makes a point to mention her reclusiveness leaving the reader to infer that his attempts were rejected. Overall a very well written biography.


2009 Bank Street- Best Children's Book of the Year

The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

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Hinton, S.E. The Outsiders. New York: Penguin Group, 1967. Print. 

Annotation: A fight goes too far between the Socs and the Greasers one night and Ponyboy Curtis has to go one the run.   

Review:
     Ponyboy Curtis lives on the wrong side of town with his two older brothers and their gang of friends. They are greasers and proud of it, they smoke and drink, they are loud and wild, they grow their hair long and they stick together no matter what. Life is not easy for Ponyboy and the gang. Ponyboy shares the events of a week that changes his life forever. He shares his thoughts on life, social status and personality types. He is an astute judge of character and describes all of the players in terms of their inner selves as well as their outer appearance. 
     The Outsiders is a classic not just because it was one of the first teen novels, not because it caused controversy over its portrayal of gangs and teen violence but because it tells a story that transcends time and place. It fills a need for teens, it is an honest story of youth. 


ALA Best Young Adult Books, 1975
New York Herald Tribune Best Teenage Books List, 1967
Chicago Tribune Book World Spring Book Festival Honor Book, 1967
Media and Methods Maxi Award, 1975
ALA Best Young Adult Books, 1975
Massachusetts Children’s Book Award, 1979  

Milkweed by Jerry Spinelli

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Spinelli, Jerry. Milkweed. New York: Random House, 2003. Print. 


Annoation:  Misha is a thief who steals to survive, he doesn't understand what the war is all about or why the Jews all have to live in the ghetto he is just trying to survive.


Review:
"I am running. That's the first thing I remember.", thus begins Milkweed the tale of a homeless boy living on the streets of Poland in 1939. He is smuggler and a thief who lives through occupation, segregation, and deportation in Warsaw. This boy carries the reader along to view the best and worst of humanity through the eyes of a child who is at once too young and too old. The story continues through his emigration to America.

While this novel is an accurate portrayal of history it is not only about history. It is an exploration of the human experience and the search for identity. Milkweed is full of vivid descriptions of the horrors experienced by those living and dying in the ghetto. Readers are allowed to see the after effects of the experience and the scars both physical and mental that the boy carries into adulthood. The power of the story is heightened by Spinelli's deft avoidance of sentimentality. This is a fine piece of work worthy of attention but not suited for those with weak stomachs.


Winner of the Golden Kite Award for Fiction
A Notable Children's Book of the Association of Jewish Libraries
Winner of the Parent's Guide Children's Media Award
ALA Best Book for Young Adults
National Jewish Book Award Finalist
Booklist Top 10 Historical Fiction for Youth Selection 
New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age