Anya’s Secret Society by Yevgenia Nayberg

Anya was born with a dominant left hand. She was also born into a Russian culture that considered the right hand as the "legitimate" hand. Even the word "right" meant not only a direction, but also "correct."  When this resourceful and determined little girl recognized that local norms frowned upon use of the left hand, she taught herself to use her right hand for most activities. Anya was able to master even difficult tasks with this hand. However, there was one activity in which it was impossible to use her right hand: drawing. Her brain could only process and create images with her dominant hand, her left hand.

Anya created a special stratagem to live within the confines of Russian expectations and still express herself: a secret society. She learned that great artists such as Leonardo da Vinci, Michaelango, and Rembrandt were left-handed. When she was alone, she would put on a mask and pretend to be in the company of famous left-handed artists. The secret society was the place where she felt that she could safely create. Then life took a surprising turn. Her parents chose to leave Russia and immigrate to America. In addition to all the differences she encountered in this new country, Anya was astonished to learn that left-hand dominance was not considered wrong. Schools were equipped with scissors and desks to accommodate children with either dominant hand. Her teacher did not seem to notice or care which hand Anya chose to use.

Art: A Visual Treat

Lovely War by Julie Berry

Berry spins a fantastic tale of love and life, war and death. The story centers on a setup involving three Greek gods: Aphrodite, Ares, and Hephaestus. A trap is sprung. Aphrodite and Ares are caught. There will be a trial, with Hephaestus serving as judge and jury. Aphrodite pleads her case by telling two love stories set during World War I. ​James, an aspiring architect and Hazel, a talented young pianist meet in England and fall in love before he leaves for the front. Colette, a Belgian girl with the voice of an angel and Aubrey, an African American composer and performer meet in France where both are entertaining troops stationed in Europe. ​Apollo and Hades offer corroborating "testimony" and contribute important details. Interestingly, Hades relates his narrative from the perspective of those who experience death, both in the moments preceding death as well as the life after death.

Want More? Try These

Elizabeth Wein's World War II series is classic. Code Name Verity earned a Prinz Honor Award.

Martha Brockenbrough's story of love and death involving two gods and two mortals.

Characters James Reese Europe and Noble Sissle are real individuals. Listen to this recording of their Ragtime music from the World War I era.  ​The period photographs and other images of music and African American musicians add context to the story.

Carter Reads the Newspaper by Deborah Hopkinson ill Don Tate

Deborah Hopkinson introduces young readers to an important historical figure: Carter G. Woodson. ​Born in 1875, the son of a formerly enslaved father and mother, young Carter grew up hearing the stories of his Virginian parents' struggles. Times were hard for this family. As a result, Woodson left school in his early teens to labor as a farm-hand, garbage collector, and coal miner. He and other West Virginia coal miners were often invited to the home of Oliver Jones, a Civil War veteran. Carter would read the newspapers to Jones and the other miners, researching and answering their questions.

Carter Reads the Newspaper is an excellent introduction to African American History Month. Use this poster with a display of books featuring biographies, historical accounts, historical fiction, and other works by Black authors and illustrators.  Download a copy of the poster featuring an inspiring quote and art by Don Tate.

For two decades Laurie Halse Anderson has been speaking out, giving voice to teens who have experienced horrific trauma. Speak has brought the shame and humiliation experienced by rape victims out of the dark recesses of suppressed memory. Acknowledging the suffering, the rage. Initiating the first steps to healing. In my early years as a youth librarian, Speak was constantly requested, always checked out. The story is as relevant to a fourteen-year-year-old girl from a small Texas town in 2000 as it is to a teen living in urban New York in 2019.

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson It all started in 1999. Laurie Halse Anderson published her first book: a ground-breaking young adult novel chronicling the story of fifteen-year-old Melinda Sordino. Beginning her freshman year, this young student is ostracized by her former friends and classmates. She is singled out at a school pep rally for calling the police at a summer party. What Melinda cannot say is that she was raped at that party. School becomes unbearable. She is constantly confronted with the shame and agony of that night, as the boy who raped her is a student at her school. Shunned by her friends,

Speak: The Graphic Novel ​by Laurie Halse Anderson ill by Emily Carroll Publishing a graphic novel version of Speak is both an obvious choice and a brilliant decision. This visceral narrative translates to striking visual imagery. Anderson chooses to update the original story, including references to cell phones and Instagram. This gives the narrative a fresh, contemporary vibe. Her Author's Note serves as an introduction. A helpful list of organizations which support victims of sexual assault contains descriptions and contact information can be found in the back matter.

Shout by Laurie Halse Anderson Told primarily in verse, this memoir covers a wide range of events and emotions. Part One shares moments from Laurie’s difficult and conflicted childhood, her rape at age thirteen and subsequent reliance on drugs to mask the anguish, the slow ascent from depression during tenth grade, her year as a foreign exchange student in Denmark, and her foray into writing for teens. Part Two explores the publication of Speak and the impact it has had on her and a world-wide audience. Part Three returns to recurring symbols and themes: trees, blood, family, and stories. She acknowledges her parents’ personal troubles, but is willing to maintain a relationship with each. What a generous heart!

Bonus: Additional Resources

Since my early draft of this post, a twentieth anniversary edition of Speak​ has been released. It includes a new introduction by Ashley C. Ford as well as an afterword by Jason Reynolds. This edition also features an updated Q&A, resource list, an essay, and poem by Anderson. I look forward to reading this updated edition. I’ve Talked With Teenage Boys About Sexual Assault for 20 Years. ​This Is What They Still Don’t Know  Laurie Halse Anderson Time January 15, 2019

Laurie reads "Me,Too" from Shout. Laurie reads "Listen" from the 20th edition of Speak.

Under Water by J. L. Powers

After the death of her beloved grandmother, seventeen-year-old Khosi and her nine-year-old sister Zi must face the world alone. Her aunt, accusing Khosi of witchcraft, has stripped the girls’ family home of its contents. They have only mattresses, a cracked plastic chair, and an ancient T.V. Working as a sangoma, a traditional Zulu healer, Khosi abandons her studies in order to support herself and her sister. This should have been her last year of school prior to university. She wanted to study nursing, practicing modern medicine along with traditional healing. Circumstances impel her to break the two promises she made to her grandmother: that she would complete her schooling and that she would not get seriously involved with her longtime boyfriend, Little Man. Tensions rise when her boyfriend becomes enmeshed in the local tsotsi's (gangster) taxi war and the body of a murdered Somali shop owner is left on her property. Destitute, pregnant with Little Man's child, her home destroyed by fire, Khosi knows that she must take her sister and flee.

"What do you suppose Gogo is doing right now on the other side?" Zi asks.
I shake my head. I don't have to suppose. I already know. "She and the other amadlozi are sitting around gossiping about the funeral," I say. "Gogo is laughing about how many people came for a free meal, people who never visited when she was alive."
Zi shakes her head. "That isn't funny,"
...
​"The things that matter to us when we are alive are not so important when we are dead," I say. "Gogo is glad they had a good meal. And she's touched by how many of them brought money to give to us."

Getting Acquainted with South Africa

Introduce students to the history and culture of South Africa and the Zulu People. These resources may serve as a starting point for further exploration.

Dear Heartbreak: ​YA Authors and Teens on the Dark Side of Love
​edited by Heather Demetrios

Hearts are fragile things. A heart can be pierced. It can shatter. Some hearts may slowly bleed. Every person, at some point in life experiences the pain of heartbreak. Dear Heartbreak edited by Heather Demetrios is compilation of real letters written by teens. Young adult authors respond to these deeply personal teen self-portrayals.  The original letters and the author's replies acknowledge the reality of heartbreak. Each author relates personally to the down side of daring to trust, of wishing for more, of saying no.   ​Here's what I predict will happen with this book:   It will be read and read again.  It will be misplaced several times. Librarians will find it scattered throughout the library in strange nooks and crannies. It will probably manage to leave the library without ever passing over the circulation desk. Librarians will need to order multiple copies.

Inventing Victoria by Tonya Bolden

Essie, daughter of a Savannah prostitute, spent her childhood nights sequestered in an attic above her mother' bedroom. At the age of fourteen Essie found work as a domestic, taught herself to read, and escaped a life of despair. Dorcas Vashon, a frequent guest in Savannah, notices this servant and offers her the opportunity to move to Baltimore and start a new life. Essie changes her name to Victoria and commences a rigorous regime of training in the art of becoming a lady of refinement.  It is difficult, but she is inspired by the writings of Frederick Douglass. If there is no struggle, there is no progress.

Bringing History to Life

Blended by Sharon M. Draper

Eleven-year=old Isabella feels that she is constantly being pulled in different directions. Her life ping-pongs back and forth, as her parents share custody. She lives part-time with her black father, his girlfriend and her son. Alternate weeks are at the home of her white mother and future stepfather.  Two different homes. Two different families. Every. Other. Week. At dad's house, she is Isabella and practices her music on a grand piano. To mom she is Izzy and prepares for her upcoming recital on an electronic keyboard. Then there are the Exchange Days, the dreaded moments when her two sets of parents meet at the mall and Izzy/Isabella must switch backpacks, lifestyles, and identities. It's confusing.

Listen Up

Additional Sharon M. Draper Books

Darius the Great is Not Okay
​by Adib Khorram read by Michael Levi Harris

Meet Darius Kellner, "Fractional Persian," slightly overweight sophomore, and tea aficionado. His commentary is liberally sprinkled with references to Star Trek and Lord of the Rings. He adores his Persian mother, dotes on his younger sister Laleh, and navigates a complicated father/son relationship. He's nerdy and possess a biting wit referring to classmates as the "Soulless Minions of Orthodoxy," and frequently doubts himself "That's normal. Right?" He is also a young man suffering with clinical depression. Life takes an unexpected turn when the family travels to Iran to visit his Zoroastrian grandfather who is diagnosed with a brain tumor. Darius confronts the reality of his identity as a young man of Persian heritage who has been raised in a decidedly western culture. Is he American or Iranian? Is it possible to be a part of each? ​He discovers that he has a talent for playing soccer/non-American football, a love for his maternal family, and the ability to forgive and be forgiven by a friend. Darius returns to America with increased acceptance of himself, greater appreciation for his family, and a clearer understanding his depression.

Bonus: Listen up

Random Musings

We’ve Got the Whole world in Our Hands by Rafael López

Follow this string as it sails across seas and continents, through day and night, meets creatures large and small, and into the hands of children throughout the world. Rafael López interprets this traditional song with his distinctive artistic flair. Using a mixed media approach that incorporates a collage of found objects and cut paper with traditional watercolor and ink techniques as well as digital skills, he creates vibrant illustrations that capture the heart and soul of a world worth singing about. The spherical motif echoes throughout the pages: sun, moon, snail shell, ball of string, hot air balloon, and ultimately, the planet earth. A celebration of the connections that we all share. Glorious! ​

String Along

Sing Along

Bonus

A bilingual English/Spanish edition is also available.

I've got a signed copy in my hands. Gracias Rafael López