Lily and Dunkin by Donna Gephart (Booktalk)

Have you ever met someone who hated his or her name? You have to meet Lily and Dunkin.

Lily's real name is Tim, which she hates. She's always felt as if she were truly a girl, but the world sees her as a boy. Lily's mom calls her Lily, but her dad insists on calling her Tim. Lily is in 8th grade and wants to start taking hormone blockers so that she can ultimately transition to becoming female. At school everyone knows her as Tim; she dresses as a boy.

One of my favorite novels of 2016.

Norbert also hates his name, and who can blame him? He's also in 8th grade, and he's bipolar; he developed early, and he's really tall for his age. Without his medication, there are two versions of him: one is manic and filled with energy, and the other is sluggish and extremely depressed. Plus he's got that lousy name.

Do these two people have anything in common? They sound incredibly different, and they're at different popularity levels at school. But after a few encounters, they get to know each other. Find out what happens in this amazing novel called Lily and Dunkin.

Lily and Dunkin by Donna Gephart. 2016: 352 pages, Delacourt Books for Young Readers. Booktalk to middle school, high school.

Juana and Lucas by Juana Medina (Booktalk)

Juana wants you to get her name right. That's her dog, Lucas.

This is Juana. At first I pronounced her name wrong, but she taught me how to say it. It's "who-an-nah." I hate getting people's names wrong, and she's a cool kid. Juana lives in South America in the country of Colombia in a city called Bogota. She loves her dog Lucas, hates her school uniform (it's itchy), loves reading under the covers at night with a flashlight, loves soccer.

You know which class is driving her crazy? English. Yeah, it is. She speaks Spanish, and she is finding English class really, really hard. Her mom says she has to get her grades up, because if she doesn't, she won't get to go on a trip she is dying to go on: a trip to Spaceland in Florida. She cannot wait to meet the comic book superhero Astroman there. So the trip is her carrot on a stick, so to speak.

But English is really, really hard. I know you all don't think so, but many of you were born speaking it, so it came easy to you. Poor Juana. Even Lucas feels bad for her.

Juana and Lucas by Juana Medina. 96 pages. Candlewick: 2016. Booktalk to grades 1-4. Excellent read-aloud.

Raymie Nightingale by Kate DiCamillo Booktalk

I want you to imagine three girls breaking into their teacher's house. One of the girls, Beverly, has taught herself lock-picking from a book. She is breaking in, and her best friends, Louisiana and Raymie, are right there with her. Why are they breaking into their teacher's house?

Their teacher is not a school teacher: she teaches baton twirling to girls entering beauty contests and other competitions. Two of them want to enter and win a local competition called the Little Miss Central Florida Tire 1975 competition. It's sort of a beauty/talent competition, and there is a big cash prize. You have to prove that you are talented and a good person. Breaking and entering is not a good way to prove that.

Let's get back to the girls. You've heard the expression "to be down on your luck"? What does it mean? [Take answer/s.] We have three girls down on their luck here. Raymie's dad just left her and her mom. Louisiana lost her beloved cat and doesn't have enough money to buy food. Beverly doesn't seem to have a dad around, plus she gets into fights with her mom. Beverly's mom forces Beverly to take baton twirling lessons, which she seems to hate. The lessons are where the three girls met one another.

But where is their baton teacher?

Raymie Nightingale by Kate DiCamillo. 2016: Candlewick Press. 263 p. Booktalk to intermediate grades, middle school. Great read-aloud.

This Is My Dollhouse by Giselle Potter Booktalk

This little girl made her very own dollhouse! [Show picture]. Her parents did not buy it for her. She used a basic cardboard box, and look what she did with it! Look carefully: do you see the wallpaper in this picture? How do you think she did that? Right, with magic markers. And she made the most incredible tiny furniture, too [show pages]. I see a television which she made from a tiny box. I see a rug which she made from part of a real rug. I see a plate of noodles made from tiny little bits of yarn. Wow, she is imaginative.

She loves playing with her dollhouse family, too. She dresses them, feeds them, and lets them ride in a little elevator to the rooftop pool! I love that rooftop pool: can you see what it's made of? A little bowl of water.

But her best friend Sophie has a store-bought dollhouse [show page]. What do you think of it? Yeah, it does look a bit boring. And there's more. Sophie does not want to invent or create stuff for her dollhouse. She just wants things which were bought in a store. The two girls have a playdate coming up. Find out what happens in This Is My Dollhouse by Giselle Potter.

This is My Dollhouse by Giselle Potter. 2016: Schwartz & Wade. [40 p.] Booktalk to K-3rd.

Rhyme Schemer by K.A. Holt (Booktalk)

Boys don't keep journals? Kevin does. He's 12, almost 13, in the 7th grade. He's the youngest of five boys, and his parents - both doctors - are never at home. His brother Petey (the next oldest) often beats Kevin up. His journal is his way of blowing off steam. It's in poem form. Let's take a look here.

Kevin's real (private) diary is on the left. 

[Read the poem on page 6 and show both pages 6-7 to your readers.] He's taking pages from an old book and circling words and phrases on that page to make a poem within a page - a found poem. This one is very Kevin: it says, "We will die. / The smell is killing us. / TEACHER SMELL is deadly. / Barf." Okay, so it got your attention but it's obnoxious and it's not a good poem. But the poem in his journal which he wrote to himself is pretty good. He talked about words jumping out at him "like tickly little fleas / needing a good scratching. / So I scratched them." He has a great imaginative mind and a flair for words.

So basically he's living two lives: the life of his private journal which shows a really good poet and the life of a found poem graffiti artist whose sole objective is to tick off authority figures at his school.

Why do you think he is doing this? [Entertain theories.] Some of you may be right. What would you think if I told you that Petey, his brother, threw his real journal out the car window and someone found it? Will Kevin be able to keep up his poetry?

Rhyme Schemer by K.A. Holt. 2014: Chronicle Books. 169 pages. Booktalk to grades 4-9.

Waiting by Kevin Henkes (Booktalk)

Who are these creatures sitting on the windowsill? [Give time for response.]

Let your readers study the creatures up close.

I see an owl with spots, a rabbit with stars, a puppy on a sled, a pig with an umbrella, and a bear with a kite. My favorite is the owl. What do you think they are waiting for? [Show picture, wait for responses.]



Yes, maybe they are waiting for sunshine. Is that why the pig has an umbrella: has it been raining? You think they are waiting for a person? Why do you think that?

I wonder what they're waiting for. If you look carefully at the beautiful pictures, you will find lots of great clues. Read Waiting by Kevin Henkes.

Waiting by Kevin Henkes. 32 p. 2015: Greenwillow Books. Booktalk to preschool - 2nd.

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart (Booktalk)

[Start by showing the map of Beechwood Island found on the opening pages.] Imagine your relatives had their own private island. This is Beechwood Island, where the wealthy and beautiful Sinclair clan go on vacation each summer. Cadence, also called Cadie, lives in Windemere [show on map] with her mom and their dogs. Her cousin Mirren lives in Cuddledown; her cousin Johnny and friend Gat live in Red Gate.

Cadie's family's island, Beechwood, off coast of Massachusetts

Their grandfather lives in the big house, Clairmont. They have multiple beaches, a family dock, boats, and paid staff. The four older kids - Cadie, Mirren, Johnny, and Gat - are about the same age, older teens. They're called the Liars. You'll find out why. They're nice kids.

But something is really wrong. When the story opens, Cadie tells us she is almost 18. Let me quote her. "I own a well-used library card and not much else...I used to be blonde, but now my hair is black. I used to be strong, but now I am weak. I used to be pretty, but now I look sick. It is true I suffer migraines since my accident"(4). What accident? And if she's one of the liars, is she lying now?

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart. Delacorte Press: 2014. 225 p. Booktalk to high school. Also has crossover appeal for adults.

Rain Reign by Ann M. Martin (Booktalk)

Rose isn't like everybody else. When she gets upset, she may blurt out, "Two, three, five, seven, eleven, thirteen!" She loves prime numbers: they make her feel safe.

It's easy to upset Rose, who has Asperger's. She's smart, and her brain works differently than many people's brains. She needs a lot of order and routine in her life to feel safe. It drives Rose crazy when people break rules, laws, or routines. When she would ride to school every day on the bus, she would catch every single little thing the bus rider did wrong! Obviously, this drove the bus driver nuts, and she asked that Rose _stop_ riding the bus. No one likes a backseat driver.

There's a bright spot in Rose's life: her dog, Rain. Rose's dad found Rain in the rain and let Rose have her. But Rose's dad has some problems: his temper; his annoyance with Rose; his carelessness. Here's something sad: he let Rain outside during a massive storm and Rain did not return.

Rose is determined to get Rain back, even if she has to call and visit every animal shelter for miles around. But will her father sabotage her again?

Rain Reign by Ann M. Martin. 240 pages. Feiwel & Friends, 2014. Booktalk to grades 3-8.

Glory O'Brien's History of the Future by A.S. King (Booktalk)

Glory O'Brien, age 17, has not been having a glorious life so far. Her mother killed herself years ago; her dad has eaten his grief and went from an original 120 pounds to 240. He won't get rid of the oven that his wife used to kill herself with, either. He won't go into his wife's photography darkroom or even discuss her. Glory doesn't have many friends, and she often actively dislikes her "best" friend, Ellie. Glory is happy to be graduating from high school in a few days: she wants to get away from all that is trivial and tedious. Why bother having anyone sign her yearbook? There's no point.

The only thing Glory likes is taking photographs; that was about all her mom liked, too, it seems. So when Ellie - often the holder of illogical and harebrained ideas - suggests that the two girls drink the remains of a dead bat, Glory decides to comply. What's the harm? Ellie had joked that the dead bat was God. Ellie is just plain weird.

Here's the good news: neither girl gets sick from drinking dead bat remains. But there's bad news, and it's literally "the future": the future that you and I will inhabit, if we live long enough. Both girls start seeing visions of it, and it's no place that women would want to live in.

Glory O'Brien's History of the Future by A.S. King. 307 p. 2014. Little, Brown. Booktalk to upper high school: contains mature themes.

Bo at Ballard Creek by Kirkpatrick Hill (Booktalk)

Bo's dads are goldminers (and blacksmiths) who came to Alaska in the 1897 Klondike Gold Rush: an exciting time. That time is past, and many miners have left, but Bo's dads are still there. Wait? Dads? Yes, Bo has two: her mother didn't want her, and she literally handed baby Bo to a man and left. That man, Arvid, didn't have the heart to give Bo up to an orphanage. His best friend, Jack, helped Arvid raise Bo. It's normal for towns in early 1900s Alaska to be mostly men: they're all miners, and life can be tough.

Bo is older now, and I want to share my favorite facts about her. She can swear (bad words!) in both an Eskimo language and in Swedish. It's possible she has no idea what the words mean. She helps cook for the miners and she really loves biscuits. Her favorite Eskimo dish, though, is caribou bone marrow and caribou fat. Yum.

You have to be tough and resourceful if you live in Alaska. You also have to be fast on your feet. One day, when Bo was outside (it was summer), she inadvertently startled a grizzly bear. The bear started to run after her. Bo did what she had been told and dropped to the ground, totally flat. That's not exactly running, though, is it?

If you like adventure, animals, outdoor life, and interesting weather, you'll love a historical fiction novel called Bo at Ballard Creek.

Bo at Ballard Creek by Kirkpatrick Hill. 278 pages. 2013: Henry Holt and Company. Booktalk to grades 3-8. Scott O'Dell Historical Fiction Award, 2014.

Sam & Dave Dig a Hole by Mac Barnett (Booktalk)

[When starting this booktalk, don't show the cover, and don't reveal the title. Just have the book open to page 11, pictured below. You will have the students examine the picture without talking for at least 45 seconds.]

I want you to take a close look at this picture. I will give you plenty of time. I want you to think of at least five facts you can deduce from this picture. They can be facts about the plot - what is happening, or facts about what the book means.

Page 11

[Allow quiet time to examine picture. When they're done, let them discuss their deductions: the boys are digging a hole; they missed the first jewel; the dog knows about the jewel; one boy seems to be consoling the other boy; etc.]

You did a good job of picking apart this cool illustration. Did you know that this book [show cover now] has puzzled a lot of people - including adults? Even your teachers might disagree with each other about what this picture book, seemingly simple, means! I've read this picture book several times and I'm still thinking about it!

You must read Sam & Dave Dig a Hole by Mac Barnett and decide for yourself what this story is really about.

Sam & Dave Dig a Hole by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Jon Klassen. Unpaged. Candlewick, 2014. Booktalk to 1st - 5th. Also great for classroom read-alouds. Caldecott Honor. E. B. White Read Aloud Award. Irma Black Award.

The Crossover by Kwame Alexander (Booktalk)

What if your twin brother was your best friend in the whole world? And what if he stopped being your best friend?

Josh and Jordan (called JB) are twins who both love basketball. And they love each other, until things start going downhill in their friendship. Josh lost a bet with JB and JB cut off a lot of Josh's beloved dreadlocks. The results were freaking looking.

They used to eat lunch together -- actually, they ate all their meals together -- until JB got a girlfriend named Alexis. Now he eats lunch with her. Josh saw JB kissing Alexis in the school library. Fun. JB barely speaks to Josh. Josh is feeling increasingly isolated and alone.

The anger is growing. Josh messes up in a big game, sees JB wink at Alexis, and feels a surge of resentment - so much so that he hurls the ball unreasonably hard at JB who then starts bleeding and has to go to the hospital. Bad drama. Josh's mom is furious and chews Josh out. She asks Josh: you going to get mad at your brother every time he has a girlfriend? "You're twins, not the same person."

Will Josh ever get his best friend back?

The Crossover by Kwame Alexander. 237 p. HMH Books for Young Readers. Newbery Medal, 2015. Booktalk to grades 5-9.

El Deafo by Cece Bell (Newbery Honor 2015) Booktalk

When Cece was four years old, she got very sick with meningitis. Although she recovered from it, her hearing did not. She was deaf. At first her own family and doctor missed the signs, but once they figured it out, she got tested. She would have to wear hearing aids [show kids the Phonic Ear picture].

Problem solved - right? Wrong. Hearing is complicated - it's not just a question of making things louder. Hearing aids don't solve every problem for the deaf: there still may be sounds which a deaf person cannot hear. Some words sound muffled, even if they're "loud" enough. Cece would have to learn new strategies: how to lip read and how to guess from context what people might be saying to her.

But her Phonic Ear made her feel self-conscious and different. Imagine feeling as if people were always staring at you. Imagine that your teacher has to wear a microphone which sends sound to your hearing device. It's both a blessing and a curse.

And you know what Cece can do that no other student in her class can do? She can hear the teacher outside of class - away from the students - because the teacher keeps forgetting to turn her microphone of. She can hear her teacher in the restroom, in the teacher's lounge, you name it.

Being deaf can make friendships tricky, too. One of Cece's friends treats her like a slow-witted person. And the cute boy (on whom Cece has a crush) wants Cece to "spy" on her teacher and share that information. Read the Newbery Honor winner titled El Deafo by Cece Bell.

El Deafo by Cece Bell. 233 pages. Newbery Honor 2015. Amulet Books, 2014. Booktalk to grades 3-8. 

Book talk: Waiting is Not Easy! by Mo Willems

Guess what! Piggie has a surprise for Gerald, her best friend, the elephant. I can tell you three things about this surprise. One: It is big. Two: it is pretty. Three: they can share it. What do you think it is? [Entertain guesses about what it might be.]

But I have bad news. Gerald will have to wait. If you've read other Elephant & Piggie books, you know that Gerald has a tendency to panic. And he doesn't like to wait. And he doesn't like to be disappointed either. Poor Gerald, he's a nervous wreck a lot of the time.

He starts to groan. [Show first groans on pages 20-21]. Wow: that is a huge GROAN. Piggie is almost collapsing under that GROAN!

Without giving anything away, I can tell you that he GROANS again. That GROAN bubble is almost totally crushing poor Piggie. [Show second groan on pages 30-31]. Oh boy, he is really freaking out.

Waiting is Not Easy! by Mo Willems

Bad things come in threes, right? I have to show you the third and worst GROAN! YIKES! I only see Piggie's legs!!!

Can Gerald wait? Or will he explode? What on earth are they waiting for?

Waiting is Not Easy! by Mo Willems. 57 p. 2014: Hyperion. Booktalk to Pre-K through 2nd. Great for reluctant readers.

Book talk: Shh! We Have a Plan by Chris Haughton

[For this booktalk, I used two props: a net and a small plush red bird. ]

[Holding the net and pretending to "net" the bird.] How easy is it to catch a bird? How quick on your feet do you have to be? Do you think you could catch a bird with a net?

[Picking up book.] Shh! We have a plan! We're going to catch that bird!

[Show picture]. Almost!

[Turn the page.] Okay, so that did NOT go well.

But remember, we have a plan.

And now we have a BOAT. You just cannot fail with a boat and a net, you know?

[Ask kids to predict what will happen with the boat.]

Yep...man in the water!

Fine! Time for a new plan!

Shh! We Have a Plan by Chris Haughton. Candlewick, 2014. Booktalk to PreK-2nd grade. Also, good introduction to the concept of the refrain.

Book talk: Ungifted by Gordon Korman

Like a lot of us, Donovan isn't stupid, but he's not an academic genius, either. Actually, I'm wrong. Donovan is kind of stupid. He hit a statue pretty hard, and part of it rolled off and destroyed much of his school's gym, causing thousands and thousands of dollars worth of damage. Luckily, no one was hurt or killed. But the principal was mad. Very, very mad. And mad people can get distracted and put names on the wrong list because they're too busy being mad to pay attention. Instead of putting Donovan's name on some bad student list, the principal put Donovan's name on a list of kids recommended for the gifted school: the Academy of Scholastic Distinction. The geniuses. And Donovan's no genius.

So what does Donovan do? He certainly doesn't want to bring it to the principal's attention. It would actually be funny if he could just pass his classes there, but they're really, really hard. He's in over his head. The smart kids' math classes are way, way harder than anything he can handle. In fact, the only thing he can do at the genius school is drive the robot the other kids assembled. As one well-versed in video games, he's pretty good at that. He really likes the smart kids and they seem to like him. In spite of himself, Donovan loves his new school.

But how is Donovan going to stay at a school where he can't pass his classes and even his teachers suspect he's there by mistake?

Ungifted by Gordon Korman. 280 pages. 2012: Balzer + Bray. Booktalk to intermediate grades (3-6) and middle school.

Book talk: Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

"We all fight our own private wars." Ari -- real name Angel Aristotle Mendoza -- said this, and he's right. We all fight our own private wars. But what kind of a private war can a teenager fight? Ari is fighting his family, for one. His dad, a former Marine, was traumatized by something in the Vietnam war and is a complete mystery to Ari. Ari's brother is in jail, and there's no trace of him -- no pictures, no mementos, nothing -- of him in the house. Ari's siblings are much older than he is, and so he considers himself a "pseudo only child." A loner by nature, Ari is often uncomfortable or unhappy with himself, and his journals speak to this. Ari doesn't want your friendship, your help, or your opinion. He's more likely to get into a fight than seek out a friend.

That's why his only friend -- Dante Quintana -- sought him out. Dante noticed a clueless Ari trying to teach himself how to swim at the local pool and offered to teach him how. That's the only reason Ari can swim. Dante knows how to put up with Ari's moods, his sullen silences, and his negativity.

But back to Ari's private war. Ari admits he's always had bad dreams. He's never really felt at home in his own skin, and now that he's growing up, he feels as if he's inhabiting the body of a stranger. But a person at war with himself can still surprise himself and others, too. Ari did something so crazy and so heroic and so amazingly cool that he woke up in a hospital, with a lot of serious physical damage. But he's still at war with himself.

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz. Printz Award, 2013. 359 p. 2012: Simon & Schuster. Booktalk to high school.

Benjamin Alire Saenz

Book talk: Jane, the Fox, and Me

This is Helene. She has a defeated, hunted look about her. Her shoulders are often slumped.

The best part of Helene's day is reading Jane Eyre which she loves. She gets lost in it, and she loves Jane Eyre's strength and resilience.

The worst part of Helene's day is being around Genevieve, a snob and a bully. Genevieve and her friends write mean things on the walls about Helene's weight. They lie and say that Helene smells. They used to be nice to Helene.

But there are hints that things may change for Helene.

 She makes a brief -- but amazing -- connection with a shy fox, and there's a girl with equally bright eyes who rescues Helene from a lonely, harsh experience. Jane, the Fox, and Me by Fanny Britt and Isabelle Arsenault.


Jane, the Fox, and Me by Fanny Britt and Isabelle Arsenault. Graphic novel. 2012: Groundwood books. 101 pages. Booktalk to upper elementary, middle school.

Book talk: The Great Wall of Lucy Wu by Wendy Wan-Long Shang (2011 Cybils Award)

Having a bedroom all to yourself is the best thing in the world. I'm Lucy Wu, and I've been waiting for my older sister, Regina, to move out for some time now. Finally: the room is mine…all mine! I'm about to start sixth grade, and things are looking good for me: I'm getting better and better at basketball (my favorite sport) and I have a great best friend, Madison, who plays it with me. And no, as you can see, I am not tall. This school year is going to be the best ever. I'll update you in a few days… [quick exit and return]

No way. I mean it. No way. So I go out with my family and relatives to this amazing Chinese restaurant: normally, I'd have a great time, but I want to mention two things. I'm getting criticized by certain people (cough, cough, Regina!) for not appreciating Chinese culture and food and then later I get the real catastrophe - I'll be sharing my room with my grandma's sister, Yi Po, who is coming here from China and speaks no English. Yeah: sharing MY room. Did I mention that my command of Chinese is not very good? This is terrible. I have to share a room with someone I can't communicate with! Maybe I'll put up a wall…..

The Great Wall of Lucy Wu by Wendy Wan-Long Shang. 312 p. Scholastic: 2011. Booktalk to intermediate grades and middle school. 2011 Cybils Award for Middle Grade Fiction.

Book talk: Say Hello to Zorro! by Carter Goodrich (Virginia Readers' Choice)

[Hold up cover, but cover up with your hand the part of the illustration which shows Zorro, the smaller dog].

This is Mister Bud [the larger dog on the cover]. Mister Bud has a great life for a dog. Dogs love a set schedule, and Mister Bud is no exception. He’s got his own house, his own bed, his own toys, his own dish, and a time for everything.

 Do you know how important his schedule is to Mister Bud? It is everything. He has his biscuit before his walk. When his owner comes home, it’s “greet and make a fuss time,” followed by quick backyard time, dinnertime, walk time, and then movie time. Yes, Mister Bud loves his movies. What dog doesn’t? What a perfect, happy, orderly life.

[Show cover, and take your hand off so that Zorro is now showing.] Oh my gosh, who is this? A new dog? A new dog in Mister Bud’s house? Oh dear. What is the expression on this little dog’s face? [Get a few responses.] Right, he looks angry. This is Zorro, and he’s little and fierce. Does Mister Bud look happy about this? [Absolutely not!]

To add insult to injury, this book is titled, “Say Hello to Zorro!” And that’s what Bud’s owners said to him when they brought Zorro home. Is trouble brewing?

Say Hello to Zorro! by Carter Goodrich. Unpaged. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2011. Booktalk to preschool through 1^st. Virginia Readers’ Choice, 2012-2013.

Say Hello to Zorro