NEW MAINE STUDENT BOOK AWARD LIST

It's out! The Maine Student Book Award Committee (MSBA) has published their 2013-2014 list of books. Students will begin reading from this list after April. The titles in red mean they are available to read through out Cloud Library, which means they are available anytime, anyplace.

2013-2014 Reading List (2012 copyright)

Aguirre, Jorge. Giants Beware!
Airgood, Ellen. Prairie Evers.
Applegate, Katherine. The One and Only Ivan.
Bauer, Marion Dane. Little Dog, Lost.
Beck, W. H. Malcolm at Midnight.
Bell, Juliet. Kepler’s Dream.
Cerullo, Mary M. Giant Squid: Searching for a Sea Monster.
Coville, Bruce. Always October.
Evans, Lissa. Horten’s Miraculous Mechanisms: Magic, Mystery & A Very Strange Adventure.
Fearing, Mark. Earthling!
Fforde, Jasper. The Last Dragonslayer.
Fleming, Candace. On the Day I Died.
Healy, Christopher. The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom.
Hearst, Michael. Unusual Creatures: A Mostly Accurate Account of Some of Earth’s Strangest Animals.
Hunt, Lynda. One for the Murphys.
Kelly, Lynne. Chained.
Key, Watt. Fourmile.
Korman, Gordon. Ungifted.
Kraatz, Jeramey. The Cloak Society.
Lacey, Josh. Island of Thieves.
Levine, Kristin. The Lions of Little Rock.
Lewis, J. Patrick, ed. National Geographic Book of Animal Poetry.
Lin, Grace. Starry River of the Sky. .
Messner, Kate. Capture the Flag.
Meyer, Marissa. Cinder.
Nielsen, Jennifer A. The False Prince.
Palacio, R.J. Wonder.
Pennypacker, Sara. Summer of the Gypsy Moths.
Poblocki, Dan. The Ghost of Graylock.
Preus, Margi. Shadow on the Mountain.
Ritter, John H. Fenway Fever.
Rodkey, Geoff. Deadweather and Sunrise.
Rusch, Elizabeth. The Mighty Mars Rovers: the Incredible Adventures of Spirit and Opportunity.
Schlitz, Laura Amy. Splendors and Glooms.
Sheinkin, Steve. Bomb: The Race to Build -- and Steal -- the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon.
Stead, Rebecca. Liar & Spy.
TenNapel, Doug. Cardboard.
Thomson, Jamie. Dark Lord: The Early Years.
Voorhoeve, Anne C. My Family for the War.

The Tripods Trilogy

Long before The Hunger Games, Divergent by Veronica Roth, and even The Giver by Lois Lowry, there was The Tripods Trilogy. Written by British author John Christopher (1922-2012) during the middle 1960’s, the series was a gateway for children into science fiction. The titles in the series are: The White Mountains, City of Gold and Lead, and Pool of Fire.

In the series, Christopher depicts a world, low-tech and almost medieval in nature, suffering under the control of aliens who can only survive Earth's inimical atmosphere by moving around in deadly tripodal machines. In this world, children, at age 14, are fitted with a mind-controlling cap that keeps them, and all the adults, docile.  Weeks before he is to be capped, Will Parker and his cousin Luke secretly run away to join a band of uncapped people far off in the Alps. The book follows Will and a group of uncapped adolescents as they bravely confront the menace of the Tripods. In the end, the results they achieve are not entirely what they expected.

I do recommend this series to students who like the dystopian genre.  The writing is engaging, and the story has a depth not often found in newer titles. The only disappointing aspect of this series is the absence of strong female characters. It is all about boys coming to the rescue. There is no Katnis Everdeen at their side. Yet, I believe the quality of writing and the fast-paced adventure makes these worth reading.  

P.S. I hear this series is being made into a movie.