2011 Tween Nominees
 | The Brooklyn Nine by Alan Gratz (2009) IL: 5-8 RL: 5.0 Follows the fortunes of a German immigrant family through nine generations, beginning in 1845, as they experience American life and play baseball. Alan Gratz BlogBrooklyn Nine WebQuest Booktalk from Scholastic (click on link about half way down page) |
 | Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson (2008) IL: 5.8 RL: 5.2 After being sold to a cruel couple in New York City, a slave named Isabel spies for the rebels during the Revolutionary War. Discussion Guide from Scholastic Discussion Questions and Curriculum Links Readers Group Discussion Guide from Simon and Schuster |
 | Crooked Kind of Perfect by Linda Urban (2007) IL: 3-6 RL: 6.3 Ten-year-old Zoe Elias, who longs to play the piano but must resign herself to learning the organ, instead, finds that her musicianship has a positive impact on her workaholic mother, her jittery father, and her school social life. Discussion Guide (see pg. 29) pdf |
 | Evolution, Me and Other Freaks of Nature by Robin Brande (2007) IL: YA Mena, ostracized at church, home, and school for writing a letter of apology to a gay teen--who was harassed into trying to kill himself by her fundamentalist friends--struggles to find her way when new friends and school experiences force her to reconsider her beliefs. Author's WebsiteBooktalk Teacher's Guide Video Book Trailer |
 | The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (2008) IL: 5-8 RL: 5.1 The orphan Bod, short for Nobody, is taken in by the inhabitants of a graveyard as a child of eighteen months and raised lovingly and carefully to the age of eighteen years by the community of ghosts and otherworldly creatures. Reading Guide (click on link under downloads) Video Book Trailer Another Video Book Trailer Author's website Conversation with Neil Gaiman (PBS News Hour) |
 | H.I.V.E.: The Higher Institute of Villainous Education by Mark Walden (2006) IL: 5-8 RL: 7.5 Thirteen-year-old orphan Otto Malpense, identified as a boy with a special talent for villainy, is kidnapped and taken to the remote Higher Institute of Villainous Education, or H.I.V.E., where he is enrolled in a six-year training program and immediately begins formulating a plan to escape. Author's Website Discussion Guide |
 | The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (2008) IL: YA Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen accidentally becomes a contender in the annual Hunger Games, a grave competition hosted by the Capitol where young boys and girls are pitted against one another in a televised fight to the death. Discussion Guide Teachers Pay Teachers Activity Guide (this costs $9.99) Interview with Suzanne Collins Survival Games Hunger Game Activities from LM_Net |
 | London Eye Mystery by Siobhan Dowd (2007) IL: 3-6 RL: 4.1 When Ted and Kat's cousin Salim disappears from the London Eye ferris wheel, the two siblings must work together--Ted with his brain that is "wired differently" and impatient Kat--to try to solve the mystery of what happened to Salim. London Eye Anagram Mystery Game LEM Teacher Resources (very nice guide!) pdf |
 | My Fair Godmother by Janette Rallison (2009) IL: 5.8 RL: 5.2 On cover the word fairy is crossed out and replaced with fair. High
school sophomore Savannah wants to find the perfect prom date after her
boyfriend breaks up with her to date her older sister, but when a
godmother who is only fair becomes involved, Savannah finds herself in
trouble in the Middle Ages, along with a boy who would like to be her
charming prince. |
 | Palace of Mirrors by Margaret Peterson Haddix (2008) IL: YA Fourteen-year-old Cecilia has always known she is the true princess of Suala, but when she and her best friend, Harper, decide to speed up her ascendancy to the throne, they find danger and many imposters who challenge her claim. Book Review from Arizona's own Brian Griggs Author's Website |