WOW Books

Each Wednesday, we feature an entry from our WOW Books database and ask you to provide insight about the book by leaving a comment.

March 2010 — Books by Authors & Illustrators Featured at the Tucson Festival of Books

During March we focus on books written by authors who will be attending the second annual Tucson Festival of Books at the UA campus March 13-14, 2010. To learn more about the festival and all the authors and illustrators who will be attending visit the TFOB Web site.

Our first book for March is Revolution Is Not a Dinner Party by Ying Chang Compestine. Drawing from her childhood experience, Compestine brings hope and humor to this compelling story for all ages about a girl fighting to survive during the Cultural Revolution in China.

Our second Tucson Festival of Books author for March is Asma Mobin-Uddin and the picture book, The Best Eid Ever. In this story, Aneesa comes up with a plan to help two sisters, refugees with no new clothes in which to celebrate Eid, and make it the best holiday for everyone.

February 2010 — Books about War

During February we focus on books about war. The books we highlight present different perspectives about war and will appeal to a variety of age groups.

Our first war-themed book is Why War is Never a Good Idea, by Alice Walker. In this picture book, Walker personifies the power and wanton devastation of war through evocative poetry. Stefano Vitale’s compelling paintings illustrate this unflinching look at war’s destructive nature and unforeseen consequences.

Our second war-themed book is Proud as a Peacock, Brave as a Lion written by Jane Barclay and illustrated by Renné Benoit. As questions come from a young grandchild in this book, his grandpa talks about how, as a very young man, he was as proud as a peacock in uniform, busy as a beaver on his Atlantic crossing, and brave as a lion charging into battle.

In our third week looking at books on war, we feature A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, written by Ishmael Beah. In this book, Beah, now twenty-five years old, tells a riveting story: how at the age of twelve, he fled attacking rebels and wandered a land rendered unrecognizable by violence. By thirteen, he’d been picked up by the government army, and Beah, at heart a gentle boy, found that he was capable of truly terrible acts.

Our final look at books on war for February takes us Under the Persimmon Tree with intertwined portraits of courage and hope in Afghanistan and Pakistan. In this novel by Suzanne Fisher Staples, Najmah seeks refuge and hopes to find her father and brother by taking the perilous journey through the mountains to cross the border into Pakistan while Nusrat’s persimmon-tree school awaits Najmah’s arrival. Together, they seek their way home.

January 2010 – Controversial Books

For the month of January, we are focusing on controversial books. Frequently a book is considered controversial when a character indulges in behavior that is beyond what most people consider moral or ethical to the point that discussion of the subject is uncomfortable at best. Because we object to human trafficking, violence, or illegal behavior, educators read with an additional lens when considering such books for use in the classroom — and sometimes that process leads to censorship. In determining appropriate books for students, we must still demonstrate acceptance of our national diversity and an understanding of the realities of the world at large.

Week 1 we feature Sold by Patricia McCormick. In this novel, a thirteen-year-old girl’s stepfather sells her into prostitution in India.

Week two we feature Sunrise Over Fallujah by Walter Dean Myers. Civil affairs soldiers are just beginning to understand the meaning of war in this powerful, realistic novel of our times.

In week three, we feature Postcards from No Man’s Land by Aidan Chambers. This book alternates between two stories — contemporary, 17-year-old Jacob visits Amsterdam at the request of his grandmother — and historical, 19-year-old Geertrui relates her experience of British attempts to liberate Holland from occupation.

In our final week featuring controversial books, we spotlight The Killer’s Tears written by Anne-Laure Bondoux and translated by Y. Maudet. In this novel, Paolo is brought up by the man who killed his parents until another man arrives who vies for paternal influence. When all three are forced to leave their Chilean farm, they confront their past and their destinies are shaped.