Things I Have to Tell You: Poems and Writing by Teenage Girls

Name of Book:  Things I Have to Tell You: Poems and Writing by Teenage Girls Editor:  Betsy Franco Photography:  Nina Nickles Publisher:  Candlewick Press ISBN: 0-978-0-7636-1035-7 Audience:  14 and up. Contains strong language and sexual imagery. Summary:  Betsy Franco was inspired by a conversation with a teenage friend who expressed feelings that Betsy remembered in [...]

Come to the Great World

Name of Book: Come to the Great World:  Poems from Around the Globe Author: Wendy Cooling Illustrator: Sheila Moxley Publisher: Holiday House ISBN: 0823418227 Audience: Ages 4-9 Summary: A collection of thirty-one poems that were written by poets from around the world.  The collection represents an array of cultures and emphasizes the uniqueness of each [...]

How to (un)Cage a Girl

Name of Book:   How to (Un)Cage a Girl Author:  Francesca Lia Block Publisher:  Joanna Cotler Books/HarperTeen (2008) Audience:  16 – adult females.  Personally, I would have placed this book in the adult poetry section rather than YA, since it pushes beyond the personal experiences of YA readers.  That being said, it would be useful with [...]

Woof: A Love Story

Name of Book:   Woof:  A Love Story Author:  Sarah Weeks Illustrator:   Holly Berry Publisher:   Laura Geringer Books, Harper Collins Publishers Audience:  Ages 4 – 8 Summary:    “A dog is a dog and a cat is a cat…And most of the time it’s as simple as that.”  But what’s a dog to do when he falls [...]

Believe Me I Know

Name of Book:   Believe Me, I Know Author:  Valerie Chow Bush, editor Illustrator:  Photos taken by the children of the WritersCorps Youth Publisher:  WritersCorps Books 2002 Audience:  8 – 18 year olds.  While there are poems written by children as young as 6 and 7 included in this collection, I believe that the majority of [...]