HISD Department of Library Services Summer Reading Program for Librarians – 2005

The purpose of the summer reading program is to develop a dialogue among ourselves and share ideas that will lead to a better understanding of the community we serve.  For this purpose we will encourage reading 2 books this summer. One book will be a professional title in the field of education and the other title an award winning title from the field of children’s/YA literature.  We will offer professional development opportunities in the 2005-2006 school year to further our understanding of these books.

2005 Professional Book – No Excuses by Abigail and Stephan Thernstrom

From Booklist
Authors of America in Black and White (1997), the Thernstroms take on the troubling and stubborn gap that persists in academic achievement between white students and black and Hispanic students, a gap that translates into a lifetime of uneven opportunities. They begin by citing statistics based on standardized test scores that verify the woeful achievement gap, which has become the burning issue in the continued struggle for racial justice. In separate chapters, the authors look at the historic and cultural factors at work in the low academic achievement of blacks and Hispanics and the high achievement of Asians, compared with white students. But the heart of the book focuses on several inner-city schools across the nation that have succeeded in educating minority children and provide models for educational reform. The success factors include independence from district control, discretionary budgetary power, and latitude in hiring nonunion teachers. Although it is sure to provoke some controversy, this book provides a thoughtful look at a pressing social problem. Vanessa Bush
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

2005 Elementary/Middle School Book – Kira-Kira by  Cynthia Kadohata and Julia Kushkin (Newbery winner)

Two sisters lie on their backs, watching the stars and repeating the Japanese word for "glittering" - "kira-kira." Like this quiet opening scene, Kadohata's tenderly nuanced novel glitters with plain and poignant words that describe the strong love within a Japanese American family from the point of view of younger sister Katie. Personal challenges and family tragedy are set against the oppressive social climate of the South during the 1950s and early 1960s.

Graceful prose illuminates complex relationships, most notably between the two sisters. Katie's remarkably authentic voice changes to reflect both her deeper understandings and her growing sense of self over a span of almost 10 years.

"With compelling quietude that makes room for both pathos and humor, this luminous novel takes us on Katie Takeshima's journey through a childhood punctuated by prejudice, poverty and family tragedy," said Award Committee Chair Susan Faust. "Young readers will be drawn into a narrative that radiates hope from the inside out."
 

2005 High School Book – How I live now by Meg Rossoff (Printz Award)

FROM THE PUBLISHER

"EVERY WAR HAS turning points and every person too."

Fifteen-year-old Daisy is sent from Manhattan to England to visit her aunt and cousins she's never met: three boys near her age, and their little sister. Her aunt goes away on business soon after Daisy arrives. The next day bombs go off as London is attacked and occupied by an unnamed enemy.

As power fails, and systems fail, the farm becomes more isolated. Despite the war, it's a kind of Eden, with no adults in charge and no rules, a place where Daisy's uncanny bond with her cousins grows into something rare and extraordinary. But the war is everywhere, and Daisy and her cousins must lead each other into a world that is unknown in the scariest, most elemental way.

A riveting and astonishing story                                                                                       1620L

HAVE FUN READING!