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Informational reading is often overlooked.
Certainly, most language arts programs stress literature, but
where does one go to learn about the world, how to cook, how
to build something?
The informational books that are listed
here either have particular appeal for the teenager or subject
matter which is too mature for the other page containing informational books. That is not
to say that those books would not have YA appeal, so check out
that page as well.
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Memoirs/ Biography/
Autobiography
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| Barakat, Ibtisam |
Tasting the Sky: A Palestinian Childhood
The author was three and a half years old during the Six Day War. She was separated from her family when she stopped to fix her shoe. Her memoir relates the terror of her earliest memories through displacement and treatment to save her foot, return to her home in occupied Ramallah and the start of school. The language is spare and painfully but beautifully descriptive. The author acknowledges the complexity and ferocity of feelings surrounding the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, however, she feels that peace is possible and hopes that her memoir helps people increase their understanding. |
| Crutcher, Chris |
King of the Mild Frontier:
An Ill-Advised Autobiography
This memoir is laugh-out-loud
funny and very deep. Crutcher is one of my favorites but the
grim reality of some of his books are more for the high school
audience. This book is really a collection of short stories and
jumps all around his childhood years. The people who populated
his life became characters in his books. Knowing many of his
books made me appreciate the memoir even more but it can be enjoyed
without reading any of his books. |
| Engle, Margarita |
The Poet Slave of Cuba: a Biography of Juan Francisco Manzano
Juan Francisco Manzano was born into slavery in 1797 in Cuba. He showed an early aptitude for memorization and recitation and his owner liked to parade him to entertain her guests. Soon he taught himself to read and began composing his own poetry, some of which mocked his owners. He refused to stop creating despite food deprivation and beatings, one which crippled and nearly killed him. |
| Gantos, Jack |
A Hole in My Life
Jack Gantos fans will be stunned by this memoir about a time
in his life when he made some poor choices and ended up in prison
for smuggling drugs. It is written in the same voice as his "Jack"
novels, thoughtful, descriptive, sometimes humorous, often sad.
There are a few brutal passages about life in prison which make
this a book for grades 8 and up. |
| Gottlieb, Lori |
Stick Figure
The subtitle of this book is
A Diary of My Former Self. It is the diary of Lori at age 11,
in 1978. She lives in Beverly Hills, is a bright young girl whose
body is changing because she is growing up. She begins a diet
which becomes life threatening as she attempts to sort through
all the mixed messages that children face as they mature, such
as what the fine line between being honest and rude is. I didn't
love this book. I couldn't believe that this was a diary of an
eleven-year-old. It sounded more like an adult writing as an
eleven-year-old. However, it is a decent insider's look at the
horrors of eating disorders. |
| Runyon, Brent |
The Burn Journals
"Why?" How many times
do adults ask that question of teenagers? How many teenagers
can answer that question? This blunt book pulls no punches and
is very difficult to read. Brent Runyon unflinchingly tells us
the story of how he set himself on fire because he was too sad
to live.
From 1991 through 1992, Runyon spent a
year recovering from burns over 85% of his body. He was lucky
to survive and endured incredible pain and multiple surgeries.
He grew to love and trust the hospital staff and learned to endure
the stares of strangers and awkward moments with friends and
family. The language is frank. Readers may find the descriptions
of some procedures harder to stomach than the liberal use some
swear words and normal adolescent obsession about sex.
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| Satrapi, Marjane |
Persepolis: The Story
of a Childhood
This memoir of Satrapi's childhood
from the ages of six through fourteen chronicles her life in
Iran before and after the overthrow of the Shah and the ascendance
of the repressive religious regime which replaced him. Satrapi
lived a privileged life. Once the shah was overthrown, life changed
drastically for the family, not the least of which she lost her
right to an education. This is not your typical life and American
readers, especially young ones with no memory of the time, might
find the story quite foreign. But it is a suspenseful and highly
readable glimpse into a life much different than anyone here
might know. |
| Spiegelman, Art |
Maus A Survivor's Tale I: My Father
Bleeds History
This graphic novel was ground
breaking when it was first published back in 1986 and tells a
story within a story of the author's parents' life in Poland
before and during the Holocaust. It is also the story of Spiegelman's
own relationship with his aging and demanding father.
Depicting the Nazi's as cats and the Jews
as Mice, Spiegelman relates the story of the growing anti-Semitism
which existed in Poland in the days up to the Nazi invasion and
then the terrifying intimidation and ultimate imprisonment of
the Jews. Spiegelman was born after the war, but had a brother
who was born before and did not survive. His relationship with
his parents was not always easy.
This novel is not easy to read both because
of its subject matter and its format, but well worth the while.
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| Spiegelman, Art |
Maus A Survivor's Tale
II: And Here My Troubles Began
This is the continuation of Maus I and completes the story
of Spiegelman's father's imprisonment in Auchwitz, his liberation
and his reunion with his beloved Anya. |
| Winick, Judd |
Pedro and Me: Friendship
and loss and what I learned
Cartoonist Judd Winick was
struggling to earn a living when he received a phone call that
he was chosen to be on Real World and was asked if he
would have a problem sharing a house with a room mate who had
AIDS. Awed that he was chosen, he said, "no." Upon
arriving at the apartment in which he was supposed to live with
other strangers, he discovered that he would be sharing a room
with Pedro Zamora, not only suffering from full-blown AIDS, but
an activist who's mission was to educate young people. In an
honest, thought-provoking and tear-jerking memoir, Winick recounts
the story of a friendship which involved him facing his own fears
and hypocrisy and ultimately embracing the friendship of a remarkable
and brave twenty-two-year old who was infected as a teenager. |
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Other Titles by Dewey
Decimal System Number
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| 028.55 KAY |
Dear Author: Letters of Hope, Kaywell, Joan
As a person who regularly writes to authors and is thrilled to receive a response, I was very interested in this compilation of letters to various YA authors and the author's responses. Some were funny, a few were heartbreaking and all the author's responses were thoughtful. It was nice to read first-hand accounts of how young people respond to literature. |
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362 NAM
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The NAMES Project
Always Remember: A Selection of Panels Created B and For International Fashion Designers
While I prefer to visit the AIDS Memorial Quilt Project website and browse quilts created by "real" people as opposed to designers with a gift for creating, this collection of quilts is no less touching. A photograph of each quilt is accompanied by a short story about the creator and the person he or she is memorializing with their quilt. Seventy-nine quilt panels are presented. They and the stories behind them are beautiful. |
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796.323 GOT |
Gottlieb, Andrew
In the Paint: Tattoos of the NBA and
the Stories Behind Them
Full disclosure: I am not a
fan of tattoos. Why anyone would spend money to disfigure the
skin, risk disease and infection for such body art is beyond
me. However, Gottlieb's book is interesting in a People Magazine
sort of diversionary way. The photographs are crisp and clear
and some of the tats are quite clever though I would hate to
see them in twenty or thirty years when the skin becomes wrinkled
and baggy. |
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The Coyote Road - Trickster Tales Datlow, Ellen & Terri Windling, Editors |
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