Annotated Bibliography
Paterson, Katherine. (1977). Bridge to Terabithia. New York: Crowell. 0690013590
In this book, a young boy named Jesse Aarrons befriends a new girl named Leslie after she moves to his rural Virginian town. The two bond over their creativity and imagination. Playing in the woods near their homes, they invent an imaginary kingdom they call “Terabithia,” which becomes central to their friendship. They spend most of their free time playing in this imaginary land they have created, until tragedy strikes.
Readers will be drawn in by the vivid language Paterson uses throughout the novel. While potentially enjoyable for all ages, the depth of the imaginary land created by Jesse and Leslie will evoke nostalgia for a time of child-like imagination. This book also deals with the them of adolescent social anxiety and family conflicts, capturing the adolescent experience.
Koertge, Ron. (2003). Shakespeare Bats Cleanup. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick. 0763621161
This book takes the form of a series of poems written by a fictional 14-year-old named Kevin. A baseball enthusiast, Kevin has been benched by mono. Plagued with free time, he writes free-verse poetry. Through his writing, he both comes to better understand himself and the world around him. Notably, the book includes his attempts to come to terms with the death of his mother.
Through this series of poems, Koertge captures the adolescent mind through. He also constructs a vivid (though somewhat disjointed) narrative.
Fleischman, John. (2002). Phineas Gage: A Gruesome but True Story About Brain Science. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. 0618052526
This non-fiction book documents the gruesome accident of railroad worker Phineas Gage. While laying railroad ties, an explosion sent a metal bar through Gage's skull, damaging his brain. Gage survived the accident, but suffered significant changes in his personality as a result of the damage to his brain. This event played a key role in forming our modern understanding of how the brain works. Well illustrated with photographs, this text would be engaging to many young readers. Though the accident and some of the accompanying imagery are gruesome, this may be exciting for some students. Most importantly, this text demonstrates not just what scientists know, but how they come to know things.
O'Malley, Bryan Lee. (2004). Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life. Portland: Oni Press. 1932664084
In this graphic novel, socially awkard slacker Scott Pilgrim's mundane life is shaken when he meets the literal girl of his dreams, Romano Flowers. After scheming to encounter her again, he is confronted by a mysterious man. Scott and the man engage in an absurdly fantastical battle filled with supernatural elements. This man was one of Ramona's ex-boyfriends. The first in the series, this novel ends with Ramona and Scott agreeing to date on the condition that Scott defeat her other ex's.
The graphic novel appropriates tropes from video games, particularly during the fight scene. Atypical in both plot and presentation, this novel may be off-putting to some. However, there is definitely an audience for this series, particularly in the form of nerds who would be familiar with both the graphic novel format and the video game-style battles which take place in this text.
