Virginia Readers Choice 15 -16 Judging books

Virginia Readers Choice 15 -16 * Judging books by their cover*

DIRECTIONS • Using only the cover art for each novel, predict what you think the story will be about • Rank the 10 novels in the order you think you would be interested in reading them (1 st = the book I am MOST interested in 10 th = the book I am LEAST interested in) • Also try to predict the genre for each book.

PART TWO – Modifying Predictions • We will now add extra information about each book – • Were your predictions about the book correct? Did your predictions change? • Did your interest level change? • Update your paper as you read along

The Boy on the Wooden Box Leon Leyson (born Leib Lezjon) was only ten years old when the Nazis invaded Poland his family was forced to relocate to the Krakow ghetto. With incredible luck, perseverance, and grit, Leyson was able to survive the sadism of the Nazis, including that of the demonic Amon Goeth, commandant of Plaszow, the concentration camp outside Krakow. Ultimately, it was the generosity and cunning of one man, a man named Oskar Schindler, who saved Leon Leyson’s life, and the lives of his mother, his father, and two of his four siblings, by adding their names to his list of workers in his factory—a list that became world renowned: Schindler’s. Genres: Memoir and Nonfiction

Counting by 7 s Willow Chance is a twelve-year-old genius, obsessed with nature and diagnosing medical conditions, who finds it comforting to count by 7 s. It has never been easy for her to connect with anyone other than her adoptive parents, but that hasn’t kept her from leading a quietly happy life. . . until now. Suddenly Willow’s world is tragically changed when her parents both die in a car crash, leaving her alone in a baffling world. This extraordinarily odd, but extraordinarily endearing, girl manages to push through her grief. You will have to read the book to find out how. Genre: Realistic Fiction

Half a Chance When Lucy's family moves to an old house on a lake, Lucy tries to see her new home through her camera's lens, as her father has taught her -- he's a famous photographer, away on a shoot. Will her photos ever meet his high standards? When she discovers that he's judging a photo contest, Lucy decides to enter anonymously. She wants to find out if her eye for photography is really special -- or only good enough. As she seeks out subjects for her photos, Lucy gets to know Nate, the boy next door. But slowly the camera reveals what Nate doesn't want to see: his grandmother's memory is slipping away, and with it much of what he cherishes about his summers on the lake. This summer, Nate will learn about the power of art to show truth. And Lucy will learn how beauty can change lives. . . including her own. Genre: Realistic Fiction

The President Has Been Shot!: The Assassination of John F. Kennedy This book will transport readers back to one of the most shocking, sad, and terrifying events in American history. The writer, James L. Swanson, will deploy his signature "you are there" style -- a riveting, ticking-clock pace, with an unprecedented eye for dramatic details and historical accuracy -- to tell the story of the JFK assassination as it has never been told before. Genre: Nonfiction

Prisoner B-3087 When Hitler’s army entered and occupied his native Kraków, 10 -year-old Yanek knew his life might change, but he had no idea of the horror that lay ahead. His remarkable survival story begins with a dramatic, emotional punch and then chronicles such moments as his secretive bar mitzvah in a warehouse basement, the systematic round up of Jews, and his deportation to the Plaszow Concentration Camp, the first of 10 camps he would suffer but survive. In an appended note, the writers explain that the novel is based on actual events in survivor Jack Gruener’s life but he has “taken liberties with some times and events” to provide a better overview. Genre: Historical Fiction

Seeing Red The year is 1972 and things are changing in tiny Stony Gap, Virginia. There’s a For Sale sign in front of 12 -year-old Red Porter’s house; his daddy has died, and now his mama must sell both the house and their combination garage (“Porter’s: We Fix It Right”) and convenience store (“What-U-Want”). Worse, she then plans to move the family to Ohio. Red is determined to stop her, but what can one 12 -year-old do? When he turns to a local gang for help, he unwittingly finds himself complicit in a case of racial bigotry that leaves his friend Thomas injured and Red riddled with guilt. Meanwhile, school has started, and he has a new teacher whose passion is history. “History’s boring and stupid, ” Red protests—but it’s history that may offer him and his family a way to remain in Stony Gap. In the process of attempting to right a century-old wrong, Red learns the lesson that he can make his own history. Genre: Realistic and Historical Fiction

Shadow With the horrors of war bearing down on them, Aman and his mother are barely surviving in an Afghan cave, and staying there any longer will end horribly. The only comfort Aman has is Shadow, the loyal spaniel that shows up from places unknown, it seems, just when Aman needs him most. Aman, his mother, and Shadow finally leave the destroyed cave in hopes of escaping to England, but are held at a checkpoint, and Shadow runs away after being shot at by the police. Aman and his mother escape--without Shadow. Aman is heart-broken. Just as they are getting settled as free citizens in England, they are imprisoned in a camp with locked doors and a barbed wire fence. Their only hope is Aman's classmate Matt, his grandpa, and the dream of finding his lost dog. After all, you never lose your shadow. Genre: Adventure

Twerp It's not like I meant for him to get hurt. . Julian Twerski isn't a bully. He's just made a big mistake. So when he returns to school after a weeklong suspension, his English teacher offers him a deal: if he keeps a journal and writes about the terrible incident that got him and his friends suspended, he can get out of writing a report on Shakespeare. Julian jumps at the chance. And so begins his account of life in sixth grade--blowing up homemade fireworks, writing a love letter for his best friend (with disastrous results), and worrying whether he's still the fastest kid in school. Lurking in the background, though, is the one story he can't bring himself to tell, the one story his teacher most wants to hear. Genre: Realistic Fiction

Under the Egg When Theodora Tenpenny spills a bottle of rubbing alcohol on her late grandfather’s painting, she discovers what seems to be an old Renaissance masterpiece underneath. That’s great news for Theo, who’s struggling to hang onto her family’s two-hundred-year-old townhouse and support her unstable mother on her grandfather’s legacy of $463. There’s just one problem: Theo’s grandfather was a security guard at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and she worries the painting may be stolen. With the help of some unusual new friends, Theo's search for answers takes her all around Manhattan, and introduces her to a side of the city—and her grandfather—that she never knew. To solve the mystery, she'll have to abandon her hard-won self-reliance and build a community, one serendipitous friendship at a time. Genre: Adventure

Zero Tolerance Seventh-grader Sierra Shepard has always been the perfect student, so when she sees that she accidentally brought her mother's lunch bag to school, including a paring knife, she immediately turns in the knife at the school office. Much to her surprise, her beloved principal places her in in-school suspension and sets a hearing for her expulsion, citing the school's ironclad no-weapons policy. While there, Sierra spends time with Luke, a boy who's known as a troublemaker, and discovers that he's not the person she assumed he would be--and that the lines between good and bad aren't as clear as she once thought. Genre: Realistic Fiction

So now what? • Now that you know which books interest you – choose your top 3 -4! • You can place one of these books on hold for checkout at the school library OR public library! • Read 2 by March and participate in the state-wide vote for this year’s Virginia Readers Choice!