AMBER KIZER
Stories in Amber...Captured in Time
A note on how to read this packet:
Amber and Rachel Kizer collaborated on this packet of information
targeted toward middle school educators for an NCTE/ALAN 2009 Conference
Breakout Session. The session focused on helping real girls become strong,
resilient, action oriented “Gutsy Girls”. Every book on this list has been
read, and if too mature suggests it for HS use. Every book has a gutsy teen
girl as the lead character, in a secondary slot, or has a gutsy adult woman. We
define gutsy as a girl who is strong, resilient, and overcomes obstacles—or who
through the course of the book grows into these characteristics. We were picky
and precise—we will update as we come across other titles that would be
appropriate.
The documentaries are suitable for classroom use and move fast
enough to keep the attention of teenagers. All the organizations listed are
applicable to the title they are under, but may very well work for others as
well.
The culture books are broken out by region for ease of curriculum
connection. All the lessons and worksheets are intended for any educator to use
as they’d like. A full electronic copy of this document is available by email
from Amber@AmberKizer.com
Key:
?Documentaries, Movies, and Visual
Media (unless noted DVDs are from Netflix)
?Websites and Organization
that support this title/subject matter in some way
(#1) Indicates there is more
in this series, trilogy, or it has a companion novel
GUTSY GIRLS
ACROSS TIME AND GENRE
WORLD CULTURES:
A GIRL NAMED DISASTER Nancy
Farmer
Keywords:
Teen marriage, heritage, culture, survival, modern clash
CHILD OF DANELIONS Shenaaz
Nanji
Keywords:
Historical fiction,
OUR SECRET, SIRI AANG Christina Kessler
Keywords:
Endangered species, Masai, rites of passage, survival
?American
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals: ASPCA
www.ASPCA.org,
www.ASPCAeducation.org,
www.animaland.org
Lesson
plans, Community Outreach Tools, Classroom Connections
?World
Wildlife Fund
Youth
Volunteer Program
http://www.panda.org/how_you_can_help/volunteer/volunteer/
Girls’
Education Program
http://www.worldwildlife.org/what/communityaction/people/phe/women/girlsedu
cationprogram.html
?The
Lion Guardians Project http://lionguardians.wildlifedirect.org/
THE HEAVEN SHOP Deborah
Ellis
Keywords:
HIV/AIDS,
?(RED) www.JoinRed.com
Products to purchase—shoes to computers, coffee to concerts that directly
support anti-viral medication and education about HIV/AIDS in
?Keep A
Child Alive www.keepachildalive.org
Service
Learning Tool Kit, Lessons plans for teaching about HIV/AIDS in
Orphans,
organizations, ARV treatment, Stamp Out AIDS Fundraising Activities
?Alicia in
43 min. Hands down
one of the best videos with kids and teens orphaned by this
disease in conversation with Alicia Keys. Suggested for HS,
preview for MS
BEATRICE’S GOAT Page
McBrier
Keywords:
how one goat changed the life of one girl
?The
Heifer Project International www.heifer.org
Global
teaching resource kits for all grade levels
MY LIFE WITH THE CHIMPANZEES Jane
Goodall
Keywords:
memoir of life in
?Roots
and Shoots www.rootsandshoots.org
Club,
Campaigns. Environmental, Lessons for Hope, Networking
?Campaign
for Female Education (CAMFED) us.camfed.org
?Join my
Village www.joinmyvillage.com
Fighting
Poverty in
UNBOWED Wangari
Maathai
Keywords: Visionary, leadership, women
changing the world, Recommended HS
WAGARI’S TREES OF PEACE:
A TRUE STORY FROM
Keywords:
Beautiful, all level access to the Green Belt Tree Movement
?Taking Root: The Vision of Wangari Maathai www.TakingRootFilm.com
?The
Green Belt Movement www.greenbeltmovement.org
Free
downloadable Action Guide to planting a green belt in your neighborhood
BECOMING NAOMI LEÓN Pam
Muñoz Ryan
Keywords:
culture, foster/grandparents raising, art, finding a voice, reader’s guide
ESPERANZA RISING Pam
Muñoz Ryan
Keywords:
work camp in
FRIDA: ¡VIVA LA VIDA! Carmen
T. Bernier-Grand
Keywords:
biographical poems accompanied by artist’s own work
?The Life and Times of Frida Kahlo Rated NR 1
hr. 30 min. 2005
Recommended
for Mature HS audiences (or preview and show pieces)
RED GLASS Laura
Resau
Keywords:
immigration, journey to self-discovery
?Journey
North www.Learner.org/jnorth
Monarch
Butterfly Symbolic Migration from Mexican children to US children
Watch
spring arrive with tulips, follow whooping cranes, citizen science
WHAT THE MOON SAW Laura
Resau
Keywords:
discovering and accepting self, ancient traditions, magical realism
AFGHANISTAN/PAKISTAN/MIDDLE EAST
MY FORBIDDEN FACE:
GROWING UP UNDER THE TALIBAN Latifa
Keywords:
couldn’t leave the house for five years, loneliness, depression among
girls and
women, culture behind closed doors, living in fear
?The Beauty
Use for
the stories of girls and women who attend the school
SHABANU-DAUGHTER OF THE WIND Suzanne Fisher Staples
Keywords:
arranged marriage, being yourself, survival against all odds
SONGS OF LOVE AND WAR
AFGHAN WOMEN’S POETRY edited by
Sayd Bahodine Majrouh
Keywords: poems from Pashtun women in the form of Landays
THE BREADWINNER:
AN AFGHAN CHILD IN A WAR TORN LAND
(#1) Deborah Ellis
Keywords:
ruled by the Taliban, women’s rights, survival
THE STORY OF MY LIFE AN AFGHAN
GIRL ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE SKY Farah
Ahmedi and Tamin Ansary
Keywords:
land mine survivor, PTSD, using her voice, risking everything to get
the truth
out to the world
?
Daughters of
THREE WISHES Palestinian and
Israeli Children Speak Deborah
Ellis
Keywords:
kids affected by war, hope for the future, great list of organizations,
nonfiction
THREE CUPS OF TEA: YOUNG READERS
EDITION: ONE MAN’S JOURNEY TO CHANGE THE WORLD ONE CHILD AT A TIME
By Greg Mortenson & David Oliver Relin Adapted By Sarah Thomson
Keywords:
includes an interview and perspective of Amira Mortenson, daughter
of Greg
Mortenson. www.ThreeCupsofTea.com
[Stones into Schools: Promoting Peace with Books,
Not Bombs, in
and
?Pennies
for Peace www.penniesforpeace.org
Turning
Pennies into Schools—Toolkit
NEPAL/INDIA
HOMELESS BIRD Gloria
Whelan
Keywords:
arranged, marriage, tradition, survival, resilience
SOLD Patricia
McCormick
Keywords:
sex trade, verse novel, resilience, survival
?Know
Child Labor Knowchildlabor.org/educators
Lesson
plans, connections, resources, forums
?Free The
Children: Children Helping Children Through Education
Curriculum,
Action “WE” Day, Vow of Silence Nov. 20th, Youth in Action
?Room to
Read www.Roomtoread.org
Building
libraries for all children, promoting literacy and education for women/girls
ASIA-CHINA
RED
Keywords:
Canadian-Chinese girl in search of her roots travels to
RED SCARF GIRL:
A MEMOIR OF THE CULTURAL
REVOLUTION Ji-Li Jiang
Keywords:
Cultural Revolution, family, survival
ASIA-CAMBODIA
CHILDREN OF THE RIVER Linda Crew
Keywords:
1979, flee
Teen
Vogue November 2009
“Class
Act” Article about US Teen Fundraising for Free School in
?American
Assistance for
?Cambodia’s
Children Education Fund www.CambodianEducation.org
?Phnom
Tamao Wildlife Rescue Centre www.wildlifealliance.org
NONFICTION
?The Global Orphan Project
GIRLS WHO ROCKED THE WORLD-
HEROINES FROM SACAJAWEA TO SHERYL SWOOPES Amelie
Welden
GIRLS
WHO ROCKED THE WORLD 2
Keywords:
great examples of women
HALF THE SKY Nicholas D.
Kristof & Sheryl WuDunn
Subtitle:
Turning Oppression into
?The Oprah Winfrey Show 60 Min. 2009
http://www.oprah.com/dated/oprahshow/oprahshow-20090925-nicholas-kristof
?Women
for Women International www.WomenforWomen.org
?Care
Action Network www.can.care.org
QUILTING FOR PEACE Katherine
Bell
Keywords:
wonderful sewing/quilting organizations that help people all around the world
and how to get involved with these groups
WOMEN OF ACHIEVEMENT SERIES
CONTEMPORARY AND HISTORIC FIGURES
ACROSS ALL SUBJECTS
http://chelseahouse.infobasepublishing.com/BookList.asp?pageID=2&gradeType=2&seriesISBN=138491
DK Biography Series A Photographic
Story of a Life
Series
includes: Marie Curie, Annie Oakley, Mother Teresa, Amelia Earhart, Laura
Ingalls Wilder, Abigail Adams, Helen Keller, Harriet Tubman, Eleanor Roosevelt
and more. [Fantastic for MS
classrooms/libraries]
WRITERS/WRITING
AUTHOR TALK Edited
by Leonard S. Marcus
Keywords:
conversations with fifteen authors of children’s and YA work
THE ASPIRING WRITER’S JOURNAL Susie Morgentstern
THE WAND IN THE WORD:
CONVERSATIONS WITH WRITERS OF FANTASY
Edited
by Leonard S. Marcus
Keywords:
great photographs of drafts with edit marks and early writings
THE WRITER’S BRUSH Donald
Friedman
Keywords:
paintings, drawings and sculpture by writers
WHAT IT IS Lynda
Barry
Keywords:
visual inspiration for the writing craft
WRITING MAGIC: CREATING STORIES
THAT FLY Gail Carson Levine
?To Write
a Gutsy Girl— www.Ywp.nanowrimo.org
Young
Writers Program as part of National Novel Writing Month
Word
games, Dare writing challenges, downloadable novel workbooks
HOW TO
DARE TO REPAIR Julie
Sussman & Stephanie Glakas-Tenet
Keywords: home repair in easy to understand steps and
pictures developed by two
CIA wives who by sheer necessity were the fixers
FOR GIRLS ONLY EVERYTHING GREAT ABOUT BEING A GIRL Laura Dower
Keywords: advice and activities, Includes bios of women who
pioneered
INDIE GIRL
Arne Johnson and Karen Macklin
Keywords: starting a band to launching a fashion company,
nine ways to turn
creative talent into reality
THE BIG BOOK OF GIRL STUFF Bart
King & His 5 Sisters
Keywords: young MS audience, bodies to sports, worst case
scenarios, pop
culture
THE DOUBLE DARING BOOK FOR GIRLS Andrea J. Buchanan &
Miriam Peskowitz
Keywords: stargazing to notable women, crafts to becoming
President
THE GIRLS GUIDE TO ROCKING: HOW TO
START A BAND, BOOK GIGS, AND GET ROLLING TO ROCK STARDOM Jessica Hopper
Keywords:
history of women in rock, step by step for getting started
?Tween Girl Summit http://www.tweensummit.com/about.php
Sponsored by AllyKattz.com, the Tween Girl Social
Networking Site
NONFICTION-SPORTS
IN THESE GIRLS, HOPE IS A MUSCLE Madeleine
Blais
Keywords:
HS basketball team profiled for one year, girls in sport
?The Heart of the Game PG-13 2005
HOOP
Keywords:
Poems and artwork about twelve current basketball sheroes
Other
Athletic Organizations:
?African
Sports Outreach www.asointernational.org
?Right
to Play (Johann Olav Kass) www.righttoplay.com
NONFICTION-MATH
MATH DOESN’T SUCK/KISS MY MATH Danica
McKellar
Keywords:
great how to books with explanations and examples, role model
MEMOIR/BIOGRAPHY
Keywords:
fantastic all ages introduction to Ms. Stanton and suffragettes
EMERGENCE: LABELED AUTISTIC
Keywords: growing up autistic before it was understood or
acknowledged
?Autism The
Musical (HBO) Rated NR 2007
EMILY DICKINSON A BIOGRAPHY Milton Meltzer
Keywords:
her words, poems, documents and photographs
[This
author has many nonfiction titles about gutsy women]
EVERYTHING I NEEDED TO KNOW ABOUT
BEING A GIRL
I LEARNED FROM JUDY BLUME edited
by Jennifer O’Connell
Keywords:
essays from 24 women writers
I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BIRD SINGS (#1) Maya Angelou
Keywords:
growing up in
MY LIFE IN
Keywords:
self-actualizing, use of French language, cooking
?Julia Child:
NOT FOR OURSELVES ALONE: THE STORY
OF
AND SUSAN B. ANTHONY Geoffrey C. Ward and Ken
Burns
Keywords:
Companion volume to the PBS documentary with photographs,
written words
and letters
?Elizabeth Cady Stanton & Susan B. Anthony Rated NR 3
hrs. 30 min. 1999
[See also
Pamela Loos biography in Women in Achievement series for MS
readers]
RACHEL CARSON Ellen
Levine
Keywords:
role model, naturalist, science
SILENT SPRING 40TH
ANNIVERSARY EDITION Rachel
Carson
Keywords:
one book that changed the world
?Rachel
THE SENSE OF WONDER Rachel
Carson/Charles Pratt
Keywords:
sharing nature with kids, reprint edition has photographs by Kelsh
THREE LITTLE WORDS: A MEMOIR Ashley
Rhodes-Courter
Keywords:
foster care, adoption, child welfare, speak up and speaking out
WE SPEAK YOUR NAMES: A CELEBRATION
Keywords:
verse from Pearl Cleage and short bios of influential African-American women
HISTORICAL
A COMPANY OF SWANS Eva
Ibbotson
Keywords:
joins a traveling ballet corps to dance in the Amazon, 1912
? Ballets Russes 1 hr 58 min. 2005
Documentary about Russian Refugees who traveled and danced
in the early 20th century (girls ages 12-14)
BLOODY JACK (#1)
Keywords:
girl impersonates boy, becomes sailor, gets off the streets of 18th
century
FEVER 1793 Laurie
Halse
Keywords:
yellow fever epidemic,
MISS CRANDALL’S SCHOOL FOR YOUNG
LADIES AND LITTLE MISSES OF COLOR Elizabeth
Alexander and Marilyn Nelson
Keywords: verse with illustrations about Prudence
Crandall’s real school
MISS SPITFIRE: REACHING HELEN
KELLER Sarah
Miller
Keywords:
Annie Sullivan, teacher, well researched, inspirational
NAYA NUKI: SHOSHONI GIRL WHO RAN Kenneth Thomasma
Keywords:
escape, survival, authentic, 1801,
?Information
and resources about Indigenous cultures of the
THE TRUE CONFESSIONS OF CHARLOTTE
DOYLE Avi
Keywords:
refined young lady goes from passenger to sailor to right an injustice
THE RUBY IN THE SMOKE (#1) Phillip
Pullman
Keywords:
Victorian
THE SURRENDER TREE: POEMS OF
AMERICAN REVOLUTION
CHAINS Laurie
Halse Anderson
Keywords:
the American Revolution from a female slave’s perspective
?Africans in
Two disks,
4 hrs total with individual episodes Rated NR 1998
Keywords:
Fantastic look at
how it was brought into law slowly, the Civil War through
Civil Rights fight in the
1960s
SOLDIER’S SECRET: THE STORY OF
DEBORAH SAMPSON Sheila Klass
Keywords:
based on real woman who disguised herself and fought in the
American
Revolution
AMERICAN CIVIL WAR
I’LL PASS FOR YOUR COMRADE:
WOMEN SOLDIERS IN THE CIVIL WAR Anita Silvey
Keywords:
Women who disguised themselves as men to fight on both sides
WORLD WAR II/SPANISH CIVIL WAR
FLYGIRL Sherri
L. Smith
Keywords:
historical fiction about an African American girl who passes as a
white
woman to follow her dreams to fly for the WASP, brings into play the
struggles
of race during the war and being a woman
?Fly Girls The American Experience Rated NR
50 min. (1999)
?Into the Fire: American Women in the Spanish
Civil War Rated NR, 58 Min. (2002) Keywords: Nurses, writers, and activists who
went to
THE HOLOCAUST
ANNE FRANK REMEMBERED: THE STORY OF THE WOMAN WHO
HELPED HIDE THE FRANK FAMILY Miep Gies and Alison Leslie
Gold
Keywords:
friend who helped them hide in the attic, provided for them and who
saved
Anne’s words for Otto when he returned
?Anne Frank Remembered Rated PG 1 hr. 57 min.
(1995)
?Secret Lives: Hidden Children and Their Rescuers During
WWII
Rated NR 1 hr. 12 min. 2003
NUMBER THE STARS Lois
Lowry
?Children
for Children Grow Involved Classroom Kit for Grade 6:
NUMBER
THE STARS www.ChildrenforChildren.org
?Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the
Kindertransport
Rated PG 1
hr. 57 min. 2000 Keywords: Good overview of the rise of Hitler,
Kristallnacht as an awakening for some in the Jewish
community, and children who were sent to
I HAVE LIVED A THOUSAND YEARS:
GROWING UP IN THE HOLOCAUST Livia
Britton Jackson
THE BOOK THIEF Marcus
Zusak
Keywords:
death as narrator, WWII, Nazi Germany, friendship, family Recommended HS
THE DEVIL’S ARITHMETIC Jane
Yolen
Keywords:
entitled, out-of-touch American teen time travels to become one of
her
ancestors in a concentration camp
?The Devil’s Arithmetic 101 min. Unrated [MS
appropriate]
SHORT FICTION
13 edited
by James Howe
Keywords:
thirteen stories, and memories, from popular YA authors about being thirteen
BLACK JUICE Margo
Lanagan
GRL2GRL Julie
Anne Peters
Keywords:
LGBTQ, love of self and others
HOW THEY MET AND OTHER STORIES David
Levithan
RED SPIKES Margo Lanagan
SHINING ON: 11 STAR AUTHORS’
ILLUMINATING STORIES
Foreword
by Lois Lowry
Keywords:
overcoming obstacles and self discovery
LGBTQ
BLACK LIKE US: A CENTURY OF
LESBIAN, GAY,
AND BISEXUAL AFRICAN AMERICAN FICTION Edited by:
Dwight A McBride, and Donald Weise
Keywords:
collection of essays, short fiction and novel excerpts from African
American
LGBTQ writers from 1900-2000
DOWN TO THE BONE Mayra
Lazara Dole
Keywords:
outed as a tortillera by nun at catholic school, kicked out of house,
finds
herself and a new kind of family who accept her and love her
EMPRESS OF THE WORLD Sara
Ryan
KISSING KATE Lauren
Myracle
Keywords:
falling in love with best friend, self acceptance, surrounding self with
people
who genuinely care about you
LUNA Julie
Anne Peters
Keywords:
transgender Girl, sibling and parent relationships, self-acceptance
?PFLAG.org
http://community.pflag.org/Page.aspx?pid=1011
[Safe
Schools: Cultivating Respect] 10 Ways to Make Your School Safer for
Everyone
REALISTIC FICTION
Keywords:
A girl raising herself, drawing boundaries, independence, survival
AFTER TUPAC & D FOSTER Jacqueline
Woodson
Keywords:
Friendship, foster family, lyrics, authentic language, urban
ALONG FOR THE RIDE Sarah
Dessen
Keywords:
Search for self, smart, why do girls have to choose
ARE YOU ALONE ON PURPOSE? Nancy
Werlin
Keywords:
Bullying, Autism, Paralysis, Love
BEFORE I DIE Jenny
Downham
Keywords:
facing mortality, finding self in most difficult of times
CARPE DIEM Autumn
Cornwell
Keywords:
S.E.
COFFEE WILL MAKE YOU BLACK April
Sinclair
Keywords:
growing up black in 1960s, sexuality, equality, race
Keywords:
Quinceñero for an American girl with Cuban roots, heritage, culture, family
dynamics
DEFINE
Keywords:
clinical depression, peer counseling, raising siblings, music
?Half of
Us www.Halfofus.com Mental Health information and outreach
?Indaba
Music www.Indabamusic.com
Online international music
community—matching
musicians all over the world to jam and
create music
together
HOOT Carl
Hiassen
Keywords:
Environment, exploration, being true to self
JUST LISTEN Sarah
Dessen
Keywords:
sexual assault, eating disorders, sibling relationships, music
LIVING DEAD GIRL Elizabeth
Scott
Keywords:
Abducted and abused teen makes the ultimate sacrifice to keep
another
girl from taking her place, Recommended HS,
?Perverted
Justice (Nonprofit Grass Roots Organization that Watchdogs Pedophiles)
MY ONE HUNDRED ADVENTURES Polly
Horvath
Keywords:
making the most of little things, self-awareness
ONE BUTT CHEEK AT A TIME (#1) Amber
Kizer
Keywords:
frank, funny, what girls are really thinking, puberty
PEACHES (#1) Jodi
Lynn Anderson
Keywords:
friendship, transitioning from girl to young woman, summer
POP! Aury
Wallington
Keywords:
friendship, love, sexual choices, self-esteem
QUAKING Kathryn
Erskine
Keywords:
Quakers, foster care, abuse, finding voice
SKUNK GIRL
Keywords:
Pakistani American, culture clash, Recommended HS
SO B. IT Sarah
Weeks
Keywords:
mentally challenged mother, search for past, finding oneself
?People
Magazine October 5, 2009 Real Life Example
SPEAK Laurie
Halse Anderson
Keywords:
date rape/abuse, peer pressure, finding voice
?SPEAK Rated PG-13
93 min. 2004 (Starring TWILIGHT’S Kristen Stewart)
?Love
is Respect www.LoveisRespect.org
National
Teen Dating Abuse Helpline, Get Help, Get Educated, Help someone
STARGIRL Jerry
Spinelli
Keywords:
nonconformity, first love, challenging view of popularity
TEN THINGS I HATE ABOUT ME Randa
Abdel-Fattah
Keywords:
growing up Muslim in
generations
and cultures, having immigrant parents
?Campaign
for Real Beauty www.Campaignforrealbeauty.com
Add to
the real beauty wall—what makes you beautiful? Online workshops to build girls’
self esteem, enter UPCs from Dove products and $1.00 is donated to self esteem
programs
?Kind
Campaign Take a pledge to be kind,
apologize, resource list and booklist
?Findingkind: Kind Campaign Coming Soon!
THE SKIN I’M IN Sharon G. Flake
Keywords:
beauty in all colors, finding voice, self-acceptance
WHAT MY MOTHER DOESN’T KNOW Sonya Sones
Keywords:
verse Novel, relationships, following your heart, peer pressure
?Outreach
Teen and Family Services www.OutreachTeen.org
WHEREVER NINA LIES Lynn
Weingarten
Keywords:
girl searches for and finds missing sister
PARANORMAL/SUPERNATURAL/DYSTOPIAN/MYTH
A GREAT AND TERRIBLE BEAUTY (#1) Libba Bray
Keywords:
girls’ school, entering another world through magic, changing fate
CITY OF
Keywords:
magic, vampires, Shadow Hunters, werewolves
EYES LIKE STARS: (The Theatre
Illuminata: Act 1) Lisa
Mantchev
GENERATION DEAD (#1) Daniel
Waters
Keywords:
zombies as “living impaired,” a society with bigotry and racism
GHOSTGIRL (#1) Tonya
Hurley
Keywords:
learning continues even after death, being popular isn’t enough
GLASS HOUSES (Morganville Vampires
#1) Rachel
Caine
Keywords:
vampires, ghosts, college town run by opposing factions
LIFE AS WE KNEW IT (#1) Susan
Beth Pfeffer
MARKED (#1) P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast
Keywords:
Girl who shepherds souls to the
afterlife, good versus evil
NEED (#1) Carrie
Jones
Keywords:
faeries, family relationships, magic politics
NIGHTWORLD L.J.
Smith
Keywords:
dying of cancer only way out to become a Vampire, love story
Keywords: historical details about slavery in
SABRIEL (Abhorsen Triology #1) Garth Nix
TERRIER (Beka Cooper #1) Tamora
Pierce
THE ADORATION OF JENNA FOX Mary
E. Pearson
Keywords:
dystopia, memories, ethics, the future of science
THE GOLDEN COMPASS (Dark Materials
#1) Phillip
Pullman
THE HUNGER GAMES (#1) Suzanne
Collins
Keywords:
future, dystopia, family, friendship, survival
THE SECRET HOUR (Midnighters
Trilogy #1) Scott
Westerfeld
THE
THE WHALE RIDER Witi
Ihimaera
Keywords:
myth, whales, Maori culture in a modern world
UGLIES (#1) Scott
Westerfeld
UNWIND Neal
Shusterman
Keywords:
teens who don’t live up to expectations become complete body donors and are
recycled
VALIANT Holly
Black
WAKE (#1) Lisa McCann
Keywords:
Girl who dream walks, uses her talents to help the police, love story
WICKED LOVELY (#1) Melissa
Marr
POETRY
100 ESSENTIAL MODERN POEMS BY WOMEN Edited by Joseph Parisi and
Kathleen Welton
Keywords:
48 Great Women Poets over 150 years of poetry
CORETTA SCOTT Poetry by Ntozake Shange with
Paintings by Kadir Nelson
Keywords:
Coretta Scott King’s journey in verse
MORE SPICE THAN SUGAR: POEMS ABOUT
FIESTY FEMALES
Compiled
by Lillian Morrison
Keywords:
poems that rebel against “girls can’t do that!”
PHENOMENAL WOMAN: FOUR POEMS
CELEBRATING WOMEN
Maya Angelou
POEMS FROM THE WOMEN’S MOVEMENT edited by Honor Moore
Keywords:
women poets who altered poetry in between 1966 and 1982
THE COMPLETE COLLECTED POEMS OF
MAYA ANGELOU Maya Angelou
GRAPHIC NOVELS/MANGA
ALITA BATTLE ANGEL (#1) Yukito
Kishiro
Keywords:
set in the future, girl protects innocents
CHIBI VAMPIRE (#1) Yuna
Kagesaki
Keywords:
vampire who sucks despair and misery, making people happy
CLAYMORE (#1) SHONEN JUMP ADVANCED Norihiro
Yagi
Keywords:
monster slayer who learns how to keep her humanity
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
?NEW MOON GIRLS Magazine for girls by girls ages 8-15 www.NewMoon.com
?The Giraffe Project www.Giraffe.org
Stories
of real people changing the world, service learning curriculum
?Children for Children www.childrenforchildren.org
Events,
lesson plans for all grade levels—novels taught with service learning
components—free downloads
?Kids for Community is a free
search engine of service learning opportunities
?Students in Service to
?National Service Learning
Clearinghouse www.servicelearning.org
Assist
with materials, referrals, information and references to those interested in
setting up a program, volunteering or finding an existing program
?Global Youth Service Day [Typically in April] www.ysa.org
?Netsmartz.org www.netsmartz.org
Interactive website for parents, teachers, and youth
about
internet safety
?Girls Inc. –Celebrating Girls’
Voices since 1864 www.GirlsInc.org
?Seventeen Magazine Body Peace
Project
Sign the
body peace treaty (matching one for moms), watch videos about body peace
breakthroughs from celebs and real girls, upload your own video
www.Seventeen.com/breakthrough
?Love Our Children USA “Stomp Out
Bullying” www.loveourchildrenusa.org/StompOutBullying
?ABC News “Person of the Week”
archive http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/PersonOfWeek/
?NBC News “Making a Difference” http://www.msnbc.msn.com
ACTION IDEAS
?Pen-Pal matching students ages
8-23 with international pen pals who want to correspond in English (Free for US
students to register)
http://www.pen-pal.com/student.php
?www.Glogster.com What should I do on Glogster? Glogster is
a revolutionary way of expressing your mood, feelings and ideas, and it goes
miles beyond text or video! Creating a Glog lets you express all those things
you haven’t been able to describe by words. It opens the door to a whole new
world of communication – just choose a background, throw in some shapes and
characters from our galleries, add text, your own videos or photos and perhaps
a pinch of music and there it is! In just a few minutes, you can make a digital
poster, a colorful medley of ideas, reflecting your own special style.
?National History Day www.nationalhistoryday.org
?Model United Nations http://www.worldmun.org/home
?Ancestry.com
Host a Gutsy
Invite
female students to bring a family member or friend, include staff. Ask them to
bring a book that embodies being “Gutsy” and what that means. Have
conversations in small groups or large about the love of books. Compile a list
of all the suggested books and email it to attendees. (Host a Boy Book Event in
the same vein)
Host a Women’s Book Club:
Include
female students with family member of their choice. Read books by
women and
about women. Organize an activity or outing that correlates with the
theme of
the books.
GUTSY GIRL WRITING
ASSIGNMENT
You are writing an article for
Seventeen magazine to tell the world about a gutsy girl and nominate her for
the National Book-it Prize. Using a character from your book, describe the
events that made your girl gutsy. Be sure to include your definition of a gutsy
girl, the book title/author and examples from the book to support your
nomination.
CLASSROOM CONNECTIONS:
Teachers, make a menu of these ideas. Allow kids to mix and match. I have used many of these as choices for book
sharing. The most value comes from the
presentation in class that encourages other kids to read the books!
1) Write a resume
for a gutsy girl character from your book.
Include a cover letter applying for a job.
2) Design a yearbook
page for your main character(s).
3) Write a facebook
quiz about your gutsy girl.
4) Write a letter to
the editor in character about an issue or situation raised in your book.
5) Create a new book
cover using original art and writing your own tease for the back of the book
jacket.
6) Create a time
capsule for your character using information you learned about the character
and adding information that might be necessary to know.
7) Write a short
story of your own detailing an event in the book from another point of view.
8) Write and draw a
short, graphic version of the main events from this book.
9) Pretend you found
the character's journal. Write 5-10
journal entries to explain events in the book.
10) Design new
business cards for your main characters.
11) Design a glog
page to celebrate this book.
12) Design a
commemorative stamp for your gutsy girl, a scene, or theme.
Include a picture, a phrase or quotation, and the stamp's
value.
13) Create a story
map, using highs and lows of the action.
Make a theme for your map and have all parts relate to it.
14) Write a one page
paper on a topic that you wanted to know more about after reading your book.
15) Write a personal
ad for your characters to be posted online.
Student
Name:
Date:
Journal Prompts
Directions: Using the following prompts write the answers
in your journal.
The book I’m reading is called:
The first word that comes to mind
about this story is… Tell why…
I have learned…
I wonder…
I like how the main character…
I don’t like how the main
character…
I’m surprised by…
This reminds me of…
I don’t understand…
I notice the author…
I wish this story… I wish the
author…
I realized…
I believe…
If I were in this situation, I
would…
I am confused by this part…
If I sat down with this author,
I’d ask these questions…
If I sat down with this character,
I’d ask these questions…
A word I didn’t know is… and it
means…
This page of the book felt very
significant to me…
These characters are motivated by…
They hope for…
Middle/South
DUE
DATE___________________________
____1) Choose a book that is connected to any of the
countries in Middle or
____2) Read the book over the next two weeks.
____3) Write a letter to me, from the perspective of
main character from the book.
Highlight an event from the
beginning, the middle, and the end of your book. Write about the main conflict
in the book. Have your character discuss what his/her biggest problem was and how
he/she solved the problem. Use details from the text, quotes from the story,
and good paragraph structure to write your letter. Take it through the writing process to
publish a 1-2 page letter, written in black ink or typed. Use great VOICE to be the character as you
write. Letters will be scored for content (voice), ideas and organization, and
conventions.
____4) Create a story poster
about an important event or topic in your book. Design and illustrate the poster and include a
border that represents something significant in your book. Use a quotation from
the book that best fits your illustration or scene and write it neatly on the
poster. On the back of the poster, write a good paragraph to explain your
choices for the illustrations, quote, design and border. Get the paper from me!
We will use 12” X 18” size. Posters will be scored as excellent, satisfactory
or needs work.
____5) Bring your book to class
on the due date and be prepared to write in class about your book.
African Book Project
Name
______________________________
Book title and author
______________________________________________
Vocabulary: Choose 10 words that
are either unknown to you or that you find interesting. Include the page number and copy the sentence
in which the word was found. Finally,
give a context definition of each word.
(10 points)
*You
can get 5 extra credit points for doing 5 more words.
Passages: Choose 5 passages from
your book that illustrate the culture. Include the quote, the page number and
your comments/reaction/text connections. (10 points)
Letter: Write a letter to the author of your book, sharing your reaction to
the story. Talk about the parts you
really liked and/or didn’t like, tell about your favorite character and why,
tell what parts of the book were hard to understand or completely unknown
before
you read this book. Tell if you
like the ending and explain why or why not. You could include any other
thoughts you have about the book. This should be about one page. Make it an updraft! (20 points)
Article: Find an article online,
in a newspaper or a magazine that tells of a current event in the country your
book was set in. Write a 2 paragraph
paper. In the first paragraph summarize
the article. In the second paragraph
tell how this particular event would have affected the main character of your
story had the event happened at the time your story took place. Attach the
article or a copy of it to the paper. (10 points)
Student Name:
Date:
Choose your own vocabulary!
Book
Title:___________________________________
Directions:
Pick 10 new-to-you, or interesting, words from the book you’re reading. Write
down the page number and the word, then give the definition.
WORD and PAGE NUMBER DEFINITION
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Student
Name:
Date:
Fifteen
Fantastic Titles
Directions: As you read, consider
the main ideas covered in that chapter. Now rename each chapter with a title
that best describes what happens!
Book
Title:_________________________________________________
Chapter
1.________________________________________________
Chapter 2.
________________________________________________
Chapter 3.
________________________________________________
Chapter 4.
________________________________________________
Chapter 5.
________________________________________________
Chapter 6.
________________________________________________
Chapter 7. ________________________________________________
Chapter 8.
________________________________________________
Chapter 9.
________________________________________________
Chapter 10.
________________________________________________
Chapter 11.
________________________________________________
Chapter 12.
________________________________________________
Chapter 13.
________________________________________________
Chapter 14.
________________________________________________
Chapter 15.
________________________________________________
Questions for
Reflection
Your Name:___________________________
Title of the Book:___________________________________________________
The Author’s Name:________________________________________________
Title of the
Book:_______________________________________ Student
Name:
Date/Period:
Directions for using Text
Connection/Reaction Sheet: As you read, find a meaningful quote in the book,
list page and paragraph, and write why you chose that quote
|
Page, Paragraph |
Quote |
Text Connections/Comments |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Student Name:
Date:
|
Characters: And Setting: |
Story
Map Based on Story Structure
Title of the
book:____________________________________________
|
Goal: |
|
Problem: |
|
Event: |
|
Event: |
|
Event: |
|
Resolution: |
An interview with author Amber Kizer
How old were you when you wrote your first story? What was
it about?
I am not
one of those writers who points to something they doodled in kindergarten and
says, “See, I was a writer from the beginning!” I came to writing in my 20s
when I was diagnosed with a rare nerve disorder that affects my legs. With all
sorts of symptoms, terrible pain and erratic usability, I needed to find a
career I could do on the bad days too—or at 3AM, or from the couch. I studied
the craft and worked hard. ONE BUTT CHEEK AT A TIME starts the Gert Garibaldi
series and is realistic teen fiction.
Okay, what’s with the title? Is ONE BUTT CHEEK AT A TIME
just a gimmick title for shock value?
I
have to admit I’ve gotten scandalized looks and raised eyebrows when I’m asked
about the title of this book. Personally, I love the title because it
completely characterizes the star’s philosophy of life. Gert Garibaldi thinks
putting one foot in front of the other is discriminatory against people without
feet—but everyone has a butt. So, she puts her jeans on one butt cheek at a
time. It’s a testament to taking life as it comes and breaking it down into the
parts. She’s quirky and opinionated and I think that comes through in the
title. However, if the word “butt” offends you—you won’t like the content in
the book, so don’t read it.
Are these books autobiographical?
I laugh every time I’m asked this question. No, I didn’t
just change my name to Gert and publish my journal from high school. Among
other things, I’m not nearly as interesting or funny as Gert. My high school
experiences play a part of me as the writer and there are themes I feel deeply
like—I hated three of the four years—in fact, hate might not even be a strong
enough word—torture, insecurity, flailing—I did a lot of flailing about. But
this isn’t a book that will one day show up in the memoir section of your local
bookstore.
And
I’m certainly not part angel, but the origins of
The
biggest theme I write about is characters finding comfort and strength in
themselves—that whole idea of getting to know yourself and your needs.
What or who do you consider a “Gutsy Girl?”
For
me being gutsy means being strong when you feel weak, doing the right thing
even when it’s a million times more difficult than taking an easy out, and
always getting back up. Strength. Overcoming obstacles. Resilience.
Being
gutsy doesn’t mean you’re marching on
But I
think we all need ideals—we all need role models, which is why this Gutsy Girl
packet is so important to me. For me Miep Gies, the woman who hid Anne Frank,
and others like her who did amazing things during the Holocaust with nothing
but hope, epitomize this. Maya Angelou overcame incredible obstacles to have
incredible adventures and spirit and then write about it so eloquently. Wangari
Maathai who did what women in her country needed—who gave ordinary women the
support they needed to change their world. Mother Teresa who tended those no
one would. Gutsy Girls in real life are all around us—now we need to celebrate
them. We need to emancipate their stories. We need them to become the norm.
In ONE BUTT CHEEK AT A TIME, Gert’s best friend, Adam is
gay—why? And are you worried people will assume you’re gay because you include
it?
Just like
Gert came to me fully formed like being introduced to a new friend, so did Adam.
The same way I knew he was a boy and her best friend, I knew he was gay. That’s
who he is, so that’s who he is in the book. I don’t think homosexuality is a
choice and I hope that comes through—this is his life and he’s learning how to
be in it.
*Laughing*
No, I’m not worried about people thinking I’m gay. Those same people think
Stephen King is a serial killer and Anne Rice a vampire!
But
I do think teens need characters in books they can relate to and being gay or
questioning or transgender is one of the last acceptable frontiers of bigotry
in our culture. (That’s not to say it’s the only form of discrimination.) It’s
seen as okay to be demeaning or degrading and it’s not. There’s nothing okay
about it. So I think books with teens who are LBGQT or teens who are accepting
and supportive—that’s huge. That makes the world a much less lonely place and
isn’t that what books are for?
What kind of books do you read?
I read
almost everything. I haven’t delved too deeply into fantasy, computer
programming, or math theory. Anything else is fair game. I tend to read about
fifteen books at a time. It’s weird, I know. But until I get thoroughly hooked
or about half way through a book I get antsy—there are too many good books in
the world to read one at a time. J If I get a hundred pages into a book and there isn’t one
teensy piece that keeps me going, I stop reading it. People who feel the
compulsion to keep reading until the end, regardless of whether they’re
enjoying it, baffle me. I find my best
books when I just wander without an agenda. Don’t limit yourself to a section
of the library or store. I post my favorites in my email newsletter and on my
website—those books I can’t stop talking about.
What advice do you have for writers?
If
you told me you wanted to be a concert pianist, I’d ask you how many hours a
day you practice—writing is a craft, it takes time and effort and practice. So
if you tell me you’ve always wanted to write a book, I’m going to tell you to
practice. Write. Period.
For more visit www.OneButtCheek.com,
www.AmberKizer.com,
www.MeridianSozu.com,
FB
Presenter Bios:
Rachel Kizer
Rachel Kizer is a lifelong reader whose first book memories include a
small town Carnegie Library and that unique smell of the stacks. Twenty years
of Middle School teaching and still an eternal optimist, she greets each new
class of seventh graders with a smile, preferring the kids who bring challenges
with them each day. She has a passion for learning and inspires her students to
read by carefully matching titles with their interests. This takes a large
personal classroom library, a thirst for ideas, and an uncanny ability to
listen to what the kids don’t say. She measures her accomplishments by those
daily “aha” moments and a drawer of sweet thank you notes from students. With degrees
from
Amber Kizer
Amber
Kizer is addicted to trashy reality television, sour candy, loud pop music and
the scent of fresh lilies. MERIDIAN (Aug. 2009 Delacorte Press/Random House)
chronicles the struggles of a girl who is the window to the afterlife for dying
souls. Like the character of Auntie in
Her debut
novel ONE BUTT CHEEK AT A TIME was included in the prestigious NYPL Best Books
for the Teen Age 2008 list. It follows the realistic trials and tribulations of
a high school sophomore trying to find her voice. MERDIAN has been translated
in German, Spanish, Turkish and will be available in
She has
toured nationally and appeared on television and radio. She loves visiting
schools and book clubs. Her official website is www.AmberKizer.com
and more about