We don't do stars...
We don't do thumbs...
We read children's books and grade them in 10 categories:
literary quality
plot
voice
originality
descriptive ability
humor (if attempted)
illustrations (if present)
believability of characters
believability of situations
overall reading enjoyment

There is no grading curve. There are no points for classroom participation. There is no extra credit.
If you disagree, come speak to us after class.

The Grading System

A+.....this means (guess what) we think it's great. So great it surprised even us.
A.....this means it's pretty darn good. A book we'd recommend to just about everyone we know.
B.....better than most. Not exactly Shakespeare for kids, though, if you get our drift.
C.....mediocre. Like the color beige, it didn't stand out.
D.....we didn't like it. There were more bad aspects than good ones.
F.....it reeked of badness. We read it over and over when we are in dire need of hysterical laughter.
F-.....We're pretty sure Dante had a circle of hell for the people who wrote these...and a lower circle for those who published them.

Sunday, May 3, 2009

What should I read? Help me!

I'm having a hard time finding new books (published in 2009) that meet the following criteria:
1) I haven't read it already!
2) It's YA or Middle Grade
3) My library system actually has a copy!
Either way, I seem to be having a hard time finding any lists of new books, so until I can get to a big bookstore...can anyone recommend good titles?
Please?
And does anyone know any sites that list new releases? I've kind of gotten stuck looking at Newbery and Printz prediction sites, most of which don't really get buzzing until later in the year.
Posted by at

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Have you seen the 2009 Debutantes site? It is a group/list of authors whose books are coming out in 2009. Maybe there's some out that you haven't seen yet! Here's the address: http://community.livejournal.com/debut2009

May 3, 2009 at 5:46 PM
Rosanne Parry, co-pres., Class of 2K9 said...

Another source for debuting books is the Class of 2K9 at https://www.classof2K9.com. It's 22 MG and YA novels along with extras like book club kits and study questions for librarians, teachers and booksellers. There will be a Class of 2K10 next year so come back to the website throughout the year. We'll have some contests and giveaways and we'll link to the new Class of 2K10 at the end of the year.

May 4, 2009 at 1:22 PM
Faith said...

Thank you!!! I've checked out the sites, and already discovered several titles I'm anxious to read--currently on request at my library. And it's so nice to see what will be coming out in future months.

May 4, 2009 at 2:20 PM

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