YALSA Announces 2016 Great Graphic Novels for Teens List

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Full list here: http://www.ala.org/yalsa/2016-great-graphic-novels-teens

The American Library Association‘s (ALA’s) Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) has announced its 2016 Great Graphic Novels for Teens list.

Designed to aid Young Adult librarians with graphic novel collections, the list presents graphic novels published in the past 16 months, selected for proven or potential appeal to the personal reading tastes of teens. Additionally, the Great Graphic Novels for Teens Committee has chosen a Top Ten list from the 112 titles which they feel “meet the criteria of both good quality literature and appealing reading for teens,” drawn from 170 official nominations.

The list encompasses a wide variety of genres and subjects, from offbeat superheroes, to mysterious villainous sidekicks, middle school drama, roller derby, and an examination of Hurricane Katrina’s aftermath. “We drew from a record number of nominations and ended up with a selection of quality graphic novels from all sorts of genres, perspectives, and cultures,” Great Graphic Novels for Teens Committee Chair Jason M. Poole was quoted as saying in the official press release.

Additionally, a number of graphic novels were included in YALSA’s Youth Media Awards and other reading lists, which can be found here.

Presented here is a spotlight on the YALSA Great Graphic Novels for Teens Top Ten titles, with the full list below:

Awkward By: Svetlana Chmakova Publisher: Yen Press Format: Hardcover/Softcover, 6 x 9, 192 pages, Black and White, $24.00/$13.00 ISBN: HC: 978-0-31638-132-1/SC: 978-0-31638-130-7 Penelope – Peppi – Torres, a shy new transfer student, wants nothing more than to fit in and find a place among her fellow artistically inclined souls. The last thing she wants is to stand out. So when she bumps – literally – into quiet, geeky, friendly but friendless Jamie Thompson, and is teased as the “Nerder’s Girlfriend,” Peppi’s first embarrassed instinct is to push him away and run. Though she later feels guilty and wants desperately to apologize for the incident, Peppi always ends up chickening out. She has no reason to speak to him, anyway, until she ends up bumping – figuratively and continually – into Jamie again! Will these two opposites ever see eye-to-eye, let alone become friends? Awkward also made YALSA’s 2016 Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers list
	Drowned City: Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans By: Don Brown Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Format: Hardcover, 6.5 x 10.25, 96 pages, Full Color, $18.99 ISBN: 978-0-54415-777-4 On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina’s monstrous winds and surging water overwhelmed the protective levees around low-lying New Orleans, Louisiana. Eighty percent of the city flooded, in some places under twenty feet of water. Property damages across the Gulf Coast topped $100 billion. One thousand eight hundred and thirty-three people lost their lives. The riveting tale of this historic storm and the drowning of an American city is one of selflessness, heroism, and courage—and also of incompetence, racism, and criminality. Drowned City: Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans was also named a Robert F. Sibert Honor Book for “most distinguished informational book for children”
Lumberjanes Volume 1 Lumberjanes Volume 2 By: Noelle Stevenson, Grace Ellis, Brooke Allen Publisher: BOOM! Studios Format: Softcover, 7 x 10, 128 pages, Full Color, $14.99 ISBN: Volume 1: 978-1-60886-687-8; Volume 2: 978-1-60886-737-0 At Miss Qiunzella Thiskwin Penniquiqul Thistle Crumpet’s Camp for Hardcore Lady Types, things are not what they seem. Three-eyed foxes. Secret caves. Anagrams! Luckily, Jo, April, Mal, Molly, and Ripley are five rad, butt-kicking best pals determined to have an awesome summer together…and they’re not gonna let a magical quest or an array of supernatural critters get in their way! Lumberjanes Volume 1 also made YALSA’a 2016 Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults and Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers list Preview of Lumberjanes Volume 1 Preview of Lumberjanes Volume 2
	Ms. Marvel Volume 2: Generation Why Ms. Marvel Volume 3: Crushed By: G. Willow Wilson, Adrian Alphona, and Jake Wyatt Publisher: Marvel Comics Format: Softcover, 7 x 10.25, 136 pages, Full Color, $15.99 ISBN: Volume 2: 978-0-78519-022-6; Volume 3: 978-0-78519-227-5 Vol. 2: Who is the Inventor, and what does he want with the all-new Ms. Marvel and all her friends? Maybe Wolverine can help! If Kamala can stop fan-girling out about meeting her favorite super hero, that is. Then, Kamala crosses paths with Inhumanity – by meeting the royal dog, Lockjaw! But why is Lockjaw really with Kamala? As Ms. Marvel discovers more about her past, the Inventor continues to threaten her future. Kamala bands together with some unlikely heroes to stop the maniacal villain before he does real damage, but has she taken on more than she can handle? And how much longer can Ms. Marvel’s life take over Kamala Khan’s? Vol. 3: Love is in the air in Jersey City as Valentine’s Day arrives! Kamala Khan may not be allowed to go to the school dance, but Ms. Marvel is! Well sort of – by crashing it in an attempt to capture Asgard’s most annoying trickster! Yup, it’s a special Valentine’s Day story featuring Marvel’s favorite charlatan, Loki! And when a mysterious stranger arrives in Jersey City, Ms. Marvel must deal with…a crush! Because this new kid is really, really cute. What are these feelings, Kamala Khan? Prepare for drama! Intrigue! Romance! Suspense! Punching things! All this and more! Ms. Marvel Volume 3: Crushed also made YALSA’s 2016 Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers list
Nimona By: Noelle Stevenson Publisher: Harper Teen Format: Hardcover/Softcover, 6 x 9, 176 pages, Full Color, $17.99/$12.99 ISBN: HC: 978-0-06227-823-4/SC: 978-0-06227-822-7 The full-color graphic novel debut from Noelle Stevenson, based on her critically acclaimed web comic. Nimona is an impulsive young shape-shifter with a knack for villainy. Lord Ballister Blackheart is a villain with a vendetta. As sidekick and supervillain, Nimona and Lord Blackheart are about to wreak some serious havoc. Their mission: prove to the kingdom that Sir Ambrosius Goldenloin and his buddies at the Institution of Law Enforcement and Heroics aren’t the heroes everyone thinks they are. But as small acts of mischief escalate into a vicious battle, Lord Blackheart realizes that Nimona’s powers are as murky and mysterious as her past. And her unpredictable wild side might be more dangerous than he is willing to admit. Nimona also made YALSA’s 2016 Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults and Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers lists
	Roller Girl By: Victoria Jamieson Publisher: Dial Books for Young Readers Format: Softcover, 6 x 9, 240 pages, Full Color, $12.99 ISBN: 978-0-80374-016-7 For most of her 12 years, Astrid has done everything with her best friend Nicole. But after Astrid falls in love with roller derby and signs up for derby camp, Nicole decides to go to dance camp instead. And so begins the most difficult summer of Astrid’s life as she struggles to keep up with the older girls at camp, hang on to the friend she feels slipping away, and cautiously embark on a new friendship. As the end of summer nears and her first roller derby bout (and middle school!) draws closer, Astrid realizes that maybe she is strong enough to handle the bout, a lost friendship, and middle school – in short, strong enough to be a roller girl. Roller Girl also made YALSA’s 2016 Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults and Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers lists
Sacred Heart By: Liz Suburbia Publisher: Fantagraphics Books Format: Softover, 6.5 x 9.5, 336 pages, Black and White, $24.99 ISBN: 978-1-60699-841-0 This debut coming-of-age graphic novel, filled with teen loves and fights and parties, is a summer vacation-style bacchanalia set against the threat of a big reckoning that everyone believes is coming.
	A Silent Voice Volume 1-3 By: Tow Ubukata and Yoshitoki Oima Publisher: Kodansha Comics Format: Softcover, 5 x 7, 192 pages, Black and White, $10.99 ISBN: Volume 1: 978-1-63236-056-4; Volume 2: 978-1-63236-057-1; Volume 3: 978-1-63236-058-8 A Silent Voice is a thought-provoking, dramatic story of a deaf student and the boy who bullies her. In elementary school, Shoya bullies the deaf Shoko mercilessly. When she transfers to another school to escape his torment, Shoya finds himself bullied by the students he once considered his friends. Years later, he learns sign language to apologize to Shoko for his behavior, and so begins a relationship that will change his and Shoko’s lives forever. Now Shoya struggles to redeem himself in Shoko’s eyes and to face the classmates who turned on him.
Trashed By: Derf Backderf Publisher: Abrams ComicArts Format: Hardcover/Softover, 6 x 9, 256 pages, Black and White, $24.95/$18.95 ISBN: HC: 978-1-41971-453-5/SC: 978-1-41971-454-2 Every week we pile our garbage on the curb and it disappears – like magic! The reality is anything but, of course. Derf Backderf’s Trashed is an ode to the crap job of all crap jobs – garbage collector. Trashedfollows the raucous escapades of three 20-something friends as they clean the streets of pile after pile of stinking garbage, while battling annoying small-town bureaucrats, bizarre townfolk, sweltering summer heat, and frigid winter storms. Trashed is inspired by Derf’s own experiences as a garbageinterspersed are nonfiction pages that detail what our garbage is and where it goes.
	The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Volume 1: Squirrel Power The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Volume 2: Squirrel You Know It’s True By: Ryan North, Erica Henderson, and Steve Ditko Publisher: Marvel Comics Format: Softcover, Vol. 1: 128 pages; Vol. 2: 120 pages, Full Color, Vol. 1: $15.99; Vol. 2: $14.99 ISBN: Vol. 1: 978-0-78519-702-7; Vol. 2: 978-0-78519-703-4 Doctor Doom, Deadpool, even Thanos: There’s one hero who’s beaten them all – and now she’s starring in her own series! That’s right, it’s SQUIRREL GIRL! The nuttiest and most upbeat super hero in the world is starting college! And as if meeting her new roommate and getting to class on time isn’t hard enough, now she has to deal with Kraven the Hunter, too? At least her squirrel friend Tippy-Toe is on hand to help out. But what can one girl, and one squirrel, do when a hungry Galactus heads toward Earth? You’d be surprised! With time running out and Iron Man lending a helping hand (sort of), who will win in the battle between the Power Cosmic and the Power Chestnut?

I’ve Got Research. Yes, I Do. I’ve Got Research. How About You?

Source: I’ve Got Research. Yes, I Do. I’ve Got Research. How About You?

Coloring Page Poems

http://www.tweetspeakpoetry.com/category/coloring-page-poems/

We’ve heard that coloring pages can be a good way to alleviate stress. And of course, we know that poetry is also a fine way to reduce stress. So what could be better than putting the two together? This year, we’re introducing a series of fun Coloring Page Poems that you can print, color, and doodle your way to relaxation and stress relief. Today, we offer “The Snow Man” byWallace Stevens.

Download The Snow Man by Wallace Stevens Coloring Page Poem

The Snow Man

One must have a mind of winter
To regard the frost and the boughs
Of the pine-trees crusted with snow;

And have been cold a long time
To behold the junipers shagged with ice,
The spruces rough in the distant glitter

Of the January sun; and not to think
Of any misery in the sound of the wind,
In the sound of a few leaves,

Which is the sound of the land
Full of the same wind
That is blowing in the same bare place

For the listener, who listens in the snow,
And, nothing himself, beholds
Nothing that is not there and the nothing that is.

—Wallace Stevens, public domain

Poetry from Calvin and Hobbes

TOP 10 POETIC CALVIN & HOBBES QUOTES

BY LW LINDQUIST S

It is no secret that the beloved characters in Bill Watterson’s comic strip Calvin & Hobbes shed an amusing (and often poignant) light on the creative imagination of a child. But Watterson also generously included poetry in the narrative, from Calvin’s poetic means of dealing with his fear to using haiku to irritate his furry friend. We’ve gathered up 10 great Calvin & Hobbes poems and poetic moments.

1.

Calvin tries to stir a slumbering Hobbes with a fire alarm from Blake.

“Tiger! Tiger! Burning bright,
In the forests of the night.”

Blake wrote that. Apparently the tiger was on fire. Maybe his tail got struck by lightning or something.

Flammable felines — what a subject for poetry

2.

Clearly he didn’t know that cat poems were all the rage. Still, he seems to find his voice in feline verse.

Still and quite feline form,
In the sun, asleep and warm.
His tail is limp, his
Whiskers drooped.
Man, what could make
This cat so pooped?

3.

And yet another:

My tiger, it seems, is running ’round nude.
This fur coat must have made him perspire.
It lies on the floor — should this be construed
As a permanent change of attire?
Perhaps he considers its colors passé,
Or maybe it fit him too snug.
Will he want it back? Should I put it away?
Or use it right here as a rug?

4.

Unsuccessful in waking his friend, Calvin turns to alliteration.

Twitching tufted tail,
A toasted, tawny tummy:
A tired tiger.

…An alliterative haiku by Calvin. Thank you, thank you.

5.

Add to your collection of winter poems this little ode to the snowball:

Oh lovely snowball,
Packed with care
Smack a head that’s
Unaware

Then with freezing
Ice to spare,
Melt and soak through
Underwear!

Fly straight and true,
Hit hard and square!
This, oh snowball,
Is my prayer.

6.

Juxtaposition is one of the Calvin’s greatest arts, no more poignantly illustrated than when he waxes poetic about the beauty of a spider web and how such a beautiful web is used.

Like delicate lace,
So the threads intertwine,
Oh, gossamer web,
Of wond’rous design!
Such beauty and grace
Wild nature produces …

Ughh, look at the spider
Suck out that bug’s juices!

7.

When he’s not writing poems to wake the tiger, Calvin writes stanzas about his parents, who he believes are aliens disguised as dull humans:

They landed on earth in spaceships humongus.
Posing as grownups, they now walk among us.
My parents deny this, but I know the truth.
They’re here to enslave me and spoil my youth.

8.

Young Calvin may have had some ties to Edgar Allan Poe, as is evident in these stanzas from one of his poems about the monster in his closet, A Nauseous Nocturne:

Another night deprived of slumber,
Hours passing without number,
My eyes trace ’round the room. I lay
Dripping sweat and now quite certain
That tonight the final curtain
Drops upon my short life’s precious play.

From the darkness by the closet
Comes a noise, much like a faucet
Makes: a maddening drip-drip-dripping sound.
It seems some ill-proportioned beast,
Anticipating me deceased,
Is drooling poison puddles on the ground.

9.

And even Hobbes had a little bit of a poetic streak, writing his own version of cat poetry (which also served as password to their clubhouse):

Tigers are perfect,
The E-Pit-O-Me
Of good looks and grace
And quiet dignity.

10.

You might wonder how Calvin was able to write such compelling verse. He had a little bit to say about creativity:

Calvin: You can’t just turn on creativity like a faucet. You have to be in the right mood.

Hobbes: What mood is that?

Calvin: Last-minute panic.

Photo by Tim Pierce, Creative Commons license via Flickr.

 

Source: http://www.tweetspeakpoetry.com/2016/02/04/top-10-calvin-hobbes-poems-quotes/