The First Part Last by Angela Johnson

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Rules by Cynthia Lord

A. Bibliography

Lord, Cynthia. Rules. Scholastic Press. 2006. ISBN# 0-439-44382-2.

B. Plot/Summary

"When 12-year-old Catherine is embarrassed by her autistic younger brother's behavior, her mother reassures her that "real friends understand." But Catherine is not convinced, and she is desperate to make a friend of the new girl next door. She doesn't like it when others laugh at David or ignore him; she writes down the rules so he will know what to do. Catherine is also uncomfortable about her growing friendship with 14 year-old Jason, a paraplegic. Jason uses a book of word cards to communicate, and Catherine enjoys making him new cards with more expressive words. Still when he suggests that they go to a community-center dance, she refuses at first. Only when Jason sees through her excuse does she realize that her embarrassment is for herself."

C. Critical Analysis

The characters are so believable. Cynthia Lord does an excellent job with the development of the characters to help the readers care about them and have compassion for them. The language is also believable because it is written just the way kids would talk at that stage in their life.

The plot is definitely plausible because there are many siblings out there that are having to live with autism.

Cynthia Long set the story in a contemporary time period. The story could be told many years earlier or even some time in the future as well. This is one topic that has been around a while but it is being brought to our attention.

I commend Cynthia for bringing to the forefront such a difficult topic and to help young teens to learn how to be compassionate for those that have disabilities.

D. Awards/Review Excerpts

John Newberry Medal, 2007

Mitten Award, 2006

Schneider Family Book Award, 2007

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, March 1, 2006 (Vol. 74, No. 5))

"Middle-grade readers will recognize her longing for acceptance and be intrigued by this exploration of dealing with differences."

Robin Henry (Library Media Connection, October 2006)

"This is a great book to help students gain some understanding about autism, while also providing a good read."

E. Connections

*other books by Cynthia Lord (new author)

Hot Rod Hamster!

Touch Blue

*other books about people with disabilities

Teacher's Pet by Laurie Halse Anderson

Things Not Seen by Andrew Clements

Of Sound Mind by Jean Ferris

The First Part Last by Angela Johnson

A. Bibliography

Johnson, Angela. The First Part Last. Simon & Schuster. 2003. ISBN# 0-689-84922-2.

B. Plot/Summary

This is a story of a 16-year-old, Bobby, who becomes a father unexpectedly. He is bound and determined to "do the right thing." At first, the "right thing" was to put the baby up for adoption, however, when circumstances change, so does the "right thing." The book alternates between his present reality of caring for his baby girl, Feather, and the past events that led up to her birth.

C. Critical Analysis

The characters of Bobby and Nia are so believable. The situation they find themselves in is exactly what happens to many teenagers today. There is believable language, with occasional swearing and some references to Bobby's sexual experiences with Nia, the baby's mother. Additionally, the emotional growth of Bobby is remarkable. He always wanted to "do the right thing", which at first was put the baby up for adoption. However, after extreme circumstances, he decided that it would be to raise the baby himself while still trying to attend high school.

The plot was so true to life and very engaging. Johnson allows the audience to care about the characters and maybe in some cases, put themselves in that very situation. The story was so surprising because no one would expect Bobby to take on raising the baby. I really like how this story is told from the father's point of view.

The setting is definitely contemporary. This story can take place at any point in time and place because the topic of teen pregnancy is a huge at any place or time, especially lately.

D. Awards/ Review Excerpts

Coretta Scott King Award 2004

Michael L. Printz Award 2004

YALSA 2004 Top Ten Best Books for Young Adults

Kristi Lainhart (The Kutztown University Book Review, Fall 2005)

"This is a well written and touching book that will appeal to young adult readers for its true-to-life characters."

Claire Rosser (KLIATT Review, January 2005 (Vol. 39, No. 1)

"Johnson has a way of getting to her readers' emotions with few words, creating characters we really care about."

E. Connections

*other books by Angela Johnson

Heaven

The Wedding

One of Three

* other books on teen pregnancy

Dancing Naked: A Novel by Shelley Hrdlitschka

Doormat: A Novel by Kelly McWilliams

November Blues by Sharon Draper

Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney

A. Bibliography

Kinney, Jeff. Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Amulet Books. 2007. ISBN # 978-0-8109-9313-6.

B. Plot/Summary

"Jeff Kinney uses laugh-out-loud humor to convey the middle school experience of Greg Heffley: a video-game playing, undersized geek, who computes his class ranking to be "around 52nd or 53rd most popular this year." In a combination of text and comics, Greg brings us through his sixth-grade year, as he runs for class treasurer (he loses), survives the wrestling unit in Phys Ed, and participates in the school play under parental duress. When he takes his buddy Rowley for granted, Greg discovers he's underestimated the importance of Rowley's friendship. Often lighthearted and silly, Greg's journal also manages to tap into common issues of early adolescence--controlling parents, school bullies, evolving friendships--that will resonate with his real-life peers." Cooperative Children's Book Center Choices 2008

C. Critical Analysis

The main characters of Greg and Rowley are so realistic that it reminded me of what it was like in middle school. What they experienced is so close to what happened to me that it is scary. The emotional journey that Greg takes is absolutely remarkable and believable. Greg learning the valuable lesson of not taking friends for granted and how to get along with others is one lesson that all children of middle school age needs to learn. I love how Jeff Kinney takes such an important lesson and expresses it with humor so that it doesn't seem so "preachy".

D. Awards/Review Excerpts

Choices, 2008

Children's Choice Book Award, 2008

Quill Awards, 2007

Todd Morning (Booklist, April 1, 2007 (Vol 103, No 15))

"At every moment, Greg seems real, and the engrossed reader will even occasionally will see the logic in some of his choices."

Matt Oldenburg (The ALAN Review, Spring/Summer 2007 (Vol. 34, No. 3))

"This book is definitely meant to tickle the funny bones inside all of us."

E. Connections

*other books by Jeff Kinney

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Roderick Rules

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days

The Wimpy Kid Movie Diary

* other diary fiction books

Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer

My Brother's Keeper by Mary Pope Osborne

Don't You Dare Read This, Mrs. Dunphrey by Margaret Peterson Haddix [audio recording]