Bookfair Sign-Up for NJHS Students

NJHS students:

If you would like to volunteer for the Scholastic Bookfair and receive NJHS hours, please follow the link to the Sign-Up Geinus and use your school email address to sign up. Please check your email regularly for updates.

Also: please do not sign up for a time where you know the teacher will not allow you to miss class.

Scholastic Bookfair Sign-Up Genius

ALA Youth Media Awards Webcast

If you would like to watch the announcement for all of the ALA Youth Media Awards, follow the link below.

ALA Youth Media Awards webcast

Sample Book Review and Requirements for Honors English 7

Journey by Aaron Becker

When a young girl is desperate for some attention from her family but they appear to be too wrapped up in their own lives to notice her, she draws herself into an imaginary land and can get herself out of any predicament with just a few lines drawn from a magical red crayon. But for older readers who look at this book and immediately make the connection to the classic picture book Harold and the Purple Crayon, there may be a surprise allusion for you later in the story.

Journey is an absolutely stunning, heart-skipping wordless picture book. It will make you gasp at its beauty and feats of imagination. It is probably my favorite wordless picture book of all time. What is so captivating about this picture book is the variety of influences you see in Becker's art, namely the Eastern influences, especially on the first full page spread where our protagonist enters the land of her imagination and you see paper lanterns strewn about the forest. But truly, this book can be summed up by reading Aaron Becker's biography on the back flap:
 
"Aaron Becker has made several memorable journeys in his lifetime. He's lived in rural Japan and East Africa, backpacked through Sweden and the South Pacific, and, most recently, ventured from San Francisco Bay to Amherst, Massachusetts, the town he and his wife, daughter, and lazy cat now call home. To this day, his favorite destination remains his imagination, where he can often be found drawing secret doorways and magic lanterns."

LOVE that. Especially because, despite the fact that the journey in this book is by that of a young girl, it still felt very much like a personal journey for the illustrator. So reading his bio at the end didn't surprise me at all. This book really is his journey. If you are a reader who likes books to take you on a journey, don't miss this gem of a story that proves a picture really is worth a thousand words. 

Book Review Assignment Requirements

Your book review must include:

·       A picture of the book cover at the top of your paper

·       Mention the title and author of the book in your title or first paragraph (italicized and capitalized properly)

·       A one paragraph summary of the book that does NOT give away the ending

·       One paragraph that gives your opinion of the book

·       Incorporates some sort of quoted evidence such as:

o   A quote from the book

o   Something the author has said about the book in an interview or on their website

o   Something another reviewer or critic has said about the book such as:

§  School Library Journal

§  Publishers Weekly

§  Kirkus Review

·       Also discusses some sort of literary elements in the story such as: characterization, similes and metaphors, static and dynamic characters, allusions, climax, rising action, exposition, etc.

Remember that the point of a book review is persuasion, whether that’s to read the book because it’s SO GOOD or not to read the book because it’s SO BAD. The best book reviews are for books you either loved or hated. Sometimes I read a scathing book review and want to read the book just to see if it’s as bad as the reviewer says it is. You know the old adage: all publicity is good publicity.

Due Date: December 12

Come to Our Enchanted Forest

The Scholastic Book Fair starts on Friday, September 21. Students will visit the book fair with their classes, but it will also be open every day after school from 3-4 PM in the Wayne Wesenberg wing of the Holy Family Hall.

Online shopping for the book fair has already started. You can shop online at the Scholastic Book Fairs website or you can download the Scholastic Book Fair app. If you order any books online, they will be shipped to the school free of charge.

Hope to see you at our Enchanted Forest!

Summer Reading Book Recommendations

You are not required to choose a book from the following list. It is merely here to give you guidance for anyone who needs it in choosing their two books for summer reading. Please make sure you choose books appropriate for your reading level. The books are listed in their categories in order of difficulty (e.g., Extraordinary Jane is easier than Islandborn)

Fiction Picture Books

Extraordinary Jane by Hannah E. Harrison

Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Pena

The Magician’s Hat by Malcolm Mitchell

School’s First Day ofSchool by Adam Rex

Super Manny Stands Up by Kelly DiPucchio

Are We There Yet? By Dan Santat

The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires

What Do You Do with an Idea? By Kobi Yamada

The Artist and Me by Shane Peacock

Islandborn by Junot Diaz

Nonfiction Picture Books

Marvelous Cornelius by Phil Bildner

Martina and Chrissie: The Greatest Rivalry inthe History of Sports by Phil Bildner

The Day-Glo Brothers by Chris Barton

Her Right Foot by Dave Eggers

Dazzle Ships: World War I and the Art ofConfusion by Chris Barton

When the Beat Was Born: DJ Cool Herc and theCreation of Hip Hop by Laban Carrick Hill

The Music in George’s Head: George GershwinCreates Rhapsody in Blue by Suzanne Slade

Balderdash! John Newbery and the BoisterousBirth of Children’s Books by Michelle Markel

Curiosity: The Story of a Mars Rover by Markus Motum

When Paul Met Artie: The Story of Simon &Garfunkel by Greg Neri, illustrated by David Litchfield

Early Chapter Books

Charlie and Mouse by Laurel Snyder

Bink and Gollie by Kate DiCamillo

Mercy Watson to the Rescue by Kate DiCamillo

The Princess in Black by Shannon Hale

Beatrice Zinker, Upside DownThinker by Shelley Johannes

Captain Pug by Laura James

Dory Fantasmagory by Abby Hanlon

Fortunately, the Milk by Neil Gaiman

The Story of Diva and Flea by Mo Willems

The Year of Billy Miller by Kevin Henkes

Middle Grade Novels

Crenshaw by Katherine Applegate

The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate

Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo

A Crooked Kind of Perfect by Linda Urban

Me and Marvin Gardens by Amy Sarig King

Ghost by Jason Reynolds

Bluffton by Matt Phelan

Turtle in Paradise by Jennifer L. Holm

The Battle of Darcy Lane by Tara Altebrando

Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick

All Rise for the Honorable Perry T. Cook by Leslie Connor

Same Sun Here by Silas House and Neela Veswani

Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos

Bigger Than a Breadbox by Laurel Snyder

Orphan Island by Laurel Snyder

The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom by Christopher Healy

A Snicker of Magic by Natalie Lloyd

Enchanted Air by Margarita Engle

Home of the Brave by Katherine Applegate

Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson

The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

A Night Divided by Jennifer A. Nielsen

Young Adult Novels

Rebound by Kwame Alexander

Solo by Kwame Alexander

Ghetto Cowboy by G. Neri

Hope Was Here by Joan Bauer

The Schwa Was Here by Neal Shusterman

Peak by Roland Smith

Goodbye Days by Jeff Zentner

Alex and Eliza by Melissa de la Cruz

The Boy in the Black Suit by Jason Reynolds

The Running Dream by Wendelin van Draanen

The Only Road by Alexandra Diaz

The Summer of Letting Go by Gae Polisner

Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

Not a Drop to Drink by Mindy McGinnis

The Bitter Side of Sweet by Tara Sullivan

Girl in the Blue Coat by Monica Hesse

Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale

The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon

Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman

Bone Gap by Laura Ruby

Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys

Young Adult Nonfiction

Open Mic: Riffs on Life Between Cultures edited by Mitali Perkins

March: Books 1-3 by John Lewis

Bomb: The Race to Build - and Steal - theWorld’s Most Powerful Weapon by Steve Sheinkin

The Nazi Hunters by Neal Bascomb

Fault Lines in the Constitution by Cynthia and Sanford Levinson

Alexander Hamilton:Revolutionary by Martha Brockenbrough

March Book Madness - Final Round

Vote for your Favorite in Each Matchup

Picture Book

Middle Grade Novel

Young Adult Novel

March Book Madness - The Final Four

Vote for your favorite in the final two matchups:

Picture Book

Middle Grade Novel

Young Adult Novel