PathFinder on Pam Munoz Ryan

Pam Munoz Ryan 

A Path Finder

 

Parents. teachers and young adults will find this pathfinder useful to learn more about this prolific, award-winning author of books for children and young adults.  You'll find interviews with the author; lists of her books; links to information about the awards she has won and more!

Biography Read more at Ms. Ryan's Official Website	“Pam Munoz Ryan has written over thirty books for young  people, from picture books for the very young to young adult  novels.  She is the National Education Association’s Author  recipient of the Civil and Human Rights Award, the Virginia  Hamilton Award for Multicultural Literature. She was born and raised in Bakersfield, California and received her  bachelor’s and master’s degrees at San Diego State  University.”
Award Winning Books Complete list at Ms. Ryan's Official Website	Esperanza Rising Becoming Naomi Leon
Awards and Lists http://www.ala.org/awardsgrants/ award criteria	The Pura Belpre Award ALA Notable Children's Book  IRA Notable Book for a Global Society Starred Review Publishers Weekly School Library Journal, Teacher's Choice Award The Willa Cather Award Arizona Grand Canyon Reader Award Jane Addams Children's Book Award ALA Top Ten Best Books for Young Adults Publisher's Weekly Best Book of the Year NY Public Library 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing Smithsonian Best Book of the Year Award When Marian Sang, illustrated by Brian Selznick 2003 Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children[3] 2003 Honor Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award. Riding Freedom, illustrated by Brian Selznick 1999–2000 California Young Reader Medal 1998 Reading Magic Award for Most Outstanding Books 1999 Teacher's Choice Award 1999 National Willa Cather Award for Best Young Adult Novel Southern California Center of Literature for Young People, Award of Merit 1999–2000 Arizona Young Reader's Award
Reviews of Books	Reviews of Pam Muñoz Ryan's Books from RIF The Reading Planet
Blogs and Interviews Featuring Pam Munoz Ryan	The Teaching Books.net Blog I Love Libraries.org Scholastic Books
Reader’s Theatre Scripts	Children will enjoy reading these stories in play form: Nacho and Lolita Becoming Naomi Leon Esperanza Rising The Dreamer
On-line Sources	http://www.ala.org/ http://www.scholastic.com/ http://www.readingrockets.com/ http://www.freshfiction.com/

Contact :

Pam Munoz Ryan

c/o Scholastic, Inc.

557 Broadway

New York, NY  10012-3999

Email: PMunozRyan@aol.com

Hunger Games

Movie:  The Hunger Games. Dir. Gary Ross. Lions Gate Entertainment. 2012

Only one of these children will live.  The rest will kill and ultimately be killed, by the other children in the arena, until only one victor remains.  The televised competition, a cross between “Gladiators” and “Survivors” will be watched, by government mandate, by all citizens of the capitol city, Panem and the 12 surrounding, dependent districts.  The districts have an especially vested interest in the Games, because the children -- the Tributes fighting to the death -- are “reaped” by lottery, two children from each district every year. 

Katniss is a highly independent teen who has been using the hunting skills her father taught her to feed her mother, younger sister, Prim, and herself.   When Prim is selected to be the District 12 Tribute in the 74th Hunger Games, Katniss volunteers to take her place.

The Hunger Games is a visually stunning movie and an emotionally wrenching one. The dystopia in which the repressive government controls all aspects of existence from every mouthful of food to the very lives of the children is bleak and  dreadful to imagine.  However, the spirit of righteous rebellion shines through in the choices Katniss faces and gives the movie a balance of hope in an otherwise hopeless reality. 

I enjoyed this movie so much, I ordered and read the three book set.  As usual, (for a bibliophile) the book was better than the movie, but only marginally.  The movie captured the full spirit and the major events of the story.  However, it couldn't begin to capture the nuances of thought and feelings that were revealed in the book.

I whole-heartedly recommend this movie to ages nine and older.  Younger children may be overwhelmed by the violence, especially as it is child against child violence.  Children nine to thirteen may still need an adult to explain the politics of Panem, and the significance of some of the flashbacks.

If you haven't seen the movie yet, GO!  Then read all three books in the series.

                  Book 1                                     Book 2                                    Book 3

                                           Learn more about author, Suzanne Collins at this site.

Ship Breaker

Bacigalupi, P. (2009). Ship Breaker Little, Brown and Company. New York, NY

"Nailer crawled out of the breakers and stood.  His legs were weak from so long swimming but he was standing on dry land, and he was alive.  He laughed madly at Bapi and Li and Rain and the hundreds of other laborers and crew gangs, all of them staring at him dumbstruck.

'I'm alive!' he shouted at them. 'I'm alive!'
They all said nothing, simply stared. 

Nailer was about to shout again but something in their faces made him look down.
Sea foam lapped around his ankles, rust and bits of wire.  Shells and insulation.  And intermixed with the ocean froth, his blood. Running down his legs in streams bright and red and steady, staining the waters with the pounding of his heart."

Real ship breakers in Bangladesh

This excerpt from Ship Breaker sums up the hope, the tension, the drama, and the danger that is the life of a ship breaker.  Nailer lives in post apocalyptic Gulf Coast America.  His daily subsistence is made from salvaging copper wiring from the dark corridors of wrecked oil tankers.  Death, injury and hunger are every day occurrences in a world sharply divided between the haves and the have nots.  Everyone in Nailer's world dreams of getting a "lucky strike", a find that will forever change their living status.

After a major "city killer" storm, Nailer and his good friend Pima find a small clipper ship wrecked on a deserted section of the beach.  Could this be the lucky break they dreamed of?  Nailer's journey of self discovery and passage from boyhood to man begins at the moment he decides whether to kill or help the lone survivor on the yacht.  Nailer comes to realize that he can change the course of his life and his community by his own actions.

This was a difficult, but absorbing read. The many graphic incidents of violence may be too harrowing for younger teens, but high school age and older will be drawn into Nailer's adventures.  Themes of family and honor run connecting threads throughout the story and teach valuable lessons.  Young thinking readers will also be made aware of a possible horrible future outcome that they can work now to avoid.

Coming May 1st, readers can re-enter the world of the ship breakers when the sequel/companion story The Drowned Cities  is released.  Read the first eleven chapters now.



This interview with author Paolo Bacigalupi reveals his strong commitment to the sustainability of earth's resources

Five Flavors of Dumb - Award Winner

John, A. (2010) Five Flavors of Dumb.  Penquin Group, New York NY



The teen band "Dumb" must have won the Seattle's Hottest New Teen Band contest on luck and loudness alone.  They sound like "they're playing three different songs in an echo chamber."  But when they play an impromptu, unsanctioned concert on the front steps of the high school, (all the teachers are in a staff meeting), their sound explodes from the speakers and sets the amps on fire! Literally sets the amps on fire.  The crowd roars their approval but disperses in a cloud of smoke when the principal shows up with the fire extinguisher.  One of the last kids still cheering when the fire is out, Piper takes on the challenge of managing "Dumb" -- getting them through their first recording session, their first televised performance, through personnel changes, ups and downs -- dealing with the prima(o?) dona(o?) lead singer's ego trips and manipulation -- handling negotiations with unscrupulous promoters -- Piper manages it all with laugh out loud humor and learns a lot about rock music and herself in the process.  



Five Flavors of Dumb won the 2011 Schneider Family Book Award, which  honors an author or illustrator for the artistic expression of the disability experience for child and adolescent audiences.  Antony John portrays Piper's experiences as first a teenage girl, second a teenage girl managing a hard rock band, and thirdly adding to the humor and quirkiness of the story, a teenage girl who is managing a hard rock band and who, incidentally, is deaf.  


Older teens and young adults will relate to this story with its many overlaying subplots and themes such as family and friend relationships, coming of age and self acceptance.


Dumb  is Antony John's second book.  The first, Busted, is also a good read for teens.  Both boys and girls will appreciate this story of Hormones vs. Feminism in a high school setting.








For more Schneider Family award winners, check out the ALA website at this link.

Firebirds Rising - Anthology Review

November, S. (Ed.).  (2008) Firebirds rising: An anthology of original science fiction and fantasy.
         New York, NY: Penquin Group (Original hardback work printed in 2006)

          Corey is a new scholarship freshman at the prestigious Christopher Academy, in "Huntress" by Tamara Pierce.  She is thrilled when the popular, handsome and privileged captain of the track team asks her to join his "Pride", the group of most popular and wealthy juniors and seniors, who run track and hang out together.   Corey finally appreciates her mother's belief in the Wiccan Goddess of the Hunt when the Pride asks Corey to kill or be killed.  


         Firebirds Rising is an outstanding collection of original science fiction and fantasy stories collected and edited by Sharyn November. Each of the stories features a young adult main character facing an other worldly experience with the same range of emotions and angst as any 21st century, earth-bound teen. Several of the stories cover the theme of belonging, that desire to be in with the in-crowd, but with a price to be paid. In "The Real Thing" by Alison Goodman, The University of Australia is an uneasy mix of genetically engineered, comp-students and students whose parents could not afford to provide their children with this advantage.  Joss, who is only minimally, genetically enhanced, goes on a first date with Kyle to a party that turns out to be a Comp Lobby rally against admission quotas for non-comp/comp students.  Joss enjoys the company of Kyle and his group of friends but has second thoughts when the rally cry, "Not comp, not good enough" leads to campus violence. "Hives" written by Kara Dalkey is set in a not too future world where public schools have fifty to one hundred students per class and the teachers conduct class from behind bulletproof glass. Cellphones, MP3's and headphone technology has evolved into a device (a rig) run by sound waves that deliver the desired media directly to your brain. Businesses, families, and of course teenagers have developed networks whereby they can have constant immediate contact with each other.  For teen girls these Hives become an addictive necessity.  To be suddenly cut off from the hive and hear nothing but the sound of your own thoughts, causes depression and suicidal thoughts and attempts.  Angela, herself a recovering rig addict, has reason to believe that one Hive Queen is  recruiting new members, then deliberately cutting them out of the hive, to drive them to suicide. Angela makes it her business to prove her suspicions and prevent another girl's suicide.

      The additional fourteen stories in this anthology range from wizards and little people, to first contact and colonizing new planets.  Every story is well paced and richly imagined -- well worth the suspension of disbelief you know you're going to make to enjoy the tale.  These stories make you wish you were reading a full novel to remain in that place with those characters a while longer.  Older teens and young adults will be able to appreciate the humor, advanced language patterns and imagery.  Some of the scenarios will be too mature (but never too graphic) for younger teens.  Maturing readers of R.K. Rowlings (Harry Potter series) and Madeleine L'Engle (A Wrinkle in Time) can continue their exploration of the SF and fantasy genre with this excellent sampler of accomplished writers.

     A Wrinkle in Time is still one of my favorite books.  Click here for an article that explores the links between the old standards (A Wrinkle in Time Turns Fifty!?) and the modern classics.

     Firebirds Rising is the second in the Firebird anthology series.  I'm definitely going to read the original: Firebirds: An Anthology of Original Fantasy and Science Fiction.

A web address for the authors is included with their bio at the end of each story. I'm particularly interested in reading more by Tanith Lee, "The House on the Planet."  She promised to write a novel length story using the same setting.  I'll be checking in with her at http://www.tanithlee.com/.

For more science fiction and fantasy short stories check out Fantasy and Science Fiction magazine.

A good place to find award winning fantasy and sci-fi books is this Wikipedia list of recent nominees and winners of the Andre Norton Award, given annually to the best science fiction or fantasy book for young adults published in the previous year.

Percy Jackson - The Lightning Thief

Riordan, R. (2009) The Lightning Thief. Disney Hyperion. New York, NY


 So, suppose you're a 13 year old, dyslexic kid about to get kicked out of yet another boarding school for troubled youth.  When, all in the course of one school field trip afternoon, you discover that your wheelchair-bound, favorite teacher is really a centaur; your best friend is a half goat, satyr; and the two of them are protecting you. Protecting you for what and from whom?  You'll want to know especially after you have to vaporize your math teacher, who's turned into a fanged dragon. The answer, Percy Jackson, is that you are the son of Poseidon!  Yes, that Poseidon --  famed Greek god, Lord of the Sea, Immortal. And there are monsters out to get you!

 In modern day New York the Gods and Goddesses and Titans and -- yes -- the monsters of Greek legend and myth are real! And they're still up to their legendary habits of falling in love with and/or seducing/romantically pursuing humans. The offspring of these dalliances are half-bloods/heroes like Hercules, Achilles and Percy Jackson. Olympus, the fabled home of the gods has shifted with the shift in human power and is now in the clouds above the Empire State Building. (Reachable by elevator to the 600th floor)

There is about to be a full scale war between Ares the god of war and his brother, Zeus, king of all the gods, because Zeus believes that Ares has stolen his lightning bolt. The gods are taking sides and it's up to the heroes from the Half Blood Summer Camp to find the missing lightning bolt.  Percy listens to the prophecy from the Delphi Oracle and leads the Quest. After many adventures, misadventures, near death escapes, confrontations with monsters, and a visit to the Underworld our hero and his team of half bloods prevails!

Children aged 12 - 14, especially boys, will love this blend of Greek mythology and kick-butt action adventure.  It's written in an easy conversational style, as though Percy is confiding in the reader throughout the story.

I loved Percy Jackson's adventures so much that I read the next four books in the series:

Percy Jackson 2 - The Sea of Monsters

Percy Jackson 3 - The Titan's Curse

Percy Jackson 4 - The Battle of the Labyrinth

Percy Jackson 5 - The Last Olympian

The Lightning Thief was made into a movie. You can watch the trailer here.

A second movie is in the makings.

images retrieved from Google Web

Orchards

Thompson, H. (2011). Orchards. New York, NY: Delacorte Books for Young Readers. 


    




In the summer after 8th grade, each of the 8th grade girls is sent away. Kana is sent to Japan to help in the Mikan orange orchard of her mother's childhood home; and to reflect, as each of the 8th grade girls is instructed, on the suicide hanging of one of their classmates in an apple orchard at home.  At first, Kana who is half Japanese and half Russian Jewish, feels awkward and out of place under the scrutiny of her very traditional grandmother and resentful that she has been sent away.  Kana is also haunted by the death of the classmate, who was teased and ostracized by the other girls.

apple orchard



mikan orchard

Over the summer, Kana comes to terms with her Japanese ancestry, traditions and celebrations while also coming to grips with the realization that she and her classmates were more than a little responsible for the suicide back home. The story is told in a lyrical manner -- written in almost poetic short bursts of verses. Mid to older teens and young adults will relate to Kana's feelings about being far from home, going to a new school and trying to fit in.  Kana learns valuable lessons about honor and duty to family as well as what it's like to be the one on the outside of the popular crowd. When tragedy strikes another of the 8th grade girls, Kana, with her grandmother's help, is finally able to release her feelings of guilt and shame and returns home to find a way for all of the 8th graders to atone for their actions.

Orchards is a winner of the APALA Asian/Pacific American Award for Young Adult Literature
An ALA-YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults Book

visit Holly Thompson's website for further multicultural readings