Reading Group Theme - Birthdays

The children's reading group that I oversee and co-host at the library is in its second year now. After a few meetings the idea of setting just one book wasn't very popular so we have moved to a themed approach. The meetings are now every other Saturday so that's a lot of themes in a year! One suggestion we had was for a Birthday theme and I had to scratch my head a bit for that one. My twitter friends came up with some great suggestions but they weren't available in the library but I persevered with google and amazon and I now have a short list of birthday-themed books that can be readily-(ish) found in the UK:

Sweet 16 by Kate Brian (Teenage)

A Bean Birthday by Betsy Byars

Allie Finkle's Rules for Girls: Glitter Girls by Meg Cabot

Dizzy by Cathy Cassidy

The Sleepover Club (10) - Happy Birthday, Sleepover Club by Fiona Cummings (also included in Sleepover Club Omnibus: No. 4)

The Death Defying Pepper Roux by Geraldine McCaughrean

Party Poppers (Glitter Girls: 5) by Caroline Plaisted

Polly's Absolutely Worst Birthday Ever by Frances Thomas (being reprinted in May 2012)

Caz's Birthday Blues (Party Girls) by Jennie Walters

Some of the dated covers provoked a few giggles! Further suggestions welcomed!

Top 50 SF novels for kids/YA?

I get sent quite a few of these lists for my crime blog and they never seem that relevant, however this one does seem quite useful. It's a list of 50 Science Fiction novels suitable for kids/young adults. Here's the first (top?) 10. The whole list can be found at Best Universities.

1. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle: This whip-smart novel introduced many children to the concepts behind tesseracts, time travel and many other real scientific concepts applied to a purely speculative setting.

2. Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell: Perfect for high school students curious about the tenets of dystopian literature, with more emphasis on philosophy than technology.

3. The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury: Several interlocking stories spanning a wide time frame question what life might be like if human colonized Mars.

4. The Ender’s Game Series by Orson Scott Card: The brilliant eponymous character must lead humanity into battle against alien assaults in this multiple award-winning classic sci-fi series.

5. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Series by Douglas Adams: More appropriate for high school readers, the incomparable Hitchhiker’s Guide books soar through the universe with some truly unique characters and gut-busting humor.

6. The Foundation Series by Isaac Asimov: Like Ray Bradbury, pretty much all of Isaac Asimov’s sci-fi writings would appeal to young adults (kids probably not so much), but the Foundation novels remain some of his most influential.

7. The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson: Teenage girls who enjoy strong female protagonists, dystopias and the tenets of cyberpunk seriously need to pick up one of the most essential Neal Stephenson novels.

8. 2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clark: Yet another writer whose entire oeuvre probably deserves inclusion here, the story of mysterious monoliths, the eerie HAL 9000 and the humans they impact for good or for ill.

9. The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells: The Time Machine and The Island of Dr. Moreau could easily work on this list as well, but H.G. Wells’ infamous tale of an alien invasion is probably one of his most recognized and adapted works — making it a nice place to start when diving into his works.

10. The Giver by Lois Lowry: A classic dystopian novel, The Giver is an excellent read for kids who feel a bit out of step with their surroundings.

Amazon.com's Top 10 Books for Teens 2010

Amazon.com have announced their top 10 books for Teens for 2010. Most titles I recognise but not all:

John Green - Will Grayson, Will Grayson
Jennifer Donnelly - Revolution
Lauren Oliver - Before I Fall
Catherine Fisher - Incarceron
Adam Rex - Fat Vampire
Pittacus Lore - I am Number Four
Nancy Werlin - Extraordinary
Philip Reeve - Fever Crumb
Josh Berk - The Dark Days of Hamburger Halpin
Paolo Bacigalupi - Ship Breaker

Summer Reading Suggestions in USA Today

A recent article in USA today lists the following ten YA novels as some of summer's hottest books:

1. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
2. Zombies vs. Unicorns edited by Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier
3. Linger by Maggie Stiefvater
4. The Search for WondLa by Tony DiTerlizzi
5. The Summer Before (The Babysitters Club) by Ann M. Martin
6. It's a Book by Lane Smith
7. Guys Read: Funny Business edited by Jon Scieszka
8. Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi
9. For the Win by Cory Doctorow
10. Scott Pilgrim's Finest Hour by Bryan Lee O'Malley

Read the whole article with plot summaries here.