2022 Read For Change ebooklet

Welcome to Read for Change 2022!
Look over the book options and use this Google Form to register for a Reading Circle that will be made up of other students, faculty, staff and administration members who chose the same book. Submit Google Form by Monday, January 31st.

Free copies of the books will be distributed during the week before February break. They will be yours to keep!

The Reading Circles will meet just once in early March. It will be an informal chat moderated by two to three members (faculty and students) of the 2022 Read for Change Planning Committee. A convenient day and time will be determined by the members of each Reading Circle. All readers are encouraged to share: ideas, observations, and questions about the book, author, & our world today!

GENRES, TITLES, & AUTHOR INFO

FICTION (pp. 3-6)
Between the Lines by Nikki Grimes

This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger

NONFICTION (pp. 7-12)
The Will to Change: Men, Masculinity, and Love
by bell hooks

On Juneteenth by Annette Gordon-Reed

Call Us What We Carry by Amanda Gorman

MEMOIR AND BIOGRAPHY (pp. 13-16)
What Made Maddy Run: The Secret Struggles
and Tragic Death of an All-American Teen
by Kate Fagan

Beautiful Country by Qian Julie Wang

GENRE: FICTION
Between the Lines

ABOUT THE BOOK
Mr. Ward’s class is “known for its open-mic poetry readings and boys vs. girls poetry slam. Everyone in class has something important to say, and in sharing their poetry, they learn that they all face challenges and have a story to tell—whether it’s about health problems, aging out of foster care, being bullied for religious beliefs, or having to take on too much responsibility because of an addicted parent”. In the comfort of Mr. Ward’s classroom, nine students find support in each other’s stories, where they can freely express themselves .
Themes:
- poetry slams - life changing events
- interpersonal relationships

AUTHOR BACKGROUND:
Nikki Grimes

* Award winning poet and author
who began writing poetry at age 6
and never stopped!

* Artist and illustrator

* Leader: healing the divide in our world

Nikki has been honored with the NCTE Award for Poetry and the 2016 Virginia Hamilton Literary Award from Kent State University. In 2017, she was presented with the Children's Literature Legacy Award for her "substantial and lasting contribution to literature for children." In 2020, Nikki was chosen to receive The ALAN Award for outstanding contributions to the field of adolescent literature.

GENRE:
HISTORICAL FICTION
This Tender Land

AUTHOR BACKGROUND: William Kent Krueger

ABOUT THE BOOK: Escaping the confines of the Lincoln Indian Training School in Minnesota, two non-Native American orphaned brothers, their best friend, and another young girl survive as a makeshift family while traveling along the waters, banks, and towns of the Gilead River with the hope of somehow finding their individual futures. How do they survive and navigate the realities of the adults they encounter? Very courageously, often brilliantly. Travel with them as they grow up together as a self proclaimed tribe during the Great Depression.

Themes:
-Coming of age
-Orphans
-Adventure
-The Great Depression

AUTHOR BACKGROUND: William Kent Krueger

Born in Wyoming, with a dream of becoming a writer, Krueger was accepted to Stanford University, but was dismissed due to his active opposition to the university's support of military action during the Vietnam War. That didn't stop him from moving on - logging, finding his true love, and settling down in Minnesota to write!

William Kent Krueger is best known for his Cork O'Connor mystery/detective series . All 9 books have been NY Times bestsellers. Krueger's two stand alone novels, also based in Minnesota, Ordinary Grace and This Tender Land, are award winners and NY Times bestselling titles as well. In 2013, the Mystery Writers of America awarded him the very prestigious Edgar Award for Ordinary Grace.

The Will to Change: Men, Masculinity and Love is courageously honest, clear, and gripping. "It makes you think, and think again!". bell hooks calls on us to reflect on our behavior and relationship patterns, and how they affect our day-to-day. This title explores our options to break free of the confines of patriarchy and change how those systems affect our daily lives. As an internationally acclaimed scholar, bell hooks, challenges us to embrace who we want to be, and how we choose to respond to and communicate with those we love.
Themes:
- societal influences
- family influences
- self identity
- personal choice

GENRE: NONFICTION-SOCIOLOGY
The Will to Change: Men, Masculinity, and Love

AUTHOR BACKGROUND: bell hooks

bell hooks was a leading Black feminist scholar, writer, and cultural activist who addressed issues related to race, class, and gender. Receiving her Ph.D. from the University of California, Santa Cruz, she went on to write and lecture at numerous colleges including Oberlin College and Yale University. Ain't I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism, published in 1981, is a pivotal work in feminist thought that exposed historical racism and sexism.

In her lifetime, hooks published over 40 books. As a trailblazer, she opened doors to a new view of respect and equality among all people: elders, young, wealthy, the struggling, and of multiple and mixed ancestry and sexual identities.

GENRE: NONFICTION-HISTORY
On Juneteenth

Themes:
- history of Texas
- demographics
- family influences
- educational influences

The recognition and celebration of "Juneteenth" (memorializing June 19, 1865 - the day that marked the end of slavery in Texas and across the nation) appears to be something relatively 'new' and possibly unheard of by many. It may be hard to believe, but native Texan and Professor of American History at Harvard University, Annette Gordon-Reed, knew little about Juneteenth growing up!

On Juneteenth is the story of our second largest state from its earliest indigenous tribes, to colonial powers, the enslavement of thousands of African slaves, and finally being the last state to put an end to legalized slavery in our nation. This is a 'little book' with a BIG story, and no one could tell it more personally and succinctly than Annette Gordon-Reed.