10.17.08/National Book Award Finalists Announced

The five finalists for the National Book Awards for Young People have been announced! They are:

Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson

The Underneath by Kathi Appelt

What I Saw and How I Lied by Judy Blundell

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart

The Spectacular Now by Tim Tharp

Having already read three of the five titles, I am excited to read the other choices. Our 8th grade class has been invited to take part in the NBA Teen Press Conference, where they get an opportunity to hear each of the authors speak about their books and ask them questions. In addition, the NBA Foundation provides each student who participates with a free copy of one of the five nominated books. The press conference is co-hosted by the National Book Award Foundation and The New York Public Library. This year, the event will take place on November 18th at The New York Public Library’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, and be moderated by none other than the current National Ambassador of Young People’s Literature, Jon Scieszka. I encourage you to check out these award winning books for yourselves, and ask your 8th grader about the NBA finalist they choose to read.

I’ll see you in the library,

Jennifer Hubert Swan, MS librarian