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Happy Valentine’s Day everyone from Tandem Library Group!  In the spirit of the holiday we've put together three title lists to inspire you and your students to celebrate Valentine’s Day all year long.

Celebrate Valentine's Day K-5

Celebrate Valentine's Day 6-8

Celebrate Valentine's Day 9-12

Politics as usual? We think not. If you followed the Super Tuesday coverage on TV or the Internet last night, you know that today’s voters have rapid access to more information than ever before. This phenomenon is changing the way campaigns are run and how candidates are perceived.

Super Tuesday may be behind us, but the party nominees are far from decided. As we move closer to electing our 44th president, here are some books to help your students understand and get involved in the political process.

And for those fiction lovers, check out these picture books and novels with political themes.

Losing a loved one is a painful experience for both young and old.  Finding quality books to share with your students may help them through this tumultuous experience.  Titles in this week’s featured list highlight beautiful picture books and stories of strong characters persevering through one of the toughest times in their lives.

The Chinese New Year starts February 7, 2008 and goes through January 25, 2009.  First in the cycle of twelve animal signs, the Year of the Rat will be a time of hard work, activity, and renewal.  Some may find it a good year to begin a new job, get married or make a fresh start.

The Year of the Rat by Grace Lin is the sequel to The Year of the Dog and Pacy is not happy about the big changes the Rat Year has in store.  Students in Grades 3-5 will find it easy to relate to Pacy as throughout the year she finds the courage to face up to one change after another.  Near the end of the book Pacy’s attitude towards the Rat Year improves after she chooses to be ‘brave like a tiger’.  By reflecting on the changes through the year that had made her uncomfortable or nervous Pacy finds how much she's grown up during the Rat Year.  What's more, she finds she has the power to shape her own future and appreciate the differences between fate and destiny as well as wishes and resolutions.

What will the Year of the Rat bring for you?

One great book recommendation deserves another and another.  Check out these titles:
Great Picture Book Titles with Asian-American characters 
Great Elementary School Titles with Asian-American characters 
Great Middle School Titles with Asian-American characters 
Great High School Titles with Asian-American characters 

Sports stories, real or imagined, often feature several of the qualities that make great narrative: teamwork, competition, heartbreak, reward, heroism, to name a few. Good sportswriters are particularly adept in the use of synonyms, action words, and metaphor. From daily papers, popular magazines, and the Internet, some sportswriters have branched out to offer action-packed and thought-provoking titles for younger readers. Check out these great books by authors who make a living writing sports commentary.

Sometimes you just want both sides of the story.  Or all sides. 

One of the most popular novels from 2006 was a fast paced, two-sided look at one night.  Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist took two major talents in teen fiction and put them side-by-side in a novel that made high scores in both quality and popularity.  Cohn and Levithan are back together with 2007’s Naomi and Ely’s No Kiss List, which has even more perspectives on a story of two friends when friendship gets complicated.

Levithan is no stranger to alternating narrators.  In Are We There Yet? We get both points of view as two brothers, as different as can be, are tricked by their well-meaning parents into taking a vacation together. At first, they get on each other’s every last nerve. 17 year old Elijah’s serendipity clashes with 23 year old Danny’s organized business like manner. A girl comes between them and changes things, as girls always do. Levithan’s insightful prose makes it possible to experience Venice, Florence, and Rome along with Elijah and Danny, each in their own way.

Middle school readers might not be ready for Cohn and Levithan’s books, but they will not want to miss another great collaborative novel: Never Mind: A Twin Novel.  Rachel Vail and Avi put their talents together in this novel that alternates between two siblings. 

Don’t be limited to just one point of view.  Check out this list of great multi-voiced fiction for middle and high schoolers.

First-time authors are getting a lot of press lately with The Class of 2k7 and now The Class of 2k8 ready to roll, as well as the new William C. Morris YA Debut Award. The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) will announce the first recipient in January 2009. With hundreds of debuts by young adult novelists each year and new ways to celebrate and spread the word about these debuts, we’d like to chime in with our favorites from 2007 that are not to be missed:

Linda Urban’s A Crooked Kind of Perfect is a middle grade novel about what happens when reality doesn’t quite match up with your expectations.  Both funny and heartwarming, A Crooked Kind of Perfect is a potential pick to win the Newbery.

More intermediate level author debuts from 2007

Skulduggery Pleasant is an ace detective, a snappy dresser, a crackerjack sorcerer with razor-tongued wit, and a skeleton. He also happens to be the Tandem Collection Development Team’s Favorite Hero of 2007.  How could he not win an award just for being him? Watch for all of our team’s 2007 Award picks in our upcoming Spring Must-Have Titles catalog, coming January 2008.

More middle school level author debuts from 2007

Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr is a great read-alike for Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight books.  This incredibly popular 21st century faery tale is void of vampires, and unlike Bella in Meyers’ books, Aislinn desperately wants to stay human.

More high school level author debuts from 2007