Contemporary Realism Jenny Murphy

Julia Alvarez March 27, 1950 Alvarez was born in the Dominican Republic. B.A.: Middlebury College, 1971 M.A. in creative writing: Syracuse University, 1975 She became a tenured professor at Middlebury College in In 1998, she became a part-time professor in order to also serve as a writer-in- residence. In 1991, after more than 20 years of writing with no publication success, her first novel, How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents, was published.

Julia Alvarez, cont. Alvarez writes in a variety of genres and has published essays, stories, and poems in a variety of media outlets. Alvarez In the Time of the Butterflies was named an American Library Association Notable Book and a National Book Critics Circle Award finalist. Many of her books have also won the ALA Notable Children's Book, the ALA Best Book for Young Adults, and the Pura Belpre Award.

Return to Sender 2010 Winner of the Pura Belpré and Américas Award “With quiet drama, Alvarez tells a contemporary immigration story through the alternating viewpoints of two young people in Vermont... The plot is purposive, with messages about the historical connections between migrant workers today and the Indians’ displacement, the Underground Railroad, and earlier immigrants seeking refuge. But the young people’s voices make for a fast read; the characters, including the adults, are drawn with real complexity; and the questions raised about the meaning of patriotism will spark debate. Grades Hazel Rochman, Booklist

Discussion Questions 1. What role does Mari’s diary play in the development of the plot and themes? 2. What messages does this novel share regarding immigration? 3. Did the addition of Spanish text in the dialog add to/take away from your experience as a reader? What did you think about Alvarez’s note at the end?

Judy Blume Feb. 12, Blume was born Judy Sussman into an Orthodox Jewish home in Elizabeth, New Jersey. She suffered a difficult passage through puberty, during which time she discovered the importance of books and friendship. She received a B.A. in childhood education and soon after married John M. Blume. She had two children with him and has since remarried twice.

Judy Blume, cont. In 1966 she began making up rhymed children's stories and later illustrated them with colored pencils. She then took a course in writing for children at NYU. She is now the award-winning author of close to 30 books.award-winning author

Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret. “With sensitivity and humor Judy Blume has captured the joys, fears, and uncertainty that surround a young girl approaching adolescence.” –Publishers Weekly In 2011, the book was placed on Time Magazine’s top 100 fiction books written in English since 1923.

Discussion Questions 1. Compare and contrast the way Margaret perceives religion and her relationship with God versus the way the adults in the book perceive it (her parents and grandparents). 2. During my research, I discovered that there were efforts to ban this book from libraries in the 1970s, some of which were successful. Why do you think that people wanted to have it banned? 3. If a young girl asked you for this book while you were working at the service desk, would you also consider recommending It’s So Amazing to her?

Jacqueline Woodson February 12, Jacqueline Woodson lived in Greenville, South Carolina, until she was seven and then settled in Brooklyn, New York. She was raised as a strict Jehovah's Witness. In 1985 Woodson graduated from college with a B.A. in English. She has written more than 25 books, which have have received a variety of awards, including the Kenyon Review Award for Literary Excellence in Fiction, an ALA Best Book for Young Adults, an ALA Notable Children's Book, a Coretta Scott King Honor Book, a Jane Addams Peace Award Honor Book, and the Lambda Award for Young Adult fiction.

Woodson’s inspiration “There are a lot of roads by which one arrives at being the person they are. But I think that the person we are becoming is already somewhere inside of us, waiting to be born. I think of myself as a writer that way. I knew I wanted to be a writer as early as fifth grade. I knew there were stories I wanted to tell, things I wanted to say. I wanted clarity. I wanted to be able to create a world in which I had the answers, in which I could make up my own endings.”

After Tupac and D Foster Her author website provides nice groupings of her titles by reading level. Her author website “I think Tupac was an amazing activist and I wanted to create a story around his story. The more I wrote, the more there was to say about Tupac and about the girls.” It received two awards, the Newbery Honor Medal and the 2009 Josette Frank Award.

After Tupac and D Foster “The summer before D Foster’s real mama came and took her away, Tupac wasn’t dead yet.” From this first line in her quiet, powerful novel, Woodson cycles backward through the events that lead to dual tragedies: a friend’s departure and a hero’s death.... Beautifully capturing the girls’ passage from childhood to adolescence, this is a memorable, affecting novel about the sustaining power of love and friendship and each girl’s developing faith in her own “Big Purpose.” Grades Gillian Engberg, Booklist.

Discussion Questions 1. What messages about family and friends are presented in this novel? 2. Why are these three girls and their families so interested in the events of Tupac’s life? 3. What “Big Purpose” are each of the girls searching for?

Works Cited Alvarez, Julia. (2004). Ninth Book of Junior Authors & Illustrators (Bio Ref Bank). Blume, Judy. (2010). Biography Reference Bank (Bio Ref Bank). Jacqueline Woodson: Books for Children and Young Adults. (2014). Retrieved from Judy Blume on the Web. (n.d.). Retrieved from Julia Alvarez. (2014). Retrieved from Woodson, Jacqueline. (2000). Eighth Book of Junior Authors & Illustrators (Bio Ref Bank).