The YA Book Log

HAVE YOU READ THE BEST OF 2010 PART TWO — NONFICTION

You have opened your presents, eaten your favorite holiday meal, so now it is time for a little mental stimulation. Here is the list of nonfiction titles recommended for young adult from the library periodical, School Library Journal.
FREDERICK DOUGLASS: A NOBLE LIFE by David Adler
Born a slave, and separated from his mother at a young age, Douglass was raised on plantations owned by people both cruel and caring. But freedom was never far from his mind and, once he achieved it, he became an eloquent spokesperson for the rights of others. (Grades 7 up)
THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE BARBIE: A DOLL’S HISTORY AND HER IMPACT ON US by Tanya Lee Stone
This biography examines how the Barbie doll became the icon that she is and the impact she has had on our culture through passionate anecdotes and memories from a range of girls and women. (Grades 6 up)
THE NOTORIOUS BENEDICT ARNOLD: A TRUE STORY OF ADVENTURE, HEROISM & TREACHERY By Steve Sheinkin
This title provides a biography of America’s first traitor–Benedict Arnold–that reads like an adventure tale, full of heroism, treachery, battle scenes, and surprising twists. (Grades 7 up)
SUGAR CHANGED THE WORLD: A STORY OF MAGIC, SPICE, SLAVERY, FREEDOM AND SCIENCE by Marc Aronson and Marina Budhos
This narrative looks at the biter realities behind the growth, harvesting, and refining of sugar cane, including its role in driving the Atlantic slave trade and the displacement and brutalization of millions of people. (Grades 8 up)
THEY CALL THEMSELVES THE K.K.K.: THE BIRTH OF AN AMERICAN TERRORIST GROUP by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
This book documents the history and origin of the Ku Klux Klan from its beginning in Pulaski, Tennessee, and provides personal accounts, congressional documents, diaries, and more. (Grades 7-10)
TIME YOU LET ME IN: 25 POETS UNDER 25
selected by Naomi Shihab Nye
Twenty-five poets on the cusp of adulthood brings hope, humor, intelligence, passions and complications in this book of poetry (Grades 9 up)
THE WAR TO END ALL WARS: WORLD WAR I by Russell Friedman
While historians debate the causes of the First World War, there is no disagreement that it ushered in an era of modern warfare with weapons capable of mass destruction and death. This book chronicles the conflict.
(Grades 7 up)