Weetzie Bat

Block, F.L. (1989). Weetzie Bat. New York: Harper & Row. 
ISBN:  978-0060736255
paperback: $7.44

Literary Awards

• ALA Best of the Best Books for Young Adults
• ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers
• ALA Best Book for Young Adults
• Parents' Choice Gold Award

Annotation

Part fairy-tale, part realistic fiction, Weetzie Bat is about a girl navigating her life with happiness and friends.

Review

Weetzie Bat...it's her name and her character is just as quirky.  Part fairy-tale, part realistic fiction, Weetzie Bat is the story of a girl growing up from high school to young adulthood and wanting the perfect life.  She has a gay best friend and wants to find the perfect "duck" (boy) for both of them.  Their friendship remains strong even as their lives move forward and more characters join them.  Enter Duck, My Secret Agent Lover Man and a baby and Weetzie Bat has her perfect, non-traditional family.  

Block has created a whimsical world for Weetzie Bat.  Love is the strongest theme of the book and readers will like the characters instantly.  Readers who enjoy realistic fiction with a twist of fantasy will be drawn in immediately and will root for Weetzie Bat, her lovable friends and their happiness the whole time.  (grades 9 and up)

Check out Francesca Lia Block on her blog, Facebook and Twitter!

Diego: Bigger Than Life

Grand, C. T., & Diaz, D. (2009). Diego: bigger than life. New York: Marshall Cavendish Children.

http://www.carmenberniergrand.com/

 

Literary Awards:

Pura Belpre Honor Book 2010

Annotation:

The life of Diego Rivera from birth till his death, told in snippets of poetry.

Booktalk:

Through poetry and art, Grand and Diaz have created a biography that will wet your whistle for more information.  This biography starts at the very beginning of Diego Rivera's life and goes through his death in 1957.  It chronicles his struggles in life; the deaths of siblings and wives, and his passion for art.  The book includes an index with the titles of each poem.  There is also an epilogue and many notes from the author at the end.  Grand comments that Rivera was a very good storyteller making it hard at times to know what was true and what was an embellishment.  Grand's notes at the end of the book cover all of these things followed by a glossary, a chronology of Rivera's life, and sources.  

The poetry in Diego: Bigger Than Life is fluid and the pictures are reminiscent of Mexican folk-art   A great read for anyone interested in artists or just a good biographical story.  The struggles Diego goes through, especially at the beginning of his life, will intrigue a teen audience for sure.  A good supporting book for research.