The Inkys – notes for teachers and librarians. The Longlist Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist Rachel Cohn & David Levithan Allen & Unwin Hook: Nick, the straight bassist in a queer-core punk band, sees his evil ex-girlfriend at a bar and, desperate not to look pathetic, turns to the random girl next to him and says “would you mind being my girlfriend for the next five minutes?” Contains some pretty blue language, but is basically a very sweet love story. Themes: music (punk) love friendship a little bit emo funny Official site: http://www.randomhouse.com/teens/nickandnorah/Author sites: http://www.rachelcohn.com/http://www.davidlevithan.com/Red Spikes Margo Lanagan Allen & Unwin Hook: Strange, creepy short stories. Impossible to define. Not fantasy, or horror, or realism. But also all of those things. Themes: Birth Bears Monkeys Rape Love Death Nursery rhymes Nightmares Mothers Stolen children Birds Heroes Bullying Heaven religion Mice fairies Winner of the 2007 CBCA Award for Older Readers Links Author blog: http://amongamidwhile.blogspot.com/Chasing Boys Karen Tayleur black dog books Hook: Girly teen book about friends, boys and family. A great title for girls who are a bit “stuck” in chicklit – this will keep them in their comfort zone, but extend them at the same time. Themes: School Coming of age Comedy Tragedy Romance An absent parent Fathers Links: Teachers’ notes: http://www.bdb.com.au/pdf/teachersnotes/chasing_boys_TN.pdf The Arrival Shaun Tan Hachette Hook: The Arrival is a migrant story told as a series of wordless images that might seem to come from a long forgotten time. Themes: Migration Strangers Family Home Illustration Love Alienation Community Identity Winner of the NSW Premier’s Literary award 2007, CBCA Picture Book of the Year 2007 Links: Author’s site: http://www.shauntan.net/books.html Finding Violet Park Jenny Valentine HarperCollins Hook: A boy tries to find out about a dead lady whose ashes he finds in an urn, and ends up finding out about himself. Themes: Family Absent Parent (father) Death Humour Love Memory Fathers Looking for Alaska John Green HarperCollins Hook: Miles (obsessed with famous people’s last words) goes to boarding school in search of “the Great Perhaps”. Instead he finds love, friendship, alcohol, pranks and tragedy. Themes: School An outsider Love Friendship Famous people Literature Alcohol Death Suicide Winner of the 2006 ALA Printz Award (and countless others). Links: Author’s site: http://sparksflyup.com/Author blog: http://sparksflyup.com/weblog.php Brotherhood 2.0: http://www.brotherhood2.com/(brotherhood 2.0 is a project involving John and his brother Hank, who have vowed not to communicate via text for an entire year. Instead, every day they post a video addressed to the other. These videos have become a bit of an internet phenomenon, and are now watched by thousands of devoted fans – or Nerdfighters, as they call themselves) Dairy Queen Catherine Gilbert Murdock Pan Macmillan Hook: Farm-girl DJ joins the boys’ football team. Themes: Family Love Sport (football) Friendship Regional (farm) Secrets Gay themes Fan Boy and Goth Girl Barry Lyga Pan Macmillan Hook: Unpopular, comic-book-loving Fanboy meets Kyra, an outrageous, cynical goth girl who turns his world upside down. Themes: Outsiders Popularity Friendship Bullying Family (step-parent) Comics/graphic novels School Love depression Goths geeks Links: Official Site: http://fanboyandgothgirl.com/Notes from the Teenage Underground Simmone Howell Pan Mac Hook: This summer is all about Underground, for Gem and her friends. She’s making a short film, falling in love and growing up. Themes: Outsiders Underground Avant-garde Film Friends Love Family An Absent Parent (father) Winner of a 2007 Victorian Premier’s Literary Award Links: Official site: http://www.teenageunderground.com/Author blog: http://simmone.livejournal.com/Dare Devils Bill Condon UQP Hook: Thorns is dying. And he doesn’t want to live longer, he just wants to live bigger. Themes: Death Friends Dreams Funny Tragic Family Absent parent (father) King Dork Frank Portman Penguin Hook: Rock, literature, dead people, naked people, blood, monks, witchcraft, a devilsheead mispronunciation, 25 prospective band-names and the secret to attracting semihho girls. Themes: Music (rock) Ousiders Bullying Literature (Catcher in the Rye) Absent Parent (father) Friends Love Humour Links: Author site: http://www.frankportman.com/index2.html Reading list: http://www.amazon.com/gp/richpub/listmania/fullview/R2BQ8P8YP8MUQB/ref=cm_rn a_own_lm/103-7058320-9497421 The Last Days Scott Westerfeld Penguin Hook: Vampires, parasites and rock n roll at the end of the world. Themes: Music (rock) Vampires Apocalypse Autism Love Friendship New York Links: Author site: www.scottwesterfeld.com Author blog: http://scottwesterfeld.com/blog Monica Bloom Nick Earls Penguin Hook: First loves and missed opportunities – a bittersweet romance in a minor key. Themes: Love Family Scandal Friendship Coming-of-age Nostalgia Links: Author site: http://www.nickearls.com/Blaze of Glory Michael Pryor Random House Hook: Magic and politics mix in a world that is very much like early 20th Century England. Themes: Fantasy (steampunk) Politics Magic Sacrifice Friendship Intrigue Links: Author’s site: http://www.michaelpryor.com.au/Will Maria Boyd Random Hook: Shakespeare! School musical! Mooning! Themes: Friends Gay themes (minor) School Family An Absent Parent (father) Love Valiant Holly Black S&S Hook: Street-kids shooting up fairy medicine with sinister and disastrous results. Themes: Fantasy (urban fantasy) Friends Family Love Monsters Drugs Homelessness An Absent Parent (father) Links: Author site: http://www.blackholly.com/Blog: http://blackholly.livejournal.com/Marty's Shadow John Heffernan Scholastic Hook: Troubling events, unresolved and hidden things from his past, haunt Marty's dreams and his days Themes: Mental health Tolerance Cultural differences Family Secrets Death Rural setting Links: Author site: http://www.spudplus.com The Birthmark Beth Montgomery Text Hook: This tropical island is no paradise for Lily and Hector. Themes: Ghosts History Race (Pacific Islander) Friendship Poverty World War 2 (Japanese) Survival Post-colonialism Octavian Nothing MT Anderson Walker Hook: An African boy is raised by a team of 19th century scientists who observe him closely – until the American Revolutionary war turns everything upside down. Themes: Family Betrayal Science History (Revolutionary America) Race (African-American) Migration The Penalty Mal Peet Walker Hook: Soccer, voodoo, bent cops, poverty and exploitation. Themes: Sport (soccer) Poverty Exploitation Voodoo Post-colonialism Slavery Superstition Race (Latin American) Literature Circles A number of these texts would work well together in Literature Circles – here are a few thematic ideas. (for more info on literature circles: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literature_Circles) Bullying King Dork Fan Boy and Goth Girl Red Spikes (‘Hero Vale’ in particular) Music The Last Days Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist King Dork Sport The Penalty Dairy Queen Death and Dying Dare Devils Finding Violet Park Chasing Boys Looking for Alaska Outsiders Looking In The Arrival King Dork Fanboy & Goth Girl Looking for Alaska The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing Following Your Dreams King Dork Red Spikes Finding Violet Park Dare Devils Dairy Queen Fanboy & Goth Girl Strange Journeys The Birthmark The Arrival Red Spikes Programming ideas • run your own Inkys in your school/library o with a ballot box o and how-to-vote cards o and get keen students to run ‘campaigns’ for their favourite book • ask readers to make shelf-talkers for the longlisted books • get your readers to “cast the films” of the longlisted books with real actors • make a ‘mixed tape’ playlist for an Inky book • start an Inkys Reviews blog • get your students to journal/blog as a character from a longlisted book • run a sweep for the winner (and donate the winnings to charity!) • create new covers/illustrations/comics/manga for the books • write the acceptance speech for the winning book (or the main character) • take a character from one longlisted book and put them in the world of another longlisted book • make a creative response to the book – illustration, a YouTube video, a blog, a short story, a poem, a diorama – no limits! • map the books (6 degrees of separation: for example, Nick & Norah connects to The Last Days because they are both about the New York music scene. The Last Days connects to Valiant because they are both about supernatural creatures living in New York. Valiant connects to Chasing Boys because they both have absent fathers. Etc etc) Talking about the Inkys I am very happy to come to schools/libraries and talk about insideadog.com.au, and the Inkys (and the longlist/shortlist). CYL doesn’t charge for these events, but we do encourage you to purchase some insideadog merchandise for your library. Travel expenses for visits outside the Melbourne area will also need to be subsidised. For more details, contact Lili Wilkinson at lwilkinson@slv.vic.gov.au or (03) 8664 7556. The Centre for Youth Literature The Centre for Youth Literature, State Library Victoria promotes reading as an active, pleasurable and essential activity for all young people. We believe that reading is not just something that is done as school work. The Centre also presents a dynamic program of creative reading activities for young people and professionals. We champion youth literature across the broader cultural spectrum. We are a national resource and network, with international connections in the field. For more information on CYL programs and activities, please visit our website at http://www.slv.vic.gov.au/about/centreforyouthliterature/youthlit.html Or call us on 03 8664 7014.