The Submission

by Amy Waldman

Adult Title

The chosen winner of a contest to design the memorial for victims of a terrorist attack is an American Muslim, and the judges hesitate. Personal grief and fear of public opinion undermine the healing message of the winning design. Whether or not to name a Muslim the winner creates a national outcry. Discussion Questions

Will Grayson, Will Grayson

by David Levithan and John Green

Grades 9 & Up Title

One cold night, on a street corner in Chicago, two teens—both named Will Grayson—are about to cross paths. As their worlds collide and intertwine, the Will Graysons find their lives going in new and unexpected directions, building toward romantic turns-of-heart and the production of history's most fabulous high school musical. Discussion Questions

Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice

by Phillip Hoose

Grades 5 - 8 Title

A fifteen-year-old girl, fed up with Jim Crow segregation, refused to give up her seat to a white woman on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama in 1955. Claudette's arrest and conviction was the spark that led to the Montgomery bus boycott and led to the end of Jim Crow laws in the South. Discussion Questions

How Tia Lola Learned to Teach

by Julia Alvarez

Grades 1 - 4 Title

Miguel and Juanita's great-aunt, Tia Lola, is living with the family in Vermont. She is asked to teach Spanish at their school while learning English. Her visitor's visa is about to expire and the town rallies to extend her visa from the Dominican Republic. Everything Tia Lola does turns into an adventure. Discussion Questions

Spork

by Kyo Maclear

Pre-K Title

Neither spoon nor fork, Spork did not fit in and neither a bowler hat nor a crown could win him a place at the table. Spork wondered about other misfits, until the morning "a messy thing arrived." Simple but expressive illustrations are muted but brought to life by the contrasting red, particularly the red of "the mess." Discussion Questions