WAR GAMES: preparing for the Battle of the Books

From Spring Hill to St. Pete, students all over the Tampa Bay area are gearing up for the 2008 Battle of the Books competition. Right now, students are reading and rereading the Sunshine State Young Readers and Florida Teens Read nominated books and talking about them at the Times Book Battle Blog. In a couple of months, participating schools will give a qualifying test to determine which students are the most familiar with all the stories from the books on the list. Next, participating schools have their own battle and winning school teams will move on to participate in area battles then district battles. It is exciting as any game show you will find on television and the competition is fierce!

Starting today, Times Book Battle Blog has a new discussion category that is focused on preparing for the battles ahead. We are looking for your ideas and tips on how to get ready for the big event. If you have book battled before, send a study skill or game strategy that helped you get in fighting shape to jwilson@sptimes.com. We will be awarding string backpacks and Subway coupons for the best ideas, so be sure to include your name, grade and school along with your submission.

Copper Sun by Sharon Draper

Copper Sun by Sharon Draper

Amari is a 15-year-old Ashanti girl who is happily anticipating her marriage to Besa. When slavers arrive in her village, her family is slaughtered and her world shattered. Shackled and frightened she is shipped to the Carolinas and forced into slavery, Amari develops friendships and struggles for freedom in this historical fiction novel.

Most historical fiction authors spend a lot of time researching the era when their characters lived. Getting the details right makes their novels more believable and real to the readers. Imagine you are a historical fiction novelist living in the future and a friend has just given you a copy of the St. Petersburg Times from the year 2007, suggesting that you use a person you read about in the paper as the inspiration for your main character. Write a “sales pitch” to your publisher that describes your story. Be sure to mention the article that inspired it (date, headline, page number). Share your novel idea with other students participating in Florida Teens Read by posting it below. (Hint: you can write your pitch in a word processing program then cut and paste it into the comment box).

Runner by Carl Deuker

Runner by Carl Deuker

Chance Taylor's father, a Gulf War Veteran and alcoholic, is fired from his job. Chance worries where they will get the money to pay the moorage for the run-down sailboat they call home. Running along the Seattle waterfront is an escape from all his problems. When a marina employee offers to pay him $250 a week to pick up packages, Chance finds himself in danger and gets a glimpse of the heroic man his father once was.

Stories about soldiers, veterans and their families appear almost every day in the St. Petersburg Times, giving readers a tiny glimpse of the struggles our military families face. Look for a story in the Times about a member of the military and imagine that this person was your father or mother. Write a letter to the editor about what others can do to support military families. Give specific examples of challenges your “family” faces. Share your letter with other students participating in Florida Teens Read by posting it as a comment below. (Hint: you can write your letter in a word processing program then cut and paste it into the comment box).

Just Listen

Just Listen by Sarah Dessen is a novel that deals with many heavy topics – anger management, eating disorders, and sexual assault. The main character Annabel finds an unexpected ally through these problems in a boy named Owen, who is also battling his own demons. Annabel and Owen are two teens with nothing in common on the surface.

In the story, Owen tries to persuade Annabel that music is “ the great uniter”. Look through the entertainment sections of the St. Petersburg Times for stories about music and musicians (daily on page 2B, in the Floridian section and in Thursdays' WEEKEND tabloid). Read about music events in Tampa Bay and think about the audiences. What age groups and types of people would you expect to see at these concerts? In what cases does music truly act as a “uniter” like it did in Sarah Dessen’s novel? Why do so many teens use their musical identity to exclude others? Use an example of a music event, group or musician you read about in the Times to express your own view.

Last Apprentice: Can you find this job in the classified ads?

In Joseph Delaney’s story, the main character Thomas Ward is apprenticed at the tender age of twelve. The St. Petersburg Times has both a classified section for job listings and also many feature stories that discuss people’s careers. Looking at news articles that deal with careers, what jobs do you feel would benefit from apprenticeship instead of formal training like college? Select an apprenticeship-style job and a job that requires a college education. Write a short essay that compares and contrasts these two jobs and training paths. Be sure to tell us which path you would choose and why. Send your essay to jillwilson@sptimes.com and you might see it featured in the future on our Times NIE Web site.

Hit the Road: Talkin' about my generation

In the book Hit the Road by Caroline Coone, sixteen- year- old Brittany acts as a chauffeur for her grandmother and Gran's three friends on their way to a college reunion. Can you imagine spending that much time with a group of senior citizens? Look through today’s St. Petersburg Times and find two photos, one of teens and one of senior citizens. After examining both photos, determine why these two groups are sometimes leery of each other. What assumptions or stereotypes do both groups have for each other (based on appearance) that might prevent interaction? If you could write an article for the Times on Teen/Senior relations, what would you say? Write at least one paragraph in the comments section below and describe the photo or photos you found in the Times that would illustrate your points. Give the page number and photographer's name when possible.