Nonfiction Monday: Grayson by Lynne Cox

Nonfiction Monday is a weekly meme in the Kidlitosphere that invites bloggers to read and review a nonfiction book on Monday as a way to promote high-quality nonfiction titles.  Each week, a different blogger "hosts" Nonfiction Monday and provides a roundup of all the posts.  This week Nonfiction Monday is hosted by Shelf-employed!

Grayson by Lynne Cox



As an adult, world-class open water swimmer Lynne Cox has completed some of the most amazing feats.  From holding records for the fastest swim across the English Channel to swimming the chilly waters of the Bering Strait and Antarctica, she has done it all.  This memoir is not about any of those swims.

When Lynne was just 17 years old, she went out one Saturday morning for an otherwise routine swim in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California.  As she was coming in from her swim, she felt a large presence in the water below her, which she thought at first was a shark.  It turned out to be a baby whale that had gotten lost from its mother.  Though tired and ready to rest and eat, Cox knew that if she came in, she risked beaching the baby whale, so she stayed out in cold waters, swimming out into deeper waters, in hopes of locating the mother whale and reuniting her with her nursing baby.

As an avid reader of nonfiction and first year middle school librarian, I found our narrative nonfiction collection (and my knowledge of such titles for students) to be lacking.  I went out in search memoirs and other nonfiction narratives that, even if not written specifically for a middle school audience, had a distinct appeal to younger readers.  After posting on listservs, checking all the YALSA book lists and trolling the internet for days, I came up with a list of titles to order, and Grayson was at the top.  Our library already had her memoir Swimming to Antarctica, and while it wasn't really circulating, I thought this slim, simply designed memoir would be the perfect gateway book for getting students interested in taking on some meatier nonfiction.  Grayson has it all:     a teen protagonist, a unique sporting interest (we have students who are competitive skiers, skeet shooters, gymnasts, dancers, fencers, etc.), a precious baby animal, the dangers of the open ocean, and, not to be overlooked, less than 200 pages.  This was the book I had been looking for.  As soon as it arrived, it went right to the top of my pile and I sat down to give it a read. It was just the quick, tender and suspenseful read that I was hoping it would be.  Cox incorporates information about open water swimming and gray whales into the story so well that readers don't even realize they are learning something new in the midst of a tender story.

I always include Grayson in my beginning of the year book talks for 7th grade and I can always be assured that from the moment I show the cover and mention the words "baby whale" that the book will be checked out for most of year.  Droves of (let's face it, mostly female) students put their names on the hold list.  At the start of this year, knowing how popular animal nonfiction is with our students and that students in the 7th grade had read My Dog Skip over the summer as part of the required reading, we put out a display of animal narrative nonfiction books that included Grayson, Wesley the Owl, Rascal, and Unlikely Friendships.  Unsurprisingly, it was a very popular display, and Grayson went out on the first day of school before I even had a chance to mention it to students.  Just look at the cover!  And the small size.  How could you not want to read this book?

I strongly recommend Grayson for every library that serves middle and high school aged students.

The LibrariYAn is an Amazon Associate. If you click from links on this blog to Amazon and buy something (anything!), I receive a small percentage of the purchase price.

Nonfiction Monday: The Pregnancy Project by Gaby Rodriguez

Nonfiction Monday is a weekly meme in the Kidlitosphere that invites bloggers to read and review a nonfiction book on Monday as a way to promote high-quality nonfiction titles.  Each week, a different blogger "hosts" Nonfiction Monday and provides a roundup of all the posts.  This week Nonfiction Monday is hosted by Jean Little Library.

The Pregnancy Project: A Memoir by Gaby Rodriguez



Gaby's mom and older sisters all got pregnant when they were teenagers.  Her brothers were teen fathers.  By the time Gaby, the youngest, got to high school, it was pretty much accepted that she would meet a similar fate and wind up high school dropout with a baby and no future.  A good student with lots going for her despite the poverty in which she grew up, Gaby was determined that she would finish high school and go to college, defying the stereotype.  So when Gaby announced to her family, friends and teachers that she was pregnant, it wasn't so much a surprise as it was a disappointment.  Instead of rising above her destiny, she'd accepted it.  What they (aside from her mom, boyfriend, one sister and one teacher) didn't know, was that the pregnancy was fake.  For her senior project, Gaby wanted to see how people would react if she was pregnant. She worked with her mom to construct a baby bump and got her boyfriend to agree to go along with it (and not tell his parents).  What would people say to her face? Behind her back? Would teachers still believe in her?  The Pregnancy Project  details Gaby's project from start to finish.  In addition to sharing her personal story, the book also includes a variety of statistics and research about teen pregnancy.

Honest and insightful, The Pregnancy Project is an intriguing look into the world of teenage pregnancy and the cycle of poverty.  Rodriguez does not shy away from topics of religion, class or race, instead embracing the stereotypes and digging deep to see how stereotypes can be damaging.  While television shows like Teen Mom make overnight celebrities out of high school girls who become young mothers, Gaby's story does just the opposite.  There is nothing glitzy about her story.  Though in the end her story did turn into international news, it did so because it was a hoax.  The meat of the story though, is about the struggles Gaby faced: the hurtful things people said about her, the way she was treated disrespectfully, the times she wanted to just give up on the project and tell everyone the truth.  While it won't win any literary awards, it covers an important topic and in a new way that has lots of teen appeal.

Recommended for: high school girls...and boys of all races, religions and economic classes.  I could definitely see this being used as part of a high school health curriculum and starting some really engaging discussions among students.  Lots to talk about.

The LibrariYAn is an Amazon Associate. If you click from links on this blog to Amazon and buy something (anything!), I receive a small percentage of the purchase price.