Georgia Center for Book names 25 books kids should read

Hoping to captivate more kids in this Wii- and PlayStation-obsessed age with the old-school charms of words and pictures on a page, the Georgia Center for the Book on Thursday unveiled a list of “25 Books All Young Georgians Should Read."

The Decatur-based organization, having produced four lists of "25 Books All Georgians Should Read" since 2002, decided it was overdue to do the same for children's literature.

"There's never been a list like this in Georgia, and our hope is that it will serve as an instigator and stimulus to connect readers and writers of these books," Bill Starr, the center's executive director, told the honored authors and illustrators at a spirited Decatur reception..

Starr predicted that the list would be valuable for parents, teachers, librarians and young readers across the state. He told the honorees that the center hopes to send them to Georgia libraries and schools for free public readings and programs over the next two years via a Georgia Humanities Council grant and other funders to be determined.

Many of the authors are expected to appear at a public celebration of the list's release from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday on the Decatur Square.

The list was selected by writers, educators, librarians and media representatives on the center's advisory council. Honorees include:

Picture books (Pre-k+)

•"Little Duck" by Liz Conrad (illustrator). The late Suwanee author-illustrator's board book finds a happy little duck eager to share his springtime fun with others.

•"14 Cows for America," Carmen Deedy (author), Thomas Gonzalez (illustrator). Months after Sept. 11, Massai nomads in Kenya give a gift of friendship and respect to a grieving people half a world away. The author and illustrator are natives of Cuba now living in metro Atlanta.

•"Soap, Soap, Soap -- Jabόn, Jabόn, Jabόn," Elizabeth O. Dulemba (author and illustrator). From the Avondale Estates author-illustrator, the story of a young boy whose adventures lead him to a soapy ending.

•"The Origami Master," Nathaniel Lachenmeyer (author), Aki Sogabe (illustrator). A Marietta author's story of a solitary Japanese origami master who learns about true friendship -- and additional origami skills -- from a magical warbler.

•"Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes," Eric Litwin (author), James Dean (illustrator). The shoes of Dean's famed feline keep changing colors as he steps in all sorts of stuff, but he keeps on movin' and groovin' in Litwin's hep-cat tale.

•"The Monster Who Did My Math," Danny Schnitzlein (author), Bill Mayer (illustrator). A little boy makes a deal with a monster only to realize that everything comes with a price. The author lives in Marietta, the illustrator in Decatur.

•"This Is the Dream," Diane Z. Shore and Jessica Alexander (authors), James Ransome (illustrator). A memoir of the pre- and post-civil rights era that emphasizes extraordinary changes wrought by ordinary people. Shore resides in Marietta, Alexander in Roswell.

Early readers (grades K-3)

•"Mittens," Lola Schaefer. From a Dawsonville author, a book about a tiny kitten looking for safety, security and love in a big new home.

Graphic novel (grades 4+)

•"Owly," Andy Runton. A story told by a Roswell author-illustrator, with minimal words, of a lonely little owl and his quest for friends.

Middle readers (grades 4-8)

•"Freedom Train," Evelyn Coleman. An Atlanta writer's portrait of life in the segregated South of the 1940s that focuses on a young white boy's awakening to the realities of race.

•"A Yellow Watermelon," Ted Dunagan. A Monticello author's story of two young boys, one black and one white, whose friendship overrides Alabama's racial divide in the segregation era.

•"The Tree That Owns Itself and Other Adventure Tales from Out of the Past," Gail Karwoski and Loretta Johnson Hammer. A collection of stories from Watkinsville co-authors illuminating many periods of Georgia's history.

• "Joseph," Shelia Moses. The story, by an Atlanta author, of a 15-year-old boy and his efforts to escape a North Carolina ghetto, help his drug-addicted mother and ensure his own survival.

•"Yankee Girl," Mary Ann Rodman. An Alpharetta author's novel, based on her own experiences, about white and black kids in 1964 Mississippi schools and their struggle to defy the crowd while learning to be themselves.

•"Alexander the Great Rocks the World," Vicky Alvear Shecter. A comic "dude" from the pages of history comes to life in a contemporary-style telling by a DeKalb County writer.

•"Honey Bea," Kim L. Siegelson. A DeKalb County author's story about a young girl in slavery-era Louisiana that blends fairy tale, African myth and voodoo.

• "A Taste of Blackberries," Doris Buchanan Smith. A 1973 classic by the late Atlantan, a story of a young boy who must come to terms with the unexpected death of his best friend.

•"Any Which Wall," Laurel Snyder. From an Atlanta poet-essayist, a tale of four kids who are transported to other times and places by a magic wall.

•"Each Little Bird That Sings," Deborah Wiles. A DeKalb County author's story details how a family in the funeral business comes to terms with the death of a 94-year-old great-great-aunt.

Young adults (grades 7+)

• "Peaches," Jodi Lynn Anderson. A story about love, broken spirits, the healing power of friendship and picking the perfect peach from a native Georgian now living in the District of Columbia.

•"I Am Rembrandt's Daughter," Lynn Cullen. From an Atlanta author, a daughter's coming-of-age drama in the shadow of a father who's one of the world's most brilliant and complicated artists.

•"The Maze Runner," James Dashner. A novel of fantasy, the first in a planned trilogy, by a Cobb County native now living in Utah.

•"Blood Brothers," S.A. Harazin. A Lawrenceville author's novel about a 17-year-old boy who works at a hospital and who is forced to make agonizing decisions.

•"Pure," Terra McVoy. In this story by a Decatur author, girls wear purity rings as a commitment to abstinence before marriage, and then complications ensue when one confesses having sex.

•"First Shot," Walter Sorrells. The Edgar Award-winner is honored for this mystery about a high school boy who suspects his father may be a killer.

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