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Commuter Picks VI features kids’ books so good, you’ll arm-wrestle to see who reads them first. I take two trains and a bus to work and ask commuters of all ages about their favorite book. If it’s in the DCPL catalog, I read it and recommend it to you! When I explored Commuter Kids’ picture books, I promised to recommend books for older children and young adults. Today’s selection spans basketball poetry, fairy tale fantasy, nerd love manga, a teen’s true survivor story, and a graphic amulet adventure. You’ll laugh! You’ll cry! Best of all... you can check ‘em out!
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A seventh grader, riding the Green Line with his mom and brother, beamed when he recommended this multi-award-winning chapter book. "It’s about my favorite sport—basketball!” he said. This masterpiece by bestselling author, poet and local literacy luminary Kwame Alexander is equal parts humor and Homer, teeming with insights, including life lessons dressed up as coaching advice. Told entirely in clever poetry with changing type face, size and direction, it syncs you with the beat, beat, beat of a young teen's dribble, mind, and struggling heart. The title, The Crossover, is wordplay for a basketball maneuver and...oh, sorry, no spoilers!
Give a big Bravo Zulu to the Commuter Kid history buff who recommended this unforgettable true survival story. A German U-boat attacks a Canada-bound convoy evacuating 90 children from the London Blitz. Thirteen-year-old Ken Sparks suddenly finds himself adrift in the Atlantic with “46 souls in thirty feet of timber shorter than a London bus.” Like The Crossover, Lifeboat 12 uses free verse, type size and capitalization to breathe life into this harrowing story. Meticulously researched and poignantly told, Lifeboat 12 won the Golden Kite Award for middle grade fiction from the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.
We all know Snow White’s evil queen, desperate to be fairest of them all. But only Chris Colfer has wondered who sold her beauty products! Our recommender gobbled up the Land of Stories series in middle school, but Beyond the Kingdoms was his favorite. "I really loved it,” he said. “I felt like I was in it.” Which is appropriate since it's about a magic potion that allows our heroes (and villains) to literally descend into our famous fairy tales and see the characters for who they really are. It’s also a sly meditation on the magical power of storytelling.
You’ll know by page one why two Commuter Kids chose this bestselling nine-book graphic novel series as their favorite. Lush illustrations draw you deep into this fascinating story about a girl who inherits an heirloom amulet that promises “a great and glorious power beyond anything you ever imagined.” In the chilling prologue, a tragic car accident kills her father. Soon, a monster seizes her mother. “Just trust me, Emily,” the young heroine’s mother had told her, “It’s better to lead a normal life, like everyone else,” Fortunately for Mom, Emily ignores her advice. You'll be breathless for the next book.
A young woman heading from the Dupont Circle Metro to Fantom Comics told me about this classic young adult Japanese manga series. “It relates to me,” she said. “It’s hard to find romance when you’re so much of a nerd and not used to talking to other people.” Perhaps the world’s most awkward rom com, Wotakoi is about childhood friends who reunite at work, where their passion for manga culture and gaming is frowned upon. Fascinating explanatory notes elevate your reading to the next level. “The fact that other nerds can make it happen gives me hope!” our recommender says.
About the Author
Barbara Cornell is a Library Associate at the William O. Lockridge Bellevue Neighborhood Library. She grew up in Michigan, where the public library across the street from her house was a first declaration of independence. Since then, she has lived in five countries and always finds a home in books. She has two grown sons and lives with her husband in Washington, DC.