Sentenced to Life at Seventeen—The Story of David Milgaard

April 23, 2013
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Sentenced to Life at Seventeen—The Story of David Milgaard

  Probably Sentenced to Life at Seventeen—The Story of David Milgaard by Cynthia J. Faryon will appeal to middle school readers, though it certainly can be used as high-interest/easy reading in high school classes. I myself enjoyed the parallel scenes at the start of the book where the author presents the diabolical actions of the…

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Once and Future New Orleans

April 18, 2013
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Once and Future New Orleans

“I wasn’t certain of anything anymore, except that New Orleans was a faithless friend and I wanted to leave her.” Out of the Easy, by Ruta Sepetys “Decisions, they shape our destiny.” Out of the Easy, by Ruta Sepetys “Some choices, once you make them, they stay made. And I had my reasons.” Orleans, by Sherri…

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Unplug & Read Week Special: A Review of Revenge of a Not-So-Pretty Girl

April 15, 2013
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Unplug & Read Week Special: A Review of Revenge of a Not-So-Pretty Girl

Unplug & Read Week is an annual event to encourage children and teenagers to back away from the “screens”—computers, tablets, smartphones, and television—and do something in the real world. This year’s event runs from April 29 to May 5, 2013. In the hope that reading a book will be one of the real world activities…

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SWEETHEARTS OF RHYTHM, The Story of the Greatest All-Girl Swing Band in the World

April 12, 2013
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SWEETHEARTS OF RHYTHM, The Story of the Greatest All-Girl Swing Band in the World

SWEETHEARTS OF RHYTHM, The Story of the Greatest All-Girl Swing Band in the World, What a picture book – written in verse with toe-tapping words that sing across the page, by Marilyn Nelson, and illustrated with collage, colors and scraps of historical photographs plus musical notation by Jerry Pinkney. This important part of America’s musical…

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About

The Pirate Tree is a collective of children's and young adult writers interested in children's literature and social justice issues. For editorial or administrative issues, or to contact any of the authors whose email addresses are unlisted, please contact J.L. Powers at the address below. If you have a book you'd like to recommend for a review or an interview subject, guest writer, or topic that you'd like to suggest, please contact J.L. Powers.

Ann: aangel [at] aol [dot] com
Nancy: wflood [at]hotmail [dot] com
Varian: vcj [at] varianjohnson [dot] com
E.M.: emkokie [at] gmail [dot] com
Lyn: lynml [at] me [dot] com
Peter: pmarino300 [at] yahoo [dot] com
J.L.: jlpowers [at] evaporites [dot] com

Mission Statement

The writers at The Pirate Tree seek to expose and discuss literature and writers for children and teenagers that delve into themes of social justice and social conscience. The title, “The Pirate Tree,” comes from a picture book that Lyn Miller-Lachmann once wrote about two children whose grandfathers fought on opposite sides of a war. The children were prohibited from going into each others’ yards, but they figured out a way to meet and play pirates together by climbing a tree with limbs and branches above both their yards. Like the story suggested, we are interested in books and writers that question and rebel against the status quo, argue for peace and reconciliation, take the side of the marginalized and powerless, and use creative solutions to overcome obstacles.

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