Book List Updates: Low-Residency MFA in Writing for Children & Young Adults 2013
Why a required list?
Kelly Easton writes: “One wouldn’t become a painter without studying Degas and Picasso, or
a cellist without knowing the canon of classical music and listening to Yo Yo Ma and other
fine musicians. Language, like music, enters us through osmosis. Just as one needs to listen to
understand music, to see in order to grow as a painter, one needs to read constantly and
observantly in order to be a writer. Reading the best works possible, as the ones suggested on
this list, will allow us to study craft consciously and will elevate our language and thought
unconsciously. Reading the best work will allow us to write our best work.”
We believe that writers need a broad and deep knowledge of the field in which we work. In
our case, that field includes literature and its historical and cultural contexts. In Eleanora
Tate’s words, these books “offer today’s readers as well as today’s aspiring writers significant
insights into the hero’s or heroine’s time periods and places, they represent excellence in craft,
and they reveal much about both the various characters’ ethnic heritages and the realities of
who these characters are in the American and global community.”
These books also give faculty and students a common language with which to discuss
the literature as well as the craft of writing.
Why these books?
The original required reading list from 2007 included books that were nominated by faculty
and appeared on multiple recommended and award-winning book lists. The selection committee
chose books that had stood the test of time and that would serve as models of craft and good
writing. Seminal books that signaled a shift—in publishing, in form and style, in the culture at
large, in adults’ and children’s attitudes and interests—were an important part of the list.
In revising the list in 2009, faculty added a few new criteria to the original list: (1) to achieve
a balance between classic and contemporary literature; (2) to increase the racial and cultural
diversity of the books on the list; and (3) to strengthen the fantasy and nonfiction selections.
The 2013 committee was charged with two additional tasks: to make room on the list for books
written by every current member of the MFAC and to include books on the craft of writing.
There are other changes: Nonfiction and poetry titles are no longer in a separate category; they
have been integrated into the appropriate age-based category. Also, the categories Books for
Young Readers and Books for Middle Grade readers are now a single category: Books for
Younger/Elementary readers. And finally, the publication date of each title is included.
We encourage you to read, reflect, and examine. Carry on this discussion among
yourselves. Let the books serve as guides for your own work as writers. Books for the Very Young (Birth to Age 2) 1.
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Goodnight Moon (Margaret Wise Brown, 1947) Mr. Gumpy’s Outing ( John Burningham, 1971) The Very Hungry Caterpillar or Brown Bear (Eric Carle, 1969) The Carrot Seed (Ruth Krauss, 1945) Max and Ruby, Max’s New Suit, or Max’s First Word or any Max book(Rosemary Wells, 1990s-­‐
present) Picture Books (Ages 2 to 8) 1. Madeline (Ludwig Bemelmans, 1939) 2. Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel (Virginia Lee Burton, 1939) 3. Big Bang! The tongue-­‐tickling tale of a speck that became spectacular (Carolyn Cinami DeCristofano, 2005) 4. Millions of Cats (Wanda Gág, 1928) 5. Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse (Kevin Henkes, 1996) 6. Bread and Jam for Frances (1964) or How Tom Beat Captain Najork and His Hired Sportsmen (1974) (Russell Hoban) 7. Sky Boys: How They Built the Empire State Building (Deborah Hopkinson and James E. Ransome, 2006) 8. The Snowy Day (Ezra Jack Keats, 1962) 9. The Story of Ferdinand (Munro Leaf, 1936) 10. Sam and the Tigers ( Julius Lester, 1996) 11. Make Way for Ducklings (Robert McCloskey, 1941) 12. We are the Ship (Kadir Nelson, 2008) 13. The Tale of Peter Rabbit (Beatrix Potter, 1902) 14. Curious George (H.A. Rey, 1941) 15. Tar Beach (Faith Ringgold, 1991) 16. Grandfather’s Journey (Allen Say, 1993) 17. The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs (Jon Scieszka, 1989) 18. Where the Wild Things Are(Maurice Sendak, 1963) 19. Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night (Joyce Sidman, 2010) 20. Doctor De Soto (1982) or Sylvester and the Magic Pebble (1969) Brave Irene (1986) (William Steig) 21. Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters (John Steptoe, 1988) 22. The House in the Night (Susan Marie Swanson, 2008) 23. Show Way (Jacqueline Woodson, 2005) Books for Beginning Readers (Ages 5 to 7) 1.
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Bronzeville Boys and Girls (Gwendolyn Brooks, 1956) Frog and Toad Are Friends (Arnold Lobel, 1970) Little Bear (Else Holmelund Minarik, 1957) The Cat in the Hat (1957) or Green Eggs and Ham (1960) (Dr. Seuss) Coral Reefs (Seymour Simon, 2013) There is a Bird on Your Head (Mo Willems, 2007) Books for Younger/Elementary grade readers 1. Freedom Riders: John Lewis and Jim Zwerg on the Front Lines of the Civil Rights Movement (Anne Bausum, 2005) 2. The Folk Keeper (Franny Billingsley, 1999) 3. Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret (Judy Blume, 1970) 4. The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett, 1911) 5. Ramona the Pest (Beverly Cleary, 1968) 6. What Jamie Saw (Carolyn Coman, 1995) 7. Bud Not Buddy (1999) or The Watsons Go to Birmingham (1997) (Christopher Paul Curtis) 8. James and the Giant Peach (Roald Dahl, 1961) 9. How to Make a Mummy Talk (1997) or Bodies from the Ice (2008) (James Deem) 10. Because of Winn-­‐Dixie (2000) or The Tale of Despereaux (2003) (Kate DiCamillo) 11. Out of My Mind (Sharon Draper, 2010) 12. The Birchbark House (Louise Erdrich, 1999) 13. Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices (Paul Fleischman, 1988) 14.
Who Was First: Discovering America (Russell Freedman, 2007) 15. It's Perfectly Normal (Robie Harris, 1996) 16. The Dream Keeper and Other Poems (Langston Hughes, 1932) 17. From the Mixed-­‐Up files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankenweiler (E. Konigsburg, 1967) 18. The Complete Nonsense of Edward Lear (Edward Lear, 19th Century; 2001 reprint) 19. The Giver (Lois Lowry, 1993) 20. Sarah, Plain and Tall (Patricia MacLachlan, 1985) 21. Baseball Saved Us (Ken Mochizuki, 1993) 22. Carver: A Life in Poems (2001) or A Wreath for Emmett Till (2005) (Marilyn Nelson) 23. The Borrowers (Mary Norton, 1952) 24. Island of the Blue Dolphins (Scott O’Dell, 1960) 25. Bridge to Terabithia (Katherine Paterson, 1977) 26. Hatchet (Gary Paulsen, 1987) 27. Clementine (Sara Pennypacker, 2008) 28. The Golden Compass (Philip Pullman, 1995) 29. Esperanza Rising by (Pam Munoz Ryan, 2000) 30. Holes (Louis Sachar, 1998) 31. Maniac Magee (1990) or Wringer (1997) (Jerry Spinelli) 32. When You Reach Me (Rebecca Stead, 2009) 33. Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry (Mildred Taylor, 1976) 34. Charlotte’s Web (E. B. White, 1952) 35. Little House in the Big Woods (Laura Ingalls Wilder, 1932) 36. Amber Was Brave, Essie Was Smart (Vera B. Williams, 2001) 37. One Crazy Summer (Rita Williams-­‐Garcia, 2010) 38. Dragon Wings (Laurence Yep, 1975) Books for Older Readers (Ages 12 and up) 1. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-­‐Time Indian (Sherman Alexi, 2007) 2. The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party (M.T. Anderson, 2006) 3.
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Speak (1999) Fever 1793 (2000)(Laurie Halse Anderson) Tuck Everlasting (Natalie Babbitt, 1975) Shipbreaker (Paolo Bacigalupi, 2010) Hitler Youth: Growing up in Hitler’s Shadow (Susan Campbell Bartoletti, 2005) Hope Was Here (Joan Bauer, 2000) Am I Blue (Marion Dane Bauer, 1994) The Chocolate War (1974) or I Am the Cheese (1977) (Robert Cormier) The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm (1994) or The House of the Scorpion (2002) (Nancy Farmer) Looking for Alaska (John Green, 2005) Bronx Masquerade (Nikki Grimes, 2002) The Goose Girl (Shannon Hale, 2003) Out of the Dust (Karen Hesse, 2002) The Outsiders (S. E. Hinton, 1967) Black Juice (Margo Lanagan, 2004) A Wizard of Earthsea (Ursula K. LeGuin, 1968) Darkness Over Denmark (Ellen Levine, 2000) Boy Meets Boy (David Levithan, 2003) The Great Fire (1995) or An American Plague: the True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793 (2003) (Jim Murphy) Fallen Angels (1988) or Monster (1999) (Walter Dean Myers) Persepolis (Marjane Satrapi, 2003) Bomb (Steve Sheinkin, 2012) Stitches (David Small, 2009) Partly Cloudy: Poems of Love and Longing (Gary Soto, 2012) Code Name Verity (Elizabeth Wein, 2012) The Book Thief (Markus Zusak, 2005) Craft Books 1.
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In the Palm of Your Hand (Steve Kowit) Storycraft: The Complete Guide to Writing Narrative Nonfiction (Jack Hart) Writing Comics (Scott McCleod) Writing Fiction (Janet Burroway, any edition) Writing Picture Books (Ann Whitford Paul) Faculty Books 1.
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Split (Swati Avasthi) Up North at the Cabin (Marsha Wilson Chall) The Outlandish Adventures of Liberty Aimes (Kelly Easton) The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-­‐Banks (Emily Jenkins) Newsgirl (Liza Ketchum) Lies, Knives, and Girls in Red Dresses (Ron Koertge) Snowflake Bentley (Jacqueline Briggs Martin) My Country Tis of Thee: How One Song Reveals the History of Civil Rights (Claire Rudolf Murphy) 9.
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Hometown (Marsha Qualey) Big Mama Makes the World (Phyllis Root) Bad Apple (Laura Ruby) Okay for Now (Gary Schmidt) Celeste’s Harlem Renaissance (Eleanora Tate) Behind the Mask (Jane Resh Thomas) The Real Boy (Anne Ursu) American Born Chinese (Gene Yang)