Books about Louisiana and Books by Louisiana Authors 2009 - 2010

1. Books about Louisiana and Books by Louisiana Authors2009 - 2010

2. Built Below Sea Level: New Orleansby: Laura Strom • Includes index. Explores the history, social life, customs, and geography of New Orleans and discusses Hurricane Katrina. Includes a glossary and an index. • Non-Fiction • AR BL: 5.3 (MG) • Points: 0.5

3. The Chalk Crossby: Berthe Amoss • A young girl living in nineteenth-century New Orleans struggles between her growing familiarity with voodoo and the precepts of the church. • Fiction • AR BL: 5.3 (MG) • Points: 6.0

4. The Chicken Danceby: Jacques Couvillon • When eleven-year-old Don Schmidt wins a chicken-judging contest in his small town of Horse Island, Louisiana, and goes from outcast to instant celebrity, even his neglectful mother occasionally takes notice of him and eventually he discovers some shocking family secrets. • Fiction • AR BL: 4.9 (MG) • Points: 12.0

5. A Confederacy of Duncesby: John Toole • Pulitzer Prize winning farce, set in New Orleans, telling about Ignatius J. Reilly and his various attempts at employment and one-man wars. • Fiction • AR BL: 5.5 (UG) • Points: 20.00

6. The Cottonmouth Clubby: Lance Marcum • Forced to spend his summer vacation with relatives in Louisiana, twelve-year-old Mitch Valentine finds himself a candidate for the Cottonmouth Club when he and a group of local boys become involved in secretive outdoor activities. • Fiction • AR BL: 5.7 (MG) • Points: 11.0

7. Hurricane Song: A Novel of New Orleansby: Paul Volponi • Twelve-year-old Miles goes to live with his father, a jazz musician in New Orleans, and together they survive the horrors of Hurricane Katrina, learning about each other and growing closer through their painful experiences. • Fiction • AR BL: 5.4 (MG) • Points: 4.0

8. The Hurricanes: One High School Team’s Homecoming after Katrinaby: Jere Longman • Chronicles the experiences of the South Plaquemines High football players who were playing on different teams before Hurricane Katrina, but came together to form one team after the disaster, facing hardships while training and living in a hurricane-destroyed city, and making it to the state championships. • Non-Fiction • AR BL: 7.0 (UG) • Points: 17.0

9. Keeper of the Nightby: Kimberly Holt • Thirteen-year-old Isabel, a girl living on the island of Guam, and her family try to cope with the suicide of Isabel's mother. • Fiction • AR BL: 4.4 (UG) • Points: 5.0

10. Louisianaby: Ellen Macaulay • Provides information about the geography, history, government, economy, people, and places of Louisiana, and includes photographs, maps, sidebars, a time line, an almanac of state facts, and a gallery of famous Louisianans. • Non-Fiction • AR BL: 7.3 (MG) • Points: 2.0

11. Love, Cajun Styleby: Diane Les Becquets • Teenage Lucy learns about life and love with the help of her friends and saucy Tante Pearl over the course of one hot Louisiana summer before her senior year of high school. • Fiction • AR BL: 4.6 (UG) • Points: 10.0

12. Mardi Gras Masqueradeby: Carolyn Keene • Nancy Drew's evening of fun and dancing at a masked Mardi Gras ball at an old mansion is interrupted by a series of strange events that have everyone thinking the house is haunted, but when an antique tiara is stolen, the girl detective sets out to prove the culprit is a guest, not a ghost. • Fiction • AR BL: 4.7 (MG) • Points: 4.0

13. Miss American Pie: A Diary of Love, Secrets, and Growing Up in the 70’sby: Margaret Sartor • Gives an account of the author's life from age twelve to eighteen crafted from diaries, notebooks, and letters; and reflects all the joys and sorrows of growing up in the 1970s. • Non-Fiction • AR BL: 5.7 (UG) • Points: 9.0

14. The New Orleans Saintsby: Mark Stewart • Explores the history, accomplishments, and key personalities of the New Orleans Saints football team. Includes a time line, quotes, maps, a glossary, and resources. • Non-Fiction • AR BL: 5.7 (MG) • Points: 1.0

15. Rubyby: V. C. Andrews • A young woman, raised by her grandparents in the bayous of Louisiana, clings to the love of a man whose parents forbid him to associate with her as she seeks out her father and learns of the deception and blackmail from the past. • Fiction • AR BL: 5.4 (UG) • Points: 22.0

16. Swamp Furiesby: Anne Schraff • Sixteen-year-old Shane takes a summer job on a houseboat in the bayous with Captain Thunder, everything is going well until Captain Thunder abandons the boat and it runs into rocks, then Shane has to lead a group of five tourists to safety. • Fiction • AR BL: 4.0 (UG) • Points: 1.0