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Summer Reading 2019

Resources for Summer Reading books for the Summer of 2019

Why Choose This Book?

You're Welcome, UniverseYou're Welcome Universe

by Whitney Gardner

"When Julia finds a slur about her best friend scrawled across the back of the Kingston School for the Deaf, she covers it up with a beautiful (albeit illegal) graffiti mural. Her supposed best friend snitches, the principal expels her, and her two mothers set Julia up with a one-way ticket to a "mainstream" school in the suburbs, where she's treated like an outcast as the only deaf student. The last thing she has left is her art, and not even Banksy himself could convince her to give that up. Out in the 'burbs, Julia paints anywhere she can, eager to claim some turf of her own. But Julia soon learns that she might not be the only vandal in town. Someone is adding to her tags, making them better, showing off--and showing Julia up in the process. She expected her art might get painted over by cops. But she never imagined getting dragged into a full-blown graffiti war." -- NoveList

Winner: 2018 ALA Schneider Family Book Award (for the excellence of portrayal of the disability experience in literature for youth)

Read this book if...

  • You want a book in which American Sign Language and Deaf culture feature prominently.
  • You have an interest in art and/or graffiti culture
  • You prefer a full length novel (that still features many diverse characters) to collections of shorter writing

 

Videos

You're Welcome, Universe Book Trailer

You're Welcome Universe Sign

Other books featuring deaf characters or Deaf Culture

El Deafo

Finding Zoe

Five Flavors of Dumb

Deaf Lit Extravaganza

No Excuses

For Hearing People Only

Talk Talk