How to encourage young teens to read? Try titles from the Whitman Middle School Library Coffee Can of Probability list. Each spring, fifty books are selected from the many published for children and young adults that have won some sort of recognition the previous year. Science fiction, fantasy, biography, graphic novels, mystery, horror, non-fiction - many genres are represented as well as a range of reading levels. The Coffee Can of Probability books spend the year on a special shelf in the library, are featured in reader's theater performances for fall library orientation and are book-talked throughout the year. To get their name in the Coffee Can for a weekly drawing, students are encouraged to read a book from the Coffee Can shelf and tell the library staff about the book. Each Whitman student is encouraged to read at least one Coffee Can title during the year. Want to see a copy of the 2006-2007 list? Ask at the Ballard library, the Greenwood library, Secret Garden Bookshop, or see the link at "http://cgustafson.seadesk.seattleschools.org". These very different biographies are from the 2006-2007 Coffee Can of Probability list.

Cesar: Si, Se Puede! Yes We Can! by Carden Bernier-Grand

The life of farm worker advocate Cesar Chavez is illustrated with vibrant water colors and told in a series of short poems which intersperse Spanish words with English. When the Depression and bad business deals cost Cesar's extended family their store and ranch, they have little choice but to set off and follow the crops. The poems are memorable: one describes Cesar's humiliation at the hands of his teacher who disciplines him for speaking Spanish at school, another introduces a Catholic priest who taught Chavez about Mahatma Gandhi and peacemaking. All combine to create a vivid portrait of this gentle, determined leader. A two-page prose biography and a timeline add helpful details.

Greatest Stars of the NBA: Shaquille O'Neal by John Finkel

Collage meets graphic novel in this short, colorful look at Shaq's NBA career. Each page blends lots of color, drawings and photos around the themes of basketball skills demonstrated by Shaq, his championship games and most memorable plays. There are brief quotes from teammates, opponents, and coaches about Shaq's amazing record in professional basketball, snippets of statistics, and a timeline of his basketball life. Even after carefully examining the pages about the pick and roll, I still can't figure out how it works, but basketball fans and reluctant readers will have great fun with this title.

Rosa by Nikki Giovanni

"Mrs. Parks was having a good day," begins this picture book biography of the Civil Rights pioneer, describing the day she refused to give up her seat on the bus to a white man. Told in a clear, straightforward manner, this account of Parks' arrest and the eventual success of the Montgomery bus boycott is illustrated with detailed, colorful, and expressive paintings.

Our Eleanor by Candace Fleming

In her author's note, Fleming describes the difficulty of finding a fresh way to tell the life of her extremely well known subject, Eleanor Roosevelt. The scrapbook format she chose, which she describes as a "loose chronology" is extremely effective, combining photos, cartoons and primary source documents. A short piece quoting Eleanor on her habit of lying as a child shares space on a page with a description of her early education - when home-schooling by her relatives failed to teach her to read by age seven, a tutor was engaged for her. The following page contains an article on Eleanor's response to her mother's death from diphtheria, a photo of Eleanor's grandmother who took over her care, and an account of the bleak years in her elderly grandmother's home. Eleanor's involvement in the Civil Right's Movement, including a copy of her letter resigning from the Daughters of the American Revolution because they barred African-American singer Marian Anderson from performing in their Washington, D.C. hall, is especially interesting. This book can be sampled or read straight through; the timeline and index are useful.

Chris Gustafson is the library teacher at Whitman Middle School. Do you have a question for Chris? Email her at cgustafson@seatleschools.org.