Novels by Priscilla Cummings

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What Mr. Mattero Did

By Priscilla Cummings
Dutton Children’s Books, 2005
ISBN (hardback) 0-525-47621-0
ISBN (paperback) 978-0-14-240856-8
Ages 10 and up

Three seventh grade girls accuse their music teacher, Mr. Mattero, of touching them inappropriately.The story is told from two points of view: one of the accusing girls and also Mr. Mattero’s daughter, who happens to be an eighth grader in the samemiddle school.

“Riveting and timely, this shocking slice-of-life drama is sure to keep pages turning.”
                                                               -- Publishers Weekly

• A Junior Library Guild selection, 2005

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Junior Library Guild's Author Note and Curriculum Indications for teachers, book clubs and parents

Discussion Questions (for teachers)

Novel Notes and Activities (for teachers)

Anticipation and Prediction Sheets (for teachers)

Quizzes for What Mr. Mattero Did (for teachers)

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Red Kayak

By Priscilla Cummings
Dutton Children’s Books, 2004
ISBN (hardback) 0-525-47317-3
ISBN (paperback) 0-14-240573-6
Ages 10 and up

Living near the water on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, thirteen-year-old Brady and his best friends, J.T. and Digger, become entangled in a tragedy that tests their friendship and their ideas about right and wrong.

“Voices ring with authenticity, the situation is tense and the stakes high . . . This book is a gem.”
                                                             -- VOYA

• 2006 American Library Association (ALA) Best Books for Young Adults
• A New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age, 2005
• An IRA-CBC Children’s Choice, 2005
• Wisconsin Battle of the Books, 2005
• VOYA’s Review Editor’s Choice List, 2005
• State reading lists: Flordia and Iowa (2008-2009); Minnesota (2007-2008); Maryland, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, Illinois, Indiana, New Hampshire, Kentucky and the Young Readers Choice Award list which includes Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, as well as Alberta and British Columbia in Canada, 2006 -- 2007
• Washington Post Summer Reading Book Club (one of ten books), 2006
• Winner, Maryland Black Eyed Susan Award, 2007
• Winner, Oklahoma Sequoyah Award, 2007

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Discussion Questions for teachers, book clubs and parents

***Other Links***

Talk It Up! Book Discussion Group

Novel Resource

'Red Kayak' earns Annapolis author award (Article in the Annapolis Evening Capital)

Supplemental Material to Red Kayak by Priscilla Cummings

Red Kayak - Children's Book Reviews

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Saving Grace

By Priscilla Cummings
Dutton Children’s Books, 2003
ISBN 0-525-47123-5
Ages 9 and up

When Grace’s family is evicted from their Washington D.C. apartment just before Christmas 1932 during The Great Depression, she and her younger siblings are placed in a mission. Grace’s stay is cut short when she is invited to spend the holidays with the Hammonds, where they treat her like a daughter. What will happen when it’s time for Grace to go home? Are family bonds more important than the security the Hammonds offer her? Inspired by a true story, Saving Grace is a testament to how love and loyalty triumphed during one of the bleakest periods in American history.

“Cummings does an excellent job of showing how easy it is to do wrong when the normal world operates so inequitably. The choices Grace must make are not clear-cut . . . ”  
                                                          -- School Library Journal

• A Junior Library Guild Selection, 2003
• Nominee for the Mark Twain Award, 2006
• State reading lists: Maine, Rhode Island, Nevada, Missouri and New Mexico

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Discussion Ideas for teachers, book clubs and parents

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A Face First

By Priscilla Cummings
Dutton Children’s Books, 2001
ISBN (hardback) 0-525-46522-7
ISBN (paperback) 0-14-230247-3
Ages 10 and up

After a catastrophic automobile accident, Kelley wakes up in the hospital to find that her face and body are severely burned. She feels isolated and alone as she agonizes through skin-graft operations, painful dressings and hand exercises that seem like torture. But with the help of her family and friends, a kind nurse, and understanding doctors and therapists, she is able to survive and even triumph. Then she finds out that she has to wear an ugly plastic face mask so that her facial skin won’t grow back puffy and hard. How will Kelley ever face the world again?

“Cummings . . . really shines in showing the careful balance of push, pull, and nurturing that must be maintained by the dedicated medical staff who choose to work with fire victims. She understands appearance-conscious adolescents, and leads readers to pull with Kelley in working through the layers of her inner being to reach beyond the mask.”
                                                 -- Starred Review, School Library Journal

• 2002 American Library Association (ALA) Notable
• Parents’ Guide to Children’s Media Honor, 2002
• New Mexico Battle of the Books, 2005
• Excerpted in Weekly Reader, 2004
• State Reading lists: Florida, Indiana and Iowa
• Translated into German and South Korean

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Read a discussion of A Face First in The St. Petersburg Times, 2004

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Autumn Journey

By Priscilla Cummings
Tidewater Publishers, 2008
ISBN 978-0-87033-606-5
Paperback
First published by Cobble Hill Books, 1997
Ages 9 and up

When Will Newcomb’s father loses his job, things start falling apart. The family’s move to Grampa’s farm in Pennsylvania is supposed to be a new beginning, but even there Will struggles with the change in his father . . . Autumn Journey is the story of several journeys, not just that of a Canada goose that Will has shot and nurses back to health. It is also the tale of a grandfather’s love in the last days of his life, and of a family struggling to stay together in the face of hard times.

“The prose shows the ease and confidence of an old pro, and gives off the power of someone who understands well the human heart…”
                                                             -- Kirkus Reviews

• ABA Pick of the list for Fall of 1997
• Maryland Black-Eyed Susan list, 1999-2000
• Translated into Japanese

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Q and A with the author about Autumn Journey

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