April 11, 1849: The safety pin is patented.

So, what I really wanted to highlight today is that April 11 is BARBERSHOP QUARTET DAY, which is pretty much the coolest thing ever. Sadly, I couldn't think of a YA book that featured a barbershop quartet—let me know if I missed one!—and I hope that some author out there GETS ON THAT, STAT.

So, instead, in honor of the safety pin, I'll point you back to a pair of books that paint very different pictures of the punk rock lifestyle: Gordon Korman's Born to Rock, in which Leo Caraway, young Republican, spends the summer on tour with his father (the illustrious King Maggot), and the band Purge; and Micol and David Ostow's So Punk Rock (and Other Ways to Disappoint Your Mother), in which a group of students from Leo R. Gittleman Jewish Day School start a band and gain a little bit of fame and a whole lot of swollen egos.

I know there are plenty more, but those were the first two that came to mind. Any other favorites?

Comments

[marjorie]

How about PUNK FARM? ("Thank you, Wisconsin!") Also Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, and Never Mind the Goldbergs by Matthue Roth -- because doesn't every list need TWO Orthodox YA punk rock novels?

[Leila]

Oh, YAY for Punk Farm! (Now that I'm not in an public library anymore, I forget to consider the picture book realm when thinking about these things.) Krosoczka is so, so much fun!

Double yes on Nick & Norah, of course, and I totally forgot about Never Mind the Goldbergs: good call!