two degrees
Book Trailer
About the Author
ALAN GRATZ is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of twenty novels and graphic novels for young readers. A Knoxville, Tennessee native, Alan Gratz is a full-time writer living in Asheville, North Carolina with his wife and daughter. Alan enjoys playing games, eating pizza, and, perhaps not too surprisingly, reading books.
Alan Gratz’s 2024 novel Heroes, 2022 novel Two Degrees, and his 2021 novel Ground Zero were all instant #1 New York Times bestsellers. Other books include Prisoner B-3087, which won the Truman Readers Award in 2016, and Projekt 1065, which won the Truman Readers Award in 2018.
Gratz's 2017 novel Refugee spent more than four years on the New York Times bestseller list and is the winner of 14 state awards. Its other accolades include the Sydney Taylor Book Award, the National Jewish Book Award, the Cybils Middle Grade Fiction Award, a Charlotte Huck Award Honor, and a Malka Penn Award for Human Rights Honor. Refugee was also a Global Read Aloud Book for 2018.
Complete list of Alan Gratz's novels:
Heroes of Pearl Harbor
Two Degrees
Ground Zero
Captain America: the Ghost Army
Allies
Grenade
Ban This Book
Refugee
Projekt 1065
Code of Honor
Prisoner of B-3087
Fantasy Baseball
The Brooklyn Nine
Samurai Shortstop
About the Book
Fire. Flood. Ice.
In the Sierra Nevada mountains of California, Akira and her horse struggle to escape a massive wildfire.
In Churchill, Manitoba, Owen and George flee starving polar bears that have been stranded on land by melting sea ice.
In Miami, Florida, Natalie fights to keep her head above water–and save her neighbor’s dog–as her city drowns in a hurricane.
Though they live thousands of miles from each other and face disparate challenges, Akira, Owen, George, and Natalie will come to understand they are more deeply connected than they ever could have imagined–and in ways that will change them and, possibly, the world.
Four different kids. Three different threats. Two degrees of temperature rise. One single cause: Climate change.
Praise for Two Degrees:
Buckle up for “Two Degrees,” a Hollywood thriller of a book. —The New York Times
Gratz renders pulse-pounding ecological tales and high-stakes calamity with the brisk pacing of a thriller.—Publishers Weekly
The scary message is delivered with wrenching, dramatic urgency.—Kirkus Reviews
The audio production weaves the multiple narratives into a seamless, thrilling adventure.—Booklist (Audiobook)
Fans of Gratz and the “I Survived” series will welcome this action-packed title.—School Library Journal
AWARDS
2024 West Jersey M. Jerry Weiss Book Award Winner
2024-25 Nebraska Golden Sower Nominee
2024-2025 Kansas William Allen White Award (Grades 6-8) Master List
2023-24 Tennessee Volunteer State Book Award Nominee
2024 Arizona Grand Canyon Reader Award
2023 ILA Social Justice Literature Book Award Honor: Fiction
2023 Sagebrush Book Award
2023 Green Earth Young Adult Book Award
2023 National Council for the Social Studies-Children’s Book Council Notable Social Studies Trade Books List
Amazon Best Books of the Year 2022
Amazon Best Books of the Month (October 2022)
Barnes and Noble Best Young Reader Books of 2022
2022 Nerdy Book Club Award for Middle Grade Fiction
2023 Colorado Blue Spruce Young Adult Book Award nominee
Resources/Teaching Ideas
Websites about climate change:
NASA: Climate Change - Vital signs, latest news, images of change; also this article NASA: How do we know climate change is real?
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: Climate Change Impacts
WWF Nonprofit: the Effects of Climate Change - examines the impacts in Polar regions, Oceans, Forests, and Freshwater biomes, and ways we can help
PewResearch.org : Why Some Americans Do Not See Urgency On Climate Change
Book challenges for Two Degrees:
Kutztown School District - schoolwide book study of Two Degrees was challenged and cancelled
Article that discusses book-challenges to Alan Gratz titles and teens' response: Pennsylvania teens push back against book banning, censorship
Gay Miller: Book Units Teacher website:
Two Degrees Novel Activities #1 – Climate Change Awareness
Students research climate change, choose one interesting fact to illustrate, and create a before-and-after one pager
Have a discussion about climate change and its effects on different parts of the world. Tie-in geography skills including map-reading and researching different regions of the world.
Have students research current events related to climate change and compare them to events in the novel.
Two Degrees Novel Activities #4 – Global Warming Vocabulary Booklet
Printable booklet for students to complete - define several global warming terms, list effects of global warming, and a word-search
Teachers Pay Teachers - 3 pages of resources on Two Degrees available for purchase
Alan Gratz podcast interview with Kim Carson - watch this 27 minute video:
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