Unleashing Readers – Page 8 – Helping Students Navigate the World of Books

When Beavers Flew: An Incredible True Story of Rescue and Relocation by Kristen Tracy, Illustrated by Luisa Uribe

July 23, 2024 by Kellee

When Beavers Flew: An Incredible True Story of Rescue and Relocation
Author: Kristen Tracy
Illustrator: Luisa Uribe
Published July 23rd, 2024 by Random House Studio

Summary: This fascinating picture book tells the unique, quirky, and true story of how one man in Idaho saved 76 beavers from destroying a town by parachuting them into uninhabited wetlands.

In 1948, the town of McCall, Idaho was growing rapidly. World War II was over, and the little town tucked away in the mountains began to boom. There was only one problem. As the town expanded, they found beavers everywhere. A beaver here, a beaver there, and it didn’t take long to realize that humans and beavers weren’t great cohabitators. But one clever and resourceful Fish and Game Warden named Elmo Heter had an idea.

Heter knew that the beavers were integral to the wetlands, so keeping the well-being of the beavers in mind he set out to find a way to relocate them. After a few failed attempts, he finally landed on a wild idea… parachutes. Using a surplus of parachutes left over from WWII and creating a special box with air holes designed to pop open when it hit the ground, Heter devised a way to parachute the beavers into Idaho’s backcountry, an area that beavers hadn’t inhabited in decades.

Kirsten Tracy’s fascinating and playful nonfiction text pairs beautifully with Luisa Uribe’s detailed illustrations to bring this compelling true story to life.

“A celebration of an early environmental success.”—Kirkus Reviews

About the Creators:

Kristen Tracy grew up in a tiny town in Idaho near Yellowstone Park surrounded by untamed and fascinating animals. She is a poet and YA author and has recently started writing picture books. Her debut picture book A Cub Story was published in 2021. Kristen Tracy young adult novels include Lost It, Camille McPhee Fell Under the Bus, Hung Up, and Project Unpopular. She won the Emily Dickinson First Book Award from the Poetry Foundation for her collection Half-Hazard. To learn more, visit kristentracy.com.

Luisa Uribe is the illustrator of Areli is a Dreamer, which was named a best book of the year from Kirkus, NYPL and Booklist, and My Brother is Away that received three starred reviews and was a Charlotte Huck honor book and a Charlotte Zolotow honor book. She lives in Bogotá, Colombia, with her partner and two cats.

Instagram:
Kristen Tracy: N/A
Luisa Uribe: @lupencita
Random House Children’s Books: @randomhousekids
Blue Slip Media: @blue_slip_media

Facebook:
Kristen Tracy: N/A
Luisa Uribe: N/A
Random House Children’s Books: Random House Children’s Books
Blue Slip Media: @blue-slip-media

Twitter:
Kristen Tracy: @kristen_tracy
Luisa Uribe: @lupencita
Random House Children’s Books: @randomhousekids
Blue Slip Media: @blueslipper & @barbfisch

Review: This is such a fascinating story. Too often, animals “in the way” of humans are killed or relocated with no thought, so I was so happy to read this story about Elmo Heter and all the thoughtfulness he put into the beavers in Idaho and the success of his endeavor. I think this story allows for the reader to see that there can be successes in these incidences; however, it also shows how humans impact is negative on animals/the environment. It is going to be a great conversation book and a new aspect of history to most.

The full page illustrations are the cherry on the sundae of this book for me. Uribe’s additions bring the story to life and shows the reader important aspects that would be missed without their inclusion. I, personally, really liked that additions of the aspects of the scientific method that are shared in the illustrations. It makes it clear that Heter had a hypothesis, asked questions, did research, until he figured out a conclusion to be successful.

Tools for Navigation: This book will be a perfect read aloud to cross disciplines when discussion ecology and the environment or animals/humans impact.

Discussion Questions:

How did humans cause the situation that they and the beavers were in?
How does human expansion affect the animals and environment?
Why did the location where the beavers were relocated to work? What could have caused a relocation like this not to work?
How did relocating 75 beavers help with the success of the relocation?
How to beavers help out ecology and the environment?
We don’t learn much about Elmo Heter as a person but we see his actions. What do these actions tell you about him?
What type of questions did Heter ask when he was determining how to relocate the beavers?
How did Heter use the scientific method when planning his rescue and relocation?
How did the illustrator utilize illustrations to add to the narrative?

Flagged Spreads:

Read This If You Love: Beavers, the Environment, Ecology, National Parks

Recommended For:

**Thank you to Barbara at Blue Slip Media for providing a copy for review!**

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #IMWAYR 7/22/24

July 22, 2024 by Kellee

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?
For readers of all ages

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly blog hop we host which focuses on sharing what we’re reading. This Kid Lit version of IMWAYR focuses primarily on books marketed for kids and teens, but books for readers of all ages are shared. We love this community and how it offers opportunities to share and recommend books with each other.

The original IMWAYR, with an adult literature focus, was started by Sheila at Book Journeys and is now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date. The Kid Lit IMWAYR was co-created by Kellee & Jen at Teach Mentor Texts.

We encourage you to write your own post sharing what you’re reading, link up below, leave a comment, and support other IMWAYR bloggers by visiting and commenting on at least three of the other linked blogs.

Happy reading!

Tuesday: Cross-Curricular Discussion Guide for Above the Trenches by Nathan Hale

Thursday: Wagnificent by Bethanie Murguia

Friday: Student Voices: Opinion Editorials from Connor A., 7th grade, and Aditi S. & Leticia Z., 8th grade

Sunday: Author Guest Post & Giveaway!: “Crafting Multi-dimensional Characters” by A. Kidd, Author of Yasuko and the Dream Eater

**Click on any picture/link to view the post**

Kellee

Today is my day off from IMWAYR, but you can learn more about any of the books I’ve been reading by checking out my read bookshelf on Goodreads.

Ricki

I am mildly embarrassed to share that I have fallen into a deep dark pit of romances, but I really enjoyed Abby Jimenez’s The Friend Zone. Sarah J. Maas’ A Court of Frost and Starlight was my least favorite of the four that I’ve read thus far, but I am reading the fifth, and it is off with a bang. I’ve been hooked back in.

The young adult books that I read were wonderful. Byron Graves’ Rez Ball is a well-written, powerful story of one boy’s grief over the death of his brother. He attempts to follow in his brother’s basketball footsteps. Sports lovers will really enjoy this book, but it’s accessible to all readers. There’s a perfect balance of basketball and character/plot. Kim Johnson’s The Color of a Lie is a historical fiction and an absolutely phenomenal read. I won’t spoil anything, but I am going to review this book in the next couple of weeks. I loved it.

Ricki

I am currently reading Thirsty by Jas Hammonds. I’m halfway through the book and really enjoying it.

Tuesday: When Beavers Flew: An Incredible True Story of Rescue and Relocation by Kristen Tracy, Illustrated by Luisa Uribe

Friday: Student Voices: Book Editorials from Cooper T. & Trinity P., 8th grade, and Talia N., 7th grade

Sunday: Author Guest Post: “On Writing the Unexpected Narrator” by Jordan Kopy, Author of Theodora Hendrix and the Monstrous League of Monsters

Link up below and go check out what everyone else is reading. Please support other bloggers by viewing and commenting on at least 3 other blogs. If you tweet about your Monday post, tag the tweet with #IMWAYR!

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Author Guest Post & Giveaway!: “Crafting Multi-dimensional Characters” by A. Kidd, Author of Yasuko and the Dream Eater

July 21, 2024 by Kellee

“Crafting Multi-dimensional Characters”

When I visit schools, part of my presentation includes a character sketch activity with students. Not only is it fun and interactive, but building a character forms the basis on which the rest of your story revolves around. Even with an intriguing plot, you still need a dynamic character to follow. Someone you can relate to and root for. We all know the cliches: the princess, the knight, the dragon. But sometimes it’s good to mix it up a little. The princess knight or, better yet, the princess dragon is far more interesting.

This concept works well with my new picture book, Yasuko and the Dream Eater, which is inspired by a Japanese legend about the dream eater, who eats bad dreams when called 3 times. What makes this character so unusual is that traditionally it is made up of five different animals. It has the head and trunk of an elephant, the eyes and ears of a rhino, the tail of an ox, the arms and legs of a tiger, and the belly of a bear. It also has a curly mane that looks like a lion, although it isn’t part lion. Some kids think it is part unicorn, because the mane has blue and pink colors shimmering within it.

We talk about culture and diversity, and how having multiple backgrounds makes you unique. Just like my main character, Yasuko, is both Japanese and American, the dream eater is made up of many different animals. And just like a character can be a cat or a dog or a mouse, it could also be made up of all these animals, which would be unique indeed! In the story, Yasuko feels different when visiting her grandmother in Japan. Making the origami crane is not the same as making paper airplanes at home in America. She also misses her goodnight hug from her parents. In Japan, family members often pat children on the head to show affection rather than offer a hug at bedtime. By the end, Yasuko learns that she can connect to her grandmother in other ways, and that clasping hands together can also feel like a tiny hug. So with our own stories, we can seek to not only show how our characters are unique but why that makes them special.

Try this with your students: Using a large pad of paper or wipe board, ask your students to name 5 creatures (including animals, mythical beings, robots, aliens, etc.) List those on the board, then talk about at least one defining trait for each. Then it is your turn (or perhaps another student can volunteer) to make up a new animal or creature based on all 5 listed. This is where it gets interesting! But kids love to see the results. They can also each draw one on their own. Or for younger children, you can provide puzzle piece cutouts of different animals, split in 3 pieces. Children can take turns making new, mixed up animals, by rearranging the animal parts.

Take it one step further: You can also talk about the basic elements of story. Students often ask me where to start when writing. All they really need to know is who their character is, what they want, and what gets in the way. You can often accomplish this by establishing what your character’s interests are as well as what scares them. One group of students said their character, who looked like a dust bunny, liked to play with Barbies but was afraid of cheese. Now this may sound silly, but the basis of many great stories starts with asking the question, What if? What if the dust bunny wanted to play with her Barbies, but a hunk of sharp cheddar cheese left by a mouse was guarding the dolls. How can she surpass the obstacle to get what she wants?

Creating dynamic characters goes beyond physical traits. They can have brown hair and blue eyes or blue hair and brown eyes, but we also need to know their personality. That is where learning their likes and dislikes comes in, as well as how they behave and why. It’s especially important to move beyond the cliché. You can have a main character who wants to be in the talent show, but the villain or antagonist is a bully preventing them from joining. What if you turned it around and made the main character the bully instead? Or try giving your character two opposing qualities that they are battling with throughout the book. We can go back to the princess knight who wants to fight dragons but also wear fancy dresses. Maybe she isn’t allowed to go to the ball unless she puts down her sword and forgoes her helmet. Or the dragon princess who isn’t accepted because she’s green and has scales and doesn’t fit the stereotypical look of what a princess should be. This would form an internal struggle as well as an external struggle. Just like Yasuko in my book, how can your characters learn to accept both parts of themselves?

I think the key is to teach kids that we’re all basically complex characters in our own lives. And none of us wants to be judged, liked, or disliked based on just one trait. So if we create more interesting and complex characters in our stories, we’ll be representing a more diverse and realistic picture of the world. The more intriguing and unique our characters are, the more fascinating their stories will be, and the more likely readers will want to turn pages to find out what happens to them. Especially because the stories we read can help us learn something about our own lives and how to move about and thrive in a complex world.

GIVEAWAY!

A. Kidd author would be delighted to give away one copy of her new book, Yasuko and the Dream Eater. To participate, simply leave a comment on this blog post and a contact email. One lucky winner will be chosen at random. You must reside in the US.

Published April 11th, 2023 by Quiet Storm Publishing

About the Book: Yasuko has the same bad dream every night while visiting her grandmother in Japan, so her grandmother suggests she call the dream eater for help. When the dream eater is still hungry after devouring Yasuko’s nightmare, Yasuko must stop it from gobbling up her good dream too.

Inspired by a Japanese legend, Yasuko and the Dream Eater will help kids dealing with nightmares as well as celebrate what it means to be part of a bicultural family. The book is fully illustrated and includes an author’s note, cultural note, and instructions for making origami.

About the Author: A. Kidd lives in the US but has travelled to Japan many times to visit family and for sightseeing. Japan feels like her second home. Although she dreams often, she hasn’t needed to call the baku yet. She is also the author of the middle grade fantasy, The Healing Star.

A. Kidd is available for author visits! For more information, please email her at a.kiddwrites@gmail.com or visit her website at www.akiddwrites.com. She loves to inspire young writers. Her motto is, if A. Kidd can do it, so can they!

Thank you for this fun activity, examples, and the GIVEAWAY!

Student Voices: Opinion Editorials from Connor A., 7th grade, and Aditi S. & Leticia Z., 8th grade

July 19, 2024 by Kellee

Opinion Editorials

“Books vs. Movies” by Connor A., 7th grade

Today, I would like to discuss one of the age-old debates of all time – books versus movies. People have always wondered which one is better, and there is no clear answer. Both books and movies have their own unique qualities and drawbacks. In this discussion, we will explore some popular books that have movies and see which one is better for each. This post is my personal opinion about these books and movies; it is okay to have different opinions.

Harry Potter Series

Overall, the Harry Potter books are much better than the movies. Although it is magical to see the wizarding world come to life, the films cut out a lot of great information, scenes, and sometimes even whole parts of the books! Reading the Harry Potter books brings you to another dimension and it makes your imagination run wild.

The Lord of the Rings

I believe that the movie is better when it comes to the Lord of the Rings. I think that this is because the books don’t give a great image in your head while the movie allows you to see the Lord of the Rings perfectly. The special effects that the movie includes are amazing and make The Lord of the Rings world come to life. This movie and book are really good, however, the movie stands out more.

Holes

Holes was the first chapter book that I ever read, and after reading it, I had to watch the movie. After reading the book and watching the movie, I can say that the book is much better than the movie. Although both the movie and the book are phenomenal, the book gives so much more detail and makes the reading more interesting.

The Hunger Games

I believe that The Hunger Games is better as a movie than a book. The movie really builds the anticipation in a way that keeps you on the edge of your seat. The cast is perfect as the main characters. Although the books are amazing, it isn’t until the movie that Panem really comes to life.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid

When it comes to the Diary of a Wimpy Kid, I believe that the book is better than the movie. While the movie is entertaining, the book provides a much more detailed and personal insight into the life of Greg Heffley. The book allows the reader to get inside Greg’s head and experience his thoughts and feelings in a way that the movie cannot. Additionally, the illustrations in the book really add to the overall experience and bring the characters and story to life. Overall, while the movie is enjoyable, the Diary of a Wimpy Kid book is the way to go.

“Digital vs. Physical Books” by Aditi S., 8th grade

In today’s era, significant advancements have been made, and one of the most prominent changes in the reading world is e-books. Although most readers are accustomed to traditional paperbacks, the advantages of digital reading have led to an increasing number of people embracing e-books. However, physical books still hold a special place in the hearts of numerous readers.

The Advantages and Disadvantages of Physical Books

For centuries, physical books have been in use and were widely preferred before the emergence of e-reading. Many individuals who enjoy reading physical books often express their love for the feeling of the book in their hands, and the aroma that emanates from the pages. They find it comforting to turn the pages physically and appreciate the time away from screens while indulging in their passion. Nevertheless, physical books also have drawbacks, with one of the most significant being the potential for damage to the book, and the inability to store multiple books on one small screen, unlike a Kindle. Kindles allow you to carry numerous books wherever you go in a small, compact device, which allows for reading everywhere without many restrictions.

The Advantages and Disadvantages of E-Books

In recent years, electronic books, or e-books, have gained immense popularity and become a phenomenon in the world of literature enthusiasts. One of the key advantages of e-books is their ability to store multiple books in a single, compact device, which has the potential to encourage early readers and motivate them to explore a variety of literary works. Moreover, e-books offer a wide range of possibilities for readers, as they are not limited by the number of physical books they can carry. However, to access e-books, readers require a device with internet connectivity, although some e-books can be downloaded for offline reading. This feature ensures that readers can carry their books everywhere they go and access them easily. On the downside, e-books can be slightly harmful to one’s eyesight due to the screen on which they are read, which can cause eye strain when read for extended periods. In addition, the books cannot be worn down or ripped apart due to it being digital. In addition, many readers complain about the lack of the ink-like aroma that emanates from the book’s pages and the joy of turning pages.

Personal Opinion

The preference for digital books has grown in recent years due to their ability to aid in managing holds, loans, and the storage of numerous other books without the burden of physical baggage. In addition, digital books allow for quick and easy searching of words, making it easier to look up the definition of unfamiliar vocabulary. Furthermore, digital books offer a more comprehensive view of contemporary reading trends, enabling readers to expand their reading list. Additionally, digital books provide greater flexibility in terms of reading locations, as they do not require a specific amount of light for readability. This shift in preference towards digital books reflects the growing importance of technology in modern society can simply search up the word to know instantly what that word means. It also makes it a lot easier to see what people are reading nowadays and maybe add some books to your want-to-red list. Digital books are more flexible to reading locations as well since they don’t require the same amount of light for someone to read the book.

Regarding the debate between digital books and physical books, it is important to consider their respective advantages and disadvantages based on one’s personal preferences. While some readers may prioritize the tactile experience of physically turning pages, others may value the convenience of saving multiple books in a small space. Nevertheless, the love of reading is a universal phenomenon, cherished by countless individuals around the globe. Indeed, the ability to enjoy a good book is a precious gift not everyone is fortunate enough to have.

Sources:

“How Reading Tastes Change Over Time” by Leticia Z., 8th grade

When we start our life reading we start with books with vibrant colors, little text, and a lot of images to get our attention because when we are young we don’t like to read all the little words grouped on the big pages that we have in the books, so we like the graphic novels, the shorts stories, and is even better when the books have this tiny pages, with big letters and images.

When we turn teenagers we start to find more of the joy of reading, we start the tests with the GIANTS texts that force us to start current readings for training, but when we really get the first book that we really enjoy reading we find the most precious thing, the emotion and the crazies feelings of enjoy a good book.

Differently than our young times when we are adults we have more responsibility and we really need to find time to enjoy a good book, but we start to find different types of books, because we want to learn even in the rest time, our lives start to go crazy with all the big changes, so we need to enjoy the book to start to like reading again.

When we already have our life on track, we enjoy reading for fun and we make our readings interesting to our families too, by reading to our little ones and we start to read even to make a good meal.

Thank you so much to my student voices today; I loved sharing your opinions and thoughts!

Wagnificent: The Adventures of Thunder and Sage by Bethanie Murguia

July 18, 2024 by Ricki

Wagnificent: The Adventures of Thunder and Sage
Author: Bethanie Murguia
Expected Published: July 23, 2024 by Roaring Brook Press

Summary: Discover a new young graphic novel series full of humor and heart about a lovable dog, her favorite human, and their pawsome pack in this unforgettable friendship story perfect for fans of PAWCASSO and ANIMAL RESCUE FRIENDS.

Thunder the dog likes to take naps by the sunny window, sniff around for hidden treats, play fetch, and get cuddles from her favorite human, Sage.

Though Thunder wants to be good for Sage, she’s having a ruff time stopping herself from doing things she knows are wrong – like barking, digging, and chasing suspicious furballs around the yard. She’s shocked when her inner Wolf appears one day and reveals the truth behind these irresistible impulses. It’s all because dogs are really wolves! (That is, they’re descended from them.) The big question Will Thunder choose to be a loyal pet to Sage, or embrace the wild animal within?

For fans of PAWS and KATIE THE CATSITTER, and anyone who has ever pondered the secret life of their cherished four-legged sidekick, meet Thunder and Sage ―and get ready to feel ALL THE WAGS!

Review: I absolutely adored this charming graphic novel and can’t wait to share it with kids! It’s tells the story of a girl Sage and her pup Thunder. They have an amazing relationship until an imaginary wolf starts trying to convince Thunder to be more wolflike (destroying things, howling, running away). Thunder isn’t so sure that he wants to be wolfy because he is happy being a dog in Sage’s family. There are great themes in this book, and it was fun to read as an adult, too! I loved the ways in which the author shared more about how dogs have evolved into wolves through an engaging story! I highly recommend this one!

Tools for Navigation: So many kids are huge dog lovers, and this book will surely captivate thousands of readers. Teachers might have students read this book alongside a history of the domestication of dogs.

Discussion Questions:

How does Thunder emulated wolves? How is Thunder different?
What internal conflict is Thunder experiencing?
What did you learn from this book?

Flagged Spread:

Read This If You Love: Books about dogs, graphic novels, humor

Recommended For:

Cross-Curricular Educators’ Guide for Above the Trenches by Nathan Hale

July 16, 2024 by Kellee

Above the Trenches (Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales #12): A WWI Flying Ace Tale
Author & Illustrator: Nathan Hale
Published: November 14th, 2023 by Abrams Fanfare

Summary: In Above the Trenches, author-illustrator Nathan Hale takes to the skies with the flying aces of World War I to reveal another Hazardous Tale in American history in the #1 New York Times bestselling graphic novel series.

“Yippee! We’re going back to World War One!” said nobody ever—except maybe the Hangman.

When the Great War began in 1914, America had plans to stay out of it. But some young men were so eager to fight, they joined the French Foreign Legion. From deep in the mud and blood of the Western Front, these young volunteers looked to the sky and saw the future—the airplane.

The first American pilots to fight in World War One flew for the French military. France created a squadron of volunteer Americans called the Lafayette Escadrille (named after the great Marquis de Lafayette).

This book is about that volunteer How they got into the French military. How they learned to fly. How they fought—and died. And how these American pilots would go down in history with other legendary flying aces like the Red Baron and his Flying Circus.

Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales are graphic novels that tell the thrilling, shocking, gruesome, and TRUE stories of American history. Read them all—if you dare!

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation and Discussion Questions:

Please view and enjoy the cross-curricular educators’ guide I created for Abrams for Above the Trenches:

You can also access the educators’ guide here.

You can learn more about Above the Trenches on Abrams’s page.

Recommended For:

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #IMWAYR 7/15/24

July 19, 2024July 15, 2024 by Kellee

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?
For readers of all ages

Happy reading!

Tuesday: Invisible Isabel by Sally J. Pla, Illustrated by Tania de Regil

Friday: Student Voices: Book Lists from Sarah S., 7th grade, and Lucy S., Isabela M., & Hala B., 8th grade

Sunday: Author Guest Post: “Living a Multicultural Life: A Book List” by Kara H.L. Chen, Author of Asking for a Friend

**Click on any picture/link to view the post**

Kellee

Summer is for reading!!! 📖💙
And since I haven’t posted an IMWAYR in 4 weeks, I have quite a few books to share!

Picture Books/All Ages

The Quacken by Justin Colón, Illustrated by Pablo Pino: A silly, scary book of fun! It is a good introduction to spooky because it isn’t too scary and is definitely humorous. Kids are going to find this book laugh out loud funny during read alouds! (And make sure to spend time looking at the illustrations during the read aloud because it adds even more to the experience.) It would be even extra awesome to read on a camping trip!
Somewhere In Between by Laan Cham: Sometimes two people you really love can not agree on something and are too stubborn to listen to each other and are too blinded by ignorance, so some even ground and common sense are needed to help them see the light. In Cham’s book, this is where Pink comes in. She loves Fireball and Snowball and their worlds, as will the reader, but it is Pinkland that saves the day. I loved how the author utilized this fun narrative to lead to conversations about conflict resolution and compromise; it will lead to some wonderful conversations! (IG: @laan.cham)
- Example of the colorful and fun illustrations:
My Neighbor Totoro Film Comic: All-in-One Edition by Hayao Miyazaki: If you are a Totoro fan, then this is for you because it takes the movie stills and turned it into an all-in-one comic. Just as beautiful and wonderful as the movie.

Middle Grade

The Hotel Balzaar by Kate DiCamillo: I have been lucky enough to write educator/discussion guides for quite a few of Kate DiCamillo books, and I have loved them all, but The Hotel Balzaar is definitely a favorite. The way that Kate DiCamillo intertwines stories and fits them all into a puzzle was beautiful. I highly recommend this one, and it is going to make an awesome read aloud/class novel!
Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales #7 (Raid of No Return), #8 (Lafayette!), #9 (Major Impossible), #10 (Blades of Freedom), and #11 (Cold War Correspondent) by Nathan Hale: One of my first teaching guides was for a bunch of graphic novels published by Abrams, including the Hazardous Tales series, and I have been a HUGE fan ever since I read them then, and I was lucky enough to be asked to continue the guide, so I reread #7-#11 to create the guide. Every time I read a Hazardous Tales book, I am blown away by how Nathan Hale balances the narrative, history, and humor. They are brilliant.
Alterations by Ray Xu: I reviewed this a couple of weeks ago 🙂
Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Peterson: After listening to Stuck by Jennifer Swender with Trent, he wanted to read the book that the main character had read, so we listened to Bridge to Terabithia next so he could experience what Austin did. Trent liked the book, but we both agreed that while it was well written and a good story, it is definitely a story of its time.
You Are Here: Connecting Flights edited by Ellen Oh and written by Linda Sue Park, Erin Entrada Kelly, Grace Lin, Traci Chee, Mike Chen, Meredith Ireland, Mike Jung, Minh Le, Ellen Oh, Randy Ribay, Christina Soontornvat, and Susan Tan: This book was not only a great collection of connected short stories that I truly enjoyed listening to, it is a commentary about the racism and bias that southeast Asians face, specifically since COVID.
Cat’s Cradle #3: Suri’s Dragon by Jo Rioux: Suri’s adventure continues in book 3, and I have to say that this one may be my favorite. We learn more backstory, there is an awesome giant AND dragon, and still all the characters and action that you loved from books 1 & 2.
Invisible Isabel by Sally J. Pla: I reviewed this last week 🙂
Button Pusher by Tyler Page: What took me so long to read this book?!?!?!? What an almost perfect graphic novel. It is a great memoir looking at the middle grade years and the changes in friends, school, and life in general that kids face, AND it brilliantly includes nonfiction spreads about ADHD to help connect the story with what we know about ADHD and neurodivergency today.
Marcus Makes a Movie by Kevin Hart with Geoff Rodkey: This book is HILARIOUS but also a great story (and the audiobook is narrated by Kevin Hart which makes it even better)! Trent and I laughed out loud multiple times while reading, but it is more than just a funny book–it is a story about grit and meeting a goal you set for yourself and overcoming a past traumatic event.

Young Adult

Frankly in Love by David Yoon: I can definitely see why this book was compared to John Green’s books because it has the same wit, intelligence, and romance while also addressing a more complex issue, in this case parent/cultural expectations. It was a pleasure to read (though one part of the romance really made me mad!), and I recommend it to anyone who loves young adult romance.
Twenty-Four Seconds from Now… by Jason Reynolds: Oh man, folks. You all have a Jason Reynolds romance in your future!!! He has told a story about two teens in love in a unique narrative format which allowed us all to experience the love of Neon and Aria.
Here Lies a Vengeful Bitch by Codie Crowley: This book had so many layers and was so messed up and was suspenseful and horrific. If the premise sounds like something you’ll like, then you definitely will.
Cinderella is Dead by Kaylynn Bayron: I was quite intrigued by this look at Cinderella’s world after her death and a look at the “true” Cinderella story. The evil in this book was palpable and the kick buttness of Sophia was exceptional. The book is about taking down the tyrannical patriarchy, in this case, a very evil king that is more devastating than he even seems at the beginning. And there are some twists and surprises along the way that kept me reading.

To learn more about any of these books, click on any title/image to go to the book’s Goodreads page or check out my read bookshelf on Goodreads.

Ricki

This is my week off–see you next week!

Kellee

Other than two books I am reading for a teaching guide, I am currently focusing on reading books by authors who are coming to the ALAN 2024 workshop in November.

Tuesday: Cross-Curricular Discussion Guide for Above the Trenches by Nathan Hale

Thursday: Wagnificent by Bethanie Murguia

Friday: Student Voices: Opinion Editorials from Connor A., 7th grade, and Aditi S. & Leticia Z., 8th grade

Sunday: Author Guest Post & Giveaway!: “Crafting Multi-dimensional Characters” by A. Kidd, Author of Yasuko and the Dream Eater

and