It's Monday, New Books - Learning #SOL16 - 21/31

SOLC #21/31 - 

      I'm slicing with the Two Writing Teachers community for Day Twenty-One of Thirty-One of the Slice of Life Challenge in March.  Thank you Stacey, Tara, Anna, Betsy, Dana, Kathleen, Beth, and Deb.  
           On Mondays, I connect with a group that reviews books they want to share. I love learning about others' favorite books, adding to my own TBR list. I discover books I wouldn't otherwise on this day.

          Visit Jen at Teach MentorTexts and Kellee and Ricki at UnleashingReaders to see what they've been reading, along with everyone else who link up.   

Burn, Baby, Burn - written by Meg Medina 

          Thanks to NetGalley, I was able to read this new book by Meg Medina (out March 8th), set a long time ago, but many of you may remember 1977.  I remember this year. I was not in New York City, but in quiet Denver, reading the headlines of a serial killer and a terrible blackout when whole neighborhoods went up in flames. It was a frightening time for the city, and this time in the novel for a seventeen year old girl, Nora Lopez who has her own troubles. Her mother is struggling to hold a job, the rent is due, and her younger brother is becoming increasingly violent. Her father only calls on holidays and has a new family. Nora cannot wait to graduate, and leave the tension and the responsibility her mother keeps putting on her. She is supposed to calm her brother's temper, but now that she's discovered he's selling and doing drugs, it's even scarier. A young man comes to work at the deli where Nora works, someone that eases the pain, but with the Son of Sam killer on the loose, it isn't safe to go out. He's killing dark-haired girls with their dates!

          Teachers who blog often share that the stories they learn about their students feel like just the 'tip' of what really goes on at home. And this story demonstrates that well. Nora doesn't even tell a long-time best friend her problems. She keeps it inside, shows her best self everywhere, but few know what is happening to her at home. I won't give away the ending, but Medina's writing through Nora's voice is filled with tension and worry. I want to help, I want to cheer for her, and I can't imagine surviving the life she lives, while still doing great in school. She is one of those that make us wonder "how does she do it?" Nora's strength teaches us "how" throughout the book. Older students might want to look for the headlines of that terrible NYC summer, and will love and admire Nora's story.

I do love books with bears as characters, and there are many wonderful ones. This first one just came out. The second is a few years old.

Little One - written and illustrated by Jo Weaver

        Be ready with tissues, especially if you have "little ones"! In their first year together, the time is spent with Bear teaching her Little One the ways of the world, how to fish, how to swim, how to be gentle with friends, this time porcupines. Beautiful black and white illustrations tell the story of this first year from waking up to going back to sleep. Spare text and loving pictures make a picture book to savor.

One final look over the snow-covered land before sleep.

 

          I reviewed Bear Is Not Tired by Ciara Gavin on Goodreads a few weeks ago. Sleepover with Beatrice & Bear by Monica Carnesi is new, and just as fun. Both have the same basic plot. It's time for hibernation, and Beatrice the Bunny thinks it's going to be a great time sleeping over. Unfortunately lots of misunderstandings occur, and Beatrice realizes she's going to have to capture winter in a scrapbook to show to Bear "after". In the other one, Bear simply doesn't want to miss a thing and tries so hard to stay awake. It's impossible, but his sweet bird friends manage also (like Beatrice) to capture winter for him. Humorous stories and delightful illustrations make both books good stories to read, and a way to introduce several new concepts, like hibernation. 

         Before I Leave by Jessixa Bagley, who wrote the beautiful and now award-winning Boats for Papa, has written and illustrated another lovely and thoughtful book. This time the story tells the sadness of a friend moving away. A small hedgehog and an anteater, fast friends, must part, and so they spend time together one last time, and play. The text is quite clear, the hedgehog tells the story, showing his feelings of loss, and the resolution helps. You'll have to read the book to discover the end. The expressions and details Jessixa Bagley includes are just right, packing boxes labeled, anteater trying to stuff himself into a suitcase, their playing 'one more time'. Enlarge the cover so you can take a good look at their expressions. For those who must part from a friend, this is very special. 

Just Finished: Pax by Sara Pennypacker, with illustrations by Jon Klaassen. Just before posting, I finished this incredible book. I'll review later, but now I know I have read a possible Newbery winner. Wow!

Next - The Girl In The Blue Coat, by Monica Hesse, from Net Galley, out in April.