It's Monday - More Summer Reading

 

        

    Visit Kellee and Ricki at UnleashingReaders and Jen at Teach Mentor Texts to see what they and others have been reading! Your TBR lists will grow!

        

        Alan Barillaro's debut middle-grade novel is one you, and your students or children, will not want to miss. It's about Ava, an eleven-year-old sent to her grandparents who live on a lake. They are wonderful to be with but this time, Ava's mother is about to have twins and it's a troubling pregnancy so Ava is sent away so she won't be a "burden"! She is hurt, anxious, and appears to be so worried that she's resisting nearly every good thing from the minute she arrives. During the story, a storm brings Ava in her canoe to Deer Island where she sees a bird die and convinces herself she must be cursed. On top of that, A boy named Cody visiting with his dad keeps popping up in annoying ways. He wants to do more with her; Ava thinks he's awful. 

        Working through anxieties for Ava is never easy, as Barillaro deftly shows in Ava's thoughts. Her grandparents are kind and try to find ways to comfort and distract her, but she's not having any of that either. She's a mess, needing to realize that some things may not be easy to change. Cody wanting to be a friend is one, then the events with helping a discovery of abandoned bird eggs hatch and a great storm brings Ava to knowing she does have strength in ways which surprised her. I am reminded of the quote "Be kind, you never know what someone is going through." as the story of Ava unfolds. Sometimes people dismiss young children's feelings who also often hide them. This time, Barillaro lets us know to look further, there is more to discover than we think! It's a book filled with feelings that will remind you to look again at people you think you know.

Thanks to Candlewick Press for this copy!

 

       It's a new set of small stories by Jarvis, with another one coming in October. Bear and Bird are best friends, and do so many fun things together. Sometimes, however, they show just what a good friend can be, no matter the incident. For example, they're on the way for a picnic and Bird asked Bear if he brought the picnic, and the music player, and if he'd remembered to go to the bathroom. Bear replied "yes" to all, but Bird saw that the backpack was not very full, yet he went along with what his dear friend said. There are more adventures and mistaken assumptions. You'll need to get the book to see what friends do to stay friends and enjoy the delightful illustrations and expressions in this very fun story! 

                            Thanks to Candlewick Press for this copy!

       This time, young Clara, almost a third grader, is deemed old enough to spend her summer with her grandmother, Unci, and her cousin, Juniper, at the Standing Rock Reservation. A surprise for her is that Uncle Louie brings the tipi that's been in the family for generations. All the 'how-to' put up the tipi, what to do when it rains, or if it gets too warm, are shown. Unci lights a small braid of sweetgrass to bless the tipi and say thanks for it. One scene shows the girls having a snack, talking about the drawings on the tipi, and a special evening with Unci, Uncle Louie, and others. He speaks of the tipi being a circle, encompassing other important circles of life to take note of and care for. Illustrations, also by S.D. Nelson, offer a happy and warm feeling as the girls spend their days in and around Unci's land, swimming, adding their own painting to the tipi, enjoying the stars, sheltering from a rainstorm, and loving the rainbow after. A beading project happens, too! Goodbyes come all too soon, but plans are made for being together again in the fall. Nelson adds a long author's note explaining the long history and beginnings of the tipi and her own special connection and history, too. It's a lovely book. 
          I loved the summers I spent with my grandparents, wishing every child could have such a memory.

       It's a wonderful book about the Red Cross program in WWII I had not known about. Women were recruited to work in what were called Clubmobiles and serve coffee and donuts to the troops, this time in the European theater. They were "Donut Dollies". (Though they didn't much like that.)They started in London and ended up on the front lines in Germany. It is heartwarming and heartbreaking. My full review is here on Goodreads.

Up Next: Finishing Big Tree by Brian Selznick and starting Race Against Death by a new WWII non-fiction book by Deborah Hopkinson.