Monday Reading - Books to Know!

    

        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! 

          There's trouble in Clarice Bean's life. She's bored, her sister is mad at her. And, her sister has roller skates, something Clarice would certainly love. But she only seems to have a dog, one that's a stray who won't go away, hence that "Scram!" in the title. Young readers just beginning to read longer chapter books will love Clarice, if they haven't alread read some of her other adventures by Lauren Child. Kids have problems to navigate, too, and this story shows that very well, a great connection to young lives. There are some hilarious moments when Clarice attempts to hide the dog and the story includes great illustrations in just-right places. 

         I am late sharing. This came out last year. Thanks to Candlewick Press for the copy!

        And, thanks also to Candlewick Press for my copy of John Schu's Louder Than Hunger. 

       Everyone needs to read this, every.single.person. Perhaps you are a parent who loves a child but doesn't understand his or her struggles. Perhaps you are a teacher who will gain insight into what students often face, the ones who hear words like "You're a nobody." and "What a loser." or find hate-filled notes in the locker, but also those who do those acts, say those words. Why do they need to hurt? Perhaps you are either of the kids. Finding a story that meets one's own experiences can be a connection that is so needed. John Schu offers that in this story of Jake, a kid who is satisfying a voice he's allowed in his head, a voice that rules Jake's eating. As he tells in the book, he's invited it in and it says things to him like when a person helping him talk about different challenges, it yells "DON'T TRUST HER." or "SHE'S TRYING TO TRICK YOU." Finding a way to silence that voice and find a new way to live life is what Jake's story shows. Finding a way to reach so many who will find the story important personally is a challenge for all of us readers. It's time to find and read Louder Than Hunger, then share!

          This book was published in 1989 and donated, along with many other adult ballet books, to the used bookstore where I volunteer (an all-volunteer non-profit). The illustrations seem as lovely as Nijinsky's dancing. It tells of his childhood with his siblings, traveling with his parents who danced, and the heartbreak of his father abandoning the family. His mother carried on and taught all three to dance, but the first celebration came when Nijinsky was awarded entry into the Imperial Ballet School. Each page tells a part of his story while the adjoining page holds the illustration; the look is like a short scrapbook. I enjoyed reading these 'snapshots' of Nijinsky's life, with family stories surrounding him. 

            Nine of the best YA novelists working today have written fiction based on a prompt from Printz-winner A.S. King (who also contributes a story), and the result is an intriguing collection. I am now older but wish I could return to my own teens to dig deeper into friends' lives, to imagine, and then see the truth of what they may have been collecting. Today's teens might see an opening into their own lives (That's me! That's me!) or imagine an opening to a secret group not imagined yet! It could spark something real in their lives to raise them out of the darkness where they often feel abandoned. Or, it could become a book they relish, just for the outrageous or the courageous teens they meet in every story. It's a gift from A.S. King and those other special authors she invited along with her.