Visit Kellee and Ricki at UnleashingReaders and Jen at Teach Mentor Texts to see what they've been reading, along with everyone else who post their favorites. Here is a marvelous and heart-rending debut by Karol Silverstein, the story of Ricky (Erica, Roo or Ricky Raccoon), newly struggling from a chronic illness and newly starting a 'junior high' as a ninth-grader after a move because of her parent's divorce, thus all new kids. According to Ricky, she is definitely CURSED!
It's hard for me, an older adult, to understand that every movement can be excruciating for a young teen and perhaps even harder for classmates to 'get it'. That's what makes this story so important to have in the classroom. With juvenile arthritis, Ricky's in constant pain, has to move to her father's "batch-pad" to avoid stairs at her mother's home. She's tired of too many unkind looks at her new school and, sad and frustrated, she cuts school for six straight weeks! Yes, she's found out and now must make up the work or end up in this horrible school another year. Slowly one friendship happens with a boy also teased, named Oliver, one who wears a Captain America hoodie and clips a small teddy bear to his backpack. Why he does is one thing Ricky needs to discover and until then, she ignores him, too, but slowly warms to his quirky and upbeat attitude. One other punishment that turns out to be a blessing is a demand from her strict speech teacher that she spend three after-school sessions a week with him if she is serious about passing his class. Silverstein brings Ricky's real world to the reader with sympathy, showing the times that are so hard one can understand when this teen erupts into cursing, wanting only to huddle under the covers. However, she also allows Ricky to see in time that she's in charge of her life, not the disease. I enjoyed Ricky telling her story very much!
I love Tony Johnston's books and this is one that warms the heart. In few words on a page, he offers us readers a story of a young boy who discovers a shivering dog with scars hiding under the shrub on his lawn. Using patience and growing love, the boy gains its trust until, well, see that cover! He begins with a frisbee of water, later adding a piece of sandwich, finally telling his mom who helps him. They buy regular dog food, but the mom insists that the boy makes "Found" signs in case the owner is looking. I met Jonathan Nelson at a book-signing with him and Nancy Bo Flood and we spoke of his next book coming, this one! Jonathan's simple pictures depict the emotions beautifully, on faces and in body language, even on the dog peeking from the bush.
For younger readers, an introduction to the history of women and athletics, those who broke barriers that may surprise children, like women are not supposed to ride bicycles or wear pants when horse-back riding. It is fun to learn some early history like women were not allowed in the ancient Olympic Games, but they defied the rules and ran footraces in private festivals for Hera, queen of the gods. It covers some history of the equal rights movement that challenged educational, athletic, and financial discrimination with federal funds, leading at last to the Title IX law mandating equal treatment. Further examples of equality continued to occur, like the challenge to allow girls to play Little League baseball. Unfortunately, it does not include recent conflicts still occurring within the athletic world for women. Rebecca Gibbon's illustrations fill the pages with all kinds of girls doing what they love, from bloomers expected in the early women's basketball games to the final wonderful double-page spread celebrating "amazing girls" in all kinds of activities, with today's expected clothing. There is a timeline that offers more information for further research. One fun thing is that it adds a few quotations from the athletes in their special moments.