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!
I'll be off to Texas and visiting my son and family next week. It'll be hot, though we're heating up in Denver, too, but lots of fun! Happy June reading, everyone!
Maybe there's more than one ghost in Violet Hart's life. Her life feels like it's continuing to change. Now she's starting middle school, and one long-time friend thinks adding more friends to the usual circle is important. Now, Violet's growing family, with her mother and her stepfather having a new baby who's growing older, and her older sister has no interest in Violet anymore at all, also means life is different. The family finds an old house whose space seems just right, and they're moving! Violet's room, rejected by her sister, is an attic room with old wallpaper crawling with vines and flowers. After the move, Violet begins a sickness that no one seems to understand, even her long-time pediatrician. Her long-time friends think she's pretending, and her parents try to help, but it is a mystery. Some nights hold nightmares in that old house and things move in Violet's room that even her cat seems to see! It's a complicated story that made me sympathize with Violet but, like others, lost in wondering how she was going to get help. "Not Quite A Ghost" is a apt title, and giving a voice to the house itself adds to the many layers in this poignant story. Readers will experience a range of emotions when reading, in particular when reading of Violet's challenges.
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| Thanks to Candlewick Press for this copy! |
A young girl and her mother move to a new place. The girl is shy and feels perfectly satisfied playing alone and has no interest in meeting new friends. She even becomes tearful when taken to storytime at the library. Then she meets Millie, a young rescue dog, friendly and fun! When this girl sees Millie's excitement meeting anyone and everyone, she notices, and finally finds the courage to greet a young girl who may become a friend. Lauren Castillo tells a story for those who might feel the same way, or those who see others like this and don't understand. Everyone will learn! The illustrations by Castillo are always sweetly drawn, showing her stories with heart and understanding for young readers.
Bonus! Just yesterday, The Children's Book Review shared Just Like Millie, too. You can find a special interview with Lauren Castillo in this post!
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| Thanks to Candlewick Press for this copy! |
Timothy Basil Ering, illustrator of Kate Dicamillo's Tale of Despereaux, wrote this story of Earnest Sandpiper, the day Earnest and his siblings are set to fly for the first time. Off they go, well, the siblings, just not Earnest. It looks very far off the dune and down to the shore. His wings are too heavy. He just can't! Mama draws a heart in the sand and gives Ernest some love and support, and she, too, flies away with the others. Then, Ernest sees a balloon, one with a smile and a heart like his mother drew! He's curious and follows it, drifting in the water, but "Oh, no." the trailing string wraps around one leg. What happens next depends on the family love and Ernest's courage. Illustrations are gorgeous as can be seen from the cover. They pull one into the new adventure of someone that needs a little nudge, from outside and inside!
Ering adds his own note at the back about these popular helium balloons when let free in the wild and their danger, even when finally deflated.
