The Book Search

 New books are blooming!  Check out this new bumper crop! Falling Short by Ernesto Cisneros is a terrific new book told from two points of view-Marco and Isaac.  They've been best friends since kindergarten, but are really different kinds of people.  They each live with their mothers, Marco's dad has been out of the picture for awhile.  He has a new family and often posts pictures on social media of the new family but is highly critical of Marco.  Isaac's dad has only recently left the family home and is struggling with a drinking problem.  Issac is an excellent athlete and Marco is more studious.  Marco is also very short, which makes him a target for bullies.  As they start middle school, they are each wondering if they will remain friends.  On the first day, they each people they identify with strongly-Isaac finds the basketball team and Marco finds a group of coders but they also find allies in the other's group-Marco is rescued from...

 I've been trying desperately to get caught up on some of my reading.  It sounds ridiculous to feel pressured to read but there it is.  I've been having trouble sleeping so it's a good time to dig around in Netgalley and see what is on the to-do list!  Here are two amazing ones! The first one is called Those Kids of Fawn Creek by Erin Entrada Kelly.  Erin has written some AWESOME books-I'm not the only one who thinks so, her book "Hello Universe" won a Newbery award and before that "Blackbird Fly" won a CYBILS award.  I think this new one is going to be a big hit too.   It's about a small community in Louisiana where people don't come and go very often.  The kids there have known each other their entire lives and will likely be friends forever.  That constancy can be a comfort but it can also be difficult if you are a kid who doesn't feel like he or she belongs.  Greyson is one of the main characters.  He is relentlessly bullied by ...

 In digging into the children's literature buffet, I found two very different, but equally wonderful stories!  Check these out! The first is called "To the Front" written by Claudia Fridell and illustrated by Christopher Cyr.  It's a picture book biography about Clara Barton at the Battle of Antietam.  I thought I was pretty well versed in Clara Barton, having read dozens of books about her in my youth, but this book was such an interesting take on her life.  The story is told in two ways-one is poetic text  and the other is quotes from Clara Barton's papers, so you have this amazing juxtaposition of information about Clara right next to her own words.  For elementary students.  Genius!  The information is immediate and so clearly written, you almost feel like you're right next to her.  And then there's the art work.  Luminous, clearly rendered art work with the most amazing light sources.  It gives you the feeling that you're ...