A mixed bag

 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 peeking into the past-looking over someone's shoulder, like you're right there.  The art work really adds to immediacy of this work.  This is going to be a terrific book to have in any collection for people looking to read about Clara Barton.  It's accessible for elementary readers, but I'll bet there are bigger people who would enjoy this too.  Check out this gorgeous cover!

The second one is by a favorite author-Leslie Connor.  She's written about amazing characters like Mason Buttle and Perry T. Cook, characters who find themselves in unusual situations and handle them with grace and character.  This new one is no exception.  It's called "Anybody Seen Frenchie?".  It's about Aurora, a girl who is going into 6th grade.  She has one best friend, her next door neighbor, Frenchie.  Frenchie loves birds but he's a bit different from most friends, he's mute and doesn't like itchy tags in his clothing or people who try to make him do things he doesn't want to do.  But he and Aurora have a special bond.  She recognizes his moods and communication strategies and it's been working just fine.  But this year is going to be different.  This year, for the first time, Aurora and Frenchie are in different classes.  Aurora wonders who is going to help Frenchie navigate school and it turns out there is a full time person who has been assigned to Frenchie.  He and Frenchie are getting along really well and Aurora has made some new friends as well.  One day, on their way into school, Aurora is distracted and so is Frenchie.  Frenchie decides to take a bit of a detour and by the time they figure out that Frenchie is missing, he's really gone and no one can find him.  The entire town turns out to look for him and the story is told from the points of view of many different characters of the town-people that have met Frenchie and Aurora over the years and each of them happens to see Frenchie as the day goes on.  This is a complicated story with vivid sensory details that will engage and enthrall readers.  I loved this one and I can't wait to put it in my library.