The Book Search

 The publishers have been busy and suddenly there are a kajillion books laying in my inbox.  Happily, there was time to read this weekend, YAY!!!  Here are two great new ones. The first one is called Almost There and Almost Not by Linda Urban.  I love Linda Urban's work.  She wrote some of my favorites including Milo Speck, Accidental Agent and A Crooked Kind of Perfect.  She has such a great way with characters.  This one is no different-it's about Callie (her given name is California Poppy) and she has been struggling with behavior at school.  She finally had a teacher who understood her and gave her some great coping strategies, but when your mom dies in a car accident and your dad decides to drop you off at an aunt you never met and go to Alaska, things can get a little hinky.  Especially, when Callie starts to see ghosts.  She's not really sure at first that they are ghosts, but they're talking to her and no one else can see them, so it seems like they're ghost

I often worry that kids aren't reading.  I know at my school, their teachers are pushed to teach reading using passages and answering questions so that they'll be ready to take our state mandated test.  I know that I've been reading to them and that they seem to like the stories that I choose.  I'm always relieved when I find a new book that I think "Oh, I know EXACTLY who's going to love this one".  I read two like that this week.   The first one is called The House That Wasn't There by Elana Arnold.  You might remember Elana Arnold wrote a series of books about a boy called Bat about a wonderful character who was on the autism spectrum and his kind supportive family who foster a baby skunk.  It's a terrific story and her new one is just as good, maybe even better.  This one is about Alder, who lives with his mom in Los Angeles.  They live in a small comfortable house, where they've lived for Alder's whole life.  There is a beautiful walnu