The Book Search

 Would you be surprised to hear that body images are something that kids think about?  The images kids see on social media (including TV and video games) shape the way they think about their own bodies and not always for the better.  Here are two books where the main characters are thinking about the way that they are perceived and how people perceive them in two really different ways.   The first one is called Time to Roll by Jamie Summer.  This is a sequel to her book Roll With It.  The main character, Ellie, wants to be a baker and finds happiness cooking and baking for her family.  She is also in a wheelchair most of the time, which she doesn't find as off putting as some other people do.  In Roll With It, Ellie and her mom move back to their hometown to help Ellie's grandmother because Ellie's grandfather is struggling with dementia.  In this second book, Ellie has happily settled into her new hometown, she has wonderful friends and her ...

Summer vacation just started and so has the blissfully un-pressured reading!  I don't usually read science fiction (although I'm always surprised that I like it more than I think I will!).    There are two that I read that I really enjoyed. The first one is not brand new.  It's one on the Sunshine State Young Reader Award List this year.  It's called "Enginerds" by Jarrett Lerner.  It's a short, fast read about Ken who is part of a group of kids that he's known since he was in kindergarten.  They all like science and engineering and each of them has a different strength.  One day, Ken comes home to find a box on his front step.  He often gets presents from his grandfather so it's not too big of a shock, but the box is really heavy.  So he calls his best friend, Dan, and Dan helps him lug the box and start putting the thing together. It turns out the thing is a robot, but the robot seems to have a pretty limited skill set.  All it ...