The Book Search

 I LOVE the SSYRA (Sunshine State Young Reader Award) list.  In case you've never heard of it, librarians from across the state of Florida choose 15 books and kids from across the state read them and the kids get to vote on which one is best.  The books sometimes are ones that lots of people are talking about, and often are ones that haven't been on my radar, which makes it really fun.  They are always wonderful stories so it's a treat to get to read them!   I just finished "From the Desk of Zoe Washington" by Janae Marks.  It's about Zoe, who is an aspiring baker and almost middle school student.  One of her best friends has moved away, her other best friend is away for summer vacation and Zoe's really mad at her next-door neighbor best friend, because he didn't stand up for her when he was talking to some of his basketball buddies.  When Zoe comes home from her birthday party, there's a kind of surprise in the mail-a card from her dad, who is in...

At my school, I haven't done a good job of talking with my students about black history.  I did put together a black history display right in the entry way of the library but we've been busy working on a research project about the Winter Olympics and I have some other projects that I'll have to pick up so it's probably not going to get the attention it deserves this year.  But I have been trying to make sure that we have more ethnic diversity in our collection and to remind our kids that they have big opportunities if they work hard for them.  It's difficult to remember that sometimes when the media presents such skewed images of people of color or people of certain religions.  But we persevere.  Here are two titles that might help provoke conversation and help people understand one another more fully. The first one is not history at all.  It's called "Astronaut Annie" and it's written by Suzanne Slade and illustrated by Nicole Tadgell.   They...

We've all been figuring out how to talk to our smallest students about September 11.  For the past 15, as adults, we've all been trying to process what this event meant to our country and although there have been a few things to talk with little kids about what happened, most of it is so big and so scary, that it didn't seem like a good idea.  Thankfully, some amazing authors and illustrators have been able to create some stories that introduce a conversation about what happened in way that is emotional without being overwhelming. The first one is called "Seven and a Half Tons of Steel" by Janet Nolan.  It's about a piece of the Twin Towers that was removed from the crash site and used as part of a new Navy ship.  This one JUST came out last week (August 1st!) and one really great thing about it is how hopeful it feels.  A terrible, scary thing happened, but people could take that wreckage and turn it into something strong and powerful.  The other thing...

It's so exciting to get to read new books.  Although the hard part about reading great advanced readers copies is waiting for them to actually get published.  These are some you definitely want to keep an eye out for. The first one is called "Towers Falling" by Jewell Parker Rhodes.  It's about 11 year old Deja who has grown up in Brooklyn.  Her family has always struggled financially but this year, they've had to move into a homeless shelter.  It's not awesome.  She has to take a lot of responsibility for her younger sister and brother but she feels angry a lot.  She's angry that she's had to change schools (even though her new school is much better than the old one), she's angry that she has to wear clothes that don't fit properly and that aren't fashionable, she's angry that the new kids don't understand what it's like to be homeless, she's angry that they have to share a small place and eat in the shelter's dining ...