Posts

Showing posts from July, 2022

The Crossover

Bibliography: Alexander, Kwame. 2014. THE CROSSOVER. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt ISBN 9780544107717 Audiobook: Hoopla. Ebook. Read by Corey Allen. Unabridged Plot Summary:  Twins, Josh and Jordan are in middle school and play basketball. Their dad is a retired professional basketball player and their mom happens the be an assistant principal at their school. The boys are talented and handsome. Josh is into basketball and very talented like his dad. His brother, Jordan or JB as they call him enjoys playing the game but is coming of age and discovering his hormones.  The boys find themselves growing apart because their shared interest of basketball cannot keep them together forever. At one point, the boys find their dad's championship ring as well as letters that explain why their dad had to retire early from basketball. Josh and JB go through the highs and lows of being teenage boys: competing for the same girl, having each other's back even though it'll cause trou...

Babymouse Goes For The Gold

Bibliography: Holm, Jennifer L. and Holm, Matthew. 2016. BABYMOUSE GOES FOR THE GOLD. New York: Random House Children's. ISBN 9780307931634 Plot Summary: Babymouse mother tells her she has to take up a sport. So Babymouse signs up for the swim team at school. Babymouse figures that it does not take a lot of effort to swim and she learns very quickly that is not true. Her team is named, "Shrimps" and they are a mix of animals: panda, goat, penguin, rabbit, and a bird. Their coach is a lobster. Each week, the Shrimps compete in swim meets and Babymouse shows up but doesn't quite get the hang of swimming competitively. Babymouse decides to quit the team but they convince her to stay because the best thing about being on the swim team is the friendship. Critical Analysis:  The Holm siblings (Jennifer and Matthew) do a good job of writing a story that is filled with humorous moments. This is the 20th book in the Babymouse series and in this story, Babymouse has an experien...

Where The Mountain Meets The Moon

Bibliography:  Lin, Grace. 2009. WHERE THE MOUNTAIN MEETS THE MOON. New York: Little Brown and Company. ISBN 9780316038638 Plot Summary: Minli is a young girl who lives in a village that has not seen rain for a long time. Minli, along with her parents work hard to make the land fertile and grow rice. Each evening after dinner, Ba (dad), tells Minli a story of some kind that explains life and nature.  Minli enjoys hearing the stories all the time even if Ba has told them to her before. Ma, tired and drained from working outside all day, doesn't like the stories because she believes they give Minli ideas. One day, Minli buys a goldfish from a man who claims that the fish can bring good fortune. Ma is upset that Minli wasted money on the fish and Ba is fine with it because what good is money if you don't use it.  That evening, Ba tells Minli the story about a man who can answer any questions on a mountain. Ma is frustrated but allows the story to be told. Later that evening,...

Guts

Bibliography:  Telgemeier, Raina. 2019. GUTS. New York: Scholastic Graphix ISBN 9780545852517 Plot Summary: In this story, Raina is a fifth grade girl who is scared of vomit. It began with her not feeling well in the wee morning hours and as we read the story, we see that Raina becomes consumed with getting ill and then having to go and vomit.  Raina has two best friends, Nicole and Jane; they both enjoy hanging out with Raina but notice that she is becoming weird. There is also Michelle, who likes to joke and tease her classmates. As the school year progresses, Raina misses school because she is always feeling sick. Because this is happening often, her parents take her to the doctor and have her tested for various digestive disorders. Finally, Raina goes to see a therapist to get help with what is bothering her. Raina doesn't understand why she needs a therapist but over time she learns that how she feels is normal and she is in control of those feelings. The therap...

The Storm in The Barn

  Bibliography: Phelan, Matt. 2009. THE STORM IN THE BARN. Massachusetts: Candlewick Press. ISBN 9780763636180 Plot Summary: This is the story about a boy named Jack who finds himself trying to fight off bullies, and what appears to be some kind of person. As the story goes along, Jack lives in a small Kansas town, where everyone knows each other and they think highly of Jack. Except Jack gets caught in a cloud of dust and he chose to head home instead of sheltering in town. This makes his father quite upset because the family is dealing with Jack’s sister who is sick. The town doctor tells Jack’s father to watch him because he may have dust dementia; memory loss the is caused by inhaling too much dust.  Jack overheard the comment and thinks nothing of it. Jack has heard the stories about how the land use to be great until the rain stopped. He even heard stories about a boy who was strong and stopped the dust from hanging around the town. All Jack knew was that there was som...

Beyond The Bright Sea

  Bibliography: Wolk, Lauren. 2017. BEYOND THE BRIGHT SEA. New York: Dutton’s Children’s Books. ISBN 9781101994856 Plot Summary: Crow is a young girl who lives on an island in Massachusetts. She is being raised by an old guy named, Osh and his neighbor, Miss Maggie.  Crow is a nature girl: she swims in the ocean, knows how to steer a boat and enjoys being outside.  Crow genuinely enjoys her life but she does wonder where did come from and what is her “real” name. Osh is content with he life he has created for himself and Crow and so he doesn’t pay much attention to Crow’s questions about where did come from and what became of her parents until a fire is spotted on a neighboring island.  Crow wants to know what is happening over on the Penikese Island and if possibly that is where she was born. Crow sets out find out about the inhabitants of the island and if she has roots there.  Osh doesn’t understand why Crow wants to know where she came from; nor does he s...

Dash

  Bibliography: Larson, Kirby. 2014. DASH. New York: Scholastic Press. ISBN 9780545416351 Plot Summary: Mitsi Kashino is a young Japanese American girl who lives in Seattle with her family goes through a life-changing experience because of who she is.  In December, right before  Christmas break, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, the military base in Honolulu, Hawaii. Mitsi doesn’t fully understand what that means for her, her family, and the community which they live in, but she will soon learn how people treat others who may share common things but don’t look like them.  After the Christmas break, Mitsi returns to school to find that her best friends no longer want to hang out with her.  A group of boys pick on her because she is Japanese and the popular girl, Patty is outright rude to Mitsi.  Mitsi doesn’t understand why Mags and Judy, no longer want to be friends with her.  Soon, there are notes being left with the word, “Jap” on them and drawings...

Turtle In Paradise

  Bibliography: Holm, Jennifer L. 2010. TURTLE IN PARADISE. New York: Random House. ISBN 9780375836886 Plot Summary: It is 1935 and times are hard for Americans: the stock market has crashed; the country is trying to avoid war. Turtle lives with her mother but is shipped to Key West, Florida when her mother’s new boss declares that she does not like kids.  Turtle goes to live with her aunt and cousins.  Aunt Minnie isn’t thrilled to learn, unexpectedly that she is going to to be caring for Turtle because she has her hands full with the three boys and a husband who works away. Turtle adjusts to living in Key West but notices that its pretty slow for somewhere so beautiful. All the adults are busy with their lives and the kids play from sun-up until sunset.  Turtle decides one day that she needs a job to help earn money to buy the house that her Mama promised they will live in. Turtle gets work helping at the docks and when she’s not working, she is hanging out wit...

We Are The Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball

Bibliography: Nelson, Kadir. WE ARE THE SHIP: THE STORY OF NEGRO LEAGUE BASEBALL. 2008. New York: Hyperion Books for Children ISBN 9780789808328 Plot Summary: Segregation of African Americans existed in every space and place in the United States of America. One of the spaces was in sports, specifically, baseball. In this grand account and telling of an organization that was created because African Americans weren't allowed to play with Caucasions; Kadir Nelson gives us the story how The Negro League came to exist. Mr. Nelson begins with talking of the few Negro baseball players who in the mid-1860's played the game but due to discrimination and downright violent mistreatment would eventually be kicked off the teams they were playing on. The reader then learns about a player and manager by name of Rube Foster who would establish and organize The Negro Leagues: a baseball league of teams with only Black men as players.  The narrator goes on to tell how the teams would travel in t...

A Savage Thunder: Antietam And The Bloody Road To Freedom

Bibliography: Murphy, Jim. A SAVAGE THUNDER: ANTIETAM AND THE BLOODY ROAD TO FREEDOM. 2009. New York: Margaret K. McElderry Books. ISBN 9780689876332 Plot Summary: This is a story about one day during the Civil War and how the blood that was shed would have a huge impact on history.  During the Civil War, a war that was about the rights of people, specifically the power that a state can hold when it came to laws and slaves. The Union soldiers led by General McClellan and the Confederate soldiers led by General Robert E. Lee were in a do or die; fight to the end, battle to uphold what each side believed in as being right.  The Civil War had already become a ugly war of principles, states' rights, and the right to prove a group of people wrong about slaves.  President Lincoln was poised and ready to make good on giving freedom to slaves but there were states that depended on the slaves to help their economy.  Although General McClellan was a leader for the Union Army, ...

Heart And Soul: The Story of America and African Americans

Bibliography: Nelson, Kadir. 2011. HEART AND SOUL: THE STORY OF AMERICA AND AFRICAN AMERICANS. New York: Balzer + Bray. ISBN 9780061730740 Plot Summary: In a country where history is told, shared, and taught in a variety of ways, comes a book that captures some of the most captivating stories about America and it's complicated history with African Americans. These stories are told by an unknown narrator who talks about how her ancestors were brought to America and unfairly treated. These are stories that start at the beginning: when our country was founded to a movement that was known as The Civil Rights Movement; when African Americans would fight for the same rights as Caucasians. Readers are introduced to the American Revolution and the role which African Americans had in this war; only to find themselves remaining property and working for a nation that was more concerned with profits than equality of all humans.  Moving further into the pages, we read about the fight to maintai...

The Extraordinary Mark Twain (According to Susy)

Bibliography: Kerley, Barbara. 2010. THE EXTRAORDINARY MARK TWAIN (ACCORDING TO SUSY). Ill. by Fotheringham, Edwin. New York: Scholastic Press. ISBN 9780545125086 Plot Summary: There have been many biographies written about the great American author Mark Twain.  Many of them talk about his literary career and the humor that he brought to his writings. In this serious but cute biography, we get a to know Mr. Twain through the eyes of his daughter, Susy. Susy has heard how people talk about her father being such a humorous and upbeat man.  She knows that this is partly true but what about the other characteristics of "Papa" that no one is talking about or at least don't know about him.  Susy decides that she is going to write about "Papa" and tell the world what her father is really like; all of his personality quirks and nuances.  Susy during the day would follow her father around; studying his every move: the way he talked, walked, how he would take time to hims...