The First State of Being: a time traveling tale

The First State of Being by award winning author, Erin Entrada Kelly is unlike any book I have ever read. It's difficult to review the book without giving away spoilers that are important to the experience of reading the story.  I will do my best! 

The story is set in multiple times, both in the past (1999) and in the future. Kelly seamlessly takes the reader from the characters in the past to the future where their stories intertwine. Ridge, the mysterious teenager who appears one day in the apartment complex of neighbors, 12 year old Michael and his 15 year old babysitter, Gibby, changes their lives forever. The reader is right alongside Michael and Gibby as their minds are flooded with questions: Who is he and why is he there all alone? What is he wearing and how can Michael and Gibby keep him from getting kicked out by their complex manager?

As the story unfolds, readers dive into the personal lives of the main characters. Themes of friendship, crushes, family and trust abound in this story. It would be fitting for a book club since there is so much to discuss with other readers. I would definitely add this book to my school library and gift it to the middle grade readers in my life. 

Jagged Little Pill: The Novel, how music inspires a story

Jagged Little Pill was one of the first albums I bought and when I listened to the music of Alanis Morisette, as a 13 year old, I could feel the emotion behind her lyrics.  In high school I won front row tickets to her concert when she toured with Garbage and even got to meet her backstage!  She was every bit of lovely and kind as I imagined.  It continues to be one of the best moments of my adolescence. Here I am, 27 years later, reading the young adult novel of the same name based on the Tony and Grammy Award-winning musical by Eric Smith, Diablo Cody and Glen Ballard.  This is the first novelization of a musical that I have read and it didn't disappoint!  

The story is told from alternating points of view of five teenagers: Frankie, Jo, Nick, Phoenix and Bella.  It's the middle of the school year in a Connecticut suburb and nothing will be the same after a party that gets out of hand when Bella gets violated and the evidence is spread across social media.  Everyone's expectations of how they should respond in the wake of this incident drives the story:

• How will Nick, Bella's love interest who was supposed to look out for her act when his mother insists that he do nothing to jeopardize his college plans?  
• How will Frankie, Nick's adoptive sister, and her best-friend-with-benefits, Jo, support Bella along with their social activist club to make sure justice is served?  
• What can the new student, Phoenix, do to help as he falls for Frankie while taking care of his mom and hospitalized sister?

Using the musical and album, it's a journey for each character to get introspective as they risk losing the people they love in order to be true to themselves. The adults in the story have as many problems, if not more than the teens as they apply social pressure to everyone around them, including themselves.  This is a dynamic story where every character's choices have much to be debated.  Readers can think about how much race fits into their expectations of people's sexuality along with the #MeToo movement.  Who gets believed and why?  How do you communicate with someone with whom you've crossed the line of friendship? What do you do when you suspect your parent of having an addiction?

This book also stands out to me and will resonate with young adult readers because the authors interweave texting and chat conversations between the characters.  This is a more realistic way of storytelling as today's young people communicate in this way and will more likely read a book that includes this component of dialog.  

Teens can also choose an album or song that speaks to them and write a story idea inspired by the lyrics.  This type of writing prompt can help adolescents find the beauty in storytelling and even match other books with songs that would go along well with them!  As a fan of movie soundtracks, I love it when books name songs being played so I can play them and the story comes alive in a different way.  Literacy is about so much more than the words the page. It's a complete sensory experience if you allow yourself to engage in it. Smith includes a link to the cast recording so readers can listen to it for themselves:

Now that I have read the novel I am ready to watch the musical!  

Lotería: free will or fate?

I have always been fascinated by the Lotería cards and their images, but have never learned about them.  When I heard about Karla Arenas Valenti and Dana Sanmar's middle grade chapter book, Lotería, I knew I had to read it.  Not only did I learn more about the cards and the game itself, but the story taught me about Mexican mythology, folklore, traditions, and beliefs.  This book will intrigue middle grade readers who like stories about family and high stakes adventures.

In Mexico, a young girl named Clara has no idea that she's the center of a Lotería game between the ultimate players, Life and Death. As they shuffle the cards and begin to play, Clara's life continues with the integration of the symbols from the cards, except they have life-altering consequences for her. When her cousin Estaban goes missing, she must go after him and against all odds, do everything she can to send him back home safely.  This story is full of powerful questions about fate, free will, and human determination. Sanmar's illustrations enhance the story and bring the events to life in the eyes of the reader. For example, at one point a character's hair turns silver and I couldn't believe it! The illustration helped reinforce this shocking twist in the story. 

Clara's choices will make readers think about deep philosophical questions long after they have finished the story.  

After reading the book, I found a dual-language picture book called, Playing Lotería (El juego de la Lotería) by René Colato Laínez and Jill Arena.  

The story is about a young boy who doesn't want to stay with his grandmother because his Spanish language skills are weak. When he arrives she whisks him away to a fair in the plaza where she leads a game of Lotería. He is mesmerized by the phrases she uses that match the images on the cards. This inspires him to learn them and later when they are in her home she teaches him and he even teaches her English.  The rules for the game are included in the end of the book.  

I would use both of these books with my students and daughter.  Children can explore the images, phrases and even make their own.  They can also play the game which is a lot of fun, too.  Even the Google Doodle was dedicated to the game one time! This game works for anyone because it's a visual game, the language component isn't as necessary.  The act of playing the came together in a community is what is most important.  

Slug Days: a day in the life of a girl with Autistic Spectrum Disorder

 

Slug Days by Sara Leach and illustrated by Rebecca Bender, is a slim read at just 116 pages, however, Leach leaves much to be considered after the story is through.  The main character, Lauren, is in elementary school, and she has Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) which includes Asperger's Syndrome.  Her brain works differently than others, a term known as neurodiverse, therefore, she has to work extra hard at remembering rules for how to behave at school and at home.  Lauren's range of emotions guide this story, as it is told from Lauren's point-of-view.  Her relationship with her classmates, teachers, bus driver, parents, and sibling are all on display as Lauren navigates her daily schedule.  

As a parent and educator, this is a story I recommend to others in order to consider how a person with ASD may be interpreting the world.  The author, Leach, is a former educator who writes from experience of having students with ASD and I, too, can say that the story's portrayal of Lauren is authentic.  This is also a great story for elementary-age and middle-grade readers to read, listen to, and discuss in order to build empathy.  When they are in their daily lives, are they mindful of others' neurodiversity?  How would they respond if they were in Lauren's class? The story leaves much to be discussed and readers can note how others they know who have ASD are similar or different from Lauren.  

Another part that drew me to this story were Bender's detailed illustrations.  They help tell Lauren's story, especially her feelings of anticipation, joy, frustration, fear, etc.  The book would not be the same without them. I can see my students wanting to draw Lauren and her "slug and butterfly days" to show what makes her feel uplifted or down.  

In honor of Autism Awareness Month in April I decided to read this book that I had added to my school's library collection earlier this year. It should really be a whole-staff read in all schools so that more educators can have a better understanding of ASD.  I was happy to learn that Leach & Bender continued Lauren's story with two follow-up books in this series:

Here are more books featuring characters with ASD:

• Autism Spectrum Australia
• San Francisco Public Library
• Reading Rockets

If you have more to share please leave the titles in the comments below! 

Anisa's International Day: cultural pride

Anisa’s  International Day by Reem Faruqi is an early chapter book story about a 3rd grader named Anisa who is Pakistani-American. She is a positive role model for young people as she is proud of her heritage and is eager to share it with her classmates. It even inspires her teacher to create a project around it for her whole class: an International Day!

As an immigrant myself, I enjoy this story because of how Faruqi seamlessly weaves in cultural information into the story and supports it with recipes, directions for the crafts and a glossary at the end of the book! As a parent and teacher, I like how Faruqi shows how Anisa uses her doodling to help with her anxious feelings and how Anisa’s teacher helps her when there is a misunderstanding with her best friend. Conflict resolution is an important topic for social-emotional lessons for children and this story is a perfect example to use. 

A huge thank you to Reem Faruqi for sharing an ARC of this book with my Book Excursion book review group. I cannot wait to share this with my students!

How to Become a Planet: removing the stigma of mental illness

How I Became a Planet is a middle grade, realistic fiction novel by Nicole Melleby.  The main character is Pluto, a 7th grader, who is on the verge of being sent away from her home on the Jersey Shore to live with her Dad in the city.  The only way she can stay is if she shows progress from her diagnosed anxiety and depression by:

• completing summer school
• reconnecting with her ex-BFF
• doing what her mom asks

Only when Pluto meets Fallon, another person with her own to-do list, does Pluto get the support she needs to come to terms with her new normal.  

This is a heavy topic, much like Sharon M. Draper's Out of My Mind, where the neurodiverse internal dialog takes center stage.  I would add this book to my school library collection and have it for my home library for my middle grade daughter because Melleby's portrayal of Pluto and Fallon's relationship is a positive one for young people to see.  Their romantic relationship organically grows out of their friendship with a supportive community to foster their identities.  I hope that more middle grade writers incorporate characters who have complex mental illness needs, as well as more characters who have non-cis-gendered identities.  

Here is an interview with Melleby to learn more about this book.  Melleby has also written many other middle grade books, see below:

Violets are Blue: a middle grade story of family secrets

Violets are Blue by Barbara Dee is a poignant look at how one middle schooler, Wren, tries to deal with her family drama by escaping into her passion for special effects makeup.  This is a book that brings up important issues that young people deal with or may see in their friends' lives.  It offers a chance for readers to discuss issues such as divorce, being the new kid in school, addiction and having half-siblings in a safe way.  Dee realistically writes the characters and situations so the reader roots for them to make better decisions in order to bring relief to their ailing hearts.

Wren experiences a traumatic family event when her father leaves her mother for another woman, moves away to New York City and has twins with her.  Stuck in the middle of her parents, Wren just wants everyone to be happy so she avoids telling them about the other one's lives.  Her escape from this tension is into the CatFX YouTube channel where Cat teaches her viewers how to transform faces with makeup. 

 Wren is pushed out of her comfort zone when her mom decides to move them to a new town where Wren is to start 7th grade.  Her mother's actions keep getting more alarming and when Wren tries to handle it on her own, it becomes so big that it's out of her hands.  Wren reaches a breaking point, will she be able to come out of it unscathed?

I highly recommend this book for middle grade readers and adults who want the perspective of a tween who is doing her best in a tough situation.  Dee is a seasoned writer whose other books also touch on young people who are challenged by life.  Check out more of Dee's books below:

 

70 Favorite Middle Grade Fantasy Books

Click HERE for a Google Slides presentation from Spring 2021 that included books from our school library.  I have added many more since then and will update the slideshow with our newer books from this Fall. 

In August of 2021 I recommended these reads for our 5th graders. These include Realistic Fiction, Fantasy, Scary, Historical Fiction, and soon I will add Biography and Nonfiction.  

Do you have more that you recommend? Add the title or series name in the comments below!

Genesis Begins Again: a middle grade novel of self-hate & hope

 Genesis Begins Again, the multiple award winning chapter book by Alicia D. Williams is mighty in its characterization of a young woman who comes from a traumatic home life who's desperate to erase her past and start anew.  13-year old Genesis and her parents have been kicked out of their rental home again.  Unfortunately it's on the day that Genesis finally convinces the cool clique of classmates to accompany her home.  Right from the start of that opening scene the reader feels for Genesis as many can connect to her humiliation and helplessness for what will happen tomorrow when she has to face them at school.  Fortunately for Genesis, her mother decides to leave her father's harmful ways and move the two of them to a new place that she can afford on her own.  Will Genesis have the fresh start that she's always wanted or will the reasons why she hates herself according to class bullies and her father come back into her mind? 

At her new school, Genesis surprises herself by making friends easily, even if they aren't in the popular crowd. With her new friends and a supportive singing teacher who opens Genesis's eyes to singers who also had unstable home lives but funneled their emotions into their singing, maybe this is Genesis's shot at a new identity?  Genesis still makes questionable decisions that are relatable to any reader who has tried to change a part of themselves or hide a family secret at the expense of their health only to hope for a better tomorrow.

This story is perfect for middle schoolers and above who want to understand how race, social class, substance abuse, bullying and trauma can affect a person.  Educators can learn more about their students who may be going through similar issues that Genesis faces like homelessness, poverty and self-hatred. Williams is a teacher herself so she writes with authenticity for what Genesis experiences at school It's no wonder that this book has won so many accolades!  

Readers can also discuss how much they understand about skin color shades as they pertain to different cultures around the world.  As a societal prejudice in many areas of the world, the darker the skin tone, the more the person is persecuted. How does this ring true for Genesis? Young people can also discuss what they'd do if they were in Genesis's shoes.  What if they were her classmates?  

Here is a special treat of Williams reading aloud from the first chapter of the novel:

The publisher's website also has an audio excerpt from the audiobook and a book club discussion guide!

Once Upon a Camel: middle grade fantasy, adventure

 

Once Upon a Camel, a middle grade chapter book written by award-winning author Kathi Appelt with pictures by Eric Rohmann is a heart-warming, educational story that is perfect for animal & history lovers.  The twist is that this story is told from the point of view of Zada, an old camel who is thrust into protecting the baby chicks of two kestrel friends as a wind storm rushes their way.  Zada takes the journey seriously as they make their way across the wilderness towards safety and hopefully the chicks can reunite with their parents who were carried away by the storm.  To help the time pass, Zada recalls how she came to live in Texas from Turkey. Through a series of flashbacks the touching tale leaps off the page and ends in the most uplifting, surprising way imaginable.  

I highly recommend this for elementary, middle school and home libraries, especially those with readers who enjoyed The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate. If readers like this book, then I suggest offering them  Exiled: Memoirs of a Camel by Kathleen Karr about the perspective of an Egyptian camel who ends up in the U.S.  There are similarities between the camels' experiences and those interested in the real-life history of camels being brought to the U.S. in the 1850s to be part of the camel corps for the U.S. Army. The illustrations also help the story move forward and softens the high stakes situations in which Zada finds herself. 

Appelt shares more about her book and reads an excerpt in the video below:

 Here's an entertaining book trailer to share with readers:

Hispanic Heritage Month Ideas

September 15 - October 15 is Hispanic Heritage Month and although we need to share Latinx voices all year round, this is the month that we can bring all of their books together in one place and celebrate.  Over the years I have done school-wide books and other times we focus on author studies for each grade level:

Kindergarten-1st grades: Juana Martinez-Neal, Matt de la Peña

2nd-3rd grades: Meg Medina, Yuyi Morales, Pat Mora

4th-5th grades: Gary Soto, Duncan Tonatiuh, Pam Muñoz Ryan,  Margarita Engle

Here are some specific books with lesson ideas:

Kindergarten - 1st grades

Prior the read aloud teach students how to say donkey in sign language. share that the author and illustrator, Anuska Allepuz is originally from Spain, and have them predict what the donkey eats that turns it green.  

After reading, go over the difference between fiction and nonfiction. What do they think this book is and why?  

Have the students choose a food for the donkey to eat and color their donkey the color of that food.  Students can also write the food and color on the template.

Before reading Moon Rope by Lois Ehlert, share that folktales often have a lesson and that this story is from Peru.  Review the animals that they will encounter in the story and have them act out the motions of the animals while they listen.  

After the story give each child a page with pictures from the book.  For example, here is one I provide:

Ask them to cut out the pictures and arrange them in order. They can number them or tape them to a piece of yarn for the full "Moon Rope" retelling experience.

Feel the Beat by Marilyn Singer and Let's Dance! by Valerie Bolling feature dances from Latin and South America.  Feel the Beat has a CD that comes with it, so students can listen to the poem with music.  Let's Dance can be read then students can get up and dance to Latinx music.  If you have shakers and maracas it's even better!

Here is an audio sample of Feel the Beat. 

2nd-3rd Grades

Mango, Abuela, and Me by Meg Medina and Angela Dominguez is perfect for making predictions and having students discuss all of the ways someone who speaks another language could feel.

Students share the words that they know in Spanish and learn the sign language for parrot. before listening to the story.   During the reading I like to share a prop of a suitcase with a snapshot and red feather like Abuela shares with Mia.  Students like to handle the objects after they hear the story.  Once the read aloud is complete, students can discuss the ways that language pushed the characters apart and how they were brought together.

As an extension of the book, students can make their own parrots out of paper or other STEM building materials.

Dreamers by Yuyi Morales is a beautiful story to share with students.  I ask students what it is like to move to another country.  Students discuss the wide range of feelings an immigrant could have.   Prior to reading the book we listen to Morales give background on her story and what her drawings symbolize.

After listening to the story, students brainstorm what gives them their identity.  Then they write a bio poem on a template provided by the teacher. You can get it HERE.

All the Way to Havana is a special picture book by Margarita Engle and Mike Curato.  Students get to learn about Cuba by listening to the author's note about how prior to 1959 there was a car ban in the country.  

There's a great trailer show:

As the book is read, it's really a poem, so the students can chant the sounds they hear.  After reading the story students can build a car of their design using the materials in their STEM bins.  When they are finished they can walk around and look at each other's creations.  TeachingBooks.Net also has an audio clip of Curato explaining how he went about creating the illustrations for the story.

4th-5th Grades

Students may recognize the skulls or caleveras from the movie Coco and associate it with The Day of the Dead.  Ask the students how it became so popular and invite them to listen to biography picture book, Funny Bones by Duncan Tonatiuh.  I give students a biography graphic organizer to use to write their notes and sketch their images.  

Students can listen to Tonatuih on TeachingBooks.Net explain his process for creating the illustrations.

After reading the story students can try to make their own calaveras out of paper plates. HERE are the directions.

Other books by Duncan Tonatiuh that I like to share are Separate is Never Equal and Dear Primo: 

Frida, a picture book by Jonah Winter and Ana Juan, is a beautifully told and illustrated story about artist, Frida Kahlo. Since I use this book with older readers I like to use the idea found on Common Sense Media  called, Queen of the Selfies.  Prior to reading the story I ask students to define what a selfie is, what makes them like or dislike one and how long they think selfies have been around.

Then I ask them what they know about Frida Kahlo:

We look at her self-portraits and try to guess what her life was like:

We read the book aloud and go back to her paintings to find clues to what she endured:

Finally, students are challenged to create a self-portrait using Frida's style of including important feelings, objects, and symbols. We use the app PicCollage on our iPads to do this. Here is my example:

Gary Soto's book of poetry, Neighborhood Odes is excellent for this age group.  Prior to reading  the poems, students brainstorm ideas from their neighborhood, family, friends, or objects they own.

I share that in Neighborhood Odes, Gary Soto focuses on these categories.  I challenge the students to try to match up the titles of the poems and the papel picado cutout-illustrations based on clues.  

Then I show them Soto's news story about the museum that opened in his honor:

We read one of his poems, "Ode to Pablo's Tennis Shoes" and students underline the parts that stand out to them.  They pick something from their brainstormed list and write an ode or a story about that idea.

As an extension we read his poem, "Oranges" that was made into a short film. After we read it, we watch the video and compare and contrast it to the poem.  

If students want to read a picture book by Soto, I recommend Too Many Tamales:

Shannon McClintock-Miller has created a Choice Board for students to explore, as well. If you have more titles you suggest please leave them in the comments!