The Pools: A Fairy Tale Set in Modern Day

When an author branches out of their typical writing style and format, it takes a reader with an open mind to judge the book on its own merits, rather than from what the author typically writes. That is the case for The Pools by E. Lockhart. I have read all of E. Lockhart's other works and was expecting much of the same in this story, yet, I was surprised at each turn of the plot.  

In The Pools, the reader is introduced to Lexie, a mysterious teenager who arrives to town to live with her aunt, ill mother and little sister. The fresh water pools in the town are what drew Lexie's family there with the hopes of healing her ailing mother. There is a deep town lore about the pools from a long time ago when people who bathed in them got turned into birds. As Lexie settles into her new life, she also partakes in the pools and meets Chester, a fellow high school student with a mysterious past he is keeping from Lexie. Their relationship grows in sweet ways despite having their disagreements at times. Although the last argument they have is the final time they see each other before Chester, along with Lexie's younger sister and three other community members disappear after using the pools. Without spoiling the story, the burden of bringing them back to their human forms is what drives Lexie to the surprising conclusion. 

The strength of The Pools is the verse format that Lockhart uses to propel the story forward and develop the characters.  It feels like a fairy tale being told but in a modern-day setting. The themes are universal, however, and that is what makes the story stand out. 

Thanks to Net Galley for allowing me to read and review an Advanced Reader Copy since the book publishes on October 6, 2026. 

The Ogress and the Orphans-trust, power & love

 

The Ogress and the Orphans, a middle grade chapter book by Kelly Barnhill, reads like a fairy tale: a town dominated by an evil, glowing, greedy man, an orphanage full of sweet children who only hope of a better life ahead, and an outsider, the Ogress, who lurks nearby and leaves the community members gifts in order to alleviate their suffering.  It is no surprise that this book was a National Book Award Finalist.

From the first page the reader knows that all of the characters will come to a head at one point and the journey to that climax is well worth the wait.  I loved how skillfully Barnhill describes the relationships of the children towards one another and their caregivers.  The mystery of the community's fire lingers over the whole story as they are told to hate the Ogress by their greedy, orange leader.  The Ogress is my favorite character of the entire story. She has a gentleness that many can envision in a friend and the way she is treated is just heart-breaking. Children who read this will root for her and there will be discussions of the choices the characters make that drive the story forward.  

This book is similar to Barnhill's other fantasy novel, The Girl Who Drank the Moon, a Newbery Medal winner.  They both feature a misunderstood magical creature who is portrayed as the villain by power-hungry forces.  Readers will delight in both of these stories as the action-packed scenes, humor, and heart over-ride any reminder that they are indeed, fantasy stories. Both of these lend themselves well to read-aloud books for teachers, parents, and caregivers. Every reader will want to discuss these rich stories that are sure to be classics. 

New Year, New Plans

As the first month of the new year begins, I am reminded of how quickly time passes. Planning ahead is one of my major efforts to better capture special observances and opportunities for community partnerships for the last half of the school year.  Here are the events and dates on my radar as I plan for library units, lessons, speakers, etc.  

What are you looking forward to celebrating and what do you do? Comment below!

January

MLK, Jr. Day - January 16

Lunar New Year - January 22

Crayola Creativity Week - January 23-29

ALA Youth Media Awards - January 30

February

World Read Aloud Day - February 2

Black History Month 

(Coretta Scott King Literature Connections)

Kindness / Friendship Day (Valentine's Day) - February 14

March

March Madness Book Tournament 

Women's History Month

Music in Our Schools Month

April

Poetry Month

Children's Book Day - April 2

School Librarian Day - April 4

Earth Day - April 22

Library Week - April 23-29

State Book Award Voting (varies by state)

May

Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

June

Pride Month

Popcorn Olympics in the Library or Classroom

During the 2018 Winter Olympics I was the school library media specialist at a middle school.  I was looking for a way to drive more students into the library while increasing community bonds and connect to the Winter Olympics.  I found some ideas online to use popcorn in mini-competitions and award competitors who do the best. What I liked most about this is that athleticism had nothing to do with the events and if a student didn't want to compete, they could send someone else to fill in for them and the rest of the team could cheer each other on. 

Here is a copy of the slideshow I shared with the teachers. 

First, I assigned one country to each CAT class, which was our advisory, seminar or homeroom classes.  In an elementary school this could be each classroom or grade level.  After classes were assigned their country, the teachers let them decorate their doors in honor of their countries. So students who wanted to made signs, printed flags and maps and put the colors of their assigned country up in their rooms. 

Next, teachers shared the 5 different popcorn events that students could enter. Each country could enter one student per event and the teachers submitted their names through a Google form.

Students could practice the events on their own time and when they were ready they came to the library to do their event.  This was in a middle school setting so I was always available for the events.  If I do this with elementary students, I would have the competitors come down in heats to compete during a morning meeting or other scheduled time.  It could even work during library classes.

Each day I'd post the leading countries on Schoology and outside of the library.  On the last day we had a "closing ceremonies" where I awarded the top 3 finishers with medals, candy and a photo.  The countries who were in the top 3 of each event won a popcorn party.  During the day when the Winter Olympics were being televised we showed the highlights on the library screens and students enjoyed seeing the athletes compete.  Some even were cheering on the athletes from their assigned countries during the popcorn olympics!

There are many variations on this that only focus on reading challenges, but if you wanted to only do events and promote books about countries and athletes, you can do that, too.  If you have more ideas please drop them in the comments below!

Angel of Greewood: romance set in a tragedy

 

Angel of Greenwood is a historical fiction young adult chapter book written by Randi Pink.  Set 11 days before the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921, the story alternates point of view between teenagers, Angel and Isaiah.  On the surface, they couldn't be more different: Angel is there to serve others, she's interested in studying and is always home tending to her ailing father.  Isaiah on the other hand is always out of his house he shares with his mother.  He has many hook-ups and runs around town with the community bully, Muggy.  After Isaiah notices Angel dancing at church, he cannot get her out of his mind.  He invokes the help of their teacher to give them a summer project delivering books to the community so they can have a chance at a relationship.

On the surface this is a romance of two interesting characters, however there is so much more to this story than that.  Pink brings alive the community of Greenwood in detail so that by the end of the story, the characters who remain and are affected by the massacre feel real.  The tension in the story lies in the fact that the attack is coming and each chapter reminds the reader through a countdown.  Another tension is the way Isiah and Muggy's relationship changes.  Readers can relate to when a friend's actions caused anxiety and when one needs to decide to cut ties with them.  The will-they-won't-they romance between Angel and Isaiah is a beautiful unfolding.  Although they debate about the merits of writers, Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois, they truly listen to one another and come around to understanding the other person.  

I highly recommend this book to 8th graders on up to adults.  The subject of the community in Tulsa is not taught very much in schools so this is an accurate feel for what it was like there, how the residents created this free space to thrive, and how they protected their own interests.  For further reading, Pink includes her sources and notes about the attack.  I am grateful that she set her romance story in this setting because it shows that even in the worst tragedies, the universal theme of love still resonates. 

Black Boy Joy: a middle grades anthology

 

Black Boy Joy is a middle grades short story collection edited by Kwambe Mbalia and is full of stories written by contemporary Black male and nonbinary authors who know their audience and subject matter. The stories range from realistic fiction tales about fashion, friendship, crushes, deciding how to continue one's journey on finding their identity, music, customs and more.  Surprisingly, there are also science fiction and fantasy stories about gaming in other dimensions, mysterious realms of happiness, and challenges that require zero gravity and quick-witted problem solving.  My favorite parts of these stories are the strong community and family units that support the boys in all of the settings.  They are self-assured, confident people who are going through life's challenges either in real life or in a fantasy world, but overall, the themes they embody are universal.  

I am going to get this book for my school library and will share it with students, families, teachers, and community members. Readers will enjoy the variety of stories and formats.  There is even a story told through comics by the award winning author and illustrator, Jerry Craft.  This is a recommended title along the same vein of Ancestor Approved and Flying Lessons.  I hope that readers will appreciate short story collections and add them to their reading lives!

The Mushroom Fan Club: putting the FUN in Fungi!

 The Mushroom Fan Club, a nonfiction picture book written and illustrated by Elise Gravel is a delight for all of the senses.  We have Gravel's popular nonfiction  Disgusting Critters series   in our school library and it's highly popular with our students, so when I spotted this book in our local comic book store, Chops Comics, I knew I had to take a closer look!

Gravel takes the reader along with her and her daughter as they venture into the woods looking for some mushrooms. She adds diagrams that help readers learn the names of the parts of the mushrooms and differentiates among popular types they have encountered on their hunts.  

The best part is that Gravel brings personality to the mushrooms so readers can remember the information, connect with it and share what they've learned with others.  I am going to use this book with my kindergarten - 2nd grade classes when we are working on the difference between fiction and nonfiction.  I've used her book, The Fly, for this learning objective before and the students love to listen to the facts about flies, which they see everyday.  

The Mushroom Fan Club offers many opportunities for interactive listening and follow-up activities.  My favorite parts of the book are that there are actions that readers can do along with the mushrooms.  For example, Gravel's daughter stomps on puffballs to help spread their spores for reproduction, so readers can act out stomping, just like her daughter.  

There are also species of mushrooms that Gravel does not get to describe, she leaves only the attention-grabbing names.  Readers can choose one to research, illustrate and share a fact with the community.  Or they can draw what they think the mushroom would look like based on the clues in the name and then they can look up the actual one to see how close they were!

Readers can, of course, walk outside and look for mushrooms as a follow-up and document what they have found.  They can learn about what mushrooms grow in their area.  We are lucky in our town to have a mushroom hunting club and at our farmers' market, many mushroom growers who are happy to share their knowledge about mushrooms.

Finally, Gravel adds instructions on how to do a spore print which is perfect for a classroom art activity.  All you need are mushrooms, paper and a glass or bowl. 

 I'm looking forward to reading this book with my students and encouraging them to get outside to look for mushrooms.  I'm incredibly impressed with anything that Gravel has written so I feel lucky to have found this copy nearby! It's a must-have for school libraries, science classrooms and home libraries.

Ancestor Approved: a Native Voices anthology

 

Ancestor Approved, a middle grades anthology of short stories and poems edited by Cynthia Leitich Smith is a book that presents a wide range of Native people's experiences attending a big pow wow in Ann Arbor, Michigan.  Each story takes on a unique point of view, even a rez dog!  What stands out is the variety of what it means to be Indian for each individual person.  Traditions are universally respected, but each character's background results in a plethora of feelings to be explored:  from apprehension about dancing, meeting family for the first time, to not feeling Native enough because of being so far from a rez and being adopted by White parents, jealousy even, from not being good at beadwork, and of course, the pride of being part of a large community.

As a parent, educator, and librarian, I think this book would be perfect for a community common read.  The writers in the anthology are incredibly detailed in their storytelling and are all authentic in their depiction of characters.  Every reader can find so much to discuss in each story and poem.  The best parts are the extensions that result from the references made in each story.  If a reader is interested in the mythology, they can do more readings upon that topic.  Or if someone is more into the music and dance side, they attend a pow wow and see firsthand what it is like.  The cuisine is also deliciously described. Readers can try fry bread, Navajo tacos, and other tasty treats from the book.  I also like how there is a critical view of stereotypes of how Native people are portrayed in the media and books.  Readers can find more examples of this and learn about ways to curb those images.  Finally, I especially appreciated the way some of the authors included how schools often make Native students feel as the other, tease and bully them.  Each of these instances is an opportunity to discuss with students if they have ever faced those moments and how to help one another because words and actions have life-long effects that can harm people.  

At the end of the anthology there is a glossary for correct pronunciation of words used and each author shares a bit about why they chose the topic they did.  This is the perfect chance for readers to read other works by the authors included in the anthology.  

Indian Shoes: a modern-day NativeVoices snapshot

Indian Shoes is an award-winning, short chapter book (under 70 pages), written by Cynthia Leitich Smith and the cover art is by Sharon Irla and the interior illustrations are by Marybeth Timothy.  It's a must-have addition to any library or classroom collection.  Although it's slim in length, it's full of snapshots of life between a Ray Halfmoon, a Cherokee-Seminole boy and his Grampa, who is raising him.  Each chapter is a different time when Ray learns from and appreciates his Grampa.  Smith writes with humor while authentically conveying the values and beliefs of the characters.  

When reading this with others, I like to preview the chapter names to try to predict what they will be about.  By the time the chapter titled, "The Accident," came up, I had already fallen in love with the characters and wanted nothing bad to happen to the them!  Fortunately, my daughter reminded me that not all accidents were bad and that, perhaps, something positive will result from this chapter's mishap--which thankfully, it does!

Another interesting feature about this book are the detailed illustrations that enhance the stories.  Smith writes with impeccable detail and the pictures add to the comfortable feel of them.  Reading this book is like wrapping yourself up in a cozy blanket and allowing the caring relationship evoked in the story to encompass your mind.  That positive feeling goes beyond Ray and Grampa as they go out into their community and bring that spirit out into Chicago, which they call the steel and stone city, and to their homeland in Oklahoma.  Readers will connect with Ray's innocence, love for animals, sports, art and making his Grampa proud.

The title of the book, Indian Shoes, is the opening chapter and it is perfect to introduce the characters, their community, and what it means to be "Indian" by today's standards.  There is an important interaction with a librarian & as a librarian myself, I cheered for what resulted!  This provides an opportunity to discuss with readers the stereotyping that often goes with the portrayal of Native people and how we have the power to change that.

A readalike for this book is Cynthia Rylant's The Islander.  They are both short, yet impactful reads.  Both boys have lost their parents and live with their grandfathers who mean the world to them.  But Indian Shoes is realistic fiction while The Islander has fantasy involved.  Both of these are excellent read alouds and book club books for lower elementary grades and up.  There is much to discuss and love about them!

 

For more educational resources click on the picture below to go to Smith's website and download the activities.  I especially love the Reader's Theater script for "Don't Forget the Pants"!

Pawcasso: a lovable dog that divides & unites a community

 

Pawcasso a graphic novel by Remy Lai is ideal for elementary and middle school libraries and classrooms.  It's a sweet and engaging mystery about a dog without a leash who goes shopping in a community where nobody knows its name.  A lonely and curious girl named Jo follows the dog one day so much that people mistake her as the owner and she fails to correct them. As Jo and the newly named dog, Pawcasso, make more friends, will Jo be able to solve the mystery of the dog's owners before she is caught?  Her ideas for how to find the owners lead to some especially humorous moments!  Readers can share their solutions for solving this problem.

Although this may look like a simple story, the story line and character of Jo are well-developed, layered, and perfect for discussions.  Jo's dad is away on work and she misses him terribly.  Pawcasso gives her a reason to leave the house and have an identity outside of her family.  Jo's responsibility for the dog takes her to various parts of the community: to a dog grooming shop, bookstore, ice cream parlor and art class.  At one point she even engages in laughing at a mean, old neighbor, Mr. ICCC who just complains to the city council all of the time.  As she's making fun of him, she wonders why it is that he is that way. 

Jo's lies about Pawcasso start to get away from her.  There are numerous close-calls when she could get caught and she's determined to keep quiet until she's solved the mystery of Pawcasso.  It also doesn't hurt that she's making connections with people in her community that she would never have made, otherwise.  She says, "I made a chihuahua-sized lie, but it snowballed into a Great Dane-sized lie."  One reason the news spreads about Pawcasso is that photos of him on his shopping trips go viral.  Readers can think about the pros and cons of going viral in today's world.  Where do people's rights to privacy start and end?

I love the art connections in the story.  The art students study Pablo Picasso and his cubist style of art.  They also learn about Marcel Duchamp, his rival.  When the town is eventually divided over leash-laws, they call each camp a Picassos (anti-leash laws) and Duchamps (pro-leash laws).  This is a real-world problem that readers can relate to in their own communities.  Students can debate the pros and cons of these types of laws and research what their community has voted to uphold.

Jo also joins a book club where they discuss the question, "If love comes from the heart, does hate come from the brain?"  Readers can discuss their impressions of this questions and give examples of their opinions.  At the end of the story Jo makes a grand speech where she gives her answer.  Does the reader agree with her interpretation?  Also, how do readers feel about how the story was resolved?  There are a number of twists and ways in which different characters' struggles parallel each other's.

Finally, a bonus at the end of the book is an ice cream recipe that is safe for dogs and "hoomans!"

78 Books to End the School Year & Kick-off Summer for elementary/middle

 

As the school year winds down students want to continue to build memories with their teachers and classmates.  A shared read can provide that for them.  The list below contains poetry books, riddles, joke books, nonfiction picture books and picture books.  They are on the shorter side and are all engaging topics that students will enjoy listening to and discussing.  If you have more, please add them in the comments!

What I love about these books is that there are a wide of range of themes represented.  There are stories about growth, fear, summer, family, friendship, adventures or just fantastical stories that stretch the imagination.  Reading just for pleasure and not tying it to a worksheet or activity models for students the importance of literacy to broaden their minds and form bonds with one another.