Say What You Will by Cammie McGovern

I read this book in about 7 hours! I could not put it down. I HAD to know what happened next. Each chapter flowed right into the next one that I rarely noticed it was a new chapter. It was worth staying up until 4 am to finish it. Say What You Will by Cammie McGovern Thankfully I am on winter break and didn’t need to worry about waking up early for work.

Amy has cerebral palsy and has always had adult aids help her throughout her day of school. Matthew is very quiet but tells Amy some hard truths she never thought of and decides her senior year she will have student aides to help her each day, including Matthew. Matthew can’t believe he agreed to do this each week and he has OCD which he thinks he is hiding from others. As they both navigate outside their comfort zones they are able to be themselves, especially Matthew who is usually quiet and shy and in the background unnoticed.

A must-have for middle and high school libraries.

Thank you A Mighty Girl for this booklist where I found the title. https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20201218&ts=20201218&p=30987
I had read many other titles on this list and plan to read a few more.
Cammie McGovern has other great titles that I have added to my To Be Read list too.

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They both have so much to say to each other but don’t for too long. Say what needs to be said, life is too short. (No worries, no one dies). I felt like we all are always so worried to share our true feelings and that we don’t so we end up “wasting time” that could have been spent differently.

Gone to the Woods: Surviving a Lost Childhood by Gary Paulsen

I really enjoyed reading about Gary Paulsen’s childhood from about age 5 to his 20’s. It was an amazing life of surviving day-to-day. Gone to the Woods by Paulsen I saw Mr. Paulsen at a book signing many years ago and I remembered he said that the library, really the librarian saved him. It really stuck with me back then. I’m not sure if I was already volunteering in my own children’s library back then or if I was in grad school getting my master’s degree in Library and Information Science. I have loved reading his books for a long time and especially love sharing his books with students. Love hearing that a student loved reading “Hatchet” for the first time and that book was the first book they ever finished let alone enjoyed and asked for another book by him. When I tell them there is a sequel to “Hatchet”, I love to see their eyes light up and be able to continue the journey. Gary Paulsen did that for many, many young readers. Taught them to love reading.

I was hoping to read more about how he started writing books for children and teens. He does share how he started writing but I was hungry for more information. I felt like the ending was a huge cliffhanger for me. I wanted to read more about his adult life. Still worth reading like all of his books. A must-have for any library!

Handbook for Dragon Slayers by Merrie Haskell (2013)

Handbook for Dragon Slayers by Merrie Haskell

Handbook for Dragon Slayers by Merrie Haskell

I understand why this book won the 2014 Schneider Family Book Award (middle school)!

<http://www.ala.org/awardsgrants/schneider-family-book-award>.

I love reading from the award lists and I always balk when it comes to fantasy books. “Handbook for Dragon Slayers” grabbed me right away (surprisingly)! I was hooked right away.

Thirteen year old Princess Mathilda, or Tilda, as most people call her, is princess of Alder Brook. She was born with a deformed foot but it doesn’t stop her from going on an adventure she never thought she would be on. There’s upheaval in her town and she ends up with two dragon slayers. She doesn’t complain about her foot or that she can’t do certain things, she states facts about how much she can do or not do. She was told she couldn’t ride a horse and should stay clear of them. She ends up riding a horse and does a good job at it too. She learns a lot about herself by the end of the book.

I liked the fairy tale elements throughout the story and that Tilda wanted to write her own book and publish it for all to read. I have to admit there were a few words I didn’t understand even in context. I had to look them up.

As I read, I think of the reluctant reader or a reader who may struggle, and these words may turn off a reader. The overall wording sounds very modern considering it takes place during ‘castle and knight times’, with horses for transportation. I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to everyone!

Paperboy by Vince Vawter (2013)

Paperboy by Vince Vawter

Paperboy by Vince Vawter

A wonderful story! Would make a great read aloud! Paperboy definitely deserved the 2014 Newbery Honor Award. Paperboy is very different than your usual ‘different learner’ character. Maybe different learner isn’t the right word, but I don’t want to use ‘disabled’ either. The main character is an 11-year-old who stutters, sometimes very badly to the point of fainting to get a word out. The author wrote about himself and his struggles during the summer of 1959 in Memphis when he took over his best friend’s paper route. He really learns a lot about himself and his neighbors during the four weeks in July that he was the paperboy. It is a coming of age story and so much more.

Do You Know Dewey?: Exploring the Dewey Decimal SystemDo You Know Dewey?: Exploring the Dewey Decimal System

Do You Know Dewey?: Exploring the Dewey Decimal SystemDo You Know Dewey?: Exploring the Dewey Decimal System by Brian P. Cleary

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I am always looking for great picture books to help explain the Dewey Decimal System (DDS) to my students. This book did a great job in explaining the DDS. I like the rhyming text explaining each section of the DDS. The pictures aren’t too busy with overcrowding of information. I also like the little tabs on the side of the pictures giving the name of the section, such as, Social Sciences 300.

There are a few things I don’t particularly like when it comes to explaining the nonfiction section of the library.
1. Calling the zero hundreds O’s as in the letter and not the number. Yes, it may rhyme better within the story, but the nonfiction is by number not letters (except for the author’s last name.
2. The 200s section didn’t mention mythology. In my school, mythology is a popular subject. I will mention it as I read, of course. It’s hard to mention all subjects for many of the larger sections.
3. Transportation is mentioned for 300s. Yes, I know it is there, but it is also in the 600s. Another cataloging dilemma for librarians. I wrestle with where to place transportation books sometimes.

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Bored Bella Learns about Fiction and Nonfiction

Bored Bella Learns about Fiction and NonfictionBored Bella Learns about Fiction and Nonfiction by Sandy Bridget Donovan

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I liked this book to teach the difference between fiction and nonfiction books in a library. I will definitely use it with my elementary students, I’m not too sure about my primary students (1st and 2nd graders, but are more like very young kindergartners-who won’t sit well for longer books). The language was simple and to the point of comparing the different genres of books. I also liked that the it was mentioned in the story that the fiction section could be shelved in the 800s section. That is something I always mention to my students; that everything can be shelved in the nonfiction section, but the fiction section is just too big to keep there. Great illustrations too to help convey meaning.

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A Book Is Just Like You

A Book Is Just Like YouA Book Is Just Like You by Kathleen Fox

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved reading this book! I can’t wait to read it to my students, too! IT has everything needed to explain the basic parts of a book to students. It’s definitely geared toward elementary students, but I may even use it for my middle school students. Comparing parts of a book to what a student knows in their own personal life is a great visual connection in the book and hopefully they can keep the visual in their mind’s eye for future reference as we review each week.

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Smart on the Inside

by Eileen Gold Kushner Kathy Young“Smart on the Inside” is a great book to inspire students with learning differences; the book is also an excellent choice for parents since it would stimulate discussions about self-advocacy, self-awareness, bullying, self-esteem, accommodations, and life skills. Eileen is also available for school visits. Available on Amazon in print and eBook http://tinyurl.com/cs32ond
Free curriculum resources will be available on their interactive website http://www.smartontheinside.com/

Lost in the River of Grass by Ginny Rorby

From the publisher – “A science-class field trip to the Everglades is supposed to be fun, but Sarah’s new at Glades Academy, and her fellow freshmen aren’t exactly making her feel welcome. When an opportunity for an unauthorized side trip on an airboat presents itself, it seems like a perfect escape—an afternoon without feeling like a sore thumb. But one simple oversight turns a joyride into a race for survival across the river of grass. Sarah will have to count on her instincts—and a guy she barely knows—if they have any hope of making it back alive.”

I love Ginny Rorby books. My all-time favorite book has been Hurt Go Happy. Her newest book, Lost in the River of Grass is right up there with HGH. Lost in the River of Grass is actually based on real events that happened to her husband and his then girlfriend when they were lost in the Everglades.

Rorby writes vivid details of the scenery, flora and fauna; even the smells of the Everglades that make it all seems so real that you get lost in the reading because you are right in the middle of it all. The reader really gets the feel of the true account of nature’s kill or be killed. You feel sorry for the fish that is caught by the bird, and then you feel sorry for the bird that is caught by the alligator, and then you almost feel sorry for the alligator that is caught in the python’s mighty grip, but you think right along with the characters that it’s better that it’s not me, when just a paragraph ago you wished it wasn’t there scaring the characters and wondering if it is going to attack. It’s amazing how Rorby puts all these different emotions into her words.

Lost in the River of Grass would make a great read aloud for a classroom studying the different types of landforms. With the vivid descriptions of the scenery, students will get a feel of what the Everglades are truly like. Also great similes such as, “The gator’s whole head is inside the python’s. I can see the outline of the bulbous tip of its snout poking up through the snake’s skin like knuckles in a glove.”

One thing that did bother me through most of the book was why Sarah didn’t take more pictures. Her father jokes with her before leaving on the field trip and allowing her to borrow his 1952 Leica IIIf Red Dial camera, “…maybe this will launch your career as a National Geographic photographer.” Especially when they were watching the python attack the gator. I’m sure Sarah’s mind in the beginning was more about fear of her surroundings and just keeping her dad’s camera safe. Later on when Sarah is tired of being the scared city girl and begins to toughen up, I kept thinking she’d want to take pictures to help her recapture those moments when talking to her parents later. Maybe it’s just my sense of history that I wanted her to take more photos.

Overall, this is a great read for anyone and a must in any library collection; home, school, or public library. Ginny Rorby knows how to hook the reader in and keep them there until the very end.

Tangled by Carolyn Mackler

TangledThe lives of four teens, Jena, Skye, Dakota, and Owen, are tangled together and they don’t realize just how connected they become. The best analogy I like to explain it is the ‘butterfly effect’. A butterfly flaps its wings in South America and it will affect the weather in New York City.  Jena goes on vacation with Skye, meets Dakota, and sees Owen, and it goes on from there.

The characters really evolve into their own skin in their own way. As each character is coming out of their own cocoon (no pun intended) and realizing who they truly want to be instead of being defined by some stereotypical title.

Tangled would make a great book club selection for high school students. Discussions about self esteem and treating each other with respect, as well as treating themselves with respect among other topics and show how each of us is connected together more than we realize. Tangled could be used as a read aloud book if you don’t mind all the swearing and other typical teen language.

Tangled is a great addition to any library collection and a must read. I don’t like to give too much of the plot away, but Mackler truly wrote a unique story of teens finding themselves.