A MILLION WAYS HOME by Dianna Dorisi Winget

Poppy's been living in shelter care since her grandmother had a stroke and went to the hospital. But when she witnesses a crime, she's taken into protective custody with a local police officer and his mother. Poppy just wants life to go back to normal and to go back home with her grandmother, but she might never get back to that life again.

This was lovely! A touching story of family and friendship. Great animal story. Terrific realistic fiction, emotionally moving. I would recommend this to fans of books like Love, Aubrey; Eight Keys; or Counting by Sevens.

5 out of 5 stars
No AR reading level at the time of this writing.

* I received an electronic copy of this book from the publisher for free in the hope that I would review it honestly on my blog. Regardless, I only review books I enjoyed. I don’t believe in passing on negative reviews. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

I SURVIVED THE JAPANESE TSUNAMI, 2011 by Lauren Tarshis

Ben and his mom and little brother are visiting Japan four months after Ben's dad died. They were visiting Ben's great-uncle when the tsunami hit. As his family tried to flee by car, the car was overtaken by water and Ben was separated from his family. There's so much loss - so much devastation. Ben has lost so much. What could possibly happen next?

It's hard to write much of summary of the story without giving too much away. This was a great installment in this adventure series. My students devour these books! And they will love this one. The family is likeable, their grief feels authentic. And the fear in the midst of the earthquake/tsunami felt very real to me! This book is informative and engrossing. Another winner!

4 out of 5 stars
AR reading level of 4.6

Graphic Novel Week: TOMMYSAURUS REX and CARDBOARD by Doug TenNapel

In Tommysaurus Rex, a boy's dog dies, and his parents send him to stay with his grandfather while he recovers from his loss. The boy, Ely, finds a TRex who acts a lot like his dog, Tommy. A bully causes trouble for the boy and for Tommysaurus Rex. 

In Cardboard, a dad who is down on his luck buys a cardboard box for his son's birthday gift. The cardboard is magic. Whatever they build comes to life. But they don't follow the magic rules and things go horribly out of control. There is a bully in this story as well.

Both of these graphic novels are great. The stories and art are very well done. I thought Tommysaurus was extremely touching and the ending was excellent. Cardboard was also very good, but darker than Tommysaurus. I think Cardboard is a better fit for middle school than for elementary school, so I am adding Tommysaurus to my library and recommending Cardboard to older readers.

4 out of 5 stars for both.

AR reading level of 2.0 for Tommysaurus. Cardboard has a reading level of 2.2 with AR.

COUNTING BY 7S by Holly Goldberg Sloan

I don't normally post here on Tuesdays, but I did so much reading this summer, I am already working on posts for October. This book was too good to wait two months to write about it.

[I received an advance reader copy of this book at the American Library Association Annual Conference this summer. The book will release on August 29th.]

Willow is a brilliant yet odd girl - she counts by 7s, is fascinated by medical conditions, and aces the standardized tests at school with a perfect score, which gets her sent to counseling for cheating. Through the counselor, Willow meets Mai, a high school student, and her brother Quang-ha. When Willow's parents are killed in a car accident, and she has no one to care for her, Mai insists Willow stay with her family. But Willow knows this can only be temporary. There's no where she truly "belongs" now.

This was lovely. So moving and engrossing. As odd as Willow is, readers will still relate to her. Her descriptions of her grief are stunning. She says things like, "I want to turn off the sun and live in darkness." {As I read an uncorrected proof of the book, this quote might change or be eliminated in the final product - but it is only one example of all sorts of beautiful statements in this book - if this one isn't there, you'll find plenty of others.} Having walked through my own grief experience in the last couple years, I completely identified with Willow's descriptions of her grief. Each of the other characters in this story - Mai; Quang-ha; their mother, Pattie; the school counselor; and a cab driver - evolves over time, just like Willow does, in completely reasonable and beautiful ways.

I would recommend this for readers in 5th grade and older. Any reader who loves material where he/she can really connect with a character emotionally will enjoy Counting by 7s. I will recommend this to my students who have loved books like Love, Aubrey.

5 out of 5 stars
AR reading level of 5.6

CHAPTER BOOK: The Center of Everything by Linda Urban

Ruby Pepperdine has made a wish. Nothing has been the same since the death of her grandmother, and now her best friend is mad at her and another almost-friend isn't talking to her. But if her birthday wish comes true, then maybe things will be sorted out and "right" again, the way they are supposed to be.

After reading this glowing review I immediately picked this up and bumped it to the top of my reading pile. While I thought it was good, I didn't adore it as much as the other reviewer did. My heart breaks for Ruby in her grief. She's a great kid who is trying to do what everyone expects of her at all times, even when she carries all these big questions about her last conversation with her grandmother. The story isn't told in a straight line. It jumps from the present to the past as Ruby thinks about her wish and everything that's happened since she made it. For me, that made it hard to really get into the emotions of the story like I wanted to. I think this could be a great story for kids who are struggling with grief and loss, as long as they don't get confused in the back and forth of the timeline.

3 out of 5 stars
AR reading level of 4.9

Recommended for: middle grade readers - fourth grade and up, also for students who are struggling with the loss of a parent or grandparent

Cautions: One of the other kids in the story has two dads. It is not a factor in the overall story of Ruby and her wish, but in more conservative homes or other settings, that could be an issue.

CHAPTER BOOK: Love, Aubrey by Suzanne LaFleur

When the story starts, Aubrey is alone. Over time, the reader realizes that something tragic has happened, leaving Aubrey and her mother to pick up the pieces. But Aubrey's mom left - just disappeared. Aubrey's grandmother comes to check on them after her phone calls go unanswered and she finds Aubrey alone. She takes her home while the family tries to find Aubrey's mom. Through the rest of the story, Aubrey deals with her feelings about her mom and slowly comes to terms with the tragedy that changed her life forever.

This is an absolutely beautiful story - engrossing and heart-breaking. The author does an amazing job of letting the details of the story unfold slowly. I didn't even plan on reading this book - I was covering it in laminate to put it in the school library and I thought I'd just skim a smidge to see how it was. I couldn't put it down. I sniffled and brushed away tears through the whole thing. Beautiful.

4 out of 5 stars
AR level of 3.7

I would recommend this for readers in 4th grade and up, students looking for beautiful realistic fiction.

[note: Here's a link to another book by Suzanne LaFleur that I reviewed.]

Blogging Sabbatical

In the past few days, as I have been reading my blog feeds on my email, I have noticed a (small) trend. Some of my regular bloggers are taking the month of July off. Each notice referenced a post by Michael Hyatt (another blogger I follow - if you are interested in leadership development, check out his whole blog) where he talks about his own sabbatical.

I agree that his post was inspiring, but for me it was more in a "wouldn't that be nice" sort of way. But his post was from June 20th. I was already up to my eyebrows in the business of death and grief - waiting on probate, meeting with lawyers, cleaning out a house, etc. I don't feel I have the luxury of walking away from anything right now.

Then, last night, I sat down to write a book review for today. I have been reading through my stash of books based on the TV show, Psych. The books have been good and I was ready to review three of them. Then I got a call with more bad news, and I thought, "I can't do this." I am about at my limit of what I can juggle. So I've decided to go with at least a blogging sabbatical. I may pull back from even more things in the next week. I can't even articulate what I want or need a break from. So, I'm going to step away for the month of July, at least, and see where things are on August 1st. 

I had a few blogs already typed and ready to go, so I released those earlier today. I hope you find something to enjoy. The Mo Willems book is especially fun.