The Unsung Hero of Birdsong, USA

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This story takes place right in the heat of the Civil Rights movement.  In the first 10 pages, a white boy (Gabriel) gets into some trouble and is saved by a very kind black man (Meriwether).  As a way to thank him, Gabriel gets Meriwether a job at his dad’s mechanic shop – despite the potential conflict with the other mechanics.

Gabriel begins to see Meriwether as a friend which is met with mixed feelings by other people in the community.  Gabriel also learns that Meriwether proudly served the United States during WWII, but feels he has to keep his service a secret to keep his family safe from members of the community who aren’t quite ready for equality.

This book is full of life lessons on friendship, equality, and standing up for what’s right.


The Bridge Home

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This beautiful story is about sisters, Viji and Rukku, who run away from a turbulent home and become homeless.  They meet two friends along the way who become family.  They have to develop and use their instincts to survive – finding food, fending off enemies, making money in creative ways – all things children should never have to worry about.

The major conflict in this story is questioning who to trust.  After running from their parents, the girls struggle to trust adults – even when they are in serious need of help.

This story broke my heart and then mended it right up.


The Seventh Most Important Thing

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This book was handed to me randomly by our school Librarian.  It was the day before Spring Break and I was loading up on books to read and she encouraged me to read this one.

This story is about a young boy who makes a bad decision and ends up in front of a judge to receive his consequence.  Instead of getting a consequence from the judge, the judge is convinced to allow the man the boy hurt with his bad decision to give the boy the consequence.

Through the story, the boy develops a relationship with the man and learns many interesting life lessons.  I spent most of the novel trying to figure out what on Earth the old man was up to and what he was trying to teach the boy.  Overall, I enjoyed the sweet story of the boy changing his perspective and learning his lesson.


Blended

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One of my favorite books of all time is Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper.  I LOVE the main character, I love how Sharon Draper creatively weaves in so many applicable life lessons, and I love how when I put the book down I really felt like I had become friends with the characters in the book – I was completely hooked.

When I heard she was coming out with a new novel, I knew I needed to add it to my list immediately.  I have to say, I didn’t love this one as much as Out of My Mind, but I’m not even sure that’s a fair comparison!

This novel is about a young girl who is dealing with newly divorced parents and the life changes that come along with splitting up a family – two houses, two sets of rules, two new step-parents, two of everything.  In addition, the main character is also dealing with some racial identity issues that she has to navigate through.

Changing family dynamics and racial identity issues are two really important topics for young people today which Sharon Draper weaves throughout this story.  I enjoyed it, but didn’t feel like I couldn’t put it down.


Amal Unbound

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One of my students INSISTED that I pick up this book and read it aloud to my class.  I have to say, I am SO thankful to her!  This is a story about a Pakastani girl who is forced into indentured servitude.

We had many class discussions about fairness, culture, and family while we were falling in love with the main character, Amal.  Her value for education and family were inspiring and left us thankful for the rights we have here in America.

I would highly recommend this novel.


Masterminds

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I picked up this book, like many of the previous books I’ve read, because my students couldn’t stop talking about it!  They were arguing over books #2 and 3 in the series and raving about how they couldn’t put them down.  In addition, it’s on the Iowa Children’s Choice List for 2018-2019 and I’m trying to check some of those off my list.

To be honest, I told myself I’d read the first one and call it good.  We all know by now how much I enjoy Gordon Korman, so I knew I’d enjoy it – I could check it off my ICCA list and be on my happy way to read another book off my Spring Break reading list.  You guys.  I finished the first one and immediately needed the second one.  I had to know what happened.  It ended with quite the cliff-hanger and none of the libraries around me had the second book.  Thankfully, our school librarian owns her own copy and allowed me to borrow hers!

I really enjoyed both the first and second books of this series.  I would like to read the 3rd book just to see how it ends, but I have so many other books I want to read on my break that I’m going to take a little hiatus from the kids in Masterminds and start another one on my list.  Overall, I’d highly recommend you pick this up!


The Unteachables

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I really love this author, Gordon Korman!  His newest novel didn’t disappoint either!  This novel is about a group of students who have been written off as unable to learn – unteachable.  They are banished to a room in a remote area of the school and assigned to a teacher that is near retirement and disinterested in actually teaching anything.

As the year goes on, the students inspire the teacher to re-light his passion for teaching and the teacher inspires the students to actually apply themselves and show the world they are, in fact, not unteachable.


Because of the Rabbit

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This is a sweet novel by Cynthia Lord about a 5th grader named Emma who has been home-schooled her entire life.  On the night before she begins public school, her and her dad rescue a tiny bunny that she falls in love with.

Throughout this novel, Emma learns the importance of being your whole self, that sometimes you have to endure difficult things in order to get where you want to go, and that true friends like you for YOU.

I have to admit, the cover of this book deterred me from reading it at first.  It wasn’t until another teacher in our District was raving about it that I decided to pick it up.  I started and finished the entire thing in ONE day.  I loved it.


Unidentified Suburban Object

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Chloe Cho grows up believing she is Asian.  Because of this fact, she is different than everyone in her school.  She is fascinated by her heritage and frustrated that her parents refuse to discuss their Asian history with her.  Her best friend Shelley “gets” her.  Chloe doesn’t feel different around her.  Thanks to a school assignment, Chloe finds a reason to dig into her family’s history and what she finds is NOTHING like what she expected.

Speaking of nothing like what’s expected, this book fell in that category for me.  I picked it up for two reasons: 1. it’s on the Iowa Children’s Choice List and 2. my students RAVED about it.  I have to admit, I liked it way more than I thought I would.  There is a HUGE twist in the middle that made this book fall into a sci-fi category that I don’t usually enjoy, but I have to say that by the end, I was left hoping the author will come out with a sequel.


The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise

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This book made me laugh and cry.  I LOVE the author, Dan Gemeinhart, SO much.  This one might be my favorite of his, which is saying quite a lot.

The story takes place on a school bus, which is where the main character, Coyote, and her dad, Rodeo, live.  They travel from place to place without a real “home” after their family endures a devastating tragedy.  Along the way, they meet several characters who hop aboard their traveling home and change the way both Coyote & Rodeo view life.

I am so thankful for having “met” Coyote.  She taught me so many important lessons about life.  This book will stay with me for a long time.