Newbery Winner - When You Reach Me

Author Rebecca Stead writes of family, friendship and time travel in this year's Newbery Award winning book, When You Reach Me. As readers, we need to be open to what we might have previously considered impossible. When You Reach Me takes place in NYC in 1979; the characters, led by 6th grader Miranda are flawed yet incredibly likable as they struggle to find their place in the world. Put your thinking caps on when you pick up this book - it's thoughtful and engaging.

Two More...

Yes, I Know the Monkey Man by Dori Butler is the sequel to Do You Know the Monkey Man. Fortunately, there's enough background information in the second book for the reader to make sense of the previous story. To say it is a book that tugs at one's emotions is a bit of an understatement. To say it is a book about twins who were separated at three years of age is also an understatement. To say it is a book about trying to figure out where you fit in the world or a book that wonders how deep a parents' love runs or a book about forgiveness, also understatements. Yes, I Know the Monkey Man is appropriate for mature fifth graders and middle schoolers.


Are you one of those people who wonders why we can't fly like a bird or walk the ceiling like a gecko? Perhaps you have a child or niece or nephew who asks similar questions. If the answer is yes then Just the Right Size by zoologist, Nicola Davies may be the perfect gift. Davies explains in relatively simple terms why size matters when trying to replicate some of the more exciting animal feats. A fun read.

Friends and Family

Kathy Mackel's A Season of Comebacks tells the story of twelve year Allie, a softball pitching phenom, her ten year old sister, Mol, their Dad, the coach and Chris, Mol's best friend. It is a story about being a good sister, a good parent, and a good friend; it's understanding your limitations and accepting that being the best doesn't preclude you from still having fun. Despite some questionable baseball strategy, A Season of Comebacks is a crisply written story that effective weaves sports and friendship together.


Neil Armstrong is My Uncle & Other Lies Muscle Man McGinty Told Me by Nan Marino takes place the summer of 1969. Not only is it the year of the moonwalk, it's also the year Tammy's best friend, Kebsie moves away. Kickball is king; friends fight; people are misunderstood. It's hard to be Tammy; sometimes it's hard to like Tammy but I will say even though you can't believe some of the things she says, you root for her from page one. You also root for Muscle Man. This is a book about friendship and forgiveness. It reminded me an awful lot of the neighborhood I grew up in.


Dog Lost by Ingrid Lee is a tough read. Not because of the writing but because Ms. Lee writes about the world of dog fighting. Unfortunately, dog fighting is a reality - people are cruel, the author tells us and yet if we look hard enough, there is hope. Hope may look like a ten year motherless boy, a teenage girl in desperate need of a kidney transplant, an eighty year old widow, an alert and caring police officer, or a sensitive fifth grade teacher. Hope can also be found n a pit bull named Cash. Dog Lost brought me to tears more than once, for much different reasons. A tough read, yes, but a read well worth the time.

It's Going to be a Book-Filled Weekend!

I'm working my way through a stack of new books. There's nothing better than opening up a box from Follet and realizing you made some good choices.

Song of Middle C by Alison McGhee is a new everybody book told from a beginning piano player's perspective. The narrator, a young girl, whose name we never know, practices and practices and practices for her first recital. When the evening comes she is prepared, right down to her lucky underwear. Does the practicing pay-off? Is her lucky underwear needed? Read Song of Middle C to find out.



The Apple Pie Tree by Zoe Hall is a non-fiction book. Author Hall provides beautiful language to celebrate the seasons of an apple tree - from the bare branches of winter to the robins of spring and summer; from the apples of fall to the homemade pie the family makes. Of course it would be much easier if the whole pie grew on a tree but Hall does the next best thing and provides an easy to follow recipe.



Panda Kindergarten by Joanne Ryder is another new non-fiction book. In China, at the Wolong Nature Preserve, baby pandas go to kindergarten. Yes, kindergarten. Once they are weened from their mothers, these baby pandas, born in captivity, spend their days with other cubs learning about the world. Ryder and photographer, Dr. Katherine Feng, capture and celebrate the joys of panda-hood with grace.



Tarra and Bella: The Elephant and a Dog Who Became Best Friends by Carol Buckley. Have you seen this video? I did and then I read the book. Buckley uses simple language and photographs to tell the story of the unlikely friendship between a pachyderm and a canine which blossomed at the Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee.



If the World Were Blind (A book about judgment and prejudice) by Karen Gedig Burnett delivers a powerful message about how we judge people - whether it's by the color of their skin, the way they dress, the language they speak, the shape of their body. It is a call to action with thoughtful discussion questions at the end that encourage reflection on our won behavior and how we treat others.

A Reading Vacation

Spent four days in North Carolina walking the beach and reading. Which for me, is perfection. A little non-fiction, a little historical fiction, a little fluff.

The Man Who Loved Books Too Much: The True Story of a Thief, a Detective, and a World of Literary Obsession by Allison Hoover Bartlett is an engaging read about book thief John Gilkey and the book seller, Ken Sanders, who tracked him down. It is fascinating to read Gilkey's story - despite stealing over one hundred thousand dollars worth of rare books and being jailed on numerous occasions, he doesn't think he did anything wrong. Sanders is the good guy in this story, someone you'd like to have a cup of coffee with but it's Gilkey who engages the reader.

Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay came highly recommended. It is a fictional account of the round-ups that took place in Paris in 1942. Jewish families living in France were routinely taken from their homes and brought to Vélodrome d'Hiver outside the city, then transported to Auschwitz. It is a part of WW II that is rarely spoken about and de Rosnay weaves a heart breaking story of strong willed ten year old Sarah. Told in alternating voices, it gets a little heavy handed at the end but is worth the time if for no other reason than to learn about a part of history not often included in our textbooks.

Schooled by Anisha Lakhani. NYC private schools, highly paid tutors, spoiled kids. Enough said.