Saturday, November 21, 2015

What's New? Stacking the Shelves


Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews. Hop on over there to ogle what other bloggers got this week.

For review:

The Last Fifth Grade of Emerson Elementary by Laura Shovan. 256 p. Random House Children's Books/ April 12, 2016. 9780553521382.

Publisher synopsis: Laura Shovan’s engaging, big-hearted debut is a time capsule of one class’s poems during a transformative school year. Families change and new friendships form as these terrific kids grow up and move on in this whimsical novel-in-verse about finding your voice and making sure others hear it.

Eighteen kids,
one year of poems,
one school set to close.
Two yellow bulldozers crouched outside,
ready to eat the building in one greedy gulp.

But look out, bulldozers.
Ms. Hill’s fifth-grade class has plans for you.
They’re going to speak up and work together to save their school.

Purchased:


East of the Sun, West of the Moon by Jackie Morris. Frances Lincoln Children's Books.165 p. February, 2013. 9781847802941.

Publisher synopsis:  From the moment she saw him, she knew the bear had come for her. How many times had she dreamt of the bear?. Now, here he was, as if spelled from her dreams.?I will come with you, Bear,? she said.It is the beginning of an extraordinary journey for the girl. First to the bear?s secret palace in faraway mountains, where she is treated so courteously, but where she experiences the bear?s unfathomable sadness, and a deep mystery?As the bear?s secret unravels, another journey unfolds? a long and desperate journey, that takes the girl to the homes of the four Winds and beyond, to the castle east of the sun, west of the moon.This beautiful, mysterious story of love, loyalty and above all, freedom, is inspired by fairy tale, and is magically told and illustrated by Jackie Morris.

I received The Wild Swans for review recently; fell in love with it and looked up what else Ms. Morris published. East of the Sun, West of the Moon is one of my favorite fairy tales.


Pieces of Why by K.L. Going. Unabridged audiobook on 4 compact discs; 4.5 hours. Read by Azure Parsons. Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group, September, 2015. 9781101917470.

Publisher synopsis: From the award winning author of Fat Kid Rules the World and The Liberation of Gabriel King comes a lyrical, middle grade gem that asks all the hard questions and hits all the right notes--perfect for fans of Cynthia Rylant and Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine

Tia lives with her mom in a high-risk neighborhood in New Orleans and loves singing gospel in the Rainbow Choir with Keisha, her boisterous and assertive best friend. Tia's dream is to change the world with her voice; and by all accounts, she might be talented enough. But when a shooting happens in her neighborhood and she learns the truth about the crime that sent her father to prison years ago, Tia finds she can't sing anymore. The loss prompts her to start asking the people in her community hard questions--questions everyone has always been too afraid to ask.

Full of humanity, Pieces of Why is a timely story that addresses grief, healing, and forgiveness, told through the eyes of a gifted girl who hears rhythm and song everywhere in her life.

I sat in on a panel at AASL15 entitled Beyond Bullying to Resilience, in which K. L. Going, Tim Federle, Rae Carson and Cynthia Levinson spoke to the issue of moving on from being bullied a stronger person. 

Fat Kid Rules the World is one of my favorite books ever and I really loved The Liberation of Gabriel King. How did I miss this new one?

What's new with you?

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