Real Friends by Shannon Hale, illustrated by LeUyen Pham

In this graphic memoir, author Shannon Hale revisits her elementary school years and her experiences with friendship, cliques, siblings, and bullies. 

Sandwiched in the middle between two older and two younger siblings, Shannon just wants to stay home with her mother. But, once Kindergarten begins, Shannon meets Adrienne and her life changes with a best friend. The two girls have lots of fun playing and having all kinds of imaginary adventures together, but Shannon’s possessiveness begins to bother Adrienne by second grade. And then Adrienne moves away and Shannon reluctantly makes another friend. 

In third grade, Adrienne suddenly moves back, and she and Shannon continued to be friends, but now, other girls wanted to be friends with Adrienne. A group, referred to as The Group, forms around a girl named Jen, and Adrienne is immediately accepted into their clique, while Shannon is treated like an outside or only reluctantly and occasionally allowed to be part of The Group. Luckily, Jen already had a best friend, Jenny, so she isn’t interested in Adrienne. But Jenny quickly realizes that Shannon as just the kind of girl she can bully. Jealous that Jen and Shannon spend some time together during summer vacation, Jenny ramps up the bullying.

To add to Shannon’s distress, her older sister Wendy, who’s having her own friend problems, takes her anger and frustration out on her younger sister, verbally and physically. Shannon’s unpredictable up and down year becomes so stressful, she begins showing OCD symptoms and having frequent stomach aches.

Shannon’s life doesn’t change much in fourth grade, but when fifth grade starts, everything changes. And what Shannon learns about friendships and real friends is both eye-opening and thought provoking. 

Shannon Hale is to be admired for addressing her elementary school years with such painful openness and honesty. Despite everything she experiences, she does not present herself as a victim, rather we see that she was a bit of a crybaby whenever her feelings were hurt, and, as her sister Wendy says, obnoxious at times. And a little on the selfish side as far as her friendship with Adrienne is concerned. 

But readers also see that sometimes, elementary school age kids can be really mean - as in Jenny’s behavior, yet Hale makes it clear that Jenny also is dealing with her own tough issues. On the other hand, there is the boy who spits in Shannon’s face for no reason. 

Shannon was a daydreamer, and so was I and my Kiddo. I appreciated the way she brought out how she missed things that no one else missed - for example, how did she not know everyone had put in for the same fifth grade class except her. That is exactly the kind of thing I remember happening to me and to my Kiddo. It’s the kind of thing that makes a kid feel even more like an outsider. But, Shannon’s daydreams, as they are presented in the graphics, also really show what a wonderfully vivid imagination she had and the very beginnings of her writing career. 

The thing I especially liked about this book is that Hale makes it clear that she wasn’t only kid in her school who was on this roller coaster ride of family and social relationships. And her reason for writing such an open, honest look at those painful years: so that readers, young and old, who have had similar feelings and experiences, will know they weren’t the only one.

A word about the graphics: LeUyen Pham has really captured the essence of the early 1980s, when this story takes place. The colors, hairstyles, clothes are all so realistic (and I know, I remember). The colors are bold, and her images reflect the variety of emotions in recognizable facial expressions and body language throughout the book.   

Despite its 1980s setting, Real Friends is a book that resonates in today's world and for that reason, I would recommend to young readers, as well as their parents and teachers. 

This book is recommended for readers age 8+
This book was borrowed from the NYPL

Ban This Book, a Novel by Alan Gratz

If fourth-grader Amy Anne Ollinger were to be asked by Goodreads to name her absolute favorite book, it would definitely be From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. Not that she doesn’t love other books, but this is the one she checks out of the school library over and over and over. So, imagine her shock when she goes to get it off the shelf yet again, and…it’s gone. 

And it’s not just From the Mixed-up Files that is no longer there. The librarian, Mrs. Jones, tells her that it was decided by the school board that it is inappropriate for the kids in her school to read. From the Mixed-up Files had been BANNED, along with 10 other books, all because one influential (read rich) parent, Mrs. Spencer, decided they should be.

After her parents buy Amy Anne her own copy of From the Mixed-up Files, she lends it to her best friend Rebecca, who has never read it. Then, someone else asks to borrow it, and Amy Anne discovers that Danny, a boy in her class, has a copy of When Helen Comes, which was on the list and he’s willing to lend it to her to read.

As copies of the banned books begin to be swapped back and forth among the fourth-graders, it soon becomes apparent that something needs to be done to keep track of them. And so the Banned Books Locker Library, a/k/a the BBLL, is created in Amy Anne’s locker. And as more and more books are removed from the library’s shelves, thanks to Mrs. Spencer, the acquisitions for the BBLL expands accordingly, often with the help of other students.

Now, you know that the BBLL couldn’t continue for too long without the principal finding out, and she does, but not the way you would expect it to happen. And there are consequences, but one of the most important results of being discovered as President and Chief Librarian of the BBLL is that Amy Anne finds her voice and finally learns to speak up for herself about the things that bother her. And all the fourth graders learn that they can make a difference when they believe in their cause. Here, it’s censorship, because as Amy Anne explains: “Nobody has the right to tell you what books you can or can’t read. Except your parents.”

Ban This Book is a fun book with a serious subject and very serious message, but I believe it is one that kids will certainly think about as they realize that some of their favorite books have been challenged for all sorts of reasons. And, while this is an issue novel about censorship, it also addresses the idea that a school board can make rules for removing books from the library and then circumvent them willy-nilly to appease an influential parent and that isn't right. 

Amy Anne is a wonderful character. She’s a strong, intelligent champion for books and readers, and she is loyal to her friends. After being caught running the BBLL, she didn't rat out her friends that helped her in an effort to make things easier for herself - now, in my book, that is a good friend. 

There is an excellent in-depth Reader and Activity Guide at the end of the book about this that support state standards.

I should mention that every book mentioned in Ban This Book (and there are a lot) has been or is still being challenged. Is your favorite book in the sights of the censors?

This book is recommended for readers age 8+

This book was provided by the Tom Doherty Associates

How many books from Amy Anne’s Banned Books Locker Library have you read?

The Captain Underpants series by Dav Pilkey, who makes an author visit to Amy Anne's school, is one of the most challenged book in America and he has something to say about banning book:

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday is a weekly event hosted by Shannon Messenger at
Book Ramblings, and Plenty of Shenanigans

Saints and MIsfits, a novel written by S. K. Ali

For Janna Yusuf, 15, life just got a little more complicated. Janna is a hijab wearing Muslim whose parents, a Egyptian Muslim mom and secular Indian dad, are divorced; her older brother Muhammad has just moved back home from college after changing his major yet again, and is in the process of arranging a marriage with a girl Janna sarcastically refers to as Saint Sarah. 

Janna has also just been sexually assaulted by Farooq, the pious golden boy of the mosque, who everyone is in awe of because he claimed to have memorized the Qur’an and is even allowed to lead prayers. Added to all this is Janna’s crush on a white Christian boy named Jeremy, a friend of her brother and Farooq, and a boy she knows she can never date.

Janna spends her time trying to avoid Farooq, not knowing what to do about the assault. She does manage to go about her regular daily life at home and school. She continues to “elder-sit” Mr. Ram, an elderly Hindu man she takes to the community center once a week, and to participate in events at school, where she is the only other girl in an enriched math class; and at the mosque, she edits a newsletter Q&A for her uncle, the Imam, and photographs the mosque’s annual Open House. She is also part of the mosque’s team that goes a state-wide Islamic Quiz Bowl tournament. 

Janna’s two best friends are Tats, who is not Muslim and continues to promote a relationship between Janna and Jeremy, not really understanding that Janna can’t date him,  and Fizz, who is Farooq’s cousin, and who is a little too judgmental. But it is radical Sausun who really impacts Janna’s life. Ironically, Sausun is the most empowered girl in the book, a character who looks at everything with distain, including Janna, but who is a candy guzzler, Doc Martens- wearing, Youtuber, running a show called “Niqabi Ninjas” (unlike hijab, niqab covers the entire face, except the eyes).

As you might have surmised, Saints and Misfits is definitely a character-driven novel and Janna is its most complex character - a person for whom religion plays an important part in her life, a photographer, a graphic artist (she began a pictorial seerah life of the Prophet Muhammad book at age 9) and a lover of Flannery O’Connor stories. But Janna is also a questioner, who is just starting to discover and explore who she really is. 

Beside Janna, Ali has created a cast of interesting, mainly Muslim characters. Through them, she explores Muslim culture and some of the difficulties faced by girls who are, on the one hand, not so very different from other girls their age, but who are also bound by the strictures of their religion, a situation Farooq cruelly takes advantage of when Janna refuses to forgive and forget what he did to her. In reality, those of us who are not Muslim see girls and women wearing hijab all the time, but never really think or know what is means to decide to wear it. Through Janna and Farooq, Ali makes it clear what the underlying meaning of this decision is - more than just a symbol of modesty, it is supposed to protect Muslim women from being harassed and/or molested by men. Understanding that, Farooq’s behavior goes against everything that he is supposed to stand for.  

Janna's  story is a compelling, engrossing tale of self-discovery, and her lively narration will keep readers interested all the way through, and curious to see how she ultimately deals with Farooq’s assault and it is totally worth reading to the end to find out. 

Saints and Misfits is author S. K. Ali's debut novel and I am looking forward to reading more of her excellent work, hopefully in the near future. 

This book is recommended for readers age 14+
This book was purchased for my personal library

A Randomly Reading Roundup: Back to School

Even though the kids have been back to school for a while, it's not too late for some back to school reading. Here are some of my favorites that we have enjoyed both before and after school began. The kids like reading them, but more importantly they helped some of the kids open up about their own fears and concerns at the start of the new school year.

A New School Year: Poem Stories in Six Voices by Sally Derby, illustrated by Mike Song
Charlesbridge, 2017, 48 pages, age 5+
It’s the start of a new school year and in 24 free verse poems, young readers are privy to the innermost thoughts and concerns of six students from Kindergarten to Fifth Grade.  Told in four parts, it covers the night the first day, the morning of the first day, at and after school the first day. Kindergartener Ethan puts his bear’s fuzzy jacket in his pants pocket so he can touch it when he’s feeling scared; 1st grader Zach worries about making mistakes,Katie learns her 2nd grade teacher has been changed to someone she doesn’t know, a Mr. instead of a Miss or Mrs., third grader Jackie hopes her teacher won’t mind having her in the classroom an hour before school starts, Carolos worries that there won’t be anyone in Fourth Grade who looks like him, and Mia worries about homework, and whether she will have the right school supplies for Fifth Grade. How does each student’s first day work out? Derby has really summed up some of the most realistic concerns kids have about school, making this a great book for helping kids manage their own first day worries, regardless of their age. Song’s gentle, softly colored illustrations stay focused on the kids, who are a nicely diverse group of students.

The Teacher's Pet by Anica Mrose Rissi, illustrated by Zachariah Ohora
Disney Hyperion, 2017, 40 pages, age 4+
Mr. Stricter, who is anything but, and his young students are watching the growth of tadpoles as their science project. When the tadpoles are grown enough, they release them into a nearby pond, except for one named Bruno. Bruno grows and grows into a large hippo, who eats homework, farts, and continually disrupts the class. But Mr. Stricter just doesn’t see what a problem the class pet has become. It’s up to the children to solve the problem of Bruno, and convince their teacher he needs to be freed. Rissi turns the tables in this humous tale illustrating the pluses and minuses of having a class pet and young readers will definitely get the age-appropriate irony she uses. Classroom pets can be fun, but also distracting and kids may recognize some of their own behavior in their teacher. A fun story with a nice old fashioned feel to the bright acrylic and pencil illustrations. 

Sarabella's Thinking Cap written and illustrated by Judy Schachner
Dial Books, 2017, 32 pages, age 5+

Sarabella is a talented artist who has a lot of trouble focusing on her school work and getting it done on time. Consequently, she brings home a lot of notes about daydreaming instead of paying attention. But no matter how hard she tries, Sarabella’s keep turning away from school and into her own daydreams. Finally, her teacher Mr. Fantozzi gives his class a weekend a project ideal for Sarabella, called “A Penny for Your Thoughts.” And Sarabella knows just what she needs to do for this project. This is an important story to share with a class, or even at home. Kids have difficulty focusing on school for all kinds of reasons and wisely, Schachner doesn’t’ not give Sarabella a specific diagnose. But she doesn’t excuse behavior like Sarabella’s either. Instead, she presents a way that should lead to understanding. After reading this book, I immediately began to daydream about what my thinking cap would have looked like when I was Sarabella’s age. And I wish I had had this book to read to my former students who also struggled with focus problems. Schachner’s gouache, acrylics, college and mixed media illustrations will take your breath away.

This story also really struck a personal note for me. I was an undiagnosed dyslexic who struggled with school, brought home lots of notes similar to Sarabella’s, and often lapsed into daydreaming. It wasn’t until an 8th grade teacher actually “saw” me that things changed. 

Twindergarten by Nikki Ehrlich, illustrated by Zoey Abbott Wagner
HarperCollins, 2017, 32 pages, age 4+
Twins Dax and Zoe go together like peanut butter and jelly, but now they are getting ready to start Kindergarten and feeling a little jittery: the twins had wanted to be together, but ended up in separate classes. Mom thinks that perhaps it will be a good opportunity for them to make separate friends, but the twins aren’t so sure they want to do that. The night before the first day of school, Dax pushes his bed closer to Zoe, but the next day, it is Dax who makes the first friend,a boy named Max. And even though she has met a girl named Sydney, Zoe misses him that much more. At recess, they have a chance to be together again, just like peanut butter and jelly. When recess is over, Dax slips something into Zoe’s pocket that turns out to be just the thing she needs to be able to make her own friends and have fun in Kindergarten. While Twindergarten is about twins, it is a good book to share with any child who is feeling a see-saw of emotions about starting Kindergarten - excited but nervous, confident but jittery. Abbott’s whimsical color pencil illustrations have the feel of a child’s drawing, making the story all that much more relatable for kids. This is an excellent choice for kids who need just a little more reassurance that starting school doesn’t change everything.

How To Get Your Teacher Ready by Jean Reagan, illustrated by Lee Wildish
Alfred A. Knopf, 2017, 32 pages, age 4+
Kids know all about how they get ready for school and all the special events of the school year, but what about their teacher? Written in the same vein as her earlier books, a classroom full of students offer advice to a teacher to help her cope with any jitters she might be experiencing about starting school. From a big first day “Good Morning,” students answer anxious questions such as why she doesn’t have a cubby and where the bathroom is. Advice for Picture Day (no messy snacks), the Holiday Concert (how to spot her family in the audience) and Field Day (make sure her whistle works), and a variety of other mishaps and events are covered. Reagan also turns the tables in this whimsical look at the school year, but this is a clever way to deal with a child’s fears about school and what to expect, by putting the teacher in the child’s place. Wildest colorful illustrations are humorous and really catch the feeling of a year in Kindergarten. 

Kisses for Kindergarten by Livingstone Crouse, illustrated by Macky Pamintuan
Silver Dolphin Books, 2017, 40 pages, age 4+
It’s time to start school, but Stella Isabella Harden isn’t quite ready for Kindergarten, explaining to her parents that her puppy Buster told her she didn’t have to go. So Stella decides to reimagine Kindergarten with Buster. Reimagined school begins with playtime in the park, which is fun, as is the snack time picnic she and Buster share. Nap time begins with building a pillow fort for napping and ends with a pillow fight. But then comes story time and Buster really wanted a story. Too bad Stella Isabella can’t read to him. And so Buster places his paw on the book, and lets Stella Isabella know she needs to go to real school. And Buster - well, Buster waits patiently every day for Stella Isabella to come home from school to tell him a story. Written in a rhyme that sometimes doesn’t really work, this is, nevertheless, a book for kids who think they don’t need to go to school, and who, like Stella Isabella, discover that they really do need to and want to go. And while the rhyme might not always work, Pamintuan’s boldly colorful illustrations do. She has really captured the playful energy and love between Stella Isabella and her pup, Buster. A nice book for reluctant school-goers.

Zinnia and the Bees by Danielle Davis

The last day of seventh grade couldn’t be worse for Zinnia Flossdrop. First, she must spend the day sitting in the principal's office for yarn-bombing the school mascot. At home, she discovers that, Adam, 18, her beloved brother, a talented magician and sometimes prankster-in-crime has left home, leaving no note or explanation. Her rather cold dentist/community activist mom doesn’t seem to care, replacing Adam with a sickly little dog. Seeking comfort, Zinnia buys herself a cone of her favorite ice-cream, which melts, falls out of the cone onto a table, and gets in her hair when she puts her head down for a good cry.

Little does Zinnia know that there is an industrial rental hive of escaped honeybees looking for a new home in order to live as free bees and pollinators as nature meant them to be. Yes, the bees find a new home in Zinnia’s abundant, wildly curly locks. And nothing she does gets them to move out. So, Zinnia does the only thing she can think of - puts on a sweatshirt and covers her hair with a hood.

Which naturally arouses the curiosity of visiting, plaid-wearing Birch, nephew of her next-door neighbor. Birch is a bird-watcher, the son of naturalists, and a solid, straightforward kind of kid, who sees and faces things head-on - luckily for Zinnia. He’s the only person who actually notices that there are bees living in her hair. Little by little, the two become friends, though it is a rocky road given Zinnia’s somewhat depressing situation(s), and Birch’s overly positive attitude. Together, they begin to search solutions to getting the bees out of Zinnia’s hair and into a proper hive, while also trying to find out where Adam might be and why he left so abruptly.  

In between Zinnia’s unfolding tale of woe, are short chapters narrated by one of the bees. That way, the reader learns why they decided to run away (with parallels to Adam’s reasons), and the difficulty of surviving until they find a new hive. The plight of the bees is told with both humor and pathos, so be prepared to suspend your disbelief and at the same time, learn some interesting facts about bees. 

Over the course of the summer, having a headful of bees and no big brother to fall back on teaches Zinnia some hard truths about herself and her feelings, and about what it means to be a sister, a daughter and a friend. 

At first, I thought the yarn bombing thing was kind of silly, but as I read and got to know Zinnia better, I realized it is the perfect metaphor for her - always covering up and hiding her real feelings from everyone around her - feelings that are holding her captive, and which naturally leads to all kinds of misunderstandings. 

On the other hand, the bees are looking for freedom, tired of being held captive as pollinators on demand. Their quest for freedom also leads to all kinds of misunderstanding - particularly with regard to Bee 641, who led them to Zinnia’s hair in the first place.

This is a debut middle grade novel for Danielle Davis. Though not without flaws, it is nevertheless an entertaining and well-done novel. I particularly liked the way she managed to weave in some real information about the plight of bees in today’s world through some nice use of magical realism. And I thought her characters were very interesting, and just quirky enough to work without going over the top. 

Zinnia and the Bees is a coming of age novel that is sure to please young readers.

This book is recommended for readers age 9+
This book was an EARC received from NetGalley

Blog Tour: Duck and Hippo Lost and Found by Jonathan London, Illustrated by Andrew Joyner

Duck and Hippo Lost and Found
by Jonathan London, illustrated by Andres Joyner
Two Lions, 2017, 32 pages

It’s the end of summer and friends Duck and Hippo decide to have one last picnic at their favorite pond, and of course, they invite their other friends, Elephant, Pig and Turtle. Everyone has brought something to contribute to the picnic, so the friends decide it’s time to have some fun dancing and singing. But when they to stop to have something to eat, Hippo realizes he forgot to bring anything. 

What to do? Hippo decides to go find the last of the summer berries in the forest to share with his friends. But after he has been gone for a very long time, his friends get worried and decide to go and look for him. Duck really gets worried when the sun begins to go down. Is Hippo really lost, could he have fallen into a hole, as Duck fears, or could he still just be looking for berries? 

This is a wonderful story about friendship and loyalty, sharing and caring. And even as the sun goes down and the moon rises, there is not cause for young readers to feel anxious. The friends are not really portrayed as being young, and they are smart enough to stick together as they look for and call out to Hippo. And once Hippo realizes he is lost, he is quick to call out for help. All's well that ends well, and the happy ending will certainly please young readers as the friends are reunited and finally finish having their end of summer picnic.

Storyteller Jonathan London and illustrator Andrew Joyner have once again collaborated to bring young readers this second installment in the Duck and Hippo series, and Duck and Hippo Lost and Found is every bit a wonderful as their first book Duck and Hippo in the Rainstorm. London's simple but well paced text and Joyner’s colorful cartoon-like drawings compliment each other so well and make for a fun, energetic story.

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Meet the Author:

Jonathan London has written more than one hundred children’s book, including the bestselling Froggy series, illustrated by Frank Remkiewicz. Many of his book explore nature, among them Flamingo Sunset, illustrated by Kristina Rodanas, and Little Penguin: The Emperor of Antarctica, illustrated by Julie Olson. He is also author of the Arron’s Wilderness middle-grade series, illustrated by his son Sean London. Jonathan lives in Graton, California. Learn more online at www.jonathan-london.net

Meet the Illustrator:

Andrew Joyner is an illustrator, author and cartoonist based in South Australia. He has illustrated a number of picture books, and he wrote and illustrated a chapter book series about a warthog named Boris. He has also illustrated for newspapers and magazines, including the Wall Street Journal, Reader’s Digest, and Rolling Stone magazine, among others. Learn more online at www.andrewjoyner.com.au

There's more fun with Duck and Hippo in the free downloadable activity page at https://www.andrewjoyner.com.au/activities/

This book is recommended for readers age 4+
This book was provided by the publisher, Two Lions