STEERING TOWARD NORMAL

Not that many people know I was a 4-H girl during middle and high school. Horses, cake decorating, knitting, yup, did 'em all. And still kind of have a teeny bit of that wanna ride horses again living somewhere deep inside. So over break, I was at the library and came across Rebecca Petruck's novel, STEERING TOWARD NORMAL. I picked it up and was hooked.

Diggy Lawson is an eighth grade boy, growing up on a farm in Minnesota. Diggy's life story is a little unconventional-- his mother and father were never married, and after he was born, his mother left him on his father's doorstep, then allegedly stole his tractor to leave town. Diggy and his father have created a happy, albeitprank-filled life, and he is about to start raising his fourth 4-H steer to show in the Minnesota State Fair. His friend, July, has won the past few years, but she's graduating from high school, and is working with Diggy so he can take her place as the champion. With her help and a lot of hard work, he's pretty sure he can earn the purple ribbon.

Diggy's life takes an unexpected turn when his classmate, Wayne Graf, shows up on their doorstep one night. Wayne's mother has just died, and his alcoholic father has discovered that he is not Wayne's biological father. It seems that Diggy's dad, Pop, is actually Wayne's dad. Wayne moves in with Pop and Diggy, and things turn upside down overnight. Wayne misses his mom desperately, and decides he will help Diggy find his mom. Diggy, however, has spent thirteen years with no mom, and really doesn't even want to look for her. Wayne's insistence on looking feels like banging a scab. Things come to a head at the state fair the next summer

STEERING TOWARD NORMAL is a terrific coming of age story And for those who are concerned about whether they could sell the farm aspect to city kids, there's a lot of great back matter explaining 4-H, steer competitions, etc.

BIGGER THAN A BREAD BOX by Laurel Snyder

Times are hard. And because they are hard for adults, they are also hard for kids. Now, more than I ever, I need to be able to hand kids books that say, "You are not alone." I have found a new one this week.

Twelve-year-old Rebecca, in Laurel Snyder's BIGGER THAN A BREADBOX, will be a friend, I am sure, for many of my students. Her mom and dad are having a hard time, and finally, one day after school, her mom puts Rebecca and her three-year-old brother, Lew, in the car and leaves Baltimore, headed for her mother's house in Atlanta.

Rebecca, who has always been called Rebecca, misses her dad horribly. And she is a new kid, missing her niche and friends in her old school, trying to be the "Becky" that the popular kids at her new school want her to be. And her mom, drowning in adult issues, is not really there to help.

Rebecca/Becky's life is further complicated by a magical bread box that she finds in the attic at her grandmother's house. She can wish for anything she wants- an iPod, her favorite Baltimore treats, cash, cute clothes-- and as long as it is small enough to fit into a bread box, her wish will be granted. Rebecca uses the bread box a lot, until she discovers the source of all of its riches…

BIGGER THAN A BREAD BOX is one of those books that screams to be shared with kids. It's about family, and fitting in, and growing up, and right and wrong. But mostly, it's just about saying to kids, "You are not alone."

And I know a lot of kids that need to hear that message…

P.S. Karen, over at Literate Lives review Bread Box here, then has a recap of a skyping session between her class and Laurel Snyder here.

THE FRIENDSHIP DOLL by Kirby Larson

Our Christmas vacation has been relatively quiet. I've read and reread and reread the CYBILS poetry nominees, and finally picked my five. We went to Colorado Springs and spent Christmas day with my family. I've spent time with my book club buddies and seen a couple of movies. I've done a little cleaning… What I haven't done, at least as much as I usually do, is read, at least not in the voluminous way I usually do during vacations.

Yesterday, I did pick up THE FRIENDSHIP DOLL, a historical fiction novel by Kirby Larson. THE FRIENDSHIP DOLL follows Miss Tanagawa, one of 58 "ambassador dolls" sent to the United States by Japanese schoolchildren (this actually happened), in 1927. The historical fiction/fantasy line is blurred occasionally, as Miss Tanagawa interjects her voice into the lives of five different characters in five short, novella-like episodes. The first four episodes are set against the backdrop of the Great Depression era, and there is a lot of history embedded.

When Miss Tanagawa arrives in New York, she is greeted by a group of children, including Bunny, a wealthy, high society child, who is disappointed that a Roosevelt heir has been chosen over her to give the speech welcoming the dolls to the United States. Next, Miss Tanagawa travels to Chicago, where we meet Lois, a child who has dreams of flying like Amelia Earhart. After that, Miss Tanagawa is sold at an auction and ends up in the closet of a crochety old lady, whose heart is finally awakened by Willie Mae, a poor young girl whose father has been killed in a coal mining accident in the Appalachian mountains. From there, Miss Tanagawa travels to a museum in Oregon, where she encounters Lucille, who is traveling cross country with her widowed father, following the crops during the Great Depression. Miss Tanagawa plays the role of conscience or comforter.

I really enjoyed how Kirby Larson structured this novel to capture the lives of several characters during the era from 1927-1941. I was fascinated by how she used Miss Tanagawa as the common thread tying the stories together. I can't wait to share this book with some of my girls next week…

CLEMENTINE: FRIEND OF THE WEEK by Sara Pennypacker

Our washing machine is broken. Lest I appear an unfit mother, I will carefully avoid ugly comments about teenagers who leave things in their pockets and damage the water pump on the machine, or two weeks later yank the door of the front loading washing machine open mid-cycle. I will also not make comments about teenagers who seem not to mind at all that their mother is dragging seven laundry bags of clothes to the laundromat each week while they sit home and watch television on a Sunday night.

So anyway, tonight I had to go to the laundromat. And I usually I don't particularly enjoy the laundromat. But tonight it wasn't so bad. Why, you ask? Well, because this afternoon at the library I found CLEMENTINE: FRIEND OF THE WEEK. And I love Clementine! I love that she finds the names of her pets in the bathroom, because there are so many beautiful words in there. I love that she is not perfect. I love her descriptions of her friend, Margaret, who is.

In this fourth book in the series, Clementine has been nominated for friend of the week. She wants people to write nice things in her "Friend of the Week" book, so she works hard at doing nice things for her classmates. She gives lots of compliments, sets up her own tattoo parlor on the playground, and makes big plans to help decorate everyone's bike for a weekend rally. Toward the end of the week, however, she is forced to put aside all of her plans when her kitten, Moisturizer, goes missing.

Clementine made the laundromat a whole lot more enjoyable tonight!

WHEN YOU REACH ME- Rebecca Stead

I have decided that the world is composed of two kinds of people-- those that are good at moving and those that are not. Unfortunately, I have also decided that I definitely fall into the latter category. Two weeks later and we are still not all the way out of the old house, nor are we settled in the new one. So, once again resorting to my favorite coping strategy- when the going gets tough, the tough find a corner and get reading. This week I have been reading this year's Newbery award winner, WHEN YOU REACH ME, by Rebecca Stead.

Twelve year old Miranda has been friends with Sal almost since they were born. One day, when they are walking home from school, a boy who neither Sal nor Miranda knows walks up and punches Sal in the stomach. After that incident, Sal no longer wants anything to do with his former best friend, Miranda. Shortly after that, Miranda starts finding tiny notes hidden in her schoolbooks and her backpack…

This story doesn't read like a friendship or coming of age story. It's really more of a science fiction-y time travel mystery. Miranda's favorite book is Madeline L'Engle's WRINKLE IN TIME. She carries her worn copy with her wherever she goes and there are repeated references to WRINKLE sprinkled liberally throughout WHEN YOU REACH ME. Miranda's mother is studying to go on THE TWENTY THOUSAND DOLLAR PYRAMID, and there are also numerous references to that show throughout the book. Each chapter, in fact, is a "category" title, e.g. THINGS THAT HEAL.

I liked this book. I was not sure, however, that fourth or fifth graders would find it particularly engaging. I wondered if they would have to know the story of WRINKLE IN TIME or would have to have seen TWENTY THOUSAND DOLLAR PYRAMID. It was interesting to me, then, to read this review on EDUCATING ALICE. Mona's kids loved the book, hung on every word, wrestled to put all of the clues together…

I'm still not sure I'd use it as my back to school read aloud. But maybe, a little later in the year, when kids had a little more experience with read alou…

MOCKINGBIRD- KATHRYN ERSKINE

OK, so it's day #417 of the move (or maybe it's day #4 but it feels like day #417). And so, I assumed one of my all time most useful life mottos-- when the going gets tough, the tough find a bookstore and get reading. And that's exactly what I did today-- the boys had football at 4, I dropped them off and went and discovered-- MOCKINGBIRD. A TREASURE. Maybe the best novel I've read this year.

Caitlin, a fifth grader who has Asperger's, sees the world a little differently than most of her peers. Her mother is dead and Caitlin has always relied on her older brother Devon to help her make sense of life, but then Devon is killed in a shooting at his middle school. And Caitlin must help her grief-stricken father to "bring closure" to the loss.

I loved, loved, loved this book. Erskine does an amazing job capturing the voice and thinking of an Asperger's child (I kept thinking of Cynthia Lord's RULES, another book I really loved). Next, it's chock full of references to one of my all time favorite novels, TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD. Devon and Caitlin love the movie and have spent many hours watching it over and over again-- Devon even calls his little sister Scout. And I know the book would evoke some great discussions about compassion and kindness and respecting other people's differences.

OK, no more blogging, I gotta go pack a box or ten…

THE BIRTHDAY BALL- LOIS LOWRY

Hmmm. How to describe my latest read? OK, well, imagine a fairy tale with a strong and independent princess, a touch of Roald Dahl (including the bodily functions humor that causes 8-10 year olds to roll on the floor in glee), throw in a little bit of mistaken identity, and a little word play, and you pretty much have Lois Lowry's THE BIRTHDAY BALL.

THE CAST:

• Princess Patricia Priscilla- a bored adolescent princess, five days from her 16th birthday, where she will choose a husband
• King Lepodoptera- the Princess' butterfly-studying, naturalist father
• Queen Romelda Rebozo- the Princess' somewhat deaf mother
  
• Suitor #1: Duke Desmond of Dyspesia- so ugly a team of Royal Splashers do synchronized swimming exercises in lakes so the Prince will not see his own reflection
  
• Suitor #2- Prince Percival of Pustula- a black-clad, black-hearted prince who spends his days admiring himself in the mirror. The prince's valet, Hal, spends his days brushing dandruff off the prince's shoulders
• Suitor(s) #3 and #4- The Conjoint Counts, Colin and Cuthbert, who have never agreed on anything, except the fact that they want to marry Princess Patricia Priscilla

THE STORY:
The Princess, accompanied by her cat, Delicious (the one liners associated with the cat could provide weeks of word study- It's nutritious, Delicious! Stop looking avaricious, Delicious! No need to be surreptitious, Delicious!) decides to liven up her life by attending school with the peasants in the village, where she meets Rafe, the schoolmaster. The Princess invites the entire village to her birthday ball at the castle, where she declares her love for her true prince and they begin a not-so-typical happily ever after…

This book works for me on lots of levels- great story, terrific humor, well-crafted. I love Princess Patricia Priscilla's independence and also her compassion. I love the vocabulary and the word play-- this is the kind of book that makes kids fall in love with language. The pen and ink illustrations by Jules Feiffer (his best known work is probably THE PHANTOM TOLLBOOTH) are perfect for the story.

I wonder if I can squeeze this read aloud in somewhere in the the last ten days of school!

ALSO KNOWN AS HARPER- Anna Haywood Leal

Last year, I used Barbara O'Connor's HOW TO STEAL A DOG as the first read aloud for one of my intervention groups. My fourth and fifth graders absolutely loved this book about Georgina, a girl whose family was living in their car. Desperate to help her mother make enough money to pay the deposit on an apartment, Georgina, a really good kid in a really hard situation steals a dog. My students loved this book and it came up in our discussions again and again. Several kids read other books by Barbara O'Connor. Sadly, three of the six kids in the group were homeless at one point or another throughout the year, and Georgina became a sort of compass, a beacon of hope in dark times.

I just finished ALSO KNOWN AS HARPER, and it's another book I want my students to have in their hands and in their hearts. Harper Lee Morgan's alcoholic father has abandoned his family, and her mother is working two jobs to keep a roof over her family's head. The financial burdens become too much, and Harper, her little brother Hem, and her mother end up living in a motel. Harper, a budding poet, is heartbroken, because for the second year in a row, she misses the school's poetry contest.

I loved this story. In these very difficult family times, I'm grateful to have yet one more book to place in kids' hands to somehow say, "You are not alone. Other kids have been here. They have gotten through this, and you will too." I love the community that Harper and her family find at the motel; Lorraine, a selective mute girl about Harper's age, who stopped talking after a horrible house fire, and Miss Dorothy, an elderly woman who wanders the edges of the motel, appearing to be homeless. I love the small kindnesses sprinkled throughout the book, e.g. the hotel maid who doesn't repair a broken lock, so that homeless people can take showers. I love Harper's poetry. And of course I love the fact that one of my all time favorite books, HOW TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, plays a prominent role in this book.

I'm pretty sure ALSO KNOWN AS HARPER will be the first book I read aloud this year.

TAKING CARE OF MOSES- Barbara O'Connor

Randall Mackey is walking home from his friend Jaybird's house one night when he sees Queenie Avery, an elderly neighbor, shuffling down the street in her nightgown and high heels, clutching her red purse to her chest. Queenie has always been a friend of Randall's, but lately she has begun to act a little strange, and folks in Randall's small southern town are starting to wonder whether she might need more care than her husband can provide. Randall follows Queenie, and in the process, he sees a mother leave her baby, in a cardboard box, on the steps of the Rock of Ages Baptist Church.

Over the next few weeks, the entire town begins to squabble about who will take care of Baby Moses. The pastor's wife, Mrs. Jennings, doesn't have her own children and believes Moses was left specifically for her. Miss Frieda is a licensed foster care mother and thinks she should take care of Moses. Soon everyone is taking sides. Randall could solve the problem, but he is afraid to tell anyone his secret, because he doesn't want people to know about Queenie's wanderings.

I loved O'Connor's portrayal of the Rock of Ages Baptist Church. Imperfect people leading imperfect lives, but doing the best that they can, despite their faults, to love and care for each other. In my mind, that's about as good as the church ever gets.

Real characters. Real problems. Real truths. Real goodness. Another terrific read by Barbara O'Connor.

WAITING FOR NORMAL- Leslie Connor

We are reaching the time in summer when I'm realizing that all of the projects, all of the cleaning and organizational stuff that I intended to do is probably not going to happen. Some people might approach this realization with renewed effort, and actually accomplish a few more things.

That is not, however, my approach. Instead, I find a good book and a quiet corner and read. In the past couple of days, I have read a couple of great novels:

1) WAITING FOR NORMAL

When this book opens, Addie, a twelve-year-old girl, and her mother, Mommers, are moving into a trailer located under an overpass in Schenectady, New York. Addie's mother and stepfather have recently split, and her stepdad, Dwight, has been awarded custody of two younger sisters. Addie, however, must live with her mother, who is more than a little unbalanced, and probably even bipolar. 

Addie is an amazing kid. Despite the struggles with her mom, who is regularly away from the trailer, and then a learning disability, she somehow manages to craft a pretty workable life for herself. She plays the flute, cares for her pet hamster, and becomes friends with the people who manage the mini-mart next door. Throughout the book, Addie's relationship with her stepfather, Dwight, is a stabilizing force in her life.

 Every year,  I meet one or two Addie's-- kids who are basically having to raise themselves, with the support of a few caring adults. I'm glad to add WAITING FOR NORMAL to my list of books to give to those kids. Somehow, knowing that they are not alone, and that other people, even fictional characters in books, make it through rough situations, seems to help.

This book made me cry more than once…

GREETINGS FROM NOWHERE- Barbara O'Connor

Earlier this spring, I came across HOW TO STEAL A DOG, by Barbara O'Connor. I loved, loved, loved this book, and have decided that it will be my first read aloud of the year, when I begin teaching struggling fourth and fifth graders at Stedman.

This morning I finished GREETINGS FROM NOWHERE, another new favorite by Barb O'Connor. Another book I love, love, loved!

GREETINGS FROM NOWHERE has four main characters:

Aggie- owner of the Sleepy Time Motel, whose husband, Harold, has recently passed away

Willow- a ten-year-old girl who has  an "almost perfect life" except that her parents don't love each other. Dorothy, Willow's mother, leaves the family, and Clyde, her dad, decides to start over by buying the Sleepy Time Motel.

Kirby- a "bad boy" whose mother is on her way to drop him off at the Smoky Mountain Boys' Academy until her car breaks down 

Loretta- a ten-year-old girl whose family takes a vacation to the Great Smoky Mountains after she  receives a shoebox full of artifacts from her birth mother

These four characters, along with their families, connect at the Sleepy Time Motel. 

I loved this book. It's a story of loss- of people who have to let go of people, places,  and objects that they love. I know so, so, so many kids who face that every day. Their grief is so big and books like this make the hurt a little easier. GREETINGS FROM NOWHERE is also a story of hope and redemption- of people who need and find and care for each other. I know so, so, so many kids who need books like that too. They need to know that even when life is really, really hard, there are people, adults and kids, who will be there to care for them. 

I loved the relationships in this book- Aggie's relationship with the kids, especially Kirby and Willow, who seem to so hungry for love. I loved Loretta's relationship with her adoptive mom and dad. I'm an adoptive mom, but I don't think I'm nearly as good at it as she is. I loved Kirby's relationship with Burla, a woman who evidently took him under her wing in his past life. I loved watching Willow, Kirby, and Loretta develop a friendship with each other. 

I loved the fact that no one in this book had much, at least not in terms of material things, but at the same time, everyone was so willing to share the little that they did have. Most of the kids I know are a lot like these kids- they don't have much. And yet again and again, I'm overwhelmed by their willingness to share- a half bottle of perfume on my desk at Christmas, a well-loved stuffed animal for our reading corner, the dessert from a Lunchable on a field trip.  That message is so, so contrary to the "have lots, get more" message that kids see again and again and again in today's media.

On a wanna be writerly note- Barb O'Connor does an amazing job "constructing" this book. Each chapter focuses on one of these four characters. Barb O'Connor is so great at keeping the story moving, and at using actions and dialogue to develop characters. 

On a teacher note-  I loved the short chapters and short sentences. I could easily read a couple of chapters of this book aloud to kids, then hand it to them to read for themselves. Kids who don't read well, but might need this book in their lives, could definitely read it by themselves or with me or each other

A definite five-star winner!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can't wait to share this book with kids!!!!!! And I want to get the rest of her books and put together an author box for the classroom!