This is a charming story full of heart and endearing characters. Lou has a great community of friends and family.
Erica's Picks
The House that Lou Built by Mae Respicio
Grades 3 - 6
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Lou is used to small spaces. She shares a room with her mother in her grandmother's house in San Francisco. It's even more cramped when her extended family comes to visit. She loves them all, but longs for a space of her own. She's obsessed with tiny houses and has spent many hours researching their clever designs. When her mother gets a job offer in Washington state, Lou is convinced that if she can build her tiny house, it will convince her mother to stay. Will she be able to rally her friends to the cause? Or will she have to leave everyone she loves behind? This is a charming story full of heart and endearing characters. Lou has a great community of friends and family. Erica's Picks The House that Lou Built by Mae Respicio Grades 3 - 6 Tags:
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Norris can’t believe it when his mother says they’re moving to Texas. Norris is a black French-Canadian who hates the heat and loves hockey. When he first gets to Texas, it seems like all the stereotypes he’s seen about Americans on TV are true. There’s the mean cheerleaders, the aggressive jocks, and overly cheerful but ultimately useless guidance counselor. Norris describes it all with biting humor in his notebook. It’s an outlet that keeps him sane in the ridiculous heat. But when Texas surprises him and he starts to build a nice life for himself, it’s his notebook that might be his undoing. Norris’s voice is hilarious and I enjoyed seeing life through his eyes. If you want a classic American high school story, this Canadian will deliver! Erica's Pick 7th & 8th Grade The Field Guide to the North American Teenager by Ben Philippe Tags: Character Driven, Contemporary Fiction, Friendship, Humor, People of Color, School Stories Life is not easy for Mason Buttle. He's the biggest kid in his grade, has overactive sweat glands, and severe dyslexia. On top of all that, his best and only friend died a year ago in an accident and everyone blames him. When he makes a new best friend, it happens again. His new best friend disappears and everyone fears the worst. How can Mason clear his name and find his friend? This is a heart-warming story with a unique protagonist. Mason is so earnest and kind it's impossible not to root for him. Erica's Picks The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle by Leslie Connor Grade 5 - 7 Tags: Character Driven, Contemporary Fiction, Family Life, Friendship, Mystery, School Stories There’s a story behind how Dead Man’s Mine got its name. As you may guess, it’s not a pretty one. Which is why Rossi, Gus, Jessie and Matthew do not tell their parents before they go into the cave. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but it could be a deadly mistake when a rock slide leaves them trapped inside. This is a fantastic adventure story about survival, gold, and dirt bikes. Dead Man’s Mine is dark and full of dangers. But this book shines with life. Erica's Picks 24 Hours in Nowhere by Dusti Bowling 4th - 7th grade Tags: Adventure, Fast-Paced, People of Color, Survival Overly cautious Avery and fearless Brett have never met when they discover they have something in common. Their single gay dads have met and fallen in love. Marriage is on the horizon so they send the girls (who are from opposite coasts) to the same summer camp to meet. They are NOT thrilled. Surprisingly they become great friends. But the rest of the plans are falling apart. Now the problem is making sure the dads stay committed. Told in letters and emails this is a heartwarming and funny story about family and sisterhood. Tessa's Picks, Character driven, Contemporary fiction, Friendship, LGBTQ This is a sweet summer story with depth and heart. Cat who is about to enter 6th grade, has always felt a strong sense of responsibility and love for her younger brother, Chicken, who is on the autism spectrum. Her mom illustrates children’s books and they are all grieving for the loss of her father. Mom needs to work without distractions so the children are going to meet their grandparents for the first time and stay with them on their island home off the coast of North Carolina. Over the summer Cat learns to love her grandparents and comes to understand the reason why her mom has kept them apart. Her faith in her grandparents allows her to loosen up and let them help with her brother so that she can have time to be a kid herself. There are a few moments where Cat and Chicken being bi-racial come up and are important in establishing their identity. I found myself putting in markers to save the words of wisdom that I would come upon; “Being a parent is a kind of promise. A promise to stand by someone even if you think they’re making a mistake. To love who you get, not who you think you’re going to get.” Along with all this growing, Cat makes some great friends, enters a fishing contest and learns that even someone you thought was an enemy has a mix of good with his bad. A beautiful story about family and forgiveness with a wonderful cast of characters. Tessa's Picks, 5th summer 2019, Character driven, Friendship, Family, People of color The Cake family: Benjamin Lord Baltimore Cake, 12 Emma Alabama Lane Cake, 11 Jody Traditional Angel Food Cake, 10 Van Chocolate Lover Cake, 8 Roger Black Forest Cake, 7 Gordon Ridiculously Easy No-Knead Sticky Buns Cake, 4 Their Parents: Leo Meyer Lemon Cake Arlouin Humming-bird Spice Cake And four dogs Yes, those are their names and of you have not lost your appetite yet you may find this a sweet treat. The Cakes are itinerant bakers…which means they move from town to town setting up bakeries for communities that “need them.” Emma has said goodbye too many times and has a friendship map to track the ones left behind. Her heart can’t take the ache again so she is determined to remain solitary in their new home in Aurora County, Mississippi. Then she meets Ruby Lavender who is “not sweet” but becomes her new BFF (well maybe not forever). Delightful characters abound in this small town and all the children and dogs make them selves right at home. The father Leo, whose memory is a little sketchy, has a funny feeling about the town and it only a matter of time before he will want to wander on. Can Emma and Ruby find a way to make this place Emma’s forever home. Silly and sweet, these folks will capture your heart. “Each day we begin again our quest to be safe, to be loved, to belong, and to find home. And if we are lucky, there is cake.” Tessa's Picks, 3-4th grade, Family Life, Friendship, Humor Kate DiCamillo’s characters have a warmth and richness of language that I associate with the South. You will fall in love with Louisiana Eleffante, child of the tragically dead Flying Eleffantes circus performers. Her story begins: ”I am going to write it all down, so that what happened to me will be known, so that if someone were to stand at their window at night and look up at stars and think, My goodness, whatever happened to Louisiana Elefante? Where did she go? they will have an answer. They will know. “This is what happened. “I will begin at the beginning.” Granny, who is raising Louisiana, wakes her in the middle of the night raving about the curse which has hung over their heads for generations. They take off on a road trip leaving friends and home behind. Winding up in a small town in Georgia, Louisiana wakes to find Granny gone! There she meets a Reverend, a grouchy motel-owner, and a boy with a pet crow. I love Louisiana’s voice which manages to be funny and profound at the same time. She must find her own way and her path brings up big questions about her past and her identity. Warm and generous hearts will help her along the way until she can find a place to call home. As the walrus-faced Reverend Obertask says,”‘I do think that, more often than not, love has a way of finding us,” Indeed. Tessa's Picks, 3rd-5th grade, Character driven, Contemporary fiction, Friendship. 'Quinn McAvoy is a freshman in a new school and loves sports and skateboarding. And she is completely bald, having lost her hair due to alopecia, an autoimmune disorder. Bullied and shunned by her friends, she is hoping to start over when her parents move to Massachusetts so that her younger brother can attend a special school for his autism. She decides to keep her baldness a secret, struggles with wig issues and finds herself popular! When Quinn first encounters Nick Strout in his wheelchair, his bitterness and bad temper are off putting. Eventually they become friends and Quinn learns that he is a double amputee due to a snow-boarding accident caused by his big brother who was drunk at the time. Tommy is a star football player as was Nick before the accident. Tommy is doing his best to support his brother but winning forgiveness is a long way away. Quinn and Nick become close and their honest support of each other is heartwarming. Quinn is not afraid of being real and Nick responds with humor. “I know this is weird, but I don’t feel like explaining it right now. Can you just roll with it?” “Oh, I can roll with it. You’ve seen me roll.” “Are you making a wheelchair joke?” “Maybe.” The author handles issues of disability in a very real and empathetic way. I have a relative with alopecia who has recently decided to stop wearing wigs and I applaud how Quinn works through her own way of dealing with this issue. Nick’s acceptance of Quinn’s encouragement helps him move on in his journey to walk and to finding forgiveness. This story about courage, connection and love will not disappoint. Tessa's Picks, 6-8th grade, Character driven, Contemporary fiction, Family life, Friendship, Issues fiction, romance. Applegate, (author of The One and Only Ivan) creates a world with humans and a few other creatures we know and goes on to populate it with beings like Byx who is doglike, walks on two legs, and can talk. Her kind, dairnes, has been hunted to near extinction because of their unique ability to detect lies. This power in the hands of those who want ultimate control of the kingdoms would convey supremacy. Believing that she may be an Endling, the last of her species, Byx sets off to find a sentient island that may be a haven for other dairnes. Along the way, she is joined by Tobble, a small bunny-like wobbyk, Khara, a human of mysterious origins, Renzo, an honorable thief and Gambler, a fierce tiger-like felivet. This is a fellowship-like adventure in a Tolkien-like world. Each of our heroes brings their own brand of courage, heart and wisdom. Honor, friendship, power, evil and above all truth play into the story. "Why don't they believe you?" "The same reason they don't want to believe you exist, dairne. There are many scholars, but few seekers after truth. Humans believe the things that make them feel safe. They care little for difficult facts." A top tier fantasy! Tessa's picks 4th-7th grade, Adventure, Fast paced. Friendship, Fantasy, |
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