I loved this book!  Not only is it about FASHION, it has heart and soul and tough hardships to overcome. And it is laugh-out-loud hilarious!  Charlie Dean has had to overcome a deceased mother, a recovering (sometimes) addict father, and dirt-common beginnings and boy, has she. Like her inspirations Diana Vreeland and Wallis Simpson, she has achieved near perfection. (If you don’t know who they are, look them up.) Her room is a fashion design studio complete with sewing machines, dress forms and refurbished elegance and she has the talent to match it.
 In answer to her dreams the exclusive Green Pastures Academy of Art and Applied Designs Emerging Talent is offering a scholarship to be awarded to a student who shows talent in fashion design in a competitive runway event.
In alternate chapters we meet John Thomas-Smith, bitter, sarcastic and a talented artist in medal who will do anything to get into Green Pastures including recasting himself as a fashion designer. All the characters are quirky, memorable and have their own back story which allows you to feel empathy for their flaws.
And the drama…models assaulted, dresses destroyed, friendships in danger, kidnapping (sort of), addiction, passion!
There is lots of diversity in representation of race, ability, and sexual orientation; this book has it all
Even if you HATE fashion, read this book!  It is so much fun.

​Tessa's Picks, 8th summer 2019, Character driven, Contemporary fiction, Humor, LGBTQ, 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

Do not be put off by the gross stuff in the beginning. This book is hilarious and an amazing exploration of what it is like to grow up between cultures. 
Taiwanese-American Mei is at MIT pursuing her parents’ dream for her to become a doctor, marry an ivy-league Taiwanese boy and have lots of babies.  But she is germophobic times 100, falls for a Japanese boy and forget babies. There are so many ways her traditional parents think differently from her. She has to deal with the internalized obedience and guilt she feels for not doing what they want.  And the lies she has to tell! 
I listened to this audiobook and was laughing out loud.  This was a window book for me and I delighted in learning so many details about the culture and traditions of Mei’s family.  It is touching how much they love her and maddening how much control they use.
Mei’s growth as she struggles to be her own person will have you cheering.  She even persuades her mother to stand up to the father when it comes to seeing Mei’s brother who had been disowned for marrying a woman they disapproved of.
So laugh and become a little wiser at the same time!

Tessa's Picks

7th-8th grade, Contemporary fiction, Character driven, Family life, Humor, Issues fiction, Global perspectives, People of color.

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When Frederick Frederickson (really that’s his name) finds himself racing down the creek in a boat without a paddle, he never imagined that he would run ashore at a camp for troubled boys and get mistaken for a boy with a Big Bad reputation.
 Frederick has a food-chain theory of life. There are lions like the school bully and there are Gazelles, the target of the lions.Then there are meerkats and the fleas that live on the butts of meerkats. Frederick is a flea.  But maybe that can change.
 His fellow troop mates—Nosebleed, Specs, The Professor, and little-yet-lethal Ant Bite are as scary and definitely not fleas!  Activities and pranks lead to a tenuous friendship when Frederick's cover is blown.  Enter a hurricane! The camp is evacuated but Frederick and Ant-bite are trapped alone in its midst.

Courage and friendship shine through this hilarious adventure.

Tessa's Picks
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4th-5th grade, Character driven,Adventure, Friendship, Humor

​Lord Blackheart has been plotting the downfall of the self-righteous do-gooder Sir Goldenloin for years. Ask anyone and they'll tell you that he's a powerful and nefarious villain. Not the type to take a teenage girl under his wing. That's exactly why Nimona wants to become his sidekick. She only wants to work for the best, most evil, scientist and she's determined to land the job. She has a few tricks up her sleeves: her penchant for crime, her bantering skills, and oh yeah, she's a powerful shapeshifter. Together, they'll show the world who's really evil.

This comic had me laughing from the first page. Even the character names make me giggle. Ambrosious Goldenloin? Come on! Who wouldn't want to take him down a peg? Honestly I'd have been satisfied if it was just hilarious but it has a real heart underneath it all that makes me adore it. I can't recommend it enough.

Nimona by Noelle Stevenson

Erica's Picks
4th - 6th grade
Tags: Comics, Humor, Fantasy

 Aven likes to tell people that she lost her arms alligator wrestling in the Everglades or in a freak roller coaster accident or a skydiving trip gone wrong. The truth is that she was born without them.  When her parents take a job running Stagecoach Pass, a rundown western theme park in Arizona, Aven moves with them across the country knowing that she’ll have to explain herself over and over again. There she meets Connor, a solitary boy who is dealing with his own disability. They become friends and discover a mystery with big secrets having to do with Aven's past (she is adopted).
Aven is feisty, hilarious, and she can do it all...even without arms.
If you loved Wonder,  you will adore this book.
youtu.be/s2usmrzHi5s Toetalks. Click for an interview with the author and two women who inspire her.

Tessa's Picks, 4th-6th grade, Character driven, Contemporary fiction, Friendship, Humor, Issues fiction.
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What could be better than playing a munchkin in the Wizard of OZ? Well O.K. for me it would be the wicked witch.  But Julia, did I mention that she is really short, is cast to play a munchkin.  Not her idea. It’s her younger brother Randy who is the actor; she has just been coerced into tagging along to watch out for him.  It turns out to be the summer of her life as she becomes best friends with one of the munchkins, Olive, an adult with dwarfism. Olive, the director, and an older neighbor who helps with costumes are all quirky wonderful characters who help Julia figure out who she is.
“On opening night of the show: I lean into the window on the passenger side of the car. I smile at Mom and tell her something I’ve wanted to say all summer. “Thanks, Mom. Thanks for making me try out for this play.” I think I might just have made being a mother totally worthwhile for her. I will try to never forget her face…. Mom’s got tears in her eyes and she’s smiling. It’s an amazing look. I have to remember how powerful it can be to say thank you. Especially to the people you live with. They probably least expect it.”
This book will have you laughing out loud one minute and swiping a tear the next.

Tessa's Picks,  3rd-7th grade, Character driven, Humor, Friendship, Contemporary fiction.

Detective Gordon is getting on in years but he's still the best detective around. When he discovers a young mouse who steals a single nut out of hunger, he decides that instead of arresting her, he should take her on as an apprentice and give her food and shelter. They work together to solve cases around town. It's a funny book with a lot of heart and it would make a great read aloud. My favorite part is how particular he is with his stamp. It reminds me of when I let kids stamp their library books. 

​Detective Gordon by Ulf Nilsson

Erica's Picks
1st - 3rd Grade
​Tags: Animals, Friendship, Humor, Mystery

Squirrel Girl has the proportional strength and speed of a squirrel as well as the ability to talk to them. She even has a squirrel tail, but her mother insists that she hide it or the other kids would get jealous. More than that she has relentless optimism, and an irreverent take on all the other Marvel Superheroes. When she moves to a new town she tries to blend in with everyone else, but when a new super villain starts attacking the town, she knows she has use all her squirrel skills to save the day!

I love this younger, novel-length take on the Squirrel Girl story. I also enjoy the new character of her best friend who is Deaf and creates a name sign for Squirrel Girl. Fans as well as those new to the character will enjoy this romp through the marvel universe.

Squirrel Meets World by Shannon Hale & Dean Hale

Erica's Picks
4th - 7th Grade
Tags: ​adventure, friendship, humor

 Avani doesn't fit in with the flower scouts as they talk about boys and make -up tips. But an accidental alien abduction leads to her true scout calling: star scouts. This inter-galactic troupe of kids may not be the most skilled or organized, but they love being together and embrace their quirkiness. Where can I sign up?

Star Scouts by Mike Lawrence

Erica's Picks
3rd - 5th
​Tags: ​adventure, comics, humor, people of color, science fiction