Starred Books

THE LONGEST LETSGOBOY by Derick Wilder, illustrated by Catia Chien — Book Recommendation

Title: THE LONGEST LETSGOBOY Author: Derick Wilder Illustrator: Catia Chien Publisher: San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books, October 2021 Genre: Picture book Audience Age: 3 to 8 years Themes/Topics: dogs, dying, love, pets, hope Opening Sentences:  Mewmew wakes me, rumbledrumming my tummy. I strrrrretch my oldbones. Synopsis: This lovely, moving, heartfelt story tells of a much-loved old dog’s last day, from the …

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BECAUSE OF THAT CROW by Beverley Brenna — Book Recommendation

Title: Because of That Crow Author: Beverley Brenna Publisher: Markham, Ontario/Brighton, MA: Red Deer Press, 2020 Genre: Middle grade contemporary fiction, with a touch of magic Audience Age: 8 to 12 Themes/Topics: grief, parents’ death, healing, coping, hope Opening Sentences: Everything was different because of that crow. Harris knew it. And he was pretty sure the others knew it, too. Grampa, …

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MUCH ADO ABOUT BASEBALL by Rajani LaRocca — Book Recommendation

Title: Much Ado About Baseball Author: Rajani LaRocca Publisher: New York: Yellow Jacket, 2021 Genre: Middle Grade contemporary with a touch of magic Audience Age: 8 to 12 Themes/Topics: belonging, making new friends, magic, math, baseball, Shakespeare Opening Sentences:  “Baseball is magic. Time stops between the instant the ball is released and when it makes it over the plate, between …

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Beth’s Faves — Top Middle Grade and YA Books I’ve Read This Year

As promised last week, my fave Middle Grade and Young Adult reads of the past year. (There won’t be as many MG and YA as there were picture books.) As I said last week, please note that not all these books were published this year. I chose from what appealed to me, as well as …

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Beth’s Faves — Top Picture Books I’ve Read This Year

At the beginning of 2018, I had the intention of reading one picture book every morning throughout the year. I did well for the first half of the year, then not so well the second half – but I’ve still read a LOT more picture books than I would have otherwise, and many of them …

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HEARTS UNBROKEN by Cynthia Leitich Smith

Title: Hearts Unbroken Author: Cynthia Leitich Smith Publisher: Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press, 2018 Genre: YA Fiction, #ownvoices Audience Age: 14 to 18 years Themes/Topics: Friendship, romance, Native American history and issues, racism Synopsis: Lou (short for Louise), is a high school junior in current-day Kansas. By the time the book ends, she is a senior. …

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HARBOR ME by Jacqueline Woodson — Book Recommendation (plus thoughts on writing, Thanksgiving, and supporting each other)

Today is Thanksgiving in Canada. Usually I would write a post about some of the things I am grateful for, and in a way, this post is about gratitude, for gratitude is important. But it’s a different kind of gratitude than the sort we usually think about on Thanksgiving. As you know, I write for …

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