Biblio Reviews

I had been worried about Jerry Craft's New Kid (2019), a graphic novel chronicling seventh grader Jordan Banks's first year in a predominately white private school.  Brilliant in every way, I had felt like the book wasn't getting the attention it deserved. And so, it was with joy that I heard it won the 2020 Coretta Scott King Award and Newbery Medal. Both awards are well-deserved, for New Kid is beautifully crafted (pun intended) and addresses serious topics with humanity and humor. Exploring the concept of identity--the factors that influence, change, and/or define it--my seventh graders were primed to fall in love with New Kid , too, once I recommended it for independent reading. By the time they finished the first chapter, my students were sold on the novel. This is because Jordan's personality and family were quickly and clearly established and presented in ways that my kids could relate. Jordan Banks is your regular, seventh grade boy trying to find his p...

One of the best things to have happened with books in the last decade has been the increase in published graphic novels and their status as "real books." Once limited to the comic book genre, the publication and critical acclaim of Gene Luen Yang's American Born Chinese (2006) cracked the door. The popularity of Raina Telgemeier's graphic novels signaled a new wave, particularly for the middle grades. I started to really invest in these books when I tried to stock my classroom library for my middle school students. Varied in their interests, reading levels, and reading desires, I wanted to find something to appeal to every single one of them. Graphic novels were my carrot, particularly for the boys who really struggled to engage with independent reading. Of the new crop of graphic novels for younger readers, here are some of the characteristics I've noticed: They feature characters who are in middle school. They're often part of a series. They central...

Living to the age of 100 has never appealed to me. However, from a historical standpoint, I am fascinated by knowing that people are still alive today who have seen the world transform and advance in ways that may have been perceived as fantasy/science fiction. When I think of the advancements in technology in the last twenty years, alone, I am am left in wonder. What must Beverly Cleary, Cicely Tyson, or Betty White make of the world they're living in today in comparison to the one they grew up in? Is their desire to remain in this world stronger than their desire to depart from it? Which aspect of this new world fascinates them? Inspires them? Depresses them? Do they view their long life as a blessing--or a curse? Based on their experiences and given the chance to, would they--we--choose to live forever? The question of immortality--blessing or curse--is at the center of Natalie Babbitt's classic,  Tuck Everlasting  (1975), a fantasy children's novel about 10-year-o...

The story of Sharon Creech's Jack from  Love That Dog  (2001) continues. Early in his school year, Jack reveals to his teacher that 1) he hates cats and 2) his college professor Uncle Bill does not believe that the poems Jack had written in the previous school year are "real" poems because they are short, lack rhyme, a regular meter, symbols, metaphor, onomatopoeia, and alliteration. Thank goodness Jack has Miss Stretchberry as his teacher again because she tells him that all those elements his uncle mentioned are not requirements. A poet writes according to his own images, rhythms, and sometimes chooses elements like onomatopoeia and alliteration to  enrich  their poems. And with that, Creech, again, takes us on Jack's journey and growth as a writer and person during this fourth grade school year. This time around, readers learn a bit more about Jack's home life, why he hates  that  cat, and how he finally does move on from the loss of his beloved pet,...

"Running ain't nothing I ever had to practice. It's just something I knew how to do," explains Castle "Ghost" Cranshaw from Jason Reynolds's National Book Award finalist  Ghost  (2016) when he comes across a track practice on his meandering run home from school one afternoon. A seventh grader, Ghost also has "a lot of scream in him" that has resulted in many altercations at school that have put him on a path to delinquency. This scream implanted itself into Ghost three years before on that terrifying night when he and his mother dashed barefoot out of their house and hid in the storage room of Mr. Charles's neighborhood convenient store. "That was the night I learned how to run," he adds. Except, so far, he's been running in circles. That all changes, however, when Ghost crashes a track practice because he takes a dislike to one of the athletes's "cocky swagger." Ghost wants a showdown to prove that this cock...

Who killed Mr. Chippendale--and why? These two questions drive the narrative in Mel Glenn's  Who Killed Mr. Chippendale?: A Mystery in Poems  (1999). Told from the perspectives of various characters reacting to the murder of Mr. Chippendale,  Who Killed Mr. Chippendale?  is developed through a series of interlocking free-verse poems. Many characters are introduced, the majority of whose voices are heard once and help to create a nuanced portrait of Mr. Chippendale, whose life was very much a mystery to his colleagues despite his twenty years of teaching English at Tower High. This book is best appreciated not so much as a mystery but as a character study. The mystery simply lacked the tension needed to make it an engrossing whodunit. Still, the story is relevant, for it explores a variety of current issues, e.g. generational conflicts, immigration and the pursuit of the American Dream, media and teen violence, and offers a realistic portrayal of modern hi...

My pleasure while reading Sharon Creech's  Love That Dog  (2001) just could not be contained as evidenced by the Cheshire grin plastered on my face from the beginning to end of this novella. Related in free verse from the perspective of Jack through dated entries that span a school year,  Love That Dog  is quite charming and delightful. On the surface,  Love That Dog  is a story about a boy who learns to appreciate and write poetry. On a deeper level, however, it is a story of a boy who, through poetry, finally finds a way to mourn the loss and honor the memory of his beloved rescue dog, Sky. Through his year-long exposure to poetry, Jack discovers the magic of poetry and writing, which enables him to express his thoughts and feelings, and ultimately tap into the power of his own voice. Jack's voice is completely authentic and endearing. Seeing his growth from resistant, to grudgingly compliant, to insecure, to confident, to independent, and ultimat...

Kwame Alexander's The Crossover (2014) is not a stereotypical basketball story: It isn't about impoverished black boys from a single parent female-headed household living in a crime-ridden neighborhood who play basketball to escape. Rather, it is a universal story of growing up, of family, and of love told in narrative verse (poetry). Related from the perspective of Josh "Filthy McNasty" Bell, The Crossover is about the experiences of almost thirteen year-old twins Josh and Jordan (JB) in a year when everything changes: JB's interests and time are no longer exclusive to basketball, which challenges Josh's sense of identity, and their father is facing a health crisis for which he refuses to seek medical help. In the end, after facing some adversity and developing some maturity, the boys move forward, united in their bond and responsibilities. Other than his vibrant use of language, a strong narrative voice, and his realistic portrayal of the speed, hea...