Laugh with the Moon

I am a huge fan of Shana Burg’s A Thousand Never Evers so I couldn’t wait to read Laugh with the Moon which is on the Texas Bluebonnet Reading List 2013. The author transports her readers to Malawi, Africa, using her own experiences from having stayed there. Clare is grieving because her mom has died and her father is making her live in Africa with him while he works as a doctor providing care for those in need. She must adapt to her new environment: a new school with hundreds of children and no teaching supplies, a meager home with a mosquito net covering her bed to prevent disease, and learning a new language. She immediately realizes that she is surrounded by others who have lost even more than she has. She wants to ask a classmate and new friend named Memory how she is able to cope without a mother or a father. Tragedy strikes once again. Clare learns the biggest lesson of all. Another awesome book by a wonderful author! Click on the video below to hear the author tell you about her book.

Ghetto Cowboy

I enjoy reading books that teach me something I didn’t know before. G. Neri’s Ghetto Cowboy (illustrated by Jesse Joshua Watson), on the Texas Bluebonnet Reading List 2013-14, did just that. Cole’s mom has had it with Cole’s troublemaking ways and she is taking him from their home in Detroit to a Dad he doesn’t know in Philadelphia. No amount of sweet talking is going to change her mind this time. Cole discovers a whole new world in this urban area where run-down housing has been made into make-shift horse stalls. His father, Harper, is a leader in this tight-knit community of urban cowboys who use the horses to set street kids straight – if they can keep them busy with riding and caring for the horses, maybe they will stay off of drugs and out of gangs. At first Cole is determined to find his way back to his mom, but quickly changes his mind when he becomes attached to a wild horse named Boo. This story is inspired by real inner city areas that have stables of horses in the most unlikely city dwellings to help keep young boys out of trouble. This story is about bringing about change by doing positive things and I love that message.

Glory Be

Glory Be, another selection from the Texas Bluebonnet Reading List 2013, is Augusta Scattergood’s debut historical fiction novel set in Hanging Moss, Mississippi during the summer of 1964 at the height of the Civil Rights Movement. I absolutely loved this book and its strong female characters – it reminded me of “The Help”, but for upper elementary through middle school readers. Glory has noticed some changes going on in her small town and it doesn’t make her happy. Her older sister, Jesslyn, doesn’t seem to have time to play junk poker with her anymore. Jesslyn makes excuses to sneak off with Eddie the new boy with ideas that are different from those in Mississippi. When her friend, Frankie, tells her the town council is going to close the public pool, because it needs repairs – Glory knows something is up. Glory, with proof-reading by her maid Emma who is a surrogate mom to her and Jesslyn, writes a letter to the town newspaper declaring she knows the real reason the public pool has shut down and how angry it makes her. This causes big problems for their father who is the local preacher. When Glory gives away a secret she has promised to keep to herself, she learns the hard way about the price of betrayal. Scattergood transports her readers to the hot, humid summer where outsiders and a few strong, brave individuals from Hanging Moss stand their ground to offer those discriminated against the equality and justice they deserve.

The Humming Room

Ellen Potter’s The Humming Room, inspired by The Secret Garden, is on the Texas Bluebonnet Reading List 2013-14. Roo Fanshaw , tiny for her twelve years with dull green eyes, often hides from the outside world. Most would consider her a wild child neglected by her parents. Hiding beneath her parents’ trailer saves her life when her parents are murdered. She is sent to live on Cough Rock Island; the home of her rich uncle that she never knew existed. His estate is a former hospital where they sent children who were dying from tuberculosis. Roo leaves the house as often as possible to hideout in a nearby cave – her love of nature draws her there. Something in the house is making a humming noise and Roo is determined to find out where it is coming from. Who is the mysterious boy who seems to glide on the water surrounding the island? Roo hears rumors that her uncle killed his beautiful young wife. Will Roo be able to uncover the dark secrets even though her uncle remains aloof? Readers will enjoy Potter’s descriptive writing style. Other great books by Potter include Slob and the Olivia Kidney series.

The Humming Room by Ellen Potter (book trailer) from Ellen Potter on Vimeo.