Every time I start a novel in verse, rolling my eyes, expecting not to like it, I'm proved wrong. The Trouble with Heroes, like other NIVs All of Me by Chris Baron and Starfish by Lisa Fipps, touched me deeply. From page one, Messner captured my attention and wouldn't let me put the book down. Heartfelt, funny, absorbing, and poignant, it's the best middle grade book I read in the last year.
Efrén Divided, Ernesto Cisneros' beautifully written story of a family broken apart by ICE deportation in the US, is even more heartbreakingly relevant today than when it came out in 2020. A must-read for kids and their loved ones.
"We need books to break open our hearts, so that we might feel more deeply, so that we might be more human in these unkind times. This is a book doing work of the spirit in a time of darkness." -Sandra Cisneros, author of The House on Mango Street
Efren Nava's Ama is his Superwoman-or Soperwoman, named after the delicious Mexican sopes his mother often prepares. Both Ama and Apa work hard all day to provide for the family, making sure Efren and his younger siblings Max and Mia feel safe and loved.
Almost Underwear by author/illustrator Jonathan Roth, is subtitled How a Piece of Cloth Traveled from Kitty Hawk to the Moon and Mars. Aimed at kids ages five to nine but fascinating for all ages, it's the true story of how an ordinary piece of muslin, intended for ladies' bloomers, ended up wrapped around the wings of the airplane built by the Wright brothers for the world's first successful engine-powered flight in 1903. Decades later, Neil Armstrong, the first person to walk on the moon, brought a swatch of this cloth with him in tribute. In 2021, JPL scientists sent a postage-size piece of the cloth to Mars attached to the Ingenuity spacecraft. You'll want to share this wonderful book, featuring illustrations created by digitally combining Roth’s artwork with historic photographs and NASA concept art, with everyone you know!
Did you know that a piece of cloth from the Wright Brothers' Flyer has travelled to the moon, and Mars?
One day in 1903 the Wright brothers entered a department store in Ohio to buy a bolt of fabric. The plain muslin cloth was most often used to make underwear. As it happens, the Wright brothers were about to wrap the simple cloth around the ribs of a mechanical 'wing' and dramatically change the world. Sixty-six years later, in 1969, Neil Armstrong took a big leap onto the moon. With him was a swatch of the exact fabric the bicycle…
With his second summer at Camp Inch headed downhill fast, thirteen-year-old Justin faces a tricky choice: stand up to bigotry or let fear hold him back. When he’s targeted by a bully, and a good friend stops speaking to him, Justin counts on help from Leroy Usher, the ghost whose magical carnival helped transform Justin’s life after his father died last year. So this should be a breeze, right? His expectations rise further when a mysterious message from Mr. Usher invites him and pals Darby and Naz for a midnight visit. Instead of a reunion, though, the kids find themselves transported through time to unravel a mystery that tore Mr. Usher’s family apart. As Justin digs for the truth, he discovers that Mr. Usher faced challenges during his lifetime with courage – and without magic. But if courage is what it takes, Justin must learn to do what’s right when everything’s wrong.
