"But how had that happened? Was everything we had not really ours? And the life we'd led, was none of it real?"

What would happen if your father lost his job? For 13-year-old Irene, this becomes reality and she is forced to leave her posh Manhattan penthouse and live with her parents at her grandfather's farm in the country. At first Irene has a difficult time adjusting to being away from her friends and having her belongings in storage. Eventually she makes friends and learns that living with her grandfather is not as bad as she might have thought.

Everything I Was by Corinne Demas is a book that addresses the realities of the current economy and how a family's life can be changed overnight. I wonder, though, if it will reach its intended audience with the current cover (the version at left is shown on the ARC, on IndieBound.org, and on Corinne Demas' website). When I requested the galley from Net Galley, I had no idea that this was a middle-grade appropriate novel. I asked several students how old the girl on the cover was and no one guessed even close to Irene's age (13). A cover makeover would really improve the appeal of this book. Most teens who pick it up are going to have completely different expectations based upon the cover.

Everything I Was will be published by Lerner in April 2011. Read from Net Galley on my NOOKcolor.

"Even a bird in a box can get free if he uses his wits."

Living in Michigan, I often hear stories about Joe Louis. There is even a statue of his fist in downtown Detroit--a must-see if you ever visit. I was excited to read the author's note at the beginning of Bird in a Box by Andrea Davis Pinkney and find out that it is set against the backdrop of several famous Joe Louis boxing matches. Bird in a Box is the story of three children, Hibernia Lee Tyson, Willie, and Otis, and how their lives intersect throughout 1936-1937 in Elmira, New York.

Hibernia, who lives with her father, the Reverend at the True Vine Baptist Church, was born to sing. However, her mother has left the family to pursue a singing career and the Reverend is not interested in having Hibernia follow the same path. As Hibernia aptly explains, "Time and time again, I have tried to tell the reverend that to deny me the opportunity to present my vocal abilities to a dance-floor crowd is to trap my God-given gifts under a butterfly net."

Willie, an aspiring boxer himself, lives with his mother and father. His father, Sampson, is a violent drunk. After a terrible incident with Sampson, Willie's mother sends him to the safety of Mercy, an orphanage. At Mercy, Willie meets Lila, a caretaker who has recently begun attending True Vine Baptist Church and Otis, whose parents have been killed in a recent accident. The boys become fast friends and allies who also share a love of listening to Joe Louis fights on Otis' most prized possession, a Philco radio that belonged to his father.

When Lila invites the True Vine youth choir to sing for the children at Mercy during the holidays, Otis develops a crush on Hibernia. Both Lila and Willie help Otis as he offers Hibernia an important piece of himself. We also get to see Hibernia break through her father's concerns about singing and truly shine on a public stage and Willie work to overcome the tragic family events that landed him at Mercy.

I was interested to read about people gathering within the community to listen to the boxing matches on the radio. It's hard to imagine a time when media wasn't at our fingertips, but Pinkney's novel helps explain the radio my grandmother keeps on a shelf in her living room to this day. I also loved the voice of each character in the book. Lila is compassionate and kind, she cares for the children at Mercy as if they were her own. Willie and Otis are feisty boys who develop a strong and amazing friendship. Hibernia is sassy, smart, and interesting--my kind of girl!

There are some great historical notes at the end of the book about the real people and places mentioned within the text and a section of additional reading (one of my favorite things!)

And, as a side note, I LOVE this cover and can't wait to see the art in the finished copy!

Bird in a Box will be published by Little, Brown in April 2011. Read from Net Galley on my NOOKcolor.

"Don't go wastin' all those bright tomorrows you ain't even seen by hangin' onto what happened yesterday. Let go, child. Just breathe and let go."

It's easy to tell that there is something different about CeeCee's mother. No one else has a mom spends all her money on secondhand prom dresses . . . and then wanders all over town wearing them. CeeCee's father can't handle her mother's behavior, so he has largely disappeared from their lives. Fortunately for CeeCee, the next door neighbor, Mrs. O'dell, has always been there to take care of her. However, no one can protect CeeCee's mother from herself and, when an unfortunate accident occurs, her father decides that CeeCee will go live with her Great Aunt Tootie.

CeeCee does not know Aunt Tootie and is hesitant about leaving everything she has always known, but she discovers that leaving behind what she loves does not mean losing herself. Moving into Aunt Tootie's home and life connects CeeCee with an amazing group of women who guide, protect, and love her unconditionally, allowing her to reconcile with her mother's bizarre life and become her own person at the same time.

Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman first attracted me because of the cover. It's beautiful. Seriously. Even more lovely is the language Hoffman uses to describe CeeCee's life, the customs she encounters in the South, and the people she meets along the way. I kept reading passages over and over and marking places that I wanted to remember for later. I'm also a sucker for intergenerational relationships and CeeCee is fortunate enough to find people who transform her life throughout her story.

It was officially announced last week that Saving CeeCee Honeycutt is the first book Sam's Club is promoting for its new book club. This is a great first choice--it will be interesting to see where Sam's Club goes from here in terms of book choices and how their recommendation effects book sales.

Saving CeeCee Honeycutt was published January 12, 2010. The ARC I read was sent to me by Beth Hoffman.

"I felt very emotional about segregation, about the way we were treated, and about the way we treated each other."

I had the good fortune of hearing Cindy Dobrez and Lynn Rutan of Bookends Book Blog speak at the 2009 Michigan Association for Media in Education Conference in October. Their session focused on nonfiction books and graphic novels. The book that really caught my attention was Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice by Phillip Hoose. I was interested to read the story of the teenager who refused to give up her seat on a segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama nine months before Rosa Parks' historic moment. I have always known about Rosa Parks--"her" bus is on exhibit at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn and my children love to get on the bus and hear the story. I had not, however, heard of Claudette Colvin and her place in history.

I was not disappointed when I finally had the chance to read this book. While Hoose tells the facts and fills in many interesting historical events that were taking place as Colvin's story unfolded, the most amazing words in this book are written by Colvin herself. She writes about her experiences, bringing them to life and demonstrating how courageous and frustrated she was. She gives a firsthand perspective of what it was like to be a teen living in a city that strongly enforced segregation.

As I read this book I thought about all the amazing pieces of history that we lose when stories are never told. Then, upon reading the Author's Note, I discovered that Claudette Colvin's story may never have been told in this amazing book. She did not seek out the spotlight. In fact, it took many years after his initial request for Colvin to agree to work with Hoose to tell her story.

Each time I talk about this book I have a student ask me where it is and if I have more copies--both reactions that any librarian could love! It's also wonderful to see this book get some award attention. It won the National Book Award for Young People's Literature (Claudette Colvin and Phillip Hoose accepted the award together--video included on the site) and is on the shortlist for the new YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults award (the winner will be announced at ALA Midwinter in Boston).

Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice by Phillip Hoose was published January 20, 2009. The copy I read was from my school library.

The Facts First! Nonfiction Monday round-up is hosted today at Picture Book of the Day.

"Going straight to the source and learning something new is like finding buried treasure."

Many of the blogs I like to read have been participating in Facts First! Nonfiction Monday posts. I have enjoyed reading about new nonfiction books and decided to share one that I purchased at the AASL conference in Charlotte this month. Go Straight to the Source by Kristin Fontichiaro is part of the forthcoming 8-title series "Super Smart Information Strategies." Fontichiaro, a school library media specialist and Michigan colleague and friend, writes about using inquiry strategies to discover more about primary sources.

What I like about Go Straight to the Source is that it covers several types of primary sources (pictures, objects, and print), helps students learn what a primary source is, and provides hands-on activities and examples to guide readers through the process of using these resources in research. Each activity reminds students to ask questions and write about what they see, think, and wonder. This page, for example, demonstrates how a reader might ask questions about a primary source image.

Fontichiaro also explains how regular people are creating primary sources that tell stories about them each day. In one activity she challenges students to look at the objects an adult has in his or her pocket and/or purse in order to learn more about the person. She then continues the activity and explains how a student might learn about another through the objects in his/her backpack.

Unfamiliar words are highlighted throughout the text and there is a glossary to help with both pronounciation and definitions of these words. There is also an index which is helpful in locating information about specific types of primary sources throughout the book. Go Straight to the Source is written for an upper elementary audience, but I will probably use many of the activities in middle school as well, especially because many of my students have never investigated primary sources or worked closely with a librarian in the past.

Go Straight to the Source will be published in January 2010. Other titles in the series include Find Your Way Online, Team Up Online, Find the Right Site, Hit the Books, Write it Down, Put it All Together, and Make the Grade.

This week Facts First! Nonfiction Monday is hosted by Diane Chen at Practically Paradise.

"I begin to think that maybe there are more things in life that seem simple, or even stupid, on the surface but turn out to have so much more . . .."

Lucius and Aurora are the new kids at school. However, they have arrived under vastly different circumstances. Lucius' family has moved after he did the unthinkable: created an explosion that left him without his arms. Aurora's father has decided to move after they lose her mother to sickness. Both are alone in a new place and have to figure out how to cope. Unlike Lucius, Aurora is instantly popular. She is the kind of girl everyone wants to be friends with. For Lucius, it's more difficult. People notice right away that he has prosthetic arms, complete with hooks, which intimidates many and keeps them at a distance. Told in alternating chapters, we hear Crazy Beautiful by Lauren Baratz-Logstead from both Lucius' and Aurora's voices.

I read this book quickly, probably within a couple of hours. However, I've gone back to it four or five times in the last few weeks--reading parts out loud to students, colleagues, and generally whoever would listen because there were so many parts that I wanted to share. I loved Lucius' relationship with Nick Greek, the former football star turned security guard at his new school. There's something transformational about being able to help someone else when you are in bad circumstances and their friendship defined that for me. I also tend to believe that one positive relationship with an adult can change a kid forever, even though the impact may not be seen for years.

Although this is a quick read, there is a lot to think about. I'm always advocating for kids to be allowed to read whatever they want, regardless of format or length--this book is an example of a slim volume that really delivers.

Crazy Beautiful by Lauren Baratz-Logstead was published in September, 2009.

"Among the hardships, disappointments, and losses, it's the adventure of it all that has gotten me up each morning."

It's summer and Lyza has no idea the adventure that lies ahead of her. It's 1968, the Vietnam War has captured the attention of the nation, and Lyza's mother has left the family. Instead of being free to wander and enjoy the summer, Lyza's father decides that she must wash dishes at the local diner while her father teaches courses at the local university. Lyza's unique friendships with her neighbors Malcolm and Carolann make them perfect partners for sneaking off while her father is working. Her friends also provide a window to look at race relations in the late '60s, as Malcolm is African American and his brother is drafted, sending letters home throughout the summer explaining the differences between current society and the military attitude about race, as well as sharing what it's like to be at war.

Lyza and her grandfather have always shared a love of adventure. From the time she was little, he would show her maps and tell her about his travels. When he passes away, she discovers an envelope that says, "FOR LYZA ONLY." She has to decide if she should share the contents of the envelope and, if so, who will understand? Will she be able to figure out the clues her grandfather left behind? Even if she can discover the secret, will she have enough time to complete the adventure?

Told in verse, this is a story of a family figuring out how to change when circumstances demand new ways. I especially loved the relationship between Lyza and her grandfather. I lived with my grandparents twice (once as a teenager and once as an adult), so I got to enjoy a great relationship with my grandfather. Reading about Lyza's adventures reminded me of how much I miss him--and what a wonderful influence he was in my life.

Kaleidoscope Eyes by Jen Bryant was published in 2009.