​​What would happen if you intentionally leave a group of kids alone in a classroom?
This story framework, a group in a confined space for a specific period of time, is generally reserved for adult literature. Think: a sequestered jury, a therapy group, passengers on a plane/train etc. The most notable equivalent application for teens is The Breakfast Club. But a group of students deliberately put together in a classroom without an adult present is something I don’t offhand recall in another work of juvenile fiction.
It’s a bold construct that really works. It works so well that I became a virtual member of the group, as the dynamic slowly, often painfully, evolves. I could relate to each student. It was easy to picture myself as an unseen participant in the room.

​​Concepts of immigration, incarceration, racial disparity, and economic inequality are woven into the narrative. While these are important issues, it’s the relationship among the six kids that is imprinted on my mind and heart. Each voice is distinct and offers a unique perspective.

Sometimes it's good to put way the electronics, take playing pieces out of the box and go "old school" with a board game.
Featured here are some middle school books that celebrate the joy of sitting across the table from an opponent for some friendly competition. Enjoy these novels for middle-grader featuring a board game component. Along with these books include a selection of new and classic tabletop entertainment in the library collection. 
​Let the games begin!

Meet Bob, the small green not-a-zombie creature who lives in Olivia's grandmother's closet with a Lego pirate ship and a dictionary. He has been waiting years for Livy to return to her grandmother's home in Australia.     

Long ago, Livy's father taught her the basics of chess. She, in turn, showed Bob to how to play. He has practiced alone in the closet, using only the white chess pieces, as the black pieces are missing. When Livy returns she recovers the black chess pieces.  They commence playing this game of thinking and planning strategically.
Together, Bob and Livy assemble collective memories into a meaningful pattern to remember about Livy's promise, made long ago. Using clues and deductive skills, the two friends uncover secrets from the past.

Check out my review of Bob.

Charlotte's world seems to be falling apart: her dad suffers a major heart attack and her best friend wants to leave Charlotte and join another group of girls.

Ben's parents just delivered some shocking news: they are getting a divorce. Ben is floored.  He has no idea that this was coming and is at a loss on how to cope. He decides that maybe what he should do is run for a student body position.  He's a younger student and really doesn't have any close friends. How is this going to work?

The one thing that both Charlotte and Ben have going for them is their virtual friendship. They are serious Scrabble players.  They admire each other's playing skills and their online competition develops into a support system. Each helps the other as they work through word puzzles and puzzling events in their lives.

Eleven-year-old Obe Devlin has always been a loner, spending hours at Devlin Creek, picking up trash. One day he encounters an animal never seen before. He names it Marvin Gardens because his dad is obsessed with the board game Monopoly. 
Obe is fascinated and escapes to the creek spending time with this strange creature. To his amazement, he learns that Marvin can consume plastic. While it might be considered a good thing, this also presents a tremendous cost to the environment. What will become of this creature? What will happen to the land that Obe loves?

Monopoly is a game of acquiring and selling real estate. This dovetails with the loss of the Devlin family's 175 acres and the construction of a housing development on the property.

Read my review of Me and Marvin Gardens.

Sunny has lost interest in running. Yes, he is lightning fast. Yes, he has a fistful of medals. But he doesn't want to run any more. Coach suggests that discus might be more to his liking. It's a whole new sport and requires an entirely different sets of skills. It combines his love of dance with his desire to stay connected with the team. Sunny decides to give it a try.

Sunny has his share of conflicts at home. His mother died during childbirth and Sunny blames himself for his mother's death. ​He lives with his father Darryl, who often seems detached from his son.

One thing that they share is a love for jigsaw puzzles. They are currently working on a complicated puzzle that is an image of Sunny's mother's face.  Will putting the puzzle together help to resolve the missing pieces in Sunny's life?

When perusing my book shelves, I noted a slim little spine, crammed in a mass of book galleys, way up high on the shelf.  I was curious. What was that little yellow sliver wedged between so many mammoth-sized volumes? I pulled it out for closer inspection.

Look Up! is Korean author and illustrator Jung Jin-Ho’s tiny treatise on perspective and the power of point of view.

Using simple black line drawings, readers are invited into the street from an unusual vantage point, a birds-eye view of a terrace overlooking a city street. An initial spread reveals feet placed on the footrests of a wheelchair. The occupant of the wheelchair appears to be gazing on the scene below. As time passes and activity takes place in the street, the lone observer leans over the edge of the roof imploring, "Look up!" "Look up!" "I'm here! Look at me!"

Finally a passerby does indeed look up. He calls to the girl peering down from above.  She explains that she can't come down and that she can only see the tops of heads. The boy offers her another perspective. He lies down on the cobblestones below so that she can view him in his entirety. Soon others join, lying horizontally and offering the girl in the wheelchair a new view.  As other bodies take this supine position, the strictly black and white landscape makes a subtle change: trees begin to blossom in shades of pink. A bicyclist rides by, sporting a bouquet of colorful balloons.  And on top of the roof, a potted plant begins to sprout tender green leaves.

For as long as she can remember, MacKenzie has been the object of ridicule at her school. Students constantly tease her about her hair. She tries ignoring their taunts. That doesn't work. She takes to wearing a hat to cover her head. That doesn't help.
Finally she flees to the home of her neighbor Miss Tillie, who lives in a warm and welcoming home. MacKenzie pours her heart to her compassionate friend.

Following a gentle shampoo and careful combing, Miss Tillie invites her young guest outside to enjoy her garden. Years of thoughtful planning, cultivation, and nurturing have resulted in a retreat that is a filled with a variety of lush and vibrant landscaping.  

MacKenzie discovers the similarities between caring for a garden and caring for her crowning glory.

​Cozbi A. Cabrera has created a lovely picture book celebrating the magnificence of natural black hair. In addition to the narrative, she thoughtfully includes helpful hair care tips, along with suggestions for self-improvement and personal development.
​Recipes for Herbal infusion Rinse and Moisturizing Shea Butter include directions on proper application.

Cozbi A. Cabrera's creative talents are not limited to artistry with words and pictures.  She is a very talented seamstress, doll maker, and fashion designer. 
​Take a look at some of her creations.
Be sure to view her beautiful handcrafted dolls, featured in Country Living.

Penelope Rex is about to enter a new phase in her reptilian life. This young dinosaur is going to Kindergarten. She’s got a new backpack decorated with ponies and she carries her lunch: three hundred tuna sandwiches and a juice box. Naturally she is anxious. What will her classmates be like? Will she make new friends? Upon arrival she is surprised to learn that all her classmates are ... Children!  Penelope reacts immediately, swallowing all the delicious children in an enormous gulp. With furniture in disarray and a shoestring dangling from her mouth, Penelope appears to be somewhat chagrined by what she has just done.

Sister Wanda discovers something unusual amid the  Mostly Silent Monastery construction clutter: a silent little girl with no name and no past.  Wearing a shirt emblazoned with the word BICYCLE, she is appropriately given the name Bicycle.  Our young heroine takes to the monastic life, spending her days intently listening and studying.  Her fortune changes the day that she accompanies the monks into town and discovers her namesake, a discarded bike. Scraping together all her loose change, Bicycle becomes the proud owner of the two-wheeler, christened Clunk.

Sister Wanda is concerned because her young charge lacks youthful companions and enrolls Bicycle in the Friendship Factory’s camp. Determined to escape from the well-meaning intentions of Sister Wanda, Bicycle decides to bike from Washington D.C to San Francisco to meet her cycling hero Zbig.