This is a heroic tale. Aru learns that she is the spirit daughter of Indra, king of the heavens, god of thunder and lightning. Together with her newly discovered spirit-related sister Mini, she must defeat the Sleeper. If she fails to succeed, the Sleeper will reach the Lord of Destruction and time will end. The two sisters take upon themselves the monumental tasks of locating celestial weapons and thwarting the Sleeper's plans. Yes, there is plenty of action, adventure, and magic. But it’s basically a story of a girl who understands that she makes mistakes and that she is not perfect. Nonetheless, deep inside her are the qualities of a hero. Make that heroine.

To all those Rick Riodan fans who know every single character in the Percy Jackson series and can answer a bazillion Olympians trivia questions, meet a new heroine. Her name is Aru Shah and she has more exciting adventures in the heavens and earth than you could possibly dream. (Paraphrasing Shakespeare) Bonus: Aru has another book coming soon. Look for Aru Shah and the Song of Death.

Take a look at  three picture books. Each is a little gem filled with creative storytelling, endearing characters, and inventive design. Deborah Marcero is the author of two and the illustrator for all three. And here’s the amazing thing: all have been published within the past eighteen months. That's one prolific artist! Let’s take a peek inside these enticing covers.

From day one, Impy is constantly aware that middle school has transported her into an entirely new enviornment. Unlike the familiarity of the festival community, the halls of middle school are fraught with terrors at every turn. She must navigate the complex maze of classrooms, negotiate seating in the cafeteria, and meet the demands of a regimented assignment schedule. She is immediately the subject of curiosity. Some express honest interest while others resort to ridicule. For Imply trying to fit in, trying to discover who she is, trying to keep up with the demands of teachers becomes very...well, trying.
She makes two fatale mistakes: one with her younger brother and one with a classmate. From her perspective, it appears that each one is impossible to completely recover from.
This book is honest, so painfully honest. No one is perfect: not Imogene, not the kids at school, not her family. They all make mistakes and struggle to learn, live, and forgive. The characters are spot on and Jamieson imbues each with a distinctive personality.
It is impossible for me to express how much I adore this book. Both the images and text work together to create storytelling magic. Copies of the book should be given as a gift to every youngster about to enter middle school. Not only will tweens learn about the Middle Ages and life in middle school, but they will also gain important insights into self acceptance.

I have always been fascinated by illuminated manuscripts and was delighted to note that Jamieson chooses to begin each chapter with an introduction featuring some gorgeous illumination.  Why not encourage young readers to try this intricate art?  Instead of illuminating an entire page, why not try illuminating a letter? Here is my attempt to illuminate the first letter of my last name. It's not nearly as intricate and the gold pigment ink is missing. But I had fun with a fine point black sharpie and a fistful of colored pencils. 

​Johannes’ early chapter book contains wild adventures, puns, and illustrations with just the right amount of zaniness. Did I mention the Pig Latin? Young readers will not be able to get enough of Miss Zinker, a book chock full of more fun than should be allowed. But go ahead and read it. You too might be an upside down thinker.

If you are acquainted with Beatrice, then you know of her affinity with this dessert. Why not try making these Pineapple Upside Down Mini-Cakes? They are fun and easy and yummy! Here is the recipe from an upright girl who knows the up and down sides of cake: Betty Crocker.

Book Case
​This cover is gorgeous! I love the profile of Amina with eyes closed and hands clasped, surrounded by rich color shading and swirling patterns. This design captures the spirit of young girl, filled with hopes and dreams. The lyrical imagery matches the musical theme woven throughout the narrative. ​​Ombré orange hues contrast with the turquoise-colored spine, echoing color palettes found in traditional Pakistani art. An eye-arresting package.

Solid Middle Grade
This is sixth grade in real life. Consider the following examples: Meet a girl juggling her love of singing with her fear of performing. Amina's embarrassment and sense of discomfort about family counterbalance her intense loyalty to family members. The uneasy feelings she experiences as her exclusive relationship with a best friend begins to evolve and results in a moral dilemma: is she willing to forgive and allow a new friend into her intimate circle? Her guilt when she discloses a personal secret that she should have keep confidential. This causes her to ask, "But wait - am I even a real friend?'

World of Islam
​Khan makes clear that Amina's life in not the experience of all Muslims, that there are distinctions between people and cultures throughout the Arab world. However the luster of the Muslim faith shines through, like a glimmer of golden thread throughout the narrative. Consider inclusion  of phrases such as "Insha'Allah" (God willing) and references to the teachings and poetic quality of the Quran.  Kahn adds Pakistani American details such as descriptions of traditional dress and  tantalizing Pakistani food: spicy spinach -and -lamb stew, curried chicken, gulag jamon (sticky, sweet doughnut-like treats) and tea scented with cardamom.

The Muslim Community
A climactic scene takes place when the Islamic Center including the mosque where Amina's family worships is vandalized. Witnessing the desecration of this cultural and holy space, now defaced with phrases such as "Go Home, Terrorists, Towelheads" Amina is fearful. Her dread is slowly replaced by gratitude as the greater community reaches out to their Muslims friends, offering the use of the neighboring church for an interfaith celebration to raise funds for rebuilding the damaged mosque and community center.

I had a few questions after reading Love, Ish. Author Karen Rivers graciously took the time to provide answers. Thanks Karen.

Title
This title is brilliant! How did it come about?  Was the title part of your original idea, did it evolve as you wrote, or was it decided after you completed the manuscript?
The title was part of the original idea.  I knew the character would be Mischa, nicknamed “Ish”, and that the book was going to be about Mars and about how she learns about love.   It’s such a great tween/teen suffix.  They don’t have to feel love, the can feel love-ish.   So it was both a play on words, and obviously, her name.  

Dreams
They are such an important part of the story. I have never been much of a dreamer, but while reading this book I had one of the most vivid dreams that I can recall experiencing. It was about a deceased family member.  Do you dream? If so, do your dreams figure into your writing?
I definitely dream although I’m not sure my dreams figure into my writing very much.  The dreaming part of this book was inspired by a TV show that I saw many years ago.  It was either a medical drama or a legal drama, and it was about a woman whose reality was sub-par.  I can’t remember what the circumstances were, exactly, but I remember that she was lonely and depressed.  But at night, when she fell asleep, she entered an alternate reality.  Her dreams flowed like a continuous story in which she was happily married, kids, stability, joy.   (The plot of the episode was that she wanted to pay a doctor to KEEP her asleep so she could exist in this better, alternate reality.)  Technicalities aside, I was fascinated by this idea of realistic, somewhat continuous dreams.  In the show, I believe they were trying to answer the question:  If you perceive something as being “real”, does it matter if it is or not?   Which became part of the question in LOVE, ISH.  In dreams, if we’re lucky, we can be anyone, we can do things that are outside of the confines of reality, we can fly.

Chemo
Chemotherapy touches many lives, both those undergoing treatment and those close to the individual receiving treatment. Your descriptions of chemo are so painful, poignant, and true-to-life. The rawness was hard for me to read. How did you prepare for writing the chemo sequences?
Quite a long time ago, my son underwent some tests for what doctors thought that might be a heart defect.  (It wasn’t.) For one of those tests, we had to wait in a shared waiting room outside a pediatric chemo room.   I was struck by it, both the absolute normalcy of what was going on in there – video games abounded – and by the kids themselves.  I’ve had a few friends go through chemo (mostly as adults) and I knit their stories together with what I saw in the hospital that day to come up with Ish’s experience.   I hope that I got it right.  

Names
Buzz Aldrin. Brussels Sprout. Lunch Island. etc
The names in the story are intriguing. Do you maintain a list of interesting names/words for future stories or are the names that you use very specific to one particular story?
I SHOULD maintain a list, but instead I store things in my brain which become useful later.  For example, many years ago I was reading a book about Mars with my stepson, and we stumbled on the word Nirgal, meaning “Death Star” that was apparently (or according to this particular book) the Mayan word for Mars.   I didn’t know I was going to use it later, but it’s something that I always remembered.   The rest of the names were very specific to this story, I created them particularly for this book in the moment of writing it.  The parrot’s name made a few changes, but Buzz Aldrin is a terrific name for a parrot, don’t you think?  It fit the best.  Sometimes you have to try a few things on for size, but when it’s right, you feel it.

“Don’t touch me. No one touch me.”
What moments in your experience inspired you to include this pivotal scene?
Ah, this is a tough one to answer.  But without giving too much away, I think we’ve all experienced moments in our lives of such intense emotion that adding just one more feeling of any type –  even if it’s well-meaning and genuine sympathy – feels like it might break us into pieces.   When something happens that’s too much for us in the moment, we have to step away from ourselves before we can process kindness or compassion, or – even harder – someone else’s shock at what has happened.   Maybe it’s a bit like having to put on your own oxygen mask before you help someone else.  In that particular scene, Ish had to find her mask.  Everyone else needed something from her right away that she didn’t have available to give.  ​

• Life outside the neighborhood

"Like the universe was telling me that in order for me to make something of my life, I'd have to leave home, my neighborhood, my friends."

• Opportunities

"But girls like me, with coal skin and hula-hoop hips, whose mommas barely make enough money to keep food in the house, have to take opportunities every chance we get."

• Value of literacy

"I've wanted to be a black girl who could read and write many languages, because I know there was a time when that seemed impossible."

• Constant struggle

"Sometimes it feels like I leave home a whole person, sent off with kisses from Mom, who is hanging her every hope on my future. By the time I get home I feel like my soul has been shattered into a million pieces."

• Condescension 

"I don't know what to say. Every time I see Maxine, it is two steps forward, two steps back."

• Understanding difference 

"Those girls are not the opposite of me. We are perpendicular. We may be on different paths, yes. But there's a place where we connect and are just the same."

• Speaking up

"I doubt my conversation with Mr. Flores will change anything. But at least he knows how I feel. At least I spoke up."

• Fitting in/ Not fitting it

"At school I turn on a switch, make sure nothing about me is too black."

• Living with pain

"Every tear I've been holding in goes onto the page.
Tears for Mom's swollen ankles after a long day of work, for her jar of pennies. Tears for every 'almost,' for every 'Things will be different next time.' Tears for what happened with Mrs. Weber, the lady at the mall, the boys at Dairy Queen. 
I didn't realize how much I was holding in. How many cries I've buried."
​

     Yuming, abducted and forced to sew purses in a factory outside of Beijing is desperately searching for an escape.  Along with twenty two children she has become a prisoner and a slave.  Her main source of solace is memories of her deceased grandmother. Her primary source of hope is to be reunited with her brother and return to the rice fields of her village. One day she makes a bold move, and hastily scrawls a note pleading for help. She includes the note and a precious family photo inside a purse, hoping that it will find its way into the hands of someone who can rescue her.

     Clara is haunted by memories of her adopted sister Lola, who recently died of cancer. Lola's ghost fills Clara's days and nights. One day she discovers a purse, containing a cry for help and a photo of a Chinese family at the Beijing location where she and Lola played together. Clara becomes obsessed with finding the girl in the photo, convinced that this girl will fill the emotional emptiness in her heart. She persuades her parents to make a pilgrimage to China in her sister's memory.

     Told through alternating voices, Threads follows the journey a photograph hidden inside of a Chinese purse and the two girls who are aware of its existence. Because they do not know each other, the girls' paths cross without their knowledge. The search for what is missing from their respective lives is at times harrowing and often heartbreaking. The conclusion is bittersweet. The girls never meet, but both find resolution to painful circumstances and are able to move forward with their lives. 

     Readers will find several connecting threads and themes woven throughout Ami Polonsky's thoughtful and poignant book.

There has been a renaissance in picture books about inventive young girls and women. Students can experience their own "Age of Discovery" with these recently published titles. They are well worth reading and adding to your collection.

How do I describe The Girl in the Well is Me by Karen Rivers? Where do I start?
This is unlike any other book that I have encountered. It's a tale of desperation, a saga of hurt and pain.  It's also filled with some of the most hilarious, laugh-out-loud prose I have ever read.
How does Rivers pull this off? How can she break my heart for one moment and then completely turn me around, leaving me spitting out my drink with uncontrolled laughter when I get to the next page. Can I really laugh at someone's inner dialogue and simultaneously empathize with her pain?
How does she do it? I have no idea.
But it works. It totally works.
The voice of Kammie Summer is like no other voice I have ever heard and one that I will never be able to erase from my mind and my heart.

Meet Kammie Summers, the new girl in town, who desperately yearns to leave behind the shame and hurt of her former life and move on. In her new school, she locates a trio of popular girls and bravely attempts to tag along.  Then things go terribly wrong. Kammie finds herself at the bottom. Literally rock bottom.
Her ongoing stream-of-consciousness monologue from the bottom of a well is filled with wisdom from the depths of a disparate soul.

Nine Truths from the Bottom of the Well

• Lies, lies, and more lies

​Lying turns your soul into something small and dry and hard, like an old raisin you find in your book bag squashed under a book you on-purpose-forgot to return to your old school library because you loved it too much to leave it behind.

• Mean girls

Mean is where they get their power. The thing with mean girls is that everyone knows that if you aren't one of them, they're going to destroy you, tiny bit by tiny bit. And I'm not going to lie, I've been destroyed enough for this year, for this whole life even.

• Diagramming sentences

Metaphors and similes make my head hurt, picking apart those sentences in Language Arts, making all those words fall away from their sentences and separating them into gerunds and modifiers and whatevers. It's like sentence massacres, those poor words bleeding sadly all over the page.

• School bus blues

I hate school buses with the heat of a thousand Texas suns.Everything bad that goes on at school goes on with a thousand times more intensity on a school bus. Trust me.

• Truth About Tears

Crying because you're sad is unstoppable; it just happens, even if you close your eyes, it leaks out of you. Sadness makes you holey, like a sieve, and nothing can be held in.

• Parent Trap

It occurs to me right at this exact moment that it's possible children could be raised by robots BETTER than by actual people...

• Holding onto the past

I need Grandma's Peachy Keen Cookie Recipe! How else will I bring Grandma back?
I am bringing peachy keen back, lovingly wrapping the words up and dropping them carefully into modern times like the past lobbing gifts into the future, through me.

• Left behind

We left a lot of things behind, but not enough. It turns out that you can't get away from yourself. The museum of you is inside you. 

• If it's broken ...

We all have broken parts, that's the truth, but mine really hurt.