Recently schools and libraries have considered the problem of “book deserts.” These are generally described as geographic areas where there are few books for young people and families to read. This is a serious issue which certainly needs to be addressed.  The research of Susan Neuman and the United for Literacy's quantified literacy landscape interactive map are well-worth studying.

The Problem

My first order of business was to change the arrangement from massive piles of books to neatly shelved books with all spines facing out. I also limited the selections to children's books. It looked better. Afterward, there was a slight increase in reading activity.

I decided to take book organization one step further. Approximately half of the books were displayed with covers facing out. The remaining half were shelved by topic or series, with the spines facing out. Altering the display resulted in increased use of books.

Could I Do More?

Get a Grip, Vivy Cohen by Sarah Kapit

Vivian J Cohen is a typical eleven-year-old. She likes cheese sandwiches and pizza. She likes baseball. Vivy enjoys watching televised professional games with her dad. Her favorite player is VJ Capello. In some respects she may be a not-so-typical fifth grader. She is a baseball (NOT softball) pitcher and can throw a mean knuckleball. She dreams of becoming the first female to play professionally. She is autistic, prone to meltdowns and flapping her hands when she gets anxious or excited.  When she was eight years old, she met minor league pitcher VJ. He took her aside and taught her how to throw a knuckleball. She has never forgotten him. Three years later Vivy has a letter-writing assignment. She opts to write to VJ. They begin a lively correspondence, mainly via email. ​Kapit begins the epistolary novel on the first day of spring training and concludes with the league's final game for the season. Their emails include plenty of play by play baseball action.

​The Everything I Have Lost by Sylvia Zéleny

Thirteen-year-old Julia keeps a deeply personal journal describing her life near the Mexico -United States border. Over the course of approximately two years she discloses her fears, her uncertainty, and the longings of her heart. Detailed lists and commentary reveal her life, her everything. Living in Juárez with father, mother, and younger brother Willy, Julia’s life experiences a seismic shift when her father begins working for the mafia. She assumes that he is a courier. Suddenly the family has a new car, a new house, and many luxury items. But wealth has a downside. Mamá is no longer her confidant. Her mother's primary objective is to protect and care for her husband. In an attempt ​to shield her children from the mob's influence and possible retribution, she sends Julia and Willy to live with family in El Paso: Aunt Tia, Cousin Jose, and their dementia- afflicted great grandmother.

Voices from the Border

Black is a Rainbow Color
​by Angela Joy ill by Ekua Holmes

A picture book blending images and text to describe and define a color,  Black is a Rainbow Color is rhythmical verse punctuated with rhyme.  The poetry has a singing quality, inviting reading and responding aloud. It’s a jubilant affirmation of identity. It’s a lyrical homage to history. It’s soul-stirring, thought-provoking. It’s a gorgeous array of colors. Individuals pictured throughout the pages have a variety of skin tones and physical features. All share a noble heritage.  my color is black.

Listen: Playlist Selections

Picture This: Celebrating Black Color & Culture

Graphic Novels for the Win

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One of the historic announcements at the 2020 American Library Association’s Youth Media Awards was the Newbery Award. Jerry Craft’s New Kid is the first graphic novel to receive this distinction. Previous award-winning comics include: 2007 Printz award American Born Chinese, 2007 Sibert honor To Dance, 2015 Newbery honor El Deafo, 2015 Caldecott honor This One Summer, 2016 Newbery honor Roller Girl, 2016 Sibert honor Drowned City, 2017 Coretta Scott King Award March: Book Three, 2017 Excellence in Nonfiction Award March: Book Three, 2017 Printz Award March: Book Three, 2017 Sibert Award March: Book Three, 2017 Pura Belpré Award Lowriders to the Center of the Earth, 2019 Morris Finalist Check, Please!, 2019 Excellence in Nonfiction Honor, Faithful Spy (hybrid text and graphics), 2019 Excellence in Nonfiction Finalist Hey Kiddo, 2019 Excellence in Nonfiction Award The Unwanted, 2019 Sibert Honor The Unwanted. ​

2007 was the breakthrough year with graphic novels capturing the Printz Award and a Sibert Honor. There followed an eight-year gap (EIGHT YEARS!) before graphic novels began to pop up on award lists. Two titles each were awarded in 2015 and 2016. In 2017 one book, March: Book Three garnered top honors with four ALA awards, in addition to the National Book Award for Young People's Literature and an Eisner Award. That's a lot of stickers on one cover! The momentum built in 2019 with four comics winning awards and The Unwanted received two awards. This year New Kid earned the covetous Newbery Award. Graphic novels for the win. Huzzah!

Worth Noting

Young California surfer Trot and her one-eyed cat discover a fantasy underwater world. Inspired by Vietnamese folktales and Frank Baum, they are brimming with stunning design and nouveau style art.

Historical fiction chronicling the life and legacy of African legend Shaka with fascinating insights into Zulu history. Explores the complex role of leadership and chronicles the expanded the role of women in this society. The second of two volumes.

Middle grade tale of witchcraft and magic. It's also a story of three generations of women. Thoughtful contemplation of identity with a unique twist. Bonus: sparkles with wit and visual humor.

A well-researched account of Brontë's struggle to become an author is featured in The Center for Cartoon Studies reality-based series. An independent woman living in the 1880's and supporting herself is a compelling story.

This hybrid combines distinct first person narrative text with emotion-packed images which give life to this  story of immigration and sibling rivalry. Bonus: amazing mouth-watering cakes described in each chapter.

Big Ideas That Changed the World recounts this significant historical event in graphic novel format. Excellent pacing enhances the tension culminating in the successful lunar landing of Apollo 11.

When Germany began relentlessly bombing London some parents sought to protect their children by sending youngsters overseas to places of relative safety. A luxury ocean liner, the SS City of Benares set sail on September 12, 1940 departing from Liverpool and bound for Canada. The ship carried 406 people, including over 90 children. Terror struck five days into the journey when a German U-boat fired a torpedo, sinking the ship. Meticulously researched, the narrative describes the ordeal endured by passengers and crew set adrift in the icy Atlantic. The story of six boys who spent eight days clinging to a lifeboat until they were rescued is particularly harrowing. ​​Torpedoed: The True Story of the World War II Sinking of “The Children’s Ship” chronicles this catastrophe and the fate of its few survivors. ​A story of tragedy and suffering.  A story of heroism and hope. Narrative nonfiction at its best.

Our Castle by the Sea by Lucy Strange

Two sisters, along with their parents live in a lighthouse set on a clifftop overlooking the sea. Nearby are four upright stones, which local lore believes are four girls turned into stone. Petra suspects that she is destined to become a part of this ancient legend. With the threat of a German invasion, Britain relocates individuals with German heritage and possible enemy sympathies to internment camps. Petra Zimmerman Smith's mother is German. A tribunal determines that this wife of a British citizen may be a threat to security. She is sent to an internment camp. It is evident that there is a saboteur within the community. Petra is determined to discover the traitor's identity and exonerate her mother. It's a dangerous mission. The enemy is ruthless and will stop at nothing to silence anyone who interferes with plans to aid a German invasion. Petra risks her life to save her family and her country.  Our Castle by the Sea is a fantastic intertwining of mythology, history, and intrigue.

The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

​Neglect and abuse are all that Ada has ever known. She and her club foot are concealed in shame within a small apartment. When the threat of bombing reaches London, she and her brother escape. Posing as evacuees, they travel to Kent and are placed in the home of Susan Smith. This benefactor offers the siblings a clean warm home with plenty of nourishing food. She arranges a consultation with a doctor who believes that the deformed foot can be corrected. Ada learns to read, makes a friend, and watches for German spies. ​Most wondrous of all, Ada cares for and rides the beautiful pony in the adjoining pasture. ​ While the threat of an enemy invasion is constantly on the minds of everyone, within the home of Susan Smith each one is fighting a personal battle. The War That Saved My Life is satisfying and heartwarming. A story of conquering fear and learning to love.

How to Build a Heart by Maria Padian

Isabella Crawford leads a double life. At home she is the daughter of her white father, a Marine killed in action and her Puerto Rican mother, who ekes out a living as a nurse's aide, moving her family from place to place. Now the family resides in Virginia where Izzy has received a scholarship to attend a prestigious Catholic high school and sing with the school's premier vocal group. She has her father’s green eyes and can "pass" at school, borrowing clothing from her best friend to supplement her meager wardrobe. She informs classmates that her mother is a nurse. "I’ve been hiding for a long time. Behind my school uniforms, behind my complicated car pool plans, my borrowed clothes, all the stories I made up in every new town we called home." Isabella's life undergoes a dramatic shift when her family is selected receive a brand new Habitat for Humanity home. The house will be built in an affluent section of town. Izzy befriends Aubrey, a transfer student who lives near the Crawford’s new home. To further complicate matters, Aubrey's good-looking brother and co-captain of the local school’s basketball team is attracted to Izzy. It is becoming increasingly difficult to maintain her elite-private-school-student facade.

When You Don't Fit In

​Ruth Objects: The Life of Ruth Bader Ginsburg (Big Words)
by Doreen Rappaport ill by Eric Velasquez

This generously-sized picture book celebrates the life and legacy of the second woman to serve as a Supreme Court Justice. Using her trademark format, biographical narrative interspersed with appropriate quotations,  Rappaport recounts important events in the life of this influential woman.  The U.S Constitution serves as a backdrop for the cover’s close-up portrait of the Associate Justice. Looking directly into the faces of readers, Ruth is clear-eyed and resolute. ​Opening pages feature Ruth as a young girl, her childhood filled with books and school activities, music and traditional Jewish observances.

My mother was the bravest and strongest person I have known.

Big Words: Picture Book Series

A Girl, A Raccoon, and the Midnight Moon
by Karen Romano Young ill by Jessixa Bagley

Pearl is a book girl, a library girl. Daughter of the head of circulation, born in the Lancaster Avenue Library, and raised by a tightly knit community of staff members, Pearl’s life revolves around the world of the libraries and stories. ​The Lancaster Avenue branch of the New York City Library features unique architectural details: mezzanine with a glass floor, spiral staircase with an intricate wrought iron banister, and a beautiful garden. The focal point of the garden is a statue of Edna St. Vincent Millay, affectionately known as Vincent. Sadly, the old building suffers from neglect. Few patrons visit the library, circulation statistics are dismal, and program attendance is dwindling. Then the unthinkable happens: the head of the Vincent statue is stolen! Pearl is devastated. She devotes her energy, talent, and resources to finding the stone head and restoring it to the garden. Her efforts create new library friendships and alliances within the community, including the local school, a homeless man, and a newspaper reporter.

Fun with Mallomars

The remarkable family of reading raccoons are led by Mrs. Mallomar. She is a skillful writer, editing the midnight edition of the Moon. In addition to news, the newspaper features Rax Rex, a book recommendation section. Meet some Mallomar raccoons and see three of their recommended books. Check out other titles mentioned in A Girl, A Raccoon, and the Midnight Moon.

The Body under the Piano: Aggie Morton, Mystery Queen
​by Marthe Jocelyn ill by Isabelle Follath

Twelve-year-old Agatha Caroline Morton, an inquisitive girl living in nineteenth century England is never without her notebook, recording her observations and penning verses. She lives with her rather eccentric grandmother, her grief-stricken mother still mourning her husband's death, nursemaid Charlotte, and dog Tony. The drama begins when Aggie discovers a corpse under the dance studio piano. It's the body of obnoxious Mrs. Irma Eversham, mother of Aggie's classmate Rose and sister-in-law to the dance instructor. Aggie wonders: who would want to murder Mrs. Eversham? (Well, almost everyone.) Why would someone want to eliminate this odious woman? (Possibly anger, revenge, or greed?) How did she die? ( Was it rodent poison?) Not one to sit around and wring her hands, Aggie sets out to uncover the truth and determine the culprit's identity. She enlists the assistance of a new friend, Belgian refugee Hector Perot.

​​"chopped up in a suitcase, shoveled into a well, hurled from a clifftop, locked in a cupboard."

​"as steamed as a runaway train, as spiky as a hothouse cactus, as fierce as a stampeding rhinoceros, ready to erupt like a volcano..."

Follath captures the personalities of the major players with a deft hand. I frequently referred to these portraits of leading characters. Very helpful.

Meet Agatha Christi

This very British, very charming murder mystery is a clearly a homage to the great detective novelist Agatha Christi. ​Born in Torquay in 1890, she taught herself to read at the age of five. She was an accomplished pianist. However her shyness prevented her from performing for those she did not know. Christie's books have sold over a billion copies in the English language and a billion in translation.