Sunday, February 25, 2018

It's Monday! What Are You Reading #IMWAYR 2/26/2018

Sorry it's been so long! We've had a few bouts of the flu in our home along with lots of viruses. Hopefully, with nicer weather coming, the germs are outta here!


                                                              Humphrey's Mixed-Up Magic Trick (Humphrey's Tiny Tales) by [Birney, Betty G.]

I've read most of the Humphrey books and my youngest students LOVE them. Humphrey is the class hamster of room 26 and he tells his stories from his view of the room as the class pet. He gets a first row seat to the antics of the students in the class. All of the Humphrey books are always entertaining and popular in the library. The only negative thing I see about the Betty Birney books is that they are a little long for first and second graders to read on their own. They often came back to the library unfinished. I am THRILLED to discover that she has written Humphrey's Tiny Tales! This series features our beloved Humphrey, but the stories are shorter, the print is larger and there are pictures. These are perfect for emergent readers!

Humphrey's Mixed Up Magic Trick is a short tale about room 26. The children have been asked to do a presentation about what they want to be when the grow up. Miranda wants to be a magician and she chooses Humphrey as her assistant. It's a cute story that teaches the lesson that the sky is the limit and kids can choose whatever career they want as long as they work hard. I know that first grade students will love Tiny Tales and I will have a hard time keeping them on the shelf.


                                                         You Throw Like a Girl (mix) by [Alpine, Rachele]

This book sat on my bedside table for a while, and I am SO HAPPY I finally read it. It's a fantastic story. You Throw Like Girl by Rachele Alpine tells the story of Gabby's summer vacation at her grandmother's house. Gabby's father had been deployed in the military for a year and like her father, Gabby is a star baseball player. She and her father live and breathe the game and baseball keeps their father/daughter bond strong.  Before he leaves, she promises her father that she will be the starting pitcher on his old home town's team even though her mother would much rather Gabby compete in beauty pageants. On the first day of baseball sign ups, Gabby discovers that the girls team has been disbanded because most of the town girls are competing to become Miss Popcorn in the summer festival. To make matters worse, Gabby accidentally gets into the wrong line and ends up a pageant contestant. Seeing her baseball dreams slipping away, Gabby pretends to be "Johnny" and joins the boys team anyway convinced that she can play baseball and learn to be a beauty queen at the same time.

 Gabby can absolutely keep up with the boys on the field and of course, there are a lot of funny moments when her identity as a girl almost gets revealed. The story of the pageant is fun as well because she sees how much work goes into competing. Talent, interview and poise are NOT Gabby's strong points and being a baseball player is actually much easier for her. It is  nice to read about Gabby's growing relationship with her mother as they bond over beauty tips. She learns to have an appreciation for both activities and by the end, Gabby is reminded that there is no better identity than simply being herself.  I love an innocent middle grade book. There is nothing tragic happening here- just a funny and inspiring story that proves girls can be both pretty and athletic. There are some emotional scenes as the family misses their father, but it is overall lighthearted.


                                                          Dirt by [Orenstein, Denise]

Dirt by Denise Orenstein is definitely my heaviest book of the week. Eleven- year- old Yonder's mother has died and Yonder hasn't spoken a word since. Her father is suffering from a deep depression and he fails to notice that one, Yonder has stopped speaking, and two, she has stopped going to school. The kids are really mean to her so Yonder one day decides not to go anymore. This is all well and good until Miss Trudy from Child Services starts to look into Yonder's life. The only bright spot is Dirt, a one eyed overweight Shetland Pony that lives at the farm up to road. Yonder develops a deep bond with Dirt as he seems to understand her even when she doesn't speak. Yonder's life begins to revolve around the pony. He gives her the love and companionship that she is lacking everywhere else. She even moves him into her house which makes for some funny scenes. Unfortunately, quitting school and living with a farm animal isn't exactly in Yonder's best interest according to CPS, and she gets sent to a foster home. Finding her way back to Dirt becomes her main goal, but it's not as easy as Yonder thinks it will be since the pony gets sold to a traveling pet show.

This is a unique story and I suppose it could have been much sadder. I'm still trying to get away from these depressing books! The girls at school love them though, so I keep buying them for the library. Dirt has become a support animal for Yonder which can lead to a great  discussion of that growing topic, however, it's tough to see Yonder so neglected. Even though she finds happiness with Dirt, there are days when she barely has enough to eat and no clean clothes. Her foster home seems like a wonderful place, but I knew she would run as soon as she got there. Also, the end is very abrupt. She never starts to speak again which I found disappointing. There is a hint of promise that her father will try harder and that she will get to keep her pony which is hopeful. I would have loved for more of a concrete happy ending for such a young main character.  I would put Dirt in the hands of ages 10+