What's New? Stacking the Shelves

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews. Hop on over there to ogle what other bloggers got this week.

For review:

Game Changer by Tommy Greenwald. 294 p. Amulet Books/ Abrams, September 11, 2018. 9781419731433.

Publisher synopsis: Thirteen-year-old Teddy Youngblood is in a coma fighting for his life after an unspecified football injury at training camp. His family and friends flock to his bedside to support his recovery-and to discuss the events leading up to the tragic accident. Was this an inn inevitable result of playing a violent sport, or was something more sinister happening that day? Told in an innovative, multimedia format combining dialogue, texts, newspaper articles, transcripts, an online forum and Teddy's inner thoughts, Game Changer explores the joyous thrills and terrifying risks of America's most popular sport. 

This Moment is Your Life (and so is this one): a fun and easy guide to mindfulness, meditation and yoga by Mariam Gates. 241 p. Dial Books for Young Readers/ Penguin Random House, May 22, 2018. 9780399186622.

Publisher synopsis: This lively, hands-on guide to meditation, mindfulness, and yoga is a perfect introduction for tweens and teens.

Don't just do something, be here.

The key to happiness is being able to find comfort in this moment, here and now. When you are completely present and not distracted by regrets, worries, and plans, even for a little while, you begin to feel more confident and can deal more easily with everything you experience. This is mindfulness: paying attention to this very moment, on purpose and without judgment—simply being present with curiosity.

This engaging guide, packed with simple exercises and endearing full-color artwork, provides a handy starting point for bringing mindfulness into your daily life. Chapters on meditation, yoga, and mindful breathing explain the benefits of these practices, and you are free to pick and choose what to try. There are quick exercises throughout, and a more extensive tool kit at the end of each chapter. The final chapter offers satisfying five-day challenges that map out ways to pull all of the book's mindfulness techniques together in your day-to-day life.

With the appeal of a workbook or guided journal, and full of examples relevant to tweens and teens today, this book will be your trusted companion as you begin the valuable, stress-relieving work of being still with skill.

I am rather excited about this. I practice yoga daily and think it's a great option for students. I also enjoyed but did not review the author's picture books, Good Morning Yoga and Good Night Yoga.

Julián is a Mermaid by Jessica Love. unpgd. Candlewick Press, May 22, 2018. 97807636907458.

Publisher synopsis: In an exuberant picture book, a glimpse of costumed mermaids leaves one boy flooded with wonder and ready to dazzle the world.

While riding the subway home from the pool with his abuela one day, Julián notices three women spectacularly dressed up. Their hair billows in brilliant hues, their dresses end in fishtails, and their joy fills the train car. When Julián gets home, daydreaming of the magic he’s seen, all he can think about is dressing up just like the ladies in his own fabulous mermaid costume: a butter-yellow curtain for his tail, the fronds of a potted fern for his headdress. But what will Abuela think about the mess he makes — and even more importantly, what will she think about how Julián sees himself? Mesmerizing and full of heart, Jessica Love’s author-illustrator debut is a jubilant picture of self-love and a radiant celebration of individuality.

Purchased: nothing!

That's what's new with me. What's new with you? Leave a comment with a link to your stack and I'll stop by.