Middle Grade Monday: Home Away from Home by Cynthia Lord

Image: Scholastic Inc.

Home Away from Home by Cynthia Lord. 224 p. Scholastic Inc. April, 2023. (Review of a purchased copy.)

Happy Monday! I am enjoying this break in the heat and HUMIDITY! It was a brisk 60 degrees here in northern NJ at 5:30 AM this morning as compared to 80 at the same time on Saturday! Crazy.

Middle Grade Monday features by Cynthia Lord. Eleven-year-old Mia is looking forward to spending her summer in Maine with her grandmother. She needs a break from her parents, who each have new partners and she can't wait to get out in nature and bird. She finds changes at grandma's house though. First, there's a stray cat named Miss Agatha, then, there's a boy, named Cayman. He's a little too chummy with Mia's grandmother and she's jealous. When the two set out to view the eagle's nest, they spy a large white bird of prey attacking the nest that they can't identify. Mia takes a picture of it and posts it to an online birding community, and soon their quiet village is inundated with birders eager to see the rare gyrfalcon. Some of the birders are less than ethical and actually endanger the bird and Mia realizes that her actions have put the bird in jeopardy. She also alienates Cayman and needs to set things right.

This thoughtful coming-of-age story features well-developed characters who struggle realistically with changes that life sometimes brings. The descriptions of the flora and fauna of the Maine coast are also vivid. Fans of the author will not be disappointed. Some readers might be inspired to grab some binoculars and head out to do some birding!

Fact Friday: Woodpeckers: drilling holes & bagging bugs by Sneed B. Collard III

Woodpeckers: drilling holes & bagging bugs by Sneed B. Collard III. 48 p. Bucking Horse Books, April, 2018. 9780984446094. (Review of purchased finished copy.)

I nearly skipped Fact Friday as my nonfiction reading has taken a nose-dive thanks to all the reading I am needing to do as a round one Cybils judge. But, after finishing two entries this morning, my mind needed a break from middle grade fiction. I unearthed this book from the bottom of my tbr pile and settled in.

Conversational and punny, this book is a fantastic introduction to the members of the Picidae family. Beautifully designed, well organized and filled with a - mazing photographs, this one has the awe factor. Backmatter includes suggestions for learning more, a glossary, some photo bloopers (!) and an index. My one teeny-tiny quibble has to do with the desire for a map or list at the back showing the regions the woodpeckers can be found it. Some, like the Gila Woodpeckers and the two-page section about woodpeckers found abroad, are obvious. But I had to head for my Field Guide to find out whether I could see the Acorn Woodpecker or the Lewis' Woodpecker in my area. Alas, no.

I have enjoyed the author/ photographer's earlier books. Here's a link to Firebirds, which I found fascinating.

Mr. Collard laments the fact that there aren't any good books about woodpeckers for children in the section called, "Tapping Deeper." He has filled this void magnificently. Woodpeckers: drilling holes & bagging bugs is a first-purchase, as are his other titles.

Non-Fiction Monday: Every Day Birds by Amy Ludwig VanDerwater

Every Day Birds by Amy Ludwig VanDerwater. Illustrated by Dylan Metrano. unpgd. Orchard Books/ Scholastic Inc., February, 2016. 9780545699808. (Review from finished copy courtesy of publisher.)

A good cure for nature deficit disorder is to just get outdoors. One sure way of luring young people outdoors is to share irresistible books that make them beg to go outside. Every Day Birds is one such book.* The other day, I read this blog post by Don Torino, naturalist and president of the Bergen County Audubon society. Great food for thought. My students are a pretty lucky bunch. Our science teachers are amazing and our town has a gorgeous nature center run by another amazing naturalist who visits three or four times a year to explore the nearby stream with students.

I love being out of doors. I love watching birds. I keep multiple bird feeders out in my front yard and while the squirrels who raid the feeders bother me to no end, I delight in watching which of my feathered friends might stop by. 

I am also a fan of Amy Ludwig VanDerwater's work. She's so passionate about nature (and poetry writing across the curriculum) and her poems always make me want to get outside. This lovely poem introduces twenty common North American birds. The illustrations are reminiscent of stained glass. Though they are not photorealistic, young readers will easily identify the bird in the wild based on the cut paper collage illustrations. Indeed, a teacher or librarian looking to make a unit out of this could pair photos (and even birdsong files) with the illustrations for a nice cross-curricular connection. 

There are several pages of thumbnail illustrations along with a line or two of extra tidbits about each bird. The poem is also written out in its entirety across two pages. 

What a lovely book to share with budding birders. Share this one widely. Visit the author's website for more information about her books, including book trailers, and school visits (highly recommended). 

*Other fun titles for curing nature deficit disorder are:
Forest has a song by Amy Ludwig VanDerwater.
Step Gently Out by Helen Frost
Sweep Up the Sun by Helen Frost
Citizen Scientists by Loree Griffen Byrnes
The Boy Who Drew Birds: a story of John James Audubon by Jacqueline Davies

Arc Review: Be Light Like a Bird by Monika Schröder

Be Light Like a Bird by Monika Schröder. 240 p. Capstone Press, August 15, 2016. 9781623707491. (Review from arc courtesy of author.)

Twelve-year-old Wren is reeling after her father dies in a plane crash over the Atlantic. She wants nothing more than to find comfort in her mother but, after she angrily burns all his papers she packs the car, Wren ends up the new girl at several schools before they finally settle down (at Wren's insistance) in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Wren finds some solace in birding at Pete's Pond. When she discovers that it is slated to be turned into a garbage dump, she and her new friend, Theo, who lost his mother, try to save the pond. 

I resisted staying up all night to read this quiet, elegant, powerful portrait of grief. Instead, I picked it up and nibbled throughout the day before finishing in the evening, when I closed the book with a satisfied sigh. I was smitten with Wren from the first page. I can't wait to get this into the hands of my fifth and sixth grade students who love sad books! Despite the incredible sadness in Wren's life, she describes herself as being surrounded by a cloud, she is a survivor. 

I have read three of the four books Ms. Schröder has written. I enjoyed them all and wish she was appreciated more. She creates unique characters dealing with unusual problems. I loved the fact that Wren decided to go birding to console herself and attempt to feel closer to her dad. Her journey to social activist was realistically portrayed. She makes her own errors in judgement along the way. The adults are doing the best that they can with what they have, including Wren's mother, who I initially decided was the. worst. mother. in. middle. grade. literature.

Give Be Light Like a Bird to your thoughtful readers who don't mind shedding a tear or two along the way.