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:

Image: Candlewick Press

The Rock from the Sky by Jon Klassen. 96 p. Candlewick Press, April, 2021. 9781536215625.

Publisher synopsis: 

There is a spot. 

It is a good spot.

It is the perfect spot to stand.

There is no reason to ever leave.

But somewhere above there is also a rock.

A rock from the sky.

Here comes The Rock from the Sky, a hilarious meditation on the workings of friendship, fate, shared futuristic visions, and that funny feeling you get that there’s something off somewhere, but you just can’t put your finger on it. Merging broad visual suspense with wry wit, celebrated picture book creator Jon Klassen gives us a wholly original comedy for the ages.

Look up! From the Caldecott Medal–winning creator of the Hat Trilogy comes a new deadpan gem.

Image: Candlewick Press

Free by Sam Usher. 40 p. templar books/ Candlewick Press, April, 2021. 978153621704.

Publisher synopsis: When a boy and his grandad take care of a little bird, the boy wants to keep it, but Grandad knows it must return to its natural habitat in the wild, where it can spread its wings and be free. And so begins an exhilarating journey into the mountains to return the bird to where it belongs.

The first in a new quartet of enchanting picture books where a boy and his beloved grandad discover the wonder of the natural world.

Image: Candlewick Press

Fat Angie Homecoming by e.E. Charlton-Trujillo. 416 p. Candlewick Press, November 2, 2021. 9781536208399.

Publisher synopsis: After hitting the road with her friends last summer and taking the stage to sing her heart out in Columbus, Angie finally feels like she’s figuring things out. And her next move? Finally asking Jamboree Memphis Jordan to be her girlfriend. Angie’s got her speech ready on a set of flash cards, but her plans are complicated when her first love, KC Romance, comes cruising back into town. And when a video of Angie’s Columbus performance goes viral, everything gets even more confusing. Kids at school are treating her with respect, she’s being recognized in public, and her couldn’t-be-bothered mother is . . . well, bothered is an understatement.

When she learns of an online music competition, Angie decides to start a band. With the help of her brother, Jamboree, and her town’s resident washed-up rock star, Angie puts together a group and gets busy writing songs, because the competition deadline is only two weeks away. Between sorting out her feelings for Jamboree and KC, dealing with her newfound fame, and dodging an increasingly violent and volatile mother, singing seems like the only thing that Angie’s really good at. Can her band of girl rockers actually win? More importantly, can Angie get it together before she loses all sense of herself yet again?

With unexpected internet fame, two people vying for her heart, an all-girl band, and coming to terms with her parents’ failures, Angie comes home to herself in a rewarding finale.

I adored Fat Angie and Fat Angie Rebel Girl Revolution and cannot wait to read this!

Purchased: nothing.

Leave a link to your stack in the comment section. I'd love to visit.

Fact Friday: Fungarium curated by Katie Scott and Ester Gaya

Happy Friday! We made it! It's sharply colder, but the sun is shining and the weekend promises to be fine.

Image: Candlewick Press

Fungarium curated by Katie Scott and Ester Gaya. Welcome to the Museum series. 80 p. Big Picture Press/ Candlewick Press, April, 2021. 9781536217094. (Review of finished copy courtesy of publisher.)

Fact Friday features Fungarium curated by Katie Scott and Ester Gaya. This gorgeous, over-size volume is part of the Welcome to the Museum series and it is not to be missed. Fungi fans will feast on the facts about fungal diversity and biology and linger over the exquisitely drawn specimens. Not a fungi fan? You might become a budding mycologist after spending some time with this book. At the very least, you'll learn more about the fungus among us.

Fungarium is a terrific addition to the STEM library. While the text veers a tad technical at times, there is plenty of fascinating information that is well-organized and appealingly laid out. The illustrations are captivating and beg to be lingered over. At my school, fifth graders do a fun unit on classification in science and I can see this book being a big hit. 

#tbt: Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper

Happy Thursday! We had a bit of weather yesterday! Thunderstorms and a temperature drop were predicted for yesterday. Thankfully, it held off until after student in-school time, so they were able to get out for gym and mask breaks. I got to walk Boo as well. Then, the skies darkened, the wind picked up and it hailed fiercely for about five minutes. Crazy!

Image: Simon & Schuster

Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper. 320 p. Atheneum Books for Young Readers/ Simon & Schuster, March, 2010. (Own.)

#tbt features Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper. This novel is narrated by eleven-year-old Melody who was born with cerebral palsy. She's confined to a wheelchair and can't talk. Her parents need to feed and clothe her and had been advised to place her in a nursing home. They insist that she go to school, where she's placed in an ineffective special education class. What the people in Melody's life don't know is that she is not only educable, but brilliant. Her life changes once she is given a communication device.

Out of My Mind was published in March of 2010, received many starred reviews, spent almost two years on the NYT Bestseller List, and was named to many "Best" list of the year and later state award lists. It's a TMS favorite among both students and teachers. If you recall yesterday's WOW post, a sequel, Out of My Heart, is due out in September.

This and That and Jacket/ Cover Dilemmas: The Boys in the Back Row by Mike Jung

Long ago, when my sons were small and I bought books for my home library, I rarely, if ever removed the jackets and so, never knew if the book cover beneath the dust jacket was different. As a school librarian, I remove the jackets of all books I purchase for my school's collection to cover them with a mylar cover in order to prolong the life of the book. I occasionally come across a surprise-a jacket with different illustration from the cover. 

"Jacket/ Cover Dilemmas" is the occasional post that occurs in my school library life. I know I've failed to document quite a few. Sometimes I take the pic and just post to FB and forget to post here. Other times, I probably forget to tag, and thus the post is un-findable.

Today, I finally got to covering some books I've recently only cataloged. My library has been closed since last March. <Boohoo> Since September, I've been teaching fifth and sixth grade LA to hybrid students on their virtual days. But since early April, the hybrid students are back in school five days per week. Because I taught two hybrid cohorts per class each day, totaling sixteen classes in each two-day cycle, I wondered what I would be given to do. I've been assigned as a support teacher in one fifth grade LA class and one sixth grade LA class. AND! I've been given three periods a day in the library!

This means I could catalog all the books I've acquired through purchasing with my own money or books I received because I've been asked to review. AND I am checking out books to students! They can't come to the library though. One, it's now being used as a classroom, but they are not allowed to leave their cohort. I am so thrilled that students are actively requesting books from me! Yay! 

Which brings me to the point of this post. Thanks for hanging in there!

When I removed the cover of The Boys in the Back Row, I found this.

I probably should've repositioned the jacket better to show the juxtaposition of images - my bad. I appreciate Levine Querido books for so much! First, the books on their list are phenomenal and second, the care the team puts into the design.

Waiting on Wednesday: Out of My Heart by Sharon Draper

Image: Simon & Schuster

Out of My Heart by Sharon Draper. 320 p. Atheneum/ Caitlyn Dlhouey Books/ Simon & Schuster, September 28, 2021. 9781665902168.

Waiting on Wednesday features Out of My Heart by Sharon Draper. Last week, during break, I attended a Booklist webinar featuring a panel of authors with middle grade books releasing in the coming months. I got so excited to learn from Sharon Draper that she wrote a sequel to Out of My Mind, which is a TMS student as well as teacher favorite. I couldn't wait to share the news. A few days later, there was a cover reveal and, oh what a perfect cover it is! Out of My Heart  releases on September 28, 2021.

Publisher synopsis: Melody faces her fears to follow her passion in this stunning sequel to the acclaimed, New York Times bestselling middle grade novel Out of My Mind.

Melody, the huge-hearted heroine of Out of My Mind, is now a year older and a year braver. But not as brave as she wants to be, as she’s terrified of horses. Even though she loves horses—loves loves loves them—from afar. Not one to be thwarted, Melody decides summer camp, one with horseback riding, should be her next challenge. Except, are there even riding camps for differently-abled kids? Ones that would welcome a kid with cerebral palsy? She’s going to find out.

Teen Tuesday: A Curse of Ash & Embers by Jo Spurrier

Image: HarperCollins Publishers

A Curse of Ash & Embers by Jo Spurrier. Tales of the Blackbone Witches #1. HarperVoyager/ HarperCollins Publishers, January, 2021. 9781460756331. (Review of finished paperback courtesy of publisher.)

Teen Tuesday features A Curse of Ash & Embers by Jo Spurrier. This historical fantasy comes to us from Australia and was published in paperback in the U.S. in January. It is book one of a series called Blackbone Witches.

Sixteen-year-old Elodie narrates and endears the reader from the first page of this suspenseful, atmospheric story. She's waiting for a wagon ride from her stepfather's farm up into the mountains to serve at Black Oak Cottage. No one knows how Elodie got the job, an unsigned letter was delivered, but she doesn't care. She can't wait to get away from her abusive stepfather, though she will miss her mother and half-siblings very much.

Elodie is uneducated, but very observant and is a quick learner. After an eventful trip up the mountain, Elodie is dropped off on the outskirts of the village. Once the villagers learn that she's headed to Black Oak Cottage, they turn mean, thinking she's there to apprentice as a witch. Terrible things happen in the area. Monsters roam at night to tear up the land and kill livestock. Monsters that were created by the old witch, Ghyssa.

But Ghyssa is dead. Aleida killed her. She has no idea why Elodie has come to the cottage. Aleida gruffly warns Elodie to leave, to return to her family, while there's still time. Aleida needs Elodie though, because she's been gravely injured and cursed by Ghyssa and there are even more dangers lurking in the woods. Elodie would rather stay with this strange woman than return to her stepfather.

If you like suspenseful stories of magic, you will love this. The pace is a bit leisurely at first as readers are introduced to intriguing characters. Elodie is fiercely independent and a bit prickly, a trait which serves her well considering what she's about to face. The vivid setting - the cottage and grounds, with its monsters roaming, a demon tree in the orchard and an angry warlock looking to collect a debt, might make it hard to sleep at night. I was completely swept up in the intrigue. 

I can't wait for book two, Daughter of Lies & Ruin due out in July!

Middle Grade Monday: Two Graphic Novel Adaptations of Little Women

Happy Monday! My spring break is over and I'm heading back to school. A fair number of families travelled over break, so there will be a mix of in-person and virtual students due to their need to quarantine. My break wasn't as productive as I would've liked. I was feeling a bit punky for the first half and the weather wasn't great-cloudy, cold and raw, so not much gardening got done. Still, I managed to read about thirteen books, not bad considering one was Chain of Iron, which was twenty-three hours long! It was quite good!

Middle Grade Monday features not one, but two graphic novel adaptations of the classic, Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, originally published in two volumes in 1868 and 1869. She later went on to write sequels. The story of the four March sisters was very autobiographical and featured Jo, a fiercely independent young woman who yearns to become a writer. Due to the prevailing limitations placed on women at the time, marriage was the only acceptable outcome and few occupations were open for women who chose not to marry. Ms. Alcott's publisher would not accept a story in which Jo did not marry. In real life, Louisa May Alcott never married and supported her family with her writing.

Fast forward to the twenty-first century. Girls play sports, thanks to the 1972 Title IX legislation, women work, often in professions that were previously closed to women and we have a female Vice President. Over the hundred and fifty plus years since the publication of Little Women, scholars have studied and written extensively about the work and the Alcott family.

Image: LBYR

In 2019, it was adapted as a graphic novel and modernized in Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy: a Graphic Novel by Rey Terciero. In this adaptation, the March family is a blended, bi-racial family trying to make ends meet in a New York City apartment and Mr. March is serving overseas. The bright palette and easy-to-follow panels will appeal to fans of Raina Telgemeier.

Image: HarperCollins Publishers

2020 saw the release of Jo: an Adaptation of Little Women (Sort of) by Kathleen Gros. This adaptation is set in the suburbs with Mrs. March working double-shifts as a nurse to help make ends meet while Mr. March is deployed overseas. Jo decides to join the school newspaper.

Both adaptations stay fairly faithful to the original. Laurie still moves in next door and befriends the sisters. Jo remains fiercely independent and slowly comes to a truth about herself.

Few middle school readers attempt to tackle the original Little Women. It's quite lengthy, but some have over the years. I didn't read it until high school, reread it for an American Lit class in college, then several times since then. These two adaptations are a perfect introduction for younger readers. Fans of the original will enjoy the way the two authors approached the classic.