Middle Grade Monday: Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky: the Graphic Novel

Image: DisneyBooks

Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky: the Graphic Novel. Kwame Mbalia's novel adapted by Robert Venditti. Illustrated by Olivia Stephens. 128 p. Disney, April, 2022. 9781368075008. (Review of finished purchased copy.)

Happy Monday! Middle Grade Monday features Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky: the Graphic Novel. Robert Venditti adapted Kwame Mbwila's debut novel and Olivia Stephens illustrated. Seventh grader Tristan Strong is still grieving the loss of his best friend in a bus accident. He also feels guilty for being unable to save him. All he has left is Eddie's journal and that has been stolen by, a doll? He chases the sticky little thing and the two end up in a tug-of-war under the bottle tree. Tristan punches the tree and rips a hole where the two fall into MidPass, where its inhabitants, heroes from African American folklore and West African mythology are battling monsters. Tristan must help John Henry and Brer Rabbit find the trickster Anansi to help seal the hole.

The art in this graphic novel adaptation is absolutely glorious.

Fact Friday: Victory, Stand: Raising My Fist for Justice by Tommie Smith and Derick Barnes. Illustrated by Dawud Anyabwile

Image: Norton Young Readers

Victory, Stand: Raising My Fist for Justice by Tommie Smith and Derick Barnes. Illustrated by Dawud Anyabwile. 208 p. Norton Young Readers, September, 2022. 9781324052159. (Review of finished, purchased copy.)

Happy Friday! Fact Friday features Victory. Stand! Raising My Fist for Justice by Tommie Smith and Derick Barnes and illustrated by Dawud Anyabwile. This graphic novel memoir opens dramatically, depicting Mr. Smith preparing to run the 200 meter race in the 1968 Olympics in Mexico. Then, flashes back to the author's youth. He was the seventh of twelve children and his parents were sharecroppers in Acworth, Texas. The family were poor, but hard-working and all the children worked the farm from an early age. His parents valued education as well and young Tommie was a good student. He was also a natural athlete, excelling in multiple sports.

He won an athletic scholarship to college to play football, basketball and to run track. But obtaining an education was the goal. Though he encountered racism his entire life, he was one of the few Black students on campus and student athletes who were Black encountered racism from spectators as well as opposing teams. Additionally, the civil rights movement was gaining momentum and some Black student athletes thought they should also be making a stand.

This dynamic memoir with its gorgeous black and white illustrations and effect paneling, will keep readers riveted. The author provides insight into his own motivations as well as important historical context. Both he and his teammate, John Carlos were stripped of their Olympic medals when they protested during the playing of the National Anthem.

Victory. Stand! was a National Book Award Finalist, a finalist for the 2023 YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction Award, and a Horn Book Fanfare. It made many year-end Best Books lists as well. Highly recommended for your graphic novel fans as well as sports history buffs and budding activists. 

#tbt: King of the Mild Frontier: an Ill-Advised Autobiography by Chris Crutcher

Image: HarperCollins Publishers

King of the Mild Frontier: an Ill-Advised Autobiography by Chris Crutcher. 272 p. Greenwillow Books/ HarperCollins, 2003. 9780060502515. (Own)

Happy Thursday! #tbt features an autobiography written by one of my favorite YA authors, Chris Crutcher. He grew up in a small, rural community called Cascade in Idaho. He had an older brother who was a great student, but young Chris was not. He didn't even like to read, so he stole his brother's book reports and turned them in as his own. He got away with this until a book his brother hadn't been assigned was the class read. This book, To Kill a Mockingbird, turned him into a reader. His high school was so small that nearly every boy was recruited for the football team, whether or not they could or wanted to play.

The essays are often laugh-out-loud funny and fans of the author's books might recognize seeds of some of his characters.  

Waiting on Wednesday: Dog Man: Twenty Thousand Fleas Under the Sea by Day Pilkey

Image: Scholastic Inc.

Dog Man: Twenty Thousand Fleas Under the Sea by Day Pilkey. Dog Man #11. 224 p. Graphix/ Scholastic Inc. March 28, 2023. 9781338801910.

Happy Wednesday! I was thrilled to learn that there will be an eleventh Dog Man book! My students will be as well as there are many fans at my school. It's due out on March 23 and here's the publisher synopsis: 

Piggy is back, and his newest plot is his most diabolical yet. Dog Man and the rest of your favorite characters must join together in this heroic and hilarious, ALL NEW adventure. WHAT new villains are on the horizon? WHERE are they all coming from? And WHO will step forward to save the city when scoundrels sabotage our Supa Buddies? Find out in DOG MAN #11 -- there's so much more than ever before -- it's EPIC!

Teen Tuesday and Audiobook Review: Debating Darcy by Sayantani Dasgupta

Image: Scholastic Inc.

Debating Darcy by Sayantani Dasgupta. Unabridged e-audiobook, ~8 hours. Read by Deepa Samuel. Scholastic Audio, April, 2022.  9781338813746. (Review of e-audio borrowed from public library. Own hc.)

Happy Tuesday! It's a dreary, gray, rainy but mild day here in northern NJ. Teen Tuesday features Debating Darcy by Sayantani Dasgupta. This updated and fun retelling of Pride and Prejudice centers around Leela Bose, a star on her public school speech and debate team and Firoze Darcy, a member of the exclusive Netherfield Academy debate team. This hating to dating romance wonderfully captures Jane Austen's themes of classism and sexism and adds issues of racism and homophobia.

The cast of characters is diverse, with Leela being a Bengali American and biracial Darcy being half Pakastani and half white. Leela's teammates are multiethnic and very smart. Dr. Dasgupta brings the world of high stakes high school speech and debate culture to life and cleverly hides easter eggs for fans of the original. Fans of Pride and Prejudice will get a kick out of this clever retelling, but readers unfamiliar with the classic will be able to enjoy it as well. Recommended. 

Middle Grade Monday: Nothing is Little by Carmella VanVleet

Image: Holiday House

Nothing is Little by Carmella VanVleet. 304 p. Holiday House, July, 2022. 97810823450114. (Review of finished purchased copy.)

Middle Grade Monday features Nothing is Little by Carmella VanVleet. Sixth grader Felix may be short in stature, but he's long in heart and humor. He often sports tee shirts with funny messages about being short. He doesn't even mind his nickname, Shortlock. He'd love to know more about his bio-dad, but his mom avoids those questions. He appreciates his stepfather, Paul, who is trying to make Felix feel included, but with a baby sister on the way, he can't help but feel like an outsider.

He joins the forensics club at school with his best friend and discovers he and his teammates are very good at solving mysteries and have a good chance of representing their school at a regional competition. Felix thinks this might be a good way to find his bio-dad. What is he willing to do in order to get there?

Felix is an appealing character. The plot is fast-paced, switching between school and forensics club to home scenes. Readers looking for a fresh and funny read will find much to like here.

Happy New Year?

Happy Monday! Happy New Year! Today we welcome students back from break, and have five new students starting! I hope you had a wonderful holiday. Mine was pretty awful. I was fighting a cold the days leading up to break and finally ran a fever on Thursday night, so I had to call in sick on Friday and cancel my family get together on Christmas Eve. Multiple Covid tests were negative, so I either had a bad cold or mild flu. The fever broke on Christmas, but I could do nothing but get up to walk the dogs around the house and lie back down again in the days following. My dogs slept on the couch with me, one warming my feet and one at my head. 

It was probably because we were all lying low that I missed my dog Ares' decline. He had stopped eating much the week before the break and I made a mental note to take him to the vet. Of course, the vet was away till Tuesday, but he called me on Tuesday afternoon with an appointment for Wednesday afternoon. I had noticed that his abdomen was distended and sure enough, the vet said it was ascites, which is never a good sign. He referred me to an animal hospital that could run blood tests and do ultrasound. Long story short, the fluid in his abdomen was bright red blood and his hemoglobin was only 2.5 and his liver function tests were all abnormal, indicating a liver ailment, probably masses. He needed an emergency laparotomy, which is expensive, and the vet wasn't sure he would make it through the surgery due to the low hemoglobin and his age. He let me stay in a room with Ares while I made the heartbreaking decision to let him go. I spent time giving him treats and letting him lie in my lap and telling him that he was the best dog. The vet was gentle and unhurried and said I did the right thing. I know I did. It's so hard. I'm heartbroken.