Building Community One Book at a Time

A year ago I did my first blog. The nephew who inspired it has since healed, grown a foot taller than I am and still plays baseball, video games and reads. His brothers also enjoy a good book now and again (much to the glee of their book-indulging aunt). So in their honor a few gems for their (and your) reading enjoyment:

Jon Scieszka is at it again with the second installment of his Guy Reads series. This time thrills and chills abound with Guys Read: Thriller. These short stories for ages 10-14 are done by some of today’s best loved authors. Each is a thrilling story that will have you keeping the lights on and the shivers down your back. Plus, a few giggles and a couple of groans….. (but don’t mind those…it is just the ghosts looking for treasure……!)

Julia Alvarez started with How Tia Lola Came to Stay and continued Tia Lola’s story with How Tia Lola Learned To Teach; How Tia Lola Saved The Summer and How Tia Lola Ended Up Starting Over. We have seen Miguel and his family move to Vermont from NYC, seen how a community can come together to help each other and a beloved new friend.  We have even learned how to speak Spanish! Now we see that families come in all shapes, sizes and strengths! And those strengths can come in handy even when we do not realize that we need a little help…help that sometimes comes from an unusual source.

Uncle Jed’s Barber Shop by Margaree King Mitchell touches on many different subjects: family, history of race and dreams. Sarah Jean’s Uncle Jed was the only black barber in their county. He was kind and hoped to someday save enough money for his own barbershop. But as a black man in 1920’s in the South, Uncle Jed has many difficulties to overcome, the least probably is having to travel to his customers. And saving money is difficult, too. Something always comes up: from Sarah Jean’s operation to the Great Depression. Will Sarah Jean ever get to swirl in Uncle Jed’s very own barber chair? The rich and beautiful illustrations by James Ransome move this story of hopes, dreams and realizations to its heartwarming ending.

The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate has many levels of fun: paintings, gorillas and a baby elephant! Ivan has been taken from the jungle as a young gorilla and raised as a human baby. But when he becomes too big to take care of, he is put into a domain (a cage) at a local mall that has an elephant named Stella, a creaky-music carousel, parrot and a ring where some animals perform. But when baby Ruby (a curious baby elephant) joins their motley crew, Ivan has bigger problems than getting enough bananas, TV time and a comfortable spot when Bob the dog sleeps on his tummy. He promises Stella he’ll help Ruby get to a zoo! Sweet, funny, informative, sad, thoughtful and hope-filled this is delightfully illustrated and a story to read aloud or for the child ready for a more solid novel. Sparse text packs a punch that will have you laughing; crying and sharing with your gorilla…I mean children…family and friends!

And let’s wrap this smorgasbord of jewels with a little mayhem, mystery, madness and even ghosts! The Dead of Winter by Chris Priestly will chill your bones as Michael (orphaned after the death of his mother, the only parent he knew) spends the holiday season with his new guardian, Sir Stephen Clarendon. But things are not as they seem! The cold old house is haunted by the dark secrets of its past. And even the care Michael finds among the servants and Sir Stephen’s sister, Charlotte, cannot hide the strange sounds, feelings, shadows and visions he has? Who was the strange woman by the side of the road? Who is crying (but unseen) every night? How did a mirror break when no one touched it? As the truth unfolds, more questions than answers occur and Michaels’’ life will never be the same!

Nor will yours when you pick up one of these great stories! Stories you can find on the pages….the shelves of the Northshire Bookstore.

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