July Releases

Here are the books that have caught my attention this month. The numbers are the date that the books are released. What are you looking forward to reading this month?

My Selma by Willie Mae Brown

FIRST LINE: My Selma was a place that emitted the rich, clean odor of black dirt and sour clay, that smelled of sage pork sausages, ham, and biscuits, the breakfast scents all blowing through dew-covered Johnson grass and across foggy highways at five a.m. on any morning.

SUMMARY: Willie Mae Brown is a twelve-year old growing up in Selma, Alabama as the civil rights movement unfolds. She tells every day stories revealing what life was like for a girl of that time in a large family with hard working parents. We see how the community looks out for each other and she and her siblings bicker and protect each other. Brown also tells stories that molded her and her family- going to church with her mother to hear Martin Luther King speak, her siblings being arrested while protesting, the mystery behind her cousin’s death, and babysitting for a white woman.

THOUGHTS: I experienced this text as an audiobook, thanks to libro.fm’s teacher program. Karen Chilton does a fabulous job of narrating this text. Now, I would like to experience the book in print. The language Brown uses is lyrical. The reader is transported to 1960s Selma with the language she chooses. One thing that often bothers me about middle grade books is the dialogue doesn’t sound age appropriate. That wasn’t an issue in this book. It may be because Brown is recalling her own memories, but the story really sounds like a young girl is narrating. Students will be able to personally relate to the feelings and events that take place in the stories. Readers will also learn so much about the treatment of Black people during that time.

This book reads like a collection of connected stories, some reaching across chapters. Some of the stories felt like they flowed from one to the other and some of the stories felt disjointed.

I think this is an important book to have in any middle grade library. I teach 4th grade. Some of the language and situations may be a bit mature for my readers.

LINKS:

author website

author interview

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Roll With It by Jamie Sumner

FIRST LINE: It’s kind of hard to watch The Great British Bake Off over plates of Stouffer’s lasagna.

SUMMARY: Ellie is a feisty, food-loving twelve-year-old girl with cerebral palsy who aspires to be a professional baker. Her life is uprooted when she and her mom move to Oklahoma to help take care of her grandmother care for her grandfather. With the move Ellie has to adjust to a new school that isn’t prepared to accommodate her wheelchair and her grandparent’s trailer that offers less privacy. Can Ellie find her place in her new settings, help her grandfather, and decide on the perfect pie recipe for the annual fish fry?

THOUGHTS: I really enjoyed this book and look forward to sharing it with my 4th graders this coming school year. I think dialogue in middle grade books is difficult. Many times, I read it and think “a child that age wouldn’t say that”, but Sumner writes age-appropriate dialogue that reveals a lot about the character and moves the story along. In this book Ellie is a girl with cerebral palsy and throughout you learn what life is like for her- relying on others for assistance, not being able to do certain things, etc. However, that is not the major storyline. I think we need more books that represent different abilities, races, etc. without it always being the main story. I enjoyed the pacing of this book right up until the end. It seemed like the storylines were resolved very quickly at the end and I turned the page surprised that it was the end of the book.

APPEAL: This book will appeal to many middle grade readers. For one, it is on the shorter end- 246 pages. It also has many themes that students will recognize in their own lives- fitting in, friendship, being the new kid.

LINKS:

https://teacher-for-inclusion.com/2022/04/25/15-fun-ways-to-teach-roll-with-it-jamie-sumner/
My Target Run Ended In Tears For the Best Possible Reason

OTHER BOOKS BY SUMNER:

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July Releases

I have decided to start organizing these monthly posts by genre instead of by release date so that readers can find what they are looking for more efficiently. I already have a few of these on hold at the library. Which books are you looking forward to?

ADULT

MIDDLE GRADE

PICTURE BOOKS (FICTION AND NONFICTION)

Brave Like That by Lindsey Stoddard

FIRST LINE:

Parker comes to us on my birthday.

SUMMARY:

Cyrus, an eleven year old boy, has a lot to navigate- trying to live up to other people’s expectations of him, friends who seem to be changing in a way he doesn’t like, finding his voice, and being okay with who he is. He has a cast of characters to help him along the way- his father who is a firefighter and football legend in their town, his grandmother who lives in a nursing facility after having a stroke, friends he has know his whole life and new friends, and Parker, the dog he finds on the doorstep of the firehouse.

THOUGHTS:

Simply put, I LOVE THIS BOOK!

Stoddard writes such realistic kids and places them in situations that readers will see themselves in. Many times I find that dialogue doesn’t match the age of the character when there are young characters, but I never felt that way with Cyrus. He feels authentic and consistent throughout the story.

There is a lot going on in this book and many characters, but all the threads of the bigger story are woven through expertly, giving each part the weight that it needs. The themes that this book highlights- belonging and finding your voice- are such important messages for middle grade readers.

Many readers will see themselves in this book.

LINKS:

author website

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Other books by Lindsey Stoddard

Other books

February Releases

Here are the books- adult, middle grade, picture books- that have caught my eye and are publishing this month. The numbers indicate the date they are released! What are you looking forward to reading this month? I have already pre-ordered Bryn Turnbull’s The Last Grand Duchess!