Classics, Nonfiction, and Children's Literature
Louder Than Hunger by John Schu (Candlewick, 2024) is a novel-in-verse about a boy overcoming an eating disorder within the walls of a mental health clinic. Sometimes the novel-in-verse format is a forced one for a story. For this book, it is an essential and masterfully done format. Because of the novel-in-verse narration, the reader
Doug Swieteck, a fourteen-year-old transplant to the small town of Marysville, learns to cope with his life as he adjusts to new situations during the 1968-1969 school year in Okay for Now by Gary D. Schmidt (Clarion Books, 2011). Even as he faces the struggles of moving to a new middle school, Doug must still
In the picture book Sensitive by Sara Levine and illustrated by Meherdokht Amini (Carlrhoda Books, October 2023), an unnamed girl hears complaints against her about her being too sensitive, “thin skinned,” and over-reactive. In the illustrations, which are done in a variety of media, these words from others slip through her “thin skin” and crowd
A Work in Progress by Jarrett Lerner (Aladdin, May 2023) is a middle-grade novel in poetry about an overweight boy struggling with bullying, his weight, and a growing eating disorder. Told in first person and accompanied by emotional sketches, A Work in Progress shares the spare thoughts of a sixth-grade boy who has struggled with
The twin sisters Clara and Hailey in Gemini by Sonya Mukherjee (Simon & Schuster, 2016) are not your average 17-year-old twins. As conjoined twins, they are attached at the base of the spinal cord, and as such have never been apart. Their personalities could not be more different, though. And although their life has been
Melody has a perfect memory and really wants to talk but she has cerebral palsy which means she can’t talk or walk! So she searches and finds a computer that can talk for her! She is so smart that she earns a spot on the quiz team! Written by C., age 9 Mom’s Thoughts Out
Somewhere Among by Annie Donwerth-Chikamatsu is a novel in poetry about the effect of September 11, 2001 about a Japanese-American girl living in Japan. As Ema prepares in her grandparent’s home for the arrival of a new sibling, she struggles with bullying in her school, as the other students tease her and she adjusts to a very Japanese
I had heard of Wonder by R.J. Palacio. It’s one of those books that has been on the top of “to read” lists since it came out in early 2012. Now that I have read it, I know why. At the center of Wonder is a boy, August or Auggie Pullman, with a severe facial
Super Red Riding Hood by Claudia Dávila (Kids Can Press, August 2014) is a twist on the fairy tale of Little Red Riding Hood, with an emphasis on the super powers of Ruby, a girl who has no fear … or does she? With delightful cartoon-like and friendly illustrations, Ruby’s story shows us that sometimes our
Big Mean Mike by Michelle Knudsen, illustrated by Scott Magoon (Candlewick, 2012) is about a rough-edged dog who learns to have a little bit of a softness to him when fuzzy white bunnies begin following him around. Although Mike doesn’t want to be known as a softy, the fuzzy bunnies begin to grow on him. As
I had mixed feelings when I first read Meena by Sine van Mol and illustrated by Carianne Wijffels (Eerdman’s, 2011, originally published 210 in Belgium) because it so frankly depicts neighborhood bullying; my son, being four, seems far from that issue and I made sure to keep it away from him. Obviously, this is a book for older children to
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