The Bookmark

Harris, Robie. (2014). It’s Perfectly Normal: Changing Bodies, Growing Up, Sex and Sexual Health. Somerville, MA: Candlewick. ISBN: 978-0-7636-6871-6                 I have to admit that the amount of nudity in this book threw me for a loop at first. It seemed excessive but the more I flipped through it and read, the more I realized that it answered real-life questions that real-life kids have. It does say on the front, “for age 10 and up” and that makes sense. That seems to be the age where children have anxiety over things they don’t understand and are also developing in a way they might think is abnormal. It’s really important for them to understand that what is happening to them is normal, but that “normal” looks different to some people. This book definitely does its part to fight body dysmorphic disorders.                 Topics such as body development, pubescence, proper bathing, sex, pregnancy, babies and families are tough subjects for some parents. I have a 3-y

Kidd, Chip. (2013). GO: A Kidd’s Guide to Graphic Design. New York, NY: Workman Publishing Co. ISBN: 978-0-7611-7219-2                 This might be the most user-friendly book I’ve ever seen. The pages have a pleasant weight to them. The colors are very well utilized to emphasize a point without being overwhelming. The fonts are chosen for specific purposes and then explained in each font.                 It doesn’t go into an extreme amount of detail on any one aspect of graphic design, but it does a very good job of covering the bases for a young reader who is curious about the topic, or career field.   It could also be used for project research and has a great timeline for the development of graphic design that shows how it has evolved. There is a LOT of information in this book. Just the images of various levels of DPI (dots per inch) were enlightening to me.                 Looking at the MANY images in the book was really fun because I recognized quite a few of t

Telgemeier, Raina.(2016). Ghosts. New York, NY: Graphix. ISBN: 9780545540612                 This was a really quick read! I let a student borrow it to read after STAAR testing and he read the whole thing that day! I thought he was fibbing until I did the same thing. The illustrations are great, very eye-friendly, and the storyline is very straightforward. The boy thought it was really cool and even talked about it with me the next day (he’s not even my student, he sought me out to discuss the book!)                 Basically, Ghosts tells the story of Maya, who has cystic fibrosis, and her sister Cat, who is dealing with the eventually death of her baby sister. They have to move to a place that is easier on Maya and her disease so they end up in Bahia De La Luna, translates to “Moon Bay,” which is known for its friendly ghost population! Cat is a huge non-believer, but Maya loves the idea of meeting a ghost.                 Turns out, the ghosts are real! They come an

Palacio, R.J. (2012). Wonder. New York, YN: Knopf. ISBN: 978-0-375-86902-0                 Prepare yourself emotionally before reading this book. Go ahead, build that little wall that keeps your heart in your chest while getting lost in fiction. I did not get that warning. There were tears.                 Granted, this was a wonderful (no pun intended) read, but it still hurt my heart to vicariously go through a “normal” day in the life of August Pullman. He was born with a 1-in-4 million chance craniofacial abnormality. This means that he does not look like a “normal” kid. He never really describes himself, but he mentions his “cauliflower” ears, “melted cheese” features and “tortoise mouth.” The picture these comparisons paint is not a pretty one. Auggie never lashes out at the kids who make fun of him for looking the way he does, and that is the most heroic thing I’ve ever heard of!                 Before starting school, Auggie led a slightly sheltered life with his

Garden, Nancy. (2007). Annie on My Mind. New York, NY: Square Fish. ISBN: 978-0-374-4011-8                 This book struck me as very old fashioned. It is set in New York, but the behavior and language of the characters felt a little turn-of-the-century in a British way. Since it was written in 1983, the perspective and events were quite different than some of the other coming-of-age novels I’ve read recently, but the ridicule the protagonists faced was no different. It moved a little more slowly than I was expecting it to but, in a way, it mirrored the relationship between the two protagonists and how it developed slowly as well.                 Annie and Liza don’t know they are gay until they meet and fall in love. They feel like gay might not be the correct word for what they are, since all they know is the love they have for each other. Unfortunately for these girls, they are outed in a time where one’s sexuality is the concern of everybody with ears to hear about it a

Gephart, Donna. (2016). Lily & Dunkin. New York, NY: Delacorte Press.   ISBN: 978-0-553-53674-4                 The first word that comes to mind after reading this book is: sweet. It deals with some pretty heavy subjects and still manages to feel sweet! The two protagonists, Lily and Dunkin (neither kid’s birth name) don’t seem to have a lot in common at first, but as we read, it becomes more and more obvious that they are not on the inside, what they seem on the outside.                 Lily was born Timothy and Dunkin was born Norbert. They both feel that those names do not represent who they really are though and they struggle with that throughout the storyline. The development of their identities is followed into troubled households, stressful school situations and the offices of various types of medical professionals. One struggles with gender identity and the other fights schizophrenia. If you think about it, they both have multiple people inside them and are t

Bardugo, Leigh. (2017). The Language of Thorns: Midnight Tales and Dangerous Magic. New York, NY: Imprint. ISBN: 978-1-250-12252-0                 Ugh. Even the cover of this book is beautiful. It has a wonderful hand-stitched texture that reminds me of something that belongs in a museum behind glass.   Within this museum-quality book are 6 familiar stories, or at least 3 familiar ones. I had never heard of half of them, even in my Grimm page flipping youth. The stories are so beautifully written that it’s impossible to put the book down once you’ve started it.                 Among the three I recognized (eventually) were The Witch of Duva (Something like Hansel & Gretel), The Soldier Prince (The Nutcracker), and When Water Sang Fire (The Little Mermaid-ish). I loved the fact that it took me until the last page of the story to really make the connection to it. The details were just far enough removed from the inspiration that it took a while for everything to click i

King, A.S. (2012). Ask the Passengers. New York, NY: Little, Brown and Company. ISBN: 978-0-316-19468-6                 Astrid Jones is real. She reads like absolutely real people and I loved it. She’s equal parts snarky and loving in her head. She lets down her parents. She loves her sister (even when her sister doesn’t love her) and she (thinks) she loves her girlfriend. She sends love up to people in airplanes soaring overhead and to people she sees daily. She’s got so much love in her that she feels the need to send it all outside of her so that she doesn’t have to worry about anyone taking it without her giving. The best part about her sending her love to them is that we get a glimpse of them receiving it! King adds the perspective of people on the planes she is sending her love to and shows how their lives are somehow linked to Astrid’s and how their clarity is somehow part of her growing clarity. Love it.                 At first, this didn’t make sense to me. Who

Zentner, Jeff. (2016). The Serpent King. New York, NY: Crown Books for Young Readers. ISBN: 978-0-553-52402-4                 I was reluctant to read this book and I’m not sure why. Something about the title had me fully mislead and I didn’t feel like reading something that was completely fantasy. I squinted suspiciously at it for a while before finally giving in and reading it. I was immediately draw to Dill and his very mysterious background (later Lydia explains that certain women find brooding men attractive) but not so much Lydia, who I pictured as a perky, pretty, smart, almost perfect type. I liked her better once I got to know her and her socially awkward, wittiness and her crooked teeth. Travis completes the protagonist trio and I adore him. He is his own person and doesn’t care that people might think he’s odd, which he is.                 This book shows three very different possible life-paths for seemingly normal teenagers. I won’t spoil anything, but I’ll wa