Published: 2018 Theme: Breaking Stereotypes Best for: 8 to 11 "Ellie hated it when her friends got in trouble in front of her, especially when she had something to do with it. She thought about what her dad said - that engineering was supposed to help people- and her stomach went squiggly." . Let's hear it for books that let girls be engineers, boys like dolls, and old people doing more than just drinking tea...
Published: 2018 Theme: Sexual Preferences Best for: Girls 11 and up "In the end, this was about me, not them," Robin said, tapping her chest. "And the people in my life could either accept that or they could live without me." Ivy swallowed hard. "Did anyone choose to...well..." "Live without me?" An excellent peek in the confusion that a young gay teen experiences as her preferences begin to emerge...
Published: 2005 Theme: Gay Teens Best for: 9 and up "I took one of the pins Aunt Pam had given me and put it on my shirt. It said Celebrate Diversity. Then I took it off, thinking I'd give it to Addie, because it's one she'd really like, and I put on another one: Being Who You Are Isn't A Choice." A superbly written, sensitive and humorous children's book dealing with being gay as a teen.
Published: 2018 Theme: Magical Fantasy Best for: 8 to 12 "Something must have hatched inside that box! And the mysterious creatures must be strong enough to have rocked the box as they were being born. Yet they're small enough to fit inside the empty mint tin." A delightful and lightweight fantasy with witches, time travel, and baby dragons, set in Brooklyn.
Published: 2018 Theme: Saving the World Best for: 8 to 11 "Max didn't have a mother or father to tell her when it was time to wake up, go to bed, do her homework, eat her vegetables, turn off the TV, or hurry because she'd miss the subway. Max was completely on her own." An odd and quirky book that tries to have children solve the mess of the world, with a bit of adventure thrown in.
Published: 2018 Theme: Healing through books Best for: 9 and up "It's better to read in the library. Sitting at my favorite table... reading and listening to the sound of other folks turning pages makes me feel I'm in a house full of company I don't have to talk to." A beautiful and lyrical small book set in 1946, exploring the loneliness that comes from being uprooted from South to North.
Published: English: 2018 (original: 1945) Theme: Imaginative Tale Best for: 6 to 9 "At first Moominmamma was frightened too, but then she said soothingly: "It's really a very little creature. Wait, and I'll shine a light on it. Everything looks worse in the dark, you know." This is wonderful way to be introduced to the family of Moomintrolls, since it is the story where they first came to life...
Published: 2013 Theme: Biography Best for: 10 and up "We must melt the hearts of the Government with love... Remember, we can only win the opponent over by love, never by hate. Hate is the subtlest form of violence. Hatred injures the hater, never the hated." This very thorough biography of Gandhi in graphic novel form is a pleasure to read.
Published: 2018 Theme: Refugees, Compassion Best for: 9 and up "The middle school cafeteria always makes me wish for the school in Istanbul. We often shared meals there, seated on the ground, with little to give. But most important, it was quiet." It is time, past time, to bring our children into the conversation about religious tolerance, and immigration. This book is a start.
Published: 2018 Theme: Moral Courage; Refugees Best for: 10 and up "Ahmed--he had a name, Max reminded himself--was just a boy, a boy who liked soccer and comic book heroes. He had lost his parents, he was alone, and he seemed far more frightened than dangerous." All I can say is - read this to crack open your heart with compassion for the plight of refugees.
Litkidz 