Gabi, A Girl in Pieces

Gabi, our heroine in Gabi, A Girl in Pieces by Isabel Quintero, has a lot to deal with. In addition to worrying about whether or not she will get into the University of California, Berkeley and if the boys she has a crush on in high school will find her too fat, she also is dealing with her best friend, Cindy, having an unplanned pregnancy, her friend, Sebastian, coming out as gay, and her father's meth addiction. She also has to deal with pressure from her mother and aunt on how to be "a good and proper young lady" and her mother's desire for her to stay at home instead of Gabi's desire to move out of the house and attend Berkeley.

At the beginning of the novel, I just wasn't quite getting into it and thought that Gabi's "typical teenage problems" would just seem to be too cliche. But as the novel progresses and Isabel Quintero describes the agony Gabi goes through when she overeats and why she overeats; the frustration that Gabi feels living in a community where it is okay for guys to do anything because after all "boys will be boys!"; and the harrowing experience of living with a parent who is a meth addict; I changed my mind. I became invested in Gabi and worried about what was going to happen to her. Would she make it in spite of the odds against her? Would she realize her dream of going away to college? Would she find a boyfriend who would both respect and admire her?

As Gabi's teacher (Ms. Abernard) teaches Gabi's poetry class, Gabi begins to write poetry and use her writing as a vehicle to express who she really is and who she wants to be. By finding her voice as a writer of poems, she finds the courage to use her voice in everyday life, which enables her to have the strength and courage to pursue her dreams.

Breakfast Served Anytime

In Breakfast Served Anytime by Sarah Combs, our heroine, Gloria, is not sure how she feels about going to "geek" camp and she's not sure how she feels about leaving her father and her best friend, Carol, behind. Also, she's still dealing with the loss of her grandmother. Will going to "geek" camp change her and Carol's plans to move to and live in New York City while Carol pursues a career as a dancer and Gloria pursues a career as an actress?

Right from the beginning with the arrival of the mysterious blue butterflies the night before Gloria is scheduled to leave for camp, the camp experience promises to be exciting and transforming. It starts with Dr. Weston A. Xavier's class, Secrets of the Written Word. Gloria receives a letter asking her to please leave behind any personal computers and cellular telephones. Mr. X sends her and her classmates various clues that they must figure out. These clues lead them to Plato's Republic. Page 205: Allegory of the Cave, The Egg Drop Cafe (where breakfast is served anytime), and finally to an urn, as in Grecian Urn, as the Urn in Which the Remains of Thomas McGrath are Buried in a Crypt Beneath Morlan College's Notoriously Haunted McGrath Hall.

Gloria meets an interesting and unusual cast of characters who will challenge her thoughts, plans, and beliefs. There's Mason, aka the Mad Hatter, a boy wearing a floppy green top hat with a wide ribbon wrapped around the hat with a square of paper tucked into it. Gloria initially dislikes Mason, but he's in Secrets of the Written Word class with her, so there's no getting away from him. Is he more than he seems at first glance? Also, there's Jessica, Gloria's friendly, talkative, and bubbly roommate, whose mother, Diane, brings donuts on Parents' Day but refuses to let Jessica have any of them. There's Sonya, a former beauty pageant contestant, and Calvin, who wants to be a farmer and take the scholarship that the University of Kentucky offers to all the campers.

During her stay at camp, Gloria will grown, learn, and start to discover who she really is and what she really wants.

Prophecy

In Prophecy by Ellen Oh, our heroine Kira is the only woman in the king's army and the prince's (who also happens to be her cousin) bodyguard. Kira has an ability that no one else has - the ability to detect and slay demons who have possessed humans. But instead of gratitude, she experiences prejudice and discrimination. The people are suspicious of her and her yellow eyes and call her a "kumiho" that is a nine-tailed fox demon.

Recent events such as the abduction of the prince, the discovery of the existence of half-demon and half-human soldiers, and the capture and the murder of King Yuri by Lord Shin point to the prophecy of the Dragon Musado - a royal savior who will stop the world from ending at the hands of demons. The Dragon Musado is a royal descendant of the Dragon King. Everyone assumes that the Dragon Musado is Taejo, the prince. But could it be the warrior Kira with her tiger spirit?

Kira, Taejo, and Brother Woojin meet the Eight Heavenly Maidens, who tell them, "There is a path behind the waterfall that will take you to a cave. Tomorrow, before the last ray of the sun sets on the winter solstice, a descendant of the Dragon King must enter the cave and find what has been lost."

Will they find one of the three treasures that they need to win the ultimate battle between good and evil? Will they find the tidal stone that controls the seas, the jeweled dagger that controls the earth, and the jade dragon belt? When reunited with the dagger and the stone, the belt will allow the wearer to control the fourteen dragons of the heavens and the powers of wind, rain, lightning, and all the other physical elements.

Self Esteem and Confidence Story Time!

The first book that I read for this story time was How To Find a Fox by Nilah Magruder. The kids absolutely loved this book! The fox is always several steps ahead of our heroine and leads her on a merry chase. I would ask the children where the fox was on each page and they had great fun telling me where the fox was! Sometimes the fox hid under a bush, was in the tree with an owl, was with a family of raccoons, or was standing below a tree. I love the message of the story because just as our heroine is ready to give up on finding the fox the author says, "Take deep breaths. Close your eyes. Take a walk in your mind. Now's not the time to give up." Then our heroine finds the fox as he looks into our heroine's camera lens. After all, "Some days, he(a fox) wants to find you!"

I had high hopes for Love Monster by Rachel Bright, I really did. But the kids were just not focused on the story, so I stopped reading it. That said it is a wonderful story about a funny looking monster who feels lost in a world of cute fluffy kittens, puppies, and bunnies. Our monster feels like he doesn't belong. As the author says, "But nobody loves a slightly hairy, I-suppose-a-bit-googly-eyed monster". So our monster sets out on a search to find someone who would love him just the way he was. His search is long, hard, and unsuccessful. He is ready to give up. But when our monster decides to give up and take the bus back home he finds out that the bus driver is a girl monster who looks just like him!

After I stopped reading Love Monster, I started reading Be Who You Are by Todd Parr. The children enjoyed listening to this story. This story features bright, bold, and colorful illustrations. It was interesting to find out that the art for the book was created on a drawing tablet using an iMac, starting with bold black lines and dropping in color with Adobe Photoshop. The book contains positive messages such as:
"Be who you are."
"Be a different color."
"Speak your language."
"Learn in you own way."
"Be proud of where you're from."
"Stand up for yourself."
"Be the best that you can be."

Read Aloud Stories about Self-Esteem and Confidence

The following is a list of books that I ordered from other branches for my self-esteem and confidence story time, but when I received them I realized they were too long for story time and would be better as one on one read alouds, for example a parent reading a book to his or her child.
One on One Read Alouds

Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon by Patty Lovell is the story of Molly Lou Melon, a short girl with buck teeth and a voice "that sounded like a bulldog being squeezed by a boa constrictor". In spite of that, her grandmother told her to stand tall, smile big, and sing out loud and clearly. So she does even when she is teased by the school bully, Ronald Durkin. Molly Lou Melon's cheerful optimism and "can do attitude" turns a bully into a friend.

Dragon Was Terrible by Kelly DiPuccchio tells the story of a dragon who stomps on flowers, plays tricks on the guards, spits on cupcakes, and takes candy from baby unicorns! Who can possibly tame this dragon? A young boy writes a story about a brave dragon who saves a princess! He reads the story aloud so Dragon can hear it. Dragon realizes that he is finally appreciated and accepted, smiles and sits down with the boy to hear how the story ends.

Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes, a timeless classic, tells the story of a little mouse who loves and adores her name until she gets to school and her classmates tease her relentlessly about her name. With the help of her parents and her teacher, Delphinium, she learns to love her name again.

Princess Truly in I Am Truly by Kelly Greenawalt is an amazing and wonderful story! Princess Truly is a strong and self-confident girl who tells the reader throughout the story about all the things she can do! In Princess Truly's own words, "I am strong, I am skillful, I am a born leader." I had really wanted to read this book for my story time, but reluctantly decided that it was too long.

Red A Crayon's Story by Michael Hall tells the story of an unfortunate blue crayon who is labeled as a red crayon. His teachers, mother, and grandmother all try in vain to get him to color blue instead of red. One day, he meets a new friend, a berry crayon, who asks him to draw a blue ocean for his berry boat! And the crayon draws a big, beautiful, blue ocean! Now, his family and friends come to appreciate and accept him as a blue crayon.

Meet Spork in Spork by Kyo Maclear. His father is a fork and his mother is a spoon. Neither the forks or spoons accept him and Spork never gets chosen to be at the table. But when the baby of the family starts to eat on his own, only Spork can help him.

In Giraffes Can't Dance by Giles Andrea, Giraffe dreads the annual Jungle Dance in Africa. Why? Because he can't dance! The other animals make fun of his attempts to dance. Then he meets a cricket who tells him, "But sometimes when you're different you just need a different song". Then the cricket picks up his violin and starts playing and Giraffe begins to dance! The other animals are amazed and ask him how he did it. Gerald replies with, "We all can dance when we find the music that we love".

In Jabari Jumps by Gaia Cornwall, Jabari is ready to jump off of the high diving board! After all, he has finished his swimming lessons and he's passed his swim test and he's ready to jump! Or is he? When he hesitates his dad tells him, "It's okay to feel a little scared. Sometimes if I feel a little scared, I take a deep breath and tell myself I am ready. And you know what? Sometimes it stops feeling scary and feels a little like a surprise." After his dad's encouraging words, Jabari climbs up the ladder, walks all the way to the end of the board, curls his toes around the edge of the diving board and jumps!

In Those Shoes by Maribeth Boelts, Jeremy wants a pair of brand new shoes and not just any pair of shoes. He wants the pair that's currently in fashion - black high-tops with two white stripes. When he asks his grandmother for a pair she replies, "There's no room for want around here - just need. And what you need are new boots for winter. When Jeremy's shoes come apart, Mr. Alfrey, the guidance counselor, gives him a Velcro pair of shoes - just like the ones Jeremy's little cousin wears. All of his classmates, except Antonio, laugh at him. Jeremy finds the shoes that he wants at a thrift store, but they are too small. When Jeremy's feet are covered with band aids from shoes that are too tight and when he sees that Antonio needs a pair of shoes, he gives his shoes to Antonio.

In A Small Thing .... but Big by Tony Johnston, Lizzie is playing happily in a park, but then she sees a dog and suddenly stops. Lizzie is afraid of dogs. The dog's owner, a kind and elderly man, convinces Lizzie to pet the dog (Cecile). With his encouragement, she and Cecile's owner walk together through the park. Then Lizzie walks Cecile! At the end of the story, Lizzie tells the dog's owner, "Before today, I was very afraid of dogs" and he replies "Before today, I was very afraid of children".

Back to School Story Time!

This morning I had my "back to school" preschool story time. Granted school was already two weeks in session, but this was when I finally got it organized and ready to go !

The first book that I read was The Pout-Pout Fish Goes to School by Deborah Diesen. The main character in this book is a young fish, Mr. Fish, who is experiencing his first day at school. Unfortunately for him, he keeps going to the classes for the older and more experienced fish by mistake. Try as he might, he cannot print his name, make a rhombus, or do long division. During each of his experiences trying to accomplish something he "flub-flub frowned making blub-blub bubbles then he plopped down his pencil and he counted off his troubles: Trouble One: I'm not smart! Trouble Two: I'll never get it! Trouble Three: I don't belong so Trouble Four: Forget It!" The kids listened patiently to Mr. Fish's litany of woes once, but not the second time; so I didn't read them throughout the rest of the story.
The story finishes with a positive "I can do it" attitude when Mr. Fish's teacher, Miss Hewitt, tells him "Don't you fret! You don't have to know things you haven't learned yet!" She reassures him by saying "You're a fish who is smart. With practice you will get it. Young fish, you belong-don't you ever forget it!"
The story ends with Mr. Fish and his classmates successfully learning new things! "The class got to work, and Miss Hewitt helped them through it. They listened, then they tried ...... and everyone could do it"!

The next book that I read was If You Take a Mouse to School by Laura Numeroff. This charming story is about a mouse who keeps wanting and asking for things and constantly getting into trouble. For example, "when you give your lunchbox, he'll want a sandwich and a snack for later. Then he'll need a notebook and some pencils." I had high hopes for this story, but this was the story that the children seemed to be the least interested in.

The last book that I read was Dinosaur vs. School by Bob Shea. The kids loved this book! I think it was their favorite story! In this story, Dinosaur faces a number of new challenges, such as: meeting new friends!; dressing up!; glitter, glue, and googly eyes!; monkey snacks!; and making music! But when Dinosaur and his friends clean up, everybody wins! The kids enjoyed roaring along with Dinosaur as he faces each challenge. So much so that we had to stop roaring because we weren't using our "inside roars"! But in spite of that, they still really enjoyed the story!
One on One Read Alouds
I ordered both of these books from other libraries with the intention of using them for this story time. But when I received and read them, I realized that the were too long for story time. That said, they are wonderful books for a parent to read aloud to a child!

The book, Otter Goes to School by Sam Garton, features an otter who decides to be a teacher and she enrolls her stuffed animal companions, Giraffe, Pig, and Teddy in a school. Otter teaches math and Giraffe excels at math! Giraffe gets lots of gold stars. Otter teaches music and Pig has a beautiful singing voice! Pig gets lots of gold stars. But Teddy hasn't excelled at anything! He told Otter that, "he didn't like school. The other students were better than him at everything." Teddy is heartbroken. She waits for Otter Keeper (the man who owns all of these stuffed animals) to get home. Otter Keeper tells Otter that, "everyone is good at something, and that you just need to find out what that something is." Otter decides to have an art lesson and Teddy draws a picture that "was the best picture ever!"

Rosie Goes to Preschool by Karen Katz is a wonderful book about a preschooler named Rosie who provides instructions and reassurance to the reader as she takes the reader through a typical preschool day. This is a wonderful book for a child who is reluctant to start preschool! Rosie also provides helpful tips throughout the book such as: "Don't forget to raise your hand if you want to talk".

The Hate U Give

Given the context of what happened in Charlottesville, I can't think of a book that can be more relevant to read right now. In The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas, the main character, Starr, is torn between two worlds. Starr lives in a poor urban neighborhood know as Garden Heights, but goes to school at Williamson Prep. Williamson Prep is a school that is gated and is located in the affluent suburbs.

Starr acknowledges that she feels like she is two different Starrs - the Garden Heights Starr and the Williamson Starr. In her own thoughts, "Williamson Starr doesn't use slang - if a rapper would say it, she doesn't say it, even if her white friends do. Slang makes them cool. Slang makes her "hood". Williamson Starr holds her tongue when people piss her off so nobody will think she's the "angry black girl". Williamson Starr is approachable. No stank-eyes, side-eyes, none of that. Basically, Williamson Starr doesn't give anyone a reason to call her ghetto."

Then one fateful night after she attends a party at Garden Heights, everything changes. Khalil, her childhood friend and first crush, drives her home from the party. On their way home, a cop pulls them over for license, registration, and proof of insurance. The officer shoots Khalil even though he is unarmed and cooperative.

Now Starr no longer has the luxury of keeping her two lives separate. Will she testify for Khalil? Can she find the courage to speak up? What will her friends at Williamson Prep think?

One of the main reasons why I enjoyed reading this novel was the three-dimensional characters. Yes, Khalil is a drug dealer. But when we find out why he is dealing drugs, we realize that his motive is pure, even though his methods and results are not. Starr's father asks her, "Why was he a drug dealer? Why are so many people in our neighborhood drug dealers?" Starr answers, "They need money. And they don't have a lot of other ways to get it." Carlos, a police officer who believes in his career and his mission to help people,is also Starr's uncle and must come to terms with Khalil's death.

Night and Space Story Time

My original ideas was to have a story time on eclipses to complement the event of the eclipse on August 21st. However, I couldn't find any books on eclipses so I picked books on night time and space instead.
The first book that I read was Touch the Brightest Star by Christie Matheson. The children and I loved this book! This is a fun interactive book where, "Magic happens every night. First wave good-bye to the sun's bright light." Throughout the book, we wave, press, blow, pat, tap, make a wish, and count to three. Our actions produce fireflies, stars, a shooting star, and constellations. This is also a good counting book. The children and I counted fireflies, stars, and owls.
The second book that I read was Night Animals by Gianna Marino. This was a big hit as well! This book is a charming story about the following night animals: a skunk, a possum, a wolf, and a bear. A bat asks them "What are you so scared of?" and they reply, "We're scared of night animals!". Then the bat replies, "But you ARE night animals." At the end of the story, a camper shines a flashlight on them and they quickly run away! The children and I had fun guessing and identifying the night animals.
My last book, Sheep Blast Off! by Nancy Shaw was not as big of a hit as I had hoped it would be. Perhaps the children had not completely "waggled their wiggles" out, but they seemed to be losing interest. This is a delightful and entertaining story about sheep who happen to stumble upon a spaceship. The sheep take a wacky and wild ride into space and as "They tinker with the main controls. The rocket lurches, swoops, and rolls". Green alien sheep take over control of the spaceship and cause the other sheep to instantly go into a deep slumber. After the aliens put the sleeping sheep safely beneath a tree on Earth, the spaceship takes off again!
The following books are books that I found on the topics of space and/or night, but decided not to use them in my story time. However, these books are very good books on the topics.

Our Stars by Anne Rockwell is a good and entertaining nonfiction introduction to the following concepts: the stars, the sun, constellations, the solar system, the moon, and meteors.

Moonbear's Sunrise by Frank Asch is the delightful story of a bear who loves to watch the moonrise, but is so sleepy he keeps missing the sunrise. Alarm clocks don't wake him up and neither does his friend, Little Bird, even though he pecks Bear on the nose. Finally, Little Bird convinces Bear to go to bed early and he wakes up in time to see the sunrise.

The Sun Is My Favorite Star, also by Frank Asch, is the story of a little boy who tells us how much he loves the sun. He loves the sunrise, how high in the sky the sun is at noon, a rainbow when the sun shines after the rain, and the sunset.

Life on Mars by Jon Agee tells the story of a young astronaut who has come to Mars to find life. He even brings a box of chocolate cupcakes to give to whomever he finds on Mars! He finds a flower on Mars, but no other signs of life. Then why is the box of chocolate cupcakes empty?

Kitten's First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes is a classic story about a kitten who mistakes the full moon for a bowl of milk! Kitten tries to get the bowl of milk by leaping in the air, running after it, climbing a tree, and diving into a pond to get the big bowl of milk! Poor kitten! Will she ever get her milk?

Good Night! Good Night! by Carin Berger tells the story of three little bunnies who refuse to go to sleep! Will good night dances, and monkey kisses help them go to bed?