Here Comes Lolo introduces us to primary-aged Lolo, a sweet, smart, artistic South-African girl who lives with her Gogo (grandma) and mother in the back of Gogo’s dressmaking shop. With writing grounded in the young girl’s identifiable daily experiences, and a gently paced and charmingly illustrated collection of four stories, you will instantly feel a closeness to little Lolo.
Included in this early chapter book collection: “A Gold Star and a Kiss for Lolo,” “Lolo’s Hat,” “Lolo and the Lost Ring,” and “Lolo and a Dog Called Hope”
Check it out on Hoopla here.
Glossary
Car park= parking lot
Full stop= period
Molo= Hello/ How are you doing?
This award winning novel in verse, paints vivid, authentic pictures of life in the borderlands from the perspective of 7th grader, comics-loving, video game-playing, poem-writing, Güero. Bowles’ novel fluctuates between masterfully written free verse observations of Güero’s family’s life, friends’ antics, classroom and hallway lessons and Güero’s end rhyme poems, ballads, sonnets and haikus. Fans of poet novelists Jaqueline Woodson, Jason Reynolds, Nikki Grimes, and Thanhha Lai won’t want to pass this up! Make sure to check out the Spanish glossary in the back of the book too.
Standout poems include: Border Kid, Checkpoint, Los Bobbys Or the Bookclub Squad, They Call Me Güero, La Mano Panchona, Christmas Concrete, Joanna Fegona, and Spanish Birds.
Best for grades 5 and up. Check it out on Hoopla here.
Thrilling debut novel of mythic, fantasy Scotland in the time of the Vikings that includes two very unlikely kids as the protagonists and heroes. Fierce, courageous Agatha is a Hawk, a watcher on the isle of Skye, born with a Down’s Syndrome- like condition. Timid, self-doubting Jaime is an Angler, but hates the sea. Both are stretched to their limits in their quest to free their people from a Viking raid. Joseph Elliot is a British writer and actor who has worked with special needs kids from an early age. Don’t miss this exciting first installment of the Shadow Skye series! (Appropriate for readers 5th – 8th grade and up — I loved it!)
The love of Remy’s life has been murdered by her best friend. Now Remy must decide what the truth is. Her best friend Elise is the only person who really understood and empowered her and so it must have been a mistake when Elise shot Jack. Bouncing back and forth through Remy’s life; different memories help tell the story of Elise and Remy’s friendship and what really caused Elise to pull the trigger.
A hopeful book about climate change: Bren Smith is a former fisherman and a failed (because of Hurricane Sandy) oysterman who invented a new kind of living from the sea, restorative ocean farmer. His crop of kelp and bivalves growing on ropes suspended in the water requires no inputs; it simultaneously draws down carbon, filters nitrogen and replenishes the oceans. Beyond sustainable- it is regenerative! Also, the price of entry to this job is low and could put ocean communities back to work, creating new jobs both farming and processing the resultant seaweed and mussels, oysters, and other bivalves. Be prepared to order some seaweed once you are done reading: www.blueevolution.com. And you may want to lend money to Greenwave, Bren Smith’s nonprofit that trains ocean farmers:www.greenwave.org.
This book is like a body positive dinner party your lovely fat self is invited to attend (and with any fat allies you wish to bring as your plus one). Expect laughs, advice, vulnerability, art and a lot of new mentor friends by the end of the night. Come as you are. Leave any negative self talk at the door. Get ready to feel seen and heard. Editor Manfredi is the host, and she’s assembled quite the guest list (of diverse, fat, body positive advocates and writers). Kick off your shoes, grab your drink of choice and curl up on the couch with this book collection of fabulous personal essays, poems, advice pieces, illustrated work and more.
Stand out pieces include “Body Sovereignty: This Fat Trans Flesh is Mine” (Alex Gino), “Chubby City Indian” (Jana Schmieding), “Fat, And” (S.Qiouyi Lu), “The 5 Things You Need to Start Your Very Own Rad Fat Babe Revolution” (Virgie Tovar), “For the Love of Ursula’s Revenge Body” (Julie Murphy) and “Fat and Thriving” (Isabel Quintero).
A great read for teens and adults!
The less that is said about this strange little book, the better. More like a short-story or an experience than a book, you will speed through this illustrated Murakami creation in a whirlwind. A surreal book that’s worth reading and a perfect quick read if you’re trying to fit in your January Read 2020 book before the end of the month!
Read 2020 Categories: Under 200 Pages (January) & Translated (March)
Keiko Furukura had known since a very young age that she wasn’t “normal.” Despite her family’s efforts to make her change, more than anything she found ways to adapt and hide the lest desirable of her thoughts and actions from society. Then, one fateful night just after she had started university, Keiko stumbled upon the soon-to-be-open Smile Mart at Hiiromachi Station and her life changed forever. She soon became a convenience store worker. Now, 18 years later, Keiko finds meaning and fulfillment from her life as a Smile Mart employee, but the pressure to change from those around her may change everything.
Sayaka Murata is quite popular and successful in Japan but this is the first of her books to be translated into English. This book is just phenomenal. Keiko is thoroughly examined as a character in such a beautiful and respectful way that allows the reader to fully empathize with her even though they may have very little in common. The book is very ‘slice of life’ and gives the reader such a vivid feeling of being inside a Japanese convenience store that it gave me flashbacks to my visit to Japan. At a slim 163 pages it reads quickly, and not a single paragraph is wasted.
READ 2020 Categories: Under 200 Pages (January) & Translated (March)
Something’s amiss in Nova’s town. Her neighbors seem a little off and she’s spotted a white wolf lurking in the woods. Turns out the wolf is her childhood friend, Tam. Tam just happens to be a werewolf and it turns they have come back to down to get to the bottom dark magical happenings. Tam and Nova decide to get to the bottom of whatever is going on together and enlist the help of Nova’s grandmas and their bookstore full of magical resources. Mooncakes is a graphic mix of realistic fiction and fantasy. If you’re looking for a creepy yet heartwarming LGBTQAI+ read then this is a great place to start.
