The Silver Arrow

This 20-21 Great Stone face nominee was a bit of a disappointment.  I kept waiting for the story to reveal itself and it never really did.  A girl named Kate, longing for adventure,  asks her rich uncle for a birthday gift.  He delivers a magical train.  She and her brother Tom act as the conductors and pick up animals who need to migrate.  The message is that man is hurting the planet, species are becoming extinct, and we all need to act.  But it just missed for me.  I did appreciate another theme of sticking with something.  Her uncle compliments her on never giving up and because of that, she is a success.  But I was not a fan.  Maybe my students will appreciate it more than I did.  (FIC GRO)

Stepping Stones

This graphic novel by Lucy Knisley was about a blended family.  Its main character was Jen who has moved to the country with her mom and new boyfriend.  She has to adjust to a new life full of working on the farm, as well as weekends with his two girls.  There really wasn't a plot line there to get caught up in.  The mom's boyfriend was a total jerk who taunted her, and the mom did nothing about it, and there was no real resolution there.   It bothered me immensely.  (GN KNI)

The One Thing You'd Save

A prompt from a teacher asking: In case of a fire, what ONE thing would you save?  (People and pets are all safe.)  What follows is a short collection of responses written in a Korean poetry from called sijos.  It will surely spark a wonderful conversation among students about what is really important in life.  (FIC PAR)

Winterborne Home for Vengeance and Valor

This story has a Miss Peregrine/Mysterious Benedict Society vibe.  Five children are invited to move into an orphanage, owned by an incredibly wealthy family who suffered a huge tragedy and who is hiding secrets.  As author Stuart Gibbs says, "It's Batman meets Annie."  April is one of those children.  She was left by her mom with a key around her neck that just so happens to have the crest of the wealthy family.  What follows is a thrilling mystery of a key, a long lost billionaire and a hidden treasure.  Throw in a scary bad guy, spunky kids, and great cliffhanger and you have got yourself a great read!  (FIC CAR)

No Place For Monsters

Kids will fight over this heavily illustrated, spooky story on the 21-22 Great Stone Face List.  Levi and Kat discover that there is a sinister presence in their town, stealing kids and wiping any trace or memory of them.  Somehow, they are immune to the brainswipe and remember them.  With some help from an odd old couple in town, as well as a sweet creature named Willow, they bravely go to get Levi's sister back from the creature. (FIC MER)

Flight of the Puffin

This AMAZING book wove four stories together:  Libby's story - a creative, caring girl who makes inspirational index card notes; Jack's, a boy who is trying to save his school but is struggling with the loss of his younger sibling; T's, a nonbinary kid who has run away from home and is living on the street; and Vincent, a boy who loves triangles and puffins and is bullied mercilessly.  

When one of Libby's notes reaches Vincent across the country, it has a profound impact on him, but that impact has ripples that affects others.  

This had ALL THE FEELS.  I got chills at times, and I had tears in my eyes at others.  Its messages were profound:  that one small act of kindness can have a huge impact, that all you need to be is YOU - whoever that may be, bravery can come in many forms.  And yes, the story explains at a basic level what being nonbinary means, bit it is SO much more than that.  It is a brilliant, beautiful, and important work of fiction.

The List of Things That Will Not Change

This was a sweet, realistic fiction story written by Rebecca Stead, award-winning author of When You Reach Me.  The main character is Bea, who is struggling with some anger and guilt issues from a previous incident with her cousin.  She is also living between her parents houses, as they recently divorced.  Even though she knows there are things that will not change, like the fact that they will always love her, she still worries.  She is excited about her Dad's upcoming wedding to Jesse, who has a daughter, and so she will finally have a sister.  But the wedding is clouded by the fact that Jesse's brother will not accept the fact that he is gay and marrying a man.  I enjoyed the normalization in this story of gay marriage, blended families, and mental health therapy.  (FIC STE)

The Barren Grounds

This book is on the 21-22 Great Stone Face list.  It is a fantasy story set in a parallel universe named Misewa.  Two First Nation native children, being raised by white foster parents in Canada, discover a portal in the attic.  Through it they saw a frozen landscape and a creature - a walking fisher cat who looked menacing.  When Eli goes through the portal, Morgan has to go help him.  They are saved by the creature and told of the history of that world.  A human man also used the portal years ago to travel to that world and took all he could from the land.  He stole the Green Time and left them to deal with the White Time without food.  The children, longing to connect with their Native identities, decide to help Ochek find the man and restore the Green Time and save his world.  This is the first in the series - a great adventure story which highlights Native American culture and struggles. A moral about white man's raping of the Earth and native culture are obvious, as is the message to Natives to remember who they are. (FIC ROB)