Book Recommendations
Summertime Reading and a Blog Hiatus
It’s time for By Word of Beth to take a break for the summer. When I think about summer vacations when I was a kid, besides having lots of time to ride my bike and play outside, one of the things I liked best was having unlimited time to read. I read a lot throughout…
Read MoreDramarama by E. Lockhart — book recommendation (part one)
[Edited to add: I will be revisiting this book in the fall. I want to tell you some of Demi’s story as well as Sadye’s. So watch for part 2 of this post in September!] Title: Dramarama Author: E. Lockhart Publisher: New York: Hyperion Paperbacks, 2007. Genre: YA Fiction Audience Age: 13 to 17 years…
Read MoreOkay for Now by Gary D. Schmidt — Book Recommendation
Title: Okay for Now Author: Gary D. Schmidt Publisher: New York: Sandpiper, 2011, 2013. Genre: Late Middle Grade, early YA Audience Age: 11 to 14 years old Themes/topics: growing up with an abusive parent, trying to fit in at a new school, teenage illiteracy, the power of art Opening Sentences: Joe Pepitone once gave me…
Read MoreThe Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt — Book Recommendation
Title: The Wednesday Wars Author: Gary D. Schmidt Publisher: New York: Sandpiper, 2007, 2009. Genre: Late Middle Grade, Early YA Audience Age: 11 to 14 years old Themes/topics: Growing up, coping with fear, bullying, hope, Shakespeare (yes, that says Shakespeare!) Opening Sentences: Of all the kids in the seventh grade at Camillo Junior High, there…
Read MoreGracefully Grayson by Ami Polonsky — Book Recommendation
Title: Gracefully Grayson Author: Ami Polonsky Publisher: New York: Hyperion, 2014. Genre: Fiction Audience Age: 9-12 Themes/Topics: Transgender child, theatre, bullying, hope Opening Sentences: If you draw a triangle with a circle resting on the top point, nobody will be able to tell that it’s a girl in a dress. To add hair, draw kind…
Read MoreDash by Kirby Larson — Book Recommendation
I’m sure you are familiar with the saying “So many books, so little time.” I’m feeling a bit like that as I approach my blog’s summer hiatus. There are several books I want to tell you about before I take my summer break, so nearly all the posts from now until then will be book…
Read MoreVictoria Day
“The twenty-fourth of May is the Queen’s birthday — If you don’t give us a holiday we’ll all run away!” My dad (who was born in 1913, and attended a 2-room school in rural Saskatchewan) chanted a version of that poem along with his schoolmates, and, as it turns out, with many other school children…
Read MoreWalking Home by Eric Walters — Book Recommendation
Title: Walking Home Author: Eric Walters Publisher: Toronto: Doubleday Canada, 2014 Genre: Middle grade/early YA fiction based on real life Audience Age: 9 to 14 Themes/Topics: Determination, hope, unrest in Kenya, dealing with tragedy Opening Sentences: My father led the way through the dark, my mother behind him, my sister in her arms, and I…
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