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Scritch Scratch by Lindsay Currie – Book Review

 

Title: Scritch Scratch
Author: Lindsay Currie
Publisher: Sourcebooks Young Readers
Release Date: September 1, 2020

When Claire’s parents ask her to assist her father on one of his ghost tours of Chicago, she cannot think of anything worse or more humiliating. For starters, Claire is a scientist and absolutely refuses to believe in the supernatural. However, her parents need her help, and Claire begrudgingly agrees. While on the tour, Claire dutifully fills her role as an assistant and almost makes it to the end unscathed. Almost. After seeing an eerie boy at one stop, Claire shrugs off an ominous feeling. But one sighting turns into another encounter, and another, until Claire realizes she’s being haunted. With the help of her brother and friends, Claire must solve the mystery of the eerie boy before it’s too late.

Scritch Scratch is a captivating mix of genres and themes, including spooky ghost story, historical fiction, middle school relationships, and family. The blend of topics creates an effective rhythm bouncing between scary ghost encounters and the novel’s plot. Author Lindsay Currie also succeeds at keeping readers on the edge of their seat with vivid, hair-raising haunting scenes. These ghost encounter scenes highlight Currie’s acumen for depicting the paranormal. Yet, the evocative imagery does not always surface in the presentation of other topics treated in Scritch Scratch. One minute readers will be engrossed in a ghost encounter with strong descriptions to help them conjure the scene in their own mind. The next that work is done for them, as readers are often told exactly how characters feel and what they are thinking. The author does the mental labor for the readers instead of leaving space for their own interpretation. On the other hand, these moments of narrated telling do balance out the emotional, frightening paranormal scenes, giving readers a brief respite from the mystery. The ebb and flow will keep readers engaged, but they might tire of the emotional swings.

You’d be hard pressed to find middle grade students that do not like scary stories and mysteries, even if they do not want to admit it (like Claire). Therefore, Scritch Scratch will be an instant favorite for the paranormal-loving brood. The inclusion of historical fiction would allow teachers to use the novel as a vehicle for their own cross-curricular novel study, incorporating local history, narrative writing, and even an opportunity for their own students to conjure a spooky story of their own. Scritch Scratch would be a fun, engaging read in the classroom, especially around Halloween. All characters assume the white default.

Thank you to Edelweiss+ and publisher, Sourcebooks Young Readers, for an eARC of this book.

Classroom Applications

  • Cross-Curricular Study – Teach the novel in conjunction with a nonfiction study of local history or disaster events.
  • Literature Circles – Use novel for small groups or choice reading with a variety of mystery/spooky novels.
  • Book Club or Book Exchange – Share the novel with students that enjoy reading about ghosts, mysteries, and scary stories.

Nonfiction Connections

The list below outlines topics that will enrich your students’ understanding of the novel.

  • Chicago Disasters
  • Local History – Disaster Events
  • Paranormal Mysteries
  • Paranormal
  • Ghost Sightings & Science

Book Companions

The following are great books to pair with Scritch Scratch. In parenthesis are the specific aspects students could explore when synthesizing across the texts.


*LIT Lessons participates in the Amazon Associate Program and earns a fee from qualifying purchases made on the Amazon.com site.
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Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Ibram X. Kendi & Ryan Reynolds – Book Review

 

Title: Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You
Author: Ibram X. Kendi and Jason Reynolds
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Release Date: March 10, 2020

Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You traces the history of racist ideas in America. This “not history book” by Jason Reynolds, adapted from Ibram X Kendi’s award-winning novel Stamped From the Beginning, is brilliant in its delivery. Readers learn about the pervasiveness and insidiousness of racism in America, from past to present. The topic is of paramount importance but obviously fraught. The topic must be taught, though, and Reynolds’ conversational tone hits the right pitch for middle grade and young adult readers to access it. This delivery opens the door to conversation, understanding, reflection, and – critically – compels a call to action. Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You should be required reading, in every class. There really is nothing more that needs to be said. Stamped is that powerful and its subject matter that important. The novel’s very presence in students’ hands is one way we, as educators, can contribute to the fight against white supremacy culture and build toward an antiracist future.

Classroom Applications

  • Cross-Curricular Study – Teach the novel in conjunction with a nonfiction study of racism embedded in various aspects of U.S. society.
  • Literature Circles – Use novel for small groups or choice reading with a variety of novels that address systemic racism.
  • Book Club or Book Exchange – Share the novel with students that enjoy reading about themes of social justice and racism.

Nonfiction Connections

The list below outlines topics that will enrich your students’ understanding of the novel.

  • Racism in United States
  • History of Racism in United States
  • Institutional Racism – Politics, Education, Justice System, etc.
  • History of Slavery in the United States

Book Companions

The following are great fiction books to pair with Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You. In parenthesis are the specific aspects students could explore when synthesizing across the texts.


*LIT Lessons participates in the Amazon Associate Program and earns a fee from qualifying purchases made on the Amazon.com site.
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The Boys in the Back Row by Mike Jung – Book Review

 

Title: The Boys in the Back Row
Author: Mike Jung
Publisher: Levine Querido
Release Date: October 6, 2020

Eric and Matt are the best of friends. They love comic books, playing in the band, and most importantly, each other. Armed with their support for each other, they can face any problem, or bully for that matter, that gets in their way. However, Eric and Matt’s friendship will be forever changed when Eric moves away at the end of the year. The news devastates them but they plot a last, risky adventure before Eric leaves. On the last day of their marching band trip, they plan to ditch and sneak away to a comic convention to meet their favorite comic author. As with all daring plans, there are more obstacles than they could have imagined, putting more than just the trip in jeopardy.

The Boys in the Back Row by Mike Jung is a refreshing, down-to-earth novel about friendship. Eric and Matt face countless microaggressions, including being called “gay,” bullied about their race (Matt is Korean American while Eric presents as white), and needled for their nerdiness. Eric and Matt face them all together, leaning on each other to overcome them while demonstrating their love for each other just the same. Jung’s affectionate story of male friendship is the perfect antidote to the toxic masculinity that pervades some middle school experiences. Jung’s characters are interesting and engaging. He carefully takes the time to develop them as whole people and build reader investment in their well-being. This investment may leave readers feeling unfulfilled by the ending. The last adventure plan goes awry in such a way that its telling disappoints because it feels inconsistent with the rest of the narrative and its loose ends get too quickly tied up. Surely, readers would gladly consume a few more chapters that would provide the detail and attention the next phase of this friendship deserves. Still, Eric and Matt’s friendship is indeed beautiful. It sends a positive, important message about male relationships and their healthy place in social development. It also is inspiring to see how their mutual support enables them to overcome any challenge.

Middle grade readers will love The Boys in the Back Row. It is a celebration of quirky friendships, and young people will easily connect with Eric and Matt. With a more lighthearted tone but plenty of opportunity for analysis and in-depth discussion, teachers may find this novel as the perfect remedy for students that need a little more levity than gravity in the 2020-2021 school year.

Thank you to Edelweiss+ and publisher, Levine Querido, for an eARC of this book.

Classroom Applications

  • Cross-Curricular Study – Teach the novel in conjunction with a nonfiction study of comics!
  • Literature Circles – Use novel for small groups or choice reading with a variety of books that include references to comics or include the effects of microaggressions.
  • Book Club or Book Exchange – Share the novel with students that enjoy reading about themes of friendship, school, and comics.

Nonfiction Connections

The list below outlines topics that will enrich your students’ understanding of the novel.

  • History of Comics
  • Comics
  • Microaggressions

Book Companions

The following are great books to pair with The Boys in the Back Row. In parenthesis are the specific aspects students could explore when synthesizing across the texts.

  • Two Naomis by Olugbemisiola Rhuday-Perkovich (Character Connections, Themes)
  • Liar & Spy by Rebecca Stead (Character Connections, Themes)
  • Wonder by R.J. Palacio (Character Connections, Themes)

*LIT Lessons participates in the Amazon Associate Program and earns a fee from qualifying purchases made on the Amazon.com site.
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The Canyon’s Edge by Dusti Bowling – Book Review

 

Title: The Canyon’s Edge
Author: Dusti Bowling
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Release Date: September 8, 2020

It’s Eleanor’s birthday. After losing her mother in a random shooting on her birthday last year, her and her father, both white, decide to explore a slot canyon in the desert. Away from people. Away from crowds. Away from danger. Or so they think. Shortly into their trip, a flash flood separates the two, leaving Nora without supplies. When the waters recede, she is forced to traverse the canyon alone to find her father. Along the way she must battle deadly creatures, persevere through dehydration and hunger, and ultimately face the trauma that has been haunting her dreams for a year. With every minute edging her closer to death, Nora must dig deep to survive and save her father. Hopefully, she can do it before it’s too late.

The Canyon’s Edge adds an engaging story to the burgeoning number of novels told in verse. Prose bookends the novel, showcasing author Dusti Bowling’s writing talent. In between, the verse allows for deep analysis and makes Eleanor’s experiences palpable. Readers will descend into the canyon with Eleanor, sense her panic, get lost in the chaos, taste the ache of thirst, and viscerally feel much more. Bowling accomplishes this feat through the structure of the verse. The cascading poetry brilliantly reflects Eleanor’s physical experiences. As a result, readers will not be able to put the novel down, with many consuming the narrative in one sitting. The Canyon’s Edge also adds to the growing collection of books where characters acknowledge, cope with, and begin to overcome trauma. The canyon aptly reflects Nora’s transformation, but the trip itself would surely be trauma-inducing. Therefore, the process of exchanging one traumatic experience to overcome another threatens to trivialize these experiences. It is a minor critique in an otherwise excellent narrative, but as schools push to recognize and address these topics in their student populations, it is an important one to note. Trauma is never replaced, after all. It remains with a person, and its lasting effects need to be considered through that lens.

Dusti Bowling’s The Canyon’s Edge offers teachers a wealth of material for deep analysis and exploration. From the verse to the structure of the verse to the extended metaphor for Eleanor’s transformation, the novel will surely be a favorite among teachers when examining poetry. The adventure and action-packed plot are an added bonus that will keep students engaged, on the edge of their seats, and begging to read more. The Canyon’s Edge is a win-win for the classroom, and I suspect the book will find itself in countless classrooms for the 2020-2021 school year.

Thank you to Edelweiss+ and publisher, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, for an eARC of this book.

Classroom Applications

  • Cross-Curricular Study – Teach the novel as part of a poetry unit and in conjunction with a nonfiction study of desert ecosystems, trauma, or survival strategies.
  • Book Club or Book Exchange – Share the novel with students that enjoy reading realistic fiction.
  • Literature Circles – Use novel for small groups or choice reading with a variety of books that are written in verse.

Nonfiction Connections

The list below outlines topics that will enrich your students’ understanding of the novel.

  • Slot Canyons
  • Desert Ecosystem
  • Survival Strategies
  • Trauma
  • Coping with Trauma & PTSD

Book Companions

The following are great books to pair with The Canyon’s Edge. In parenthesis are the specific aspects students could explore when synthesizing across the texts.

  • Hatchet by Gary Paulsen (Character Connections, Themes, Nonfiction Connections)
  • Fighting Words by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley (Character Connections, Themes, Nonfiction Connections)
  • Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell (Character Connections, Themes, Nonfiction Connections)
  • Before the Ever After by Jacqueline Woodson (Novel Structure, Themes, Nonfiction Connections)
  • The Shape of Thunder by Jasmine Warga (Character Connections, Themes, Nonfiction Connections)

*LIT Lessons participates in the Amazon Associate Program and earns a fee from qualifying purchases made on the Amazon.com site.
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Echo Mountain by Lauren Wolk – Book Review

 

Title: Echo Mountain
Author: Lauren Wolk
Publisher: Dutton Books for Young Readers
Release Date: April 21, 2020

As the Great Depression devastates the country, Ellie and her family have had to make difficult choices and even more difficult sacrifices. After her parents fall victim to the economic crisis, the family moves away from town and carves out a life from the harsh and unforgiving landscape around Echo Mountain. Survival requires hard work, skill, and a will to conquer any obstacle brought on by Mother Nature. While Ellie and her family make a life on Echo Mountain, tragedy befalls the family when Ellie’s father is struck by a falling tree and lies in a coma for months. Ellie unfairly but obligingly shoulders the blame for the accident. Her desire to help and heal others motivates her to do whatever it takes to bring her father back. As Ellie traverses the mountain, she meets new people, identifies new needs, and discovers new ways to heal, giving her the hope and the insight to bring peace to all that have been suffering on Echo Mountain.

Lauren Wolk is one of the best middle grade authors to date, and Echo Mountain is another testament to this bold statement. The writing is exquisite, the tale’s threads are tangled and tantalizing but always connected together, and she skillfully transforms nature into a character unto itself. Harking back to simpler times, readers may find themselves yearning to be outdoors after being immersed in Wolk’s spellbinding prose. The vivid imagery of Ellie’s experiences will remain imprinted in the mind’s eye long after the last page. In addition to Wolk’s expressive prose, Echo Mountain’s lessons are not easily learned, they are earned. Ellie and company work tirelessly to persevere and overcome. Such lessons are balanced by the characters’ imperfections, and these flaws make their journeys not only interesting but also relatable. Yes, Ellie presents as older and more mature than twelve, and the novel does grow sprawling and verbose. Still, Wolk’s writing is so good any reader would gladly stay immersed in the story for another hundred pages in order to consume more of her beautiful prose.

Echo Mountain is a fantastic work of fiction. Teachers should certainly encourage students to read Wolk’s novel. It will challenge them. It will change them. Students willing to take on Echo Mountain will be rewarded in more ways than one. Such transformations cannot be predicted but can be counted on thanks to the clear links to universal themes Wolk’s vivid writing conjures. All characters assume the White Default.

Classroom Applications

  • Cross-Curricular Study – Teach the novel in conjunction with a nonfiction study of the Great Depression, mountain life, or survival skills.
  • Book Club or Book Exchange – Share the novel with students that enjoy reading historical fiction.
  • Literature Circles – Use novel for small groups or choice reading with a variety of books that are about life in the U.S. during the Great Depression.

Nonfiction Connections

The list below outlines topics that will enrich your students’ understanding of the novel.

  • The Great Depression
  • Mountain Life
  • Survival Skills

Book Companions

The following are great books to pair with Echo Mountain. In parenthesis are the specific aspects students could explore when synthesizing across the texts.

  • Pixie Pushes On by Tamara Bundy (Character Connections, Themes, Nonfiction Connections)
  • Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan (Character Connections, Themes, Nonfiction Connections)
  • Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis (Character Connections, Themes, Nonfiction Connections)
  • Wolf Hollow by Lauren Wolk (Character Connections, Themes, Nonfiction Connections)

*LIT Lessons participates in the Amazon Associate Program and earns a fee from qualifying purchases made on the Amazon.com site.
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Fighting Words by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley – Book Review

 

Title: Fighting Words
Author: Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
Publisher: Dial Books
Release Date: August 11, 2020

Della and Suki are sisters bound by love, the desire to protect one another, and – unfortunately – trauma. After escaping their mother’s abusive boyfriend, the sisters find themselves in foster care under the care of Francine. As ten-year-old Della and sixteen-year-old Suki adjust to their new lives, they begin to cope with and process the true horrors of their past. Grief, anger, and confusion threaten to take even more from the girls until they finally start to get the help they need. Ultimately, the help allows them to start envisioning a future they want to see instead of living in the dark shadows of the past.

Fighting Words is a challenging, gut-wrenching novel. Kimberly Brubaker Bradley creates a memorable cast of characters, a spirited and honest perspective through Della, and a plot, brimming with emotion. It is hard to read and even harder to put down. The nature of the topics discussed and the depth and honesty with which they are treated rightly make it complex and mature. Is Fighting Words middle grade? Yes. Should young people read it? Depends on the young person. Will people try to ban it? Absolutely. Will others want to see the book in everyone’s hands? Without a doubt.

Kimberly Brubaker Bradley’s novel casts an important light on topics that remain woefully unaddressed in society today. As Bradley’s note at the books’ conclusion emphasizes, the statistics on sexual abuse are staggering and other traumatic circumstances affect more children than should be accepted in our society. Therefore, Fighting Words is a perfect book for some – young people that are in search for words to tell their story, trusting that someone will listen; young people that need to see themselves in a story and walk away with the hope that happy endings are not just fiction; or young people that are mature enough to read and understand the privilege of their life.

Thank you to Edelweiss+ and publisher, Dial Books, for an eARC of this book.

Classroom Applications

  • Book Club or Book Exchange – Share the novel with students that enjoy reading realistic fiction.
  • Literature Circles – Use novel for small groups or choice reading with a variety of books that touch on characters coping with trauma.

Nonfiction Connections

The list below outlines topics that will enrich your students’ understanding of the novel.

  • Foster Care System
  • Trauma
  • Sexual Abuse Statistics and Resources for Help

Book Companions

The following are great books to pair with Fighting Words. In parenthesis are the specific aspects students could explore when synthesizing across the texts.

  • Maybe He Just Likes You  by Barbara Dee (Character Connections, Themes, Nonfiction Connections)
  • Chirp by Kate Messner (Character Connections, Themes, Nonfiction Connections)
  • When You Know What I Know by Sonja K. Solter (Character Connections, Themes, Nonfiction Connections)

*LIT Lessons participates in the Amazon Associate Program and earns a fee from qualifying purchases made on the Amazon.com site.