Completely Full Bookshelf

For MMGM, I am recommending Because of Winn-Dixie  by Kate DiCamillo. Here's the description from the back of the book: When ten-year-old India Opal Buloni moves to Naomi, Florida, with her father, she doesn't know what to expect — least of all that she'll adopt Winn-Dixie, a dog she names after the supermarket where they meet. With such an unusually friendly dog at her side, Opal soon finds herself making more than a few unusual friends. And soon, Opal and her father realize — with a little help from Winn-Dixie, of course — that while they've both tasted a bit of melancholy in their lives, they still have a whole lot to be thankful for. One of the best parts about Because of Winn-Dixie  is the varied lineup of characters, all of whom are central to the book. Some much younger than Opal and some much older, all of them have their own voices and troubles. Even Winn-Dixie is so well described, he seems to come to life. The book has several lessons in it,...

For MMGM, I am recommending The Fourteenth Goldfish  by Jennifer L. Holm. Here's the publisher's description: Believe in the possible . . . with this New York Times bestseller by three-time Newbery Honor winner Jennifer L. Holm. A perfect Father’s Day read about a child’s relationship with her grandfather!  Galileo. Newton. Salk. Oppenheimer. Science can change the world . . . but can it go too far?  Eleven-year-old Ellie has never liked change. She misses fifth grade. She misses her old best friend. She even misses her dearly departed goldfish. Then one day a strange boy shows up. He’s bossy. He’s cranky. And weirdly enough . . . he looks a lot like Ellie’s grandfather, a scientist who’s always been slightly obsessed with immortality. Could this gawky teenager really be Grandpa Melvin? Has he finally found the secret to eternal youth?  With a lighthearted touch and plenty of humor, Jennifer Holm celebrates the wonder of science and explores fascinatin...

For MMGM, I am recommending The Year of the Book , written by Andrea Cheng and illustrated by Abigail Halpin. Here's the publisher's description: In Chinese, peng you means friend. But in any language, all Anna knows for certain is that friendship is complicated.   When Anna needs company, she turns to her books. Whether traveling through A Wrinkle in Time , or peering over My Side of the Mountain , books provide what real life cannot—constant companionship and insight into her changing world.   Books, however, can’t tell Anna how to find a true friend. She’ll have to discover that on her own. In the tradition of classics like Maud Hart Lovelace’s Betsy-Tacy books and Eleanor Estes’ One Hundred Dresses , this novel subtly explores what it takes to make friends and what it means to be one. I really enjoyed this book! Although it is aimed more towards the younger end of the middle grade spectrum, it can be appreciated by anyone of any age. One focus of ...

For Poetry Sunday, I am recommending "Summer Storm" by Dana Gioia. I hope you enjoy it!

For MMGM, I am recommending Hour of the Bees by Lindsay Eagar. (This cover is the redesigned version for the paperback.) Here's the publisher's description: While her friends are spending their summers having pool parties and sleepovers, twelve-year-old Carolina — Carol — is spending hers in the New Mexico desert, helping her parents move her grandfather into a home for people with dementia. At first, Carol avoids prickly Grandpa Serge. But as the summer wears on, Carol finds herself drawn to him, fascinated by the crazy stories he tells her about a healing tree, a green-glass lake, and the bees that will bring back the rain and end a hundred years of drought. As the line between magic and reality starts to blur, Carol must decide for herself what is possible — and what it means to be true to her roots. I really enjoyed this book. One of my favorite things about it is the amount of major topics that it discusses. Carol's family is Hispanic, and her...

For MMGM, I am recommending  Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life by Wendy Mass. (Note: The cover was redesigned when a movie based on this book was released.) Here's the publisher's description: Jeremy Fink has been obsessed with the meaning of life ever since a box from his father arrived at his house five years after his father was killed in a car accident. Jeremy is determined to find the missing keys that will open the box that supposedly contains the meaning of life. Jeremy and his best friend Lizzy make it their summer quest to get inside the mysterious box. But after getting into some trouble, they get stuck doing community service together, helping an antique shop owner deliver things to different parts of the city. It turns out that these deliveries aren't always ordered, the recipients react unexpectedly, some with anger, some with tears. As Jeremy and Lizzy's summer adventures continue, they begin to discover the meaning of life and themselves a...

For MMGM, I am recommending Flying Lessons & Other Stories  by various authors, and edited by Ellen Oh. Flying Lessons & Other Stories  is not a typical middle grade book. It is a collection of short stories from various middle-grade authors, some new and some well-known, with an emphasis on diversity. This is not shocking, considering that the book is affiliated with We Need Diverse Books (a cofounder of which, Ellen Oh, edited the book). I love this book! Each story is interesting, usually being about 20 pages, the perfect length for their plots. It is very satisfying to read short stories by some of my favorite authors, such as Grace Lin (whose books I have recommended here and here ).   Several of the authors are even Newbery winners! I also love the diversity of the stories, especially since it is actually a major part of each story, as opposed to simply being a meaningless statement that does not change the story. This book is perfect for anyone, whe...

For Poetry Sunday, I am recommending "The Waking" by Theodore Roethke. I hope you enjoy it!

For MMGM, I am recommending All the Answers  by Kate Messner. Here's the publisher's description: What if your pencil had all the answers? Would you ace every test? Would you know what your teachers were thinking? When Ava Anderson finds a scratched up pencil, she doodles like she would with any other pencil. But when she writes a question in the margin of her math quiz, she hears a clear answer in a voice no one else seems to hear.  With the help of her friend Sophie, Ava figures out that the pencil will answer factual questions only--those with definite right or wrong answers--but won't predict the future. Ava and Sophie discover all kinds of uses for the pencil, and Ava's confidence grows with each answer. But it's getting shorter with every sharpening, and when the pencil reveals a scary truth about Ava's family, she realizes that sometimes the bravest people are the ones who live without all the answers . . . This book has become one...

For MMGM, I am recommending Anya's Ghost by Vera Brosgol. Here's the publisher's description: Anya could really use a friend. But her new BFF isn't kidding about the "forever" part . . .  Of all the things Anya expected to find at the bottom of an old well, a new friend was not one of them. Especially not a new friend who's been dead for a century.  Falling down a well is bad enough, but Anya's normal life might actually be worse. She's embarrassed by her family, self-conscious about her body, and she's pretty much given up on fitting in at school. A new friend—even a ghost—is just what she needs.  Or so she thinks.  Spooky, sardonic, and secretly sincere, Anya's Ghost is a wonderfully entertaining debut graphic novel from author/artist Vera Brosgol. I really enjoyed this graphic novel! It is a very quick read (I read it in about an hour), as well as a very fun one. The main character, Anya, has a family who has only lived ...