All the Lost Things by Kelly Canby

All the Lost Things 
by Kelly Canby
Published April 2015
Peter Pauper Press
Fiction
32 pages
Review copy provided by publisher


Goodreads Summary
Olive is not your ordinary girl. And one day when this spunky young lady decides to go for a walk in her grumpy, too-busy city, she finds some extraordinary things. What Olive does with them will delight and inspire. This lively picture book is filled with the author's exuberant collage artwork and playfully hand-lettered words.

My Thoughts

It never ceases to amaze me when authors and illustrators continually create books with unique concepts. All the Lost Things is a creative picture book that is definitely a new favorite of mine. It will appeal to a wide range of children for different reasons. The illustrations are extraordinary! There is so much to look at on each page. The author also uses color, and lack of color to help tell the story. 

When Olive goes out for a walk to escape her noisy apartment, she stumbles upon a manhole cover. Upon further investigation, she finds an old woman who has been storing people's lost things in big boxes. There are ordinary things that people lose such as keys, glasses and remotes. Then there are other things that people lose like courage, dreams and will power. Olive decides to fill big jars with some lost things to give to her family such as memory for her grand dad. In the end, she does something that will give back something that the whole city seems to have lost. 

This multi-layered book would be a wonderful addition to any K-5 school or classroom library. I plan to read it to my fourth graders and discuss what people can lost that are not "things" and if they could return something lost, what would it be? 

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A Foodie Bibliophile in Wanderlust

Review of Crenshaw by Katherine Applegate

Crenshaw 
by Katherine Applegate
Expected Publication September 22, 2015
Feiwel and Friends
256 pages
Middle Grade Fiction
Review copy provided by the publisher

Goodreads Summary

In her first novel since winning the Newbery Medal, Katherine Applegate delivers an unforgettable and magical story about family, friendship, and resilience.

Jackson and his family have fallen on hard times. There's no more money for rent. And not much for food, either. His parents, his little sister, and their dog may have to live in their minivan. Again.

Crenshaw is a cat. He's large, he's outspoken, and he's imaginary. He has come back into Jackson's life to help him. But is an imaginary friend enough to save this family from losing everything?

My Thoughts

As with The One and Only Ivan, Crenshaw has become a heart print book for me. Katherine Applegate has a way of writing that just makes you want, no NEED to keep reading to find out how the story will unfold. Children (and some adults) often think that becoming homeless happens to "other people", people who don't have jobs or abuse drugs or alcohol. While reading this story it is easy to see how a hard-working family, who falls on tough times, can slowly lose their ability to pay the rent. It was very difficult as a parent to watch Jackson try to be so brave and not let his emotions show his parents how angry and frustrated he really was. I also felt for the parents who try so hard to keep things as "typical" as possible for their children. It is fascinating to watch how Jackson's imaginary friend, Crenshaw, creeps back into Jackson's life even though Jackson says he is too old for such things. Through the dialogue between Crenshaw and Jackson the readers is able to learn a bit more about how a child's imagination can protect them and help them deal with large and small challenges. 

Applegate is a gifted writer who creates characters that absolutely live on in the hearts of the reader. She develops each of the characters in the book extremely well and made me care about them individually and as a family. 

Crenshaw lends itself to discussions about homelessness, coping with challenges, expressing emotions and family. 

Fans of The One and Only Ivan will indeed love this book. I would highly recommend it to grades 4+ as an independent read. It would also make a great read aloud for grades 3+! 

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Ruby on the Outside by Nora Raleigh Baskin

Ruby on the Outside 
by Nora Raleigh Baskin
Published June 2015 
Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers
176 pages
Middle Grade Fiction
Review copy provided by publisher



Goodreads Summary

Ruby’s mom is in prison, and to tell anyone the truth is to risk true friendship in this novel that accurately and sensitively addresses a subject too often overlooked.

Eleven-year-old Ruby Danes is about to start middle school, and only her aunt knows her deepest, darkest, most secret secret: her mother is in prison.

Then Margalit Tipps moves into Ruby’s condo complex, and the two immediately hit it off. Ruby thinks she’s found her first true-blue friend—but can she tell Margalit the truth about her mom? Maybe not. Because it turns out that Margalit’s family history seems closely connected to the very event that put her mother in prison, and if Ruby comes clean, she could lose everything she cares about most.

My Thoughts

Some might pick up this book and think that it is just about a young girl whose mother is in prison. It is about that, but it is also about love, the power of having one true friend and dealing with what life hands you.  Ruby has lived with her aunt whom she calls Mattoo since her mom went to prison several years prior. She visits her mother each Saturday, but has given up hope of seeing her mother get out of prison any time "soon". When she was younger, she never wanted to know much about the circumstances that landed her mother in prison. She just treasured the time she had with her and hoped with all her might that one of these visits, her mother would come home with her. 

When Ruby meets Margalit, lots of things change.  Finally Ruby feels like she has a shot at having a true friend. The author carefully develops this friendship and makes you feel their happiness and Ruby's pull to want to trust Margalit. Through her genuine interest and obvious desire to befriend Ruby, Margalit is able to get Ruby to peek through her wall of protection. 

Ruby fears that the secret of having a mother in jail might be too much for her new friend to accept. When she learns more about her mother's crime and discovers that it might somehow be related to a tragedy in Margalit's family, Ruby is forced to deal with strong, new emotions. Anger, fear, guilt and betrayal are all starting to bubble to the surface as she tries desperately to hide her secret. 

In a mere 176 pages, Nora Raleigh Baskin tells a story that makes you fall in love with the main character and root for her as she navigates the complex and confusing world in which she lives. This book is a page-turner because you just HAVE to discover how it all turns out in the end. 

I can not wait to share Ruby on the Outside with my fourth graders this year. Ruby deals with many of the complexities of friendship and trust that many students in late elementary and middle school face. I think fans of books like Lynda Mullaly Hunt's One for the Murphy's will particularly enjoy it. This book would make a wonderful read aloud, book club book or independent read. 

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