The Magnificent Mya Tibbs:

Spirit Week Showdown

by Crystal Allen

Allen, C. (2016). The magnificent Mya Tibbs: Spirit week showdown.  New York, NY: Balzer + Bray.

Fourth grader Mya Tibbs is super excited.  Spirit week is coming and she just knows that her and her super popular best friend Naomi are going to win the grand prize...VIP tickets to the fall festival!  She even made a pinky promise with Naomi that they would be spirit week partners and she would do anything she could to help Naomi win.  Of course things don't go quite as planned when the students are asked to draw the name of their spirit week partner out of a hat and Mya selects none other than the school bully, Mean Connie Tate.  When Mean Connie flat out refuses to switch partners, Mya is stuck, and now Naomi is telling everyone that Mya broke a pinky promise and is getting them to call her "Mya Tibbs Fibs."  But what could she do?  Did Naomi really expect her stand up to the school bully?!  Mya is devastated and determined to do anything she can to win back her best friend.  Reluctantly, at the teacher's insistence, Mya begins spending time with Connie planning for each day of spirit week.  As the two girls spend more and more time together, Mya begins to realize some things; first of all she hasn't actually seen or heard Connie do even one mean thing, and two, her and Connie actually have quite a bit in common.  As nice as Connie seems, Mya still wants to reclaim her spot as Naomi's best friend, even if that means betraying her new "friend."  When Mya reveals her and Connie's plans for spirit week outfits to Naomi to give her an edge, she just knows that Naomi will welcome her back with open arms.  But when Naomi threatens to tell Connie of Mya's betrayal, unless Mya can make her brother, Nugget, like her, Mya starts to think that maybe her and Naomi were never really best friends after all.  Will Naomi ever accept Mya back?  How will Connie react when she finds out her partner spilled their secrets to her arch nemesis?  Find out all the valuable lessons Mya learns about friendship when you read 2017-2018 Texas Bluebonnet Nominee The Magnificent Mya Tibbs: Spirit Week Showdown.  Students in grades 3-6 will adore this book.

Spirit Week Showdown Book Trailer

Activities and Resources for Spirit Week Showdown

Interview with the author Crystal Allen

The Great Shelby Holmes

by Elizabeth Eulberg

Eulberg, E. (2016). The great Shelby Holmes.  New York, NY: Bloomsbury.

After the separation of his parents, 11 year-old John Watson has just moved to a New York City apartment with his mom.  After living on numerous Army bases throughout his life, John is used to having to start over with new friends, schools, and such, but this big city is somewhat of a culture shock.  Will he ever be able to make friends in a place like this?  Enter 9 year-old Shelby Holmes...Detective Shelby Holmes that is.  Within about two minutes of meeting her, she's practically figured out their life story and solved the mystery of the broken mirror.  John can't help but be intrigued, even if she is a bit on the young side.  A reluctant Shelby ends up showing John around the city and he's amazed that everyone seems to know and admire this girl.  What is her deal?  It's definitely not her friendly disposition, as she's actually kind of rude with a know it all attitude.  It turns out Shelby has helped all of these people in one way or another with particular cases, including some that the police couldn't even solve.  While she may not be a great friend, hanging out with her has to be more interesting that sitting alone at home unpacking boxes.  As the pair are out one morning walking Shelby's dog, Tamra, a girl in Shelby's grade, approaches and exclaims that her dog has gone missing 3 days before the big dog show.  Shelby, with John in tow, makes it her mission to find the missing dog, leaving no stone unturned.  When she begins crawling around on the floor and acting like a dog, John begins to wonder what he has gotten himself into.  Perhaps he should just ditch Shelby and go play basketball with Tamra's brother Zane and his friends instead.  But he's got to admit that this case has gotten interesting and he really wants to know who took the missing dog.  Plus maybe Shelby could actually use his help, not to mention a friend of her own.  With some persistent sleuthing and a bit of teamwork, these two not only find Tamra's dog, but something much more important...a friend.

Shelby's use of language would make this book an excellent choice for working on vocabulary.  It would also make a great choice for teaching lessons on making predictions.  This Texas Bluebonnet Nominee, the first in a series, would most likely be enjoyed by students in grades 3-6.

Book Trailer for The Great Shelby Holmes

Activities and Resources for Use with The Great Shelby Holmes

Discussion Questions for The Great Shelby Holmes from Teachers Pay Teachers

Soar

by Joan Bauer

Bauer, J. (2016). Soar.  New York, NY: Viking.

Jeremiah is 12 years old, at least he thinks he is.  Abandoned as an infant in the snack room of a computer company the doctors could only assume his age.  Luckily Jeremiah, chewing on his stuffed eagle, was found by a kind hearted computer programmer named Walt who decided to take him in and adopt him as his own son.  Walt, a former baseball player in school, loves the game and shares his passion and knowledge of the sport with his new son.  Jeremiah develops a love of baseball as well and has big dreams, until all of a sudden they are dashed when he is forced to have a heart transplant.  Well if he can't actually play ball, he'll do the next best thing, he sets his sights on becoming a coach.  It just so happens that Walt has been transferred to Hillcrest, Ohio, a town known for it's championship baseball team.  Jeremiah couldn't be more excited to watch the Hornet's kill it on the ball field.  But when the star player suddenly dies, and Coach Perkins is accused of giving his players performance enhancing drugs, the town erupts in scandal and it seems like Hillcrest's days of baseball and glory are over.  So where does that leave Jeremiah?  He can't stand to watch his beloved sport smeared and dying in this town, and takes it upon himself to rally up some of his middle school classmates to form their own team.  But will anyone ever take them seriously?  Has the damage to baseball's reputation in this town been done?  Can he really take this group of kids and turn them into real ball players?  One thing he learns for sure is that it is not all about winning or losing, but how you play and never giving up.  I would recommend this Texas Bluebonnet Nominee for students in grades 4-8, and think it will have a special appeal to males and sports lovers.

Book Trailer for Soar

Activities and Resources to Use With Soar

Unidentified Suburban Object

by Mike Jung

Jung, M. (2016). Unidentified suburban object.  New York, NY: Arthur A. Levine Books.

Soon to be seventh grader Chloe Cho and her family are the only Koreans in her entire town.  In fact they're the only Asians in her whole town, and she's getting really tired of people who think all Asians are only either Chinese or Japanese and they can't even tell the difference. And don't even get her started on Asian stereotypes or compare her to world famous violinist Abigail Yang!  Luckily she has her best friend Shelly who is also a super smart teacher's pet, in the band, and loves the fact that Chloe is Korean, to keep her sane.  But, this year could be different.  This year Chloe has a new teacher, Ms. Lee, who is new to the area and is also Korean.  This is just fantastic.  You see, anytime Chloe broaches the subject of her family's history or being from Korea, her parents ALWAYS change the subject.  Whether it's something deep like about family members or their past, or something more fun like food or clothing, Chloe can never get a straight answer from them and it is infuriating.  Perhaps this new teacher will provide Chloe with some of the information she so desperately seeks.  Of course it's also possible that her search for answers will lead her to a family history that she never could have expected!  After Ms. Lee accuses Chloe of plagiarism on a story about their family history, an angry Chloe confronts her father about the story he told her.  Together, Chloe's parents explain to her that they are in fact NOT from Korea, but are aliens from the planet Tau Ceti.  This revelation leads Chloe down a path of denial, self destruction, and a lot more questions than answers.  Can Chloe and Shelly's friendship survive?  Will Chloe finally find self acceptance?  Read 2017-2018 Texas Bluebonnet Nominee Unidentified Suburban Object to find out.  Recommended for grades 4-8.

Book Trailer for Unidentified Suburban Object

Discussion Guide for Unidentified Suburban Object

Interview with Author Mike Jung

The Best Man

by Richard Peck

Peck. R. (2016).  The best man.  New York, NY: Dial Books for Young Readers.

     Archer is the best man in his uncle's wedding, who just happens to be marrying his new student teacher; another man. Of course before he can tell this story, he has to take you back to the first wedding he was in... where he ripped his pants, had to walk down the aisle exposing his bottom, and met his very best friend Lynette.  Archer recounts his years in elementary school through a humorous narrative that all students will be able to relate to.  There are the bullies, the teachers (both the great and not so much), the student from another country, oh, and the incident that brought out the SWAT team and local news media.  The story progresses through the sixth grade, which used to be part of the elementary school, but has now been moved into the high school.  We see much of the expected; growth spurts, attitude changes, and questioning of the kind of person they want to be.  This Texas Bluebonnet Award Nominee would be most enjoyed by students in grades 4-6.

The Best Man Book Trailer

TBA Activities and Resources for The Best Man

Rodeo Red 

by Maripat Perkins

Perkins, M. (2015). Rodeo Red. Atlanta, GA: Peachtree.

Rodeo Red and her best friend Rusty, a stuffed hound dog, are living the good life until the arrival of Sideswiping Slim, a new baby brother.  Despite the fact that this "scallywag" does nothing but holler, destroy her things and even steals her beloved Rusty, her parents (the Sheriff and her Deputy) seem "smitten."  When her "city slicker" of an aunt sends her a belated birthday gift, "some sort of varnished varmint" (stuffed cat), she comes up with a plan to outwit her new brother and get her best friend back.

The highlight of this text describing the age old issue of sibling rivalry has to be Perkins’ extensive use of language that seems to come from straight out of the old west.  When punished for trying to retrieve her toy from her baby brother, her mother, “dropped me into a holding cell quicker than you could say lickety-split.  I was madder than a bee in a Sunday bonnet.”

Molly Idle does a great job of combining all the visual elements to convey an image that blends reality with Red’s imagination.  She uses soft, rounded lines and muted pastel colors to add some old west flavor, such as Red’s cowgirl hat, the saloon style doors in the home and even small touches like the sheriff’s badge adorning the mother’s neckline and father’s cuffs. 

Podcast Interview with Maripat Perkins

This is Not My Hat 
by Jon Klassen

Klassen, J. (2012). This is Not My Hat. Boston, MA: Candlewick Press.

Little fish is excited because he has a hat and it fits just right. Unfortunately the hat does not belong to him. It belongs to a much bigger fish who had it stolen right off his head! Unbeknownst to little fish who thinks he is getting away unnoticed, the hat's owner is on his trail. When the witness who said he wouldn't tell spills the beans, things don't turn out quite the way little fish had hoped.

With very basic and minimal text, much of the humor of the story is told through the illustrations, such as in the big fish’s eyes and the crab pointing the way to the culprit.  Though the ending is not specifically stated in the text, the reader is left to infer the outcome based on the pictures.  

The dominant shape in This is Not My Hat is the oval.  Used to not only represent the main characters of big and little fish, ovals are also used to illustrate the underwater setting’s plants throughout the story.  This is significant in that little fish believes he can hide and will be safe in the tall plants.  The shape of the larger fishes’ eye is very telling as well, as you really gain a sense of his thoughts and emotions through even the slightest change in its shape and direction.

Book Trailer for This is Not My Hat