Coughlin Corner - LIS 721

 Science Fiction & Mystery When You Reach Me Stead, Rebecca. When You Reach Me . 240p. 2010. Tr. $8.99. ISBN 9780375850868. Time travel is a tricky thing, especially for a young girl from 1979 to understand. Amidst conflicts with her best friend Sal, her efforts to become more outgoing and friendly, and her mother's preparation for her appearance on the game show  $20,000 Pyramid, Miranda keeps receiving notes with information and messages that only someone from the future could have written. If this weren't bewildering enough, the notes ask for Miranda's help in saving her best friend's life. While science fiction elements play a major role in the story, they do not overshadow the novel's theme of friendship. Miranda's efforts to hold onto her old friends while branching out and making new friends is still a major focus of the story. If anything, the notes from the future help show Miranda's dedication to her friends. While she is initially confused and...

Historical & Contemporary Realism The War that Saved My Life     Bradley, Kimberly Brubaker. The War that Saved My Life. 352p. 2016. Tr. $9.99. ISBN 9780147510488. The War that Saved My Life  tells the story of a young girl finding the strength, resilience, and hope to leave behind the pain and abuse of her past and embrace a new life, set against the backdrop of an anxious England heading into the second World War. Protagonist Ada lives in a small London flat with her brother, Jamie, and her abusive mother, Mam. Ada was born with a club foot, and because of this, Mam has deemed her unsuitable to leave the house. Being trapped in their small home all day, Ada become a constant target for Mam's physical and emotional abuse. As the attacks from the Germans begin to threaten London, many children, including Jamie, are sent to the countryside to wait out the danger. Refusing to stay behind, Ada takes her first step towards freedom, sneaking away with Jamie to the countrys...

 Graphic Novels Fox & Rabbit Ferry, Beth. Fox & Rabbit . illus. by Gergely Dudas. 96p. 2020. Tr. $12.99. ISBN. 9781419740770. Fox & Rabbit by Beth Ferry follows the episodic adventures of the two title characters. Gergely Dudas's simple, yet adorable illustrations perfectly match the tone of Ferry's writing. The illustrations successfully bring Fox and Rabbit to life, showing the characters' emotions and actions without over shadowing the text.  This graphic novel is perfect for transitional readers. The situations the two friends find themselves in are ones that many young readers can either clearly understand or relate to. Ferry's writing meets the reader where they are at, and does not complicate the plot with ideas or events that are over their heads.  Fox & Rabbit  is the first in Ferry's  Fox & Rabbit  series. As readers fall in love with Fox and Rabbit, they can continue reading about the two friends in  Fox & Rabbit...

 Beginning & Transitional Books Stop! Bot! Yang, James. Stop! Bot! illus. by James Yang. 40p. 2019. Tr. $17.99. ISBN 9780425288818. Stop! Bot!,  written and illustrated by James Yang, would fall into level one of Kathleen T. Horning's easy reader level evaluation system. This colorful children's story that follows a doorman's mission to retrieve a young boy's runaway robot includes many of the level one indicators. The sentences in  Stop! Bot!  contain an average of five to seven words, words that primarily contain one or two syllables. The majority of these limited syllable words are also common sight words that early readers are beginning to learn and recognize. No only can these sight words be found on each page, but many of the same words are repeated throughout the book, supporting the reader's recognition and understand of these crucial vocabulary words. Additional, each page is covered in illustrations that support the reader's understanding of the te...

 Books of Information Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre Weatherfold, Carole Boston. Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre . illus. by Floyd Cooper. 88p. 2021. Tr. $17.99. ISBN 9781541581203. In this gripping tale, Carole Boston Weatherford recalls the horrific events surrounding the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. Weatherfold has dedicated her career to sharing Black history with readers through her countless and celebrated picture books.  Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre,  masterfully informs readers about the events that took place on May 31st and June 1st of 1921, while also using powerful illustrations to accompany the text. As evident in the Author's Note, Weatherford took the time to research and study this event before making it the subject of her book.  This book would best be suited for intermediate elementary grade to middle school grade readers. The content is presented in a manner that is not too advanced or graphic for this demographic, while still givin...