One Voice, Many Voices, Many Voices As One Voice

There are numerous days during a school year when as educators we feel joy bursting out of every fiber of our being.  One of the best of these days is the first day of school.  Expectations and anticipation are running high in everyone's mind.  This day is brimming with potential for every single person who walks in the door regardless of their grade level or years as an educator.

As educators we have the good fortune with our students to create lasting memories; they will most likely dictate future choices.  Thinking and viewpoints will be rearranged.  Operation Frog Effect (Random House, February 26, 2019) written by Sarah Scheerger follows a remarkable group of eight fifth grade students and their equally remarkable teacher. 

CHAPTER 1
BLAKE
LUCKY (frog happily leaping in a pond)
UNLUCKY (said frog being attacked by a bird)
LUCKY! (frog is saved by a human who sticks him in his pocket)
UNLUCKY! (student, Blake, is heading to school)

This first entry in the first chapter is done as a page in a graphic novel.  This is how Blake presents his voice to readers throughout the book.  The frog he smuggles into the classroom becomes a focus very quickly.  Another student, Henry, portrays his viewpoint as if he is writing a script for a movie scene.  A third student, Sharron, writes in free verse poems. 

We are privy to their story through their reflections for a reason revealed on the first day of school.  Their teacher, Ms. Graham, has requested they keep journals.  The journals will be never read by her, by anyone. (This does not remain entirely true.  Who breaks this rule?)

Through their writing their distinct personalities emerge.  Emily has named her journal Hope.  Each of her pages begin by addressing Hope.  Kayley writes directly to Ms. Graham.  Kai decides to make Frog (who is eventually named Kermit) the recipient of his literary revelations.  Cecilia forms letters to her Abuelita, her grandmother living in Mexico.  She concludes with English words for her grandmother to practice.  Aviva, shy and concerned, dates her words, more like a formal diary. 

One of these students is living in a garage with their mother, one has over-protective parents who give them no choice in any decisions, another student is always the class comedian, one is living with a distant, sad mother and a father who is never around and a fifth student is so intelligent they finish their work and devour a novel in the same day.  There is a student free with their opinions believing they are always right, another student sees the world with uncanny wisdom (usually), and the eighth classmate has moved repeatedly for reasons they can never share. 

As the year begins, they are told the tables with groups of four, where they seated when they entered the room, will remain.  Of the students, on which this story centers, there are a variety of emotions at this news.  They are eight very particular people.  Through a series of class exercises (an egg drop challenge) and projects (an endeavor illustrating inequality and injustice), their differences become strengths as they evolve into two teams of four and an extraordinary group of eight. 

The largest of the assignments highlights current social issues.  The discussions around the themes further present personalities but we begin to see shifts in thinking.  When Ms. Graham directs them to immerse themselves in their topic, one group makes a bad decision.  This decision leads to consequences they could never have imagined but it also gives our eight protagonists the chance to put what their teacher believes into real-life practice.  Tension escalates as each team member works at what they do best, but will it be enough to reverse earlier repercussions.


No matter your age (we've all or will be fifth grade students), you will find Sarah Scheerger speaks with clarity and knowledge of the hearts of these girls and boys.  She does not alternate equally between the eight voices, but each entry flows naturally from one to the other.  This style takes us directly, with realism, into their individual and collective lives. 

By choosing to have the eight students use a specific approach in their journals, more readers can identify with them.  (We all have various ways to express our thoughts.) Blake's pictures reveal those things not easily considered verbally.  Sharon's poems condense events with astounding insight.  Henry's scenes present conversations.  Sarah Scheerger also, when applicable, inserts the names of other well-known books titles.  Here are two passages of many, many marked in my copy of this book.

I work alone.
Mostly.
Sure, I sit in a table group.
Sure, we talk.
But they all think I'm weird.

It's okay.
I am weird.
I don't have three eyes
Or purple polka dots,
But there's something about me
That's different.
And sometimes,
Different means strange.

Mom says it's because I don't care
About what other people think.
But she's wrong.
I do care about what people think.
I find it fascinating.
But I don't care to change ME in order to make them like me.


There's an old picture book called Harold and the Purple Crayon.  The kid walks around all over the place, drawing things.  It's like he's making up his own story as he goes.  If he's falling, he draws a parachute.  If he hits an obstacle, he draws an escape route.  Too bad life's not really like that.  Because right now, I need a purple crayon.


Authentic fifth-grade student voices from a variety of backgrounds and situations alter their opinions under the direction of one vibrant teacher who urges them to work together for a common goal.  Readers will find Operation Frog Effect written by Sarah Scheerger captivating from beginning to end.  They will find themselves nodding knowingly, cheering, laughing and maybe getting a bit teary at times.  This is read-aloud gold.  You will certainly want a copy in your collections.

To learn more about Sarah Scheerger and her other work, please follow the link attached to her name to access her website.  She has many extra reference materials relative to this book there.  At the publisher's website you can read several chapters.  Here is a link to a clip from the audiobook.  Here are clips of the various readers for the characters in the audiobook.  This book is part of an educator's guide on school stories.  You can find classroom extension activities here.  Sarah Scheerger writes a guest post at the Nerdy Book Club.  Sarah Scheerger is interviewed at MG Book Village, From The Mixed-Up Files . . . and YAYOMG!  Sarah Scheerger has an account on Twitter.

Gem

Sometimes very, very early in the morning, just past midnight, the sight of the moon in the crystal clear air of October is marvelous and a bit magical.  It casts a glow unlike any other light.  Everything it touches is seen anew.

In her newest gift to readers, author illustrator Molly Idle takes us into watery depths.  There reside legendary creatures, caretakers of the sea. Pearl (Little, Brown and Company, October 9, 2018) is about one of the smallest residing there who yearns to join the others with a special task of her own.

In the vast sea of blue,
some mermaids watched over the waves
breaking upon the endless beaches.

Each of the mermaids acts as guardians of the sea.  They may care for the coral reefs, vast swirling kelp, or enormous living beings.  One day Pearl asks her mother to allow her to be a protector.  She believes she is big enough.  Her mother agrees.

Together mother and daughter swim and swim and swim until they break to the surface.  Spread before them is a sandy beach stretching as far as the eye can see.  Pearl's mother tells her this expanse is for her but . . .

When her mother gives her a single grain of sand under her care, Pearl is stunned.  How can her mother give her this tiny task? Now alone on the beach, this mermaid wonders about her worth.  Pearl swims and swims and swims back to the bottom of the sea heartbroken.

Pearl is angry at the grain of sand holding it tightly in her hand.  Wait!  A soft glow is shining between her fingers.  It only gleams when her hands are closed around the single grain of sand.  When she opens her hand to look at it closely, Pearl can see it's different.

Day by day, night by night Pearl tends to this single grain of glowing sand.  It begins to grow and grow and grow until it lifts Pearl and her now happier heart toward the surface of the sea.  The watched becomes watcher.


Reading the sentences penned by Molly Idle in this story is like walking along a sandy beach under the light of the moon with the waves quietly lapping along the shore.  Each word is a reflection of the world in which Pearl lives.

. . . towering forests of kelp rising from the ocean floor.
A wave of disappointment washed over her.

Molly mixes dialogue with her narrative to connect us on a more personal level with Pearl.  This also allows us to see the wisdom in her mother's decision.  At one point in the story Molly uses alliteration with verbs to marvelous effect.  Here is another passage.

Her heart grew heavy,
and the weight of it pulled her
down . . .
down . . .
down . . .
. . . where the salt of her tears mingled with the sea.


The luminous hues of blue spread across the opened dust jacket from flap edge to flap edge.  The elegant font for the title text is a lovely hint of the beauty unfolding in this story. (The jacket features matte lamination with a pearlescent ink and embossed type.) The waves of Pearl's hair are designed to be framed by the opened shell.  On the spine a tiny Pearl is diving toward a tiny glow at the opposite end.  To the left, the back of the opened shell has a glow around it.  The words above it read:

Sometimes the tiniest light
can shine the brightest. . .

Removing the jacket reveals a book case in hues of blue going from light to dark from the bottom to the top.  On the right Pearl floats, her head bent down.  She is looking at the now glowing grain of sand in her cupped hands.  The opening and closing endpapers are a reversal of the shades going from light to dark from the top to the bottom.  A page turn reveals a breathtaking view of Pearl rising from the sea as the curve of a huge wave moves toward an expanse of beach.

Each double-page picture is brimming with animation and emotion.  Rendered with Prismacolor pencils on vellum-finish Bristol Molly Idle takes us into an extraordinary realm. The mermaids' color and hair formations mirror the portion of the sea under their care.  Molly shifts the perspective causing us to pause page turn after page turn.  Sometimes we are going up and sometimes we are floating without moving.  Sometimes we see the sea in a larger view, other times we move in close noting the facial expressions on Pearl.  We watch as the colors of the sea grow richer and deeper as day turns to night.

One of my many, many favorite illustrations is of Pearl sleeping in the opened shell.  The dark waters of the sea surround her drifting with light and shadow.  On the right the base of the shell is several shades of midnight blue.  On the bottom of the opened shell is a lush rose, a bit lighter than Pearl. She sleeps holding the growing grain of sand (pearl).  Peeking from the top of the opened shell is her mother.


Pearl written and illustrated by Molly Idle is one of those books which wrap around you in pure eloquence.  Through the adept blend of words and images we feel a deep connection to Pearl.  This makes us gasp at the conclusion.  I am sure this story will invite conversations about size and purpose.  In pairing this book with Grace Lin's A Big Mooncake for Little Star you can begin a discussion about origin tales.  I highly recommend this title for your professional and personal collections.

To learn more about Molly Idle and her other work, please visit her website by following the link attached to her name.  Molly maintains accounts on Instagram and Twitter.  Her Instagram account is loaded with artwork and sketches from this book.  The cover reveal for this book is at A Fuse #8 Production, School Library Journal, hosted by Elizabeth Bird.  You will find the interview interesting.  Molly Idle visits Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast hosted by author, reviewer and blogger, Julie Danielson.  She talks about this book and her artistic process.  It's a fabulous post.  There is a video book chat with Molly at the publisher's website.

Campaigning For...

Every single person knows what it's like to want something more than anything else in the whole wide world and having parents who completely disagree with this desire.  As far as said parents are concerned, as long as you are living under their roof, this is not going to happen.  Does that stop children from still believing this is a possibility?  It does not.  In fact, they will devote every waking (and sleeping) moment to figuring out how they can make this dream come true.

Most guy and gals, at one time or another have wanted a pet.  For many of them the only pet which will bring them total and complete joy is a dog.  In her debut novel, Vilonia Beebe Takes Charge (A Paula Wiseman Book, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, March 7, 2017) Kristin L. Gray introduces us to a remarkable girl, not yet ten years old, who is determined to bring a dog into her family.

The day I was born I was four times smaller than the trophy largemouth bass hanging in my daddy's shop.  My entire hand fit on Dr. Lafferty's thumbnail.  Nobody, Mama included, had planned on me arriving three months early.

This is Vilonia Beebe.  She has a twelve-year-old brother named Leon who is more pest than human.  Her all-around great guy dad who can fry the tastiest catfish anyone has ever eaten is a fishing guide.  Her mama is the happy life force of the family but is currently suffering greatly having lost her own mother forty-three days ago.  She rarely leaves her bedroom.

Now, besides her family, Vilonia loves her next-door neighbor and forever friend Ava Claire, a girl with a dancer's heart, softball and Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo.  India Opal's love of Winn-Dixie is the chief reason Vilonia has the Great Pet Campaign fully operational though for the time being not too successful.  This is all about to change because of Eleanor Roosevelt.

No, this is not the dearly departed first lady and wife of President Franklin Roosevelt.  Eleanor Roosevelt is a fine egg-laying chicken, the pride of the Willoughby family.  You should also know the Willoughby twins, Rory and Ransom, friends of Leon, are charming, handsome and pranksters of the highest order.  (The family also owns the local fireworks business.)

On the way to her opening softball game for her pitching debut, Vilonia rescues Eleanor from a hit-and-run accident.  After delivering her to the local vet, she notices a sign there proclaiming the benefits of owning a dog, especially for those people feeling blue.  Click.  Now Vilonia has even more reason to have a dog.  She needs to bring her loving mama out of her sadness.

Miss Bettina is the editor of the local newspaper and Vilonia's mama's boss.  Her mama writes the obituaries for the paper; well, she did until forty-three days ago.  Her mama thinks Miss Bettina has been writing them.  We readers discover who is really writing them.

Obituaries, puppies, stink bombs, Mr. Reyes, the school librarian, the library goldfish, Max, Ray Charles, spring break, sour cream pound cake, Viking funerals, Miss Hazel Sogbottom, the vet's assistant, and the Howard County's 47th Annual Catfish Festival are all ingredients in an amazing quest to demonstrate responsibility.  You will laugh out loud, cheer and fall in love with the characters in this book (even Miss Bettina) as they shape Vilonia's world in Howard County, Mississippi.  The conclusion will lift your soul like a balloon on a gentle breeze and fill your heart with happiness.

Kristin L. Gray writes with such clarity and description you will read this with a Southern accent in your mind.  (In fact, I am thinking with a Southern accent as I write this blog post.)  Told through Vilonia's point of view the story is intimately tied to readers.  We connect with Vilonia's thoughts.  We understand all the characters' personalities through the conversations.  We feel as though we are members of the community in which they all live.

The narrative flows flawlessly from one moment to the next with true-to-life emotions and events.  Gray ties all of the life threads from other characters' lives into a beautiful blend.  Here are some sample passages.

"It's a perfect day to play ball!" I held my arms out to the sun, and a cool breeze brushed my face.  It was the Thursday afternoon before spring break.  Nana loved spring.  "Nana would love today."

"She sure would, Tadpole.  She loved to watch you play." Daddy reached into the cab of his truck and tossed my lucky glove my way.  I snatched it midair and ran my fingers across its smooth leather.

"And what about Mama?" I asked, and stabbed the dirt with my toe.  "Think she'll feel like coming?"

Daddy's eyes changed from sunny to cloudy with a chance of rain.  "The forecast changes daily when it comes to Mama, Vi.  But I can ask.  You know she's your biggest fan."

"I know."  I tried to hide my disappointment.  I knew Daddy was doing his absolute best to take care of us, Mama included.  But I've learned grief has no rules.  She'll make herself at home, eat all your best snacks, sleep in your bed, and no matter what you do or say, sometimes nothing on earth can make her leave.


Ava Claire was all ruffles and tutus and sparkly dance shoes---everything I wasn't.  I'd played softball since I could swing a bat, but Ava Claire wasn't interested the minute she laid her brown eyes on those "ugly spiked shoes."  She's rather twirl onstage in scratchy sequins under one thousand-watt lights.  Yeah, we went together like toothpaste and orange juice, but if anyone tried picking on either one of us, we stuck together like gum to a shoe.


I looked to the back of the bus, hoping to catch Rory's eye, but Mr. Danny, our bus driver who's older than dirt but somehow still has his driver's license, came over the loud speaker.

"I need everyone to listen up and sit down.  I've survived two hurricanes, a wife, and a war.  I'm getting y'all to school safe and sound.  Ya' hear?


There is so much laughter, life and love in Vilonia Beebe Takes Charge written by Kristin L. Gray you will read it in one sitting and eagerly start it all over again.  After reading several pages aloud to a group of third grade students, hands went in the air to be the first to read it cover to cover.  This would make for a great read aloud.  Make sure you have a copy for your personal and professional bookshelves.

You are going to enjoy visiting Kristin L. Gray's website by following the link attached to her name.  The information she shares is like sitting down to chat with her one on one.  There is a special post at Scholastic's Ambassador of School Libraries John Schumacher's blog, Watch. Connect. Read., to celebrate the cover reveal.  Kristin is interviewed at author Wendy McLeod MacKnight's site, Tuesday Writers,  author Patricia Bailey's site, and author Melissa Roske's site.