The Outsmarters (Deborah Ellis)

 

Originally, I was thinking this book is not the same as Deborah Ellis' other books. Most of her books are about kids in difficult political situations. Thinking about it a little more, maybe this one is about that. Krate is a girl who has had to grow up quickly. She is being raised by her grandmother because her mother is an addict. Her grandmother teaches her that we can't outclass others, nor can we out spend them....so we will have to outsmart them. Krate realizes she's going to have to figure out the system (ie get her GED) and look after herself. Even her name was symbolic of accepting her situation. She was always called Kate - but then she found her birth certificate and realized her mother, high on something, wrote down Krate...and even though her grandmother wants to forbid it, she starts to go by that name. 

Gran owns a junkyard and makes Kate do chores and pay for anything she gets. She is relentless on her boundaries with Kate....for a good reason. She knows how important boundaries are because of her drug addicted daughter, Kate's mother. Kate decides to open a philosophy booth (made me think of Lucy from Charlie Brown) to earn money. I loved all the references to great authors, wise leaders and well respected people.

The whole idea of the value of things - and how they take people's junk and make something useful of it was a fascinating topic. A librarian friend also recommended some other books along the same theme:
The One Thing You Save 
Just One Gift
 - both by Linda Sue Parks
The Outcasts of 19 Schuyler Place (EL Konisburg)
Also the website: The Burning House

I'm not sure what grade I'd recommend this book for. I don't think it would suit elementary with it's heavy topics nor would I recommend it as a read aloud. However, if there were a kid with addiction in their family or other similar issues, they might really relate to this book. Not sure. There are some tough topics.

Kate, I mean Krate, discovering she is going to have to go do some kind deeds for her grumpy neighbor and her grumpy grandmother's direction: "Once upon a time," Gran says, "when I was a child, I thought as a child, I spake as a child, I was nice like a child. But now I'm a hard-hearted old broad. I've put away childish things."
I'm not sure what the Bible verse really says, but whatever. My bleak days just got bleaker.

p.74"Yes, well, Doris and I grew up together. Best of friends. When we were your age, we had such adventures, riding our bikes all over town. Then we got older."
"No more adventures?"
"We changed," Jean says. "We became boring. We became timid. What are we do afraid of?"
"Is that your question?" I ask. I'm actually curious.
"No," says Jean. I know what we're afraid of. We're afraid of looking foolish. We're afraid of admitting that we've wasted time on things that aren't important and that we don't even truly enjoy.  They are such small things, not even real things. There are many people in this world who really do have things to be afraid of."

Section quote p. 149: If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stomping on a human face - forever. - George Orwell (gulp!) 

Goodreads says:

Kate opens a Philosophy Booth ("Get answers to life's big and little questions -- $2 a question") and ends up asking some tough questions of her own. Suspended from school and prone to rages, twelve-year-old Kate finds her own way to get on with her life, despite the messed-up adults around her. Her gran, for one, is stubborn and aloof -- not unlike Kate herself, who has no friends, and who's been expelled for "behavioral issues," like the meltdowns she has had ever since her mom dumped her with her grandmother three years ago. Kate dreams that one day her mother will return for her. When that happens, they'll need money, so Kate sets out to make some. Gran nixes her idea to sell psychiatric advice like Lucy in Peanuts ("You're not a psychiatrist. You'll get sued."), so Kate decides to open a philosophy booth to provide answers to life's big and small questions. She soon learns that adults have plenty of problems and secrets of their own, including Gran. When she finds that her grandmother has been lying to her about her mother, the two have a huge fight, and Gran says she can't wait for Kate to finish high school so she'll be rid of her at last. Kate decides to take matters into her own hands and discovers that to get what she wants, she may have to reach out to some unexpected people, and find a way to lay down her own anger.

The Stone Child (David Roberson)

 

I'm not one to often read a whole series, so I'm pretty proud of myself for getting to this one, the third book in the series. I would do it again too. I love the magic. I love the soul searching. I love the resolution in this book. I think this book is a great resource for understanding more about First Nation's culture and ways. It's beautiful. 

Goodreads says:

It's a race against time to save Eli, in this third book in the award-winning, Narnia-inspired Indigenous middle-grade fantasy series.

After discovering a near-lifeless Eli at the base of the Great Tree, Morgan knows she doesn't have much time to save him. And it will mean asking for help -- from friends old and new. Racing against the clock, and with Arik and Emily at her side, Morgan sets off to follow the trail away from the Great Tree to find Eli's soul before it's too late. As they journey deep into the northern woods, a place they've been warned never to enter, they face new challenges and life-threatening attacks from strange and horrifying creatures. But a surprise ally comes to their aid, and Morgan finds the strength to focus on what's most important: saving her brother's life.

The Barren Grounds (David A Robertson)

 

This book is bound for greatness! I see a multitude of classrooms doing novel studies. It is going to become a classic, I'm sure of it.

Topics for the classroom:

- foster care

- anger 

- environment

Fun reason to read it: I will never  forget how fun it was for my daughter to get the Harry Potter books as they came out. People would like up at the bookstore at midnight to get it on the first day and start reading immediately. This book is the first in a four part series. Book one and two are out and three and four are planned but not out yet. This is a chance to get in on the new books when they come out!

"Stories always lead people somewhere, "Arik said. "To a place, to a memory." (p. 232)

Setting Winnipeg in November

Characters:
Morgan - 13 Grade 8, in 8th foster home
Eli - always has a drawing pad, in grade 7
Kate - a teacher
James - a doctor
Emily Houldsworth p. 18 Calls Moran "Ghost"
Arik p. 124
Fischer p. 62
Mrs Edwards ELA teacher p. 21 Always overdressed
Elaborative detail:

p. 194 setting


Notice and Note Signposts

Again and Again
p. 40/41 wind bows when Eli draws (C&C?)
p. 44 adults apologizes for mistakes
p. 47Morgan hates  them trying so hard to  make her feel at home
p. 170 Morgan's dreams of mother (p. 170)

Ah Ha Moment?
p. 122 Eli feels more alive in the cold barren grounds
 Eli being taken by the wolf (p. 172) = Morgan being taken?
wolf = persecution by white men?

p. 181 nature of the wolf is to attack. White man's nature is....??

p. 191 Moran realizes she belongs on the land

Goodreads says:

Morgan and Eli, two Indigenous children forced away from their families and communities, are brought together in a foster home in Winnipeg, Manitoba. They each feel disconnected, from their culture and each other, and struggle to fit in at school and at their new home -- until they find a secret place, walled off in an unfinished attic bedroom. A portal opens to another reality, Askí, bringing them onto frozen, barren grounds, where they meet Ochek (Fisher). The only hunter supporting his starving community, Misewa, Ochek welcomes the human children, teaching them traditional ways to survive. But as the need for food becomes desperate, they embark on a dangerous mission. Accompanied by Arik, a sassy Squirrel they catch stealing from the trapline, they try to save Misewa before the icy grip of winter freezes everything -- including them. 

The King of Jam Sandwiches (Eric Walters)

 

This is a great story! I love stories of people who figure out how to not just survive, but succeed in life despite everything being against them. The author (who is Canadian!) says this was a very personal story and that he also grew up in poverty. I was left wondering how much of it was directly from his life and how much he made up and who is the girl?! Is she a real person? It sounds like she is, from the afterward.

In some ways, we're all the underdog and this story inspires me to think I can do anything! 

I recently heard it won a 2021 Govenor General's Award for Young People's Literature.

Goodreads says:

★ "Tug at the heartstrings and tickle the funny bone...This warm tale is definitely one for the keeper shelves. Highly recommended."--School Library Journal, starred review

Thirteen-year-old Robbie leads a double life. It's just Robbie and his dad, but no one knows that his dad isn't like most parents. Sometimes he wakes Robbie up in the middle of the night to talk about dying. Sometimes he just leaves without telling Robbie where he's going. Once when Robbie was younger, he was gone for more than a week. Robbie was terrified of being left alone but even more scared of telling anyone in case he was put into foster care. No one can know. Until one day when Robbie has to show the tough new girl, Harmony, around school. Their first meeting ends horribly and she punches Robbie in the face. But eventually they come to realize that they have a lot more in common than they thought. Can Robbie's new friend be trusted to keep his secret?   

The Nightingale's Nest (Nikki Loftin)

I learned about this book from the Nerdy Book Club. I also noticed a few other bloggers writing about it, so I decided I needed to read it. Unfortunately, I think it is meant for kids older than my students who are in grade three. However, after reading it, I am quite motivated to go find The Sinister Sweetness of Splendid Academy since the Nerdy Book Club blogger said she read it to her students in grade three.

A lot of people connected it to Bridge to Terabithia, which is great, because I am reading that next!

This story is based on a Hans Christian Andersen story called The Nightingale. It is a great take on the story.

I am a real sucker for magic in real life. In this story, Little John takes on issues that he shouldn't have to deal with - but he does. And somehow, he makes it through, even though it seems impossible - well, all with a little magical help. The magic of birds and music and giving all we can is a great meta narrative.

In the acknowledgements, at the back of the book, the author totally won me over with this:

Throughout my life, I have been blessed with extraordinary teachers who built nests of knowledge, safety, and love for me, and later for my children. In gratitude and memory, I placed the names of many of them in these pages. If you see your name here, thank you for ever for the gifts you gave in the classroom and beyond. I never forgot you, and I never will.

Goodreads Summary:

Twelve-year-old John Fischer Jr., or "Little John" as he’s always been known, is spending his summer helping his father with his tree removal business, clearing brush for Mr. King, the wealthy owner of a chain of Texas dollar stores, when he hears a beautiful song that transfixes him. He follows the melody and finds, not a bird, but a young girl sitting in the branches of a tall sycamore tree.

There’s something magical about this girl, Gayle, especially her soaring singing voice, and Little John’s friendship with Gayle quickly becomes the one bright spot in his life, for his home is dominated by sorrow over his sister’s death and his parents’ ever-tightening financial difficulties.

But then Mr. King draws Little John into an impossible choice—forced to choose between his family’s survival and a betrayal of Gayle that puts her future in jeopardy.

Inspired by a Hans Christian Andersen story, Nightingale's Nest is an unforgettable novel about a boy with the weight of the world on his shoulders and a girl with the gift of healing in her voice.


Tags

Addictions - the father spends his weekends drunk
Children - the story is centred around children who have to deal with issues children shouldn't have to worry about
Death - Little John's sister has passed away and he feels responsible for her death. Her mother is not dealing well with everything either and often talks of the daughter as though she were still alive
Family - Little John's family cannot pay the rent, the neighbour's family is friends with them, plus there is a foster family in the story
Fears - Little John's father is intimidating. They are afraid they will be evicted. Gayle is afraid of Mr. king
Foster Children - Gayle is a foster child who has run away a number of times. She lives with a foster family who don't take very good care of her.
Homelessness - The family is afraid they will be evicted. They are always paying the rent late and the landlord is getting impatient.
Imagination - is Gayle simply a child with a good imagination? Does she really have magical powers?
Magic - Gayle is able to heal people with her songs
Mercy - In the end, things do work out

Teachers - The author writes a beautiful tribute to teachers in her acknowledgements. Beautiful!

The Impossible Knife of Memory (Laurie Halse Anderson)

I joined a Facebook group called Talks With Teachers Summer Book Club and this was the first choice for the summer. I've quite enjoyed being able to read what other people thought of the book as they read. It's a good group.

I struggled with the book at first - wondering if I should bother reading a kind of depressing story. I kept reading though because the thought that I kept having was that some kids really have lives like this. It seemed disrespectful to those kids to stop reading. It would make it seem as if I don't care, and I really do care that kids have difficult lives. They need responsible adults to help them deal with the issues they face.

The characters in the story seemed quite authentic. They each dealt with challenges in their own ways, some successfully, and others less than successfully.

Goodreads Summary:

For the past five years, Hayley Kincain and her father, Andy, have been on the road, never staying long in one place as he struggles to escape the demons that have tortured him since his return from Iraq. Now they are back in the town where he grew up so Hayley can attend school. Perhaps, for the first time, Hayley can have a normal life, put aside her own painful memories, even have a relationship with Finn, the hot guy who obviously likes her but is hiding secrets of his own.

Will being back home help Andy’s PTSD, or will his terrible memories drag him to the edge of hell, and drugs push him over? The Impossible Knife of Memory is Laurie Halse Anderson at her finest: compelling, surprising, and impossible to put down.

I definitely will read more of Laurie Halse Anderson's books.