Can I Touch Your Hair? by Irene Latham and Charles Waters

Irene Latham is an excellent poet who lives in Alabama. Depending on how old you are, you may have met her when she visited our school a few years ago. Can I Touch Your Hair? Poems of Race, Mistakes, and Friendship is her new collection of poetry for children. It is a collaboration between Latham (who is white) and another poet named Charles Waters (who is black). The book is based on a fictional setup in which both authors are 5th grade students working together on a poetry project. Their poems about topics such as hair, church, the beach, and dinnertime alternate, creating a sort of conversation about race. Also, worth mentioning, are the book's illustrations which, like the text, are a collaboration between two artists: Sean Qualls (who is black) and Selina Alko (who is white). In keeping with the book's subject matter, the illustrations are a clever mix of different materials such as paint, colored pencil, and collage.

I highly recommend this picture book to everyone. It is one of those books with the power to change the world for the better!

Mrs. N.

Cake Pop Crush by Suzanne Nelson

In an attempt to find wholesome chapter books for upper elementary girls interested in the romance genre, I found just the thing in a Scholastic series by Suzanne Nelson. The books are a part of Scholastic's Wish series for tweens. New to the library are the foodie books by Suzanne Nelson: Cake Pop Crush, Hot Cocoa Hearts, Shake it Off, I Only Have Pies for You, Donut Go Breaking My Heart, Macarons at Midnight, Sundae My Prince Will Come, and You're Bacon Me Crazy.

In Cake Pop Crush, Ali Ramirez, her dad, and her abuelita run a small family bakery called Say It With Flour. Their business takes a hit when Perk Up, a new bakery/coffee shop (think Starbucks) moves into town and forces Ali's family to compete for the town's business. Ali tries to open her dad's mind to new ideas and strategies, such as adding her delicious cake pops to the bakery menu. Things get even more complicated when Ali discovers that Dane, the really cute new boy at school, is the owner of Perk Up's son and quite a baker himself.

The plot comes to a climax when Ali and Dane engage in a bake-off that could determine not only the future of Say It With Flour but also the future of Ali and Dane.

I recommend this book to 5th-6th grade girls who are interested in reading stories about middle school girls' lives, especially their friendships and crushes.

Mrs. N.

The Rooster Who Would Not Be Quiet by Carmen Agra Deedy

Yesterday I had the pleasure of re-meeting author Carmen Agra Deedy at a storytelling program at the Auburn Public Library. (I first met her years ago when she visited my children's elementary school.) Mrs. Deedy is a gifted and entertaining storyteller who makes me laugh! After hearing her, I decided to finish reading all of her books.

Today's review is on one of her picture books...The Rooster Who Would not Be Quiet. The story was inspired by Deedy's love for Cuban folklore. (She is a refugee from Cuba who lives in Georgia.) It takes place in the happy, noisy city of La Paz where everyone is always singing, that is until a new mayor silences the town with an ever-increasing number of new rules designed to bring peace and quiet to the town. This is where the rooster comes in. He refuses to stop singing even when, one by one, the happy circumstances that make him sing are taken away.  While young students will enjoy the vibrant illustrations and the surface story, older students will be able to appreciate it as an allegory and may come away with an important life lesson. Deedy's sprinkling of Spanish words throughout the text make it a great choice for a read-aloud.

Mrs. N.

The Season of Styx Malone by Kekla Magoon

The Season of Styx Malone is a story of the extraordinary friendship between three boys: Styx Malone, a 16-year-old foster child, and Bobby Gene and Caleb Franklin, two brothers. The story takes place in a small town in Indiana over the course of one summer. From the beginning, Bobby Gene and Caleb are intrigued by the worldly and experienced Styx. They envy the freedom and autonomy he seems to have, especially compared to their own "ordinary" existence. Despite their Mom and Dad's concern over Styx's negative influence, the boys grow closer and closer to him and enjoy a summer filled with adventures they never dreamed possible. However, true friendship is more than fun and games; true friendship requires trust. Styx's reluctance to talk about his past coupled with his tendency to promise things too good to be true leave the brothers wondering if Styx is the friend they thought he was.

This book was a quick read for me. The mystery surrounding Styx kept me motivated throughout the story. In the end, I realized a truth I had almost forgotten...people are more complicated than "good" or "bad." I was also reminded that while we all envy things about other people's lives, we need to step back, take an honest look at our own lives, and appreciate what we have.

I recommend this book to 3rd-6th graders. It is a fun and engaging read that delivers important messages.

WARNING: Contains 2-3 curse words

Mrs. N.

The Lost Girl by Anne Ursu

The Lost Girl is a mix of realistic fiction, fantasy, and mystery. The story's realistic plot revolves around Iris and Lark, twin sisters beginning 5th grade in different classrooms for the first time. (The decision to split the sisters up is made with their "best interests at heart" by their parents and their principal.) Both girls are outraged and terrified by the decision, as they are each other's best friends and togetherness is all they have ever known.

Elements of fantasy enter in with the story's subplot. First a mysterious antiques shop called Treasure Hunters opens across the street from the library. Next an odd assortment of things start to go missing from items such as Lark's cherished bracelet to famous works of art from the town museum. Then crows, one in particular, begin to show up on a regular basis.

As for mystery, the narrator is not revealed until the end of the book, so I was constantly wondering who was telling the story. Also, shortly after the antique shop's opening a sign is posted outside the door asking, "Alice, Where Are You? (Who is Alice? Where did she go? Who wants to know?)

As an identical twin myself, I was particularly interested in reading The Lost Girl. Even though my parents never allowed my sister and I to be in the same class, I could still understand how much safer Iris and Lark felt being together.  Early on I assumed "the lost girl" in the story's title was Alice; however, after finishing the book, I am pretty sure that Iris was "the lost girl" who fortunately finally begins to finds herself. Perhaps Iris and Lark's parents truly had their best interests at heart after all.

I recommend this book to 4th-6th graders who enjoy magical stories and don't mind thinking while they read. The book holds a deeper meaning than that on the surface. It is a read that will leave you pondering what kind of "magic" you possess.

Mrs. N.