Three Books for Second Grade

Sunrise 5:42, sunset, 8:49.  It's hot.

There is poetry everywhere.  I was walking home from work and heading up Yesler Street, just across from Smith Tower, up the street from the Mission.  There's a little square, a park, there, with some granite pieces, lots of bricks, homeless guys, drug dealers and buyers, and poetry.  One, maybe two, words per brick describing the history of Seattle in this out of the way, kind of scary at night, corner of poetry.  If the sun hadn't been at just the right angle, if I hadn't had to move to the right to get out of the way of a woman having a violent argument with herself, I never would have seen these words stamped into the cobbled bricks that make up the sidewalks in this park.  There are poems about the trees being cut down, poems about the skid road that Yesler once was, the hotel that in the '70's became a free or pay what you can place to stay that was on this corner.  There is the history of the man and the daughters who lived here and built the buildings and ships that helped make Seattle the city it is.  I was stunned and surprised and now find myself searching for other hidden art in the city.

I suppose there is some sort of plaque somewhere with information, I didn't see anything, but I was a little shy of asking people to move so I could look where they were standing.  I may have to go to work earlier one day and see what I can see while everyone is still in bed.  If you are ever on that corner, it's next to the Quintessa condos, let me know what you find.  It's a little bit of overlooked, off the tourist grid, made for those who live here every day, Seattle magic, like the UPS park with the waterfalls and those gorgeous manhole covers you find just out in the open.

The three books I'll be telling you about next are also little bits of art that could be easily overlooked, not because the authors aren't known, but because they are aimed at second and third graders.

Often, adult readers will hand these books to their kids, without reading them themselves, thereby missing some of the most touching, best written pieces of the book arts!  Some of the best books written are written for this age. Authors of this level of book must be extraordinarily selective with the words they use, nestling each to the next carefully, that the language is often  richer and more nuanced than books for older readers.  Just try to write something interesting for an eight year-old without bludgeoning them with words!  It takes a master of language to choose the exact words to convey an idea that is new to a new reader, without expanding the page number, making the font size smaller, or making it all too cute.  The best books for this age include exquisite writing tangled with realistic memories of discovering just how big the world is at the very moment the (often very small) child realizes his place in it, and then giving the story an engaging, realistic reason for reading.  (These books are in alpha order by author.)

The Great Unexpected, by Sharon Creech, is magical in the way only real life can be, filled with serendipity, boys falling out of trees, friends and families connected across time and space. The Great Unexpected is about two girls, best friends and orphans, one practical, one flitty, and the very charming boy they find when he falls out of a tree.  The sudden insertion of Finn, making a trio out of what was once a duet, changes the dynamics of their friendship.  Toss in the machinations of adults (who still act like their childhood selves), a few locked trunks, and the lives of three children are changed forever in this lovely story about growing up.

The back of the book says it's good for ages 8-12.  You have to know your audience for this particular book.  Yes, 8 year olds will be able to read it, but there is an awful lot of reflection about change and desire.  The best age for The Great Unexpected might be 10-12, young enough to still want magic in the world, unworldly enough to only think about what a first kiss might be like, and old enough to want to know more. (HarperCollins.  Available now in hardcover for $16.99, but coming in paperback in September for $6.99.)

Fly Away, by Patricia MacLachan, is a tiny little jewel of a story with great big concepts and problems.  Lucy is the oldest child in a family who can all sing.  Lucy can't sing, her words won't come in song. She longs to be a poet, setting her words loose in the world that way.  When Aunt Frankie's farm is threatened by flood, the whole family goes to help her out.  Aunt Frankie is a very capable woman and unhappy that they've all come - she is sure she can handle the water, the missing porch, the handyman who's attached himself to the house. But when Lucy's little brother, Teddy, goes missing in the storm, Lucy is the only one who can sing him home.

Tears in my eyes for the ending of this one.  No, not just tears, there was a hiccup of a sob going on, too.  I LOVE Lucy.  She is brave and uncomfortable, she keeps good secrets and keeps secrets well, she is a good and giving friend and sister.  One of the main tangents in the book is that Lucy's dad really wanted to be a poet and now raises cows because he could never "write anything better than a cow".  Lucy wants to write him a poem, one day, one that will be as beautiful as a cow.  Make a note of this one, kids, it's really good.  You'll want a stack of this on your shelves.  Ages 7 and up.  McElderry Books.  (Available April, 2014!  $15.99.)

The Year of Billy Miller, by Kevin Henkes, is one of those perfect books for kids of this age.  Billy Miller is going into second grade after a summer of small trauma.  He fell and hit his head, had a huge bump, and then overheard his parents talking about how that might affect him.  He begins to worry about whether he's going to be smart enough to go to second grade, he was so happy, beforehand, so looking forward to everything.  He's reassured about that but when he gets to that first day of school, everything that can go wrong does.  He's in the wrong seat, does something that might have hurt his teacher's feelings, meets his first bully...not the most stellar of beginnings.  Billy's family is wonderful and real.  His dad is a stay at home dad/artist in a slump and his mom works long hours.  There's a bit of sibling rivalry.  There's tension here but nothing that can't be solved. 

This is such a good look into this time period of a child's life.  Things start changing when you get to second grade.  There's a lot of new information, friendships change, there's an awareness of adult tensions and worry, and it's a time when the child realizes s/he isn't the only one in the world and that their actions matter.  Kevin has a deft way with dealing with the worry and travail of the lives of children.  There isn't anything pat or condescending in how things are resolved, Billy has to solve these problems on his own, sometimes not making the best choices.

I love how normal Kevin's (yes, I call him Kevin because his books make me think I am his friend) families are.  Unlike many books for these ages, there's nothing spectacular that happens, no flying cats or hidden doors (although those are good things, too).  The joy of reading his books is seeing ourselves and our small joys, worries, and successes reflected in the pages.  Greenwillow Books.  (Available September 14, 2013.  $16.99.)

There are other books like these, small books well-written, for the younger reader that are just as appealing to the adults who share them.  What follows are a few you adults might check out when you are in the mood for something you can take to the tub, read and maybe finish at lunch, or are at the bar while waiting for someone. 

Cobble Street Cousins, by Cynthia Rylant:  6 little books about three cousins living with their aunt while their parents are on a ballet tour around the world.  We all know that a lot of kids' books remove the parents in some sort of horrible way, death, jail, some unknown removal.  How nice that these kids will see their parents again!  AND the art work by Wendy Anderson Halperin is perfect for these stories.

Alvin Ho, by Lenore Look, is a funny series about Alvin, a second grader who is scared of EVERYTHING!  Until he gets home where he is a superhero and a gentleman-in-training so he can be like his dad.  Great illustrations by LeUyen Pham.  The Ruby Lu books, also by Lenore Look, illustrated by Anne Wilsdorf, are not quite as popular but I think that's because boys need books at this level more than girls do.  And we know that boys often won't read books about girls...

Frog and Toad, by Arnold Lobel, may seem a little easier, but they are perfect first chapter books.  I love the way the books are set up with chapters and page numbers and enough pages to read to the end of a chapter and to then need a bookmark so you can find where you left off.  How empowering is that for a new reader?  Filled with upsets and problems, Frog and Toad will always be best friends, no matter where there adventures lead them.

Well, that's enough of that.  This is a really long post already - there are just so many good books out there! I hope you enjoy these books, let me know what you think.


(There has been no remuneration for the mention of the books on this blog.)

Hilary McKay Has a New Book! YAY!

Sunrise was at 5:11 (someone really needs to let that one bird know.  Every morning at 3 am it starts in with its singular loud 3 note chirp.) and sunset will be at 9:10.

It is very gray and very warm and very windy outside my house today.  The only real pops of color are the hummingbird feeder and the hummingbirds' throats as they turn in the air.  Their feathers are  a mossy gray-green and I've only caught a glimpse of their scarlet throats when they are directly in front of me.  Like the other day when one of them flew to the window and seemingly stared in at us, hovering, as the cat backed right up to the edge of her window seat, jabbering in excitement.  Today there were two out over the fountain, bobbing and weaving to figure out who got which side of the bubbler.

There's this great series of books for middle grade readers, by Hilary McKay, that I just love.  They're funny, poignant, have really well-drawn characters, and really great, kooky parents that are still part of the story.  There's no real series name but they are all about the Casson family, an artistic, charming family of 5 children, a couple of parents and a slew of friends.

I first discovered Hilary McKay when a customer recommended reading The Exiles.  I know!  Someone recommended something new to ME!  That happens so rarely, and of course I couldn't not be in the know, that I had to find a copy and read it IMMEDIATELY!  I fell right in love.  It's an amazing and thrilling thing to find a family in a book you want to live with.

I could have happily spent forever reading about these girls sent away to live with their grandmother for the summer, exiled from their family for reasons they don't understand.  They aren't allowed to take anything much with them, but the no books rule really hurts!  Their parents are worried that they aren't playing enough, they don't do anything but read.  Oh, the horror of it all!  And Grandma's house is almost completely book-free, only Shakespeare and cookbooks.  The girls tackle their exile with little grace but eventually find themselves in all kinds of adventures and outdoor pursuits with a very prickly boy as a new friend.

There are three books in the Exiles series:  The Exiles, The Exiles at Home, and The Exiles in Love.  All are really good, but the first one is still my favorite.  Unfortunately, they are out of print so you'll need to haunt the used bookstores or check ABE books for copies, or try the library.  Grab 'em up when you find them, they are perfect summer reads, perfect for ages 9 and through 12 or 13.  Her books tend to have characters in the single digits up through the late teens so there's something to please everyone, especially the parents who should be reading these aloud to the family!

Our grown-up-book-group-that-reads-kid's-books chose to read Hilary's book Dog Friday.  It's hard to find a funny, light, book with some substance for discussion but this one worked very well.  Robin is absolutely terrified of dogs, having been savaged by one when he was a child. When new neighbors with a crowd of kids and a dog, a smelly, carpet-like dog, move in next door, it puts Robin smack dab in the middle of his own private hell.  When he finds an abandoned, starving dog on the beach, he has to figure out how to overcome his fears to rescue and save him.  Chaos ensues as the family next door rallies 'round to help him help his dog.  Dog Friday is the first of three books about the same kids and animals.  I liked this one best but they were all fun.  I believe all but Dog Friday are out of print, as well.  Follow the above directions about finding them, they are The Amber Cat, and Dolphin Luck.

And then our book group had to read Saffy's Angel.  Sigh.  We loved Saffy and her boisterous family, the Cassons.  They are all artists of one kind or another living in a house filled with paint and paper, lots of voices and wispy mom, hard working dad, bouncing and fighting and making up.  Saffy is different from the rest of her family and this book is the perfect invitation to come and visit and stay for awhile.

And now we get to the new book, the reason for this post:  Caddy's World.  The Casson family books were a nice, tidy stack of 5, a book for each child in the family, focusing on the trials and tribs of being only one of a riot of people contained in a very small house and now there's one more!

Caddy's World is a prequel to the rest of the series and I am so happy to be able to let you know that it's available now.  If you like loud, raucous, funny stories about kids growing up, you really need to read all of Hilary's books.  I'd say that most of her books are coming of age stories of one kind or another.  in this book, Caddy is 12 years old and her life is anything but stable.  There's a new baby coming, a fragile child that you will read about in Permanent Rose, friends coming and going, and her boy friend is not content with just one girl.  Caddy is finding her place in the world and realizing that it is a big place with room enough for all.  The rest of the books are: Saffy's Angel, Indigo's Star, Forever Rose, and Caddy Ever After.  Except for Caddy's World, they are all available in paperback.  Ages 9 and up.  Great read-alouds.  Caddy's World is available now, in hardcover, for $16.99.  (All are published by McElderry Books.)

I love Hilary McKay's books, I'm sure that's pretty obvious by now, and I like them so much mostly because of the sense of fun and humor that are part and parcel of the story.  Families are funny and each of these families are a lot like ours.  There are big fights and lots of yelling and bad words but they are funny because they are familiar.  I especially appreciate how Ms. McKay shows us how flawed the parents are.  The books aren't all happy, fluffy, clouds and rainbows, the parents can be pretty awful and self-centered, but that's true of all families.  I think that sharing these stories with your kids could open up some interesting dialogue!  Give them a try!



(No recompense was received for the books reviewed in this post or this blog.)