Fractions Can be Your Friends Do you enjoy math? Most “readers” I’ve met have an avowed distrust of math. It seems that our cultural narrative lumps learners into humanities types (history/English/art) and STEM types (math/science). I don’t think that’s universally true, but, like all stereotypes, it contains a kernel of truth. I did just fine in math class. I had good teachers, too. My Algebra II teacher said, “Fractions can be your friends,” and made us all laugh. My Pre-calculus teacher was also my weight-lifting coach, and I thought he was great. I did quite well on math portions of standardized tests. And yet, I was delighted to put math…

Village of Scoundrels fictionalizes a true tale of heroism from World War II. Village of Scoundrels by Margi Preus. Amulet, 2020, 299 pages Reading Level: Teen, ages 12-15 Recommended for: ages 12-15 May, 1943: the mountain village of Les Lauzes, obscure though it is, has come to the attention of the Vichy government in France and their Nazi overlords. Officer Perdant has been sent to keep an eye on things and report any suspicious activity. Suspicions abound: for one thing, there seems to be too many teens and children at the “Beehive,” the group home for orphans headed by Monsieur Boulet.  And the population of the village doesn’t seem entirely…

For much needed perspective in middle-school, try looking at “Things seen from above.” *Things Seen from Above by ShelleyPearsall, with illustrations by Xingye Jin. Knopf (PRH), 2020, 253 pages Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 10-12 Recommended for: ages 10-15 April Boxler is sitting out sixth grade—almost literally. Her best friend Julie has started wearing makeup and putting colored streaks in her hair and talking about things April is clueless about. Also hanging out with girls who talk the same way. So, instead of suffering through lunch period trying to “fit in,” April has volunteered for the Buddy Bench during fourth grade recess, where she can help keep order among the…

Turner comes to understand himself, his father, his peers, his town, and his world in this bittersweet coming-of-age story set in 1912 Maine. *Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy by Gary D. Schmidt. Clarion, 2004. 217 pages. Reading Level: Young adult, ages 12-15 Recommended For: Teens, ages 12-15 When Turner Ernest Buckminster, III, moves to Phippsburg, Maine, from Boston, Maryland, he fervently hopes the town knows how to play baseball. His father, the Reverend Buckminster, newly hired by First Congregational, sets out earnestly to do his new job to the fullest. But Phippsburg, Maine, is not at all what the Buckminster family bargains for. For starters, they play baseball like…