Every month we have two book clubs for kids here at the Provo City Library! These book clubs are especially for kids ages 9-12 and a caregiver. This month, our Girls Read book club will meet April 25 and our Guys Read book club will meet March 27. You can register now, using the library's online calendar.
Girls Read is reading:
By Lisa Fipps
New York: Nancy Paulsen Books, 2021. Novel in verse.
11-year-old Ellie is bullied every day of her life because she is fat. The kids at school and even her family bully her relentlessly because of how she looks. The bullying and torment drive Ellie to create a set of "Fat Girl Rules" designed to help her fit in and stay invisible, and it's only gotten worse since her best friend Viv moved away and her mom increases her threat of bariatric surgery. Fortunately, Ellie's compassionate father notices how upset these words are making Ellie and intervenes by helping her find a therapist to work through her problems. This is an emotional novel that is strengthened by Ellie's powerful voice. The bullying that Ellie endures can be realistically intense, but readers will celebrate as Ellie learns to self-advocate and demand she be treated better. This is a triumphant novel, and a Printz honor winner, about a girl learning to be comfortable taking up space in the world.
Guys Read is reading:
By J. Torres
Toronto, ON: Kids Can Press, 2021. Graphic novel.
Sandy Saito, who lives in Vancouver, Canada with his family, experiences hatred when his family is incarcerated during World War II with other Japanese Canadians. Sandy, who has never had the strongest relationship with his father, longs to spend time with his dad playing and watching baseball -- their favorite way to bond. But after Pearl Harbor, Japanese people are banned from being in certain areas and doing certain activities in Canada which makes Sandy's father, a doctor, extra busy. One night, while his father is away, Sandy and his family are sent to an internment camp with other Japanese Canadians. As their world is upturned, Sandy and others in the camp latch onto baseball, and the Japanese Canadian Asahi team, as an escape. This is a great graphic novel about an important historical topic, with plenty of baseball thrown in to add a break from some of the hardships experienced by the characters in the novel.
Comments