The Truth as told to Mason Buttle by Leslie Connor

Mason is a character that you will  "love, cherish and hold close in your heart for a long long time." Colby Sharp

"Then he wanted to know did I throw away a handsaw. The one I had. From my birthday. He wanted to know did I toss it somewhere. ... And I was thinking why would I do that?"

Mason had a best friend, a true friend, his only friend but one day his friend died. The ladder to the tree house made by Benny and Mason broke and Benny Kilmartin was killed.  Mason was the last person to see Benny alive.  Mason tries hard to answer questions from Lieutenant Baird but the policeman is impatient and Mason is not good with obscure questions. He tells Mason to write down what happened but Mason is also not good with reading (its actually impossible for him) or writing. Thank goodness for the wonderful school social worker Ms Blinny. She introduces Mason to a computer with voice recognition software that she calls 'Dragon'.  Speaking quietly day after day Mason is able to tell his story and while he is doing this he makes a new friend called Calvin Chumsky.

Mason has more to contend with though because the boys who live near his house have decided to make his life 'hell' with their bullying, name calling and apple missile attacks.  Mason lives on an old apple farm. Most of the holding has been sold off by Mason's uncle and the apples are now left to rot on the ground. Each afternoon, when Mason and his new friend Calvin, get off the bus Matt Drinker and Lance Pierson attack.  Matt Drinker is an especially mean and nasty kid. Matt has a dog called Moonie. Mason loves this dog (think of Shiloh by Phylis Reynolds Naylor or the dogs in Where the Red fern Grows by Wilson Rawlins) - but the dog belongs to Matt.

Over the coming weeks, Calvin and Mason build something extraordinary, but the issues surrounding the death of Benny won't go away and the policeman keeps visiting and asking those impossible questions.

Connor’s gift for creating complex characters extends to the supporting characters and makes this a compelling read. Kirkus Star review

A poignant underdog tale School Library Journal

This one will touch your heart in the best way.  This one will stretch your heart in the best way. A Book and a Hug

Here is a comprehensive set of teaching questions from the publisher Harper Collins. Here is a video book talk with more plot details.  I adored a previous book by Leslie Connor - Waiting for Normal. In this video Colby Sharp talks about Read Aloud Week and The Truth as told to Mason Buttle. Here is an audio sample.

I would follow The Truth as told to Mason Buttle with these:

How High the Moon

Detention

Stella by Starlight

Absolutely Almost

The crazy man

Wolf Hollow

The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise by Dan Gemeinhart

First off you might like to grab a map.  I'm in Australia so my knowledge of American states is fairly basic. Coyote and her father live in a bus. It's a converted school bus which they have named Yager. They don't have a destination. They just travel from place to place, across the US continent, occasionally picking up a traveler. Coyote believes she has to look after her dad. They are both suffering after the death of Coyote's mum and two sisters but this topic is banned and so while the pair are moving forward on their journey (they have been traveling for five years) they are not moving forward with their grief.

Each week Coyote makes a call to her Grandmother who lives back in their home town of Poplin Springs, Washington State. The news delivered by her Grandmother is a catastrophe for Coyote. Just before her mother and sisters were killed in a road accident the four of them buried a memory box in a local park. Coyote learns the park is being dug up to make way for a new intersection. Coyote is in Florida when she hears this news. Now she has to work out a way to get her father to drive 3,600 miles to Washington State and he cannot know why they need to go home.

Along the way, with Coyote desperately trying to make her dad hurry, they collect a few passengers. A new special friend for Coyote  - a boy named Salvador, a musician named Lester, a cat called Ivan, Val, a teenager who is running away from home, a goat, Salvador's mum Esperanza Vega and her sister Concepcion.

I started this book on Sunday afternoon and finished it midday Monday. Yes it is that good - reading this book over the last 24 hours became my addiction.

Colby Sharp video review:
"A remarkable book"
"One of those books you're just on the edge of your seat."
"You'll find things that need to get done aren't getting done because you're choosing this book over ... doing the dishes or folding the laundry or watch Netflix"
"If you're in a reading rut and you're looking for a book that you'll just have to keep turning pages .. read this book!"

Dan Gemeinhart talks to Mr Shu about the book cover the writing of this book. Here is a teachers guide and set of discussion questions from the publisher. Here is an audio sample from Chapter One.

In an interview for Horn Book Dan Gemeinhart said he loved journey stories such as A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park (I adore this book); Bud not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis (this book has scenes that will linger with me forever); and two other books I need to put on my to read list Under a Painted sky by Stacey Lee and Train I ride by Paul Mosier.

Click these review extracts to read more about the plot and characters.

It's a grand old journey across the United States in search of a pork chop sandwich with a gang who can name their favorite book, their favorite place and their favorite sandwich.  It's a tale of pain and grief and choices and sharing and opportunity and Uno and a wise cat and all the richness of a life. A Book and a Hug

In this book, the author builds trust between the reader and the author. So much so that you can have a scene where two characters scream their secrets into the wind on the top of a moving school bus and it’ll feel real and earned rather than a sneaky plot device meant to further the characters’ emotional growth in the eyes of the reader. Elizabeth Bird School Library Journal

I would pair The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise with Savvy by Ingrid Law. I am putting US and UK covers.  Look closely for the pink bus.

When you read The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise you will also want to read The One and Only Ivan (remember I told you the cat is called Ivan) and Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan.

A Wolf called Wander by Rosanne Parry illustrated by Monica Armino

"I begin in darkness and my nose tells me everything I know. 
I have a brother Sharp. Bigger than me, and all growl. I have sisters. Pounce, who loves to wrestle, and Wag, who talks with her tail. And best of all my brother Warm, who likes to curl up under my chin, the only pup small than me."

This is a quote from the beginning of A Wolf called Wander and I think it gives you an idea about the tone and style of this writing.

Over the course of the story we follow Swift as he wanders alone after his pack are attacked by a larger and more ferocious enemy wolf pack. He travels a huge distance through forests and plains searching all the time for a companion. Every day is about survival - food, water and a safe place to sleep. Luckily Swift does have one unlikely helper/companion - a raven. "Ravens do things for a reason. She is talking to me. She knows where to find meat. But for all their savvy, ravens have the wrong beak for opening a hide. They need someone with teeth to get at the meat." Swift also has to navigate past humans with their guns and their black rivers (roads) which seem impossible to pass safely.

I have a fascination with books about wolves and books written from their point of view. Perhaps this goes back to my reading of White Fang by Jack London when I was in Grade Six.  A Wolf called Wander is not for the feint hearted. As a part of his survival Swift (his name is changed to Wander at the end of the book) must kill and dismember animals such as elk. These scenes may distress a young reader.

The best scenes are when Swift is reunited with Warm, when he witnesses the birth of a wild horse foal and the final scenes when he meets his mate called Night and their pups are born. Reading this book you will feel as though you are inside the true thoughts of a wolf - his instinct and emotions. Rosanne Parry often says Swift has to "sit on his wag" when he is excited about something. I just love those words.

Listen to this audio sample from page 3. A Wolf Called wonder is an illustrated novel. The line drawings by Monica Armino are fabulous.


The book is from Swift’s perspective but I should be clear that this is not an attempt to anthropomorphise wolves – their behaviour and communication is in keeping with the animal. It’s almost like Parry has translated the behaviour for our benefit and understanding. Roachie's Review

Other books I have read and enjoyed about wolves include The Wolf Wilder; First Born and Wolf Brother by Michelle Paver.