Strays by Gia Gordon

"How could someone dump this sweet little dog onto the street? How could someone chuck him out the window like he was a bag of week-old McDonalds? How could anyone with half a soul look into those melting eyes and not want to fold him into a love-blanket, and take him home?"

Campbell is in Grade 6. She finds it hard to concentrate at school and she has a complex relationship with her almost silent father. He works for the city animal rescue centre, except this place is not really about rescue because stray dogs and cats are only kept there for three days and then it is her father's job to decide to euthanatize them. This partly explains why Campbell's father is so distant but other dreadful things have happened and these are gradually revealed through the story - her dad was a fireman and something went badly wrong when Campbell was having her fifth birthday party but even worse Campbell's mum left the family and then (spoiler alert) she was killed in a car accident.

Luckily Campbell does have a fabulous friend at school - a girl named Luz. Luz lives with her mum, dad and older twin sisters in a busy household but Luz does not have a perfect life either. Her dad has been serving in the army and over the last ten years has rarely been home with the family. As this book opens though he has returned from his deployment and his service has ended but he is suffering from dreadful PTSD and adjusting back into his own family is difficult.

Into this mix comes a small brown dog. Campbell witnesses someone discarding him:

"I'm not expecting a beefy man-hand to reach out the window holding a tiny, squirming dog. I'm not expecting that dog to drop out of the beefy-man hand onto the sidewalk. I'm not expecting the van to speed away. I'm not expecting that teensy flash of beige-brown to take off, chasing the van."

So we have some puzzle pieces for this story which Gia Gordon neatly puts together into a very satisfying conclusion but not a conclusion you will expect at all. 

I do also need to mention the fantastic school Teacher-Librarian in this story - Miss Alba. She is kind, she listens to Campbell and she gives very practical support and access to the most perfect resources as Campbell struggles firstly to keep this little pup she names Tater Tot safe and away from her father who would be sure to take him to the dog shelter; and secondly when Campbell needs help to work out how to transport the little dog to the other side of the country - I hope that makes you even more curious about this book.  IF I was going to do further study in the field of children's literature I think there is a whole topic here about minor characters who are helpful Teacher-Librarians like Miss Alba.

"Librarians are kinda awesome that way. Because she always makes you feel like she has all the time in the world to talk to you or help you out with something even when it's her lunch hour."

Campbell is grieving in this book and her friendship with Luz is tested - the ups and downs of their relationship felt very real. I also loved the way Campbell showed really good emotional intelligence about her father and also when she saw things were hard for Luz and her parents.

Here are some poignant text quotes:

"Nothing I've ever loved wants to stay with me."

"For the first times in a few days, I feel like I can take a deep breath and blow it all the way out. For the first time since my dad left firefighting, since her couldn't work for two years, and then became head of animal control, I feel like there may be answers to the problems his job only makes worse."

"I smooth my hand over his cute little head, fun my fingers down his overside ears. Even though he's dirty and full of dried leaves and twigs, his fur is probably the softest thing I've ever touched in my whole life."

"even though I had food for him, he mostly just wanted some love."

There is a sweet little expression in this story used three times - it was not one I had heard or read before - I sit crisscross applesauce. 

Bookseller blurb: Campbell Cole has a big heart for all living things, especially strays. It might be because her father, the director of the local animal control, is as aloof as they come, so Campbell knows what it’s like to feel alone. When she spots an adorable dog being dumped on the street, the last thing Campbell can do is tell her dad. He might take the pup straight to the shelter, where new rescues have just three days to be adopted. The only person she can trust with the truth is her best friend, Luz. The more time Campbell spends trying to catch the dog, the more he starts to trust her, which is both great and terrible because Campbell knows she can’t keep him. But perhaps she doesn’t have to. With the help of Luz’s father, an army vet grappling with PTSD, she just may find a solution that benefits not only the dog, but everyone else, too.

Gia Gordon’s Strays is a beautifully written, heartfelt novel about friendship, family, and finding the courage to stand up for what’s right, that will resonate with anyone who has ever struggled to find a place to call home. Gia Gordon

An insightful, well-characterized exploration of love and trust. Kirkus

Readers will be drawn into this accessible, emotional story. The Horn Book

I saw this book Strays in a bookshop on Saturday a few weeks ago. It caught my eye because I had seen it mentioned somewhere, plus I do like the cover, and I am a sucker for books about dogs. Bonus - this is a very new book so you will be able to find it in your local independent bookstore. I recommend Strays for readers aged 10+. 

Companion book:

A Handful of Stars

Earlier today I read a comment on social media that if you see a dog on the cover of a book it is sure to be a sad story and the dog will die! NO. Thank goodness that is never the case in the books I read for children aged 9+.  Here are a few I love:

One Dog and his Boy

Answers to Dog

Talking to Alaska

Something like Home

Here is another book by Gia Gordon:

Fallout by Lesley Parr

I head home to face the music, but Mam and Dad won’t care about the suspension, just about the money to replace the broken equipment. Because to them I really am bad. 

Which is just how they want me. ... you can’t trust a Pritchard. Everyone knows that. ...

In 1980 the world was thinking about the possibility of a nuclear war. Marcus discovers his neighbor, an elderly man, has built an underground shelter filled with food, comfortable furniture, a toilet and even some exercise equipment. Mick Rowlands scoffs at the official brochures which advise citizens to hide under kitchen tables - that is why he has built a way more effective shelter in his back yard but as Marcus points out how will he know when it is safe to emerge back into the world and what if everyone else has been killed.

I flick through the pages. It does look pretty stupid; all about making a fallout room and inner refuge. There’s even a drawing of a man putting a wardrobe in front of his windows – as if that’s going to stop a nuclear blast! Gavin’s window couldn’t even survive a stone from our rockery. And page seventeen is just gross. ‘People are supposed to take the bottom off a chair and poo in a bucket?’ Mick nods. ‘Not here though.’ He waves towards the bathroom. ‘All mod cons here.’ He seems really proud and, looking around this place, I think he should be. That makes me feel bad for sneaking in. Maybe I do owe him an explanation.

Marcus comes from a family of petty criminals. One brother is in jail, the other is practicing for his own life of crime and dad is planning the next big robbery. Marcus does not want to be involved but in his family there is no way to say no. His mother seems to favour his brother and because she enjoys the spoils of his fathers 'work' she is happy to go along with his plans.

Into this mix comes a girl named Emma. Emma has had a very different life. She has been home schooled, there is no television in her home, the family are vegetarians and everyone in her family is very well read. Emma herself has joined an activist group to protest about the possibility of a nuclear war - 'Give Peace a Chance' - and that is how Marcus and Emma's lives collide. 

I keep seeing this book on lists and as a recommendation on various social media platforms. The best part of this book is the tension Lesley Parr creates as we witness Marcus trying to navigate his life and right a wrong. His family are so cruel in stark contrast to the kindness and encouragement of Mick. 

This story is set in Wales so there may be some unfamiliar references for Australian readers aged 10+ but the voices in the story and the compelling narrative, where as a reader you just want Marcus to succeed against the odds of his terrible family, I think means young readers will just 'get on with reading' this book and not worry at all about occasional unfamiliar word or two.  Make sure you notice the way the chapter headings are designed:

Bookseller blurb: Marcus has one brother in a youth offender centre and the other is working with their dad on plans for their next theft. Everyone assumes Marcus will follow in their footsteps, but he has other ideas, different hopes. When a mysterious accident lands a man in hospital, it confirms what everyone in their community expects and Marcus gets the blame. He feels trapped. Only new girl Emma - with her peace protest banners and political badges - questions this story. Can they work together to clear his name – and help Marcus become the person he really wants to be?

‘Fallout’ is a truly exceptional story, with its very title reflecting how cleverly its many elements are woven together. Poignant, thought-provoking, compassionate and compelling, there are not enough adjectives to convey just how much I enjoyed it! One to put at the top of your TBR pile! Through the Bookshelf

The three characters form a genuine cross generational friendship. Historical Novel Society

Fallout is a raw, honest story of family dynamics and finding your own way. It is a reminder that we all have choices about the future but it takes real courage to be true to ourselves and turn away from those who seek to hurt us. The power of kindness shines through Emma, Mick and eventually Marcus as he learns what it feels like to be loved. Readers will be challenged to think twice before making assumptions about someone based on their family and to give everyone a second chance. Scope for Imagination

Here are some text quotes:

This is a Cold War, which, as far as I can tell, means world leaders make threats about pushing their nuclear buttons, but no one will. They just want us to think they will. And this lot have fallen for it.

In this family, we don’t get pocket money for jobs around the house, like mowing the lawn, or doing the dishes. Me and Gavin earn it by helping in other ways. For me, as the youngest, it’s mostly being a lookout when Dad and Uncle Tony are doing a deal, or on the rob. For Carl, the oldest, it ended up at the Farm School; the borstal over in the next valley.

I open it and can’t believe what I’m seeing. It’s like the TARDIS on Doctor Who. I don’t really know what I expected, but it definitely wasn’t this. I’ve seen pictures of air raid shelters from the Second World War. Glorified sheds with bunks, shelves and a heater in the corner if you were lucky, but this … this is something else. There’s a room with a double bed all made up with a flowery bedspread and pillows. And there’s a settee, and a kitchen area with a table and two chairs, a sink and cupboards and – is that a fridge? The walls are lined with shelves of books, board games and even some ornaments.

Here is another book by Lesley Parr:

The Valley of Lost Secrets

Flight of the Puffin by Ann Braden

The chapters in this book alternate between four voices and cover the time from April 30th to May 21st. 

Who are these kids?

Libby lives in Vermont. She sees the world through colours and creates her own equilibrium through art and using coloured pencils. Her school does not appreciate her art especially when she paints a whole wall at her Middle School. Libby lives with her mother and angry father. Her mother has no understanding of Libby and in one dreadful scene she confiscates all of Libby's pencils and art supplies. 

Maybe things would be easier if I could do a better job of staying closed-up. Like if I didn’t wear my yellow polka-dot sweatshirt all the time. Maybe then Danielle wouldn’t have teased me, and I wouldn’t have lost my temper and punched her, and I’d still be on the softball team.

Vincent lives in Seattle with his mum. He is probably on the Autism spectrum. He loves quirky clothes, tucking in his shirt, triangles and puffins including a breakfast cereal called Puffins. Because he is different he is very badly bullied at school but the reasons or motivations for this are a deep puzzle for Vincent.

I take out the shirt and look at it closely. There’s a little embroidered emblem of a bird on the top right. It’s a puffin. Like the bird on the cereal box that my mom gets. And its beak has some fabulous triangle action going on. Katherine Johnson would approve. I pull on the shirt and button it up. I guess I’ve grown, because it’s super snug. But it feels good, ...

Jack also lives in Vermont. Spoiler alert - we don't know how but Jack's younger brother has died recently. Jack goes to a very small school which has just two teachers. A officious lade arrives at the school to inspect their compliance with rules such as bathroom facilities. Jack has been taught in this school to think and to act so he starts a petition to save his school and then he speaks at the local school board meeting. Unfortunately his message is interpreted completely wrongly and then social media takes over.

The school might have to close? It can’t. Next year is my eighth-grade year. How could I spend it somewhere else? And what would happen to all of us? Just farmed out to a bunch of different schools in the valley, where all the students think they’re better than hicks like us?

T is a homeless non binary youth living on the streets of Seattle with their dog. These chapters are brief and told in verse.

From these descriptions you can probably guess these kids need help and hope. Libby is given some small index cards. She writes "you are amazing" on the card with a picture of a dandelion. Decorating and writing on index cards is how it all starts. She hides her first card for a small boy who is crying outside the dentist. Then she makes more cards and even though she is grounded she sneaks out at night and puts her little cards in various places all over the town. 

I start to stick the index cards all over the place—in a window box outside the pharmacy; in the bike rack at the library; attached to an ATM; in the window of the art supply store; on the steps into the ice cream shops; on a bulletin board outside the senior center; and stuck into the hedge between the hardware store and the post office. Even if no one thinks to pick one up, at least they’re adding more flowers and sunshine to the world. That has to count for something.

Libby hears about a boy in Seattle who loves puffins but is having a hard time. She puts his address on the back of one of her index cards, adds a puffin stamp (I know this is a little contrived, but it made me smile) and she posts her card - it is going to Vincent. 

I talk (a lot) and think (a lot) about book covers. This book has a fabulous cover BUT it totally misled me. I assumed (wrongly) that this book would have a North American indigenous focus. I did not look closely enough - the wings of the puffin are filled with city buildings - US readers might recognise these places. You probably already know I am slightly obsessive about puffins so the title grabbed me right away. But this book is not really about puffins either although they are mentioned. 

You can hear the first chapters here. And you can read a chapter sample. You can see other books by Ann Braden here. If you need another viewpoint the Kirkus reviewer didn't like Flight of the Puffin. 

This is a story that is rich in truth, sadness, redemption, and possibilities. It is a wonderful book that I would recommend to teens, middle school and above, as it deals with bullying, gender issues, and family tragedy. Kathleen Palmieri

Vincent loves to eat this cereal - I wonder what it tastes like? The box has facts about puffins which Vincent reads over breakfast.

Flight of the Puffin is the March selection for an online Children's book group I follow on Facebook. I am fairly sure that without this group this book would have passed me by because I am not sure it ever arrived here in Australia and it was published in 2022 which means it will be hard to find. I read an ebook edition. I did find this copy from an Australian online bookseller. 

I love the idea of these index cards as a way to spread happiness. It made me think of Wishtree and also Stargirl.

Wishtree

Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli

She drops coins on the footpath (sidewalk) as a tiny way to give other kids moments of happiness

The Kindness Project

The Fire, the Water, and Maudie McGinn by Sally J. Pla

I thought my summer would be safe. 

That I’d left all my troubles behind in Texas. 

But maybe troubles trail along with me like sparks along a fuse. 

Maybe I’m the trouble. 

Bad luck all the way around. 

What if there is no safe place for me to be?

Maudie spends term time with her mum and dangerous step father and holidays with her dad in a different part of the US. Her time with her dad is joyous and calm but just as she arrives a wildfire breaks out, her dad's cabin is burnt to the ground and so Maudie and her dad are forced to move to a caravan part at the beach in California. The park is in the area where her dad grew up. Dad finds it hard to get work which means money and food are scarce but Maudie discovers she can surf. At the end of summer this town hosts a famous surfing competition and one category is beginner. The prize money would certainly help Maudie's dad - so now she has a goal - to win!

Maudie has a very dysfunctional mother (and as a said a dangerous and abusive step father). Her mother is all about fame and appearances. She tolerates her but it is so clear that she wishes Maudie could change into the perfect daughter she imagined. Her mother fancies herself as a star of social media. 

I remember once Mom told her viewers, “Imagine if your only child refuses to give you so much as a hug,” which was a lie. Mrs. Jills, my therapist, trained me up to hug. So I’ll do it. But Mom told the camera: “Having a child like Maudie? I confess, while I love her dearly, sometimes it feels like God is testing me.” Well, I sort of think maybe God is testing me, too. The year I was ten, Mom put lots of blush on my pale cheeks so I would look healthier and made me come on her show with her. She said to the camera, “Maudie’s growing up so much! We hardly ever have to deal with her meltdowns or tantrums anymore. She’s so much more under control!” Then she grabbed my hand and swung it up, as if we’d won a race. Which was weird.

Obeying Mom was my job. Obeying Mom. Obeying Mrs. Jills. And now, I guess, obeying Ron.

A perceptive, poignant tale of self-discovery. Kirkus

I like the use of the word perceptive in the Kirkus review final sentence. Maudie does have autism but she is also deeply self-aware and this helps the reader gain a deeper insight into her reactions to other people and to the changes in her life. One thing you will quickly notice is that the autism makes Maudie hyper aware of smells and sounds. 

The Australian distributor has the first five chapters of The Fire, the Water and Maudie McGinn on their webpage. One of the great features of this book for readers is that while there are 72 chapters each chapter is only a page or two. This book is also a hybrid with verse novel sections interspersed between the narrative pages.

Here are a few text quotes:

I hate it when Mom calls Dad a lump of clay. If that’s what he is, then Mom’s a beautiful shard of glass: so pretty, you forget about her sharp, jagged edges. I’d rather be clay, like Dad. If you’re clay, you can mold and adapt to the new. And that’s what I always do. Mold myself into this or that kind of kid. Adapt. For teachers, for Mom, for Mrs. Jills, for Ron, for the other kids at school . . . I try hard to be the right kind of Maudie for each situation, for each thing. I’ve always felt sort of ashamed of this, but maybe it’s also a skill. To remold, instead of shatter. So yeah, there may be different versions of me for different times and different people, but they’re all made from the same clay of me.

I remember Ron swearing and swooping me off the step. Don’t remember much of anything else. Just a sort of tornado of rage. His hands grabbing my arms. His blood-red face. And I remember feeling like I deserved it all. That I was a dirty, broken kid. Not a nice, capable, normal kid. That’s why my mom had to hide herself, close herself off from me. She was ashamed of me. She had given up on me. That’s why we needed Ron, I guess. Because I was too much trouble for Mom to handle alone. I was too big a disappointment.

About why Dad and I understand each other so well and have a special bond. He hyperfocuses on woodworking, I hyperfocus on reading or writing or surfing. Dad gets overwhelmed sometimes, and so do I. He has a scatter-brain about some things, and a hyperorderly brain about other things. So do I. And we both are deeply uncomfortable around new people and new situations. . . . My insides are all squiggly with strange new feelings. I’m a little irritated, to tell the truth. I wish Dad had talked more to me about this before now. It would have helped me to feel less alone.

If I still worked in my former school library I would be very keen to share this book with Grade Six students because that school was located beside the beach and many of the students were keen surfers. In The Fire, the water and Maudie McGinn, Maudie learns to surf, displays some talent, and she is mentored by a surfing champion. Every surfing scene felt so authentic.

Before I know it, I’ve paddled out past the break, my arms pumping like machines. It’s choppy out here, but I turn and watch the horizon, watch the sets, and I find my waves. I pounce on everything I can possibly ride. I feel supercharged, like I’m in some kind of high-energy trance. I fall a few times, but I definitely get in a few good runs, too.

Awards:

• American Library Association Schneider Family Book Award
• Children’s Literature Council of SoCal Juvenile Fiction Award
• Publishers Weekly Starred Review
• NY Public Library Best Book
• Bank Street Best Book (starred for outstanding merit)
• Cybils Awards Finalist
• Oklahoma Sequoyah Award Finalist
• Alabama Yellowhammer Award – Honor Book
• 2024 Dog-Eared Book Award Winner
• “Reading MG” Top 15 Books of the Year
• Imagination Soup Best Books of the Year
• Mr. Colby Sharp’s Best Books of the Year

Bookseller blurb: Maudie always looks forward to the summers she spends in California with her dad. But this year, she must keep a troubling secret about her home life—one that her mom warned her never to tell. Maudie wants to confide in her dad about her stepdad's anger, but she’s scared. When a wildfire strikes, Maudie and her dad are forced to evacuate to the beach town where he grew up. It’s another turbulent wave of change. But now, every morning, from their camper, Maudie can see surfers bobbing in the water. She desperately wants to learn, but could she ever be brave enough? As Maudie navigates unfamiliar waters, she makes friends—and her autism no longer feels like the big deal her mom makes it out to be. But her secret is still threatening to sink her. Will Maudie find the strength to reveal the awful truth—and maybe even find some way to stay with Dad—before summer is over?

Read this detailed review from Ms Yingling. And here is an audio interview with the author.

Here is a quote from the interview:

I wanted it to be a book of hope and overcoming and realizing how important it is to speak out. And I guess maybe that’s partly from my own. I got diagnosed on the autism spectrum as an adult, and it took me a while to be able to speak out about it myself. And once I was able to talk about all the failures and the struggles of my past and what brought me to this point and all that stuff, it’s just so healthy to be able to talk about that, just to be open.

Given the physical and verbal abuse Ron has apparently dished out regularly, being trashed by waves is kid’s play for Maudie. It sure feels like Maudie has found her passion, and it is easy to imagine her and Dad together full-time, living in this great coastside town. Could that ever really happen? You can’t help wondering and hoping for a big break for Maudie and Dad (and a few broken bones for Ron). A Book and a hug

I picked up The Fire, the Water and Maudie McGinn because I previously really enjoyed this book by Sally J Pla:

The Someday Birds

The Enchantment of Golden Eagle by Margaret Wild illustrated by Stephen Michael King

Margaret Wild: ‘I hope readers will understand that people can say something in anger (in this case, the curse put on the bird). And that those words can be regretted and forgiven. It would be good if this story can open up discussions about consequences, atonement and, especially forgiveness, because if we can forgive, there is the possibility that things can change for the better.’  Interview with Dr Robyn Sheahan-Bright (see the Teachers Notes)

After reading The Enchantment of Eagle here are some questions that occurred to me:

• Can you ever really 'own' a wild creature? 
• Did the eagle owe an extra loyalty to the family because they saved him when he was just a fledgling?
• Do you understand why the eagle needed to fly away?
• What is a curse?
• Should you always keep your promises? 
• What is guilt? 
• How do you repair a relationship when words are spoken in anger? 
• Why is it important to say sorry and how to you express this from your heart?
• Why are wolves always representative of danger?
• Think about feeling safe and unsafe and how this is explored in this book

Think about the title - enchantment - that is such a powerful word. It implies magic and has overtones of the fairy tale genre. And Margaret Wild writes of Golden Eagle not 'the' golden eagle. Is this a unique creature with magical qualities? Then we have the word golden. This implies precious and wise and important.

Symbolism of the golden eagle: The golden eagle is a powerful symbol that encompasses a wide range of meanings, including strength, freedom, ... and resilience. Its significance varies across cultures, but it consistently represents the ideals of power, guidance, and the ability to rise above challenges. Whether viewed as a divine messenger or a symbol of personal growth, the golden eagle holds a revered place in the spiritual and cultural narratives of many societies. Source

You will find some beautiful vocabulary when you share this book with your library group or young reading companion - fledgling; venture; gazed; summoned; exhilarating; "he batted about'; enfold; curse; pitiless; hollowed-out; tattered; rejoicing; and larking about.

Publisher blurb: One day, Ella and her little brother Leif found a fledgling with a broken wing. They took him home, wrapped and fed him, and watched over him for seven days and seven nights. In time Golden Eagle was well enough to fly away, but he loved the children, so he promised to stay with them at the edge of the dark forest. Until one day, the wind whispered and the breeze caressed his feathers, and Golden Eagle forgot his promise ...

The publisher links the themes in The Enchantment of Golden Eagle with another award-winning book by Margaret Wild - Fox - illustrated by Ron Brooks. With a group of older students, it would be good to compare these two books - read them side by side - and then talk about themes such as guilt; fear; promises; betrayal; and forgiveness. The Enchantment of Golden Eagle is one of those multilayered stories that you could share with your younger students and then also discuss with an older group. I would then pick up Robber Girl by Margaret Wild as another example of a text which showcases Margaret Wild's skill with writing.

The publisher page has a link to some detailed teachers notes. 

A new book by Margaret Wild is certainly something to celebrate. She has written well over 70 books and even at age 76 does not seem set to stop. I expect to see The Enchantment of Golden Eagle listed by the CBCA as a 2026 notable title. 

Read some reviews:

The publisher marks this as suitable for readers 7 to 12, older than the typical picture book market, and online Teaching Notes offer suggestions up to Year 6. This is valuable recognition of the potential of picture books to inspire rich learning well beyond the formative literacy stage. Story Links

Interview with Paperbark Word (Joy Lawn) I love the word “enchantment”. As you say, it is so evocative.  With its associations of spells, magic and mystery, I hope it will spark a reader’s curiosity to open the book and read on.

Highly recommended for all! Kids' Book Review

This is a compelling story that will have the reader turning the pages to the end so they can discover whether the eagle, seen by many cultures as a symbol of strength and freedom, survives the curse, whether it returns and what happens next. The Bottom Shelf

This is a gentle book that reminds us about forgiveness and letting go and loving what you have in life. The Book Muse

From Stephen Michael King: Golden Eagle is my seventh book with Margaret Wild. You might remember the piglet series: Piglet and Mama, Piglet and Papa – then there’s the pocket dogs (everyone’s favourite books). Margaret Wild was instrumental in turning me into a published author/illustrator (with my first book, “The Man Who Loved Boxes”), so it’s always a giant privilege to work with her. 35 plus years ago – when I was working as a General Library assistant, I created a display of her and Julie Vivas’s book “The Very Best of Friends”. I’ve loved Margaret Wild’s work from that very first visual.

Other books by Margaret Wild with art by Stephen Michael King:

And two sequels

Ghost by Jason Reynolds

"And that's when I saw him, my dad, staggering from the bedroom, his lips bloody, a pistol in his hand ... me and my mum kept rolling. The sound of the gun cocking. The sound of the door unlocking. As soon as she swung the door open, my dad fired a shot. He was shooting at us! My dad! ... One things is for sure, that was the night I learned how to run."

Ghost (real name Castle Cranshaw) thinks his true sport destiny is basketball - not that the other bigger kids will let him play but then he stumbles on the track and decides to join in a race and even though he is wearing the wrong shoes and the wrong clothes and he has had no training and has missed lunch he somehow wins the race. The coach can see this kid has potential and so he invites Ghost to train with his team. Ghost is not a kid who knows how to stick with things, but he does keep coming back to the track and he does try to master all the warmup drills and endurance races. He desperately wants to fit in and one way to do this would surely be wearing the right shoes but Ghost has no money and his mum is working hard and only just keeping them afloat.

"Where I live. Where I live. When anyone ever asks about where I live, I get weird because people always treat you funny when they find out you stay in a certain kind of neighborhood. But I was used to people treating me funny. When your clothes are two sizes too big, and you got no-name trainers, and your mother cuts your hair and it looks like your mother cuts your hair, you get used to people treating you funny."

The sport shop has so many fabulous shoes - surely it cannot hurt to just try them on. At this point in the story I actually called out a warning to Ghost but of course he didn't listen to me (after all I was only the reader, the  bystander, the observer).

Publisher blurb: Running. That’s all Ghost (real name Castle Cranshaw) has ever known. But Ghost has been running for the wrong reasons —until he meets Coach, an ex-Olympic Medalist who sees something in Ghost: crazy natural talent. If Ghost can stay on track, literally and figuratively, he could be the best sprinter in the city. Can Ghost harness his raw talent for speed, or will his past finally catch up to him?

Readers aged 10+ need to read this book especially those kids who ask for sport stories. Ghost is a quick book to read with only 200 pages and large print and a story that will keep you turning the pages. I read it in one sitting. Listen to a five-minute audio sample here. If you don't have this series in your school library please add all five books (see below) to your library wish list. I highly recommend Ghost - I wish I was still working in my school library because I would love to put this book into the hands of so many Grade 6 readers. 

An endearing protagonist runs the first, fast leg of Reynolds' promising relay. Kirkus Star review

Readers will quickly fall into step with Ghost’s slangy voice and will find themselves relating strongly to a character who’s just trying to get through each day with all the anger and hurt he feels about the cards life has sent his way. ... This story also interrogates our perception of wealth and poverty and the impact of poverty on kids. Finally, at its core, the story is about healing, moving forward from the need to escape oneself because of past trauma. Reading Middle Grade

Jason Reynolds is a #1 New York Times bestselling author a Newbery Award Honoree, a Printz Award Honoree, a UK Carnegie Medal winner, a two-time Walter Dean Myers Award winner, and the recipient of multiple Coretta Scott King honors, a Coretta Scott King Author Award, and the Margaret A. Edwards Award. He was also the 2020–2022 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. His debut picture book, There Was a Party for Langston, won a Caldecott Honor and a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor. He lives in Washington, DC. 

The most perfect book to read after Ghost is not about sport - it is about shoes!

The Wrong Shoes

I am very late in my discovery this fabulous book from 2018 but I am now totally hooked, and I can't wait to read the rest of the Track series (and that is fairly unusual for me as I don't always continue with a series). All of the books are currently available but might need to be ordered from your local independent bookstore. Colby Sharp shared the newest book from the series - Coach. You can see more books by Jason Reynolds here and notice how many have award stickers on their covers. 

Ruby on the Outside by Nora Raleigh Baskin

And the truth is I’ve never had a real friend. A best friend, not just a condo friend. 

I think, partly it’s because of my secret-keeping. I think the thing about having a best friend is that you don’t have any secrets, at least not from each other. 

Most girls I know, and even boys I know, have one really, really important friend 

that rises above all the others who are just regular friends.

When Ruby was just five years old her mum left her at home alone late at night. Mum has gone with her new husband and stepdad to Ruby to rob a convenience store. Guns were involved, the man fled but mum stayed beside the dying teenager. Jump forward six years and Ruby now lives with her aunt and they make a weekly visit to the prison. Ruby was so young when all this happened, but she has fragments of memory. More than this, though, she deeply misses her mother. She names her aunt Matoo - meaning second mum. Ruby learns it is best to keep all of this a secret, so she lives two lives - Ruby on the outside and Ruby on the inside. Mum will be in prison for 25 years and so Ruby will be aged 31 when she is released.

Ruby works hard to be a 'good student' and to make sense of the world. She has one friend a girl named Kristin but even Ruby knows this girl is not really a true friend. Over the summer Ruby meets Margalit and it seems she might have found that longed for true friend but navigating a friendship is new territory for Ruby and she is terrified she will 'mess it up'. 

I started this book yesterday on a bus trip and completed it this morning. I already knew some of the plot which at first distracted me but then I reached the best plot twist ever! I cannot spoil this but all my worry about Ruby and her precious new friendship evaporated.

Bookseller blurb: Ruby's mom is in prison, and to tell anyone the truth is to risk true friendship in this novel that accurately and sensitively addresses a subject too often overlooked-from the author ofThe Summer Before Boys. Eleven-year-old Ruby Danes is about to start middle school, and only her aunt knows her deepest, darkest, secret: her mother is in prison. Then Margalit Tipps moves into Ruby's condo complex, and the two immediately hit it off. Ruby thinks she's found her first true-blue friend-but can she tell Margalit the truth about her mom? Maybe not. Because it turns out that Margalit's family history seems closely connected to the very event that put her mother in prison, and if Ruby comes clean, she could lose everything she cares about most.

Hopefully your students who read this book will not have had the same experience of weekly visits to a prison or correctional facility or jail but sadly this is a reality for some children. I used to be a Teacher-Librarian in a town with a maximum security jail. There are parts of this story that will break your heart but I promise the ending will help heal it. 

Here are some text quotes to give you a flavour of this heartfelt first person narrative.

We put all our belongings in a locker, showed our IDs. But we still had to go through all the security: the metal detectors, the wand search, the hand stamp, the gated doors, the big black bars, the hand stamp check, the sign-in, more bars, and finally we got to the visitors’ room where we were assigned to a table.

So lying in the dark, I try to smile. I force my mouth to turn up at the corners. I think I am smiling and I wonder what my mother is doing. She is in her cell by now, the steel bars pulled shut and locked. Maybe she is asleep. Maybe she is thinking about me. I try to smile but I feel the wetness leaking out of my eyes and dripping down my cheeks onto my pillow. I miss my mother so much.

I’m sure it’s raining in Bedford Hills, too, and that thought comes into my head but I know if my mother is in her cell, she can’t see it. I wonder if she can hear it. I wonder if there are other ways to know if it’s raining. Can she hear it? Do the COs come into work and talk about the weather? What is it like not to see the sky when you wake up in the morning?

I rack my brain. I consider every possibility for how to live with this terrible truth and not lose my very first, very best friend. For a crazy second, I want to call my mom—which, of course, I know I can’t do—like I used to when I was little. I want her to put her arms around me and make everything all right. Or at least tell me what to do. And then I realize my mother can’t fix anything. Because she’s the one who broke it.

The officer behind the glass stamps my hand with an invisible stamp. Today it is the right hand. Yesterday must have been left. I am not sure why they switch it every day, but I am sure it has something to do with preventing the prisoners from getting out. Or the wrong people from coming in. ... Here there is a little machine that you have to put your hand under and suddenly, there it is, the glowing stamp they just put on your skin. I used to think that was so cool, so magical. Not anymore.

Visitors are not allowed to wear green, but that’s not a problem for me. I’ve made sure I don’t own one green thing. Not a shirt, or a sweater, a sweatshirt, or pants. Not even green socks.

A deeply compassionate exploration of an experience underrepresented in children’s literature but overrepresented in the real world. Kirkus

Australian readers may not be familiar with the game Ruby plays with her friend - carrom. It is a board game. Read more here. Also, you will want to read one of my favourite books - Sarah, Plain and Tall. 

Here are some other books I have read with jail settings:

A Wish in the dark

The Warden's Daughter

Born Behind Bars

All Rise for the Honorable Perry T Cook

From the desk of Zoe Washington (The Faraway Truth)

The Worlds we Leave Behind by AF Harrold illustrated by Levi Pinfold

"They hadn't invited her, hadn't forced her, hadn't encouraged her, hadn't wanted her to come, but there she was, a little kid suddenly in their care. 

And now they were in the woods and it had all gone wrong."

Imagine you have hurt another child - you are a child yourself - and you most certainly did not mean for this to happen. Now think about the reaction of the older sibling of this child. Their anger spills over. You already feel so much guilt. But what if you meet someone who offers to remove one of the people from this event? To wipe out all trace of them. 

The little girl is Sascha. The boys are Hex and Thommo. Sascha follows the boys down to the river. The boys are there to ride on a rope swing. Sascha begs them for a turn but she is stuck and accidentally knocks into Hex. He is an impulsive boy who never thinks about consequences. He picks up a lump of mud and hurls it at the little girl. She falls and there is a snap as we hear her arm break. Thommo and Hex (Hector) have been friends forever. When Sacha falls Thommo runs away. Hex thinks he has deserted him but actually he has gone for help. When the older brother and sister of Sacha arrive, Hex leaves quietly knowing an ambulance is coming. That night, though, he feels terrible. On Monday he visits his old friend Thommo but he is turned away. He decides to revisit the rope swing but when he arrives Sacha's sister Maria arrives and in her anger she lashes out at Hex. 

He runs away and finds himself in a strange part of the woods outside a small cottage. He meets an old woman and her dog. She offers him comfort and more:

"How many were there? ... 'Two' he said. 'Yes. And look, you are just one.' ... 'Don't you wish you could do something? ... I can help. I can even the score. I can make it so they never hurt you again."

Revenge. Retribution. The woman offers to make the world forget the kids who caused him harm. 

"Only you would know they'd ever existed at all. And your world will heal, reshape itself around the hole ... No one will miss them or remember them. No one will be hurt by their loss ... "

The woman gives him an acorn. He is told to crush it if he wants these kids removed. What he doesn't know is that Maria, Sascha's sister, has also visited the old woman and she also has an acorn.

And what about Thommo - it seems he has totally forgotten Hex ever existed and yet every now and then he gets a niggling feeling that something is wrong. 

This is one of the strangest, most disturbing, and yet intriguing books I have ever read. And I need to say there is no neat resolution. Older readers might link this story with a fairy tale such as Hansel and Gretel but this tale is way more sinister and it has no happily ever after. 

Blub from publisher page: Hex never meant for the girl to follow him and his friend Tommo into the woods. He never meant for her to fall off the rope swing and break her arm. When the finger of blame is pointed at him, Hex runs deep into the woods and his fierce sense of injustice leads him to a strange clearing in the woods – a clearing that has never been there before – where an old lady in a cottage offers him a deal. She'll rid the world of those who wronged him and Hex can carry on his life with them all forgotten and as if nothing ever happened. But what Hex doesn't know is someone else has been offered the same deal. When Hex's best friend Tommo wakes up the next day, he is in a completely different world but he only has murmurs of memories of the world before. Moments of deja vu that feel like Tommo's lived this day before. Can Tommo put the world right again? Back to how it was? Or can he find a way to make a new world that could be better for them all?

Compact and disquieting: a horror story with plenty of food for thought. Kirkus

... this isn’t a blood-and-guts-type horror story. Instead, it’s a nuanced story of friendship, social nuances, betrayal and eventually vindication. There’s magic, mystery and things that lurk in the dark. Cracking the Cover

Harrold’s solutions to the alternative worlds that might be produced by the children’s absences are thought provoking, and the explanation he provides for the witch’s intervention in the children’s lives owes as much to a vintage American tv series as to the brothers Grimm. It’s a handsomely produced tale about the darkness that can come to any of us on any day, the decisions that we take or avoid, and the possibilities, for good or ill, that stem from those choices. A perceptive and disturbing book. Books for Keeps

The book is illustrated throughout by Levi Pinfold’s beautiful black and white drawings which create a haunting atmosphere, reinforcing the author’s narrative and sometimes reaching even further into a world of horror and the supernatural. Just Imagine

I have a bit of a 'love hate' relationship with books by AF Harrold. I found The Song from Somewhere else difficult to read because of the violent bullying and I shudder whenever I see The Imaginary in a bookstore. That book disturbed me SO much. On the other hand, is earlier books about Fizzlebert Stump were all terrific. 

Here are two other books illustrated by Levi Pinfold who now lives in Queensland. His book Paradise Sands is truly spectacular.

Paradise Sands

The Secret Horse of Briar Hill