Ruby Lost and Found by Christina Li

When we did come across May’s, we’d do the exact same thing. We’d stop and exchange a look. Ye-Ye would raise an eyebrow. “Egg tarts or coconut bread?” 
And every time, I said, “Both?”

“I’m going to help save the bakery.” “What?” “The bakery,” I said, my voice steadying. “It can’t go. I’m going to figure out a way to help May Wong save it.” There. I said it. Now there was no going back.

It might be good to grab a map of San Francisco or look for some photographs of the city - especially if, like me, you don't live in the US or you are unfamiliar with this city.

I did read this book quite quickly. There were many plot points that felt familiar or similar to other books so while I did enjoy some parts of this story it didn't completely grab me. I have put some similar books at the end of this post.

Plot points:

• A young girl (Ruby Chu) is sent to spend the summer with her grandmother - Nai-Nai. This is partly a punishment because Ruby has been caught leaving her school at lunch time
• Ruby is carrying the burdens of grief and guilt. She is sure it is her fault that her grandfather Ye-Ye died about a year ago.
• Ruby was once best friends with her sister Viv but now that her sister is older and about to head away to college their connection seems to be gone. 
• Adding to this Ruby's best friend Mia has moved across the country and Naomi, her other friend, seems to have moved on to a different group. Ruby feels isolated and alone.
• Mum and Dad are absent from Monday to Friday because they are frantically busy with their work commitments and Ruby cannot talk to them over dinner at the weekend because they are always rushing to answer important phone calls.
• Ruby spends her weekdays with Nai-Nai and each day they go to the Seniors Centre. Ruby does make a friend but at first, she is sure she does not like Liam at all. Over time she finds out he has had some deep sadness in his life and with teamwork they bond over their shared goal of saving the bakery.

Maybe it was because after Liam and I had talked, things had changed. We now worked on stuff together and told each other all kinds of things about our families. I would never ignore him in a hallway again or tease him in my mind.

• Ruby knows she is 'grounded' but she breaks this rule by going a sleepover with Naomi. If she talks to her parents about her grandmother, they will discover this and the sleepover is a disaster.

I needed to tell Dad about Nai-Nai getting lost. And Mom. When would I mention it? I would bring it up at dinner, maybe, tonight when Dad picked me up and drove me home. But then I tried to imagine how the conversation would go. They would ask me what had happened. I would have to tell them about Naomi’s sleepover. They would get mad, I realized. My heart sank. Of course they would. They’d get angry at me and at Nai-Nai for letting me go. I didn’t know what would happen next. Would they yell at Nai-Nai? It wasn’t her fault. But would they stop letting me stay at Nai-Nai’s place? Would that leave Nai-Nai by herself again? I couldn’t leave her alone. If she was left alone maybe she’d forget more things and no one would be around to help her remember. Maybe I wouldn’t tell them, for now. I would tell them eventually. For now, I’d just keep watching Nai-Nai.

• Her grandmother is showing early signs of memory loss and later Ruby learns the words dementia and Alzheimer's.
• Mum and Dad decide Nai-Nai needs to go to an aged care facility and when Nai-Nai runs away but Ruby is able to 'rescue' her and things in her family are finally out in the open and able to be resolved.
• So by now you probably agree with me that the title is perfect - Ruby is lost and then she is found or she discovers things about herself and begins to accept the changes in her life.

Listen to an audio sample here.

Publisher blurb: Thanks to her Ye-Ye’s epic scavenger hunts, thirteen-year-old Ruby Chu knows San Francisco like the back of her hand. But after his death, she feels lost, and it seems like everyone—from her best friends to her older sister—is abandoning her. After Ruby gets in major trouble at school, her parents decide she has to spend the summer at a local senior center with her grandmother, Nai-Nai, and Nai-Nai’s friends for company. When a new boy from Ruby’s grade, Liam Yeung, starts showing up too, Ruby’s humiliation is complete. But Nai-Nai, her friends, and Liam all surprise Ruby. She finds herself working with Liam, who might not be as annoying as he seems, to help save a historic Chinatown bakery that’s being priced out of the neighborhood. And alongside Nai-Nai, who is keeping a secret that threatens to change everything, Ruby retraces Ye-Ye’s scavenger hunt maps in an attempt to find a way out of her grief—and maybe even find herself. 

Big feelings are uncomfortable but to be expected in this story of finding joy and community amid change and loss. Kirkus Star review

(While) this is not an exciting, page-turner; it's a self-contained family drama that's essentially about a grieving girl getting to know her grandmother better. It's definitely worth a read though -- Ruby's family and struggles feel real, the exploration of grief and intergenerational family relationships is touching, and the San Francisco setting sparkles. Common Sense Media

Read this detailed review from Ms Yingling and one from Horn Book Magazine.

I did enjoy the descriptions of Chinatown and also the relationships between the older ladies at the senior centre where Ruby goes each day with her grandmother. This book also explores the complexities of junior high friendships and peer group relationships. Here are some text quotes to give you a flavour of this story by Christina Li.

I took a bite and savored the sweet, creamy egg custard, pressing down the inkling of worry in my chest. The crust was soft and flaky and melted on my tongue. “Thank you,” I said, muffled, my mouth half-full. It was just like how I remembered it in May’s Bakery on a busy Saturday morning or on a quiet Sunday afternoon, leaning over the counter to peer at the egg tarts and sponge cakes through the glass. I took a sip of the tea and leaned back and felt warm and full.

They passed out bingo cards and chips. And right before it started, Auntie Lin leaned back to speak to May Wong. She kept her voice low, but I was just close enough to hear her say, in Mandarin, “Another kid to babysit? What are we, a day care?" ... Also: another kid? Some other grandchild was being brought here against their will? Five hours to go. The clock was literally slowing before my eyes.

Nai-Nai also didn’t do much after the days at the senior center. She used to always go on small trips and errands. Back when she was really into making clothes, she’d take me with her to the fabric store. We’d hang out for hours while she draped lengths of fabric over herself, so it looked like she had a rainbow cape. Or during her paint phase, she’d grab watercolors and have Ye-Ye and me paint with her. But now, like clockwork, we headed straight back to the apartment in the late afternoon. She wore gray sweater-vests and different varieties of handmade baggy pants. And her only hobby these days seemed to be watching TV.

Ye-Ye made me a scavenger hunt every August, the weekend before school started. There were colored-pencil marks over all of this map, a different color for every year. Dark green was last year. Gold was the year before, then red. The last time that Viv joined us for the scavenger hunts was recorded in a beautiful sky blue, looping near the ocean. Viv always liked to charge ahead with each clue, as if it was a race to finish as fast as possible. I liked to wander. And then the next year she stopped coming.

The other day, she left the package of tofu out on the counter after cooking noodles. When Nai-Nai came for breakfast, she stared at the tofu package and asked me why I’d taken it out for breakfast. Nai-Nai was always a bit scatterbrained. She often left mail and receipts out on the coffee table and left books she was reading open and facedown. But she never really misplaced things in the kitchen.

You might want to grab a copy of this book after reading Ruby lost and found:

And you want to eat a custard tart or some coconut bread and visit a Japanese stationery store to buy some of those fun animal erasers (chapter 7).

Companion books:

Tree Table Book

Talking to the Moon

Maizy Chen's last chance

Just like Jackie

Drift by Pip Harry

How did he see the video?

Who showed him?

Why did he watch it?

Does he see me differently now?

Can we ever be friends again?

Nate has moved from Singapore to Sydney. His mum has a serious issue with her spine and can no longer work. She talks about her days in terms of spoons and often by the end of the day she has no spoons left. Dad is back in Singapore but he will join them soon. Nate has to adjust to helping his mum and fitting in at a new school. He also misses the hustle and bustle of Singapore.

In the house next door there is a girl named Luna. She lives with her mum, dad and older brother. Very recently something dreadful has happened. She has been filmed and this has been shared with 'everyone'. Luna has to endure cruel comments at school and she has now lost her closest friend.

The stage is set for Nate and Luna to find each other and yes they do. Even better this story is also filled with bees and honey and first love and kindness and a glorious seaside Sydney setting. 

There are text fragments in this book that show Pip Harry 'really gets' teenagers:

After class,

the DKs invite me to sit

with their friend group for recess ...

This is the ultimate act of social rescue

and I accept immediately ...

It's Annalise

the most popular

of the popular girls.

We used to laugh when she and her mates

walked past with their

ponytails worn ridiculously

high.

Their skirts ridiculously

short.

We called them 

the Ponytail Gang.

This quote really resonates with me because I call adults who clearly succeeded at High School and who were the queens of their peer group - ponytail girls. 

There is a tiny 'throwaway line' on page 243. Luna has been absent from school for two weeks. She has been refusing to go to school refuser:

I miss face-to-face classes,

new books in the library,

the smell of the art room ...

Thank you, Pip Harry, for having a character mention the school library!

I also love the way Pip Harry makes this story unashamedly about the Northern Beaches of Sydney. She has references to the pool at Curl Curl; a market a Freshwater; Narrabeen Lagoon; Manly Dam; Avalon; Palm Beach; our beautiful flannel flowers (photo below); the Manly Corso; the local rehab hospitals at Dee Why and Warriewood; and she even adds in an echidna and a kookaburra. (I talked about this same use of the setting in The Little Wave). 

My photo of a flannel flower at Dobroyd, Sydney NSW

Also thank you for the tears I shed over this story - this reflects the beautiful honesty of the storytelling the genuine emotions of these two kids - Luna and Nate - kids I have to come to really care about. And there is also honesty in the way so many parts of this story relate Pip Harry's own real life - which is something I discovered from her talk at the library. Like Amber, Pip had major spinal surgery; like Nate and Amber, a swarm of bees did move into the walls of their home; and Pip lives in the same part of Sydney where her story is set. Oh, and Pip is a keen swimmer. In her talk she used the word authentic and that certainly applies to the tone and story she is telling in Drift. 

Luna's dad is a minor character but I love the way he is allowed express his confusion:

He comes from 

The School of Hard Knocks.

My generation Didn't Get Any Handouts.

Get on with it,

don't be a sook. ...

Why are kids so bloody anxious these days, Steph?

I don't remember anyone seeing a shrink

when I was a teenager ...

Life is hard,

out kids need to get tougher.

Am I wrong?

I bought Drift at the literary festival (see below) and came home and read the whole book in one sitting. 

Pip Harry shared the advance copy of her book with Megan Daley and her husband who is a beekeeper. They were able to check her bee keeping facts were accurate. Megan loves bees. Here is her book list for World Bee Day. Megan will launch Drift in Brisbane in mid-August. Her endorsement on the cover says: "Buzzes with warmth and the undeniable magic of bees!" Speaking of the cover - it is fabulous. Well done Astred Hicks. Pip Harry will also be presenting at events over the coming weeks in Bendigo and Adelaide. And she mentioned she is speaking on a panel about allowing children's books to deal with deep and complex issues - I would love to know more about that event. 

Publisher blurb: Fourteen-year-old Nate has just moved back to Australia and is finding it hard to navigate a new city, school and changed home life. His next-door neighbour, Luna, is dealing with her own issues: a viral video, friends who have dropped her, and a subsequent anxiety disorder. When a swarm of 20,000 bees unexpectedly settle in the walls of Nate's family's house, Nate and Luna come together to save the hive, befriending local beekeeper Tyler. Over the course of one summer, their loyalties will be tested and their lives will be forever changed.

Here is a review comment from Instagram. The themes this reviewer identifies (check my post labels) are why I think this book is better suited to mature readers aged 13+: 

Self-harm, depression, chronic pain, violence - it all sounds so heavy but in Pip Harry’s hands it is gentle and tender. These two beautiful characters are vulnerable and loving, wanting no more than to be accepted for who they are. This is not a horror story about social media, but it is a story about the healing power of friendship, in many different forms. And if you are after a book that demonstrates how sweet and thoughtful teenage boys can be, then look no further. Pip’s middle grade novels are extremely popular with kids so no doubt they will go looking for this one, but Drift is firmly YA, 13/14+. I adored everything about it. Drift will be published in August. MSW Book Lady

Companion books:

All the Blues in the Sky

Birdy

I am sure we will see Drift on the 2026 CBCA Older Readers Notables List along with another splendid YA Verse Novel I read this year - The Foal in the Wire by Robbie Coburn.

Yesterday I attended the first Willoughby Literary Festival. My discovery of this event, hosted by the Willoughby Library in Chatswood, held over two weekends, was entirely an accident. This is where I heard Pip Harry talk about her new YA Verse Novel Dift - for ages 12+. It will be released on Wednesday this week. Pip shared her book with fifteen kids in the session today. They were fairly quiet and reticent to participate but she kept up her energy and enthusiasm for the whole hour. If you have the opportunity to have Pip Harry visit your school or library grab it with both hands - your kids will experience a brilliant and insightful session. 

I have previously talked about several books by Pip Harry and I penned a detailed profile post after her presentation at a local Teacher-Librarian conference. I have added the view count beside each title:

• The Little Wave (976)
• Are you there Buddha? (241)
• August and Jones (219)
• Over and Under (111)

Summer of Shipwrecks by Shivaun Plozza

Do you have a best friend? Is this friendship so important to you that you would try to change yourself to keep this friend? Is it possible to think of someone as your best friend when you only meet once a year for two weeks when your families visit a seaside campground? It is this last point that I found a little unlikely and yet this was the main driver of the plot - with Sid desperate to win the approval of Lou. 

Sid regards Lou as her best friend and so when Lou brings Hailey along this year it is clear things will be different. You have read this plot line before I am sure - once there were two friends and now there are three girls - is there a way they can all be friend. The annual holiday location is called Shipwreck Coast and Sid is totally caught up in the story of a shipwreck from years ago. 

"Since forever I've spent the last two weeks of summer holidays camping at Penlee Point, so I know about every shipwreck that's ever happened her. ... The Penlee set off form London ... March, 1879; there were fifty -four people on board; ... the Penlee hit a reef off Desperation Point and only took ten minutes to sink; the ship was carrying nineteen million dollars worth of treasure; ... only one person survived: Katherine Natpier."

Last summer Sid and Lou found a coin which surely must come from the ship's treasures. Sid has huge plans for her time with Lou but this year everything is different. Hailey just wants to sit on the beach. Hailey is 'cool' and she wears a bikini and she has her period. Hailey seems to know about boys - how to flirt with them and get their attention. None of this interest Sid but she feels she needs to change so she and Lou can go back to the way things were.

It has taken me a while to read this book mainly because instead of settling down and reading long sections I tended to read only 3-5 pages at a time. I was a little invested in the main character Sid but most of the time she really exasperated me. I just wanted to say 'please stop trying to please Lou because she is no longer noticing you'. 'Please be brave enough to be yourself'. 'Please stop making promises and telling lies so you can get back with Lou'. Lou is giving all her attention to Hailey and Lou in turn is letting Hailey manipulate her activities, taste, reactions to boys and especially her relationship with Sid. Growing up should not be this hard. Poor Sid. 

The suggested age for this book is 10+ but I think it might better suit 11+. Other reviewers really enjoyed this book:

Summer of Shipwrecks is a tender and poignant story of best friends growing apart, and the grief that accompanies this change. It’s also an exciting mystery of long-ago shipwrecks and lost treasure, and how life continues – even after incredible suffering. For me, a highlight is the relationship which slowly develops between Sid and her almost-stepsister, which vividly relates all the awkwardness, pain, and surprising moments of joy which can occur as two families become one. Readers ... who like contemporary, character-driven fiction will wholeheartedly enjoy this story. StoryLinks

ReadPlus review. Reading Opens Doors.

Here is an interview with the author and Joy Lawn for Paperbark Words. There is a link to a set of teachers notes for Summer of Shipwrecks on the UQP page but in my view this is not a book I would use for class study - it feels more like a book to be read privately by a girl who is either at the end of Primary School (Grade 6) or just beginning High School. 

If your readers enjoy this book, I would recommend these companion books especially Junonia which follows very similar themes of change and growing up and summer holidays and altered expectations. 

Shouting at the rain (5 stars from me)

Junonia (5 stars from me)

The first summer of Callie McGee

You could also look for a couple of older books - Half a Chance by Cynthia Lord (2014); and Takers and Returners by Carol Beach York (1974).

Just before I left for the IBBY Congress in Trieste a parcel arrived from UQP (University of Queensland Press).  I simply didn't have time to read the two books which were released 3rd September - Summer of Shipwrecks The Lost History by Melanie La'Brooy. The Lost History is a sequel to The Wintrish Girl but with over 430 pages I won't be ready to talk about this one for a week or two. 

I previously read this book by Shivaun Plozza:

Meet me at the Moon Tree

The Wrong Shoes by Tom Percival

From the opening lines of this book a reader will know this will be a story filled with raw emotions, pain and sadness but hopefully also, well, hope!

"This is no fairy tale. Not unless it's one of those really old fashioned ones, where basically a whole load of terrible stuff happens to some poor unsuspecting kid. ... But you know what? Even in those stories where people get ripped in half, chewed up and spat out, eventually there's a happy ending. And that's the difference, see? Because this is just my life, and nothing's guaranteed."

Will is a high school student. He lives with his dad who has lost his job and has been in a workplace accident. Mum left some time ago and she lives in a different part of the city with her new partner. There is no money which means there is very little food and certainly no extras - go back and read the title - Will IS wearing the wrong shoes. No, this does not mean they are not the latest fashion though of course that is true. But there is more to it. These shoes are wrong because they are old, second hand, and have a split in the sole. When it rains, and it seems to rain quite a lot in this story, Will's feet get wet. His feet are cold and Will is cold and he is also hungry. These shoes also mean he stands out at school and is an easy target for bullies and cruel comments. Will also has no school supplies, and his school bag is from years ago. His one consolation is that he loves to draw. But as the story opens Will bumps into the school bully. It is raining, his shoes are wrong and then Chris Tucker (the bully) grabs Will's bag and his precious notebook filled with drawings is thrown into a puddle. And this is only the first of a series of utterly dreadful events.

Will does have one true friend but Cameron has such different life circumstances. His family are well off. He lives in a large comfortable home, and he has plenty to eat and he has in fact just been given expensive new shoes. In an act of kindness Cameron offers his old shoes to Will, but Will cannot see this as a kindness. He thinks Cameron's offer comes from pity. Will is way too proud to accept charity and so this precious friendship is shattered.

Meanwhile Will gains some information about Chris Tucker. He sees him being recruited into a gang of older kids who commit crimes around the town such as shoplifting and probably worse. Chris suddenly changes his manner towards Will. He seems to understand what it is like to live on the 'wrong side of town'. But Will needs to be careful because Chris has his own purposes for befriending Will and before too long Will is going to find himself in a shop stealing something for Chris. 

Tom Percival does give his readers one tiny glimpse of hope early in this story when Will sees a huge and majestic owl. Later in his art class at school he draws this special creature and his art teacher pays Will a huge compliment.

"That's incredible,' says Mr Prince. 'Really, it's remarkable ...' His warm deep voice pauses ... Usually I'm about as happy to get a compliment as a cat is to be sprayed with cold water, but on this occasion I smile. He's right. It really is something special - even I can see that."

Then there is the good news about an art competition with a huge money prize but remember those opening sentences I shared at the start of this post. Perhaps real life is not actually about happy endings?

Books enable us to see into lives we have no awareness of, and they also can reflect our own situations back at us, making us feel seen. I hope that any child who reads this book and is currently struggling will take Will’s resilience, determination and hope to heart and will keep going, keep working as hard as they can to do the best that they can, despite the obvious unfairness of it all. Tom Percival in The Big Issue

You will hold your breath reading this book. In fact I had to keep putting it down and desperately hoping other terrible things would not happen to Will. I am so glad I have read this book. The writing is so powerful - I was hugely invested in Will. I wanted to help him, talk to him, comfort him and guide him to stop and think about his choices and reactions. I kept hoping he would reach out to the adults in his life - his dad (he thinks he needs to protect him); his mum and her partner; and his teachers especially his wonderful art teacher. 

Huge congratulations to Tom Percival on his first full length novel. Here is an interview with Books for Keeps. The interview says:  ‘Realistically I wanted it to be a good story, a good journey, for people to feel transported. I want them to feel Will is real, that they’ve met him and understand him a bit. I want people like Will to feel seen, for people to make an effort to understand them even if they’ve misjudged them, and I want the Wills to feel that they’re right to be angry, that things aren’t fair and shouldn’t be like that.’

I picked this book up from one of our large chain bookstores in the city. They have a display shelf as you walk into the children's book section with the new release titles. The bottom shelves are usually Middle Grade and Younger and then as you go up the shelves the titles move to Young Adult. The Wrong Shoes was on a low shelf BUT from my reading I'd like to suggest it is a Young Adult title - I would say 12+. 

It is, at times, quite a dark tale. I felt so desperately sorry for Will, and his emotional turmoil is so raw sometimes it's very moving. And yet there is always this glimmer of hope underneath. The hope of things turning out for the best in the end. The story ends in a positive manner, but gratifyingly without an unbelievable 'everything is brilliant' ending, making it a more realistic and therefore satisfying conclusion. The Bookbag (this is a fabulous review but she suggests ages 9+ but I think this book is way too confronting for that age.)

• ‘An extraordinary, powerful and moving book that has the potential to change lives.’ Hannah Gold
• ‘Every chapter is full of experience & empathy & most importantly, heart’ Phil Earle
• ‘Reading fiction is about walking in the shoes of people whose lives are very different to ours and allowing more readers to see themselves in stories. The Wrong Shoes is the perfect example of both – the right book at the right time’ Tom Palmer
• ‘A brilliant book – such a perfect marriage of words and illustrations and an important story told with real heart’ Christopher Edge
• ‘A hopeful, honest, big-hearted read. You’ll be rooting for the main character, Will, from the very first page . . .’ Clara Vulliamy

Here are some other books I recommend. They are all for readers aged 11+ but they have similar themes and tone:

The Truth as told to Mason Buttle

Shelter

A different dog

Night bus Hero

As right as rain

I recognised the author Tom Percival on the cover of The Wrong Shoes.  I really enjoyed some of his previous picture book titles:

The Invisible

The River

The Sea Saw

Herman's Letter

The First Summer of Callie McGee by AL Tait

Callie is on the cusp of her teen years. She will begin at the High School next year although not at the High School she was supposed to attend. As an only child there seems be a lot of extra pressure on her from her mother. Callie is a very intelligent girl who finds it hard to fit in with her peer group. Over the course of this week, we see her grow in confidence as she navigates complex relationships with her peers.

Every summer her family visit a holiday house at the beach and two other families come along too. The adults love this summer week spent fishing, golfing, walking and reminiscing about their former days. Every summer the group follow a series of traditions. The kids are forced together but really, they are not friends. In fact, one of the boys regularly teases Callie in quite a vicious way. This summer Callie (full name Calliope-Jean) has decided to reinvent herself beginning with her name. She wants her parents, their friends and the other kids to now call her Callie. So, this is not their first summer staying at Sawyer's Point, but it is the first summer of her new identity as Callie. 

Among the group of kids there is a teenage girl named Sasha. Early in the story Sasha takes Callie's very old mobile phone. Sasha loads her own apps on to the phone because her own phone has been confiscated by her parents. Sasha has a plan to stay in touch with her friends and to set up meetings with one of the local boys. As a reader I knew this would most certainly end in disaster.

"Still staring at her screen, Callie opened her mouth to protest and then shut it. whatever she said would be wrong. She didn't want to be part of Sasha's duplicity but she also didn't want her friend to think she was a complete loser."

This summer another boy has joined the group. He is Mitch's cousin. Mitch is the kid who is always so mean to Callie but somehow perhaps because they are close in age these three form an alliance. When they hear someone has been robbing the holiday houses over the summer Owen, Mitch and Callie decide to track down the culprit but this does mean they need to wander the streets of this sleeping seaside village very late at night. And it does mean they see a gang of local kids, their elderly neighbor assisting others with plumbing issues at midnight and later they witness Sasha who should not be out this late at night and who is now in a very a dangerous situation.

This book is easy to read and I think it will be enjoyed by readers aged 11+ who enjoy realistic fiction with a touch of mystery and danger. 

Blurb from the author page:  It’s the last summer before Callie starts high school and she’s been dragged along to yet another ‘family friends’ holiday. Determined to change her nerdy reputation, Callie sets out to make waves but nothing is quite as she expects. Her usual ally, Sasha, has outgrown Callie; her nemesis, Mitch, has brought his cousin Owen along; and the boring south coast town of Sawyer’s Point has been rocked by a series of burglaries. Callie, Owen and Mitch decide to investigate the robberies, bringing them face to face with a local gang … and a possible ghost. But when Sasha goes missing, Callie must draw on all her smarts to find her friend, and (she) discovers that being Callie McGee has its benefits.

Navigating the tricky passage from child to young adult is never easy and with the added pressure of a helicopter parent and the pressure of expectations on an only (and bright) child, even more difficult. Callie’s experience and concerns will no doubt strike a chord with many readers, even if they are not in exactly the same position. Kids Book Review

Companion books:

This book was published in 1974. The robberies are far more serious but it is a book that has lingered with me. It will probably be very difficult to find unfortunately.

Junonia.

This book is on my top ten list of favourites. There are so many similar plot points in this story 

but it has a deeper emotional resonance.  Very highly recommended.

Shouting at the Rain

Half a chance

Return to Gone-away

This is another very old book first published in 1961.

Ode to a Nobody by Caroline Brooks DuBois

 

If Forest was the glue

binding the family 

then I am the heat

weakening the bond.

If Forest was the duct tape,

the button, the magnet, the bungee

holding us together,

then I am the resistance

the yank, the pull.

Quinnie, Quinn, Quinn(ie) 

Mom's ultrasound and intuition
convinced her

I was born to be a boy.

So my parents chose a name

and for nine long months

called me Quinn.

When I turned out a girl,

Mom still liked Quinn.

'It's gender-neutral,'

she insisted.

Dad disagreed

and has always called me

Quinnie. So it's Quinn on paper,

but out loud mostly Quinnie

and sometimes Quinn,

depending on 

who's speaking.

Quinnie's brother is the star of the family, at least according to his sister. Mum and dad keep fighting. Quinnie is sure that is all her fault. And then the tornado hits.

It's been a week

since the tornado struck.

I swear time has crawled.

It could be lack of electricity

in our busted home, or moving to Ivy-

days of doing things I've never done,

and all the time spent offline.

Maybe it's just me,

or maybe it's the truce

between Mom and Dad.

But I've changed a lot in the span

of this 'week-year'.

In class Ms Koval sets an assignment of poetry writing for the whole month. They study famous poems and learn techniques. Reading the poems by Quinnie we gain insights into her family issues, friendship issues, her worries, and the way Quinnie learns how to stands up to her old friends who want her to do dangerous things. 

In one incident Jack and Jade spray paint damaged houses but when the spray tins are left in Quinnie's pack she has a wonderful idea. She writes poems of hope on neighborhood walls as she watches all the people who suffered from the tornado begin to rebuild their lives. 

Stay strong.

We survived!

Hold that vibe.

Hear the song.

Of lives resuming

And hope blooming.

After a month of writing Quinn reads her best poem to the class. Jack kept saying this poetry writing project was a waste of his time but then he slips his poem into her pocket. It has been a year of change but there will be good times to come. You are sure to shed a few tears when you read the final scenes. 

Take a close look at the cover of this book. The town is hit by a tornado - hence the flying objects; Quinn and her mum shelter in the basement but she forgets to rescue her hamster named Pumpkin; Jack was Quinn's best friend and they liked to skate and game but now Jade has arrived and this precious friendship has shifted.

This beautiful novel in verse, a novel all about poetry and the power that comes from writing and discovery, is not to be missed. The message about leaning into and accepting yourself is an important one. School Library Journal

Here is the web page for Caroline Brooks DuBois.

Straight ater I read Ode to Nobody I read Right as Rain (not a verse novel) - these books have very similar themes (parents on the brink of divorce; poetry writing; school life; friendship) so I have found myself mixing up the plot points. I will talk about this book over the coming days.

Oddbird by Derek Desierto

Oddbird arrives at the water hole. None of the other fancy birds have entered the water even though it is a very, very hot day. They are way too concerned about their appearance. The water might ruin their fabulous feathers. 

But Oddbird is different. He is grey. His feathers are dull. He is hot after his long flight. He dips his toes into the cool pool and immediately all the other birds begin to verbally attack him. Oddbird bursts into tears and flies away.

In the surrounding jungle, Oddbird notices all the colour in nature. He picks up various colourful pieces and transforms himself into a fabulous bird. His little swimming suit is especially cute. Back at the pool none of the other birds recognise him - well not until he climbs up the tall ladder and dives into the pool. All of his colourful accessories fall off and of course now the other birds can see the fancy bird, they had admired just minutes ago, is just Oddbird. If you read this book to a group of older students I would stop at this point and try to predict what could happen next.

Make sure you spread out the covers so your class or library group of young reading companion can enjoy the full spread. The vibrant birds, each with their distinct personality, is a fabulous image. You can see the whole spread at the top of this post. 

The obvious companion read to go with Oddbird would be Scary Bird although I do think Scary Bird has a deeper message.

Here is the trailer for Oddbird. Here is an interview with The School Library Journal where derek talks about Oddbird. Take a look at this interview with Let's Talk Picture Books.  This is the first picture book Canadian animator Derek Desierto has made where he is both the author and illustrator. His previous book was:

You might also like to compare this book with:

Elmer

The Night Bus Hero by Onjali Q Rauf

Hector and his two friends (read henchmen/women) Will and Katie, take great delight in terrorising kids at school. They extort money and sweets from the youngest kids every single day and no one seems to be able to stop them. They seem to wear their daily detention sessions as a badge of honour.  In the park, after school one day, the trio spy an old homeless man sitting on a park bench. 

"I'd seen him there before, lots of times, sitting on the bench next to a trolley piled high with rubbish. He was in his usual long, old, crumply black coat that looked as if it had been pulled out from a bin, and was wearing the bright yellow woolly hat he always had on his head, even in summer."

Hector swoops in a snatches the yellow hat. The man fights back. Hector feels as though he has lost face and his mates have seen this. He leaves the park furiously making plans for retribution against the old man.

A few days later, visiting the park again, Hector swoops in and this time he takes the old man's trolley. Pushing the trolley down the slope the wheels gain momentum and the trolley lands in the lake.  So now a fairly minor prank has escalated. Later in the story you will discover the truth about the contents of the trolley. This revelation nearly broke my heart.

While all of this is going on, something bigger is happening in the city of London. Someone is stealing important city icons and each time they have added symbols which come from a code used by homeless people. Late one night in the city Hector sees one of these robberies. He is convinced the robber is the old man from the park and Hector is certain the police will be very happy when he leads them to the culprit. But is Thomas, the old man, guilty of these strange crimes? Or is something bigger going on?

1. Paddington Station: stolen Paddington Bear 
2. Selfridges: stolen winged angel
3. Picadilly Circus: stolen the bow of Eros
4. Great Ormond Street Hospital: stolen Tinkerbell
5. Leicester Square: stolen Mary Poppins Umbrella; Charlie Chaplin's stick, and Paddington Bear's sandwhich
6. Fortnum and Mason: stolen lanterns

This is one of the hardest books I have ever read. Not hard in the sense of complex or difficult to understand. The first part of this story contains utterly dreadful bullying and unkindness.  I almost gave up and stopped reading several times. Around page 200 (of 288 pages) the plot finally takes a turn in the "right" direction. I am so glad I kept reading. I was hopeful for that all important happy ending but I was also desperately worried about Hector and hopeful that he could view the world in a different way, hopeful that his parents might reach out to him and hopeful that he might make better choices with friends at school. Thank goodness for Mei-Li, the wisest girl in Hector's class. 

A brilliantly written and totally engrossing story that will help children understand and think deeply about the real human beings whose lives are impacted by homelessness - and also more generally about the power of kindness, friendship, empathy and how everyone has the potential to change for the better. Book Trust

Told from the perspective of a bully, this book explores themes of bullying and homelessness, while celebrating kindness, friendship and the potential everyone has to change for the good. LoveReading4Kids

I picked up The Night Bus Hero because I previously really enjoyed The Boy at the Back of the Class by Onjali Q Rauf.

Take a look at this review which gives more plot details. At the back of the book Onjali shares her personal story which inspired this book along with the details of many UK organisations which support homeless people.  In Australia we have many organisations like this. You may like to read about  Orange Sky - a street Laundry service; and The Wayside Chapel (Sydney).  If you use this book with a class (and yes you should think about doing this) I recommend you also share these picture books about homelessness.

Here is a short interview with Onjali Q Rauf where she talks about The Night Bus Hero and her previous book The boy at the back of the class. You can find out more about Onjali from this Ted Talk given early in 2020.