For most folks summer reading means fun, lighthearted beach reads. However, as summer winds down, you may find yourself in need of a break from the saccharine. If you are looking for a summer read with some substance and meaningful discussion, then look no further than Tara Sullivan’s “The Bitter Side of Sweet.”

This is Sullivan’s second novel and her first title for middle grade readers, but make no mistake — the subject matter in “The Bitter Side of Sweet” is not for the faint of heart. This novel deals with child slave labor in cacao farms along the Ivory Coast. Brothers Amadou and Seydou go to work one season on the farm in order to help bring in money for their family in a small Malian village. However, two years later they are still on the farm with no idea how much money they have earned or if it will be enough to pay off the debt they’ve incurred for living and working on the farm. Then one day a new girl, Kadisha, is brought to the farm. After several failed escape attempts on her own, she enlists the help of Amadou and Seydou to plot another escape. You’ll have to read to find out what happens next! Continue reading “The Bitter Side of Sweet”

It’s spring time! Most people look forward to sunshine, warmth, rain, rainbows and flowers. But spring also brings severe storms. If you have a young one in school, it’s likely that they have practiced where to go and what to do if a severe storm or tornado strikes, but do you have a plan at home?

While severe storms may be scary, talking to your child and practicing how to react with your family will make a scary situation easier. A storm becomes severe when it produces hail one inch in diameter and/or high winds over 58 miles per hour. There are a couple of steps to be storm ready. First, know the difference between a watch and a warning. Next, make a plan on where to go and who to contact if you and your family members were to get separated. Have your child help create an emergency kit in case you need to spend a long time in a shelter or the power goes out. Finally, practice your plan to check your family’s knowledge on where to go.

Here are some things you and your child can add to your emergency kit: Continue reading “Severe Weather Plan”

January is National Be Kind to Food Servers Month! To celebrate, you can read my new favorite series – Lunch Lady by Jarrett Krosoczka. The heroine is a mild-mannered cookie-serving lunch lady by day and a super secret agent by night. Cleverly disguised to blend into their cafeteria surroundings, Lunch Lady and her sidekick Betty use gadgets like the lunch tray laptop, taco-vision night goggles (you can see at night and everything looks like a taco) and hairnet-nets to keep the school safe from bullies and sinister cyborgs. Lunch Lady serves up laughs and justice while she fights off mutant mathletes, crazed authors and – worst of all – a league of evil librarians! She’s someone you want around if it’s lunchtime or crunch time! Continue reading “National Be Kind to Food Servers Month”

“The Noisy Paint Box: The Colors and Sounds of Kandinsky’s Abstract Art” by Barb Rosenstock is about the artist Vasily Kandinsky, or Vasya as he is known in the book. When young Vasya is given a box of paints by his aunt, the paints began to hiss and sing when mixed together! Vasya’s reserved family never knew what his paintings were supposed to look like (was it a house or a flower?), but to Vasya it wasn’t representation, it was about the music that the combinations and arrangements of different colors made. Vasya eventually uses his talents and creativity to paint the first completely abstract painting. It is thought that Kandinsky had synesthesia, a rare condition where the senses are blended, which is why he could hear the colors. Kandinsky turned this possible challenge into a gift which gave him unique perspective on his art. Continue reading “Books We Love: The Noisy Paint Box”