Our middle grade book spotlight this week is all aboutPossibilities from the Past!!! We are exploring books that deal with past events, individuals, or time periods--through both fiction and nonfiction--as there is so much we can learn. We can learn how we are still being impacted from things already done, what choices not to make, or to open our eyes to some amazing individuals who have made a difference without us even knowing and we should know. Books have the ability to do that--to let us learn about our possibilities from the past. These books and more can be found by searching the catalog using the search tag #youthhistoricalfiction and #amazingyouthnonfiction as well as on Libby and Hoopla.
The 2022 Summer Reading Program Oceans of Possibilities is taking place from June 4th-August 10th with a new theme and badge activities every week. Make sure to watch the Middle Grade Book Spotlight book talk video for this week as it counts towards your badge activities for the week; if you read one of the titles featured or on the tagged list, that counts as another activity as well!!! Earn the weekly themed badges to get your virtual tickets which can be turned into opportunities to win prizes! For more information--such as to sign up or to sign in to your account in order to track your books and activities--visit our Summer Reading page and click “LOG IN NOW”.
Check back next week for a new middle grade book spotlight and if you have any book suggestions, please let us know!!
Hardcourt by Fred Bowen--Provides a collection of illustrated stories about the National Basketball Association that describe pivotal moments in the league's history, including, how the league began, changes in scoring through the years, the acceptance of black players, famous rivalries, and the formation of the 1992 Dream Team.
History: A Visual Encyclopedia--From the earliest civilizations in Mesopotamia and India to the rise of populism in the US and China’s growth as a global power, this book gives you the facts about all major historical periods.
The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare--In 1687 in Connecticut, Kit Tyler befriends an old woman considered a witch by the community and suddenly finds herself standing trial for witchcraft.
Loyalty by Avi--When Noah Cope's Loyalist father is killed by a mob of patriot neighbors, he and his family leave their small town for Boston, Massachusetts. Seeking revenge for his father's death, Noah becomes a British spy and is ordered to eavesdrop on the rebels meeting at a local tavern. But when he befriends a young Black freeman named Jolla, who opens Noah's eyes to the hypocrisy of men who demand freedom for themselves while enslaving others, he must decide where his loyalties truly lie.
Show Me a Sign by Ann Clare LeZotte--Eleven-year-old Mary, content with living in her supportive deaf community on Martha's Vineyard, knows nothing of how the hearing world really views those who are deaf, until a doctor arrives on the island in 1805, hoping to discover a cause for the large numbers of deaf people there. Reeling from the recent death of her brother, Mary's grieving family and other residents are initially charmed by the doctor, but his drive to find answers leads him to kidnap Mary, taking her to Boston to become his experiment subject. Mary soon learns she's considered "moronic" by the outside world, and once she learns the deception behind the doctor's plans, she desperately seeks to be reunited with her family.
Treaties, Trenches, Mud, & Blood by Nathan Hale--Presents a graphic novel story in which Nathan Hale takes readers to the twentieth century where he explains the origins, key players, battles, and impact of World War I.