This week’s Spotlights are EXCELLENT, with several popular authors on each of this week’s three lists. For middle grades, we have new titles from Ruth Behar, Alan Gratz, Hena Khan, and Dawn Cusick.
My top middle grade pick this week is Across So Many Seas by Ruth Behar. This historical fiction novel is about four generations of women in the same Jewish family. The story spans 500 years. The first young woman is banished from Spain during the Spanish Inquisition.
The other three stories are set in the 20th Century and feature three generations of young women (grandmother, mother, and daughter) dealing with various political and historical situations in the 20th Century.
I always love stories set in different countries! Across So Many Seas is set in Spain, Turkey, Cuba, and the US in different time periods. I am so excited to read this one!
Links to the Google Slides presentation, printable list, the Ginormous Book List, and the YA and picture book Spotlights for this week are at the bottom of this post.
Author: Alan Gratz
Publication date: February 6, 2024
Genre: historical fiction
Setting: Pearl Harbor, Oahu, Hawaii; 1941
Recommended for: Grades 3-8
Themes: war, WWII, Pearl Harbor, racism, anti-Japanese sentiment after Pearl Harbor, courage
Protagonist: two males, both age 13, one white, one Japanese American
Starred reviews: Booklist
Pages: 272
PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY
December 6, 1941: Best friends Frank and Stanley have it good. With their dads stationed at the Pearl Harbor naval base in Hawaii, the boys get to soak up the sunshine while writing and drawing their own comic books. World War II might be raging overseas, but so far America has stayed out of the fight. There’s nothing to fear, right?
December 7th, 1941: Everything implodes.
Frank and Stanley are touring a battleship when Japanese planes zoom overhead, dropping bomb after bomb. As explosions roar and sailors scream, Frank and Stanley realize the unthinkable is happening: Japan is attacking America! The war has come to them.
Frantically, the boys struggle to find safety. But disaster and danger are everywhere–from torpedoes underwater to bullets on the beach… to the shocking cruelty that their friends and neightbors show Stanely. Because his mom is Japanese-American, Stanely is suddenly seen as the “enemy.” And Frank, who is white, cannot begin to understand what his friend is now facing.
If the boys make it through this infamous day, can their friendship–and their dreams–survive? Or has everything they know been destroyed?
Told with the immediacy, high-stakes action, and inventive storytelling that make Alan Gratz (Refugee,Ground Zero) one of today’s biggest authors, this riveting look at the attack on Pearl Harbor explores themes of prejudice, power, and what it truly means to be a hero.
Plus: The book ends with an all-original, 10-page black & white comic that brings to life the comic book idea that Frank and Stanley brainstorm in the novel. The comic is written by Alan Gratz and illustrated by Judit Tondora.
Author: Giselle Clarkson
Illustrator: Giselle Clarkson
Publication date: February 6, 2024
Genre: nonfiction, humor
Setting: outdoors
Recommended for: Grades 2-7
Themes: nature, observations, insects, fungi, earthworms, spiders, science, STEM, small things, cartoons, journal-style drawings and writing
Starred reviews: Kirkus, SLJ, and Publishers Weekly
Pages: 120
PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY
Observology is the study of looking. An observologist makes scientific expeditions, albeit very small ones, every day. They notice interesting details in the world around them. They are expert at finding tiny creatures, plants, and fungi. They know that water snails glide upside down on the undersurface of the water; not all flies have wings; earthworms have bristles; butterflies taste with their feet. An observologist knows that there are extraordinary things to be found in even the most ordinary places.
The Observologist puts more than 100 small creatures and features of the natural world under the microscope, piquing our curiosity with only the most interesting facts. Subjects range from slugs, ants, and seeds to fungi, flies, bees, and bird poop.
But this is no everyday catalog of creatures. It is an antidote to boredom, an invitation out of the digital world and screentime, an encouragement to observe our environment, with care and curiosity, wherever we are.
Facts combine with comics, detailed illustrations, science, and funny stories in this unique, warm, and fascinating account of the small things all around us. Graphic and comic illustrations with funny talking insects make this a playful and informative book one to be treasured in the classroom.
Giselle Clarkson has a comics and conservation background. Through her unique sensibility, you’ll find that once you start thinking small, there’s no limit to what you can notice―right under your nose.
Author: Anne Rellihan
Publication Date: February 6, 2024
Genre: mystery, realistic fiction
Setting: Catholic school in Mayfield, Missouri
Recommended for: Grades 3-7
Themes: fighting with best friend, remorse over things said, kidnapping, proving oneself, family problems, making new friends, helping others, observation notebooks, bullying, parental abandonment, depressed mother, anxiety, OCD/counting
Protagonist: female, age 11, white, 6th grader; her stepfather is Black and two half-siblings are biracial
Starred reviews: Kirkus and Booklist
Pages: 272
PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY
It’s the thirty-fourth day of sixth grade at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic School in Missouri, and eleven-year-old Lou wishes she could rewind time.
Lou wants to go back to the ninth day of sixth grade—the day before she fought with her best friend Francie and said the terrible, horrible things she can’t unsay. Or better yet, she would go back to fifth grade when Francie was still the Old Francie.
Then the new girl, Cece Clark-Duncan, passes Lou a mysterious note. It says she was kidnapped. (!) If Lou can help Cece, maybe she can prove she’s not the world’s worst friend.
But as observant Lou uncovers the complicated truth about Cece’s family, she starts to panic. Can she help Cece without hurting her? Or will Lou end up losing another friend instead?
Anchored by an outstanding voice and a page-turning mystery, this remarkable debut novel honors the powerful middle school friendships that can both break and heal a tender eleven-year-old heart. Perfect for fans of Fish in a Tree and My Jasper June.
Author: Hena Khan
Publication date: February 6, 2024
Genre: realistic fiction
Setting: Pakistani American community
Recommended for: Grades 3-7
Themes: anxiety, family financial problems, parents fighting with each other, art as escape, family businesses, fashion design, mothers and daughters, jealousy, self-doubt, cousins, bruxism, social media
Protagonist: female, 7th grader, Pakistani American
Starred reviews: Kirkus
Pages: 240
PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY
Deena’s never given a name to the familiar knot in her stomach that appears when her parents argue about money, when it’s time to go to school, or when she struggles to find the right words. She manages to make it through each day with the help of her friends and the art she loves to make.
While her parents’ money troubles cause more and more stress, Deena wonders if she can use her artistic talents to ease their burden. She creates a logo and social media account to promote her mom’s home-based business selling clothes from Pakistan to the local community. With her cousin and friends modeling the outfits and lending their social media know-how, business picks up.
But the success and attention make Deena’s cousin and best friend, Parisa, start to act funny. Suddenly Deena’s latest creative outlet becomes another thing that makes her feel nauseated and unsure of herself. After Deena reaches a breaking point, both she and her mother learn the importance of asking for help and that, with the right support, Deena can create something truly beautiful.
Author: Rashad Doucet
Publication Date: February 6, 2024
Genre: graphic novel, realistic fiction
Setting: middle school
Recommended for: Grades 3-7
Themes: art, kid businesses, after-school clubs, school stories, deployed parent (father), grandfathers, pooh-poohing of art, importance of art education, cutting of art education programs
Protagonist: male, middle schooler, African American
Starred reviews: Booklist
Pages: 240
PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY
Dale Donavan has heard the same lecture over and over again: Art will get you nowhere in life. A kid with a creative streak, Dale wants nothing more than to doodle, play video games, and create comics forever—maybe even as a full-time job one day. But between his grandfather pushing him to focus on his studies and a school with zero interest in funding arts programs, Dale feels like his future has already been decided for him.
That is, until he comes up with the perfect plan: What if he starts an after-school art club, gathers a team of creative students like himself, and proves all the naysayers—his stubborn vice principal in particular—wrong?
This might just work, but if the club isn’t financially successful by the end of the semester, the school with shut them down. This may be Dale’s only chance to show the adults in his life that a career as an artist is not just a dream but a possibility!
Author: Ruth Behar
Publication date: February 6, 2024
Genre: historical fiction
Setting: multiple worldwide locations - Spain, Cuba, Turkey, USA; time periods are 1492 and 1923-present
Recommended for: Grades 5-9
Themes: religious persecution, arranged marriages, mothers and daughters, Spanish Inquisition, Cuban Revolution, world history
Protagonist: 4 generations of young women in four countries, three of whom are grandmother, mother, and daughter, all age 12, all Sephardic Jewish
Starred reviews: Kirkus and Publishers Weekly
Pages: 272
PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY
In 1492, during the Spanish Inquisition, Benvenida and her family are banished from Spain for being Jewish, and must flee the country or be killed. They journey by foot and by sea, eventually settling in Istanbul.
Over four centuries later, in 1923, shortly after the Turkish war of independence, Reina’s father disowns her for a small act of disobedience. He ships her away to live with an aunt in Cuba, to be wed in an arranged marriage when she turns fifteen.
In 1961, Reina’s daughter, Alegra, is proud to be a brigadista, teaching literacy in the countryside for Fidel Castro. But soon Castro’s crackdowns force her to flee to Miami all alone, leaving her parents behind.
Finally, in 2003, Alegra’s daughter, Paloma, is fascinated by all the journeys that had to happen before she could be born. A keeper of memories, she’s thrilled by the opportunity to learn more about her heritage on a family trip to Spain, where she makes a momentous discovery.
Though many years and many seas separate these girls, they are united by a love of music and poetry, a desire to belong and to matter, a passion for learning, and their longing for a home where all are welcome. And each is lucky to stand on the shoulders of their courageous ancestors.
Author: Dawn Cusick
Publication Date: February 6, 2024
Genre: nonfiction
Setting: Mercury Chimpanzee Training Program, 1961
Recommended for: Grades 3-8
Themes: Space Race, Cold War, animal rights, chimpanzees, animal intelligence, NASA, astronauts, space exploration, gender equality
Starred reviews: Kirkus and Booklist
Pages: 216
PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY
When the United States was scrambling to catch up to the Soviets after their successful launch of Sputnik, they didn’t turn to Mercury Seven astronauts Alan Shepard and John Glenn.
Rather, they began bringing chimpanzees to Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico for a top-secret program. The goal? To do everything America needed to make space travel safe for humans and beat the Soviets.
Based on extensive research and interviews with living members of the team of veterinarians, handlers, and psychologists who worked with the animals, The Astrochimps offers a fresh perspective on animal intelligence and the rise of the space age.
Detailed back matter provides resources, space mission stats, and calls to action for young readers to honor the astrochimps’ legacy and advocate for the humane treatment of chimpanzees today.
Author: Kengo Kurimoto
Publication date: February 6, 2024
Genre: graphic novel
Setting: suburban neighborhood
Recommended for: Grades 4-8
Themes: nature, wonder, parental depression, exploring the natural world, dogs, grief, death of a grandmother, quiet, mindfulness, observation
Protagonist: female teen, British Asian
Starred reviews: SLJ
Pages: 216
PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY
Poppy’s mother hasn’t been the same since Gran passed away. She stays inside and watches TV, unable to leave the couch.
So maybe that’s why Poppy has started spending more time outside, taking her dog Pepper for walks around the neighborhood.
When Pepper leads Poppy through a hole in the fence, she finds a forgotten forest that’s been there all along, as well as a new friend named Rob.
Rob teaches Poppy that you can find magic in the wilderness – if you know where to look! Poppy looks, and then she looks closer … and sees flowers opening before her eyes, watches animals slip into their hidden homes, and listens to the sound of water droplets falling gently on puddles, leaves and feathers.
She can barely wait to tell Mum about everything she’s seen, and asks her to come see, too – but her mother rarely has the energy to leave the couch. Will Poppy ever be able help her mother see the beauty in the woods – and in life?
This beautifully illustrated graphic novel is an exploration of grief, love, and finding magic in the wilderness – and in ourselves.
THE LINKS YOU’LL NEED FOR FEBRUARY
- February 2024 – Middle Grade Books – Google Slides presentation – click “use template” to make a copy – share with students and teachers!
- Printable list of all February 2024 Spotlight titles – sorted by genre and grade level group; click “use template” to make a copy
- The Ginormous Book List – this week’s Middle Grade titles are #3835 – #3842 on The Ginormous.
MORE FEBRUARY 2024 NEW RELEASE SPOTLIGHTS
ABOUT THE SPOTLIGHT
The New Release Spotlight began in May 2016 as a way to help librarians keep up with the many new children’s and YA books that are released each week.
Each week, school librarian Leigh Collazo compiles the New Release Spotlight using a combination of Follett’s Titlewave, Amazon, Goodreads, and Barnes and Noble. Recommended grade levels represent the range of grade levels recommended by professional book reviewers. See the full selection criteria here.
Inevitably, there are far more books that meet my criteria than can make it on the Spotlight. When I have to make the tough decisions on what to include, I just use my “librarian judgment.” Would I buy this book for my own library? Would my students want to read this book? Is the cover appealing? Does it fill a need?