Wherein Beauty Kills the Beast

Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge

In the novel Cruel Beauty we find a whole new “beauty’ and a very strange beast.  The beast is known to his people as the “gentle lord” who keeps them cut off from the rest of the world via magic spell-one that seals the whole town in a different dimension from the rest of the world.  The current king made a deal with the Gentle Lord-if his wife could conceive, he would give the child to the Gentle Lord on her 17^th birthday.  The king ended up with twin girls.  The firstborn was set aside to be given away, while the second was cherished.  The first child, Nyx, is trained her whole life to kill the Gentle Lord and set the kingdom free from his evil spell.  The book opens at the moment of truth-her 17^th birthday.

There were a lot of aspects to like in this book.  The first was that it wasn’t set in France.  The second is that our “Belle” is a deeply flawed person.  She resents her family and her life, making her the opposite of the doe-eyed optimist we usually see.  The love triangle wasn’t my favorite, but I LOVED that both guys were deeply flawed.  They had opposite personalities, but in the end neither was “better” than the other.

I stayed up way too late reading this, and I would recommend it to any fairy tales fan.

Esperanza Rising

by Pam Munoz Ryan

I can't say it better than the back of the book, so I'm not even going to try. "Esperanza thought she'd always live with her family on their ranch in Mexico--she'd always have fancy dresses, a beautiful home, and servants. But a sudden tragedy forces Esperanza and Mama to flee to California during the Great Depression, and to settle in a camp for Mexican farm workers. Esperanza isn't ready for the hard labor, financial struggles, or lack of acceptance she now faces. When their new life is threatened, Esperanza must find a way to rise above her difficult circumstances--Mama's life, and her own, depend on it."

Audience: 5th grade and up

What I Love:
1. All the characters are relateable
2. Debunking of stereotypes about Latinos (ie being uneducated)
3. A wonderful story about growing up

Cautions:
This book deals with grief and persecution of migrant workers

Follow the Drinking Gourd

by Jeanette Winter

The story of a family making their way to freedom from a slave plantation with the help of "Peg Leg Joe" and the underground railroad.  The one thing they need to remember is to "Follow the drinking gourd" or big dipper's north star.

Audience: anyone old enough to learn about the underground railroad

What I Love:
1. The historical concepts
2. The sheet music
3. The happy ending

Cautions: The music for "Follow the Drinking Gourd" was first published in 1928.  It's suspected such a song was used on the underground railroad, but the version in the book was not.

The Tooth Fairy Meets Senor Perez

by Rene Colato Lainez

When a tooth falls out, the Tooth Fairy comes to collect it and leaves a surprise under your pillow, at least in the United States.  When a tooth falls out in Mexico, it's collected by el Raton Perez.  So what happens when a Mexican American boy loses a tooth?  They duke it out, of course?  This is a heartwarming story about intercultural cooperation.

Audience: Anyone old enough to lose teeth.  It should be entertaining for all ages.

What I Love:
1. A Latio boy is shown living in a middle-class neighborhood
2. It's funny
3. The illustrations are amazing
4. It has a good message

Cautions: There are some Spanish words.  Both a recommendation and a caution

Junkyard Wonders

by Patricia Polacco

Trisha finds out that her special education class is known as "the junkyard" by the rest of the school.  Their quirky, unpredictable
teacher takes them on a trip to the junkyard to show them that's where real treasure is found.

Audience: 2nd grade to be read to, 5th grade to read independently

What I Love:
1. An excellent teacher
2. Positive portrayal of disabilities
3. Positive role models
4. Based on a true story

Cautions:
I'd recommend some discussion with this one on what it means to be disabled

Thank You Mr. Falker

by Patricia Pollaco

This story warms my teacher's heart.  It's about a girl who excitedly begins school, anxious for the learning and wonder she's been told books will bring her.  At first she struggles with reading, and eventually she falls behind completely.  By 5th grade she thinks of herself as stupid for not knowing what the others grasp so easily.  She doesn't want her new teacher to know she can't read, but Mr. Falker figures it out anyway.  He proves to her that she is smart, and with the proper help she can read just as well as anyone else.

Audience:
Can be read to someone as young as 3rd grade, written at 5th grade reading level.

What I Love:
1. The illustrations are beautiful
2. It's heartwarming
3. Positive view of disabilities
4. Based on a true story

Cautions:
I would hesitate to read this to struggling readers for fear they would think they have dyslexia too.  If the student does have dyslexia, this is one of the first stories I would share.

Chicken Sunday

by Patricia Polacco

This sweet story is about a young Jewish girl growing up in the South.  When her own grandmother dies she is initiated into a black family.  She goes to church each Sunday with her new grandmother and brothers, then they come home for "Chicken Sunday."  The kids decide they want to ask  Mr. Kozinski for the the hat, but are accused of vandalism.  The children work to earn the full price and learn more about life from Mr. Kozinski than they ever realized they didn't know, and watch his heart soften in the process.

Audience:Anyone around 7 should enjoy the story, and I used it with my 3rd graders for independent reading

What I Love:

This is a real life story.  Good intentions go awry, and sometimes people aren't nice.  This is a story of persevering in spite of that.  This is also a beautiful family story about self-less love.

Cautions:

Nazi death camps are alluded to, but never explicitly stated. The tatoo is visible on Mr. Kozinski's arm