The Whole Thing Together by Ann Brashares

Sasha and Ray have shared many things in their lives -- a job, a bedroom, and their family.  The one thing they's never shared is a meeting between the two of them.

Ray's mother and Sasha's father were married for years before going through a very acrimonious divorce.  They can't even bring themselves to be in the same room for the sake of their three daughters.

So Sasha and Ray have never met . . . although they feel as if they know each other.  They share a bedroom at their vacation house that neither parent would give up.  Instead they share the house with each family taking it every other week.

But this summer, everything changes.  This summer, they'll have to meet and try to get along . . . .


Ann Brashares has written another great novel for teens.  I was reminded of her popular Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series by how the book quickly grabbed the reader and drew them into the characters' lives.  I would definitely recommend this to anyone who has enjoyed Ann Brashares' previous books as well as fans of Sarah Dessen and Jennifer E. Smith.

Show Me Missouri

This week, I'm sharing some great children's chapter books set in Missouri . . . .

Grounded by Kate Klise
After her father, brother, and sister are killed in a plane crash, twelve-year-old Daralynn's life in tiny Digginsville, Missouri, proceeds as her mother turns angry and embittered, her grandmother becomes senile, and her flamboyant aunt continues to run the Summer Sunset Retirement Home for Distinguished Gentlemen, while being courted by the owner of the town's new crematorium.

A Friendship for Today by Patricia McKissack
In 1954, when desegregation comes to Kirkland, Missouri, ten-year-old Rosemary faces many changes and challenges at school and at home as her parents separate.

The Boneshaker by Kate Milford
When Jake Limberleg brings his traveling medicine show to a small Missouri town in 1913, thirteen-year-old Natalie senses that something is wrong and, after investigating, learns that her love of automata and other machines make her the only one who can set things right.


More Missouri Fiction --
The Actual & Truthful Adventures of Becky Thatcher by Jessica Lawson
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
Crows & Cards: A Novel by Joseph Helgerson
Homesick by Kate Klise
I Tell a Lie Every So Often by Bruce Clements
Keeping Secrets by Joan Lowery Nixon
Little House on Rocky Ridge by Robert MacBride
The Man Who Loved Clowns by June Rae Wood
The Song of the Molimo by Jane Cutler
Tackling Tires by Joe Lawson
The Year We Sailed the Sun by Theresa Nelson

Check these books out on display at the Arnold Branch through September 15, 2017.

Missing!

This week, I'm sharing some teen books featuring missing kids.  Here's some of my favorites . . . .

Emily's Dress and Other Missing Things by Kate Burak
A new girl in Amherst, Massachusetts, comes to terms with her mother's suicide and her best friend's disappearance with the help of Emily Dickinson's poetry--and her dress.

Far Far Away by Tom McNeal
When Jeremy Johnson Johnson's strange ability to speak to the ghost of Jacob Grimm draws the interest of his classmate Ginger Boltinghouse, the two find themselves at the center of a series of disappearances in their hometown.

Shift by Jennifer Bradbury
When best friends Chris and Win go on a cross country bicycle trek the summer after graduating and only one returns, the FBI wants to know what happened.

Last Seen Leaving by Caleb Roehrig
Flynn's girlfriend is missing, and people are suspecting him of knowing something, so he struggles to uncover her secrets as he must also face the truth about himself.


More Stories of the Missing --
At the Edge of the Universe by Shaun David Hutchinson
The Apple Tart of Hope by Sarah Moore Fitzgerald
The Body of Christopher Creed by Carol Plum-Ucci
Crossing Montana by Laura Torres
The Leaf Reader by Emily Arsenault
The May Queen Murders by Sarah Jude
The Missing Girl by Norma Fox Mazer
The Mystery of Hollow Places by Rebecca Podos
The Night She Disappeared by April Henry
Once Was Lost by Sara Zarr
Panic by Sharon Draper
Period 8 by Chris Crutcher
Pretending to Be Erica by Michelle Painchaud
She Is Not Invisible by Marcus Sedgwick
Skink No Surrender by Carl Hiaasen
Wherever Nina Lies by Lynn Weingarten

Check these books out on display at the Arnold Branch through September 1, 2017.

The Best Kind of Magic by Crystal Cestari

Amber Sands comes from a long line of hereditary witches.  Unfortunately, she didn't inherit her mother's powers.  Instead she got the power of matchmaking.

Any time she looks into someone's eyes for a few seconds she gets a picture of their true love.

Then the mayor's son Charlie Blitzman asks for her help.  His father's girlfriend has gone missing and Charlie thinks there is something wrong with her.

Charlie is great and Amber finds herself falling for him.  It's the first time she's fallen in love.  The only problem is that she's seen his true love . . . and it isn't her!


This is a fun supernatural romance tied up with a mystery.  The characters quickly draw you into their lives and stories.  The best part is that this is the first book of a planned series so there are more adventures coming for Amber.

School Tales

Summer is nearly over.  Students are starting to head to school - either for the first time or returning to next grade.  This is the perfect time to share some great school stories with your child --

My Teacher Is a Monster! (No I'm Not) by Peter Brown
Bobby thinks his teacher, Ms. Kirby, is horrible, but when he sees her outside of school and they spend a day in the park together, he discovers she might not be so bad after all.

Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes
Chrysanthemum loves her name, until she starts going to school and the other children make fun of it.

I'm Smart! by Kate McMullan
Depicts a super-smart school bus that uses its savvy to navigate the roads in super-safe ways while transporting kids to and from school.

Moses Goes to School by Isaac Millman
Moses and his friends enjoy the first day of school at their special school for the deaf and hard of hearing, where they use sign language to talk to each other.

Snow Day! by Lester Laminack
Someone is very, very excited about the possibility of missing school due to snow, and plans a whole day of sledding, building forts, reading, and sipping hot chocolate rather than going to school for that test on chapter ten.


More School Stories --
Ally-Saurus and the First Day of School by Richard Torrey
A Fine, Fine School by Sharon Creech
Hands Off, Harry! by Rosemary Wells
Hooway for Wodnay Wat by Helen Lester
I Am Not Going to School Today by Robie Harris
I'm Not Ready! by Jonathan Allen
If an Elephant Went to School by Ellen Fischer
Jack's Talent by Maryann Cocca-Leffler
Little Rabbit Goes to School by Harry  Horse
The Little School Bus by Margery Cuyler
Llama Llama Misses Mama by Anna Dewdney
Miss Malarkey Leaves No Reader Behind by Judy Finchler
Miss Nelson Is Missing! by Harry Allard
Mr. President Goes to School by Rick Walton
Mrs. Watson Wants Your Teeth by Alison McGhee
My Creature Teacher by Laura Leuck
My First Day at a New School by Charlotte Guillain
Once Upon an Ordinary School Day by Colin McNaughton
Peanut Butter & Homework Sandwiches by Lisa Cook
A Very Full Morning by Eva Montanari
We Share Everything! by Robert Munsch
Wemberly Worried by Kevin Henkes
When You Go to Kindergarten by James Howe
You Can't Go to School Naked! by Dianne Billstrom


Check these and more school stories out at the Arnold Branch on display through September 8, 2017.

Read Something a Little Strange

I love books that are just a little different -- oddball characters, strange lands, mysterious happenings.  So this week, I'm sharing some children's chapter books that are just a little strange . . . .

Fortunately, the Milk by Neil Gaiman
While picking up milk for his children's cereal, a father is abducted by aliens and finds himself on a wild adventure through time and space.

James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
When a mysterious old man gives James some magical, tiny green things, he certainly never imagines that they will grow into an enormous peach.

The Hoboken Chicken Emergency by Daniel Pinkwater
Arthur goes to pick up the turkey for Thanksgiving dinner but comes home with a 260 pound chicken.

Fergus Crane by Paul Stewart
Nine-year-old Fergus Crane's life is filled with classes on the school ship Betty Jeanne, interesting neighbors, and helping with his mother's work until a mysterious box flies into his window and leads him toward adventure.

Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers
The wind brings two English children a new nanny who slides up the bannister and introduces them to some delightful people and experiences.


More Strange Stories --
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll
Buckle & Squash: The Perilous Princess Plot by Sarah Courtauld
The Elevator Family by Douglas Adams
Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures by Kate DiCamillo
Frindle by Andrew Clements
Hello, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle by Betty MacDonald
Mr. and Mrs. Bunny -- Detectives Extraordinaire by Polly Horvath
My Big Fat Zombie Goldfish by Mo O'Hara
Shivers! The Pirate Who Is Afraid of Everything by Annabeth Bondor-Stone
Zoo School by Laurie Miller Hornik

Check these books out on display at the Arnold Branch through August 25, 2017.

This Would Make a Good Story Someday by Dana Alison Levy

Sarah had big plans for the summer.  She was going to learn to surf and speak Latin.  She was going to rebrand her image with a new look and nickname.  She was going to practice yoga daily for inner peace.

She was not going to take a month-long train trip with her family.
However, that's exactly what she ends up doing when Mimi, one of her mothers, wins a free trip across the country for the whole family as part of a writing program.

Now, Sarah is trapped on the train with her animal-obsessed younger sister Ladybug, her activist older sister Laurel and her boyfriend Root, and her two moms.  To make it worse, there's a second family also in the same program with a Texan dad, too-friendly teen son, and two rambunctious senior citizen aunts.

It's going to be a crazy summer!

This book by Dana Alison Levy follows the family mentioned quite often in her Family Fletcher books.  It's another great book featuring LGBT parents without making it the entire issue of the book.  It's just the way their family is made.  I would recommend this to anyone who enjoyed the Family Fletcher books or  those who like family stories.