It’s time for children’s books: before you know it, the kids will be released from school and ready to read – right? Of course right!
“Anybody Here Seen Frenchie?” Frenchie spotted the piebald deer right before school and decided to follow it. Major upset, especially for best friend and school guide Aurora, who quickly became part of a town-wide search and rescue effort, seeking the sixth grade boy who doesn’t speak.
The two children, one autistic and the other ADHD, had become fast friends three years before, when Frenchie and his mom moved next door to Aurora’s family in a small, coastal Maine town. Aurora taught him how to float; he helped her collect rocks, and together they learned to be quiet when observing that unusual deer.
Leslie Connor has drawn another wonderful portrait of friendship and small town togetherness with humor, suspense, and occasional bouts of relief – but no more!
Another well-drawn example of children finding and supporting each other occurs in Barbara O’Connor’s new book, “Wish.” Charlie has been sent to live with her childless aunt and uncle in what one might call backwoods North Carolina, unwillingly. Her mom won’t get out of bed while her dad is in jail, not exactly the perfect home for a child willing to just stay home and ignore the world.
Gus and Bertha, though, welcome her with love, while her new fifth grade “backpack buddy,” Howard, introduces Charlie to his rambunctious family and a school willing to give her a whole lot of chances to succeed and many hugs, too. Yes, there’s a wish, and it comes in the form of a stray dog, so read on!
Moving all the way across the country to unmistakeable San Francisco (the fog, the fog), we find Lou and Casey, aged 10 and 15, whose mom is about to get married again. Not only will they be faced with a stepdad, but they’ll be moving to his house in the suburbs, a mere 15 miles but a whole world away.
New school, new house, new friends, and new neighbors all make for a set of marvelous possibilities, like a talent show and block party, if only Lou and Casey are willing to accept the changes and the stability they bring. This is “A Song Called Home” by Sara Zarr.
I’ve saved the best for last: “The Beatryce Prophecy” by Kate DiCamillo. I’d like to press this into the hands of every elementary school child as they enter summer and say: “See what’s possible!”
Yes, it’s set in medieval times, and Answelica the goat plays a major role, and the former king has simply walked away from the throne, and Beatryce, disguised as a shaven-headed junior monk, has to hide her skills at literacy. But, oh, what a tale, and it begs to be read aloud.
She and her new friends, Jack Dory and Brother Edick, avenge the wrongs done to their families with guile and perseverance, rescuing her mother, setting their world a-right and living happily ever after – yes, it’s true!