Mel's Book Corner

Title: Lola Levine Drama Queen Genre: Bluebonnet Author: Monica Brown Major Awards: 2017-2018 Texas Bluebonnet Award Age Group: 2nd-4th grade This is the story of second grader, Lola. Lola has a very big personality, and her parents often call her dramatic. They also compare her to her grandmother, her Bubbe , who has a larger-than-life personality and makes herself known to everyone around her with her loud mouth and gaudy clothing. One day, Lola's teacher explains to the class that they have a new teacher, Ms. Tinkle, who will be their drama teacher. When the class gets to Ms. Tinkle's class the first day, she explains to them that they will be auditioning for parts in an upcoming school play. She teaches them how to improv, mirror one another, and all the important aspects of acting. This excites Lola because she is dramatic, after all. The day comes for the students to audition, and when it is Lola's turn to audition, she completely freezes onstage and has to...

Title:  What You Never Knew About Beds, Bedrooms, and Pajamas Genre: Bluebonnet Author: Patricia Lauber Major Awards: Texas Bluebonnet Master List Age Group: 7th-8th grade This is a story about how beds, bedrooms, and pajamas came to be. The book starts out by stating that humans like to sleep lying down with pillows and blankets, but it has not always been this way. In the Stone Age, it is assumed that people cut boughs from trees, spread hides of furs over them, and used furs as blankets. The Egyptians were the first to use beds, made out of wicker. They later traded grain for wood, and this is how wooden beds came to be. The footboards they made kept the person from sliding off. Greeks had day beds in their homes, and their bedrooms were more like closets than rooms. In the Middle Ages, everyone lived together under one roof, and each person was given a sack and some straw to make a bed. Houses were used as shops during the day, and then were transformed into real house...

Title: Wonder Genre: Bluebonnet Author: R.J. Palacio Major Awards: New York Times Best Seller, Texas Bluebonnet Award master list Age Group: 3rd-8th grade Wonder is an incredibly moving story about a fifth-grade boy named Auggie. Auggie has a condition called Mandibulofacial Dysostosis, which is a malformation of the facial structures. Up until this point, Auggie has been homeschooled. The thought of him going to "real school" is enough to send him into a panic. In this story, the reader gets a front-row seat into the life of a child with a major disability tackling school for the first time. Different people in Auggie's life also write about their perspective on Auggie and his disability. Auggie knows that he is anything but normal, but the reader sees a shift in his confidence throughout the story. He goes from a child who is afraid to be seen and stared at, to a child who does not let his disability define him. Along the way, he discovers who his...