“Faker” by Gordon Korman is a novel that seamlessly combines issues of truth, family, friendship and humor to create a brilliant novel, start to finish. (Courtesy of Scholastic)
We’d all do well to slow down, slow down to be more observant, more aware of others and the world around us. Slowing down helps us all to be more sensitive to life.
Reading great books with kids that address different angles of sensitivity helps raise our awareness, such as the books reviewed below. Ask your librarian and bookseller to direct you to others. The world would be a better place if we all were more receptive and compassionate to others and our world. You have the power to help make that happen. Begin today.
Books to borrow
The following book is available at many public libraries.
“Ivan: The Remarkable True Story of the Shopping Mall Gorilla” by Katherine Applegate, illustrated by G. Brian Karas, Clarion Books, 40 pages
Read aloud: age 4 – 8.
Read yourself: age 7 – 8.
Born in central Africa, baby gorilla Ivan and another baby gorilla were captured and brought to a shopping mall in Tacoma, Wash. The purpose was to attract shoppers to the mall, and it worked. Not long after their arrival, the other baby gorilla died, leaving Ivan alone.
Over time, customers and other concerned citizens were no longer curious about Ivan; they were enraged about his horrible life. Ivan had lived 27 years in a cage without the company of other gorillas. Young and old rallied across the nation to free Ivan, writing letters, signing petitions and holding protests.
At long last, the peoples’ voices were heard, and Ivan was moved to Zoo Atlanta, where he would be gently cared for by scientists and others and to finally live with other gorillas once again.
Beautifully and sensitively written and illustrated, this remarkable true story is certain to win the hearts of all readers.
Librarian’s choice
Library: Muhlenberg Community Library, 3612 Kutztown Road, Laureldale
Library director: Melissa Carroll
Assistant library director: Eileen Simms
Youth services coordinator: Sarah Kiebach
Choices this week: “The Crossover” by Kwame Alexander; “Bizarre Things We’ve Called Medicine” by Alicia Klepeis; “Happy in Our Skin” by Fran Manushkin
Books to buy
The following books are available at favorite bookstores.
“Faker” by Gordon Korman, Scholastic, 2024, 224 pages, $17.99 hardcover
Read aloud: age 8 – 12.
Read yourself: age 9 – 12.
Trey’s father has been teaching Trey the tricks of the family business for a long time. Trey’s father is a genius con man who separates wealthy people from their money by convincing them to invest in something that doesn’t exist.
Trey is very much a part of the scam — his father enrolls Trey in schools where the students have rich parents, Trey makes friends, and his father makes connections. When the gig is almost up and the money is in the bank, Trey, his younger sister and their father quickly leave to a remote location to stay under the radar while Trey’s father decides on the next scam and where that will be.
Trey’s father says he’s not hurting anyone because the people he cons have plenty of money and won’t really miss that kind of a hit. Trey believes him, the cycle continues, and his father is a master of never getting caught.
The problem with their lifestyle, however, is that the family never stays in one place long enough for Trey to make any genuine friends — something he would really like. Eventually, Trey tires of running and lying, but isn’t certain how to stop it all and still keep the family together.
On sale Tuesday, “Faker: is a novel that seamlessly combines issues of truth, family, friendship and humor to create a brilliant novel, start to finish.
“Millie Fleur’s Poison Garden,” written and illustrated by Christy Mandin, Orchard Books, 2024, 40 pages, $18.99 hardcover
Read aloud: age 4 – 8.
Read yourself: age 6 – 8.
The little town of Glen Garden was a place of sameness where every house and every yard were identical except for one. That different and neglected house was the one Millie Fleur La Fae and her mother moved into.
Young Millie Fleur loved their new house, but she knew something was missing. Her mother surprised her daughter with seeds from Millie Fleur’s old garden, and Millie Fleur got straight to work. Her garden grew fast with unique and often strange-looking plants, and she was delighted.
However, Garden Glen’s Rosebud Club was anything but delighted, declaring the garden to be odd, unruly, and appalling. The club even went so far as to post a sign: “BEWARE THE POISON GARDEN.”
Millie Fleur was offended by the remarks. Determined to try and make people appreciate the beauty of her garden, Millie Fleur sprang into action, inviting her classmates to visit. What the group discovered was that Millie Fleur’s garden was wonderfully weird in the best of ways, and soon the town of Glen Garden began to change.
On sale Tuesday, “Millie Fleur’s Poison Garden” is a solid nod to embracing and celebrating the things that make us different.
Nationally syndicated, Kendal Rautzhan writes and lectures on children’s literature. She can be reached at kendal.rautzhan27@gmail.com.
