Tag: Fiction

Educator Guide: Abuelo, the Sea, and Me by Ismée Williams; illustrated by Tatiana Gardel

Educator Guide for Abuelo, the Sea, and Me
Abuelo, the Sea, and Me

Abuelo, the Sea, and Me
By Ismée Williams; illustrated by Tatiana Gardel
Ages 4-8
On Sale Now!

Abuelo, the Sea, and Me is a tender, heartwarming picture book that vividly explores intergenerational connections, family history, and the immigrant experience.

When this grandchild visits her abuelo, he takes her to the ocean. In summer, they kick off their shoes and let the cool waves tickle their toes. In winter, they stand on the cliff and let the sea spray prick their noses and cheeks. No matter the season, hot or cold, their favorite place to spend time together is the beach.

It’s here that Abuelo is able to open up about his youth in Havana, Cuba. As they walk along the sand, he recalls the tastes, sounds, and smells of his childhood. And with his words, Cuba comes alive for his grandchild.

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Discussion Guide: Greta by J.S. Lemon

Greta

Greta
By J.S. Lemon
Ages 10-14
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Fish in a Tree meets Fighting Words in J. S. Lemon’s middle grade debut, a fiercely original story about friendship, healing, and the beauty of transformation.

Greta Goodwin’s life is changing. On top of moving to a new neighborhood far away from her best friend, Lotti, she’s also starting middle school. Greta isn’t totally ready for boys, bras, and the chaotic cafeteria. She still feels like a little kid compared to those female classmates who have suddenly matured over the summer. Girls who are now the talk of the school—unlike Greta, who would rather fly under the radar, especially after a bad haircut that makes her look less “effortlessly beautiful” and more “triangle with legs.”

But at her first-ever middle-school party, a boy does pay attention to Greta. Initially it feels good. And then it feels awful. In the aftermath, Greta can’t make sense of what’s happened, let alone talk about it, even to Lotti. Impossibly, Greta’s body starts to change in a vastly different way from everyone else’s. What follows leads Greta to believe the world might finally see her as she truly is: ethereal, powerful, and free.

Sensitively told, stunningly written, and surprisingly funny, Greta will transform readers just as Greta herself is transformed.

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Discussion Guide: Thirsty by Jas Hammonds

Three Summers

Thirsty: A Novel
By Jas Hammonds
Ages 14-18
On Sale Now!

From Jas Hammonds, award-winning author of We Deserve Monuments, comes a gripping read about a girl willing to risk it all for the chance to join an underground sorority with her wealthy best friends—perfect for fans of the show Euphoria and Girl in Pieces by Kathleen Glasgow.

It’s the summer before college and Blake Brenner and her girlfriend, Ella, have one goal: join the mysterious and exclusive Serena Society. The sorority promises status and lifelong connections to a network of powerful, trailblazing women of color. Ella’s acceptance is a sure thing—she’s the daughter of a Serena alum. Blake, however, has a lot more to prove.

As a former loner from a working-class background, Blake lacks Ella’s pedigree and confidence. Luckily, she finds courage at the bottom of a liquor bottle. When she drinks, she’s bold, funny, and unstoppable—and the Serenas love it. But as pledging intensifies, so does Blake’s drinking, until it’s seeping into every corner of her life. Ella assures Blake that she’s fine; partying hard is what it takes to make the cut . . .

But success has never felt so much like drowning. With her future hanging in the balance and her past dragging her down, Blake must decide how far she’s willing to go to achieve her glittering dreams of success—and how much of herself she’s willing to lose in the process.

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Teacher’s Guide: Saints of the Household by Ari Tison

Ari-Tison-book-Saints-of-the-Household 1

Winner of the Pura Belpré Award and Walter Dean Myers Award for Young Adult Literature!

Saints of the Household is a haunting contemporary YA about an act of violence in a small-town–beautifully told by a debut Indigenous Costa Rican-American writer–that will take your breath away.

Max and Jay have always depended on one another for their survival. Growing up with a physically abusive father, the two Bribri American brothers have learned that the only way to protect themselves and their mother is to stick to a schedule and keep their heads down.

But when they hear a classmate in trouble in the woods, instinct takes over and they intervene, breaking up a fight and beating their high school’s star soccer player to a pulp. This act of violence threatens the brothers’ dreams for the future and their beliefs about who they are. As the true details of that fateful afternoon unfold over the course of the novel, Max and Jay grapple with the weight of their actions, their shifting relationship as brothers, and the realization that they may be more like their father than they thought. They’ll have to reach back to their Bribri roots to find their way forward.

Told in alternating points of view using vignettes and poems, debut author Ari Tison crafts an emotional, slow-burning drama about brotherhood, abuse, recovery, and doing the right thing.

Download the Saints of the Household Teacher’s Guide
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