Synopses & Reviews
Beasts of the Southern Wild” meets Because of Winn Dixie in this inspiring story of hope. August Auggie” Jones lives with her Grandpa Gus, a trash hauler, in a poor part of town. So when her wealthy classmates father starts the House Beautification Committee, its homes like Auggies that are deemed in violation.” Auggie is determined to prove that she is not as run-down as the outside of her house might suggest. Using the kind of items Gus usually hauls to the scrap heap, a broken toaster becomes a flower; church windows turn into a rainbow walkway; and an old car gets new life as spinning whirligigs. What starts out as a home renovation project becomes much more as Auggie and her grandpa discover a talent they never knew they hadand redefine a whole towns perception of beauty, one recycled sculpture at a time. Auggies talent for creating found art will remind readers that one girls trash really is another girls treasure.
Review
Praise for A Blue so Dark:
"Breathtakingly, gut-wrenchingly authentic..." —Booklist, starred review
"So powerful is the empathy the author has built for her main character." —School Library Journal
“An excellent first novel—a definite must-read. Schindler's debut novel is a lyrical tapestry...a work of poetry.” —VOYA
A Booklist Top 10 First Novels for Youth
Praise for Playing Hurt:
“If youre a fan of romance, good luck putting this one down. Playing Hurt is a delicious, tantalizing love story that will captivate you until the final, satisfying sigh. Holly Schindlers lyrical writing is an absolute delight to read.” —Kristin Walker, author of A Match Made in High School
“The book speaks to personal struggles and triumphs and the ability of the human spirit to heal. Playing Hurt is a good read.” —VOYA
Review
"Axioms like “One mans trash is another mans treasure” and “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder” come gracefully to life in Schindlers tale about the value of hard work and the power of community." -
Publishers Weekly "The story shines...with vibrant themes of community, self-empowerment and artistic vision." - Kirkus Reviews
"Auggies rich engagement with her community and willingness to stand up for her beliefs are inspiring, while her struggle to stay true to herself, even when her best friend gets absorbed in the cool crowd at their new school, will resonate with many readers." - School Library Journal
"In Auggie, Schindler creates a spunky, sympathetic character young readers will engage with and enjoy." - The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
"The book is well-written and would make a good classroom read-aloud for upper grade levels...will appeal to both girls and boys." - Library Media Connection
Synopsis
In Caitlin’s world, everything is black or white. Things are good or bad. Anything in between is confusing. That’s the stuff Caitlin’s older brother, Devon, has always explained. But now Devon’s dead and Dad is no help at all. Caitlin wants to get over it, but as an eleven-year-old girl with Asperger’s, she doesn’t know how. When she reads the definition of closure, she realizes that is what she needs. In her search for it, Caitlin discovers that not everything is black and white—the world is full of colors—messy and beautiful.
Kathryn Erskine has written a must-read gem, one of the most moving novels of the year.
A Discussion Guide to Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine
Read Kathryn Erskine's post on the Penguin Blog.
Synopsis
View our feature on Jacqueline Woodson's Feathers.“Hope is the thing with feathers” starts the poem Frannie is reading in school. Frannie hasn’t thought much about hope. There are so many other things to think about. Each day, her friend Samantha seems a bit more “holy.” There is a new boy in class everyone is calling the Jesus Boy. And although the new boy looks like a white kid, he says he’s not white. Who is he?
During a winter full of surprises, good and bad, Frannie starts seeing a lot of things in a new light—her brother Sean’s deafness, her mother’s fear, the class bully’s anger, her best friend’s faith and her own desire for “the thing with feathers.”
Jacqueline Woodson once again takes readers on a journey into a young girl’s heart and reveals the pain and the joy of learning to look beneath the surface.
About the Author
Kathryn Erskine spent many years as a lawyer before realizing that she’d rather write things that people might actually enjoy reading. She grew up mostly overseas and attended eight different schools, her favorite being the Hogwarts-type castle in Scotland. The faculty, of course, did not consist of wizards, although . . . how did the headmistress know that it was “the wee redhead” who led the campaign to free the mice from the biology lab? Erskine draws on her childhood—and her second childhood through her children—for her stories. She still loves to travel but nowadays most trips tend to be local, such as basketball and tennis courts, occasional emergency room visits, and the natural food store for very healthy organic chocolate with “life saving” flavonoids.