LitBit Speaks

After his brother dies, fifteen-year old Will finds himself wanting to get revenge on his brother's murderer. He's sure he knows who did it. Well, he's pretty sure. At least, he thinks he's sure. He goes home and finds his brother's hidden gun. As he's descending in the elevator, which is going soooooo slow, the lift keeps stopping on ever floor, letting on an odd assortment of individuals, each of which leads Will to question his resolve and wonder what actually went down to lead to his brother getting shot in the chest. The novel takes place over the course of a a few short minutes, though the reader, just like Will, is given the impression that time has slowed to a crawl. Long Way Down  is a psychological and emotional journey through Will's subconscious. Reynolds' poetry is both beautiful and frightening in its brevity and impact. Young readers will hopefully find themselves invested in Will's internal journey as past figures and current ones...

Patina, or Patty, runs like a flash. She runs for many reasons—to escape the taunts from the kids at the fancy-schmancy new school she’s been sent to since she and her little sister had to stop living with their mom. She runs from the reason WHY she’s not able to live with her “real” mom any more: her mom has The Sugar, and Patty is terrified that the disease that took her mom’s legs will one day take her away forever. So Patty’s also running for her mom, who can’t. But can you ever really run away from any of this? As the stress builds up, it’s building up a pretty bad attitude as well. Coach won’t tolerate bad attitude. No day, no way. And now he wants Patty to run relay…where you have to depend on other people? How’s she going to do THAT? "My name is Patina Jones. And I ain't no junk. I also ain't no hair flipper. And most of the girls at Chester Academy are hair flippers who be looking at me like my mom some kind of junk maker. But ain't not of them got guts ...

Picturebook Favorites [Part IV]  ALA (2017) Where Are You?  Sarah Williamson "Where are you?" asks the green worm. "I am here!" replies to the pink worm.  But can you  see where the pink worm is? In the tradition of hide-and-seek storytelling, this seemingly simple story will keep youngsters engaged right from page one.  Simple shapes, delightful textures, and bright, solid colours make this book highly appealing to those with a visual aptitude! (Already Available - Knopf BFYR) The World is Not a Rectangle: A Portrait of Architect Zaha Hadid  Jeanette Winter Jeanette Winter tells the story of Zaha Hadid, a female, muslim architect who refused to play by the rules. She wanted her buildings to mimic nature: the waving grass, sea shells, and desert sand dunes that she saw around her. This inspirational true story is one that children and adults alike can hold close to spark their own imaginations and hopefully keep the work...