One Day and One Amazing Morning on Orange Street by Joanne Rocklin

5 stars
JF
Great Reads for Kids (library program)

I'm not sure how this book never came across my radar.  I'd never heard of it when it came up as our monthly Great Reads book.

Which makes me grateful it did come up on that list, because otherwise I may never have been aware of it.

Which would have been a tragedy.

This sweet little "slice of life" accomplishes some pretty impressive depth in not too many pages... and only about 36 hours of storyline.

Peppered with friendship struggles, health concerns, common and not-so-common worries, family issues....  I was impressed at what the author was able to accomplish in just a day and a morning.

Flashing back to both the Great Depression and the Vietnam War (earning bonus points for picking time periods less commonly covered in kids' books), the author even manages to layer extra stories in.

Overall, I absolutely recommend this one.

The Fourteenth Goldfish by Jennifer L Holm

5 stars
jf

This was DELIGHTFUL.

Seriously, just such an enjoyable little book.

It's a quick read, but every so worth it.

This one has come up on my radar before... Boo read it quite a while back... but I hadn't gotten round to it.

I'm so glad it's this month's Great Reads pick at the library!

(It used to be Great Reads for Girls, and then the one library started doing an equivalent program for boys, but then there was a hullabaloo about discrimination, so now it's just Great Reads and I take both Boo and Mister the same night rather than different nights.  I have mixed feelings about the change and what it has done to the dynamic of the discussion, but whatever.)

Anyway.

Go read this.  Right now.  Just do.