As Simple As It Seems is a wonderful book written for tweens. It is about a young girl who struggles with the knowledge of her very origins in life. She has been dealing with the knowledge that she is the daughter of a man who is legally her uncle…a man who is not a good person. The young girl named Verbena Colter is adopted.
As she processes the knowledge, she begins to be confused about who she really is and whether she is a good person or a good person who is infected with bad genes who will turn into a bad person because of the blood that runs through her veins. This is the old story about the importance of what creates who we are to become as an individual; is environment or genetics more important. She risks alienating her parents affects because of her behavior and her self esteem.
Verbena doesn’t know who she is but she thinks she knows who she will turn out to be. She forges a new friendship with a summer resident and that helps her to figure out what is really important in life; but will she figure it out in time?
Sarah Weeks is the author of As Simple As It Seems and she does a great job of writing believable characters. Before you know it you are swept up in the story that is Verbena’s life. This book was published in 2010 and was published by Harper Collins. You can view their site here: http://www.harpercollinschildrens.com
The Talent Show was written by Dan Gutman who just happens to also be the author of the children’s book, The Homework Machine. He writes children’s books with a wonderful gift of knowing what makes a kid tick. The Talent Show is all about kids coming together to save their town, Cape Bluff, Kansas after it is destroyed by a tornado.
I like how he lays out the story of what each child is doing when the tornado hits. Then he delves into the chaotic world of the adults who are stumped on how to overcome the despair that comes with the responsibility of rebuilding a town which has seen disaster more than once. As the adults are brainstorming ideas on how to go about financing the rebirth of their town and their personal lives…one adult has a crazy idea.
That idea just happens to be putting together a talent show. When that crazy idea is compared to the other crazy idea…well, let’s just say that the crazy idea of a tallent show…suddenly becomes very popular. Not only that, but kids become empowered and energized and so do the adults. Everyone pitches in to make it a success. Each child discovers things about themselves and their friends that they never knew.
Of course, as the town gets behind the talent show and it’s efforts to raise money for the school library, that’s lost all of it’s books in the tornado, trouble brews behind the scenes. Characters and personal integrity are revealed and friendships are strengthened and lost in the process. What I like about Dan’s book is that if one pays attention; lessons on positive personal development can be put to good use. Discovering our own strengths and weaknesses and learning how to encourage positive self- growth and diminish the negative qualities we possess, can be very enlightening.
If you want to learn more about the writer Dan Gutman or his books check out his website here: http://www.dangutman.com . This book, The Talent Show was published in 2010 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. I would say that this book is ideal for kids 7-12 years old.
She said Yes….The Unlikely Martyrdom Of Cassie Bernall is quite a book. It is not a huge long-winded book…but, the searching and yearning of a mother’s heart as she seeks to “know” more about her daughter, after her death in the Columbine shooting is quite inspiring.
Cassie Bernall is probably most remembered for her last spoken word. That word was a simple, Yes. It was in answer to the question, “Do you believe in God?” There is so much more to who Cassie was; and, how she came to be the person she was…and this mother’s quest to understand the journey Cassie was on, is very enlightening. It has alot to teach both parents and children.
From a typical teenager’s angst…to a world of occult, peer pressure, self- image struggles, drugs, cutting, and anger….the struggles that Cassie endured attest to the power of a parent’s love and intervention when it comes to fighting for a positive relationship with your child in the face of all that the world throws between parents/children. This is a must read!