September 2018 - Page 9 of 14

An Extraordinary Ordinary Moth
by Karlin Gray (Author) and Steliyana Doneva (Illustrator)

Booktalk: Feeling quite ordinary, a plain gray moth sadly compares itself to its more exotic kin, such as the Luna Moth, the Spider Moth, and the Hummingbird Moth. And the little moth feels even worse when a young girl sees it and says “Eww!” But things change when her brother explains that this particular type of moth is his favorite kind of insect. Maybe an ordinary moth is really extraordinary after all. Back matter includes fascinating moth facts, along with a special activity.

Snippet:

It’s STEM Friday! (STEM is Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (Manga Classics)
by Mark Twain (Author), Crystal S. Chan (Adapter), and Kuma Chan (Artist)

Booktalk: The manga version of the story of a young boy growing up in the fictional small town of Hannibal, Missouri along the Mississippi River during the 1840s. Tom Sawyer lives with his Aunt Polly and his half-brother Sid. Life for Tom is a series of grand adventures that include his best friend “Huck” Finn, the love of his life Becky Thatcher, buried treasures, scoundrels, thieves and body snatchers.

Snippet:
PUBLISHER’S NOTE: For this Manga Classics edition, we tried to preserve as much of Mark Twain’s original language as possible to uphold the historical integrity of the work. We believe that by exposing rather than burying the past, it would help new readers think critically about current racial slurs and stereotypes by tracing them back to their historical origins, and by examining the intent and viewpoints of those associated with them.

BONUS! The original story is one of the 100 books nominated by the public this summer for THE GREAT AMERICAN READ on PBS. Voting for the #1 book is now open! Which novel will you choose?