January 2020 - Page 9 of 16

Nian, The Chinese New Year Dragon
by Virginia Loh-Hagan (Author) and Timothy Banks (Illustrator)

Booktalk: Mei hates springtime. Why? Because it’s only in the spring that Nian, a fierce dragon, is able to leave his mountain prison under the sea to terrorize the local village. When the villagers hear the rumblings of Nian’s hungry stomach, they know that winter has ended and spring is coming. But this year on the night before the first day of spring, a magical warrior visits Mei in her dreams. He tells Mei that it is her destiny to face and defeat Nian. But she must do it within 15 days or the dragon will be free forever. A retelling of the Nian legend with an original twist that explains the origins of Chinese New Year traditions. In 2020, Chinese New Year begins on January 25.

Snippet:

Roll with It
by Jamie Sumner (Author)

Booktalk: Ellie’s a girl who tells it like it is. That surprises some people, who see a kid in a wheelchair and think she’s going to be all sunshine and cuddles. The thing is, Ellie has big dreams: She might be eating Stouffer’s for dinner, but one day she’s going to be a professional baker. If she’s not writing fan letters to her favorite celebrity chefs, she’s practicing recipes on her well-meaning, if overworked, mother.

But when Ellie and her mom move so they can help take care of her ailing grandpa, Ellie has to start all over again in a new town at a new school. Except she’s not just the new kid–she’s the new kid in the wheelchair who lives in the trailer park on the wrong side of town. It all feels like one challenge too many, until Ellie starts to make her first-ever friends. Now she just has to convince her mom that this town might just be the best thing that ever happened to them!

Snippet: “Okay, Lily. Now if you need me, I’ll be in the front office. And if you need to use the bathroom,” she whispers, “just get a pass from your teacher and come find me.”

Never, never, never, I think as I roll into homeroom.

Homeroom with Mrs. Tilly is crowded. I mentally graph the room and immediately see that the desks are to close together for me to fit through. They are in four rows of five, and bookshelves fill up every single wall.

I start to breathe a little fast and clamp my mouth shut so no one can tell.