Call Me Athena: Girl from Detroit

Call Me Athena: Girl from Detroit
by Colby Cedar Smith (Author)
@ Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound

Booktalk: In this novel in verse is loosely based on the author’s paternal grandmother, Mary is the American-born daughter of Greek and French immigrants living in Detroit in the 1930s. Mary lives in a tiny apartment with her immigrant parents, her brothers, and her twin sister, and she questions why her parents ever came to America. She yearns for true love, to own her own business, and to be an independent, modern American woman–much to the chagrin of her parents, who want her to be a “good Greek girl.” Written from the perspective of three profoundly different narrators, Mary’s story is peppered with flashbacks to her parents’ childhoods in Greece and northern France. Their stories connect with Mary’s as they address issues of arranged marriage, learning about independence, and yearning to grow beyond one’s own culture.

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A 2021 Cybils Poetry nominee

Copyright © 2021 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.

The Chemistry of Food

The Chemistry of Food
by Carla Mooney (Author) and Traci Van Wagoner (Illustrator)
@ Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound

Booktalk: Middle school readers can learn the science behind the food they love to eat as they explore the chemistry within the meal, how nutrition works, what creates flavor, and why texture is important with hands-on science investigations (and recipes!), links to online resources and media, career connections, and text-to-world questions. What makes ice cream melt? Why does pasta go limp when you cook it in boiling water? Why does tomato sauce taste different from fresh tomatoes? Discover the answers yourself!

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

Copyright © 2021 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.